Chapter 1: Past Life

"I heard you are a writer?"

"yes."

"I heard you were a gangster when you were in school?"

"yes."

"So how did you go from being a gangster to being a writer?"

In a French-style western restaurant, romantic and soothing jazz music is playing. Through the window of the restaurant, you can see swaying plane trees and pedestrians hurrying by under the flashing neon lights at night.

This was the seventh question the woman opposite him had asked Cheng Xing since he sat down.

If it weren't for the pretty face of the woman opposite him, Cheng Xing would have stood up and left long ago.

"Can I ask some other questions?" Cheng Xing asked.

The woman shook her head and said, "I'm more curious about this question."

"I'm sorry, I can't answer you this question." Cheng Xing said.

The woman put away the smile on her face when she heard that, then she lifted her long hair by her ears and said lightly, "Giving birth is painful, I don't want to give birth to a child."

"So I don't want to get married. I was forced to go on this blind date by my parents," she added.

Cheng Xing smiled and said, "I don't want to get married either. This time I was forced by my parents."

"That's good." She breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them were silent and the atmosphere was a little silent.

The two of them suddenly raised their hands at the same time and looked at the watches on their wrists, and then said almost in unison: "It's getting late, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

The two were stunned for a moment, then smiled at each other.

"This meal is on my table," said the woman.

"Okay, it's a blind date, there's no reason for the girl to pay the bill." Cheng Xing motioned for the waiter to come over and paid the bill first.

The woman glanced at Cheng Xing, then smiled and said, "Actually, even if we can't get married, we can just leave our contact information and be friends."

Cheng Xing stood up and waved his hand, smiling, "No need, I really have something to do. Some high school classmates are organizing a dinner party, and I have to go over there."

After saying that, Cheng Xing stood up and left.

Looking at Cheng Xing's departing back, the woman was stunned.

After walking out of the western restaurant, Cheng Xing stretched and called Zhou Yuan.

"Hey, Zhou Yuan, have you started yet?" Cheng Xing asked.

"Everyone has just arrived. Why are you coming over, great writer? Aren't you going on a blind date tonight? I heard from Aunt Chen that the blind date I'm introducing to you tonight is very good. He has good looks and a good family background." Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

"It's already been seen." Cheng Xing said.

"Ah, so fast?" Zhou Yuan asked in surprise.

"It's just a blind date, how slow can it be? OK, Zhou Yuan, send me the address via WeChat, I'll be there right away." After Cheng Xing finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Not long after, Zhou Yuanfa's location sharing appeared on WeChat, and Cheng Xing took a taxi and rushed over.

"The great writer is here, please come and sit down." After seeing Cheng Xing pushing the door in, Zhou Yuan stood up and greeted him with a smile.

Not only they stood up, but also others at the table.

There were more than a dozen men and women in total. Cheng Xing looked around and found that he didn't recognize some of them anymore, but he was familiar with some of them. They were basically his classmates from high school.

Cheng Xing sat down next to Zhou Yuan.

Faced with this classmate who is now doing well and has become a writer, many people came over to greet him and toast him.

After greeting each other, Cheng Xing picked up the glass and drank with them.

Then everyone started to drink.

We are all in our thirties and it is a class reunion, so we will definitely talk about our student days.

And there are endless stories to tell about our youth.

So, the more we talked, the more we drank.

The more we talk, the more stories we come up with.

"Do you, great writer Cheng, still remember me?" After three rounds of drinks, a woman in a pink dress with bright lipstick on her lips came over with a wine glass. She leaned on Cheng Xing's chair, bent down, lowered her head and asked with a smile.

Cheng Xing saw a hint of white in her V-neck dress.

He glanced at her, then looked away, raised the wine in the glass and said with a smile, "Wang Yan."

"Haha, you actually still remember." She drank the red wine in the glass, then smiled charmingly and said, "But the fact that you remember me is probably because Chen Qing and I had a very good relationship and were inseparable from each other."

She smiled and said, "Master Writer Cheng, you were so infatuated with Chen Qing back then. You pursued her from junior high school to high school, for a full six years. I saw it all. But it's a pity that Chen Qing had no vision and missed you."

"You can't say that. In fact, Chen Qing is doing pretty well now. The fact that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing didn't end up together back then can only be attributed to not be together." A man wearing glasses suddenly said.

"In fact, as early as high school, I knew that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing would not be able to get along." A girl named Zhao Jing suddenly said, "During the second half of senior year, wasn't the love affair between Cheng Xing and Chen Qing a hot topic in school? I secretly asked Chen Qing if she and Cheng Xing were in love. Who knew that Chen Qing said at the time that Cheng Xing was just a gangster and who would like him? At that time, I felt that they would not be able to get along."

Everyone was surprised and sighed when they heard this. When they were in school, they all thought that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing were a couple. After all, Cheng Xing was the boy who was closest to Chen Qing in the school at that time.

"I didn't expect such a thing happened in the middle. It's true. I had such a good relationship with her at that time, but she didn't even tell me. At that time, I really thought she was together with Cheng Xing." Wang Yan said with a smile.

"Okay, it's all in the past, let's drink." Zhou Yuan suddenly said.

Everyone knew that Cheng Xing pursued Chen Qing in high school. Zhou Yuan was afraid that these people would remind Cheng Xing of the past and make him feel uncomfortable, so he picked up his glass of wine to smooth things over.

What Zhou Yuan didn't know was that even after so many years, Cheng Xing's heart had long since calmed down when he heard the name again. In fact, Cheng Xing had seen her at the Ancheng No. 1 Middle School anniversary celebration a few years ago.

Still beautiful.

But at that school anniversary celebration, the person who left the deepest impression on Cheng Xing was not her, but another girl in their class.

"I saw a sentence on the Internet before. It said that everyone will meet someone in their student days who will amaze you throughout your youth. If we also had this person in our high school days, who do you think it would be?" Deng Kai, who was sitting next to Zhou Yuan, suddenly asked with a smile.

"I think it's Chen Qing."

"No, I think it's Li Yan from the next class."

"I think it's Li Zi from the second year of high school."

"I'll propose an idea, and no one has any objection." Someone suddenly said.

"Who?" everyone asked.

"Jiang Luxi." he said.

Everyone fell silent.

"She, indeed." Zhou Yuan sighed.

"If I use the word 'stunning', then it's really only her. Whether it's Chen Qing or Li Yan, we have some interactions with them, and we can talk and joke with them normally. But as for Jiang Luxi, I don't think I have ever spoken a word to her throughout my entire senior year of high school." Deng Kai said.

"If there is someone in our class who has rarely spoken to him, he would have forgotten about her after so many years. But only Jiang Luxi has this ability. It makes it difficult for people who have met her to forget her in their lifetime." said Sun Li, who was sitting opposite Zhou Yuan.

"Sun Li, you are married, so you shouldn't be afraid of your wife knowing this." Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

"Just tell the truth. Besides, she's not here." Sun Li finished speaking and then laughed, "Don't pretend, kid. When she asked you to collect your homework, you blushed and didn't even dare to raise your head."

"It's such a pity that such a good person chose to become a Buddhist monk. She also said that she would never get married in this life and wanted to be a lay Buddhist and devote herself to studying Buddhism." A female classmate named Li Li sighed.

"What? Jiang Luxi became a monk?" Deng Kai asked in surprise.

This news was too explosive for Deng Kai.

"Ah? You don't know yet. This news spread last year. It was last summer, around this time, that Jiang Luxi announced her conversion to Buddhism. She practiced at home with her hair uncut and became a lay Buddhist." Zhou Yuandao.

"Is this true?" Deng Kai touched his head, still a little bit unbelieving.

"Really? What's this 2G network of yours? Last year, the news that she became a nun was even on the trending search on TikTok." Zhou Yuan said.

"I've heard that she believes in Buddhism before, but I didn't expect that she would actually become a nun!" Deng Kai said.

"We were also shocked when we first found out about it. Last year, she was at the peak of her career. The female boss of Shenli was training her as her successor and would take her with her to almost every event. Who knew that she would announce her resignation from Shenli at that time and then announce her decision to become a nun?" said Li Li.

"If she hadn't resigned from Shenli, or chosen to become a nun, she might have become the most famous person to come out of our Ancheng in a short time." Wang Yan said with envy.

"Yes, to be able to step down from the position at a time like this and announce her resignation from Shenli to become a nun, it takes a lot of perseverance and a lot of fame and fortune to give up! She really doesn't take these things seriously." Deng Kai exclaimed.

"It's just a pity not to get married." Someone said.

Even when the matter of Jiang Luxi becoming a monk was discussed again, it still caused a lot of sighs and regrets.

Such a girl who amazed them throughout their youth, ultimately ended up becoming a nun.

How could they not feel regretful?

"So she is not from the same world as us after all. But Cheng Xing, didn't you also go to the last school anniversary celebration of No. 1 Middle School? I heard that Jiang Luxi also went there. Did you get to talk to her? Speaking of which, we haven't seen her since we graduated from high school." Sun Li asked.

"No." Cheng Xing shook his head.

At the school anniversary celebration three years ago, the school invited many celebrities who graduated from the school. Among the five people invited from their class, there were Cheng Xing, Jiang Luxi and Chen Qing from their class alone.

Seeing Chen Qing again no longer had any impact on Cheng Xing.

However, seeing Jiang Luxi again brought back many memories for Cheng Xing.

Cheng Xing's family was not poor when he was a student. On the contrary, it was considered upper-middle class in Ancheng. However, in 2017, something unexpected happened in their family.

It never rains but it pours.

The following year, Cheng Xing's mother was admitted to the hospital due to overwork.

At that time, his family urgently needed money for surgery. Cheng Xing borrowed money from many people but was still unable to raise the last 100,000 yuan. Those friends who used to get along well with him had already stayed away from him when his family encountered misfortune, so they were unwilling to lend him money.

Since his friends weren't available, Cheng Xing could only turn to his classmates. However, among those classmates who he was close to in high school, except Zhou Yuan who lent him more than 20,000 yuan that he had saved from working for two years, the rest of the classmates were unwilling to lend him money.

Including Chen Qing.

Cheng Xing was still in contact with Chen Qing when she was in college, but the contact became less frequent after she graduated.

When Cheng Xing asked Chen Qing to borrow money, Chen Qing said that 100,000 yuan was too much, and that he could borrow 10,000 or 20,000 yuan. That was the last time they talked in the following years.

Then, it was the school anniversary three years ago.

Chen Qing came over and greeted him, and the two of them chatted and laughed for a while.

But Cheng Xing had long forgotten what they were talking about at that time.

After failing to borrow money from Chen Qing, Cheng Xing had basically borrowed from everyone he could.

When he was almost in despair, Cheng Xing contacted the person he thought was the last person to lend him money.

That person is Jiang Luxi.

When Cheng Xing was in high school, he was the biggest troublemaker in the school. Apart from studying, there was nothing he wouldn't do. As the class monitor, Jiang Luxi naturally hated people like Cheng Xing the most.

Fighting with people from other schools, writing love letters to others, falling in love prematurely, smoking and drinking.

In Jiang Luxi's opinion, none of the above is what students should do.

But Cheng Xing did it all.

Therefore, Cheng Xing naturally didn't think that someone like him could borrow money from Jiang Luxi.

Moreover, Jiang Luxi's family was not well off. She was not like Chen Qing, who had 10,000 or 20,000 yuan in pocket money every month when she was in college. But in the end, after Jiang Luxi asked Cheng Xing to show her medical records, she transferred the money that night.

At that time, Cheng Xing even specifically asked Jiang Luxi why he lent him money.

In the first two years after Jiang Luxi graduated from university, her salary was not much. The 100,000 yuan should be most of her savings. She was working in Haicheng at that time, and the housing and commodity prices in Haicheng were not low.

Facing a person like Cheng Xing, Cheng Xing couldn't understand why he had to use most of his savings to help him.

But Jiang Luxi's answer to Cheng Xing was very simple.

You helped me when I was bullied by Sun Qi and her friends. Now we should repay each other and owe each other nothing.

When Cheng Xing heard this answer, he fell silent.

He didn't expect that Jiang Luxi helped him with his savings of two years just because of this little thing. If this could be considered as help, then Cheng Xing had helped countless people during his school years.

In their class, whenever someone was bullied by someone from another class or school, Cheng Xing would stand up for them, because as a middle school student, he felt that since he was the biggest bully in the school, the people in his class should not be bullied by outsiders. He had fought with others many times because of jealousy or to seek justice for Chen Qing.

In fact, he remembered the time he helped Jiang Luxi, but that time didn't really count as helping.

Because he knew in advance that Sun Qi was going to bully Jiang Luxi that night, and because this matter was related to Chen Qing, Cheng Xing would not have cared about this matter because of Chen Qing.

It was just that he left school late that day and happened to see the scene of Jiang Luxi being bullied. The girl's stubborn and unyielding look standing in the wind and rain left a deep impression on Cheng Xing.

Perhaps because he didn't want this cold and pure girl who was like a fairy to remain in his youthful memories with an unbearable appearance when graduation was approaching, Cheng Xing finally stepped forward to help her out.

The last time I saw Jiang Luxi was at the school anniversary three years ago.

The last conversation I had with Jiang Luxi was about the time she came to my aid six years ago.

But it was these two times that made this figure remain in Cheng Xing's memory for many years.

He will never forget those words: You helped me when I was bullied by Sun Qi and others. Let's repay each other and owe each other nothing.

"Come on, Brother Cheng, when we were in high school, we were never bullied by anyone from other classes because of you. Just for this, I have to toast you a glass. Come on, drink it." Sun Li said and drank it all in one gulp.

The others also raised their glasses and toasted Cheng Xing.

At this time, Cheng Xing was also toasting and accepting everyone who came.

Somehow, Cheng Xing, who hadn't been drunk for a long time, just wanted to get drunk at this moment, without asking about Li Shang.

By the end of the dinner, everyone was drunk.

"Brother Cheng, do you want me to support you?" Zhou Yuan asked at this time.

"No need, you guys go first." Cheng Xing said.

Zhou Yuan came with his girlfriend, and he was being supported by his girlfriend. How could Cheng Xing let him support him?

"It's okay, Zhou Yuan, you guys go first, I'll support you." At this time, Wang Yan came up and supported Cheng Xing.

Cheng Xing felt a little dizzy at this time, and could no longer sense who was next to him. He could only smell a strong fragrance. When he went downstairs and the wind blew, his head became clearer, and he found that the person who was holding him was Wang Yan.

Cheng Xing calmly avoided Wang Yan's bright red lips that were about to touch his mouth, hailed a taxi, and got in. He closed the door, fastened his seat belt, and said to Wang Yan outside the car window: "It's getting late, go home early."

Looking at the taxi disappearing before her eyes, Wang Yan pouted and sighed.

After the taxi stopped in the community, Cheng Xing walked back home with tired steps.

After arriving home, Cheng Xing lay down directly on the sofa.

He turned on the air conditioner in the room, then opened Douyin and casually scrolled through it twice.

Finally, Cheng Xing's gaze stopped on a video.

It is almost September now, and middle schools across the country have already started classes.

This is a welcome party for a certain experimental high school.

The girl in the video is wearing a red hat, an orange shirt and a gray plaid skirt.

There was nothing on the two slender white legs, and the feet were wearing white socks and white sneakers.

The girl wore a pair of glasses and had two braided pigtails hanging down to her chest.

At this moment, Cheng Xing suddenly saw the shadow of Jiang Luxi in her.

It was as if I was back at the graduation party in my senior year of high school.

That day, Jiang Luxi's ponytail swayed gently as she performed a song on the stage.

But the girl in the video is not as pretty as Jiang Luxi.

But the campus stage full of youthfulness, the girls' innocent attire and clear, healing voices, suddenly made Cheng Xing a little dazed.

I will grow up slowly, under the sun, moon and stars, and occasionally talk to the plants and trees.

Then ride on the wind, scatter to the ends of the earth, fall into the soil and take root and sprout!

You have to wait for me, in the passing time, even though the years have been struggling.

I will arrive under the moonlight, after dawn and before sunset!

The lyrics are well written and the singing is beautiful.

As Cheng Xing listened, he felt tired and gradually fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)

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