Chapter VII
Brothers for life
Time is like a shooting star streaking across the sky
in the blink of an eye
It just fades away
You don't have time to reminisce
Put your palms together
Make a wish to the shooting star
Pray that time can turn back
Replaying strange yet familiar scenes in my dreams
Our first encounter, our reluctant separation
Crying and laughing, leaving only memories
We promised never to forget
But I'm afraid that time will blur the past
The height of the fan
The warmth of cold water in winter
Footsteps towards the cafeteria…
I can't forget the alcohol concentration at graduation
Looking forward to meeting again
But it's always far away
Separation of life and death
You jumped and left
Leaving us crying unnaturally
My heart will always be filled with
The space of our friendship
Maybe in my past life, I looked back ten thousand times
In exchange for the brotherhood of this life
--Xiao Lin to a friend who has passed away
Before going to bed at night, Xiao Lin's eyelids kept twitching for some reason. Although Xiao Lin wasn't superstitious, he couldn't sleep well. At three o'clock in the morning, Xiao Lin's cell phone rang, and his heart trembled.
Hopefully, it wasn't a bad thing. He picked up his phone and saw that it was his high school classmate, Zou Zejun. Xiao Lin had always admired him. His aptitude was especially high, and he belonged to the group of people with high intelligence.
Zou Zejun sat behind Xiao Lin. He often asked Xiao Lin to block the teacher's view during class so that he could read his novels. However, he never fell out of the top 20 in the school every time he took an exam. He was admitted to Hainan University in the first year.
When Xiao Lin was repeating his studies, he, Luo Yunqing, and Chen Da had come to school to visit him. However, after they went to university, the two of them did not have much contact. Xiao Lin didn't know why he would call in the middle of the night.
"Hello, Zejun, why are you calling in the middle of the night? What happened?”Xiao Lin said in a daze.
"Xiao Lin, wake up." Zou Zejun said hurriedly," I'm staying at the Nanchang Hotel now. We'll go back together tomorrow."”
"What happened? I asked you to rush back from Hainan." Xiao Lin's heart thumped wildly. It was as if cold water had been poured over his head, and he instantly woke up.
"Calm down, don't panic. Xu Jia committed suicide by jumping into the lake yesterday afternoon. After I found out, I immediately bought a plane ticket and flew back from Hainan.”Zou Zejun's voice was trembling.
Xiao Lin's mind was blank as he stared blankly into the night. Her beating heart seemed to have been emptied, and her entire body was numb. Tears could not stop falling, and the hand holding the phone kept trembling.
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Lin hid under the blanket. He felt so cold that his teeth were shivering. He didn't know how he fell asleep afterward. He wished that it was just a nightmare that he had woken up in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he realized that it was just a false alarm.
"Teacher." The next day, Xiao Lin walked into Teacher Cheng Wenjing's office. Teacher Cheng was sitting on a chair and chatting with a girl.
"Xiao Lin, you're here. What's the matter?”Teacher Cheng raised his head and looked at Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin had a dejected expression.
"It's nothing. I'll wait for a while. You guys chat first.”Xiao Lin stood at the side, picking up the weekly magazines on the table and pretending to read them attentively.
After a while, the girl stood up and said,"Thank you, teacher. I'll go to class first."”The girl walked to the door." Teacher, bye."”She closed the door.
"Xiao Lin, come here and sit here. Don't you have classes?”Teacher Cheng asked Xiao Lin to sit on the chair beside him and said," Look, you look like you have a lot on your mind. There must be something. Tell me."”
"Teacher, a high school friend of mine passed away.”Xiao Lin was a little choked up. His nose was sore, and tears came out again.
"What reason? He's so young. What's going on?”Teacher Cheng Wenjing asked with concern.
"I only received the news this morning. I'm not sure about the exact reason. Teacher, I want to send him off. I hope you can allow me to take a few days off to go back.”Xiao Lin couldn't suppress the grief in his heart.
"Alright, are you going back today?”Xiao Lin nodded." You have to be careful on your way back. Don't be too sad. After all, your friends have already left.”
"Teacher, thank you for your understanding." Xiao Lin applied for leave and returned to the classroom. At this time, the teacher had not arrived yet.
Xiao Lin walked to the front of the podium and said to everyone,"I have something to tell everyone. I'll go home later. Because there's something at home, I've already asked the counselor for leave. I'll probably be staying at home for about three days. If there's anything in class during my absence, you can look for the vice-class monitor, Huang Xia. Xiao Xia, if you don't understand anything, you can ask Teacher Cheng.”Huang Xia nodded in agreement.
"Also, regarding the welcoming party, the sports committee member, Yuru, and the group secretary, Wang Xin, will be in charge. Tomorrow night will be the third trial. Yuru, the first and second trials weren't easy for us. The girls 'rehearsals have indeed been tough. I hope everyone can persevere. After passing the third trial, we can go on stage for the academy's welcome party and realize our original intention.”
At this moment, the teacher walked in. Xiao Lin showed the leave slip to the teacher and walked out of the classroom.
On the way back to the dormitory, Xiao Lin called Mother Xiao.
"Mom, one of my high school buddies committed suicide. Xu Jia was drunk at my graduation banquet last time. Do you remember?”
Mother Xiao said regretfully,"I remember him. He was sent to the hospital later. He looked quite bright and handsome. Why did he take things so hard?!"”
"I'm not too sure either. Not long ago, he called me and said that his life was very fulfilling. I didn't expect to hear bad news about him a few days later. Mom, I've thought about it and I'm going back to send him off.”
"You guys have such a good relationship, so you definitely have to go back. Just don't be rude when you go back. How's your classmate's family situation?”Mother Xiao asked.
" Not particularly well," Xiao Lin replied, puzzled." He has a younger brother and a younger sister. His family is rather poor. It seems that his parents are farming at home."”Xiao Lin had visited his house before.
"Use an envelope to wrap 6,000 yuan and give it to his parents. Just say that it's to send your friend off. If his parents don't accept it, you can quietly put it away and give it to them.”Mother Xiao reminded Xiao Lin,"You have to be careful when you go home, okay?" Don't let your parents worry, and don't do anything stupid.”
Xiao Lin took out the money and put it in the envelope he bought. He carried his bag and walked out of the school gate, calling a taxi. Xiao Lin and Zou Zejun had made an appointment. He would wait for Xiao Lin at the Nanchang Hotel. The two of them would go back together after they met.
The two of them bought tickets at the long-distance bus station and boarded the long-distance bus back to Gao 'an. Xiao Lin and Zou Zejun were both in a heavy mood. Xiao Lin asked Zou Zejun about the specific reason for Xu Jia's suicide. Zou Zejun said that he didn't know much. He only knew about it after receiving a call from Luo Yunqing. He might only understand if he went back and asked Luo Yunqing.
Among the high school brothers, Xiao Lin's house was relatively close to Xu Jia's house. Father Xiao and Mother Xiao were all in Yunnan, so it was more convenient. Xiao Lin planned to arrange for Zou Zejun, Luo Yunqing, and Chen Da to stay in his house. Xiao Lin let Luo Yunqing and Chen Da sleep in the guest room on the second floor while he and Zou Zejun slept in his room.
It was a custom in Xiao Lin's hometown. After a person passed away, they would stay at home for three days to let the ghost of the deceased find its way home. On the third day, he left early in the morning and buried the body on the mountain. The relatives and friends of the deceased followed him to the mountain and left. Today was the second day after Xu Jia's death. After Xiao Lin and the other three met up, they called a taxi to Xu Jia's house.
As soon as he arrived at Xu Jia's house, a strong smell of smoke assaulted his nose, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of firecrackers. As soon as she entered, Xu Jia's mother recognized Xiao Lin. Xu Jia's mother looked haggard, and her eyes were deeply sunken. Two deep tears hung on her cheeks.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy and oppressive. Xiao Lin really wanted to run out and escape. He felt an indescribable heartache. Mother Xu did not cry out loud anymore. She only sobbed softly. Xiao Lin thought to himself that losing a son in his middle age, a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person, this was perhaps the world's greatest and most unbearable tragedy.
Xiao Lin stuffed the envelope containing the money that his brothers had gathered together into Mother Xu's hands. The four of them burned yellow paper in front of the coffin and lit three incense sticks. Originally, Xiao Lin thought that he would be able to see Xu Jia again, but at this time, the black coffin had already been sealed.
If there really were ghosts, he wondered if Xu Jia would see his family crying for him, as well as Xiao Lin and his brothers. He jumped away confidently, but he didn't know that he left behind those who weren't as confident and cried for him.
Xiao Lin told Mother Xu that they would come to see Xu Jia off early in the morning, so he said goodbye. After leaving the house, Xiao Lin asked Luo Yunqing and Chen Da to stay at his house for the night so that they wouldn't have to rush over the next day. The four of them would go over together the next morning. Luo Yunqing and Chen Da agreed to stay. At night, the four of them felt very tired because they had to rush back. Moreover, they had to get up early the next day, so they went to bed early after dinner.
Early the next morning, the sky was still gray. Xiao Lin, Zou Zejun, Luo Yunqing, and Chen Da went to Xu Jia's house. Xu Jia's home was shrouded in sorrow and horror. It was unusually quiet.
Mother Xu entertained Xiao Lin and the others for breakfast. She handed four white bandana to Xiao Lin and told them to wear them on their left arms. They would take them off and put them there when they reached the mountain. It was the last time they accompanied Xu Jia.
At the scheduled time, the tune of ferrying the undead sounded, and a few large plates of firecrackers were lit up. All the mourners stood at the side. Xu Jia's parents, brother, and sister were all dressed in white.
Mother Xu was lying on the coffin wrapped in a red carpet and wailing. Father Xu supported Mother Xu and cried silently. The older sister knew that her brother had passed away and cried miserably. The younger brother, who was not sensible, also cried when he saw his mother and sister crying. His nose was running down his mouth.
Another firecracker rang out. Xiao Lin heard the old man carrying the bamboo basket with the yellow paper money shout," Open the coffin and go on your way. The deceased will have a safe journey!"”Father Xu had no choice but to pull Mother Xu away from the coffin. Mother Xu struggled and cried as she slapped Father Xu.
Six young men carried the coffin. The one who walked in front was the old man who threw yellow paper money into the air, followed by the relatives who picked up the wreath. Xu Jia's father walked in front of the coffin with his son's portrait. The coffin was lifted in the middle of the funeral procession, and Xiao Lin and the others followed the crowd at the back.
After walking for more than an hour, they finally arrived at the mountain. The coffin was placed in the expected position. Xiao Lin and the others bid farewell to Father Xu before leaving. On the way back, Xiao Lin kept thinking that his once fresh life would be buried deep into the ground in an instant, leaving his family with a sudden blow.
How could Xu Jia, who was lying in the coffin, be so heartless and ignore his elderly parents, young siblings, and his brothers? What made him so determined to commit suicide? Did he regret it the moment he jumped? Did he struggle to survive in the water? He couldn't have drowned. Xiao Lin remembered that the two of them had gone to the swimming pool during the summer vacation. Xu Jia knew how to swim, and his technique was even better than Xiao Lin's.
Could it be that he really wanted to die and was looking for a way out? However, Xiao Lin still found it hard to believe that Xu Jia would choose to commit suicide. How could he be scared by difficulties and setbacks and commit suicide? Xiao Lin still remembered the motto that Xu Jia had pasted on his bed during high school," Life has been full of hardships since ancient times. Who can live peacefully for a hundred years?"”
In Xiao Lin's impression, Xu Jia had always been confident and optimistic, but why was it like this?
Xiao Lin invited Zou Zejun and the others to stay at his house for a night. The brothers hadn't gathered together for a long time. Luo Yunqing was studying at Hunan University of Finance and Economics, and Chen Da was studying at Tianjin Institute of Water Conservancy and Engineering. Even during the New Year, they rarely had the chance to meet.
When Zou Zejun returned from Hainan, he had booked a flight back tomorrow morning. Xiao Lin planned to return to Nanchang with him tomorrow and send him to the airport. Zou Zejun planned to go home first before coming to Xiao Lin's place. He let Luo Yunqing and Chen Da go back with Xiao Lin first.
In the evening, Zou Zejun brought two bottles of Dong wine back to Xiao Lin's house.
"Xiao Lin, have the three of you had dinner yet?”As soon as they entered, Zou Zejun asked. Xiao Lin said," That's good. Let's drink some wine tonight. It'll be our last farewell to Xu Jia." You go and get ready. Yun Qing and I will go and buy some light meals.”
Xiao Lin set up five sets of cutlery on the dining table and waited for Zou Zejun and his wife to return.
The four of them sat down. Chen Da filled all five glasses with white wine.
"This toast is to our brother, Xu Jia.”Zou Zejun poured the white wine that he had poured for Xu Jia out of the window and into the backyard. Xiao Lin, Chen Da, and Luo Yunqing all stood up, bowed to Xu Jia's seat, and drank half a glass.
"Chen Da, fill Xu Jia's glass.”Zou Zejun said.
"What do you mean by a man doesn't cry easily? Xu Jia, whether you saw it or not, I sincerely cried for you.”Xiao Lin got excited and said," How can you leave just like that? You're too irresponsible."”
Luo Yunqing rubbed his bloodshot eyes and said,"Actually, Xu Jia has suffered the most from us brothers all these years.”Luo Yunqing took another sip of white wine." Xiao Lin, do you remember the day of your graduation banquet? Xu Jia drank so much that he had stomach bleeding and was admitted to the hospital. Do you know why?"
Xiao Lin really didn't know about this, and it was hard for him to understand. At first, everyone was happy, but after Xu Jia fainted on the ground, everyone was frightened.
"Because as a brother, he is happy for you, but he is also sad and sorrowful for himself. He repeated a year like you, and his college entrance examination score was more than 20 points higher than yours, but in the end, he could only go to an undergraduate university with a lower score.”
Of course, Xiao Lin knew this best. After the college entrance examination results were out, when filling in the application, Xiao Lin even advised Xu Jia to fill in the last application to be safe. However, Xu Jia's father insisted on forcing Xu Jia to fill in all four of the high grades for the sake of face. As a result, she was not accepted. Xu Jia was forced to choose Yichun Normal University, which was the second batch of applicants. Of course, Xu Jia was unwilling.
Luo Yunqing continued," After that, Xu Jia thought about it for a long time and decided to go to Yichun College. As someone who repeated the exam, you know how hard it is to repeat it. However, Uncle Xu forced Xu Jia to repeat her studies again, which led to the current tragedy.”
"Among us brothers, Ze Jun is the luckiest. Xiao Lin and Yun Qing are also fine. Although I only managed to get into a third-tier university, it was also because I didn't study hard in the past and was afraid of suffering. I didn't want to repeat my studies. Now, there's nothing to complain about. I chose my own path. Sigh, I hope Xu Jia will be safe and sound in her next life.”Chen Da picked up the white wine placed in front of the empty seat and splashed it out again.
The four of them drank and talked about the life of Xu Jia's high school brothers before his death. As they talked, they couldn't help but feel sad. In the end, they sobbed.
Xiao Lin heard his phone ring. He got up and walked into Father Xiao and Mother Xiao's bedroom. The ringtone was even louder. Xiao Lin took out a tissue and wiped his tears. He pulled himself together so that he wouldn't be too depressed.
The phone showed Zheng Yuru's number." Hello, Yuru, what's wrong?”Xiao Lin tried his best to speak in a calm tone so that she wouldn't notice.
"Class monitor, we've been bullied by others. Come back quickly.”Zheng Yuru cried. Xiao Lin had never seen her cry before.
"Speak slowly, don't cry, what happened?”Xiao Lin calmed himself down and comforted Zheng Yuru.
"It's like this, class monitor." Zheng Yuru sipped and said," Tonight, our class 'performance has officially passed the third review. The girls danced very well, and Yang Yuqi's tea art performance has also received the final approval of the Youth League Committee teacher. During the third review, the marketing professional's performance of the ancient fashion show was directly rejected by the Youth League Committee teacher. The teacher said that their program was too simple. But after the teacher left, the president of the student union came to me and said that he wanted to add our class dance to the marketing fashion show.”
Xiao Lin quickly sorted out his thoughts." Wait a minute, Yuru, you're saying that adding our class 'dance performance into the fashion show was not the intention of the Youth League Committee teacher, but purely the decision of the Student Union Chairman, right?”
"A friend of mine told me that the marketing major is the student council president's direct junior. His girlfriend is a female marketing major in our year.”When Xiao Lin heard this, he was instantly enraged.
"What did he say to you, Yuru?”Xiao Lin tried his best to control his emotions.
"He said that if we didn't want to join the ancient fashion show, he would kick our class out of the dance program. His tone was especially fierce.”Zheng Yuru said aggrievedly.
"Did you tell Teacher Cheng about this? What did Teacher Cheng say?”Xiao Lin wanted to understand Teacher Cheng's attitude first before dealing with this matter.
"When I went to the office to look for the teacher, she had already gotten off work and gone home. When I called her, the teacher's phone was turned off.”Xiao Lin looked at the time on his phone. It was almost 10:30 p. m. If he called again, it would be considered a call. Perhaps Mr. Cheng was preparing to sleep, and it would affect his rest. It would be very rude.
Xiao Lin believed that what Zheng Yuru said was the truth. If the Student Union President was not particularly fierce, the usually cheerful Zheng Yuru would not have cried. Moreover, he was also responsible for these things. If he was in school, the president of the student council would at most negotiate with Xiao Lin and not implicate the girls.
"The other girls know about it, right? What do they think?”Xiao Lin asked.
"All the girls in our class are unwilling to join other people's programs and participate in the welcoming party in the name of other classes. At most, forget it. Anyway, we'll just treat it as practicing weight loss exercises.”Hearing Zheng Yuru's words, Xiao Lin thought about how to deal with this matter.
"Yuru, he bullied you, which is equivalent to bullying me and bullying our entire media class. Don't worry, I'll definitely give you an explanation. Do you have his number? What was his name? Was he the executive chairman of the student council or the chairman in charge?”Xiao Lin said.
"He asked me to save his number and told me to call him once I thought it through.”Xiao Lin thought that person was really arrogant." His name is Li Zhe, the president of the Student Union. He's in charge of the literature and art club and the sports club.”
"Give me his number. Don't be sad anymore. Let the girls continue rehearsing. Don't worry, our program will definitely appear in the name of the media class at the welcoming party of the International Institute of Education.”Xiao Lin was already grieving over his brother Xu Jia's death, and now that he had encountered Li Zhe's matter, he was even angrier.
"Hello, who are you?" Li Zhe answered the phone and asked.
"Are you Li Zhe?" Xiao Lin couldn't resist the urge to scold him." Who am I? I'm Xiao Lin. You bullied our class. Don't tell me you don't even know who the class monitor is? What? I'm rude? Alright, Senior Li Zhe.”
"I was just suggesting to that girl if she was willing to add dancing to the ancient fashion show. I think you've misunderstood.”Then, there was a very hypocritical smirk.
"Aren't you just the president of a small student council? Why do I feel that you have more power than the teachers of the Youth League Committee? Do the teachers of the Youth League Committee have to listen to your commands, Senior Li Zhe?”Xiao Lin said sarcastically.
"No, if you really don't want to join, then forget it. It's just my personal opinion. After all, it's your final decision.”Li Zhe said fawningly.
"You bullied the girls in our class until they cried, and you still have the cheek to say that it was just your personal suggestion. Listen, I'm telling you very clearly now that we will definitely not add dance to the ancient fashion show of the marketing major. "In addition, our class will not be participating in this evening party. I guess the program list has already been sent to the dean by the Youth League Committee teacher. All the responsibility will be borne by you. When the time comes, you won't be able to perform. I'll see what you can do. Go be arrogant." Xiao Lin threatened him.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Don't be agitated.”Li Zhe should have realized the seriousness of the consequences Xiao Lin was talking about." I'm just suggesting…"
Xiao Lin ignored him and hung up the phone because he knew that it was Li Zhe's turn to beg him. Although the girls in the class said that it didn't matter if they didn't participate in the performance, Xiao Lin had worked so hard to prepare for it. He wouldn't let the cute girls give up their hard work and disappoint them because of an unremarkable Li Zhe.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。