Lost Dreams

After Zhao Manqing went to the United States, he often thought of Chongqing in 1937.At that time, the brothel she ran was razed to the ground by Japanese bombers. Before that, she had stayed in Chongqing for nearly five years, and she never went back.

Sometimes she would always think of the past, when she was studying, when she got up in the morning, she hurriedly pulled on her white socks and asked Mama Wang to help tie two braids.Push open the heavy gate, take a sandwich, walk through the dark alley, go all the way along the East Street, make two left turns, and you're at the school.

At that time, Manqing was studying in a combined senior high school and junior high school, and it was also a girls' school. The Xia family, who was close to her Zhao family, entrusted her to take care of the young lady. After class, I often go to Xia Yunzhu, the daughter of the Xia family, and take her to play.She and Yunzhu are only five or six years apart. They played together since they were young, and they are often recognized as sisters when they go out.She has always been happy to have such a younger sister, standing around her like a flower like a jade, and always being watched by the students of the boys' school opposite, but Manqing never felt jealous, but instead developed a little disgust for those boys, thinking that Junzhu should not be favored by them See, it's time to hide.In her heart, she always felt that Junzhu was her property, and she always loved to swear sovereignty, and it was expected that it would develop into love later.

At that time, gay love was booming, especially in girls' schools.When Man Qing was in junior high school, she saw a senior sister fall in love with a student of her same level, but it didn't last long, and she always gave up when the senior sister graduated.After she entered high school, she also stepped into this circle.She took Junzhu with her, and she always had some little calculations in her heart. She wanted Junzhu to fall in love with her, so that she would completely belong to her.Man Qing never shy away from others saying that she is selfish or something, she has a sense of pride in her bones, which makes her back stand proudly straight, and her neck is always raised like a swan, she thinks she has this courage.

When school was over, a classmate invited Manqing Junzhu to have afternoon tea, she naturally agreed and waited for her at the gate of Yunzhu early.Today I wore a jacket made of new cloth over my school uniform, decorated with pink cherry blossoms, very pretty.Man Qing stood at the door with a briefcase, and waited for Yunzhu's teacher to finish his long talk, and when the door opened, the teacher was naturally stunned for a moment.She smiled secretly in her heart, first she greeted with a soft smile, and then rushed to the class to urge the person who had been waiting for a long time: "Hey! Yunzhu! Hurry up!"

"Hey!" Yunzhu responded, packed the bag and hurried out.Man Qing pulled her and ran into the small garden, suddenly saw two people in the woods with sharp eyes: huh!In broad daylight, they are kissing quietly.Man Qing once again recognized that she was still a classmate in this class, this kind of thing is not unusual in girls' schools, but it was the first time that she was bumped into by herself.

At this time, Manqing was still holding Junzhu tightly, and she didn't know that her hands were sweating.She quietly looked at Junzhu, the man's face was flushed, and he was looking forward without blinking.She coughed twice, and waited for the two people who were entangled to run away in a panic holding hands, then she pulled Jun Zhu out and went to find her companion in the small garden.Junzhu kept his head down, and they walked forward in silence.

Since that day, Junzhu always seems to be hiding from Manqing, Manqing doesn't know the reason, only guesses that it has something to do with what he saw that day, and feels depressed.But after graduating from high school, her family sent her to go to university in Hong Kong. During the two-month summer vacation, she never saw Yunzhu.Either I was watching a play, or I went to my husband's house for tutoring, or I went out for an outing with a female classmate I befriended. In short, I avoided her as if I was pinpointing it.Man Qing had no choice but to pack his luggage and go to Hong Kong.

She shares a dorm room with a Chongqing girl named Yuqing, who is very lively and always asks her to learn Shanghainese dialect.I also taught her some Chongqing dialects, and I made an appointment to watch two movies when I had nothing to do, and I got familiar with it very quickly.

The night before the exam, Yuqing asked her to go to a party together, and Manqing laughed at her: "Hey, have you finished reviewing the textbooks? Just agree so quickly, which young master do you like?"

Yuqing blushed and pretended to hit her, the two talked and laughed, but finally Manqing complied.

"Hey, how did you do in the exam?" After the exam, Yuqing tidied up her things, rummaged through her clothes, and chatted with Manqing.Manqing turned out the cheongsam, picked out the colors one by one, listened to her question, smiled, and replied: "Anyway, it's okay to pass, unlike you, I saw it - you fell asleep halfway through the exam .”

"Hey!" Yuqing muttered angrily, and it soon disappeared, and came to pick out clothes for her, "Hey, I think the pink one is just right, don't you like this color the most?"

"Are you too delicate?" Man Qing curled her lips, "I think the blue one is better."

"What the hell! It's so boring! No one wants to talk to you just by looking at your clothes!"

"Hey! That's just right!" Man Qing smiled and dodged Yuqing, who was rushing towards her, and chose a pink and white one that was as delicate as pear blossoms.Yuqing turned out a bright yellow cheongsam, tied up her hair, and went to tie Manqing's hair again.In the end, he took an earring from Man Qing, and was about to put it on when he was stopped again.

"Hey, don't wear this, wear that, peach blossoms, it suits you." Man Qing stopped her, gave her another pair of earrings, took the one from Yuqing's hand, put it in the box by itself, and picked it up from another pair of earrings. He took out a crystal pendant from inside and put it on himself.Wearing earrings, Yuqing asked her curiously: "Hey, why do you cherish that earring so much? It was a gift from your first love?"

"Speak nonsense!" Man Qing smiled, sprayed a little of the perfume on her wrist, and rubbed it behind her ears, "I gave it to a younger sister who is my family friend."

"Yo, what kind of sister, you cherish it so much." Yuqing laughed at her, took out the lipstick and wiped it, the bright red one really didn't go well with her yellow clothes, Manqing couldn't see it, wiped it off for her, and put on her own pink lipstick , A little bit of rouge, lightly applied to the face, it looks brighter.

"I've been playing since childhood." Man Qing waited until all homework was done before answering her, put on a pair of white jade high heels, and called Yu Qing to leave.

The party was held at the home of the young master of the Wang family, and the main venue was in the back garden.Young master Wang is idle all day long, and he loves to do these things the most.Man Qing thought of his two restless younger brothers who always liked to invite people over at home.Yaodi Guanlin is much better, but Guanliang likes to engage in these tricks all day long, and in the letters that Guanlin writes, he always has to say something about Guanliang.A few days ago, it was said that he had hooked up with Xiaosheng who was singing an opera, but it happened that Yunzhu was chasing after him, and they had a few troubles.

Junzhu loves to go to the theater, and the fifth master of the Xia family is also fond of it. He often takes them to the theater in Shanghai.The concubines raised in the small mansion were all abducted from the theater. Junzhu often went to the small mansion, but she didn't like to go there.She prefers movies. Although they are black and white, there are always noises. Some gentlemen always like to smoke, but she prefers them. I don't know why.

Since Manqing came to Hong Kong, Junzhu occasionally sent a letter or two, mostly talking about school life, or suing Guanliang.Every time Guanliang offends Junzhu, Guanlin will criticize him. Man Qing has long understood what his younger brother thinks, but he doesn't point it out, let alone promote it. He has an obsession in his heart and refuses to Ask him to date the two.But he didn't say what kind of thoughts he was in, so he just let it go.

As soon as Yuqing arrived at the scene, he was stopped by Young Master Wang, probably because he had already made an appointment.Young Master Wang and Man Qing introduced each other, and went elsewhere with Yu Qing in their arms.Man Qing stayed where he was, not wanting to socialize much, so he found a hidden place, got some soda and snacks, and sat under the tree.However, there are always unavoidable people who want to say hello, and finally get out, and there is another person sitting under the tree, who is reading a novel with his head down.

It was a woman, wearing a lake-blue cheongsam, with jet-black hair, which was casually pulled up, and the rest were scattered, and she didn't care too much about it. However, such a nondescript hairstyle was not so nondescript on her head. A kind of scattered beauty.Man Qing observed her from a distance: white jade-like skin, green onion-like fingers, no make-up, just a little rouge on her mouth.Man Qing walked over slowly, sat down next to her, and was silent for a long time. He waited until the person next to him had almost finished reading the book before saying hello.The woman didn't seem to notice when Man Qing sat down, she was taken aback, and said slowly, her surname is Ding, her name is Ruan Yu, a student at the language university next door.

"Zhao Manqing." Manqing smiled at her, handed her a glass of juice, and continued talking to her, "Hey, where are you from?"

"Shanghai." Ruan Yu took the juice, thanked her, put the book away, and chatted with her.

"What a coincidence? Me too." Man Qing seemed a little surprised.

"Hey! That's right, where did you go to high school?"

"The girl's school on East Avenue."

"Hey, no wonder I didn't come across it. I'm at the one on South Street." Ruan Yu smiled.

"Hey, let me just say, otherwise, if such a beauty is released to our school, why not let me know?" Man Qing also laughed.

"Hey, how can she be considered a beauty? Her hair is messy, and she was just laughed at by those old mothers." Ruan Yu whispered to her quietly.

"Hey! It's called old mother! Are you afraid that some wives will be angry with you when they hear it?" Manqing laughed at her, and handed her a snack, "I'll tie it up for you, you still know your hair is messy!"

"Okay, okay." Ruan Yu ate the snack she handed over, and naturally leaned into Manqing's arms, "Isn't she the old mother? The makeup on her face is so thick... Act like no one has seen it!"

"Hey, yes, unlike our Miss Ding, she is naturally rosy." Man Qing took out the comb from her bag, let her down her hair, and combed it lightly.

"Hey, don't talk about me, our Miss Zhao, you are just as white. You are also a beauty, so don't just laugh at me." Ruan Yu smiled and chatted with Man Qing while enjoying herself. It's like a separate barrier, so that people on the periphery only dare to look at it, but dare not disturb it.Cheating and laughing, it was soon evening, Young Master Wang left some people for dinner, and the rest left early.Among them was Manqing—it was probably Yuqing who ordered her to come, and left her alone, feeling guilty.Ruan Yu was also left behind, and only then did she know that she was the youngest of Young Master Wang, with a beauty beside her, but she had never dated her before, Man Qing was a little surprised.But also a weird surprise, she kind of misses something from middle school.

Manqing chatted with Ruan Yu for a long time in the afternoon, and ate a lot of snacks. He was already full, and the dinner was almost finished, so he said he was going back to school first.Ruan Yu also got up with her, said she was full, and left Yuqing and others to accompany Young Master Wang.

After rejecting the car allocated to them, Man Qing and Ruan Yu walked arm in arm and chatted.Language University is next to Manqing's university, drop by.They came out of the same place, and their personalities are surprisingly similar, and they chatted very well soon, and they are about to become good friends.Before Ruan Yu entered the school, she specially invited Manqing to watch a movie on Saturday. For the new show, she was given the movie introduction brochure and asked her to take it back.Man Qing happily agreed.

By the time Yuqing came back, it was already very late.The dormitory mother read her all the way to her room, and there were only these people. All the mothers and aunts took care of them, with power and power.Put it among ordinary people, even if you don't say it, you may not be allowed to let it in.After Yuqing gave Mammy a white jade hairpin, Xu Yan left.

Man Qing had already taken off her make-up and was lying on the bed, reading the movie brochure. When Yu Qing finally cleaned up and came out of the bathroom, she thought of asking her about the progress.

"Hey, what's the progress? We met at the movie theater a few days ago, and today we just had a good chat, so we stayed." Yuqing looked a little embarrassed, sitting in front of the mirror and applying cream on her face.

"Oh, you don't invite me, when did you go to the movies by yourself?" Man Qingxiang pretended to be angry, sat up and questioned her.

"Oh! Didn't I call you that day? You said that Mr. was looking for you! You didn't come with me." Yuqing turned her head and returned to her.

"Hey, his little one, the Ding family's one." Man Qing was silent for a while, and then said, "Such a beautiful one, did Young Master Wang do anything?"

"Where is it?" Yuqing curled her lips and replied, "I pursued her early, but I was rejected, but the relationship has been very good since then, and nothing happened."

"What about you?" Yuqing came to her bedside again and asked her, "Have you met anyone you like today?"

"Because of Ms. Yuqing's spell, she looks very dull. No one came to strike up a conversation. I only chatted with Ms. Ding." Man Qing replied to her.

"Hey! I told you to wear that pink one!" Yuqing scolded her for not being up to date, made some jokes, and went back to sleep on her own bed.After the lights were turned off, Man Qing was left with only a small night light, which was yellow and cast a round shadow like the moon in the dark room.

The author has something to say: catching bugs and correcting mistakes