Xia Chang

It was a hot, dreary night.

At the curtain call, the long and layered applause fell like leaves. The moment Zhang Qi raised her head, she couldn't tell whether she should be sad or happy in reality.

"Let's go, seafood supper." A colleague's voice sounded not far away.

Thoughts paint the perception with surges and sea breezes, and seafood in strange cities is a specialty. They came here one day ago and completed the first show of the national tour.

Zhang Qi was walking through the dark passage in the backstage, and met Director Zhao, and the two looked at each other. For a moment, Director Zhao suddenly had the illusion that he was outside the play and looked into the play.

"Should we go for supper?" Zhang Qi asked with a smile.

"Go," Director Zhao had a not-so-full smile on her face, and she reached out and patted Zhang Qi's shoulder, and said, "You are awesome today."

"I'm going to take off my makeup."

On her face, there are facial features that have been painted more beautifully. After she finished speaking, she pursed her lips tightly and smiled quietly and gently, which was not like Zhang Qi.

From the theater to the present, she has always been that gentle, dark and tragic woman; she stubbornly experienced open and secret struggles in the bureaucratic giants, and at the end of the script, she kissed the man who originally had a grudge against her.

The two died at each other's hands.

The stairs dedicated to the backstage were empty. Zhang Qi stopped in her tracks. She took a deep breath, and the voice-activated lights suddenly went out. In the illusion, it was like returning to the fictional but real snowy night at the end, with crying and blood. There was a successful and cruel revenge, and there was also a short and compassionate love.

The choking smell of smoke fills the nostrils.

Shen Chenyang was still wearing the shirt and suit in the play. He was standing at the corner of the corridor, leaning against the door of an unoccupied room. With two large windows open, he looked at the gray and purple sky above the beach.

Zhang Qi approached him and looked at him, but he couldn't get too close. The cigarette in Shen Chenyang's hand was shining brightly. He was thin and tall, with a young appearance, and suddenly lowered his eyes.

Zhang Qi raised her hands, ready to bury the continuous sobs in her mouth, she shook her head, but then she cried even more uncontrollably. She was wearing a long-sleeved cheongsam, and combed her Republic-style, disposable curly hair.

Shen Chenyang put the cigarette butt on the corner of the abandoned iron frame in the corner. His heart started to hurt, and then his entire respiratory tract and temples were all involved. He looked at Zhang Qi and said, "Don't cry."

Zhang Qi cried until her shoulders trembled, but she suddenly smiled again, wiping the tears all over her face with her red nail polish hands, and her bright eyes were red.

"It's nothing, it's normal for an actor," she said.

"Do I need to stay with you for a while?"

"I might...need to smoke."

Zhang Qi suddenly looked at him like that, bewildered, bewildered, and pleading. She was like another her when she was dying, without any vitality and hope, but like a cold water flickering with flames, trying to kill the person on the other side. The man lit up.

Unable to judge and know, who will hug who first, Shen Chenyang and Zhang Qi seem to make up for or redeem themselves, they hug, cling and cry eagerly in this dark and deserted place, as if they lost their breath.

Or, another him and another her embraced.

At night, the humid tropical salty wind slowly pours in from the window, making people feel as if they are on the deck of a huge cruise ship. The neon lights are the waves, and the moon is the sunset.

There is only one week left for the monthly exam. Liu Xiaobai wanted to persuade Zhang Nian. On Saturday, the river was blowing the same wind as usual, and the bicycle rested after speeding, so he was pushed away.

Liu Xiaobai laughed out loud because of the previous conversation. He raised the can of soda water in his hand and said, "You'd better stop looking for Chen Yan."

"I'm going." Zhang Nian immediately swallowed two mouthfuls of Coke and responded stubbornly.

Liu Xiaobai said, "If you argue with her again—"

"What do you mean again?" Zhang Nian kicked the stone slab on the side of the road, looked at Liu Xiaobai with some annoyance, took a deep breath, and said slowly, "From the beginning, I only pursued the disclosure of this matter, and I am not If I have to talk back to Mr. He, how would I know that his lover is sick, but even so, Mr. He should not break the rules."

Liu Xiaobai never imagined that Zhang Nian would have such words, so he asked him: "If the bad rules are for saving lives, can they be forgiven?"

The wind was blowing fast, and in the distance there was rippling water, a piece of clear gray and white, Zhang Nian said to Liu Xiaobai: "It's not possible."

"I think it's okay." Suddenly, Liu Xiaobai expressed his opposition to Zhang Nian. He lowered his head and finished speaking in a soft voice. The cold probably didn't heal, so he sneezed suddenly.

Liu Xiaobai didn't look into Zhang Nian's eyes anymore, they were walking side by side, their short sleeves of different styles filled with vigorous wind; the air current curled his hair lightly, Zhang Nian's face was ugly, he turned his head to look at Liu Xiaobai, took a look at him Silence without a smile on the corner of the mouth.

On Monday morning, the flag was raised and the school held a general meeting. Zhang Nian stood in the back row and looked around. He saw Chen Yan standing not far away, and kept staring at her. When the meeting was over, Chen Yan suddenly turned her face.

She seemed to have noticed Zhang Nian a long time ago, so the stare was indifferent and long. After a moment of timidity, Zhang Nian turned around with a cold face.

In the first recess, Zhang Nian was called out of the door by Chen Yan.

Her wavy hair hangs down on her shoulders, and she looks clean and energetic. She wears high heels, so she is almost as tall as Zhang Nian. She asked, "Is there something wrong with you?"

"I want to know, does the class entrance exam still count?" After saying this, Zhang Nian brought it up in one breath. He didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Chen Yan, so his tone was quite gentle.

Embarrassed and depressed, Chen Yan suddenly smiled and said, "Come to my office to talk."

The two walked through the corridor and went down the stairs. When the class bell rang, Chen Yan ignored it, and Zhang Nian ignored it.

There were no rich furnishings in the office, and Chen Yan's coat and bag were on the sofa. Zhang Nian moved them away, and then sat down. Chen Yan brought tea with her own hands, and it was still hot, with white mist gushing out.

Zhang Nian said: "Mr. Chen, the accelerated class is not related to my own interests. Shouldn't Yang Kong's grades be made public?"

"I admit," Chen Yan sat in the chair, she nodded, and said, "Yang Kong's parents are my friends, but Yang Kong entered the accelerated class. After Mr. He's inspection, our school's head teacher is the biggest, as you know."

The woman's eyes were contemplative and anxious, she tried her best to communicate with Zhang Nian calmly, playing with a pen in her hand.

Zhang Nian stood up, walked towards Chen Yan slowly, and then stood still in front of the desk. He gritted his teeth and said, "After Mr. He agreed, why didn't anyone stop him? Isn't the accelerated class under everyone's supervision?" Next? Why did Yang Kong come in? I don’t ask for anything else at this time, I just need you to tell me, what is his right?”

Zhang Nian didn't roar, but everything in his voice was too penetrating, the corners of his eyes were flushed, and his teeth were trembling.

His hands clenched subconsciously.

Chen Yan raised her eyes suddenly, and touched the tip of her nose with her fingers, faint fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. She rolled her eyes and coughed lightly: "Go ask Mr. He, ask He Letian."

Her expression was a little cold, and she suddenly became angry. She took a look at Zhang Nian, then stood up, stepped on her high heels and left; the rhythmless footsteps became farther and farther away, and Zhang Nian turned around at the desk with one fist It hit the file on the desk.

Zhang Nian looked for Teng Xi again.

The girl's supple black ponytail swayed slightly, and she blinked her dark, heroic eyes. She came, wearing short sleeves and a short skirt from the hot sun, with a pair of slender legs alternating under the hem of the skirt.

One side of the sports field was covered with lush green trees, and it was very hot during lunch time, and there were few people. Zhang Nian sat on the highest point on one side of the stands, with his back against the wall, his lips were dry, and he didn’t even eat lunch.

Teng Xi approached and started to run. She walked up to Zhang Nian, sat down, and asked, "What else do you need?"

"Sit with me for a while," Zhang Nian lowered his head in frustration, and then buried his face. His voice seemed to be muffled, and he said slowly, "No one understands me. I even... quarreled with Liu Xiaobai."

Teng Xi seemed to be facing a brand new Zhang Nian, after all, she had never imagined that someone like Zhang Nian would confide in her; in the distance, there were a few people running and playing football in the scorching sun.

Teng Xi bit her lip and took a deep breath, and frowned slightly. After thinking for a while, she reached out and patted Zhang Nian's shoulder, and said, "Liu Xiaobai's personality is always like that, don't get angry with him, did you not eat? "

"I'm not angry," Zhang Nian suddenly interrupted Teng Xi's words, his face was still deeply buried, and he retorted, "I doubt myself, and I feel that I have to do this. This is not a matter of one person. It is a matter for all the students, why do everyone like to listen to rumors and turn a blind eye?"

His words came out of his throat with a bitter ending.

A football suddenly crossed the boundary between the field and the runway, flew towards the stands, and hit the hot railing in the front row. The man who ran over was wearing a jersey with white and red letters. He was thin, tall and energetic, looking up At the beginning, it was a delicate face covered with hot sweat.

The heat was on the cheeks and eyelids, so the skin was unevenly red, Liu Xiaobai stopped panting, he saw Zhang Nian from a distance.

I also saw Tengxi.

Liu Xiaobai picked up the naughty rolling ball, he didn't bother to straighten the messy hair on his forehead, he held the ball and looked at Teng Xi who was sitting next to Zhang Nian; the girl showed no expression, and even gave a polite smile stingily.

Liu Xiaobai's carefree and joyful movement is like heavy ashes scattered, people are smeared with thick surprise, so all expressions are frozen on his face; his eyes are black and bright, but at this moment he is raising a sleeping demon.

Teng Xi was about to say something, but she still kept her mouth shut. She saw Liu Xiaobai leaving with the ball in his hand, his thin young body covered by his white jersey;

Teng Xi was ready to tell Zhang Nian for a moment, but after thinking about it, he still lowered his head; the two sat side by side, very close, but did not communicate any more, Zhang Nian glanced at his watch, and buried his face in his arms again inside.

The sun occupies the entire sky with bright nets, all life is the prey, and the coolness and leisure are all absorbed.Teng Xi watched the few people who had fun passing the football leave.

It's hot, everyone feels it today.