The Spring Festival of 2002 came relatively late. Although New Yearâs Day had passed and the calendar had already turned to 2002, there was still some time until Lunar New Year. Nevertheless, the atmosphere for welcoming the new year was already here. The weather was cold, and the air felt dry and cold. Agricultural product sales were held one after the other. Some people had already prepared the New Yearâs goods in advance.
The landlord called Yang Lei. The rent was due. The landlord kindly told him that the house would probably be demolished in a few years after the new year, so he shouldnât rent it.
Yang Lei had rented this house for so many years. Other than the period of time three years ago when he had been cooped inside all day without coming out, he hadnât come to live in it, and he didnât let others live in it. He just let it remain empty. The landlord thought that this young man was very strange.
âIâll rent it. Iâll bring the rent this afternoon.â
Right now, Yang Lei rented this house out of habit.
It was about to be demolished, so he may as well rent it until the day it disappeared.
Yang Lei paid the rent in the afternoon and went to the house along the way. The landlord also went in with him to clean the room. Yang Lei stood on the balcony for a while, and he was about to leave. Before he left, he caught a glimpse of a cigarette butt on the ground of the balcony.
A cigarette end butt had rolled into the corner, very inconspicuous.
Yang Lei looked at the cigarette butt, pausing for a moment.
He remembered that it had already been a very long time since he smoked here. Last time, the balcony was leaking rainwater, and he had even cleaned it thoroughly.
Yang Lei stared at that cigarette butt, standing there.
âAunt, has anyone else come into this house?â
Yang Lei abruptly asked the landlord.
âNo! Didnât you say that you wouldnât let anyone else come?!â
The landlord came over and also saw that cigarette butt.
âOh, last time I came to clean, my son came with me. Maybe he smoked it!â
The landlord went over and neatly swept away the cigarette butt.
Yang Lei stood silently for a while, smiled mockingly at himself, opened the door, and left.
There was a newsstand on the street corner. Seven years ago, before Yang Lei went to school, he wanted to send Da Huâs mother to the best nursing home in the city, but the elderly woman refused to leave this place. She said that she was afraid Hu-zi wouldnât be able to find her when he came back. So Yang Lei and several brothers got her this newsstand. From then on, the elderly woman had a place to shield from wind and rain. Initially, Fang Yu left a message, so in these years, not to mention Yang Lei, all of Fang Yuâs brothers were silently taking care of her, and they had never stopped. Right now, this area was under the jurisdiction of power, and there were so-called âprotection fees,â but the gangsters of this area were also brothers who had followed Fang Yu in the past. In so many years, Da Huâs motherâs newsstand had never been threatened in the slightest by the surrounding people.
Da Huâs mother was old. Because of the trauma from Da Huâs incident, her mind was a little cloudy to begin with. These two years, she was often sometimes muddled and sometimes clear-headed. She also couldnât name the brothers who came to see her. She could only call âYu-zi.â She always said that Yu-zi came to see her and gave her money again. In fact, everyone knew that she was probably talking about Yang Lei, Er Hei, Hua Mao, Yang-zi, and these brothers.
Da Huâs mother was still sitting unsteadily at the newsstand. Seeing Yang Lei, she squinted her murky eyes.
ââŠYu-zi, why are you here again? Didnât you just come two days ago? You even gave me moneyâŠâ
Yang Lei didnât say anything. Da Huâs mother was often confused. Two days ago, another brother must have come. The Lunar New Year was coming, and many brothers who wanted to look after her would come.
Yang Lei brought a padded jacket for the elderly woman. Every year before the new year, Yang Lei remembered to buy a new winter coat for the elderly woman, to celebrate the new year for her.
The elderly woman didnât look at Yang Lei anymore. She mumbled to herself at length: âYu-zi, how old are you? Why do you still come here alone every time? âŠStart a familyâŠâ
Fang Meiâs family was pressuring them. Fang Meiâs fatherâs condition was not very good. At this time, the Fang family proposed to hold the wedding as soon as possible. They arranged to meet with Yang Dahai and his wife. The two families were acquaintances, and they gave their full support in their childrenâs affairs. They were also both happy about this marriage. Soon, it was settled. Fang Mei thought that right now still wasnât the right time, to delay it while they could. She made an excuse that she had just joined the company for half a year, and the company had misgivings about a married womanâs commitment. It would destabilize her position as director. After her job was stable for a few months, then they would talk about marriage. In order to pacify the eldersâ mood, Fang Mei and Yang Lei discussed taking the wedding photos first. When the elders saw them, they would calm down and would not be in a rush.
The wedding photos were taken in the best studio in Jianghai. Since they were putting on a show, it had to be done perfectly. Yang Lei and Fang Mei were a handsome man and a beautiful woman. The result of the shoot was like that of a celebrity. When the studio saw the proofs, they couldnât bear to let them go. They discussed displaying the photos outside the large store glass window with them. Yang Lei and Fang Mei couldnât bear the various persuasions of the studio, so they reluctantly agreed. After all, the people around them would know about this matter sooner or later. Thus, their wedding photos were magnified several times and hung outside the entrance of the studio and made into a lightbox.
Fang Mei had chosen a cheongsam, and her hair was in an ancient style cloud-like bun. Her original bold and enthusiastic style had changed accordingly, to be gentle and elegant, with a touch of coyness that was very moving. Yang Lei was dressed in a black suit with a slightly open collar. His head was lowered and he held Fang Mei in his arms. His handsome eyebrows, high nose bridge, and slightly lowered eyelashes had vague gentleness. He was as handsome as a male model.
The studio was at the intersection, with people coming and going. This wedding photo had attracted a lot of attention.
At night, a taxi stopped at this intersection and waited for the traffic light. The driver looked up and saw the huge lightbox of the studio.
He looked at it, motionless.
âOh, this wedding photo is so good!â The passengers were also fascinated by the lightbox at first glance.
âIf you like it, letâs also come here for pictures.â
âJust you? Look at the groom. Heâs so handsome! No matter how youâre pictured, you canât catch up with him! âŠâ
The couple laughed happily.
The green light lit up, but the first taxi in the lane didnât move.
There was a chorus of horns behind them.
âWhatâs the matter with the car ahead??â
The car owners were impatient and honked their horns insistently.
âMan, why arenât you moving? âŠThe light is green, man! âŠâ
The passenger urged him, puzzled.
The driver finally turned his head and looked ahead.
He pushed the gear slowly and stepped on the acceleratorâŠ
Before the new year, Yang Lei was busy with summaries and arranging next yearâs training plan. On the other side, Yang Dahai was already busy making plans for his marital home. Yang Lei hadnât even been assigned housing by the army, and Yang Dahai had already prepared a house in the prime area of the city for him to get married in. That house was a two-story villa with its own entrance and courtyard. It was high-end real estate in the area. The interior renovations had already started. Yang Dahai had long been waiting for Yang Lei to get married. These were all already prepared and ready.
Yang Lei still had to often go to the house and walk around for appearances, to look at the progress of the renovations. He also had to buy necessary things with Fang Mei. Both of them were suffering, deeply feeling that this performance was not at all as easy as it sounded. After all, marriage was a major event, involving two families and even extended families. Moreover, both families had fame and prestige. It wasnât as simple as getting a certificate and holding a feast. There were too many things to take into account.
Yang Lei hadnât even made a wedding report to his superiors, but he had no choice but to order a bunch of wedding supplies. He was extremely busy. After visiting the wedding market with Fang Mei several times, they sat down and smiled wryly at each other.
âItâs all my fault. Iâve dragged you onto a pirate boat.â Fang Mei felt guilty.
âI canât get down anyway, so letâs go!â Yang Lei comforted Fang Mei.
On their day off, they strolled until the evening again. Fang Mei had plans and went back first. Yang Leiâs comrade borrowed his car, and he could only drag a bag of things by himself. He had to bring it to the new house. Originally, this hour was already past the evening rush hour, and it wasnât difficult to walk on the road. But after it was dark, it started to snow. There were snowflakes in the drizzle, and as many people took a taxi, there were clearly fewer cars. Yang Lei stood by the road for a long time, and he couldnât flag down a taxi. Finally, a car came, but it was flagged down first by the person standing in front.
âFuck!â
Yang Lei couldnât help but curse.
He held his impatience and looked left and right. His feet were frozen, and he finally caught a glimpse of a car turning out of a fork in the road far ahead. It stopped and passengers were just getting out.
Yang Lei picked up his things and quickly ran to catch up to the car. He opened the rear car door, first threw his things together into the back seat, then closed the door, opened the front door, and sat inside.
âWhere are you going?â
The driver looked ahead and asked mechanically.
âMochou EastâŠâ
Before he said the word âstreet,â Yang Lei stopped.