"Ban Feng, save me!"
A cry for help reached his ears, and Li Banfeng abruptly sat up from his deep sleep.
Who was talking?
All the beds were empty, with only He Jiaqing squatting on the floor, packing his belongings.
He Jiaqing looked up and said, "Awake now?"
Li Banfeng looked at He Jiaqing. "Was it you who asked me to save you just now?"
He Jiaqing frowned. "Are you still groggy? Help me pack; we're running out of time."
He Jiaqing was leaving, on tonight's train.
Through four years of university, he had been Li Banfeng's best friend.
Li Banfeng glanced at his phone; it was already half-past three.
They would share a meal together, and then it would be time to head to the station to see him off.
Li Banfeng jumped out of bed to help He Jiaqing sort through a pile of miscellaneous items.
"You need the toothpaste?"
"Yes!"
Li Banfeng accurately tossed the toothpaste into He Jiaqing's suitcase.
"How about the meal card?"
"It's yours now."
Li Banfeng accurately tossed the meal card into his own drawer.
Within a five-meter radius, Li Banfeng never missed when throwing things.
"Do you need your diploma?"
"No."
Li Banfeng accurately threw the diploma into a wastebasket three meters away.
He Jiaqing admired this carefree side of Li Banfeng.
He didn't even ask why He Jiaqing didn't want his diploma and just nonchalantly tossed it away.
If he wanted something, he took it; if he didn't, he didn't. The principle was that simple. Li Banfeng never complicated straightforward matters.
In their four years of university, He Jiaqing had Li Banfeng as his only friend because he admired Li Banfeng's temperament.
Li Banfeng also had only He Jiaqing as a friend because Li Banfeng had a history of mental illness, and people who knew him wouldn't easily get close to him.
Li Banfeng opened a cardboard box filled with envelopes, and each envelope contained dozens of photos.
He Jiaqing liked photography and preferred using film cameras. Every time he finished taking photos, he would rent a darkroom to personally develop the pictures. He had accumulated a whole box of photos from four years of university.
"Do you still want these photos?"
He Jiaqing hesitated. "Pick a few good ones to take with me, and discard the bad ones."
Li Banfeng selected a few envelopes and handed them to He Jiaqing. "These are all good ones."
He Jiaqing didn't bother checking and put them in his suitcase.
Li Banfeng picked out a few more envelopes. "These are photos of your girlfriend, all badly taken. We should throw them out."
He Jiaqing was startled. "Are they all ruined?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "She's not even dressed in them. They must be ruined."
He Jiaqing snatched the photos and stowed them away in his suitcase.
***
At the campus entrance, the barbecue restaurant.
He Jiaqing poured a glass of liquor for Li Banfeng. "I've wanted to ask you something for all four years of university, but I could never bring myself to ask."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm not into men."
He Jiaqing choked on the strong liquor, coughed for a moment, and said, "That's not what I wanted to ask. I mean your name, why is it Ban Feng? Is there any special meaning to it?"
Hearing this question, Li Banfeng's brows smoothed, and his mouth curved into what looked like a stiff smile.
Anyone else would have kept their distance from Li Banfeng at this point, as this was a sign of his emotional instability.
But He Jiaqing wasn't worried. Li Banfeng would smile when his mood was unstable, but he also smiled the same way when he was happy.
His mood was quite good now as he spoke with interest, "This goes back to Old Lady Wu from our foster home. She was the most educated person there. She had seven children under her care, and she picked names for all of us.
The names were Ban Shan, Ban Luan, Banling, Ban Ya, Ban Gang, Ban Yue, and Ban Feng.
As you know, among all the features in the mountains, the peak is the highest. I was the most outstanding among the seven children, so Old Lady Wu gave me the name Ban Feng."
He Jiaqing pondered for a moment. "I've met this Old Lady Wu. She visited you when you were hospitalized. It seemed like she didn't call you Li Banfeng. She called you Li Baisha."
Li Banfeng nodded. "That's because I used to buy her cigarettes, and during that time, she liked smoking Bai Sha, so she called me Li Baisha.
Before that, she called me Li Hongmei, and even before that, Li Yingchun. There was a time when life was good and the cigarettes were good; she called me Li Furong."
He Jiaqing picked up a skewer of lamb kidneys. "Then why is your surname Li?"
Li Banfeng replied, "Because the gatekeeper at the foster home had the surname Li."
He Jiaqing nodded. "He must be a person of high virtue and esteem."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "He's Old Lady Wu's husband. He liked smoking foreign cigarettes. He used to call me Li Camel."
As dusk settled, the two of them walked out of the barbecue restaurant.
Li Banfeng was holding a napkin, wiping his mouth, and accurately tossed it into a trash bin four or five meters away.
He Jiaqing exclaimed in admiration, "Within five meters, you never miss. We've been brothers for four years. How come I never learned this knack from you?"
Li Banfeng gazed at the trash bin and said, "It's all about the mindset. The important thing is to keep it steady..."
Li Banfeng shifted his gaze into the distance, where a woman in her thirties wearing a gray suit was walking towards them with a smile.
Teacher Song.
They hurriedly greeted her.
Teacher Song was a math teacher from the School of Science, with a short bob haircut that framed her round, fair face. Beneath her round glasses lay a pair of intelligent, deep-set, beautiful eyes.
Seeing the two students, Teacher Song's mouth curled into a smile, and two sweet dimples appeared on her cheeks.
Those dimples had become the fantasy of countless male students in the School of Science, a fantasy often involving tissues.
She was as beautiful as the morning sun, full of vitality and a sense of security!
Li Banfeng was still watching Teacher Song's retreating figure when He Jiaqing lowered his voice and said, "On her left 'peach,' there's a walnut-shaped birthmark!"
Li Banfeng was startled. "You've seen it?"
He Jiaqing burped proudly. "Calculus, linear algebra, probability theory—when have you ever seen me fail? Look at the way Teacher Song looks at me during class; is it the same?"
"I didn't notice her gaze," Li Banfeng's eyes narrowed, and he said seriously, "but about the birthmark you mentioned, I remember it's on the right."
"How could it be on the right? You must be mistaken..." He Jiaqing also paused. "You've seen it too?"
Li Banfeng shook his head repeatedly. "I'm a decent person."
He Jiaqing was not convinced. "You've seen Teacher Song's 'peach,' how does that still make you a decent person?"
Li Banfeng was very serious. "I saw it in a perfectly respectable manner, so I am a decent person!"
He Jiaqing was somewhat disappointed. "How could it be on the right..."
He hadn't actually seen Teacher Song's 'peach.' The birthmark was something his girlfriend, Lu Xiaolan, had told him about; Lu Xiaolan had seen it in the changing room.
"Is Lu Xiaolan lying to me, or did I remember it wrong?" He Jiaqing looked at Li Banfeng earnestly, truly disappointed. "I think she's lying to me; she's always lying to me."
As they talked and strolled, they arrived beneath the girls' dormitory building and met up with He Jiaqing's girlfriend, Lu Xiaolan.
Lu Xiaolan, sporting a ponytail, showcased her delicate features and the innocence of a young girl to the fullest.
Just like the tight dress she wore today, it displayed her petite and exquisite figure in full.
She was the most beautiful girl in the School of Science, a title acknowledged by eighty percent of the male students there.
Although they were acquainted, He Jiaqing still couldn't resist showing off to Li Banfeng. "Look at my wife; she's like a beauty straight out of a Month Plate."
Month Plate?
What era's stuff is that?
He Jiaqing always had a special affection for these old things.
But Li Banfeng was indifferent to Lu Xiaolan, too lazy to even give her an extra glance.
"Honestly, I still prefer Teacher Song's figure," Li Banfeng said very seriously to He Jiaqing.
"Honestly, my wife has a conscience too. Conscience isn't something you judge just by size. It calls for a comprehensive comparison..." He Jiaqing looked at Lu Xiaolan walking out from the dorm building, trying hard to defend his girlfriend.
The three of them took a taxi to Yuezhou East Station.
Upon arrival, Li Banfeng escorted He Jiaqing to the turnstile. The moment of parting had come.
He Jiaqing told Li Banfeng, "Brother, you've had quite a bit to drink. Call me when you get back to the dorm."
Li Banfeng laughed. "Why should I call you? Are you worried I'll get lost?"
He Jiaqing shook his head. "I'm not worried you'll get lost. I've had quite a bit to drink too. I might fall asleep on the train. Just remind me; I need to go pee."
Li Banfeng was confused. "Do I need to remind you to go pee too?"
He Jiaqing said earnestly, "What if I wet my pants!"
Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "With your wife there, would she let you wet your pants?"
He Jiaqing shook his head. "She can sleep more soundly than I do, deeper than a pig. Even if the train derails, she wouldn't wake up!"
Lu Xiaolan glared at him and punched He Jiaqing.
Li Banfeng also complained, "We're about to board, and you bring up derailment. That's bad luck."
They chatted a bit more, and then an announcement came through the station speakers: "Train number 1160 is about to begin ticket checking. Please take all your belongings with you to waiting room number 96."
He Jiaqing looked at Li Banfeng. "I'm off."
Li Banfeng let out a sob as if he was about to cry.
He Jiaqing shook his head. "Stop faking it; it's not convincing at all. You can't actually cry."
Li Banfeng had cried many times during his four years in university. He had used tears to gain the sympathy of his counselor and to deceive the academic affairs office. But He Jiaqing knew that every time Li Banfeng cried, he was faking it.
He was right; Li Banfeng couldn't actually cry.
Li Banfeng also felt it wasn't good to fake crying, but as He Jiaqing's best friend, he should say a few more words at a time like this.
After a moment of silence, Li Banfeng simply said, "Take care."
"You take care too," He Jiaqing replied, lifting his suitcase and walking with Lu Xiaolan through the turnstile.
Lu Xiaolan casually asked, "Why did you tell Li Banfeng to call you?"
He Jiaqing chuckled. "Are you jealous?"
Lu Xiaolan snorted. "Get lost! Marry him and live with him if you want!"
He Jiaqing pinched Lu Xiaolan's nose. "Don't be mad. You know he has a mental illness. After drinking so much tonight, I'm just a little worried about him going back alone."
Lu Xiaolan, arm in arm with He Jiaqing, whispered, "Actually, Li Banfeng is not a bad guy, just a bit crazy and scary."
He Jiaqing said seriously, "Ban Feng is certainly not crazy. I accompanied him to the Third Hospital's mental health department. Doctor Wang said he wasn't crazy; he was discharged after a week."
Lu Xiaolan laughed, amused, and followed He Jiaqing toward the ticket gate.
He Jiaqing repeated, "Ban Feng is really not crazy, you must remember that."
PS: Shala isn't crazy either, dear readers, please remember that.
Dear readers, please hurry and invest in the new book!