Chapter 51

Early morning, early morning in the physical sense.

Zhai Da checks his watch, five o'clock.

He taps the wall with his fingers and hears Lu Wei say: "I'm already awake."

Zhai Da rubs his eyes: "Brush teeth and wash face."

"Hmm."

"Also, come in a minute later, I need to go to the bathroom."

The only situation for a man whose first thing in the morning is not to pee.

He has reached the age of getting up at night.

After draining and drying, Zhai Da reopens the bathroom door, and Lu Wei is already at the door.

She is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts when she just got up. Her cold white skin matches the dim dawn light, and her right hand is holding her plastic toothbrush cup.

Her left hand hands out a new toothbrush.

Zhai Da takes it inexplicably.

"Your toothbrush, the bristles are already messy... so I bought you a new one."

Zhai Da stares at it for a while. It is a better quality one, which would cost seven or eight yuan at the small shop.

He changes to the new one readily, squeezes toothpaste again, and pulls out hers from Lu Wei's cup, squeezing a portion for her too.

"From now on, put your toothbrush cup here. There are still several months before university, no need to carry it back and forth."

Lu Wei nods hesitantly.

The two just brush their teeth facing the mirror quietly like this.

On weekdays, perhaps because Yu Xiaoli is there, both of them are deliberately avoiding using the bathroom at the same time, even for such child-friendly things as brushing teeth and washing hands. Today is the first time.

One by one, they actually enter the same frequency inexplicably.

Around 5:30, the two have already finished washing up on tiptoe, leaving a note saying "Lu Wei and I went for a morning run," and go out with their schoolbags on their backs.

The sunlight is cold, with thin mist, and even the air is a bit cool and damp.

Zhai Da rubs his face with the mist, exchanging it for a moment of sobriety.

Then he takes Lu Wei and heads in the opposite direction of the school.

Since the plan was set last night, they have to start executing it without stopping today. Although there are still three days until the registration deadline, if any link is stuck, they will have to wait another year.

There is almost no one on the street after five o'clock. On the contrary, a few wild dogs are walking themselves, stopping to look when they see the two.

Until Zhai Da sees a huge back, and also stops to look.

Lu Wei sees him stop and stands behind him.

"Classmate?"

Zhai Da nods: "Hmm."

Fan Junwei.

Zhai Da won't recognize that exaggerated physique wrong; there aren't many people in Dongyang County who repeat it, and the other party is wearing Maofang Middle School's school uniform.

Fan Junwei is facing away from Zhai Da, holding a bamboo broom, sweeping the ground quickly and skillfully.

This intersection seems to have had many night stalls the night before, and a large amount of bamboo sticks, paper cups, and packaging bags are scattered on the ground. On the hard asphalt road, there are also pools of oil stains.

Judging from the amount of garbage, they definitely don't need to play "We are all living hard."

Fan Junwei piles the garbage to one side, then carries a bucket of water and sprinkles it on the oil stains, continuing to scrub with the broom.

Very serious, very silent, very skilled.

The broom splashes dust and water mist, slightly wetting the cuffs of his school uniform pants, and the old travel shoes, whose original color cannot be seen, are covered with tiny mud spots.

At the end of the road, a tricycle exclusive to sanitation workers drives over, with several huge sanitation trash cans shaking behind the car.

The one pedaling is a thin and small old lady, who seems to be only 1.5 meters tall, so the tricycle is not electric, making it very laborious to pedal.

The old lady stops the car, pulls out an iron shovel lying horizontally in the car bucket, and shovels the garbage gathered by Fan Junwei onto the car, while Fan Junwei shouts: "Grandma, watch your waist."

And then he picks up a trash can more than a meter high and places it on the side of the road.

At this moment, he happens to meet Zhai Da's gaze across the road.

Zhai Da's eyes are a bit complicated. He finally knows where the strange smell on Fan Junwei comes from... and why he doesn't get enough sleep every day.

He originally thought Fan Junwei would be embarrassed, would be angry, would pretend not to know him.

But Fan Junwei doesn't hesitate and immediately waves with a smile.

"Up so early? Morning run?"

Zhai Da also waves with a smile.

"Going to the internet cafe."

Fan Junwei: ...

He is a bit curious about Lu Wei behind Zhai Da, but after all, he is not the type of person who likes to gossip, so he doesn't ask more.

The old lady also looks over, and Zhai Da nods slightly: "Good morning, Grandma."

It counts as greeting the elder from afar, and Lu Wei follows suit.

Then the two turn left at the intersection.

He always feels that Fan Junwei on the road is...

More concrete, more vivid than Fan Junwei in school.

He is no longer that "classmate" who sleeps on his desk all day and gives off a strange smell.

But a... man.

"Xiao Wei, who is that~" The old lady has a heavy local accent.

Fan Junwei looks at the backs of the two and also says in his hometown dialect: "School friend."

The old lady is not happy, but sad: "I told you not to come and help, you'll be laughed at by classmates if you're seen!"

Fan Junwei shakes his head: "Zhai Da... shouldn't."

As for why, he can't say it either.

After speaking, Fan Junwei continues to move the trash cans. These thick black trash cans are not laborious in his arms.

The old lady looks at her grandson's strong body, her wrinkled old face full of smiles:

"My Xiao Wei has great strength! This build!!"

Fan Junwei also smiles: "That's right! I didn't eat my meals for nothing! Grandma, you just rest on the side, I'll definitely finish it for you before six o'clock!"

The old lady is not idle either, sweeping away the city's stains with the broom, talking to herself:

"Grandpa was 1.7 meters, Dad was 1.8 meters, Xiao Wei is 1.9 meters...

Grandpa didn't read books, Dad went to junior high, Xiao Wei is in high school! That's an intellectual!"

"There aren't many people in our family, but we are living better and better... living better and better~"

——————

Zhai Da takes Lu Wei and walks another intersection, stopping in front of "Sabac Internet Cafe."

It is not hard to see from the name what game the boss played back then. This is also the internet cafe closest to Zhai Da's home in Dongyang County.

In his past life, Zhai Da was also a regular here. Not to mention addiction, he came at least three times a week. At first, it was to play CS, later to hook up with girls (online dating), he switched to playing Audition, but he was clumsy and didn't understand it, and the dress-up system had no money or energy.

Later, he was abandoned by the family.

It wasn't "Funeral Love," it was called "£Prison Evil Me Soul Broken San," Zhai Da couldn't even read the name of his family until he was kicked out.

If counting his past life, it has been eight years since he entered an internet cafe.

He turns to look at Lu Wei. She probably hasn't entered one in eighteen years...

"It will be a bit unpleasant inside."

Lu Wei nods and subconsciously holds her breath, which is quite cute.

As soon as they enter the internet cafe, the strange smell left by staying up all night rushes to their foreheads: foot odor, stuffy smell, old cigarette oil smell, takeout barbecue smell.

He roughly knows who the main customers of the night stall at the corner just now were last night.

Lu Wei's nostrils move, but she doesn't show more, unpleasant but bearable.

The internet cafe manager is a young man in his twenties. Zhai Da vaguely remembers that the other party seems to be called "Hai Ge." He doesn't look much older than them, but in fact, he knows that the other party didn't read after junior high and has been working for almost ten years.

Wearing glasses, he looks very gentle, but in fact, Zhai Da knows that the other party is quite social, fights fiercely, and has great strength. It seems that he also works out on weekdays.

For Hai Ge, Zhai Da hasn't been here for more than half a month, so he greets him enthusiastically: "Dazi, haven't been here for a while? Rare guest!"

Seeing the girl behind Zhai Da, Hai Ge is a bit surprised, but doesn't ask more.

Suddenly, he feels like he is old... Zhai Da has been surfing here since elementary school, and he was only fifteen or sixteen at the time.

Now he is also grown up... quite capable, his girlfriend is so beautiful.

Morning?