Chapter 86 The Girl Under the Starlight
This scene had a great impact on Zhang Yunqi.

After spending more than half a year together, he could naturally tell from Chu Jian's usual clothing and behavior that Chu Jian came from a poor family and his family situation must be pretty bad.

It was normal for children from poor families to work part-time jobs while attending school, but in that era, it was rare to see a high school student as young as Chu Jian doing this kind of work.

Zhang Yunqi looked for a while and didn't go over.

He rode his bike for about a hundred meters and found a small restaurant diagonally opposite. He asked the owner to serve two dishes and drank slowly while eating. The wine was Old Yanjing, which cost 70 cents a bottle. It was dark green in color and felt heavy in the hand. It was not easy to drink and was bitter and astringent.

Before he knew how to drink, he always wondered why so many people liked to drink something so bitter. Later, he saw this line in the movie "City of Pain" starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai: The taste of wine lies in the fact that it is very unpalatable.

So well said!

Customers gradually came to the small restaurant opposite.

Zhang Yunqi saw from afar that after Chu Jian finished washing the dishes, he started to serve tea, water, dishes and meals to the guests in the small restaurant.

Customers came in waves, and the peak period was reached at around seven o'clock. The restaurant was packed. They were all ordinary workers doing rough work in the nearby machinery factories. At first glance, they were so busy that they kept their feet on the ground and didn't even have a chance to breathe.

Then the number of customers eating there gradually decreased.

It was almost nine o'clock when the last guest left.

Chu Jian's work was not finished yet. He continued to wipe the tables, mop the floor, and squat in front of the restaurant to wash the dishes. The sturdy proprietress sat with her legs crossed in front of a black and white TV, eating melon seeds and watching "I Love My Family", occasionally throwing her head back and letting out bursts of rude laughter.

“Whoa!”

The sound of plates breaking suddenly rang out.

The rude laughter stopped abruptly, and then the boss lady's scolding sounded: "How can you be so stupid? You can't even wash the dishes properly!"

Zhang Yunqi saw Chu Jian hurriedly picking up the broken pieces of the dish while bending over and saying something to the shrew.

No one knew how the matter was resolved. The distance was too far and Zhang Yunqi couldn't see or hear carefully. He just heard the proprietress swearing non-stop.

Zhang Yunqi did not go there.

This lesson belongs to society.

It was not until after ten o'clock in the evening that he saw Chu Jian put on his school uniform again and leave the restaurant. Under the warm street lights, his fair face was full of fatigue.

Zhang Yunqi paid the bill, got on his bike and followed Chu Jian at a leisurely pace.

After walking for about five minutes, he suddenly saw Chu Jian stop, squatting on the side of the road, covering his face with his hands.

On the quiet street, the wind was chilly and the starlight fell on her slightly trembling shoulders.

Perhaps only in the dead of night, this girl, who is so outstanding in the eyes of her teachers and classmates, will be unable to control herself and release everything she has endured deep in her heart.

Zhang Yunqi silently looked at her slender figure and the blood that had already coagulated between her fingers.

After about a minute or two, Chu Jian stood up and continued walking towards home.

Zhang Yunqi rode away on his bicycle.

He did not follow Chu Jian, but turned to another fork in the road.

He found a pharmacy on the side of the road, bought a pack of Band-Aids, then rode his bike all the way to another three-way intersection and waited.

After waiting for a few minutes, he saw Chu Jian slowly walking towards him from afar, so he rushed over on his bike quickly, just in time to meet Chu Jian face to face.

He shouted in surprise, "First time seeing you!", then braked his bicycle.

Chu Jian was stunned for a moment, turned his head, and saw Zhang Yunqi, with surprise on his face, and subconsciously put his hands behind his back: "Yunqi, why are you here?"

Zhang Yunqi pushed his bicycle to Chu Jian and said, "I went to my sister's house for dinner and just came back. I happened to pass by here. It's so late, why haven't you gone home yet?"

When he first met her, he seemed a little flustered and whispered, "I have something to do." Zhang Yunqi nodded and said, "Then you have finished your business, shall I take you home?"

Chu Jian quickly said, "No need, my home is not far from here, I can just walk back. It's so late, you should go home quickly, you have to get up early to go to school tomorrow."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "It's okay. I don't live far from here. We'll be there in a little while. Get in the car. It's not safe for a girl like you to go home in the middle of the night."

Chu Jian pursed his lips: "Well, okay."

Chu Jian's home was in the shantytown on Hongshan Road in the north city. Zhang Yunqi had been there twice and was familiar with the route. He drove Chu Jian through the streets and alleys.

It was already very late at night.

The weather is cold and the wind is as sharp as a knife.

The shops on both sides of the street were closed, pedestrians and vehicles were sparse, and lights were on in the windows of the rows of houses, which was the legendary scene of thousands of lights.

Along the way, Zhang Yunqi kept chatting with Chu Jian.

They talked about interesting things in class. Wang Xiaokai, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Yang Wei, three little fools, often did stupid things that made people laugh. For example, one time when Wang Xiaokai went to the toilet, he saw the back of a person next to him and thought it was a classmate, so he reached out and patted that person's butt.

The man turned around.

At first glance, it was the class teacher Jiang Lihua...

Zhang Yunqi told all this to Chu Jian.

The atmosphere was good and I was smiling which was rare when we first met.

Just when they were almost reaching Hongshan Road, she suddenly shouted "Yunqi".

Zhang Yunqi turned his head: "What's wrong?"

After a moment of silence, Chu Jian said, "You, did you see me working in the restaurant?"

Zhang Yunqi was stunned.

This girl is really smart and you can't fool her at all.

But most of the time, she keeps many things deep in her heart.

Zhang Yunqi nodded: "I saw it, I hope you don't mind. In fact, I have been following you after school this afternoon. The reason I did this is that I felt that you seemed to have something on your mind recently. You seemed absent-minded and tired most of the time, but you didn't want to tell me. To be honest, I am worried about you."

Chu Jian's hand that was holding Zhang Yunqi's ribs suddenly clenched.

After a long silence, she said, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

Zhang Yunqi said: "I'm fine, it's mainly you."

Chu Jian pursed his lips and said, "Can I tell you now? Actually, the three hundred yuan I borrowed from you last time was for tuition. My family is in financial difficulty and I can't afford the tuition. The reason I didn't tell you was because I didn't want you to worry. Actually, after the winter vacation last year, I have been looking for a winter vacation job, but I was young and many stores didn't want me. Later, I found this small restaurant. There is a little more work, but it is not very tiring. Besides, I want to pay you back as soon as possible."

When she said this, she gently leaned her head on Zhang Yunqi's shoulder, looked at the starry sky, smiled, and her face was relaxed. She didn't know if she was pretending to be relaxed, or if the young man beside her gave her a sense of peace of mind: "It's really nothing, don't worry. Just like you said, there are many misfortunes in life, but there is no need to magnify and indulge in them. After all, survival is one thing, and life is a poem. My family's conditions are not good, so naturally I should work harder than others."

Zhang Yunqi was moved by the girl.

He tried to smile and said, "Whether you are stupid or not, the 300 yuan is not important."

Chu Jian pursed his lips and said, "It's very important to me."

　Happy Valentine's Day! Big-breasted guys and gals, don't forget to collect and vote for recommendations~~ This is so important!! Do you like Chu Jian or Ji Ling? You can also leave a comment in the book review area. I will read it carefully.

(End of this chapter)