Chapter 66: Not Long Memory

  While Qin Ke was taking a bath, I went online to check the relevant information about traveling to South Korea. After calculating, even if I followed a tour group to South Korea for 7 days, it would cost at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. Thinking that there's less than 4,000 yuan left in my bank card makes me feel terrified.

  At this moment, I suddenly thought of my junior high school classmate who cheated on the travel agency and maybe with the friendship that I bought him two ice sticks in junior high school, he would give me a discount. At the same time, I felt relieved that the red envelope I gave him at his wedding finally showed its value. So I immediately took out my phone and eagerly dialed his number.

  "Hey!" The voice on the phone was laced with a high level of alcohol content, accompanied by the sound of noise entering my ears.

  "It's me! Kang Jian! Already married and still fooling around outside! Aren't you afraid of being scolded by your wife when you get home?"

  "Damn it! How dare you call me, you little brat! Don't spout nonsense, I'm just entertaining to boost the economy, not fooling around!" The phone transmitted a drunken laugh and scolding.

  "Alright! Alright! Stop it! I have something important to tell you!"

  "Ah! How convenient! I was planning to look for you and discuss something serious with you these past few days! Didn't expect you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep!"

  "Hmm!? You're looking for me? What's up? Are you getting married again?" I asked curiously.

  "Get out of here! My wife and I are a classic model couple, loving each other dearly. Don't try to disrupt the peace and harmony of our family! I'm looking for you on serious business!"

  "Speak!"

  "I heard our classmates say that you're not studying hard, and instead set up some kind of workshop to do software and websites for people? Is this true?"

  "It seems like it! I'm not too sure either!"

  "Damn it! You're still the same after all these years! Just like when we were in junior high, you're still so out of place! Can't you be serious for once?! I'm trying to have a proper conversation with you!"

  "Hehe......yes......is there anything I can help you with?"

  "Will you do customer file data system?"

  "Of course I will! Nothing is difficult!"

  "Alright! That's settled then! Come to my place tomorrow at 9 o'clock, I've had too much to drink now and my head is spinning a bit. We'll have a good talk when you come tomorrow!"

  "Alright! It just so happens I have something to discuss with you tomorrow too, let's meet up then..."

  After hanging up the phone, my slightly depressed mood earlier was swept away, making a non-believer in religion have to sigh that sometimes God still favors me. Although I don't know what tomorrow will bring and I'm not clear about the specific price they'll give, after all, things are moving in a good direction with a solid step forward.

  As I was browsing sports news on Sina with a relaxed mood, someone started talking to me on QQ. Seeing the flashing avatar, I knew it must be her again.

  "Why always leave without saying goodbye? :(" Before opening the dialogue box, I had a premonition that it would be a complaint like this, and the text that appeared before my eyes did not disappoint me.

  "Sorry. The power suddenly went out, so...". I typed a lie that I thought was the most reasonable after weighing several excuses that popped into my head.

  "So it seems you didn't receive the last message I sent?"

  "What's up?"

  "Haha! I thought you were scared away by my last sentence... Never mind, actually there's nothing much to say, if not received then forget it..."

  "Ah!" I replied with a perfunctory word after thinking for half a day, because I didn't know what to say at that moment. And the two of us began a long silence after I uttered this word, which was the first time in our over-a-year chatting history that we were silent to each other.

  "What are you doing? Come and listen to music with me!" She suddenly broke the silence.

  "Okay!" I typed out instinctively. She then sent me a video request, which I accepted without hesitation, and the familiar music intro came through the speakers. The lyrics and rhythm once again awakened the memories I had tried to seal away, making my heart feel a little strange and slightly pained...

  "Do you like this song too?" I asked her as the tune was about to end.

  "Is it... Do you like it?"

  "I like... it has my memories, but I don't listen to it much anymore..." Since that time when I met Tong Chen, I really haven't listened to this song "At Least I Left Earlier" again. My phone has been on vibrate since then. Several times I wanted to delete the song from my phone and computer, but in the end I gave up because I couldn't bear to part with it."

  "Memories? Are they related to your ex-girlfriend?"

  "Hmm!"

  "Why aren't you listening now?!"

  "It's unnecessary! I can't always live in memories, and besides, I have a girlfriend I love now..."

  "Want to listen with me one more time?" She sent another message after a while of silence. But before I could respond, the song started again, and under her somewhat coercive action, we continued listening to this song silently. When it was halfway through, Qin Ke's voice came from the bathroom after she finished showering. I hastily typed "I have something to do, 88" on the keyboard and closed QQ. As for why I felt so tense, I couldn't understand myself even after closing QQ.

  "Ah, so comfortable..." Qin Ke walked into my room and flopped onto the bed. I continued to browse news online.

  "Hey! Do you have any movies on your computer? I want to watch one!" Qin Ke Yi asked me after sitting up from the bed, opening a banana chip and putting it into my mouth.

  "Yes! Find it yourself, it's on the E drive. I'm going to get a glass of water." I said and stood up from my chair and walked out of the room. When I came back with the cup, Qin Ke Yi was sitting in the chair hugging her legs, her face red and staring at me.

  "What's wrong? Why aren't you looking?" I asked inexplicably.

  "What kind of disgusting things do you have on your computer!!" Qin Ke said to me with a red face.

  "What disgusting thing is this? Oh......! Who let you see that?! Aren't there two movie folders? Why didn't you watch the first one!" I suddenly realized that Qin Ke was referring to the numerous classic porn videos stored on my computer.

  "How was I supposed to know you'd put this disgusting thing right out in the open, I just happened to open one... You big pervert!"

  "This can only prove that you still need these things, or how could it be so accurate! You immediately chose the right one!" I walked to the computer and prepared to find a movie for Qin Ke Yi to watch.

  "Get out of here!" Qin Ke still shouted with a red face.

  "How... is there only one movie folder left? The one you just opened?" I asked Qin Ke anxiously, having found that those classic pornos were not in their supposed locations.

  "Deleted!" The simple two words that came out of Qin Ke Yi's mouth were another heavy blow to me after the last time San Bao Zi encountered at the train station, and it also meant that my painstakingly collected treasures would disappear completely from now on. Looking at Qin Ke Yi's triumphant eyes, thinking of the wind and rain I had gone through with these classic movies, my heart ached secretly.

  "A classic 7G movie! The result of 5 years' collection... was simply... " I said, a bit disheartened.

  "I've actually saved a young man who was on the verge of going astray! Haven't you seen in the newspapers that many young people's first step into crime starts with exposure to pornographic films?" Qin Ke said with a smile.

  "Do you think I would do something like that?" I asked excitedly.

  "That's not necessarily true, you see that rapist had 'I am a sex wolf' printed on his forehead!"

  "Do you know that what you've done is a very foolish thing? You've stifled the desire of a young person who was eager to learn something that couldn't be learned in school."

  "Get out! Stop making excuses for your perverted mindset, you actually like this kind of thing?!"

  "What's wrong with this? It's a very natural thing! Without this, there would be no human reproduction, and without this, there wouldn't be more talents to promote the country's four modernizations. In ancient times, people were not ashamed to mention this like they are today. During the Spring Festival, people in the past would gather together for events similar to 'nudist camps' instead of watching stupid Spring Festival galas. It is said that Confucius, who advocated for Confucianism and tortured Chinese youth for thousands of years, was a product of such gatherings... I tried to help Qin Kai establish a correct understanding of things."

  "Wow! I've gained a lot of insight! You're really knowledgeable and talented! Is that all? Keep going!"

  "The Tang poems and Song lyrics that our elementary school teachers forced us to memorize were written by those knowledgeable people of the time while lying on the belly of courtesans. Even Zhu Xi, who advocated for 'self-restraint' and distorted some of Confucius' teachings, was secretly tormenting his three wives and four concubines while pretending to be a hypocrite writing books... At this moment, I transformed my anger towards Qin Ke Yi's behavior into dissatisfaction with the practices of certain ancient people, and also helped Qin Ke Yi establish a correct understanding of the true faces of some shameless historical figures that cannot be understood from some textbooks on the market. Just as I finished expressing this magnificent speech, something fell out of the pocket of my pants hanging on the back of the chair."

  "What is this?" Qin Ke picked it up curiously and asked me before I could even react.

  "This... is... a balloon!" When I saw that it was me considering taking my relationship with Qin Ke Yi a step further tonight, and when I secretly asked Zhang Wei for condoms just now, I felt a little guilty asking Qin Ke Yi.

  "Balloon!? Where did it come from? What's the point of buying a balloon?"

  "Hmm...? One day I was buying things at the supermarket, someone gave it to me, and I've been keeping it in my pocket ever since!"

  "Oh! Then you help me blow it up, okay? I loved playing with balloons when I was a kid!" Qin Ke smiled and handed me the condom. I swallowed hard and took it from him.

  "Okay, I'm sleepy, let's talk about it tomorrow!" I said, looking at the condom in my hand and raising my head to look at Qin Ke Yi.

  "No! I want it now!" Qin Ke said stubbornly.

  "Tomorrow then! I'm really tired today..."

  "Kang Jian! How can you be so bad at making girls happy?! You said that if you could make me happy, maybe... tonight I'll give in to you..." Qin Ke Yi suddenly said with a gentle smile.

  "I could've sworn you already agreed with me for tonight!?"

  "That's what I'm saying, consider! Don't you have to look at your current performance?" After hearing Qin Ke's words, I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath, tore open the packaging, and started blowing up the condom.

  "This balloon is shaped so weird! Why does it have a bulge on top?"

  "Hmm...? Maybe it's a new product!"

  "Wow! How many balloons like this do you have?" Qin Ke suddenly asked me with his hand on my shoulder.

  "Only one!"

  "Oh! What a pity! Even if I wanted to make up with you tonight, it seems like there's no chance now!"

  "Huh? What... does it mean?" I started reacting to Qin Ke's words and began to have a feeling of being fooled again.

  "Sister, I've never eaten pork, nor have I seen a pig run! Our dorm is so romantic, do you think I wouldn't know what condoms are? Haha! Pig head! How many times have I told you not to believe beautiful words! Why can't you remember?! Haha!" Qin Ke Yi fell onto the bed laughing and said to me...