Chapter 2, The Disappeared (I)

During dinner, the parents refrained from mentioning work matters, fearing it might affect Zhang Yu's mood, and instead casually talked about Zhang Yu's childhood. The father, who had never touched a drop of alcohol, surprisingly went downstairs to buy two bottles of beer, and they each finished one bottle together with Zhang Yu

Zhang Yu walked over, patted Zhao Lin on the shoulder, and greeted a few classmates at the table with a smile

Zhang Yu's mother was busy in the kitchen, and she called out, "Got it, but drink less alcohol. I made some mung bean soup and chilled it, remember to drink it when you come back"

Zhang Yu felt truly uncomfortable in his heart. After hastily taking a shower, he returned to his room. Although he worked in a different city and his younger brother was studying away from home, the arrangement in the room had never changed whenever he returned home. In the small room, there was a bunk bed, and on the wall above the head of the bed, the poster of Ronaldinho, which both brothers had been obsessed with during their childhood, was still affixed. Even though Zhang Yu had not slept there for six months, the bed sheets remained clean and tidy, without a speck of dust, clearly indicating that they were still regularly washed and changed. In the small room, there was a bunk bed, and on the wall above the head of the bed, the poster of Ronaldinho, which both brothers had been obsessed with during their childhood, was still affixed. Even though Zhang Yu had not slept there for six months, the bed sheets remained clean and tidy, without a speck of dust, clearly indicating that they were still regularly washed and changed.

After finishing the meal, Zhang Yu eagerly wanted to help his mother clear the table, but was pushed aside by her: "Go watch TV and take a break, I'll handle it. By the way, Xiao Yu, since you rarely come back, why not take these two days to relax? You should meet up with your old classmates and friends, chat with them, and have a meal together. If you don't have any money on you, I'll give you some."

"Am I also considered late?" Zhang Yu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. However, Zhao Lin had always been like this, leaving him no room to refute. He could only gulp down an entire bottle of beer in one go and then heavily slam the empty bottle onto the table.

Hearing Zhao Lin's hearty laughter on the other end of the phone, Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Where are you?"

Stay put, I will arrive in fifteen minutes

After graduating from university, Ling Weiping returned to her hometown city, where her family arranged for her to work in a local public institution. The income was decent, and the job was relatively easy. Considering that it had been half a year since Zhang Yan last saw Ling Weiping, and that he had not chatted with her on WeChat recently due to feeling down, he thought it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to meet up today.

Zhang Yu lay on the lower bunk of his bed, still feeling gloomy. After a moment of thought, he took out his phone and dialed Ling Wei and the library's phone number.

Ling Weiping has been a classmate of Zhang Yu since elementary school. They continued to attend the same school and class through middle school and high school. It was not until after the college entrance examination that they enrolled in different universities and no longer spent every moment together as they had before. Nevertheless, every time they returned home for the holidays, meeting up for drinks and conversation remained an essential activity.

This is simply impossible

What is going on? Zhang Yu felt a surge of confusion. Now that he thought about it, he and Ling Weiping had not been in contact for quite some time. What happened to him? What on earth is going on?

Zhang Yu tried to send a WeChat message to Ling Weiping again, but received no response. After checking his Moments, Zhang Yu realized that Ling Weiping had not posted any updates for three months

The old man was not far from Zhang Yu's home; it took him less than fifteen minutes to reach the door. At around nine o'clock in the evening, it was the peak time for business at the barbecue restaurant, and the owner had set up tables right at the entrance. Zhang Yu immediately noticed a table at the door surrounded by seven or eight people, who were raising their glasses in a toast, with Zhao Lin's loud voice still standing out.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Hearing that you all are having skewers and that the library is tempting, I flew back." After saying this, he nudged Zhao Lin with his shoulder, urging him to move aside.

The old barbecue place, known as Lao Qiazi, was a favorite haunt of a few old classmates. The owner specialized in crispy bones and lamb tendons, which could be considered a unique delicacy in the city. Ever since Zhang Yu left his hometown to attend university, he had not tasted such exquisite skills again, so it was no wonder that Zhao Lin would tempt him with it.

Zhang Yu sat on the sofa with his father, watching television, as the scenes from the prime-time historical drama "Emperor Fusu" played out before them, yet nothing registered in his mind. Zhang Yu's father continued to smoke one cigarette after another on the coffee table, not going out to the balcony as he usually did, while Zhang Yu's mother also unusually showed no intention of sending him away.

Moreover, it is not to be mentioned that Ling Weiping has never changed her phone number, nor is it to be said that even if Ling Weiping were to change her number, she would certainly inform me. Even if she did change her number, the original number would at most be turned off or suspended, and it could not immediately become a status of being a non-existent number.

Zhang Yu closed the door and hurried downstairs, running towards the old man.

Oh? Oh! Oh my! Zhang Yu! What are you doing here! Zhao Lin was momentarily taken aback, then exaggeratedly shouted: "How did you come back!"

Just when he was completely puzzled, the phone in Zhang Yu's hand suddenly rang. Looking at the caller ID, it was his high school classmate Zhao Lin

Zhang Yu did not expect it to be so coincidental, and was momentarily taken aback: "Are there many of you?"

It cannot be said that there are many, just about seven or eight people who were good friends back then. It was just a spontaneous idea to get together, and all of them live nearby, so having this number is already quite good! It's just a pity that you are not here, but it's alright, we will drink and you can just watch, wahahaha

Zhao Lin chuckled and said: "Where else could it be? The old man is here enjoying skewers! What's the matter, are you craving it? Unfortunately, you won't have the fortune to enjoy it tonight!"

In the years leading up to university, Ling Weiping was the closest person in Zhang Yu's life, aside from his younger brother Zhang Yan. They collected snack cards together, pooled money to buy comic books, skipped classes to play games, and both had a crush on the same beautiful girl in their class

After finishing this sentence, Zhang Yu hurriedly hung up the phone without waiting for Zhao Lin's response, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room: "Dad, Mom, I'm going out to meet a friend."

Although they tried to appear calm and indifferent on the surface, they were still worried about Zhang Yu in their hearts

Zhao Lin's tongue had become somewhat thick; after finishing his words, he burst into an excited laugh. Zhang Yu asked, "Are you drinking?"

Zhao Lin laughed heartily again: "That's right! A group of us high school classmates got together, and we happened to be talking about you, so we decided to give you a call. How about it? Are you envious of us guys who can gather in our hometown without any worries? It's such a pity that you're not here; several girls mentioned that they would like to see you!"

Zhao Lin hurriedly shouted, asking the boss to move the stools and bring the utensils. He added two large handfuls of lamb tendons and crunchy bones, then bit off the cap of a beer bottle and handed the bottle to Zhang Yu, saying: "As per the usual practice, if you are late, you have to drink one yourself first"

Zhang Yu answered the phone and immediately heard Zhao Lin's cheerful voice on the other end: "Hello, kid, guess what I'm doing!"

However, strangely, when Zhang Yan dialed the number, the response on the other end was the service provider's message stating, "The number you have dialed is not in service"

As she spoke, Zhang Yu's mother turned around to rummage through her handbag on the sofa, intending to give Zhang Yu some money, but was quickly stopped by Zhang Yu.