Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Chapter 1270 Only That Year Was Better Than Every Year

"One person can't finish the cake, there will be more people!"

Around 9 p.m., at the entrance of an old residential area, three men in suits squatted around a smashed cake.

There were no chopsticks or spoons; you just grabbed it with your hands.

Seeing that Old Zhao was standing there motionless, Lin Mo continued, "What are you looking at? Eat up! Stop being so polite with us!"

"What are you three doing here, dressed like this?" Old Zhao finally realized what was going on and then laughed.

Hearing this, the Sichuan girl, with food all over her mouth, casually wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, "What else could it be? You left without saying goodbye, and we were worried about you. As for your clothes, just tell us if you look handsome or not!"

Hearing this, Old Zhao's eyes welled up with tears, but he immediately looked up and gave a thumbs up: "Handsome, damn handsome!"

"Hey, hey, hey? Don't do that. In your Northeastern dialect, we'd say, 'Hold your piss back.' How about we eat something together?" Lin Mo spat.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao was about to squat down and reach out his hand, but was stopped by the Sichuan girl: "Wait a minute, you can eat, but change your clothes first!"

As he spoke, Director Wang took out a suit in a plastic bag from behind him and threw it in front of Old Zhao.

"This is."

Director Wang: "The three of us are all dressed like this, are you going to be a loner? Hurry up, or others will think we're isolating you!"

Seeing the serious looks in the three men's eyes, Old Zhao thought for a moment, picked up his suit, and ran to a dark corner to change.

Luckily it was nighttime; if it had been daytime, I would have thought someone was committing indecent acts in the street.

Five minutes later, four young men in suits were squatting around the shattered cake, eating it with their hands.

"By the way, why does this suit of mine look so cheap?" Old Zhao asked while eating.

Upon hearing this, the Sichuan girl nodded: "Old Mo's is a high-end item, bought by his girlfriend. Wang and I bought ours from a shopping mall. Yours is what we bought through the seller's agent, so of course it's not that great!"

"Why? Why do I have to wear the real estate agent's suits, and they're even secondhand!" Old Zhao exclaimed, his defenses crumbling.

Hearing this, Lin Mo rolled his eyes at him: "Nonsense, you're not here, how would we know what size you wear? If we buy something that we can't wear, it's such a waste of money. We just happened to see a real estate agent who is about your size, so we talked to him and he said this set is 60. Of course, the shoes are new, so don't worry about that!"

Old Zhao: "How much are the shoes?"

Director Wang: "Not expensive at all. I bought it from a roadside stall for 40 yuan. It's really cheap here, Lao Zhao! Prices in Northeast China are really low!"

Old Zhao:

"Thank you so much!"

The three of them raised their hands in unison and said, "Let's all befriend the eight brothers!"

Old Zhao:

When he was emotionally overwhelmed, his good friends suddenly appeared in front of him from thousands of miles away. Even though they were three close friends, Lao Zhao was still very happy.

"Hey? How about we get something? I saw you bought some cooked food and vegetables, Lao Zhao. Such good food, are you just going to eat it all on its own? Why not have some drinks to drown your sorrows?"

"Don't cry over spilled cake, brother. The purpose of life is to experience all sorts of surprises and unexpected events, isn't it?" Lin Mo suddenly suggested.

Hearing this, Old Zhao was taken aback. He looked at the scattered cake and the dishes on the ground, then nodded: "Okay, let's have some then. It just so happens that today and tomorrow are your sister-in-law's birthdays, let's eat together!"

“That’s right, Director Wang, go to the supermarket across the street and get two cases of beer!” Lin Mo said.

Upon hearing this, Director Wang immediately stood up, and Chuanmei, after thinking for a moment, quickly followed. Seeing this, Old Zhao hurriedly said, "Hey, don't buy Lao Xue! Have you guys drunk that stuff?"

Hearing this, Lin Mo chuckled: "Don't you know what kind of people they are? If you don't tell them, they'll just take whatever they want, but if you do, they'll definitely take that old Xue you mentioned, believe it or not!"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, two boxes of large green bottles appeared next to them on the roadside.

"Alright, let's drink then, it's already come to this," Lin Mo said with a smile.

Old Zhao said helplessly, "You three are really courting death! You dare to carry two boxes of this stuff! Haven't you ever heard of 'Mendao Donkey' (a type of strong liquor)?"

"What do you mean by 'smoking out donkeys and oxen'? I don't see any alcohol on the ingredient list! Look, the ingredient list has water, malt, and rice—isn't that just porridge? Porridge is good, I love porridge!" The Sichuan girl looked at the ingredient list and then exclaimed.

Seeing the three of them like this, Old Zhao knew that these were stubborn outsiders. These big green-barreled outsiders were so tough that they wouldn't say a word once they were yelled at!

"Alright, let's hope you guys can stay this stubborn for a while! Come on, let's have some!" Old Zhao said, raising the bottle of liquor.

Upon seeing this, the three immediately echoed in unison: "Get ready!" *3

Ding!

As the four clinked their bottles together, each took a sip, and then Lin Mo and the other two put on masks of pain.

"Ugh~ Is this beer? Why is it so bitter? This is nothing like the beer we've had before!"

After just one sip, the Sichuan girl was already somewhat convinced. It was just too bitter. The beer they usually drank was smooth and had a malty aroma, but this stuff was nothing but bitterness. She couldn't taste anything else; anyone who didn't know better would think she was drinking Chinese medicine. "Just drink yours! Stop talking nonsense!" Old Zhao laughed, feeling much happier seeing the expressions on the other three's faces.

The four young people then started drinking the refreshing beverage by the roadside. At first, they were able to squat down, but eventually they even sat directly on the ground.

Even the expensive suit Lin Mo was wearing didn't bother him, because at this moment, friendship outweighed everything else.

Every now and then, passersby would see four young people sitting somewhat disheveled by the roadside drinking. Some were curious, some smiled, but seeing their cheerful laughter, most people thought how wonderful it is to be young. Some even thought of the friends they used to drink with back then.

The four of them drank bottle after bottle, and soon it was midnight. They all stopped what they were doing and no one spoke again. Lin Mo and the other two looked at Lao Zhao.

After a long while, Old Zhao couldn't help but smile and say, "That's great, Comrade Xiao Xu. Last year it was just the two of us for your birthday, but today our whole dorm is here. Happy birthday!"

Lin Mo raised the wine bottle: "Happy birthday, sister-in-law!"

Sichuan girl: "Happy birthday! We ate the cake, it was very sweet!"

Wang Chu, with a slight lisp, said, "This wine is just too bitter!"

After saying that, the four of them drank the wine in the bottle in one gulp, and then got up and began to clean up quietly.

Some people threw their trash into the bins, while others carried boxes of liquor to the supermarket to return the bottles and get their deposits back.

None of the four spoke, but they worked in perfect harmony, each doing their own thing.

After everything was finished, Lin Mo patted Lao Zhao on the shoulder and said, "Alright, go back to sleep. We'll find a hotel nearby and come find you when you wake up. This time, don't leave without saying goodbye!"

Old Zhao nodded and smiled, "Okay, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow!"

After saying that, the three watched Old Zhao walk into the old residential area. They exchanged glances, dusted themselves off, and then found a hotel nearby to stay in.

At the hotel, the three of them checked into their rooms, and then Chuanmei and Lao Zhao went to sit in Lin Mo's room.

"Old Mo, is Old Zhao almost done for this time?" Chuanmei asked with some concern.

After all, when they arrived, Old Zhao was on the ground, eating cake while crying, which was truly pitiful.

Especially Director Wang, who arrived before Lao Zhao today and has been following him ever since. His condition was neither good nor bad; it was as if he had seemingly recovered on the surface, but had been left with a hideous scar in his heart.

He wanted to go up and talk to them several times, but he held back.

"Don't worry, Lao Zhao will be fine. It's good to cry it out. Holding it in will only cause problems. We'll go over tomorrow and help him clean up. This place should be a thing of the past. He can't make up his mind on his own, so let's give him a hand," Lin Mo said.

Under such a severe blow, Lao Zhao stayed behind last year, and at the same time, he also left that rented room behind last year.

Nowadays, the school dormitory, and even Lao Zhao himself, want to move forward, so there's no reason for this place to continue existing.

"That's good! I'm leaving now. This liquor was too strong. I threw up twice when I got back. I'm never drinking it again!" Chuanmei said, standing up with a look of lingering fear.

Director Wang: "I'm going to go and gag my throat!"

Lin Mo:

Meanwhile, Old Zhao returned home, closed the door, and smiled slightly. Although he didn't say it outright, he knew what Lin Mo and the other two meant.

Give him one last night to reminisce about the past, and when he wakes up tomorrow, it will be a new day, and he will have to move forward.

Otherwise, Lin Mo and the other two would definitely have come back to live with him. Even if the house was small, it wouldn't be a problem for four old men to squeeze in.

The reason I didn't come was so that he could experience that feeling one last time, to let him cry his heart out in this little nest he shared with his girlfriend, so he could start the next day with a lighter heart.

He then took off his clothes, neatly arranged them, washed up as if nothing had happened, and then lay down on the bed. Looking at the familiar scene in the bedroom, he felt as if the blankets still carried a familiar scent. He murmured to himself, "When I was little, I learned the story of 'marking the boat to find the sword,' and I laughed at the people in the story for being so foolish. The sword fell in the middle of the water, how could you possibly find it by running to the riverbank?"

It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that in the long river of time, many people return to a certain place again and again, trying to find what they have lost, but they can only stand there and wander around.

So, revisiting a familiar place is like trying to find a lost sword by marking the boat, but only that year was better than any other!

Comrade Xu, Xiao Zhao is back again. Good night!

After saying that, he turned off the light, then hugged the blanket and buried his face in it. No one knew whether he would be able to fall asleep that night, or what time he would fall asleep.

But everyone knows that when he wakes up again, a completely new Zhao Ziyu will come to life.

Spring has come again to the alley south of the city, but only plum blossoms are in sight, no one is there; where are those who came to gaze at the moon with me? The scenery is vaguely the same as last year.

(End of this chapter)