Evening.
A little after seven.
Night had fallen, and the streets were awash in neon lights.
Reunited with an old friend, Dong Xuebin and Hou Wen had both drunk quite a bit. After dinner, they walked down the street arm in arm, singing loudly and drawing sidelong glances from passersby. Neither of them cared. Back in their college dorm days, they often did this—after drinking, they would walk along the curbs, singing, dancing, and drunkenly making fools of themselves. It had become a tradition for them.
As soon as they started singing, both Dong Xuebin and Hou Wen felt as if they had returned to their university days. After finishing a song, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Today was really satisfying!" Hou Wen said.
"Yeah," Dong Xuebin said. "The drinking was satisfying too!"
Hou Wen sighed. "I wonder how those other two bastards from our dorm are doing."
Dong Xuebin smiled, sounding nostalgic. "I miss them too. Too bad we can't get in touch. Just like you, they changed their phone numbers."
"I had no choice," Hou Wen said. "How could I keep using a Capital City number in Jiangnan Province? Every random call would've been long-distance, and it was expensive. Before I changed my number, I tried calling your home plenty of times, but no one answered. I called those two guys too, but couldn't get through."
"Then maybe they aren't in the Capital City anymore either?"
"No idea. I'll ask around another day. We have to find them."
"Sure. I'll ask around too. The four of us brothers have to get together."
"Exactly. We used to be such good friends. We can't just drift apart like this. We've got to meet up."
"Come on, it's getting late. Let's head back to the hotel first.