Chapter 18 Seventeen, don't wrestle with elephants

Not long after I fell asleep, I was woken up by KC's knock on the door at half-light. This time, KC standing outside the door was not so calm, and his expression was a little anxious. "Let's go quickly, there is a riot on the road, if you don't go, you can't go, the road will be closed." I was taken aback: "What? Riot?" KC comforted me: "It's okay. There are often riots in Nepal, and they won't hurt tourists. Just hurry up and go before the road is closed, otherwise you won't be able to get out. If the road is blocked, you may be trapped for several days." of."

"But I came here by minibus. I have to wait at the entrance of the village. Are there any long-distance minibuses?" KC looked troubled, and shook his head: "No, it's too early, even if there is, it will be stopped on the road." "then what do I do?" "...I'll help you find a way, don't be afraid, don't worry." Although KC said so, judging from his expression, it seems that he is not too sure. Although KC reassured me that riots in Nepal often occur, I was still a little scared when I saw urban management raiding booths in China. When I was packing my luggage, the yard had already started to be lively. Indians may be the first to receive the news , has already dragged the box with his family and prepared to leave.

When I walked out of the room with my luggage, I saw Wang Can's tour guide and driver smashing the door of Wang Can's room, and I was so anxious that I almost kicked him. The Indian left the hotel in a bus, and there was only Wang Can’s convertible sports car left in the shed. I sat at the front desk without a clue. KC’s big eyes blinked for a long time, looked at me worriedly for a while, and waved at me: " Come, follow me, I will take you to the entrance of the village to see if there is a car." I carried the suitcase on my head and sat on the back of KC’s motorcycle. I walked through the village all the way. The village was in turmoil. Every small hotel had buses carrying tourists leaving. I lay behind KC and shouted loudly. Ask him: "Can't I pay some money and go with other tourists' cars?"

KC replied to me: "They won't take you. Tourism in Nepal is strictly controlled. You can't pick up passengers casually on the road. It can't be done at ordinary times, like today, let alone." The sky is not yet completely bright, and the surroundings are cloudy and foggy. Seeing everyone retreating from the village in a car in an organized and directional way, and rolling up waves of loess around us, my mood is comparable to a flat leaf on the sea The small boat, watching the big ship like the Titanic roaring and setting sail from his side. I was a little desperate and asked KC: "If there is no car at the entrance of the village, where can you send me?"

KC looked back at me with sincere eyes: "Then, I will send you back to China." "...Thank you, but seriously, where the hell are you sending me?" "Village entrance." Ten minutes later, KC and I waited at the minibus station at the entrance of the village. There were only outbound and outbound vehicles on the road, but none of the incoming vehicles. Gradually, the buses and cars of tourists all went away. After waiting for a while, motorcycles began to appear one after another on the road. The riders were all young people from the village, wearing a pair of black masks with two pale white stripes crossed on them. It looked a bit sinister, and on almost every motorcycle, the young people sitting in the back seat were holding a flag and rushing forward with the wind.

"This is...?" I asked KC pointing to this scene. "They went to riot," KC said. "So many people..." "I'll be there later." KC continued. I stared at KC, I couldn't imagine what it would be like for this boy who was always looking for opportunities to confess his love to tourists, to participate in the riots. KC went on to say: "You must leave today, the tourists are gone, you stay here by yourself, alone, it's not safe, I don't know how long the road will be closed." I nodded dejectedly, no matter it is dangerous or not, I have to go, I have to go back to Kadu the day after tomorrow, and return to China by plane. Freedom or human rights, it can't pay for my thousands of dollars in air tickets.

The road was deserted, KC looked at the direction of the village entrance, turned to look at me: "...Mr. Wang hasn't left yet, I didn't see his car, if his tour guide agrees, you can go with him, okay?" I shook my head: "I'd rather walk out by myself." As he was talking, Wang Can's bright red convertible appeared on the road wrapped in a cloud of fog. The tour guide and the driver sat in front with gloomy expressions. He fell asleep with a pillow under his head. KC and I watched the car roll past us, the driver nodded to KC, and Wang Can in the back seat didn't even open his eyes.

KC stared at Wang Can in the back seat for a while, then got on the motorcycle and called me anxiously: "Get in the car, get in the car, stop them!" While chasing KC with my suitcase, I yelled, "I don't want to take his car..." "Stop him first! He took the pillow from the hotel!" KC dragged me into the car, accelerated all the way, caught up with Wang Can, and stopped them on the side of the road. KC stepped forward to negotiate with Wang Can's tour guide, to the general idea that the pillows in the hotel are not free. Wang Can lifted the clothes wrapped around his head and looked around sleepily. KC stepped forward to get the pillow. Grab it: "What are you doing?"

Wang Can's tour guide turned around and said to him: "I told you that you can't take out the pillow, you have to take it!" "I don't sleep on a pillow, but on your lap?" "Now he's taking it back." "Give him money, how much is a pillow worth?" The tour guide looked at KC and asked a few words in Nepali, but KC shook his head and said a long series of words in a rapid tone. Can. "What's the matter? How much is it?" Wang Can asked while reaching out for his wallet. "They don't sell." Wang Can's face turned foul: "Forget it if you don't sell it, give it back to him and let him take it away, you're a stingy one."

"It's not enough to just return the pillow. He wants us to go back to the hotel and check what else you took in the room. Otherwise, he can't explain to the boss when we leave." "What?!" Wang Can glared at KC angrily. "What do you have in the hotel? Even the towels are bald. Is there anything worth stealing? Finding trouble..." The tour guide interrupted Wang Can impatiently: "He said that the pillow can also be given to you, and we don't have to go back, but you have to take this woman with us and go with us in our car." Wang Can was taken aback for a moment, and I was also taken aback, turning their heads to stare at KC in unison.

"Impossible, don't let this girl get in my car." Wang Can said to the tour guide. "KC, don't let me get in his car." I said to KC. The tour guide and KC persuaded the two of us separately: "We can't go back, it will be too late, because you don't open the door when you sleep, we are already late, we have to go now." KC also advised me seriously: "You can go in his car, leave here first, you go to Pokhara, there is an airport there, you can fly back to Kadu, they may also go to Pokhara, if they can go out smoothly, they will arrive in the evening .” Wang Can stared at me coldly, and said to the tour guide: "Do you know how this woman scolded me last night? Why should I take her with me?" The tour guide interrupted him: "I don't want to know, we have to go now, I want her to get in the car." "Cheng, let's go, be obedient. In Nepal, we have a saying 'Don't wrestle with an elephant'. Now riots are elephants. If you don't obey, you will have problems. Go away." Although Wang Can was still yelling in the car, the driver got out of the car, cooperated with KC, quickly packed my luggage into the trunk, and then took my arm and stuffed me into the car. "Let's go." KC stood outside the carriage and patted my head. Next to me, Wang Can was still lying on the seat, almost occupying the entire seat. touched his feet. The driver drove on the road. Behind him, KC was standing on the road, waving at me, and his figure was getting further and further away. Saying goodbye to KC, I turned around, and Wang Can beside me stared at me. "Say thank you." Wang Can popped out word by word. "what?" "Tell me thank you, thank you for people like me, for letting you get in the car." "You can put me down now." "My personality can't do this kind of thing, so you just say thank you." "I can't thank you either." Wang Can's eyes widened, and he was about to continue yelling when my cell phone rang at a particularly good time. The caller ID was the editor-in-chief, I was taken aback, turned around to answer the phone, Wang Can covered his clothes with a stinky face, went to sleep, and began to pretend that I didn't exist. "Xiao Cheng, what happened to you?" My heart warmed, I didn't expect that the riots would be known so quickly in China. "I'm fine, don't worry, I'm safe now..." "It's all right? The manuscript is all right!" Unexpectedly, the editor's tone changed on the other end of the phone, and he yelled like a ghost. "Manuscript?..." "The manuscript I asked you to change two days ago! It will be printed in two hours, my dear, I waited for you until midnight yesterday, and you didn't give it to me!" I was taken aback. Last time I called, the editor asked me to change the manuscript. I hadn’t changed it. I thought I’d finish it last night, but after a fight with Wang Can, I completely forgot about it. "I didn't answer your phone call yesterday, big guy? Open the skylight without saying hello..." "The phone is charging..." "I don't want excuses, I just need the manuscript, dear." "Editor-in-Chief, I'm on the run now, and I've encountered a riot." "What riot?" "I don't know what happened here. A lot of people went to the scene of the riot, and the road is about to be blocked. They are running out desperately. Wait for me. When I get to the hotel, I will send it to you right away, okay? " "It's too late, baby, let me tell you, I have arranged for Xiao Lin from the advertising department, let her write this issue first, and cover it for you first..." "Don't! Don't!" I yelled anxiously. Wang Can, who was sleeping with his head covered, might have been startled, kicked his legs hard, and kicked me hard. While guarding Wang Can's feet, I squeezed tightly against the side of the car door: "Don't hand it over to Xiao Lin, it's just a few hours late, I know the printing factory has reserved time, and there is a reason for this. Bian'er is really treacherous, can you just sympathize with me?" "Xiao Cheng, I sympathize with you. Really, from the perspective of a friend, I wish I could rush to your side now, to comfort you, to hold your hand (hold your hand), but, as the editor-in-chief, you Failure to deliver the manuscript on time will bring me a riot, OK? Now I can only let Xiaolin control my risk..." "Editor-in-Chief, I don't ask you to really hold my hand like a friend, I just ask you not to bring Xiao Lin out whenever something happens, okay!" It may be due to lack of sleep, the anxiety just now, coupled with the unknown road conditions ahead, I suddenly felt that I had no way out anyway, so I simply gave up on myself and told the editor-in-chief to speak out what I had always wanted to say clearly Got it. "The editor-in-chief is Kobayashi from the advertising department. When I don't write well, when I delay the draft a little bit, and when the soft advertisement inserted is dissatisfied, she appears immediately. After so many years, her ghost lingers. In fact, I don't even know what kind of parents they are, but when I heard this name, my legs were weak, and I immediately felt that I couldn't keep my job. Editor-in-chief, I have been working under you for a few years, so you don't have to always be prepared A reserve army, ready at any time if I fail, she will go, at least give me a sense of security, right?" There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while: "Xiao Cheng, don't ask for a sense of security from me. Write your manuscript well, and you will have a sense of security. Submitting the manuscript to me on time will make me feel safe. This matter is relative. , don’t forget, you were also Xiao Cheng in the advertising department back then? Why don’t you think about who you squeezed out? Our industry is an assembly line, and no one will be able to sit firmly in the same position for the rest of their lives. , you can't, I can't, no matter which seat you sit in, there will always be someone thinking about your seat, either Xiaolin or Xiaosun, anyway, there will always be such a person, all you can do is don't give them a chance, I What I can do is to remind you, don't think that you are sitting so steadily, what did I do wrong? My dear?" "...I know that my manuscripts are not well written, but you have to consider my situation. I just can't write like I used to. I can't sit in a straw hut and eat fried noodles. Add some adjectives. It can be written as a secret seafood set meal, but I really can’t write it this time, I feel so disgusting, if you also come here for two days, you must feel the same way..." "I knew it!" the editor-in-chief interrupted me anxiously, "Actually, I have seen signs of this in your manuscripts. Look at your crooked writing, which is harder to pronounce than classical Chinese. Cheng Yumeng , Let me remind you, I will arrange for you to go to Nepal. This is a job. Don’t make me the kind of rotten problem that vulgar white-collar workers often make. I don’t need to go to Nepal. Very poor, right? But it’s strange that they live a very happy life, their eyes are so clear, and their smiles are so simple, it immediately makes you harbor evil thoughts, doesn’t it? You start to suspect that the things you do are so meaningless, right? Right? Began to pursue a sense of spiritual existence, right? Hmph, once you go abroad, such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, you don’t talk well when you come back, and you always complain about the high air quality and high prices in Beijing. Before I went out, I did a lot of sneaky things. After I came back, I started to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha every day. I have seen many people who look down on this and that. I don’t think you are alone! Don’t think that you can figure out anything by going to Nepal. Do you think it is so simple to enter the WTO? Go out and act as a tourist, experience life in the village, worship Buddha and take a picture, and then you will have an epiphany? Then do I kowtow in the Lama Temple for half a year, and still Can you become a Living Buddha? If you really look down on your current life, stay there and don’t come back. If you still have to come back to live, don’t put yourself in such a trap as soon as possible. Going to keep the fake while keeping the real is the most self-defeating pretense, if you live a fake life, others will look tired, do you understand?" After the editor-in-chief said a long paragraph, I realized that when she was in a hurry, she also had the taste of Beijing hutong strings, and she completely lost the usual Chinese-American accent. I was choked by the editor-in-chief for a long time, and I couldn't speak for a long time. The editor-in-chief also paused for a while, took a breath, and then said: "I will give you another half-day to modify the manuscript for me." "……it is good." "It's only half a day, and if I don't receive the manuscript before four o'clock in the afternoon, I arrange for Xiao Lin to attend. Xiao Lin didn't go to Nepal, so she has no trouble writing adjectives now." "...I will give it to you before four o'clock." After hanging up the phone, I sat sluggishly on the narrow seat, unable to recover for a long time. Then I realized that, at some point, the rain started intermittently. It was the same as yesterday. Upsetting. Wang Can's tour guide and the driver were talking in Nepali in a fierce tone, as if they were cursing, but no one pulled up the hood of the car. Although the rain was not heavy, the car was driving fast, and the raindrops splashed on the face ,feeling bad. I took the laptop out of my carry-on backpack, opened it, and the battery was running low, and the rain kept falling on the keyboard, so I had to close it again. When the rain was getting heavier, Wang Can finally turned over and sat up, took off the clothes wrapped around his head, and stood there for a while with his hair on his chicken coop. Then he looked unhappy and kicked his feet under the car seat Go, finally kicked out a big black umbrella. Wang Can clamped the umbrella with his feet and put it in his hand to open it. When the umbrella was opened, I watched helplessly as the tip of the umbrella poked the head of the tour guide in front. While putting the umbrella behind him, Wang Can met the tour guide and glared at him: "Come on, does it hurt that much? Let me rub it for you?" I looked at Wang Can, who was sitting next to me, holding a big black umbrella to shelter from the rain in the convertible sports car, and finally couldn't help it: "Can't you pull up the hood?" Wang Can huddled in the umbrella, squinting his eyes: "Do you think I'm so stupid? If the canopy can be pulled up, why should I open an umbrella? Performance art?" "With the convertible sports car you rented, you can only open it?" "Do you think my car is not good? Then get down, I don't even need to open the door for you, you can get out as soon as you step your legs, hurry up." Wang Can leaned against the door with a provocative face. "Don't wrestle with an elephant." I repeated what KC told me at the end in my heart. If the car on this road is unsuccessful, I will be sorry for KC's scheming just now, not to mention that I have to find a place to charge the computer quickly. Send the manuscript to the editor-in-chief online. Seeing that I didn't fight back, Wang Can was even more proud, and pointed to the umbrella behind him: "Cheng Tianshuang, does this umbrella look familiar to you? This is the umbrella you hit me yesterday. Do you remember what you said yesterday?" Looking at Wang Can under the umbrella, I couldn't help but want to pull the umbrella over and throw him as far as I could, but I held back and turned to look at the side of the road. Let the raindrops slam on the face in various ways. "Hey, are you starting to swallow your anger today? Didn't you tell me to call you Mom yesterday! Why are you losing your momentum now? Did you get drenched in the rain?..." The rain seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and I couldn't open my eyes a little. The raindrops hit my face, as if someone was spitting on my face endlessly. "Wang Can." I interrupted him calmly, "If you really hate me so much, just let me get out of the car, okay?" Wang Can said happily: "Don't, who am I going to have fun with when you leave? By the way, you can't say the word 'joy'. Once you say it, you will jump up, come on, jump up again?..." In the left ear, the editor-in-chief scolded me, and on the right, Wang Can, who seized the opportunity to mock me, mingled in my head, expressing a central idea: your life is really a failure. "...Cheng Tianshuang? Tianshuang? Hey, why are you so uncooperative today? Hurry up, it's time for your performance..." I glanced at Wang Can, then put my hand on the car door and pushed hard. I wanted to jump out of the car, the car was driving fast, but I quickly put half of my body outside the door. "What are you doing!" When I was about to flip out of the car, Wang Can rushed forward and pulled me back forcefully. The driver was so scared that he braked on the side of the road, and Wang Can and I rolled into a ball in the back seat. "Crazy? Do you want to die? If you die, should I bury you or not?" Wang Can pointed at my nose and cursed. I will not break into this riot. Whether it is my riot or the Nepalese people's riot, I can't think of a solution. It's better to jump out of the car first. Because I suddenly figured out something. In fact, the editor-in-chief was not wrong. I have always had evil thoughts about life. On the way with evil thoughts, I stalked myself, and I was holding back my normal life. The lumbar disc is protruding, and the waist is crooked. Can the heart not be tilted? Over the past few days, sometimes I want to be Racine, sometimes I want to be KC, and sometimes I want to be Wang Can. Others, but maybe no one, wanted to be me. The driver and tour guide started driving again cursing in Nepali. I sat motionless, and Wang Can stared at me for a while: "You... don't you really have something to worry about?" I didn't move or speak. "It's not because of me?" I still didn't speak, the rain was getting harder and harder, and the broken car was almost starting to accumulate water. Wang Can carefully observed my expression, and then consciously sat far away. "Okay, I won't hire you anymore, don't be impulsive, you're so angry, I'll tell you, you can't die if you jump off the car, my old man used to like to scold me in the car, and he scolded me several times. I opened the car door and jumped down, if you can check the surveillance video on Chang'an Avenue in the past two years, the people who jumped off the car in the video are basically my buddies..." I glanced at Wang Can, and before he could speak, Wang Can raised his hand to cover his mouth: "I won't talk anymore, I won't talk anymore." There was silence in the car, except for the driver who occasionally looked back at me warily. After a while, Wang Can came over silently, moved the black umbrella behind me, covered me from the rain, and then went back silently.