Chapter 3 3

You held the hydrangea in both hands, looked it over carefully, and then frowned. "Why did the ancients choose to throw hydrangeas to recruit relatives?" you ask. "Because the petals of the hydrangea are like embroidery, they are reunited into balls, which are beautiful and round, symbolizing happiness and perfection." "so what?" "So the colorful cloth is made into the shape of a hydrangea, and a good marriage is found by throwing the hydrangea." "Weird." You shook your head. "Oh?" "If hydrangea symbolizes happiness and consummation, then throwing hydrangea is not abandoning happiness and consummation?"

"This……" "Maybe that's the way to say it." You tilted your head and thought for a while, then continued, "I threw my blissful consummation into the air, and you caught my blissful consummation." "Very good statement." "So you have to be responsible for my happiness and consummation." "Do the best you can." You laughed, shaking the hydrangea gently with both hands, and the bells in the hydrangea rang crisply. That was the end of the last century - 1998, when I was in the first semester of my junior year. The beginning of the story is related to Lai Deren. At that time, I was still living in the dormitory, and he was my roommate.

In the sophomore year, there were more than forty students living in the dormitory. After entering the junior year, there were less than 10 students left. The main reason for moving out of the dormitory is that everyone has more things and there is not enough space in the dormitory; of course, there are also people who have a girlfriend or want to have an independent space and then move out of the dormitory. Lai Deren and I chose to stay in the dormitory. Firstly, we don’t have much stuff. Secondly, after most people moved out, everyone’s space will be relatively increased. In the dormitory for four people, only Lai Deren and I lived there.

There are two groups of upper and lower bunks. He and I each occupy a group.I sleep on the top bunk and store things on the bottom; he is just the opposite. Although he wasn't my roommate during my freshman and sophomore years, we were classmates and we had known each other for a long time, so it wasn't a problem to get along or even live together. In fact, I was very puzzled. Logically speaking, he already had a girlfriend and should move out, so that the two of them would spend a lot more time together without being disturbed. I once asked him, why didn't he move out of the dormitory?

"People do think that people who have girlfriends should move out of dorms," ​​he said, "just as people think that people who are good-looking, good at school, and talented must be arrogant." "What does that have to do with moving or not?" "But I happen to be a humble and low-key person." He replied, "So you can't look at me with the eyes of ordinary people." Lai Deren's grades are indeed very good, but his appearance is mediocre. As for talent, it is difficult to describe the students of the engineering school. Would you praise a person who is strong in mathematics, mechanics, and computers as talented?

A person who completes a poem in seven steps, you will praise him for his talent; a person who builds a computer in seven minutes, you will only ask him to help you build a computer. In my eyes, the biggest feature of Lai Deren is that he is tall and strong, like a basketball center. If I remember correctly, that day should be the last day of September, theoretically autumn. However, there are no obvious spring and autumn seasons in the south, so the weather is still very hot, but it is not as hot as during summer vacation. At around 4:30 that afternoon, Lai Deren and I passed the student activity center when we were going back to the dormitory, and saw that the square in front of the center was very lively, as if some event was being held.

Taking a closer look, it turned out that it was the "Top Ten Beauties on Campus" voting activity organized by the Student Union. The student union cooperates with each department and asks each department to nominate two beauties recognized by the department. Some departments have very few girls, and may even only have the number of fingers on one hand (such as our department), so there is no need to forcefully recommend two girls, so as not to spoil the pot of porridge. After all, there were more than 30 girls participating in the election, each from 20 departments. Every girl who participated in the election has her own ballot box, with her name and department level written on the ballot box, and a photo posted.

Those who vote can cast ten votes, but only one vote is allowed at the same ballot box. The voting campaign will last for five days, and today is the second day. In fact, this kind of activity is quite boring, and usually no real beautiful women can be selected. But the point is not what the selected beauties look like, but what they will do after they are selected. The answer turned out to be throwing hydrangea. Of course, people in this era are not so stupid as to think that a girl must marry someone who has received a hydrangea. This is just an activity idea that the student union came up with to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In addition to gifts, the boy who receives the hydrangea can also have dinner with the beauty who threw the hydrangea. The hydrangea was thrown at 4:30 pm on the third day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, at the playground. Both Lai Deren and I thought the hydrangea throwing idea was good, and we also wanted to see the photos of the so-called beauties, so we squeezed in to join in the fun, got ten tickets each, and prepared to vote. Originally, I wanted to vote for the girls in my department first, but found that there were no girls in my department. Although this is expected, it is still embarrassing and sad.

I looked carefully at the photos on each ballot box. Maybe my standards were not high or my photography skills were too good. I found that there were so many beauties and it was hard to choose. I walked back and forth between the ballot boxes three times before I finished casting the votes in my hands. After the voting activity is over, the top ten will be selected according to the number of votes received, and the top ten beauties on campus will be born. The student union announced the voting results on the bulletin board, and I even ran to compare them. Among the top ten beauties, I only voted for two of them. It seems that my aesthetic view is different from that of most people.

But the so-called beauty is a subjective determination, there is no difference between right and wrong, just like some people say Brigitte Lin is beautiful, while others say Bai Bingbing is beautiful. It's just that there may be more people who say Brigitte Lin is beautiful. In the days after the voting and before throwing the hydrangea, I took Lai Deren to play basketball every day. Not a sudden interest in basketball, but practice rebounding in a bunch of muscles. I have to try to increase the flexibility of the body and lengthen every inch of muscle. Lai Deren often made fun of me, but I still endured the humiliation and practiced dancing. In the middle of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was a three-day holiday. When I went home to barbecue, I also took time to practice jumping in place. Dad couldn't understand it, so he yelled: "The barbecue is not roasted well, it's dancing three little ones over there!" How can these people understand the pain in the heart of a person who has not had a girlfriend until his junior year? So I still practice dancing with tears in my eyes. On the day of throwing the hydrangea, I arrived at the playground at four o'clock. On this point, I think the same as most people, because the playground is already full of people. I felt a chill in my heart. It was 4:30, and there were even more people. If you add the spectators, the playground is crowded with thousands of people. The humble and weak fire in my heart seemed to be about to go out. "Are all college students doing nothing now? There are so many people doing such boring activities?" "What, don't you too?" "It's too boring to squeeze in here to grab hydrangeas. Let's all have some self-esteem, okay?" "What, don't you too?" "Why are there so many boring people running here?" "What, don't you too?" "Only boring people are here." "Damn! Don't you too?" Amidst the drumming of the crowd, the activity began. The top ten beauties stood on the stage lined up, each with a number plate pinned to their left chest, numbers 1 to 10. This is the order of the rankings, but beauty No. 10 is the first to throw the hydrangea, and beauty No. 1 is the finale. When beauty No. 10 picked up the hydrangea, there was thunderous applause from the audience, and then suddenly fell silent three seconds later. I looked around, everyone's eyes were very sharp, and their feet were stepped into lunges. When the hydrangea was just thrown, because the scene was so quiet, I seemed to hear the sound of small bells; when the hydrangea fell from the top of the parabola, there was a loud bang, and the audience was in chaos. Finally, the hydrangea was pulled in the hands of two boys. What would happen if two ferocious male tigers bit a chicken at the same time? Sure enough, the two held half a hydrangea in each hand and shouted at each other. The host on the stage hurriedly reminded that the hydrangea is made of thick paper, and it cannot withstand being pulled. Please show a gentleman's demeanor. It is foolish to emphasize the virtues of gentleness, courtesy, and thrift to a group of hungry beasts. Everyone looked rather disapproving. "If the hydrangea is torn again, the activity will be terminated." The host finally said. This sentence hit the nail on the head, and everyone's expressions immediately turned serious and calm, and some people began to compare the sizes of the two hemispheres, and the judgment method was divided into area and volume. Finally deciding on the narrowly victorious side, he yelled excitedly and ran up to the stage through the crowd. Under the jealous and even resentful eyes of everyone, he received the gift and shook hands with beauty No. 10. The loser's expression was sluggish, and he was stunned, with tears in the corners of his eyes. Beauties No. 9, No. 8 and No. 7 threw the hydrangea smoothly, and the hydrangea was not torn. I wondered if the so-called beauties were born in a poor family, always hungry and weak, so that the hydrangea they threw could not go far enough. Among the four hydrangeas thrown so far, the one closest to me is more than ten meters in front of me. It seems that the chance of grabbing a hydrangea is almost zero. Suddenly I was patted on the right shoulder, I turned my head, and Lai Deren was looking at me with a smile. "Hey." I glared at him, "You have a girlfriend, don't join in the fun." "There is no rule that people with girlfriends cannot participate." "If your girlfriend finds out, you will be miserable." "She probably won't know." "She'll know," I said, "because I'm going to tell her." "Hello." He panicked a little, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm just here to join in the fun, no..."