"World Cup matches are all pre-recorded, who goes to play football in the middle of the night?"
As soon as my girlfriend finished speaking, my bro immediately retorted.
I wanted to mediate, but couldn't get a word in.
My girlfriend, Zhou Mengmeng, turned to look at me.
"Zichen, tell him, he has to bow his head first this time, otherwise it's not over."
My bro, Nian Shi, also looked at me.
"Bro, tell her, I'm not bowing my head, let her think whatever she wants."
They were face to face, yet insisted on me passing messages.
Just like when we were kids.
The three of us grew up together, every time the two of them argued, I was caught in the middle, running back and forth.
No one ever asked if I wanted to.
Before I could even open my mouth, they started arguing again.
"Bro, I booked three World Cup tickets, let's go together, let her see if it's live."
My girlfriend rolled her eyes.
"Zichen, tell him, I'm not going, but if you want to go, I'll accompany you."
In the past, I would have smiled and nodded, urging them to stop arguing.
But today, looking at the job offer on my phone that I originally wanted to share with them,
a sense of exhaustion welled up in my heart.
All these years, I've been like a megaphone, passing on too many messages, yet not a single one was stopped for me.
This time, I really don't want to pass messages anymore.
...
In the café, they were still arguing.
No one noticed my emotions.
I knew very well.
What they needed was just a tool person to help them reconcile without either of them losing face by bowing their head first.
From childhood to adulthood, it's always been this way.
In the second year of middle school, they fell out over a trivial matter.
Nian Shi sneered and told me to pass a message.
I went to find Zhou Mengmeng, she told me to pass it back.
The December wind blew on my face like knives, I ran back and forth four times.
In reality, they were less than two hundred meters apart, yet neither was willing to walk over first.
In the end, I got a fever and took sick leave.
The two of them made up on the day I was sick and went to eat Malatang together.
Zhou Mengmeng sent me a message saying:
"Zichen, get well soon, let's go eat together again."
Looking at that message, my throat felt blocked by something.
In the second year of high school, when choosing streams, they had a disagreement again.
During that period, my phone notification sound never stopped, it was all messages they wanted to say to each other asking me to forward.
One was my childhood sweetheart, the other was my bro.
I didn't want to strain the relationship.
So every time, I smiled and nodded.
I thought we were the best of friends, I thought my endurance would earn their care.
But after enduring for so long, it all became taken for granted.
When the college entrance exam results came out, Nian Shi's score wasn't enough for the key university we had agreed upon.
He was silent for a long time.
That night, Zhou Mengmeng came to find me.
"A Shi said he wants to attend the same university as you, but he's too embarrassed to tell you, so he asked me to pass the message."
Zhou Mengmeng's expression was sincere to the point of earnestness.
"That school isn't as good as we previously said, but it's still okay."
"A Shi said, you are his best bro, the three of us can't be without anyone."
Later, she confessed her feelings to me.
I thought they really cared about me.
But only now do I realize.
Her confession might have just been to use my liking for her, to make me willingly change my application.
Later, the three of us attended the same university, I was still the megaphone.
At graduation, Nian Shi's qualifications weren't enough for the company that Zhou Mengmeng and I could enter, so he chose an ordinary one.
He said Zhou Mengmeng had already agreed to join his company.
His tone was matter-of-fact.
As if I would also choose to go with them this time.
Thinking of this, I let out a cold laugh, stood up and went to the restroom.
I don't want to be a megaphone for my whole life.
I have my own life too.
I washed my face with cold water and replied to that job offer email to Paris.
The reply came very quickly.
"Welcome Mr. Gu to join, you can start in three days."
I closed my eyes.
I knew, in three days, everything would be over.
I walked out of the restroom.
They were both looking down at their phones, neither speaking first.
In the past, I would have broken the silence first.
But today, I didn't want to say anything.
I opened my phone.
WeChat Moments showed ninety-nine new messages.
I was stunned, clicked in to look.
It turned out they had just started arguing in the comments section under the Moments post I made earlier.
[Zichen, look at him, he's bullying me again, help me tell him, this time it's absolutely his fault.]
[Zichen, don't listen to her, what do you mean bullying? Tell her, she's just been spoiled by us!]
Clearly, just one click to private chat could clear everything up.
But they refused.
Insisting on using the comments section of my Moments post to shout at each other across the air.
I didn't send a single word, yet they chatted enthusiastically.
