Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Well, thank you, Lanlan." Simple leaned against Qinglan, her tone becoming calm. "Lanlan, what about you? After graduation, where do you plan to go? Stay in Beijing, right? Then Chen Yang and I will have family here."
"Yes, I have that plan too, but the future is unpredictable," Qinglan replied.
"What’s so unpredictable? People like us are the ones who face uncertainty. You graduated from a prestigious university with excellent grades, always a class leader, strong abilities, and beautiful. Any company would be eager to hire you. What’s the problem with staying in Beijing?" Simple looked at Qinglan and chuckled.
Qinglan also laughed and said, "I hope so. If all the bosses were like Simple, then only someone with Simple's mindset would want me, and they might even fall for me, haha."
The two of them laughed and rolled on the lawn at Qinglan's playful yet interesting words. Being young is wonderful; such a simple statement could make them burst into laughter. It was so easy to feel joy with just a little sunshine.
"Then what about Brother Shaojie?" Simple asked breathlessly from laughing.
"He..." Qinglan's smile faded as she paused before saying, "He and Beijing are probably just a distant dream for me."
Simple knew about the situation between Qinglan and An Shaojie. Seeing Qinglan sigh like that, she decided to drop the topic.
The week of exams passed quickly, and on the day they finished, Shen Xiaomeng and Hu Jiao'er each went home. Before the exams, Lin Xi had asked Qinglan about her plans to return home. Since she hadn’t been able to contact An Shaojie, Qinglan said she would wait for his news, so her plans to go home were uncertain. Later, Lin Xi booked a train ticket by herself in advance.
Therefore, after the break began, Qinglan did not go home; her dormitory was left with just her and Jiang Liuying.
Jiang Liuying and Mosen were preparing for graduate school entrance exams. The two decided to stay at school during the summer vacation to review for their studies. As soon as the exams ended, Mosen waited for her downstairs at the Girls' Dormitory. When Jiang Liuying came down, they happily embraced a large pile of belongings and headed to their rental apartment.
Qinglan was alone in the dormitory organizing her things. The air was stuffy; sweat soaked through her white short-sleeved shirt, clinging to her back.
Outside the window, dark clouds gathered and the wind began to rise, bringing a chill. Another heavy rainstorm was approaching.
She walked to the window and pulled the light blue curtains shut. She was afraid of thunder and disliked seeing the chaotic sky; she had been this way since childhood. Whenever she sensed a heavy rain was coming, she would hide behind the door of her house, covering her ears, refusing to come out. Brother Liu Jiawei always laughed at her, saying, "Do you think hiding behind the door will stop the rain? You won't see the downpour? Covering your ears won't make you not hear the thunder. Even if you can't hear it, the lightning will still flash before your eyes."
He knew that what she truly feared was not the rain or the thunder, but the lightning. This fear stemmed from Grandma's tales about how those who did bad things were likely to be struck by lightning. At that time, Liu Jiawei had just started school and learned to read; he had also heard some natural science knowledge from his teacher, so he corrected Grandma by saying, "It's not being struck by lightning; it's electrocution. Lightning is the real culprit."
Later on, Qinglan began to fear lightning, and Liu Jiawei teased her, saying, "Have you done something bad? Is that why you're afraid of lightning?" Because he was not afraid of it. At that time, what did he fear? He feared nothing; he was fearless.
"You should be the one most afraid of thunder and lightning!" Qinglan would always retort defiantly.
What did Qinglan fear? As a child, she was the wildest girl in the village, bold and reckless, with a strong boyish spirit. In truth, she was not afraid of anything; she was fearless. Would she really be afraid of lightning?
The flashes of light from outside occasionally illuminated the dark room through the curtains.
She still remembered that her fear of lightning as a child was largely due to her concern for Brother Shaojie, who in her eyes was a quintessential "bad boy."
For instance, there was that time when he put large stones in a basket filled with straw for a Companion in their village, causing her to trip and get caught. Then there was that time he led them to steal peaches from a tree. And another time when he took her to wash wood ear mushrooms upstream; while they were distracted, he suddenly released water downstream, washing away all their mushrooms—mushrooms that other Companions had painstakingly collected all afternoon to add to their family's dinner table. At that moment, all the Companions cried while he and she happily returned home with half a basket of mushrooms.
According to Grandma's tales, every time it rained with thunder and lightning, Brother Shaojie should have been in the most danger; he should have been the most afraid of lightning.
So one evening in summer, just before a torrential downpour arrived, she found an excuse to go to his house and chatted with Shaomin Dong until strong winds and thunderstorms rolled in.
She specifically looked for An Shaojie to see if he was hiding behind the door, covering his ears, or if he would be startled and scream.
Alright, he did nothing at all. Surely he should have some fear, his expression should show at least a hint of terror, proving that he is indeed a "bad person who has done something wrong." But he didn't; as usual, he sat upright at a desk by the window doing his homework, as if the storm outside had nothing to do with him.
So when Qinglan saw the lightning outside, she felt a wave of sadness and reflection, not only for An Shaojie but also for her Brother Liu Jiawei. She lamented the unpredictability of life.
Just after finishing her exam and stepping out of the classroom, she received his call. He said he wouldn't be going home this summer but would be studying with his master. He mentioned that his exam results were good and that he hoped to earn a scholarship in the comprehensive assessment after school started. When he said this, Qinglan was taken aback.
What was happening? When did Liu Jiawei become associated with scholarships? She thought she had misheard him, but he repeated it, saying that he was studying hard now and that the results of several subjects from the recent exams had come out, with him ranking among the top in all of them. Not only that, but he had been consistently going to learn from his master during his free time this semester and had made significant progress in practical skills, even ranking first in practical assessments among his classmates. His master was very pleased with him and hoped that after graduation, he would work alongside him.
After hanging up the phone, Qinglan felt as if she had just dreamt about talking to Liu Jiawei. Wasn't this current Liu Jiawei exactly what her Father once dreamed of? Regardless of whether his grades were truly as good as he claimed, just the way he spoke on the phone exuded maturity. It was comforting; gone were the days of exaggeration and recklessness. He was steady and thoughtful, even reminding Qinglan to be careful on her way home and to listen to Father and Mother when she got back, not to make them angry, and not to always let Grandma take care of her—she should take care of Grandma more.
Hmph! Qinglan felt quite indignant; when had she ever made Father and Mother angry? It was always him causing trouble and making them upset. Tears welled up in her eyes. When they were younger, he never acted like an older brother; now he seemed very much like one, making Qinglan, who felt lonely and helpless, feel as if she had a solid support system. She was no longer without anyone to rely on.
Comment 0 Comment Count