After the New Year, Ban Sheng returned to the hospital for further treatment. Lin Weixia came to accompany him almost whenever she had time. Ban Sheng stayed in the hospital for a total of 4 months before and after the New Year. His condition was getting better and better, and he was more energetic.
During this period, the two of them unlocked many things together, ran together, shared the good songs they heard together, and sometimes they were so childish that they would snatch the ice cream from each other's hands. They watched many movies together. Lin Weixia was very picky when watching movies. If it was not a movie she liked, she would fall asleep halfway through. After waking up, she asked Ban Sheng to repeat it to her, and he was willing to do so.
The only time they had an argument was when Lin Weixia and Wu Suan learned from a conversation that Ban Sheng was planning to give up his admission to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and was preparing to return home after graduation.
What Lin Weixia is concerned about is that Ban Sheng intends to pursue a research career, but if he comes back from abroad to take the postgraduate entrance examination, the domestic system for this group requires graduates.
In other words, Ban Sheng might have wasted a year.
"Why do you want to return to China?" Lin Weixia asked him.
"Because you are here." Ban Sheng leaned his head against the wall, speaking in a casual tone.
Lin Weixia looked at Ban Sheng. She knew that he was thinking about their future, and she also knew what he was worried about.
But Penn's BME major ranks eighth in the United States, and the research in this major is so mature that it has surpassed many other disciplines. Penn has unique resources and lab benches, and if he continues to study, he will only get better and better.
"You have already given up your dream for me, you can't--" Lin Weixia advised.
Ban Sheng leaned against the wall and suddenly opened his eyes to look at her:
"My dream is you."
Before it was the vast universe, now it is her.
Her heart beat uncontrollably, and Lin Weixia blushed. She paused for a moment, looked at him seriously, and said, "Just follow your original plan. We won't separate again. I promise you."
Ban Sheng was silent for a while and finally agreed: "Okay."
Ban Sheng was discharged from the hospital at the end of April, and summer was about to come.
It was a clear day with bright sunshine. The trees were lush and green. Every flower was blooming with fragrance, every leaf was new, and the birds were chirping.
It seemed like everyone was celebrating and singing for him in Bansheng.
Ban Sheng planned to get his hair cut, and Lin Weixia went with him. He raised one eyebrow, ran his slender fingers through his soft long hair, and asked nonchalantly, "Are you willing to do it?"
Lin Weixia smiled and said gently, "I'm willing to do that. It just so happens that I've always wanted to change my hairstyle."
Ban Sheng cut all his hair into a buzz cut. The moment Lin Weixia saw him, her heart skipped a beat. His hair was so short that stubble was visible, his eyes were dark and bright, his facial lines were smooth and crisp, and he was extremely handsome.
Lin Weixia had her long hair cut just to her chest, and she happened to be wearing a campus pleated skirt, making her look fresh and pretty.
Ban Sheng put his hands in his pockets, looked at her with a smile, and commented:
"nice."
"Let's go home." Lin Weixia said.
The two returned to Bansheng's house and ate some pasta together. After eating, they sat on the sofa and watched TV. The puppy lay between them, turned its belly over, and coquettishly asked its owner to touch its belly.
It was almost evening and the sky was still bright. Today was the weekend and Qiu Minghua had nowhere to go, so he sent a message to ask Ban Sheng if he wanted to go play basketball.
Ban Sheng's fingers moved in the dialog box and he replied lazily:
[OK.]
Qiu Minghua sat on the basketball court near Ban Sheng's house, biting a stick of lychee-flavored crushed ice and waiting for a long time. When he saw his brother from a distance, he stood up excitedly, but when he approached, the smile on his face faded.
Ban Sheng and Lin Weixia were wearing couple jerseys and walking towards him slowly. Although they didn't hold hands, the tacit glances they occasionally exchanged said it all.
Both of them have outstanding looks and attracted the attention of other passers-by as soon as they entered the stadium.
Qiu Minghua gnashed his teeth and said, "I give in. I am a human, not a dog!"
"Come on." Ban Sheng raised his chin towards him.
The two started playing basketball. Lin Weixia chose a shady place, sat on the steps, and watched Ban Sheng play basketball with her hands on her cheeks.
The weather in northern Beijing was still cool at the moment. Clouds floated over the horizon, and a strong wind blew, blowing up the boy's shirt. The boy was running in the sun in his jersey, and the red wrist guard buckled on his wrist flashed with his running movements, like a burning flame. Sweat dripped down his chin, but his eyes were still dark and bright.
Ban Sheng ran quickly with the basketball, like a flash of lightning, leaping, and shooting, his movements were swift and smooth.
Lin Weixia saw that the hostility and depression in Ban Sheng were disappearing, and now he was like a new and bright rising star.
After Ban Sheng played two games of ball with Qiu Minghua, he sat down on the steps, with his hands propped up on the ground, taking a lazily rest.
Lin Weixia handed over a bottle of water and took the opportunity to curry favor with him: "Are you done? I want to eat ice cream tonight, lemon flavor, two."
Ban Sheng took it and drank the water. Hearing this, he tightened the cap slowly, raised his eyelids and glanced at her, reminding her:
“You just ate it yesterday.”
Lin Weixia has a bad stomach and gets stomachaches whenever she eats something cold. Ban Sheng is very strict and generally doesn't let her eat anything cold. Even if she acts like a spoiled child, she can only eat it once a week at most.
This time she accompanied Ban Sheng to play basketball, thinking that he would be somewhat accommodating, but this guy showed no mercy at all.
Lin Weixia stood in front of him without saying a word, her pretty eyebrows drooping, and she was obviously unhappy.
Ban Sheng glanced at her, put the ice water aside, stood up, his tall figure loomed over her, and chuckled:
"Here, if you win a ball from me, I'll take you out for ice cream tonight."
Her eyes immediately brightened up, and Lin Weixia agreed: "Okay."
"Let me make it clear first, you are not allowed to cheat." Ban Sheng lowered his neck and raised his hands to pinch her face.
Ban Sheng didn't know that Lin Weixia was a very cunning man. He had experienced this in high school. He could make him surrender with just a few tricks.
"Got it." Lin Weixia walked towards the court holding the basketball.
Lin Weixia slapped the basketball, started running, dribbling, and shot the ball with a light jump. Ban Sheng was tall, and with a swing of his long arms, he easily intercepted the ball.
I voted again and the same thing happened.
Amber eyes flashed with annoyance.
Until Ban Sheng blocked her fifth ball, Lin Weixia begged him with her eyes, but the boy did not respond. He just stood there lazily, looking nonchalant and refusing to let her go.
He looks like he is playing with the cat with ease.
The sixth ball was hit down with a "pop". The basketball hit the red floor and rolled to a shadow not far away. Lin Weixia trotted over, squatted down to pick up the ball, her dark eyelashes a little sweaty.
Suddenly I felt a little discouraged.
"I don't want to play anymore." She squatted there without getting up, and said in a muffled voice.
Why is this man so fierce? He doesn't give in to her at all.
She has picked up the ball so many times.
If she doesn't want to eat, then she won't eat. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Her long eyelashes drooped and she became depressed. Suddenly, a long figure fell down. Ban Sheng slowly squatted down, looked at her leisurely, raised his hand and pinched her nose, and chuckled:
"The little girl has a bad temper."
Lin Weixia's nose was pinched so hard that she couldn't breathe. She reached out and knocked his hand away, feeling depressed: "Don't bother me."
Ban Sheng smiled, his ruffian eyes outlined a hint of helplessness, and pulled the squatting man up. Lin Weixia stood in front of the boy, holding a basketball, and suddenly squatted down, saying slowly: "Come up."
"Ah?" Lin Weixia raised her eyes in a daze.
Before she could react, she subconsciously followed the boy's instructions and took two steps forward, spreading her legs. Ban Sheng raised his hand and gently patted her buttocks, indicating that Lin Weixia should sit on his shoulders. Lin Weixia spread her straight legs, and Ban Sheng grabbed her white calves with his two slender arms, and stood up suddenly.
Seeing this, the spectators in the stadium immediately whistled.
Lin Weixia sat on Ban Sheng's broad shoulders, a little terrified and scared, and asked in a low voice: "What are you doing?"
Ban Sheng raised his chin towards Qiu Minghua, who immediately understood and passed the ball to Lin Weixia. The boy snorted and laughed, obviously trying to coax her. His usual cold voice was mixed with doting, and he smiled:
"Let you score a goal."
Ban Sheng held his daughter up like this, letting Lin Weixia throw the ball steadily one after another. The whole court echoed with the conversation between the boys and girls:
"Which basket do you want to shoot?"
"that."
"Okay, my boyfriend will take you to vote."
A sweet and joyful mood arose spontaneously, and Lin Weixia felt as if someone had force-fed her a piece of candy; even the wind was sweet.
There were onlookers at the stadium, and they all sighed: "That guy is so handsome, but his appearance looks pretty bad, there must be many people who put out the fire for him."
"Hasn't that girl been conquered? Look at how that boy has been coaxed." The companion continued.
A couple couldn't sit still. The girl pointed at Ban Sheng, who was sitting on his shoulders and throwing a ball to his girlfriend to please her, and said angrily: "Look at them, why is there such a big difference!"
As dusk fell, orange clouds spread across the sky, soft and fluffy, reminding people of the first cup of ice cream black tea in early summer, blowing through the breeze and blowing on the young boys and girls.
Qiu Minghua raised his phone and shouted to the two people who were still playing, "Look here!"
The girl was sitting on the boy's shoulder. She had fair skin, red lips and white teeth. She turned around when she heard the words, with a smile in her clear eyes. The boy was as cool as ever, looking lazy and not showing any expression, but when he heard the girl's clear laughter, he also curled the corners of his lips.
Same couple jerseys.
The same couple bone nails.
The wind was blowing gently, the sky was bright, and with a click, the photo captured the two people at the age of 21. The image will last forever, and through the smiles on the faces of the boy and girl, it overlaps with their awkward faces when they took a photo in front of the university where they had agreed to meet three years ago.
They still like each other.
Ban Sheng asked someone to airdrop the photo to the phone, and quietly deleted the original photo from Qiu Minghua's phone.
After playing basketball, the two went home to take a shower and change clothes, and then Ban Sheng went out to take her to buy ice cream. They came to a dessert shop in a nearby shopping mall.
They sat down at a table. There were many people on the weekend, so the food was served slowly. When the bell rang, Lin Weixia couldn't wait to go to the other side to get the food. She asked Ban Sheng to stay where he was and look at his phone and wallet.
Ban Sheng was leaning back in his chair, playing with his mobile phone with his straight neck lowered. Suddenly, someone knocked lightly on his desk. When he looked up, he met the face of a strange girl.
"Hello, can I have your WeChat? Let's be friends." The girl was cute and spoke in a very confident manner.
Ban Sheng turned off his phone and put it on the table. He used his thumb to light up the screen and a wallpaper appeared on the phone. It was the photo they had just taken.
The meaning is very clear, it has an owner.
"Sorry." The girl blushed and left.
Not only that, when Lin Weixia was having dinner with Men Zi, she joked, "Your boyfriend is quite flirty. Not only did you put this photo as the background image on his WeChat Moments, but he even synced it to the campus network. Now everyone knows that you are his."
Lin Weixia's face turned a little red, and her heart seemed to be covered with a layer of rich honey. Even the air she breathed tasted sweet.
The junior year ended quickly. Lin Weixia was successfully admitted to Peking University with her own strong ability, and Ban Sheng also ended his one-year exchange life in China. He flew back to the United States during the summer vacation and began to apply for offers from schools. He had a good GPA and always took the lead in related scientific research projects, so he was well prepared.
After he returned, he devoted himself to the application and completing the required credits ahead of time. He was so busy that the two of them began a long-distance relationship.
Sometimes the two of them would video chat and not say anything. They would each be busy with their own things, and when they got tired, they would look at each other in the camera.
That's good.
It was another winter solstice, and Ban Sheng had originally wanted to spend it casually, so he flew back as he had some time off. But he didn't expect that Ban's father and his family had also come to Beijing to celebrate his birthday.
In fact, during the time when Ban Sheng was ill, his father would often fly over to see him and care for him. He knew that his father was making up for it. Ban Sheng had struggled for more than ten years and did not want to live in the intense hatred anymore, so he chose to let himself go.
The relationship between Ban Sheng and his father has eased a little, but his attitude towards his father is polite and cold. However, he gets along well with his half-sister.
Unexpectedly, this birthday, Ban's father also brought the little girl over. As soon as Ban Sheng walked into the box, a glutinous rice dumpling bumped into his legs. She was not shy at all and called out in a baby voice, "Brother."
Ban Sheng held the little girl in his arms. This hug was incredible. Later, his aunt asked the child to come down and frowned, "Come down quickly and don't disturb your brother's meal."
"I don't."
The little girl turned her head and lay directly in her brother's arms. Lin Weixia watched and laughed.
When they first met, Ban Sheng had nothing good to give to his biological sister, so he privately asked the waiter for a red envelope, stuffed a stack of money in it and handed it to her.
The little girl took it and her black eyes lit up. She smiled and said, "Thank you, brother. Guoguo also has a birthday present for you."
"What?" Ban Sheng replied with a smile, his voice softening.
The little girl took out a handful of candies from her pocket and stuffed them into his hand. She also handed him an astronaut model. Ban Sheng was stunned when he heard her say in his ear, "Dad always said that my brother's dream is... space! This is what Guoguo saved up to buy. I hope my brother will be happy every day and remember to come home to see Guoguo."
His dark eyelashes drooped, emotions surging in his eyes, and Ban Sheng's Adam's apple rolled as he agreed, "Okay."
During the meal, Ban's father tried to get close to Ban Sheng many times, constantly asking him about his studies and life. He asked ten questions, but Ban Sheng only answered one perfunctorily, which made Ban's father look embarrassed in the end.
Many people came to this birthday party. Ban's father called all the relatives, and Ban Sheng's friends also came. It was very lively. Lin Weixia was embarrassed because it was Ban Sheng's birthday, but she received an expensive gift from his family.
His aunt gave him a jade bracelet, while Ban's father gave him a very thick red envelope. Lin Weixia was in a dilemma when a large hand reached out from under the table and covered her hand. Ban Sheng motioned for her to accept it and sneered:
"Tsk, you don't even take advantage of the opportunity."
After three rounds of dinner and cutting the cake, they started drinking more and more. The environment was noisy. Ban Sheng began to feel annoyed by the large number of people and asked her in a low voice:
"Do you want to go stargazing?"
"Now? Is it okay?" Lin Weixia looked at the people in the box.
Ban Sheng showed a cynical smile and said slowly: "Why not?"
After saying that, Ban Sheng put the cigarette and lighter in his pocket and sneaked out with Lin Weixia. The GT-R roared, and Ban Sheng, holding a cigarette in his mouth, rushed to the middle of the mountain with Lin Weixia.
The two of them sat on an open space. Ban Sheng saw that she was a little cold, so he took a blanket from the car and wrapped her up. The night wind was very cold, and everything was quiet. Looking down from a high place, the neon lights of the high-rise buildings in northern Beijing were miniature like a map spread out at the foot of the mountain.
In the distance, someone set off fireworks by the river. They shot up into the sky, brilliantly brilliant, and turned into shooting stars that disappeared before their eyes.
The two of them sat there for nearly an hour. The sky was dark blue, without a single star. Ban Sheng glanced at the notification on his phone. He saw that the weather was clear and dry today, so he thought there were stars. He laughed angrily:
"There are no stars tonight."
Lin Weixia glanced at the dim sky. There was indeed nothing there. It was bright, but no stars came out, and there was no moon either.
“But I already have it.”
Ban Sheng lowered his neck to look at her and raised his eyebrows: "What?"
Lin Weixia's bright eyes were shining as she looked at him very seriously:
"No matter what the reason, the moment you appeared in the world, I had a star that I couldn't tell anyone about."
"Happy birthday, Asheng."
She wanted to tell him that his coming into the world was a blessing, that his mother's death on that day was an accident, that this day was not a curse, and that the winter solstice was a day worth celebrating.
Lin Weixia said this because she knew how difficult it was for Ban Sheng to get through it. She saw the withdrawal symptoms he had after he stopped taking the medication and the pain he felt when he occasionally woke up from nightmares.
The wind made the leaves rustle. The place they were in was very empty, as if they were the only two people in the entire universe.
Ban Sheng looked straight at Lin Weixia, the emotions in his eyes deepening. It was the first time someone told him that his appearance in this world was not a curse but a blessing.
It turns out that this is what it feels like to be cherished, like being wrapped in scorching sunshine.
Lin Weixia looked at Ban Sheng expectantly, thinking that the boy would say something, but he seemed shy, his neck turned red, spreading all the way to his ears. He lowered his neck, pulled her up, and coughed lightly:
"Let's go back. It's windy."
After she stood up, the boy put his hands in the pockets of his black windbreaker, leaving Lin Weixia with a very cool back view. In the dark night, the boy's red ears could be faintly seen.
On the way home, Lin Weixia was sitting in the passenger seat, playing with her phone and looking at him from time to time with a teasing look in her eyes. The redness on his neck and ears had not yet faded.
Ban Sheng drove the car, staring straight ahead, and after a long while he managed to utter, "Don't bother me."
"Oh." Lin Weixia found it funny.
After returning home, Ban Sheng walked in and threw the car keys on the table. He felt thirsty, so he went to pour a glass of water, and then turned on the heater. Lin Weixia followed the man with her hands behind her back, and kept peeking at him.
She just said a sweet word, why such a big reaction
"Are you shy?" Lin Weixia stood behind him and pulled his clothes.
The man snorted and laughed, but didn't respond. He walked straight to the balcony and closed the French window. After closing the window, Ban Sheng sat on the sofa and stretched his neck lazily, making a clicking sound from his joints.
Lin Weixia knelt on the sofa and replied to the message. After a while, she quietly moved over, spread her long legs, sat directly on his thighs, and put her arms around his neck. The man put down his phone and subconsciously stretched out his hand to hug the girl's waist.
Lin Weixia was also bold. She reached out and pinched his burning ears, jokingly saying, "Oh, it's so hot."
Ban Sheng raised his eyelids and glanced at her. His eyes were heavy and he didn't say anything. Lin Weixia thought he was embarrassed, so she hugged his neck and shook him for a while, and softened her voice: "Okay, you actually ignored me."
Lin Weixia sat on his thighs, swaying and rubbing, and the sound suddenly disappeared. She obviously felt something was wrong, her body stiffened, and she subconsciously stood up and wanted to run.
His wrist was grabbed by a cold hand and he sat back down heavily. He met a pair of heavy eyes and the emotions in Ban Sheng's eyes were about to burst out.
My heart shrank uncontrollably.
“No one has ever said anything like this to me,” Bensheng said hoarsely, looking at her, “but you are the sun.”
I want to keep it carefully and not let anyone find it.
The sun that belongs only to him.