As spring arrives, I officially enter the second semester of my senior year. The classmates around me are either preparing to find a job or busy preparing for graduation. Many of them just say hello to each other when they meet at school.
After Lin Weixia was confirmed to be admitted to graduate school, she has been preparing for her graduation thesis. Occasionally, when she comes out of the school library, she will make plans with friends to have dinner or watch a movie.
After the two got back together, Lin Weixia discovered that Ban Sheng's personality had changed a little. Although he still looked cool on the surface, he had become extremely possessive in private and was jealous from time to time.
On Friday, Lin Weixia called Ban Sheng after leaving school. The call was quickly connected, and a pleasant, low voice came through:
"Hello."
"Let me tell you, I'm going to have dinner with my friends later and won't go to your house." Lin Weixia held the phone to her ear with a gentle voice.
"Okay," Ban Sheng agreed readily, then changed the subject and raised his eyebrows, "Male or female?"
Lin Weixia was walking on the sidewalk of Yanxi Road. When a takeaway truck passed by, it braked loudly. She couldn't help but curl her lips and started to tease him. She said:
"Boy."
There was a dead silence on the other end of the phone. The man's weak breathing could be heard over the uneven sound of electricity. Realizing that he was serious, Lin Weixia spoke to comfort him:
"Girls, but it's OK for me to go out to eat with ordinary male friends."
Ban Sheng replied lazily, "Okay, but you have to take me with you."
“…”Lin Weixia.
"Current, nine o'clock." Ban Sheng said.
Lin Weixia of course disagreed and started bargaining: "What if my friend wants to go shopping after dinner? 11 o'clock."
"Ten o'clock," Bensheng no longer gave her room for negotiation and changed the subject, asking her, "What should I eat tonight?"
Lin Weixia wanted to say a few more words, but her attention was diverted after hearing the second half of the sentence. She reminded him to cook some pasta, or go to the school cafeteria to eat, and in short, order less takeout.
Lin Weixia and her friends went to an Indian restaurant and ordered several dishes. After tasting them one by one, the last dish that came out was banana pancake. Lin Weixia picked up a piece of the hot pancake with chopsticks and just as she put it to her mouth, the cell phone on the table started buzzing.
The screen lit up, with the words "Ban Sheng" jumping on it.
Lin Weixia looked helpless and had to pick up the phone. Ban Sheng was talking nonsense on the other end of the phone. He just asked her what she wanted to eat and now he called again to ask her what she was going to do after dinner.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Weixia took a sip of juice. Her friend found it funny and joked, "He can't live without you. He called you so many times in the time it took to have a meal."
"The only one who can make the Marshal so nervous is you, Lin Weixia."
Lin Weixia wrinkled her nose in embarrassment at the teasing and denied it, "No way."
However, although Ban Sheng was nervous, after dinner, his friends wanted to go to the bar, and Lin Weixia told him about it while chatting with him.
Ban Sheng didn't say anything, just asked her to be careful and send him the address.
Lin Weixia and her friends went to an underground bar, had two drinks, and then watched a makeshift performance. They were a little drunk and walked out in a very good mood.
It was dark outside at night, with a cool breeze blowing. Lin Weixia took her friend's hand and asked for a taxi, but when she looked up, she saw a black GT-R parked on the side of the road.
It seemed to have stopped for a long time.
With a move of her heart, Lin Weixia pulled her friend up the stairs. She walked around to the passenger side, opened the door and got in. The man sitting in the driver's seat was wearing a black baseball cap. Under the dim light, a smooth throat bone was exposed. He leaned over, stretched out his slender fingers to wipe off the wine stains and foam at the corners of her lips, and chuckled:
"How come you're just like a kid?"
After that, he took out a brown paper bag with his right hand and handed it to her naturally. Lin Weixia took it, opened it and saw that it was her favorite sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice cake. She tilted her head and asked him:
"When did you come?"
My friend sitting in the back seat answered, “Since you walked into the bar this morning.”
Even though he was controlling her, Ban Sheng also respected Lin Weixia and told her it was her freedom to drink. However, because he was worried that something might happen, he sent a message to her friend, asking her to contact him if she had any questions, and he waited outside the bar the whole time.
Time passed quickly, and the relationship between the two was always good, and they never quarreled again. In early April, Ban Sheng returned to the United States because of school matters.
He stayed back for a long time this time because he was busy with school matters. Often when Ban Sheng finished his work, Lin Weixia had already gone to bed, so the two of them had less time to contact each other.
Even so, when Lin Weixia and Men Zi were shopping, they would immediately buy a razor or the cola that Ban Sheng liked to drink. Men Zi raised an eyebrow and said:
"I noticed that you like Ban Sheng more and more, and you're getting more and more indulgent with him. You like him more now, right? I told you, love is like this. At the beginning, the girl doesn't like him that much, but the boy likes him to death. After he gets the girl, the situation is reversed. And after you met again, you took the initiative to pursue him, right? Look, he's flown back to school now. Did he call you?"
Lin Weixia retorted subconsciously, but couldn't help thinking about it afterwards. It seemed that this was because of her personality in high school. She was introverted and unwilling to express herself. After they reconciled, she did become much more proactive.
The most important thing is that Ban Sheng really hasn't contacted her much recently. Every time they video chatted, they only talked for a while before his phone rang. Then he said he had to go to the laboratory and finally hung up the video in a hurry.
Friday was the day Lin Weixia went to the welfare home. She stood at the platform waiting for the bus. While waiting, she took out her cell phone and called Ban Sheng. The call was picked up quickly. His voice sounded like he had just stayed up all night. His voice was a little hoarse: "Hello."
"Hey, I remember you will be back next Thursday? Do you want to have dinner together then?" Lin Weixia asked.
"I have an appointment that day." Ban Sheng said slowly.
"Boys or girls?" Lin Weixia couldn't help but ask.
Ban Sheng seemed to be thinking seriously and then spoke: "She looks cold on the outside, but she's actually quite a cute girl."
Sure enough, she really liked him more now.
So Ban Sheng went to eat with other girls without fear, and the situation became more and more unequal. Lin Weixia didn't want him to control her anymore. She felt wronged and angry in her heart, but she said calmly, "It's up to you."
After he finished speaking, there was no response for a long time. Lin Weixia frowned, raised the phone in front of her, and saw that it was out of battery.
Bad phone.
Too lazy to care, a blue bus just came slowly from not far away, Lin Weixia got on the bus with her cello on her back and swiped her card. The bus drove for more than 40 minutes and stopped in front of the welfare house station.
Lin Weixia got off the car and just as she stepped into the car, children rushed over from all directions and surrounded her. They began to chatter and share their recent report cards. She listened to them attentively with a smile on her lips.
After giving the children music and psychotherapy classes, Lin Weixia walked out of the classroom and came to the yard. Seeing Sister Wen cutting paper, she walked over and picked up a pair of scissors to help.
The two chatted while cutting paper, analyzing the different psychological conditions and cognitive stages of each special child. Not long after, a horn sounded outside. Sister Wen put down her scissors and walked out. After a while, she came back and said with a smile, "Xiao Lin, can you help me move things?"
"no problem."
After saying that, Sister Wen went to talk to the other Sister Wens and teachers at the welfare home. Lin Weixia put down the scissors and walked out. A yellow truck was parked outside the welfare home, and workers kept passing by carrying boxes of things in their arms and going in.
Lin Weixia untied the rubber band on her wrist, tied up her long hair behind her head, rolled up the sleeves of her white sweater, and began to help move things.
After moving for about half an hour, Lin Weixia stood in the storage room and took a look at the boxes. These seemed to contain learning supplies and books for hearing-impaired children, as well as toys for other children. There was a logo similar to that of a foundation on the boxes.
Lin Weixia took a tissue to wipe the sweat off her forehead and asked casually, "Sister Wen, who made such a generous donation? I've seen this several times."
Ever since she started volunteering at this welfare home in her freshman year, almost all the kids here would run out as soon as they saw this car.
The same thing happened during my junior year.
There are so many donations that this activity storage room is almost full.
"There is an investor who has set up a foundation specifically for donating to children with special needs. He has been making long-term donations for almost four years. Well, come to think of it, the name of this foundation is quite similar to yours. It's called the Weixia Foundation."
Weixia Foundation. When Lin Weixia heard the word, her heart skipped a beat and she made a guess. She asked Sister Wen, "Sister Wen, who is the legal person behind this foundation?"
"Wait a minute, I'll go to the office and look for the donation contract," Sister Wen said, remembering something and picking up her phone. "I have an electronic version on my phone. Let me take a look. The other party donated anonymously, but left a phone number."
"I remember that the donor was a handsome young man who was very polite. But when he came to the welfare home a few years ago, I thought he looked a bit gloomy. He often wore a black jacket and sat on your desk for a long time without saying a word. He looked quite depressed."
When the cell phone was handed to her, Lin Weixia saw the familiar phone number. With a "boom", the wall in her heart collapsed. In a flash, she remembered something and ran outside.
Sister Wen's voice was still muttering behind her. As she was talking, Xiao Lin disappeared and shouted:
"Hey, where are you going?"
Lin Weixia came to the children's playground, looked around with her amber eyes, and finally found the girl with pigtails, Ding Ding, who was playing on the wooden horse. Yue'er was also a hearing-impaired child.
Lin Weixia walked over, squatted in front of her, raised her hand and touched her head: "Every year during the holidays, you send me greeting cards and gifts. Who taught you to give them to me?"
Yue Er hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She pointed to the area below her neck and said with difficulty, "There is a... Butterfly's brother here. He asked me to give it to you. He said... If he gave it to you, you might refuse. He said you didn't want to see him."
Lin Weixia's eyes suddenly became wet. She rubbed her eyelids heavily. The more she rubbed, the more she wanted to cry.
Lin Weixia had her own temporary desk in the welfare home’s office. She ran back to the office and opened the locked drawer, which was full of greeting cards and gifts that Yue’er gave her every year.
She sat down and opened each card at random. It read:
Xia, congratulations on your award.
Happy birthday, Xia.
Summer, Christmas is peaceful, it's snowing outside.
xia, happy Valentine's Day.
Each greeting card begins with the name "xia" and there is no signature, only a small blue shark hidden in the corner.
Like he was afraid of being discovered showing his cautious concern.
Each card came with a gift, including bracelets, scarves, pearl earrings, etc. The children gave Lin Weixia so many gifts that she hurriedly collected them every time and didn't look at them carefully. She just put them in the drawer and kept them safe.
It turned out that after the two separated, when Ban Sheng was not around, he had been silently involved in her life behind the scenes.
It was so ugly when they broke up. Ban Sheng was injured and abandoned abroad, but even after being hurt by her, he still loved him wholeheartedly.
He has been donating to the Weixia Foundation in her name. Lin Weixia was wondering how much a person must love someone to love the other person so wholeheartedly.
Lin Weixia sat there and suddenly remembered that during her sophomore year, she was dragged to attend a department party.
Everyone played Truth or Dare. Lin Weixia lost and was asked to call her first love. The card she drew was - Tell your ex that you don’t like him.
Lin Weixia had a poor alcohol tolerance to begin with, and after being made drunk by classmates from the same department and drinking a few glasses of mixed liquor, he became even more disoriented and very drunk.
Her face was so hot that Lin Weixia pressed it against the table, trying to cool down. With hazy eyes, she dialed the number, thinking it was out of service, but instead heard a thrilling beep.
I didn't expect it could work.
Lin Weixia thought the phone was out of service and didn't dare to call.
There was a click as the connection was connected, and my heartbeat suddenly stopped.
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and no one spoke first.
For some reason, Lin Weixia was a little nervous. Her mind went blank and she couldn't utter a word. Her throat was dry as well.
She could imagine the cold and restrained face on the other end of the phone, and when they separated in the senior year of high school, he came to her with a hurt face. Ban Sheng said he was going abroad and was betting on whether Lin Weixia would keep him. When she said she had a safe journey, the boy's dark eyes dimmed, wet, disappointed, and proudly frustrated.
The phone screen showed that the call lasted 54 seconds. He didn't say anything and didn't hang up.
The classmates kept urging Lin Weixia to speak faster by using their mouth shapes.
Lin Weixia burped, and because of the alcohol fermenting in her brain, she spoke without thinking:
"I don't like you."
There was silence on the other end of the phone, a dead silence, as if sadness was spreading.
There was a "bang" and someone screamed immediately. When a girl at the table opposite Lin Weixia was pouring wine, her hand shook and the bottle fell to the ground and immediately broke into pieces.
The girl also spilled wine on herself, and the scene suddenly became chaotic. Some people cleaned up, some showed concern, and the noise was loud and chaotic. Lin Weixia's attention was diverted, and she looked over.
Amid the noise, a deep voice came from the receiver:
"But I love you."
Lin Weixia thought it was an illusion at the time. When she came to her senses, there was no sound from the other end and the phone was hung up.
I always thought that what Ban Sheng said was her illusion.
But Lin Weixia only now realized that it was not the case.
Lin Weixia's eyes were red and tears were falling. She put the thick greeting cards and gifts in the drawer into a bag and took it away.
As night fell and neon lights flickered, Lin Weixia was walking on her way home. Her phone was out of battery, so she returned home carrying her things. The key unlocked the door, and a person stood there. The air smelled of food.
He lowered his head again and met Ban Sheng's eyes, who was standing in the living room not far away.
After not seeing each other for a month, Ban Sheng's short hair had grown a little longer, but he still had that naturally tough face. He was wearing a black T-shirt that revealed a part of his collarbone, with swallowtail butterflies crawling on him. At this moment, he was holding a screwdriver in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth, with white smoke exhaling from his thin lips, looking both cool and handsome.
He was helping her assemble the shoe rack.
Lin Weixia bought a shoe rack online last week. After receiving it, she complained to Ban Sheng that she couldn't understand the instructions and couldn't assemble it. Ban Sheng asked her to leave it alone and wait for him to come back and assemble it.
Lin Weixia said at that time that when you come back, the shoe rack will be covered with dust.
"You came back early?" Lin Weixia looked confused.
"Yeah." Ban Sheng replied lazily.
But in fact, he was very busy abroad, trying his best to complete his tasks and come back to see her early.
"What's being cooked in the kitchen?" Lin Weixia stood at the entrance and looked at him.
Ban Sheng lowered his neck, his arm lines tensed by the action of screwing, and replied nonchalantly:
“Beef brisket stewed with potatoes.”
When he was abroad, the two chatted and Lin Weixia told him that she had recently eaten at a delicious restaurant that served stewed beef brisket with potatoes. She also regretfully told Ban Sheng that she had only eaten there once and the restaurant had since closed.
I didn't expect that he kept it in mind.
"You called me during the day and said you had a date with a girl. That person... was me?" Lin Weixia said belatedly.
Ban Sheng raised his eyelids and looked at him: "If not you, who else could it be?"
Lin Weixia put the paper bag aside, walked over quickly, and threw herself behind Ban Sheng, putting her arms around his waist.
Ban Sheng was concentrating on installing the shoe rack when a person suddenly hung on his back. He was caught off guard and almost fell to the ground. He was worried that Lin Weixia would fall, so he raised his hand to support her hips, his face a little gloomy:
"Want to break my waist?"
"Okay, you can move yourself after you break it." Ban Sheng snorted and laughed.
This man suddenly said something obscene, and Lin Weixia blushed. Ban Sheng patted her butt and motioned for Lin Weixia to stand up.
After the evacuation, Lin Weixia hadn't reacted yet. Ban Sheng put down the screwdriver, leaned down slightly, put his elbow through her arm, and picked her up horizontally.
Ban Sheng sat on the sofa, hugged her and sat her on his lap, pinched her face, raised his eyebrows, and asked:
"Why do I still have this treatment today?"
It's rare for Lin Weixia to take the initiative to throw herself into his arms.
"Where do you want me to do it tonight? In the bathroom or in front of the washroom? You choose." Ban Sheng's tone was very bad.
This guy, how come he doesn't even blush when he says dirty things. The two of them never got to that stage, sometimes when they were kissing and accidentally went off, Lin Weixia was a little scared and said she wasn't ready, and in the end she would help him with her hands, or he wouldn't go in, and after they were done, Ban Sheng would go take a cold shower.
Lin Weixia's throat suddenly became dry, and she whispered, "I'll tell you something."
"Go ahead."
"That's right, I know everything about the card and the Weixia Foundation." Lin Weixia looked at his moved expression and said a little embarrassedly.
"I thought you didn't like me that much. I always felt that I liked you more, right—" Lin Weixia put her hands on his neck, touched the spinous process on his back, and said in a low voice.
Before she finished speaking, Ban Sheng interrupted her, looking back at her with his dark eyes, and said seriously:
"impossible."
He will like her only more.
Their eyes met, their breaths intertwined, and Lin Weixia saw her complete self in his pupils.
My heart moved.
Ban Sheng reached out and pinched her chin, pressing his lips down. His breath was cold, and his lips and teeth were pried open, and his tongue slid in. She passively sat on his thighs with her head tilted back.
The two of them kissed passionately, low moans echoing in the room. She was wearing a white sweater, one side of which was peeled off by Ban Sheng, revealing half of her black bra on her fair shoulders. The man's eyes darkened, his breathing became heavier, and he lowered his head to bite her.
Ban Sheng picked her up and walked towards the room. Lin Weixia subconsciously wrapped her long legs around his waist. When he licked and bit her, one side of her shoulder felt numb and painful, and it felt like an electric current was running through her heart.
The person was thrown to the soft body by Ban Sheng. In the dim light, Lin Weixia lay there a little nervous. Unlike the last time she had a fever, she was very awake now. Her toes couldn't help but tense up and her body was sweating.
Whenever he touched her, Lin Weixia would tremble uncontrollably, and Ban Sheng's suppressed sweat would drip onto her collarbone.
The white sweater and the man's black T-shirt overlapped and fell to the ground, outlining an ambiguous spring scene.
Lin Weixia turned her back, revealing her snow-white back. She was wearing a black bra around her narrower-than-paper waist, revealing her butterfly bones. The bra had an intricate knot. Ban Sheng leaned over her, hooked his fingers around a string, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Tear it up?"
"No, it's new." Lin Weixia buried her face in the pillow and said in a muffled voice.
Ban Sheng chuckled: "Can't you afford the compensation?"
With a "ripping" sound, the black lace underwear was torn open and entangled on the man's arm with bulging veins. Ban Sheng pulled the man out and turned him around. The light was dim. This time Lin Weixia could see clearly that there was an English tattoo under his collarbone near his heart, but the light was too dim to see it clearly.
Lin Weixia was so nervous that she turned her face away. Her chin was twisted over and her lips and tongue came in. It smelled like mint leaves, spicy and stimulating. Her toes tensed and her heart sank.
His long hair stuck to his strong arms, and Ban Sheng's eyes were filled with unbearable red. He took out something and dismantled it with skillful movements.
"You...how are you so skilled?" Lin Weixia's voice was intermittent.
Ban Sheng didn't say anything, just snorted and laughed. When it really happened, Lin Weixia felt how domineering and strong the man was. She felt like she was broken in half.
Ban Sheng bumped into her and said in a hoarse voice: "This is my first time using it."
He was talking nonsense in Lin Weixia's ear while he was doing it to her. Lin Weixia was in so much pain that she cried and felt strangely good. Everything she saw was so blurry. He kept provoking her:
"The first time I had a wet dream in high school was because of you. The time you were wearing a long red dress and playing the erhu on stage."
"You... stop talking." Lin Weixia glared at him.
But this glance, under Ban Sheng, looks very seductive.
Ban Sheng's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and he pulled the person up from the bed, letting Lin Weixia face away from him, and once again made a fool of himself, being extremely bad:
"When I was abroad, I closed my eyes and fantasized about you. Do you know how many times I could do that?"
Lin Weixia didn't know how she spent that night. She was like a butterfly that was hit by a storm and was shattered into pieces. Finally, it stayed on a leaf, shaking its wings.
But they finally belonged to each other.