Lin Yingtao wanted to evade the details at first, and explain her "relationship history" to a few seniors who didn't look like bad people at the night talk. But she was not someone who could keep things to herself. Especially when the seniors asked her questions, the more details she got, she even told them that when she was a child, her family lived in the seventh house of the 24th row, and Jiang Qiaoxi lived in the sixth house.
"Oh, I don't want to know. Just tell me about high school!" Meng Lijun said. She got out of bed to change the battery of her mobile phone. While listening, she stood under Lin Yingtao's bed and asked her if she wanted to eat some diced papaya.
Lin Yingtao felt that the senior students had accepted her.
Meng Lijun also taught her: "Eat more, it will make your breasts bigger. Your boyfriend's hand works, but you can be superstitious." She then picked up the fruit bowl and shared it with the other sisters on the bed who had not brushed their teeth yet.
She went to bed and listened to the honest girl Lin Yingtao continue to recall her high school days. Because she had written a letter to that boy, her classmates didn't like her very much when she first entered high school, and they disliked her in school.
The sister sitting on bed No. 2 and playing with her phone suddenly said, "Sister, let me tell you, some of them will regret it after they go to college!"
The girl in bed number 4 was lying in bed. Suddenly she turned over and said to the others, "Damn, I really want to go back to high school and confess my love to my high school idol!"
Lin Yingtao was sitting on bed number 6 in a corner. She was obviously not at the level to understand what the senior students were saying.
The senior student in bed number 1 was reading "Globalization and Postmodern Education" under the reading light. She said leisurely, "Qile, you can still reminisce about your youth, but your high school classmates are probably just bored and gossiping. When they are in their thirties or forties and look back on their youth, they will find that, oh, at the best age, there was nothing. If you want to study hard, you didn't get into a particularly good university - can you get into a 985 university? If you want to enjoy your youth, you don't even dare to say a word to the boy you like. I guess your boyfriend may still remember you in the future, but he will definitely not remember them."
Meng Lijun said, "Go on, what will you do after you turn around?"
Lin Yingtao said that she transferred to the same school and was assigned to the same class as Jiang Qiaoxi - "that boy". She didn't want to talk to him at first, but he studied Olympiad mathematics every day and only came to the class after morning reading.
"He put the kettle on my table and asked me to get him some water," Lin Yingtao thought for a moment, "and one day he put a note under the cup saying sorry to me, and then I forgave him!"
This rapid plot twist caused the five senior students to crane their heads to look at her at the same time.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," said the senior student in bed number 2, "He asked you to get him some water?"
The senior student in bed number 4 said: "He likes you too?"
Meng Lijun said disdainfully: "Ren Lele said at the beginning that we knew each other when we were children. Did you listen carefully?"
"No, teacher, I didn't hear it at first!" The senior student in bed number 2 lifted the quilt and threw her phone aside, "Can I ask for it to be repeated?"
Lin Yingtao called her parents from Beijing. She said that the graduate students in her dormitory were all very nice to her. They took her to lunch at noon and took her to the graduate student bathroom to take a shower. She already knew her way around the school.
Dad was very happy: "You should ask the seniors for advice on your studies."
Lin Yingtao said: "We have to learn everything, singing, dancing, painting—"
Dad laughed and said, "Did you learn all these when you were a kid?"
Lin Yingtao said: "I learned it when I was in primary school. It's been many years. I remember that when I was a kid, I fell down and squatted all day long when I was learning to dance..."
The senior students in the dormitory were particularly interested in what Lin Yingtao's boyfriend looked like: "What's his name? Let's search it online."
Lin Yingtao didn't dare to say it. She was scared of the gossips she had received in high school. It had left her with a psychological trauma. She was afraid that if her former classmates knew that she had talked about these things with her college senior, she would be scolded for being self-indulgent.
The senior student in bed number 2 took off all her clothes and locked them in the bathroom cabinet: "So, this is how important the education industry is. We are basically shouldering the hope for the future of mankind."
Lin Yingtao took off her shirt from the side, her hair was a mess, and she reached behind her back to unbutton her bra. She was not used to public bathrooms, and she didn't dare to look up at other girls' bodies. In fact, she rarely even looked at her own body.
Suddenly, a pair of cold hands grabbed Lin Yingtao's chest from behind.
Lin Yingtao bent down and screamed "Ah", then subconsciously turned around and tried to hide. Her face was flushed and the jewel cherry necklace on her chest was shaking.
The senior in bed number 4 was changing her slippers nearby and commented with a smile, "Little girl."
Meng Lijun let go of her hand, and then touched her chest in public: "What's the logic? It's bigger than mine even without the blessing of my boyfriend's hand."
When Lin Yingtao was rubbing the foam on her hair, Senior Meng pinched her butt from behind. She gradually got used to the seniors' cold and unrestrained style. She turned around and asked, "Senior, what is a boyfriend's hand?"
Meng Lijun put her hands on her hips and thought for a while. Her black hair was soaked and hung down behind her head. She was tall and thin, with high cheekbones. She looked very imposing. She didn't look like she would become a kindergarten teacher after graduation. It seemed that children would cry when they saw her, and parents would complain about her.
"You'll know when you find a boyfriend," Meng Lijun raised her eyebrows at her, narrowed her eyes and added, "It's super useful."
The thing that the seniors were most curious about was why Lin Yingtao let her school idol run away. Because in the story Lin Yingtao told, the boy finally went to the United States, and he "should" have a good new college life.
"Do you know how hard it is to find a decent partner after graduating from college?" the senior in bed No. 4 asked her, "Girls of your age don't understand what you've missed."
Lin Yingtao was stunned for a moment: "No way..."
Just behind me, the senior sister in bed number 3 was wearing a facial mask and watching an old episode of "Kangxi Comes Here".
Lin Yingtao took a look and said, "Don't you all like Gao Shanfeng? He looks like he's in his thirties..."
"It's different!" said the senior in bed number 2, "Men are all stinky! The older they get, the stinkier they get!"
Lin Yingtao blinked. If she remembered correctly, the senior in bed number 2 had just praised the Eight Wise Kings in Young Justice Bao for being handsome a few days ago.
"Sister, listen to my experience," the senior in bed No. 1 said as she flipped through the latest issue of "Early Childhood Education" on her bed, "The best men are always when they are 16 or 17 years old, because at that time, to put it bluntly, they are childish and impulsive, but to put it nicely, they are cute and sincere. They treat you and your feelings with their heart. When these men grow up, enter college, and step into society, you will see that they are greedy, calculating, and smelly, which has nothing to do with our ideal 'love'."
The senior student in bed number 3 turned around and rubbed the mud mask on her face. She said, "Of course, the men also attack us women in this way."
"So this is the good thing about preschool education," the senior student in bed number 1 got out of bed and put the subject magazine on the table. She took off her glasses, put up her uncombed hair, and said to Lin Yingtao, "You come into contact with human cubs every day. As long as you don't hate children, you don't have to experience too much calculation and intrigue for most of the day."
Lin Yingtao often went shopping with her schoolmates on Saturdays. They went to Sanlitun or Xidan Joy City. Sometimes they also went to Wangfujing Street together, but Lin Yingtao didn't like coming here very much.
Even when she was standing at the street corner, she could feel that Jiang Qiaoxi was nearby.
Once, senior Meng Lijun went to Wangfujing to buy a hat, and Lin Yingtao stood by to help her carry the bag. Meng Lijun suddenly said, "Lele, have you ever tried to contact your American idol?"
Lin Yingtao thought about it and shook her head.
Meng Lijun sighed: "You will regret it later if you didn't have more things happen between you and him in high school." She winked at her.
Lin Yingtao laughed.
A trace of melancholy flashed across Meng Lijun's eyes.
She changed hats one after another, looked left and right in the mirror, and found one that matched her lip color and earrings today.
"Many people, once you miss them, they're gone," Meng Lijun suddenly said with emotion, "even if we meet again in the future, it won't be the same as before. How cruel."
They were buying coffee downstairs. Meng Lijun ordered a latte, and Lin Yingtao ordered an iced Americano. She took a sip and immediately frowned at the bitterness.
"Why is it so bitter?" Lin Yingtao couldn't help but say.
Meng Lijun looked at her expression from the side and teased, "You can't endure hardship, can you?"
She handed her the latte in her hand and took Lin Yingtao's Americano: "Drink this."
Lin Yingtao watched Meng Lijun take the glass of American coffee and take a big sip as if nothing had happened.
Meng Lijun laughed at her on the subway platform: "I could tell on your first day at school that you are the kind of little girl who can't stand hardship." As she said that, she pinched Lin Yingtao's face hard with the hand wearing the embossed ring.
Lin Yingtao only went shopping on Saturdays, because Yu Qiao would come to see her from the college road on Sundays. The management of the Flight Academy of Beihang University was strict. From Monday to Saturday, from 6 am to 10 pm, the pilot students had almost no freedom.
Yu Qiao only came on Sundays. Sometimes he wore casual clothes, sometimes he wore the uniform of the Flight School of Beihang University. Sitting in the cafeteria of the Normal University, he was very conspicuous. Yu Qiao thought the uniform was ugly: "It looks like a security guard." But he was tall and had broad shoulders, so he would not look ugly no matter how he wore the uniform.
As long as Yu Qiao comes, Lin Yingtao will not feel that she is too far away from her previous life. Yu Qiao rarely mentions his life in the Flight Academy of Beihang University. He mostly talks to Lin Yingtao about Cai Fangyuan, Du Shang and others in Shanghai. "I heard from Cai Fangyuan that Huang Zhanjie is on a certain website," Yu Qiao touched his ear, he didn't remember, "He started to earn his own living expenses!"
Lin Yingtao was eating spareribs and asked in surprise, "Did you make money by writing novels?"
Yu Qiao nodded and said puzzledly: "There are people who actually read the stuff he wrote."
There were a lot of girls coming and going in the canteen of the Normal University. Sometimes after finishing his meal, Yu Qiao would sit opposite Lin Yingtao and look around. Sometimes girls would come over and exchange phone numbers with him. Lin Yingtao knew that there were very few girls in Beihang University, and there was no girl in the Flight Academy.
Qin Yeyun also sent a text message to Lin Yingtao, asking her to keep an eye on Yu Qiao and not let him be seduced by the pretty girl from Beijing Normal University.
"There are very few male students in our major," Lin Yingtao told him while eating, "and they are all transferred here. In fact, most of the female students are also transferred here."
Yu Qiao said, "I think you are the only one who can take the initiative to learn this."
Lin Yingtao said: "No, there is a senior in our dormitory who seems to love our major even more than Grandma Zhang."
Yu Qiao sat opposite and observed Lin Yingtao for a while. His eyes were always scrutinizing, like an engineer inspecting the interior of an airplane to see if there was any malfunction. Every time Lin Yingtao saw this look in his eyes, she always felt that he was going to find fault with her and make fun of her.
"What are you going to do again!" Lin Yingtao counterattacked in advance.
"Are you on good terms with your roommates?" Yu Qiao asked suddenly.
Lin Yingtao smiled: "The senior in our dormitory is very funny. She is actually a very nice person, but she always speaks in an exaggerated way on purpose..."
Yu Qiao came to the Normal University to see her less and less frequently, from once a week to once a month. He would call before coming, and sometimes they would eat in the Normal University cafeteria, Lin Yingtao would pay with her meal card, and sometimes when they went out for a nice meal, Yu Qiao would inevitably pay for it.
Lin Yingtao sent a text message to Qin Yeyun, she asked: "Yu Qiaoer, have you been in a relationship recently?"
Yu Qiao was waiting for the traffic light. He said loudly, "How can I negotiate? I will go abroad to study flying in my junior year."
Lin Yingtao was stunned and looked at his back.
"You are going abroad?"
Yu Qiao said, “Yes.”
"How many years will you be abroad?" she asked.
Yu Qiao said, "Two years, maybe not sure, what if he doesn't come back?"
Yu Qiao prefers northern food and hates Japanese food. When Lin Yingtao eats Japanese food with him, he is always picky and after eating, he goes to a nearby small restaurant to eat something else. Lin Yingtao said, "With your stomach, can you go abroad?"
Yu Qiao said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."
Lin Yingtao said: "You should find a girlfriend who can cook Chinese food and is willing to go abroad with you."
Yu Qiao hummed, and then heard Lin Yingtao say: "Qin Yeyun is now particularly good at-" Yu Qiao didn't finish listening. He raised his hand and pressed Lin Yingtao's head. Lin Yingtao's head paused forward, and she cursed immediately, and she felt like her neck was about to break.
"You'll feel uncomfortable if you don't find a partner for me, right?" Yu Qiao said with disdain.
Lin Yingtao coughed, rubbed her neck and said hoarsely: "There's no way you can find a partner..."
Yu Qiao sent her to the entrance of the Normal University, and before leaving, he lowered his head and asked her, "How are you doing in school?"
Lin Yingtao was a little puzzled: "It's pretty good."
Yu Qiao looked at her again, probably thinking that she was telling the truth. He turned and walked away. Lin Qile said, "Slow down!" He was about to cross the road, waved his hand, and did not look back.
At the end of 2008, a major event occurred.
The shabby house in Beijing where my aunt lives was announced to be demolished. The government not only gave them two replacement houses, but also the demolition fee of four to five million yuan. Lin Yingtao went home for the winter vacation. She lay on her bed and looked through Jiang Qiaoxi's Mathematical Olympiad materials in the bedside cabinet. Her mother pushed the door open and said with a smile, "Yingtao, tell your aunt what you want. Your aunt and uncle are in Hong Kong buying things."
"Hong Kong?" Lin Yingtao asked in surprise.
Cai Fangyuan didn't go back to the provincial capital before the New Year. He rented a house in Shanghai and said he had set up a network studio with his classmates from the computer department. He started his own business since high school. He was free from constraints in college and took advantage of Uncle Cai's hospitalization to move his father and borrow a large sum of money. He became even more wild afterwards.
Lin Yingtao didn't see him again until after the New Year. Cai Fangyuan treated them all to a Western buffet. Lin Yingtao laughed as Du Shang talked to her about studying in Shanghai.
Huang Zhanjie came in the middle of the meeting wearing a snow-white down jacket and sunglasses, looking very mysterious.
Cai Fangyuan stood up and said from a distance: "Come and welcome this famous writer Huang Zhanjie from Qidian!!"
Huang Zhanjie cursed inwardly and took off his sunglasses, as if he was afraid that others would think he was crazy and wore sunglasses in the hotel.
Lin Yingtao was drinking fruit wine at the table, her cheeks flushed. She asked, "Writer Huang, you really won't let me read your masterpiece?"
"No, no, no, no, no," Huang Zhanjie pretended to be deep and said, "You little girl can't understand, you can't understand!"
Cai Fangyuan was eating foie gras: "Why can't she understand? It's Lin Yingtao, she understands everything! She even understood the pornographic comics!"
The group of people were laughing and seemed particularly noisy.
The silence after the noise makes one seem even more lonely and desolate.
After the meal, Dushan quickly returned to Shanghai. It turned out that his girlfriend stayed there for the New Year, and he wanted to go and accompany her.
He sent a text message to Lin Yingtao, saying that he was very happy to see her like this after coming back for the New Year: "I was worried that you would still be the same as you were during the summer vacation. You should forget what you should forget."
Cai Fangyuan told Lin Yingtao that he had a group that included talented people from computer departments of various universities. He tried to ask, but no one had heard of the name Jiang Qiaoxi.
"Do you still want to find him?" Cai Fangyuan stood downstairs of Lin Yingtao's house, holding a lunch box that had hit the jujube buns. "Did anyone pursue you in college?"
Lin Yingtao wrinkled her nose and said, "No way, there is none at all."
"I think it's pretty bad," Cai Fangyuan said, "Yu Qiao keeps coming to your school. Who the hell would dare to chase you?"
Lin Yingtao listened and nodded: "Sometimes I think it would be great if Yu Qiao was my boyfriend."
Cai Fangyuan couldn't help laughing, and leaned closer to ask, "Can you say it again?"
Lin Yingtao sighed and put her hands behind her back. Perhaps because she had stayed in the capital for too long, she had acquired some of the demeanor of a great man.
"What a pity," Lin Yingtao said solemnly, "I only like boys aged 16 or 17 now. I am no longer interested in 18-year-old men like you."
Cai Fangyuan picked up the lunch box and wanted to throw the steamed bun at her.
Not long after the start of the second semester of her sophomore year, Lin Yingtao returned to the provincial capital again.
Mom and Dad prepared a table of food at home and ordered a birthday cake. Lin Yingtao blew out 19 candles. While eating, she talked to her parents about her recent classes. She went to the dance studio every morning. She no longer fell on her buttocks like she did when she was a child. She can even do the splits almost: "I'm just a little bit away, and I can even turn a little bit."
As it was almost midnight, my cell phone started buzzing with text messages pouring in.
Duchamp said: "Beautiful women, hurry up and find a partner."
Cai Fangyuan said: "Old woman, you want something at the age of 19."
Yu Qiao said: "Happy birthday."
…
Qin Yeyun said: "Lin Yingtao, I had dinner with Yu Qiao today. Recently, I have been thinking, how great it would be if Yu Qiao could respond to me in high school like Jiang Qiaoxi responded to you... But now I understand that many things cannot be forced. I understand this now, I don't know if you understand it. Today you are nineteen years old, you are such an annoying person, but I don't really hate you. There is something I said before deliberately to anger you, but I have always believed that even without Jiang Qiaoxi, you can find the next person who cherishes you like him. Happy birthday."
Lin Yingtao finished her shower and sat in front of her computer, replying to birthday messages on QQ and campus. She habitually opened the search engine and selected the first name in the search history. She found nothing except a few articles about the Mathematical Olympiad genius Jiang Qiaoxi who had given up the national training and disappeared. She called Qin Yeyun and the two girls chatted.
Lin Yingtao turned around and told her mother that she went to bed after she finished her phone call with Qin Yeyun.
Mother Lin was sleeping at night when she heard some gentle knocking noises on the floor at home. Although they were small, she could hear them one by one.
She got up, her husband was still sleeping beside her. Lin Haifeng was a kind person and always slept well. She walked out of the living room and walked behind her daughter's bedroom door.
The door was ajar, and the light was on inside. From this angle, the bed was full of open books and paper rolls. Mother Lin squinted her eyes to see why the covers were all about mathematics. She pushed the door open a little and saw Lin Yingtao lying by the bed with her hair down, wearing a nightgown and a pair of red high heels. She had an mp4 headset in her ears and was spinning in her little bedroom, like she was dancing.
She is so immersed in her own world that she doesn't even want to share it with her parents.
Mother Lin closed the door gently while Cherry wasn't noticing her.
The author has something to say: －－－－－－－－－－－－－
Notes to this chapter:
＊ "Kangxi Lai Le": A talk show produced by Taiwan's Chungda Production Company, it was first broadcast on China Television on January 5, 2004 and stopped broadcasting on January 14, 2016. Gao Shanfeng has been a guest on "Kangxi Lai Le" since 2004.
* The Eighth Wise Kings: A major supporting role in the TV series Young Justice Bao, which premiered in 2000, played by Chen Daoming.