Although counseling was no longer an important part of communication, Chen Sheng did not give up the habit of visiting Ji Shishi from time to time.
Now it's not too late to get up on weekends. When she is cooking breakfast, he has already gotten up. Occasionally, he will invite her to go for a run on the playground and play badminton in the afternoon.
Ji Shishi can't go back a few times a year, unless she goes back with her brother and sister-in-law, but Chen Sheng is different. He has a family. If he doesn't go back for a month, his parents will come here with large and small bags.
If they met by chance, Chen's mother would always warmly invite her to have dinner with her, but she would always decline, silently envying other people's happy families.
And she is a contented person, and she often comforts herself: It doesn't matter, she still has her brother and sister-in-law, and her brother cares about her and always lets her study in peace and not worry about anything.
Every time Chen's father and mother left, he would knock on her door and bring her a few cans of fish fillets or pickled pickled radish made by Grandma Chen, as well as some fruits to eat.
The fish fillets were deep-fried and topped with chili oil, which made them crispy and tasty. The pickled radish was refreshing and delicious. Ji Shishi thought it was delicious. After casually mentioning it once, he gave it to her every time.
Not only these, he now brings her a copy of anything he buys, including snacks and fruits, school supplies, review materials... he has bought them all for her.
No matter how insensitive Ji Shishi was, she still vaguely felt that something was not right, and because she was busy with classes in her senior year of high school, she could only tell him very apologetically that she would not have time to cook breakfast by herself in the future.
"It doesn't matter." He said nonchalantly.
Ji Shishi just breathed a sigh of relief when he knocked on her door the next day and handed her a bag, "I was just going to buy breakfast, so I bought you one by the way."
“…”
"You're welcome." He handed it forward again.
"...Thank you." After Ji Shishi took it, she found that she liked the steamed dumplings and black bean milk. She felt a little strange in her heart, but she had no time to think too much.
The improvement in mathematics allowed her to rush into the top five in the class, and she was only less than ten points behind the previous ones, which made her extremely excited.
That is to say, this year, she wanted to take the first place in the provincial college entrance examination. The first place in the provincial No. 1 middle school meant that she could become the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination.
The reason is very simple and simple. The first-place school will give a bonus of 50,000 yuan. There will also be bonuses at the provincial level and at the municipal level. With this money, she can finish college and support herself without adding to her brother's income. burden.
The difference between the first place, the second place and the third place is almost the same, but the treatment is completely different.
She wants to be number one, and she wants to be the most dazzling one. It’s not that she wants to be famous or stand in the spotlight, but that being number one is the best way out for her. She needs this. First place.
Ji Shishi gets up earlier and earlier in the morning. There is no rest time at noon. The ten minutes between the two classes can be arranged to do a few multiple-choice questions.
In the evening from twelve o'clock to one o'clock, to two o'clock, and then to half past two.
Every moment, my spirit is tense.
But she was always a little bit away from the first place. She took the exam once, twice and three times, but she never got what she wanted.
The pressure in Ji Shishi's heart was getting bigger and bigger. During her afternoon break, she had to go to the playground and run a few laps to relieve her pressure.
Ji Huai and Zhang Ying would fly from the capital to see her every one or two months. Although she always acted as if nothing had happened, she felt more and more guilty.
Her brother was so supportive of her going to school. If she didn't do well in the exam, how could she live up to her brother? If she doesn't get first place in the exam, she won't be able to help her brother reduce his burden.
On this weekend, she finished answering the questions and got three of the twelve multiple-choice questions wrong. To her, this was a low-level mistake that she shouldn't have made.
I felt extremely irritable and wanted to mash the test paper into pieces and throw it in the trash can.
In fact, she did knead the paper and grasped it hard. The veins on the back of her white hands were prominent, and she was annoyed and unwilling.
"Knock, buckle, buckle." The door rang.
She stood up mechanically, then walked towards the door, reaching out and opening it.
"Go play badminton." Chen Sheng, holding a pair of badmintons, said to her, "Let's go downstairs."
There is a large open space on the first floor where you can play badminton.
"I'm not going." She was in a bad mood, and after saying that, she turned and entered the room.
Chen Sheng followed her into the room, "Why are you always bored with studying? Go relax and relax, you will learn faster, right?"
Ji Shishi sat down again.
Chen Sheng caught a glimpse of the test paper that was crumpled into a ball by her. He pretended not to notice it and then turned his gaze to her. He directly took her hand and said, "Let's go and play badminton with me."
"I don't want to." Ji Shishi was gentle and struggled slightly.
"I went running with you last time. Now I really want to play badminton with you. Just play badminton with me for an hour." He closed the door for her and continued to pull her down.
Ji Shishi sighed and followed him downstairs.
She doesn't fight often and her skills are very poor. Chen Sheng's skills are not bad. If she is happy, let her go. If she is not happy, let her pick her up ten or eight times in a row.
Ji Shishi was actually a bit competitive, and kept fighting with him angrily. After an hour, Chen Sheng stopped and wanted to go back, but she was still reluctant.
"If you keep playing, your hands will hurt tomorrow. Let's go. I'll treat you to some ice cream." Chen Sheng put away his badminton racket and walked aside.
There was a convenience store on the roadside with a refrigerator outside. Chen Sheng opened the refrigerator and looked sideways at her, "What kind of ice cream do you want to eat? Chocolate? Cone? Or ice cream?"
Ji Shishi chose a cone.
Chen Sheng went to pay the bill, saying that he was repaying her for playing badminton with him. Ji Shishi came back licking the cone, feeling much less irritable in her heart.
The sun sets.
The two of them walked very slowly. The young man had a tall figure and a green face. From the corner of his eye, he carefully glanced at the profile of the person next to him. She lowered her head slightly and held the cone in both hands. She was as well-behaved as a kitten, docile and pleasant.
You can't hide if you like someone. Chen Sheng will ask her to play badminton and bring her a glass of water.
Sometimes it’s chrysanthemum tea from a milk tea shop, sometimes it’s milk tea, sometimes it’s bottled drinks, sometimes it’s herbal tea.
Ji Shishi's mood improved. In the fourth mock test in the second semester of her senior year of high school, she ranked first in the school and first in the province.
She was very happy, with smiles on her face. On the way home, she met Chen Sheng, and her voice called "Monitor" was like a feather in Chen Sheng's heart, and she even invited him to drink milk tea.
Chen Sheng followed her with a smile, looking at her brisk pace, he was even happier than he did well in the exam.
"Actually, I can be more careful. Can I get three points higher? The first Chinese question..."
Before she could finish her words, Chen Sheng suddenly stepped forward, took her hand, and pulled her back, "Look at the car."
A bicycle passed by her, and the child stood up and stared at it hard, and made a face at them, "Slightly, slightly."
Chen Sheng frowned, a little displeased. Ji Shishi took her hand out of his hand, her eyes flickering, "Forget it, I didn't look at the road."
"Let's go inside." Chen Sheng put her on her shoulders and gently pushed her inside.
Ji Shishi's expression became unnatural. His body temperature was a bit high, and the shoulder he touched quickly became hot. She quickly moved in with small steps, as if to avoid him.
"What happened to the first question?" Chen Sheng asked.
"No, it's nothing. What kind of milk tea do you want to drink?" She changed the subject and pointed to the front, "Let's go to that one? Theirs is quite delicious."
"It will be all right."
After buying milk tea, when the two of them went back, the atmosphere was a little strange. Ji Shishi kept hanging her little head. Chen Sheng naturally felt the change in the atmosphere, and he didn't say anything.
When he went upstairs, he said, "Which city's university do you want to go to?"
"...the capital, my sister-in-law and my brother are both there."
"Big A?"
"Yeah." She nodded and asked, "What about you?"
"Then I am also an A student." Chen Sheng said without hesitation.
The amount of information contained in these words was huge. Ji Shishi bit her straw, not knowing what to reply.
In fact, she has had low self-esteem since she was a child. Although she has been confessed by boys, she always thought it was a shameful thing in junior high school. Moreover, she studied hard in junior high school, and the teacher valued her particularly. No boy in the class dared to provoke her. She will be taught a lesson by the teacher.
When it comes to feelings, she is ignorant, at a loss and frightened.
When he arrived at the floor where he lived, Chen Sheng looked at her with a serious look on his face, "Don't go back on your word, A."
Ji Shishi looked into his eyes and buried her head lower.
"Tell me if you regret it. Tell me everything you filled out in your application. Ji Shishi, do you hear me?" Chen Sheng raised his voice again and spoke seriously.
She bit her lip in confusion.
"I'll go wherever you go." He pierced the last layer of paper, "It's okay for you to go to A, D, or G."
"Don't make such hasty decisions, you go to what you like..."
He interrupted her, "How do you know I don't like it? I like it very much."
Ji Shishi: "..."
She was holding milk tea in both hands and stood there like a bullied rabbit. Chen Sheng felt that she was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, and she looked at him with a confused look on her face when it came to this field.
It makes people want to protect and bully.
"Go back to sleep, good night." After all, he didn't want to force her.
"Good night." The little white rabbit waved quickly and ran away.
In the next few days, she was at a loss when she saw him. She didn't know what expression to put on, for fear that he would say something that she couldn't answer.
Chen Sheng was the same as before. He did not dare and would not confess to her during the college entrance examination and affect her mood.
I waited until after the college entrance examination to talk about anything. When I was with her, I was more casual than before, and I didn't say anything that went beyond her limits.
Another year the phoenix flowers are blooming, and in early June, the college entrance examination is coming.
Thousands of troops crossing the single-plank bridge, for many people, this is the most important test in life.
Ji Huai was on a business trip and came to spend one day with Ji Shishi before the business trip, while Zhang Ying stayed with her for two and a half days.
She had to rush back on the afternoon of the 9th, and she was very apologetic, but Ji Shishi was always sensible and urged her to go back and not delay her own affairs.
She performed well in the first few subjects. In the afternoon, she entered the examination room with full confidence and prepared to finish the last subject, but something went wrong.
Slight pain in lower abdomen.
Oops, my period is early.
She panicked for a while. When the test paper was handed out, her palms were sweaty and her forehead was sweaty. When the invigilator saw it, she asked with concern, "Classmate, are you okay?"
Ji Shishi shook her head.
The pain intensified, and she quickly wrote the answer sheet. The more she wrote, the more panicked she became. The more panicked, the greater the psychological pressure, and the more pain in her lower abdomen.
It was difficult to write, her thoughts were sluggish, her concentration was distracted, and her breathing was short. She was so anxious that she wanted to cry. She kept staring at the clock above, looking at the unfinished questions, praying that it would slow down a little, and then a little slower.
"Ring ring ring."
"All students, please stop answering questions."
Ji Shishi wrote the last period, and because she sat closer to the front, the invigilator collected the papers quickly.
She looked at the test paper she had just finished with a dull expression. She didn't have any time to check it, so she dragged her steps out of the examination room, went to the toilet, and then came out again.
In the midst of the commotion, when he walked downstairs and almost tripped because he didn't look at the road, Chen Sheng walked up and saw her, striding to her, "Are you okay?"
He was in another building and came over after the exam.
Ji Shishi shook her head, stubbornly glanced to the side, and dragged her exhausted body forward.
"What's wrong? The question is too difficult?" Seeing that her expression was wrong, he followed her again.
Ji Shishi walked faster and faster, and finally broke into a trot. During this period, she even reached out to wipe her tears without answering him.
"Ji Shishi." Chen Sheng also ran to follow her, but no one answered when he called her.
There were people outside the school gate, but he didn't dare to pull her. He followed her back to the rental building before he dared to reach out and pull her, with a worried look on his face, "What's wrong with you?"
"Let go." Ji Shishi didn't know where the strength came from, and she tried to shake off his hand, her words were choked and her voice was trembling.
"Don't cry." Chen Sheng saw tears in her eyes and lowered his head to comfort her, "Isn't this a good morning? If the questions are difficult, everyone will... "
The person he grabbed shook his head vigorously, and started crying with a "wow" sound. He cried very sadly, and his emotions were a little broken.
Chen Sheng was frightened. Ji Shishi sometimes felt a little bad when she didn't do well in exams, but she wouldn't vent it out on others, let alone cry. What was going on
Ji Shishi burst into tears, her shoulders shook violently, she was a little out of breath, and cried like a helpless child. Chen Sheng couldn't hold it back, stretched out his hand to wipe her tears, and lowered his voice, "It's okay, the exam is over. .”
She sobbed, stretched out her hand to press her lower abdomen, her face turned pale, she pushed him away and continued walking forward.
Chen Sheng was worried and walked up quickly to hold her hand.
Ji Shishi shook him off but did not shake him off.
Her mind was in a mess and her stomach hurt. She wiped her tears and sobbed and continued walking. She took out the key and opened the door.
Chen Sheng wanted to go in to see her, but she pushed him out expressionlessly.
She didn't say anything, but that was the first time he saw her being so tough. He had always thought she was soft-tempered. In fact, she had a toughness in her bones, and she was also ruthless towards herself all the way up.
"Shishi." Chen Sheng stepped forward again.
Ji Shishi pushed him again and closed the door.
After closing the door, she found the medicine, drank it quickly, turned on her phone and sent a text message to Ji Huai and Zhang Ying to report that they were safe, then took a shower, went to bed and covered herself with the quilt, and huddled under the quilt.
Chen Sheng stood at the door for a while. Chen's father and Chen's mother opened the phone for him and told him that they would pick him up tomorrow, but he refused and would not go back.
He went downstairs to buy a meal, but there was no response when he knocked on her door, didn't reply to her messages, and didn't answer her phone calls.
He kept struggling until eight o'clock in the evening, and he didn't eat either. Looking at the door that had not been opened, he couldn't bear it anymore. He walked over and knocked hard on the door, "Ji Shishi, if you don't open the door, I will call the uncle to let him go." Come and open the door with the key."
There was no movement inside.
He endured it and continued, "How do I know if something happened to you? Then I'll call."
As he spoke, he actually took out his mobile phone, and the door opened with a click. Ji Shishi stood in front of him with disheveled hair and her head lowered. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts and she had no shoes on her feet.
I had just been so angry that when I saw her like this, it was like being poured down by a basin of cold water. Her face softened, and she bent down slightly, as if to avoid scaring her and asked gently, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?" "
Ji Shishi shook her head, turned around and walked in.
Chen Sheng hurriedly went to his room to get the meal, then gently closed the door to her room, looked at the medicine she placed on the table, and checked it on his mobile phone.
Looking at her listless spirit and hiding under the quilt, I roughly guessed it.
"Would you like some food?" He sat beside her bed.
"No, thank you." Her voice was low and hoarse, and she was still in a bad mood, "It's okay."
Chen Sheng still ordered some porridge and asked for the takeout to be delivered. Ji Shishi refused to leave even if he asked him to, so he just stayed there.
In the end, Ji Shishi had no choice but to eat a few mouthfuls of porridge.
She fell into a hazy sleep for a while, and when she woke up, she found that he hadn't left yet and was still staring at her. The medicine had taken effect and she felt better, so she persuaded him to go back.
Chen Sheng took out his mobile phone and made a video call to her, "You pick up the call. I'll go back after you pick up. Don't hang up. I'll be here as soon as you hang up."
Ji Shishi: "..."
He kept insisting, and she could only pick up.
"You have a good rest and cover yourself with the quilt." He stood up and pulled the quilt up for her, then turned around and walked out in three steps.
When I walked to the opposite side to close the door, I had to shout, "Shishi?"
"Ji Shishi?"
"… Um."
When she responded, he breathed another sigh of relief and slowly closed the door.
Ji Shishi couldn't sleep either. She was lying on the bed. Chen Sheng was talking nonsense over there, chatting all over the place, telling embarrassing jokes, clumsily trying to make her happy, but she only needed to respond occasionally to prove that he was still there. listen.
As they chatted until midnight, Chen Sheng listened to the even breathing coming from over there, emotions surged in his eyes, and he was reluctant to hang up the phone.
The next day, Chen Sheng appeared in front of her door carrying breakfast.
"I'm going to the Provincial Museum today, do you want to go?" he asked.
Ji Shishi hesitated for a moment and nodded lightly.
She has been in the provincial capital for three years and has never been to the provincial museum. She is still a liberal arts student and knows some history.
Chen Sheng took her to the provincial capital museum, and it was the first time she discovered how big the provincial capital was. The two went to the museum in the morning and the park next to the museum in the afternoon.
"Q University campus, do you want to go and see it?" Chen Sheng asked her when they came back.
"Can I go in?" She was surprised.
"Why not?" He smiled and led her inside. The flowers on the school road were blooming, and they could also eat in the cafeteria. Their library was several times larger than their school, grand and spectacular.
"A University is much bigger than this!" Chen Sheng said with a smile.
Ji Shishi's smile suddenly disappeared, and he wanted to bite off his tongue to divert her attention, "Where is what? The bridge? Do you want to go and see it?"
"Um."
…
In the next few days, Chen Sheng took her everywhere. Sometimes he secretly bought movie tickets and took her to the movies halfway through.
Especially 3D movies were always so strange to Ji Shishi. She opened her eyes wide curiously and blinked in confusion, and Chen Sheng wanted to hold all the beautiful things in front of her.
Go to the park, go to the lake, go to the provincial library, go to the provincial museum, go to some streets and alleys with places of interest, eat snacks, taste desserts, make handicrafts...
Chen Sheng could always find something new and take her around the provincial capital, from the first bus stop to the last stop.
She also gradually forgot her worries, and the smiles on her face became more and more frequent. When she smiled, her eyebrows were curved, and her two little tiger teeth were exposed. She was very clean and pure. Chen Sheng felt that the world was brighter.
It's a pity that my brother-in-law always comes out to cause trouble.
Ji Huai came back from a business trip and came directly to the provincial capital to pick up Ji Shishi. He wanted to take her to the capital to play and return the house here.
When she was packing her things, Chen Sheng was looking at her from across the way. Ji Shishi occasionally raised her head to look at him, feeling a little guilty and having other complicated emotions.
"Aren't you going home after the exam?" Ji Huai glanced at the young boy, "Don't your parents miss you?"
"..." Chen Sheng looked at him, as if he was answering a teacher's question, and explained in a precise manner, "I told my parents that I would go back after playing for a while. They were fine and didn't think much about it."
"Oh, it's good to play around. I also took Shishi to play around in the capital. I asked her sister-in-law to take her to play abroad, and then go to Yanglan Zhenglan to play around. The results will be out It's over." Ji Huai raised his eyebrows, "After the exam, it's time to relax."
Ji Shishi followed him obediently. Chen Sheng watched them leave and helped them move their things downstairs. He stretched out his hand and said, "Brother, let me carry this."
"Who is your brother?" Ji Huai glanced over.
After all, Chen Sheng was a little immature. He twitched his lips and quickly changed his words, "Shishi's brother."
Ji Huai really asked him to mention it.
Zhang Ying couldn't stand it anymore and lowered her voice to Ji Huai, "Okay, don't embarrass others, it's not good."
Ji Huai snorted coldly.
Ji Shishi was still a little sad when she got in the car. She didn't know why, so she gently stretched out her hand and waved to him, "Squad leader, bye."
"… Bye-Bye."
Chen Sheng looked at the car driving away, then returned upstairs and looked at her empty room. He felt depressed and took out his mobile phone to make a call, "Mom and Dad, I'm going back."
"Well, I have to go back today."
Father Chen and Mother Chen drove over and were busy helping their son pack his things. They looked at their son sitting on the side in despair, and then looked across the way, "Is that little girl across the way gone?"
"Yeah." He was in a low mood.
"Where did you go?" Mother Chen asked with a smile again.
"Going to the capital." Chen Sheng fell back, unable to sleep on the bed.
"Then you became sad?" Mother Chen continued to tease him, "I said, why do you want to come back suddenly? Where have you been playing in this short time? Are you going with her?"
Chen Sheng turned over and buried his head in the quilt, not wanting to answer her question.
Maybe everyone could see that he liked her, and that little idiot Ji Shishi must be the last one to know!
"How did you do in the exam?" Mother Chen changed the subject again.
After the college entrance examination, Chen Sheng didn't let them come, saying that he was busy and had fun and would go back in a few days.
"fine."
"It's okay."
"Um."
…
After Ji Shishi went to the capital, their contact could only be online. How could they dare to make a video call? My brother-in-law is still here, so I can only send messages.
She would send him travel photos and beautiful scenery.
During this period of time, the online contact became closer, but it always remained the same. Chen Sheng thought that she would wait until the results of the college entrance examination came out, and hoped that she would do well in the exam.
On the day when the college entrance examination results came out, he didn't bother to check his own results. He only wanted to know Ji Shishi's results.
After learning from her teacher that she was the top scorer in the liberal arts college entrance examination, he smiled like an idiot and called her.
"Hi." She lowered her voice.
"You got first place in the exam." He said with a smile, very happy.
"Well, you are also number one." The corner of her mouth raised, and the stone she had been building for so many days finally fell to the ground.
very nice.
"Then, enroll in A university?" His words became smaller.
Ji Shishi nodded, "I want to apply for A University."
"Me too. Can we be together after we go?" He had wanted to ask this question for a long time. He was very nervous when he said it and was still walking back and forth in the small space.
Father Chen and mother Chen were still excited outside. Their son had won the top prize in the province. Chen Sheng hid in the toilet and asked her.
There was no reply for a long time.
"Don't you like me?" Chen Sheng's emotions were a little restrained, and he was even more uneasy in his heart. He could clearly feel her liking, otherwise he would not dare to ask rashly.
Ji Shishi was silent for a while, her tone was very tangled, "My brother said you can't fall in love while studying."
Chen Sheng: "..."
I don't know why, but when he heard this sentence, it was like saying that you can get pregnant if you kiss her.
The two of them are in college, not middle school or high school.
He took a deep breath and said, "Did my brother fall in love when he was in school?"
"...That seems different." Ji Shishi tugged at the corner of her clothes and spoke in a small voice.
When my brother was in high school, he not only fell in love, but he was also called in by parents for teasing girls.
"Why is it different?" Chen Sheng asked.
Ji Shishi thought for a while and couldn't explain why, so she said to him very seriously, "Reading is very important."
Chen Sheng was choked and wanted to hit the wall for the first time.
I'd rather die.