The summer night came late and the alley was not yet dark.
Lin Qingle slowed down her steps and followed him quietly a few meters away. The shock she felt just now made her mind go haywire, and she didn't know how to call him.
Time passed by minute by minute, and she suspected that she was almost at his house.
"Have you followed enough?" The man not far away suddenly stopped. He didn't look back and his voice was extremely cold.
Lin Qingle was stunned for a moment. Her first reaction was to look around. When she realized that they were the only two people on the road, she was sure that he was talking to him.
Lin Qingle took a deep breath and finally trotted over to his side.
"You know..." She touched her nose, her voice low and a little embarrassed.
Xu Tingbai tilted his head slightly, but he was not looking at her, because his eyes were out of focus.
"What do you want to do again?"
"Um?"
Xu Tingbai frowned slightly, disgust and rejection evident in his expressions.
Lin Qingle was slightly stunned. She had never seen him with such an expression before. She also realized that he might have recognized the wrong person.
She hurriedly explained: "No, I, I didn't want to do anything. I was..."
"Then get out of here."
"… "
The face with the gentle and beautiful smile that she loved most in the past no longer exists.
After saying those harsh words, the boy continued walking forward.
His back is thin and cold, keeping people away.
Lin Qingle stood there in a daze, his already confused heart becoming even more upset.
The Xu Tingbai that Jiang Shuyi described as a stranger to her was real.
This realization made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Xu Tingbai!" She came to her senses, caught up with him easily, and grabbed the hem of his clothes.
"It's not over yet, is it?" His tone was so cold that it made people retreat.
Lin Qingle shook her head, but when she thought that he couldn't see her, she immediately said, "No, you've made a mistake. I... I'm Lin Qingle."
The person in front of him had a blank expression and no reaction.
Lin Qingle forced a smile and asked, "Do you still remember me? We were desk mates in elementary school. We—"
“I don’t remember.”
"… ah?"
"Let go."
—
Xu Tingbai was very smart, and Lin Qingle had always thought that he was the smartest person she had ever met. So when he said that she didn't remember her, she didn't believe it at all, but it was also true that he pulled her hand away with an indifferent face.
The fan in the classroom was turning slowly, and the mathematical formulas on the paper were confusing and complicated, boring and dull.
When the bell for the last evening self-study class rang, Lin Qingle's pen tip stopped at the edge of a formula, drawing a long line.
"Qingle, let's go home together." Jiang Shuyi raised his hand and waved.
"Yeah." Lin Qingle closed the book and put it in his schoolbag.
The two left the classroom and walked towards the school gate together.
"Shuyi! Do you want to go out for a midnight snack?" A girl in the class ran up from behind.
Jiang Shuyi shook his finger: "No, I've gained a lot of weight recently, so I'm going to give up late-night snacks!"
The girl lifted her legs and said, "My legs have become much thicker recently."
"Then you still eat."
The girl frowned and said pitifully: "I'm hungry because I study too hard. Forget it, if you don't want to eat, then I won't eat either." After saying that, the girl looked at Lin Qingle next to Jiang Shuyi.
She was quite curious about this new classmate. It should be said that everyone in the class was more or less curious about her, because the new classmate was pretty, and according to the head teacher, her grades were very good.
"Hi, new classmate. My name is Yu Tingting."
Lin Qingle was absent-minded, but still greeted politely: "Hello."
Jiang Shuyi: "Qingle, she is the arts committee member of our class. She used to be in the fifth grade, so I guess you don't know her."
Yu Tingting: "That's not necessarily true. When I was in primary school, I participated in every art festival. It's so famous that people from other schools also know me~"
"Come on, I didn't even know you then."
"That's because your memory is bad!"
"Hey you—"
…
Two people were arguing over something, but Lin Qingle didn't hear a word they said. All night long, the boy's eyes kept appearing in her mind.
"Will his eyes be okay?" she murmured.
"What?" Jiang Shuyi turned around and looked at her.
Lin Qingle then realized that he was lost in thought and said what he was thinking: "Ah? Nothing..."
"Are you talking about Xu Tingbai?"
Lin Qingle asked Jiang Shuyi a lot about Tingbai today, so Jiang Shuyi could easily make the connection. She said meaningfully, "You seem to be particularly curious about him."
Lin Qingle lowered his eyes slightly: "We... were in the same class before."
"In that case, it's normal to be so curious about Xu Tingbai."
"Who? Xu Tingbai." Yu Tingting came over. "What happened to him?"
Jiang Shuyi: "Nothing, I was in the same class with him in Qingle Primary School, I asked him a few questions, I felt a little emotional."
Yu Tingting sighed, "If it were me, I would feel the same way. His family was so good back then, who knew it would turn out like this... I still remember when his family got into trouble, it caused quite a stir in our area, with bankruptcy and a car accident. Oh, by the way, wasn't Xu Tingbai blinded in that car accident? Oh, what a pity, I still remember when I was in elementary school, there were many girls in our school who had a crush on him."
As time went by, the story of the Xu family was talked about so much that it was no longer even a topic of conversation among people after dinner.
Now when people talk about the experience of Xu Tingbai, the proud son of the Xu family, they may just express their feelings symbolically, then downplay the past and pick out the gossip that they are most concerned about.
"What, are you too precocious? You've been secretly in love with each other since elementary school? Don't tell me you have a crush on him too." Jiang Shuyi said with a smile.
Yu Tingting blushed: "So what? He's so handsome and has such good grades, you can't let your girlish heart be moved."
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is incredible, Yu Tingting, she is secretly having a crush on someone from the neighboring school."
"Hey, stop, stop. I was just talking about me back then. You know what happened back then." Yu Tingting said with disdain and condescending regret, "I don't have that now. He's useless... Who would like a blind man?"
Lin Qingle paused and glanced at Yu Tingting.
At that moment, the depression that had been there since meeting Xu Tingbai today surged up uncontrollably and could not be suppressed.
"He doesn't want this either."
Yu Tingting and Jiang Shuyi paused and looked at Lin Qingle who suddenly spoke.
The latter looked at Yu Tingting steadily. She looked well-behaved and harmless, but now she looked inexplicably fierce. She repeated, "He doesn't want this either. Besides, it's not up to you to decide whether his life is ruined or not."
"… "
Lin Qingle left after saying this.
Yu Tingting stared at Lin Qingle's back in a daze, and after a long while she said, "What does she mean?"
Jiang Shuyi frowned: "Stop talking nonsense."
Yu Tingting pursed her lips and said aggrievedly: "What did I say wrong..."
After returning home, Lin Qingle was still in a low mood. She didn't read any more books, but went straight to bed after taking a shower.
Jiang Shuyi didn't know the details of what happened to the Xu family. She could only tell her that the Xu family went bankrupt three years ago. In the same year, Xu Tingbai was seriously injured in a car accident and became blind.
What was she doing that year
Lin Qingle looked at the ceiling and recalled her life three years ago. That year, she had just followed her mother to another city and studied in the first grade of junior high school... So, something happened in his family not long after she transferred to another school.
Lin Qingle turned around in annoyance and suddenly thought, if only she hadn't transferred schools that year.
At least... I can keep him company for a while.
Just like many years ago, the young boy squatted down in front of her who was crying and broke down, and smiled and stuffed a candy into her hand.
"Everything will be fine, trust me."
No one knew that one of his words had supported her throughout her childhood.
—
This time, when she returned to Xicheng, mother Lin Yufen's purpose was to work and provide her daughter with an environment for the college entrance examination.
In addition to stabilizing his studies, Lin Qingle's other goal is Xu Tingbai.
She had studied hard in the past three years, and she had always thought that only in this way could she go to the same school as him when she came back. Then, she could proudly tell him that she was a good student and was no longer the poor student who always asked him to repeat what he taught her when she was a child.
But who could have expected that she went to the best high school here as she wished, but he was not there.
This weekend, Lin Qingle went to the Yueqian Road intersection again.
"Little girl, would you like to try some rice noodles? This is a ten-year-old shop and the taste is amazing." There is a small stall standing alone at the intersection of Yueqian Road. The stall owner, who looks to be in his fifties, greets us warmly.
Lin Qingle stood in front of the stall, regretting that she did not continue to follow Xu Tingbai that day, which resulted in her still not knowing where his home was even now that she was here.
"Little girl? Would you like a bowl?"
Lin Qingle looked at the hot soup in the pot and said, "Uncle, have you been setting up a stall here for ten years?"
"Yes, don't disbelieve me. Although I don't have a store, I am definitely well-known. Just ask around and you will know who doesn't know about my rice noodles."
Lin Qingle: "Then... give me a bowl."
"Okay, let's take it away or eat here."
"Eat here."
"OK."
Rice noodles are put into the pot.
Lin Qingle didn't sit down on the chair beside him. Instead, he stood in front of the stall and asked, "Uncle, I want to ask, do you know a person named Xu Tingbai who lives here?"
Uncle Rice Noodle glanced at her and said, "Little girl, you are here to find that boy too."
"Also? Is there anyone else looking for him?"
Uncle Rice Noodle: "There are none now, but there were quite a lot when their family first moved here, and they were all little girls."
"… oh."
"That boy is so good-looking that girls like him." Uncle Mixian shook his head again, "It's a pity that he is blind. Girls nowadays will never play with a blind man."
Lin Qingle was silent for a moment: "Where does he live? Can you tell me?"
"His home..." Uncle Rice Noodle raised his eyes slightly and suddenly said, "Hey, hey, isn't he here? I can't tell you, just ask him directly."
Lin Qingle looked in the direction of the rice noodle uncle and actually saw Xu Tingbai walking towards him not far away.
He was still wearing all black today, and a black hat. His eyes were hidden in the shadow under the brim of the hat and could not be seen clearly.
He was probably very familiar with the roads in this area, so he was not walking very slowly. He used a cane in his right hand to explore the way, and his body was thin but he stood straight.
"Here it comes." The rice noodle uncle seemed to have calculated the time. When Xu Tingbai came over, he took out the packaged rice noodles from under the stall like a magic trick and handed them to him.
"Thank you." Xu Tingbai looked even colder because his eyes were empty and unfocused. After taking the rice noodles, he turned around and walked into the alley.
"Little girl, why didn't you ask after everyone left? You..."
"Uncle, please pack mine too!"
"Ah? Oh, okay."
After Lin Qingle picked up the packaged rice noodles, Xu Tingbai had already walked a distance away. She trotted a few steps to catch up, and this time she didn't hesitate at all and grabbed the corner of his clothes.
Being blocked from walking, Xu Tingbai frowned slightly: "Who?"
Lin Qingle looked at him and whispered, "I, Lin Qingle."
Xu Tingbai's eyebrows moved slightly, and his voice was still deep and cold: "Let go."
Lin Qingle let go.
She was a little afraid of his current state, but she didn't want to back down at all. She pursed her lips and mustered up the courage to say, "What a coincidence, I met you here again. I... came to buy rice noodles."
Xu Tingbai remained silent. After a few seconds, he moved his blind stick and just kept walking forward.
"I heard that this rice noodles is delicious. This is my first time eating it." Lin Qingle followed.
"… "
"That uncle said he's been setting up stalls for more than ten years, is that true?"
He still didn't speak, as if there was just a ball of air around him.
Lin Qingle looked into his eyes and felt uncomfortable. But she was not stupid enough to ask at this time.
Her only thought now was to say a few words to him, keeping it lighthearted so that he wouldn't think she had changed in any way.
"Xu Tingbai, this noodle doesn't taste good when it's cold... My home is more than ten minutes away from here, and it should be cold when I get home. Where is your home? Can I go to your house and eat together?"
When they were deskmates in elementary school, he often invited her to his home for dinner. She was timid at the time and didn't dare to go, but he insisted and was enthusiastic. He also said that she was small and needed to eat more.
In the past, he always asked her to go. This was the first time she was so shameless as to say that she wanted to go to his house for dinner.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Tingbai's grip on the cane suddenly tightened and he stopped.
Lin Qingle also stopped.
"Are we familiar with each other?" The young man holding the cane spoke slowly, with a sarcastic and venomous tone.
But Lin Qingle seemed not to hear it.
She looked up at him, was silent for two seconds, and then said affirmatively: "Yes, we are friends!"