As we grow up and as time changes, many past memories will gradually fade away.
But Lin Qingle found it very strange that she could remember clearly everything about Xu Tingbai and even every word he said to her.
When she was young, she was very quiet and always stayed in the corner because of her family. At that time, many little boys always laughed at her for having such a father and bullied her in various ways.
Once she was blocked in the playground again, and it was Xu Tingbai who found her and drove away those who bullied her.
But at that time her tears were still falling silently. The little boy acted like an adult, wiping her tears and saying many nice things to comfort her.
Later she stopped crying and asked him curiously why he still wanted to help her when no one liked her.
He said that they were classmates and friends, so he would definitely help.
Later she remembered that Xu Tingbai was a friend and a very good person.
"Friends? Stop talking nonsense."
But... after growing up, Xu Tingbai no longer admitted it.
"But you said..."
The man in front of him looked even darker.
Lin Qingle lowered his eyes and continued, "No matter what you think, I remember it anyway. After I transferred to another school, I called you using the number you gave me, but the call didn't go through. I thought you wrote the wrong number... Now I know that something happened in your family. Then you have been..."
"Have you said enough?" Xu Tingbai interrupted her, "You can leave now."
"But I—"
"Stop following me!" His brows were irritated and he was obviously impatient.
Without his permission, Lin Qingle did not dare to follow him any further. She stood there and watched the thin boy not far away walk further and further away until he disappeared at a corner of the alley.
In the end, she had no choice but to go back to the rice noodle stall.
The rice noodle uncle was not surprised at all when he saw her coming out with a full bag of rice noodles.
"Little girl, just sit here and eat."
Lin Qingle nodded and sat down at the small table.
Uncle Mixian saw her keeping her head down and silent, and guessed that she must have run into a snag with Xu Tingbai. He consoled her, "Little girl, that boy has a strange temper and doesn't speak well, so don't take it too seriously."
Uncle Rice Noodles remembered seeing a girl who sent money out of charity, but she left crying. Another girl sent food, but she also left angrily... Anyway, everyone who came left with a bad face.
And now, the little girl looked so fragile that she probably couldn't stand the cold face of Xu Tingbai.
Seeing that Lin Qingle was still silent, the rice noodle uncle wanted to say a few more words of comfort. However, just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw the little girl sitting on the small stool looking up at him.
Her eyes were clear, without any sign of being scolded.
"No, his temperament is not strange at all, he is very good."
"ah?"
Lin Qingle put down his chopsticks and asked, "Uncle, can you tell me when he basically goes out?"
"how… "
Lin Qingle lowered his eyes to look at the rice noodles which had already cooled down a little, and said seriously: "I want to ask him next time if I can go to his house to eat noodles."
—
Lin Qingle's trip today was not in vain. She learned some information about Xu Tingbai from the uncle selling rice noodles that Jiang Shuyi and the others didn't know.
Uncle Mixian said that when Xu Tingbai first moved here, he never went out. It was not until the end of last year that his father arranged for him to go to a nearby school for special needs people.
Uncle Rice Noodle didn't know how his father persuaded him to go to the school for the blind, but he said he could roughly understand his father's intention.
The special school was funded by the government and did not require tuition. Free tuition was like having someone take care of you for free, which was definitely a good thing for Xu Tingbai's father.
Ever since Xu Tingbai agreed to go to school, his father has rarely been at home. Neighbors like him have no idea where his father has gone. Those who live here are all in trouble, so how can they care about others
As for his mother, it is said that she is still in jail because of something that happened in her previous company.
In addition to these, Uncle Mixian also told her what she wanted to know most, which was the class time of the special education school where Xu Tingbai was studying. Their school was different from normal schools. They only had classes four days a week, and the rest time was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
This was a good thing for Lin Qingle, because she was free on Saturday and could wait for him to get out of class and "accidentally" meet him.
Lin Qingle really wanted to know what had happened to him, and also wanted to get close to him and help him.
Just like he treated her before.
So for more than a month, she would run to the stall on time every Saturday and wait for him to come back.
But Xu Tingbai still ignored her, and sometimes he would get angry when she mustered up the courage to say more. So, let alone let her go to his house for dinner.
But Lin Qingle didn't mind at all, because she knew what he was like and felt that she could understand him.
He wasn't being angry on purpose, nor was he being so mean on purpose. She knew that he was just being tortured by this world.
The blind Xu Tingbai definitely needs someone to accompany him.
Just like a long time ago, she hid in a corner and kept no one near her, but in fact she also wanted others to play with her.
It's another Saturday.
That day, Lin Qingle went to the library at noon. Around five o'clock in the afternoon, she packed her schoolbag and arrived at Yueqian Road on time.
The noodle vendor didn't set up his stall today, so Lin Qingle waited at the intersection for a while and saw Xu Tingbai coming. Perhaps the noodle vendor had told him that he didn't stop today and walked straight into the alley.
"I was doing my homework in the library today. They had the air conditioner on, and it was really cold... My hands were ice cold." After many "chance encounters" over a month, she was now much bolder in front of him, and she dared to start with a long sentence.
Xu Tingbai paused for a moment: "I said, you—"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to your house to eat rice noodles today!" Lin Qingle said anxiously, "Uncle Yang didn't set up a stall today, so I didn't buy anything."
Xu Ting choked on his words and bit his back teeth.
Lin Qingle looked at his expression and said, "I won't follow you to your house either. I keep my word. I won't go without your consent. Well... I'll just walk with you for a while and help you get the cake."
Lin Qingle is here every now and then during this period of time. She always says some useless words. Xu Tingbai has gone from being angry and annoyed at the beginning to being numb now.
He doesn't want to see anyone from the past. The hustle and bustle of the world will disappear, and the warmth and coldness of human nature will be revealed.
He had had enough of everything that this sudden change of fate had brought.
He was trapped in endless darkness, no longer hoping that anyone could save him.
He sneered, "Help me? What cake do I have?"
Lin Qingle quickly moved the cake she had bought near the library forward. She saved her breakfast money for three weeks and bought a small one.
"I just bought it, it's for you to eat!"
Xu Tingbai's lips tightened slightly: "Not interested."
"This is your favorite vanilla flavor." Lin Qingle opened it a little and raised the cake closer to him.
The rich vanilla flavor, mixed with the delicate cream, rushes into one's nose without any hesitation.
"You brought me some from home before, and you said this flavor was your favorite. I like it best now, too."
Even though he couldn't see anything, he could feel that the girl in front of him was speaking with a smile.
His memory forced him to recall her smile. He remembered the girl named Lin Qingle, and also remembered that she was small and had crescent eyes when she smiled.
However, he rejected this memory.
"Well, your taste hasn't changed, has it?"
So he didn't want her to get close to him.
"Xu Tingbai?"
I really don't want...
"You don't like it?"
"I don't like it!" Xu Tingbai suddenly raised his hand and waved.
His hand hit the girl's wrist, and the cake box she was holding fell out and hit the ground with a dull sound.
Lin Qingle was slightly startled and looked at the cake box lying upside down on the ground.
"Lin Qingle, do you think you are giving warmth to a disabled person?" Xu Tingbai looked at her with a ferocious expression. He taunted her in the most vicious way, "Stop being so self-touched. I don't need you to come here. We are not that familiar with each other! Why are you pretending to be kind? Who are you doing this for?"
"I'll do it for you to see." Lin Qingle whispered.
Xu Ting paused.
Lin Qingle withdrew her hand and felt her wrist slightly numb. She looked up at him and suddenly asked, "Xu Tingbai, are you imitating me?"
"… What?"
"I've thrown away the cake you gave me before." Lin Qingle said a little aggrievedly, "Are you taking revenge on me?"
She transferred to the third primary school here. At that time, Xu Tingbai was the class monitor, and the teacher arranged for him to sit at the same table with the new girl.
Because of what her father did, no one wanted to play with her and everyone made fun of her, but he brought her a cake from home.
But at that time, she was full of thorns, silent and sensitive, and she thought he was mocking her for not being able to afford it or deliberately using this to tease her. So when he handed it to her, she overturned the small cake with force, and it fell on the ground between them.
Later, Xu Tingbai cleaned up the mess by himself.
He wasn't angry at all, and even asked her before class if it was because she didn't like the smell of vanilla...
Xu Tingbai was obviously also thinking of what happened in the past. His ferocious face froze and his throat seemed to be blocked.
"Then consider it as your revenge on me." Lin Qingle chuckled, "Tit for tat, then we're even. As for the cake, if you don't like it, I won't buy it for you anymore."
"… "
"But you're wrong. I'm not pretending to be nice, and I'm not acting or trying to warm you up." Lin Qingle hesitated and said softly, "I just want to see you. I've been back for a while, and I've met some classmates and made a few friends. But I think... I still like you the most."
—
Lin Qingle left.
Xu Tingbai didn't know what expression she had when she left, but her words, like the vanilla scent lingering in the air, pressed towards him densely.
Like him the most
Some people will like him the most...
ridiculous…
"Xiaobai, why are you standing here? What's wrong?" After standing there for an unknown amount of time, an elderly voice sounded beside me.
Xu Tingbai came to his senses and recognized that it was Grandma Jiang who lived downstairs from him.
"Nothing." Xu Tingbai shook his head and walked forward.
"Wait, what is this? Cake, Xiaobai, is it yours?"
The smell of vanilla suddenly became stronger, and it was Grandma Jiang who picked up the box and handed it to me.
Xu Tingbai paused and said, "No."
"Oh, who threw that? It's still edible, but the inside is in bad shape after it was broken."
Xu Tingbai looked in the direction of Grandma Jiang with empty eyes. Perhaps he was influenced by that person. At that moment, the image of him bringing a cake to school appeared in his mind.
He clenched his cane tightly, and was almost suffocated by the memory of himself: "Throw it away, Aunt Jiang... The cake is spoiled."
"Ah, really..."