Dong Ci's father died early, and his mother had to do endless work every day in order to support the whole family. In order to share her burden, Dong Ci worked part-time at a dessert shop near the school.
Because it was the weekend, there was no one in the store.
Jingle bell, jingle bell—
The wind chime made a crisp sound, and the door was pushed open from the outside. Dong Ci's originally smiling face suddenly froze when he saw the person coming.
"Looking at your expression, I guess you still remember me."
As Jing Rong entered, a cold wind was brought into the room. Dong Ci lowered his head slightly and asked calmly, "What would you like to order?"
Jing Rong didn't answer, he picked up the cartoon menu on the table and played with it casually, without even looking at it. Seeing the little girl in front of him with a stiff look on his face, he raised the corners of his lips slightly, leaned his elbows on the table and approached her, and asked slowly, "I want you, can you sell me?"
Dong Ci's face turned pale and she felt the infinite ridicule contained in his words, so she pursed her lips and said, "If you don't want to buy anything, please leave."
"Then let's have a cup of milk tea."
He leaned lazily on the table, still smiling and looking good-tempered. Dong Ci quickly took notes on the computer and asked routinely, "Which flavor of milk tea is it?"
Jing Rong paused, watching her thin lips rise, and asked without answering, "What flavor do you like?"
"..." Dong Ci was silent and made a random order.
Dong Ci hadn't seen him for a long time since the last time they met. It had been so long that she almost forgot about him, but she didn't expect that he would show up at this time.
The milk tea was already ready. Dong Ci skillfully packed it and handed it to him, but Jing Rong did not accept it.
"As far as I know, your family's financial situation seems not to be very good."
Dong Ci frowned slightly, put the milk tea on the table, and choked him coldly. "none of your business?"
There was a moment of stasis in the air, but only for a moment, everything returned to normal.
"It's really none of my business."
Jing Rong's beautiful eyes slightly raised, and her fingertips on the table were tapping slowly. He chuckled softly, and the breath exhaled from his bright pink thin lips spread into thin white mist in the air, looking a bit coquettish.
"But maybe, you will beg me in the future."
jingle-
The shop door was closed again, and the person standing in front of her had left. If it weren't for the untouched milk tea and red banknotes on the table, she would have thought that maybe everything was just an illusion.
Before meeting Jing Rong, Dong Ci's life, although busy, was very peaceful and comfortable. But now, something seems to be changing quietly.
Beg him
Recalling everything he said to her since entering the store, Dong Ci, although angry, still sneered, feeling a little funny. She was not stupid, she could understand Jing Rong's thoughts with just a little thought, and her impression of him suddenly became even worse, hitting the lowest point.
Although she couldn't understand his behavior or confirm her guess, she still knew clearly:
People like Jing Rong must not be touched.
“…”
As the weather gets colder, it becomes more and more difficult for Dong Ci to get up.
As the end of term approaches recently, she wakes up earlier and earlier every day to study. When she steps out of the house every day, it's almost still dark.
"Xiao Ci, mommy made sushi for you today, take it and eat it when you're hungry for lunch." Although Ci's mother is very busy at work, she still takes care of her three meals a day very carefully.
"You have a weak stomach and the sushi is too cold. Remember to drink more hot water when eating." Ever since Dong Ci got up in the morning, she had seen Ci's mother busy in the kitchen.
She seemed to have lost a lot of weight. She was quite plump in the past, but recently she became more and more slender. When Dong Ci looked at her from behind, he felt that she was extremely thin.
"Mom, I'll just pretend all this. You finally took a vacation, so you'd better rest a little longer." She couldn't bear to have such a hardworking mother, so Dong Ci was very sensible and went to help.
The sushi in the lunch box is very exquisite, and your breath is filled with the rich aroma of glutinous rice, which is very sweet.
"I feel like mom's cooking skills are getting better and better." Dong Ci couldn't help but praise her. Without waiting for her mother to speak, she packed the two lunch boxes and put them in her schoolbag. "I know, I know. One of the lunch boxes is for Brother Shi Ze. I will deliver it to him during my lunch break."
"I'm going to school. It's too cold outside, so don't send me out. Go back and take a nap!"
The cold wind outside was a bit harsh, so Dong Ci quickly closed the door to prevent the cold air from entering. When he looked up, he found that the moon could still be vaguely seen in the sky.
"Come on, come on, you must study hard so that your mother won't worry!"
Dong Ci recited it silently in her heart, the tip of her nose felt a little sore, and the lunch box in her backpack was obviously not heavy but still made her breathless. This inexplicable depression lasted until she met Toki Ze after school at noon.
Shize is the son of Aunt Mu, the owner of the dessert shop, and the two of them have grown up together. In the past, when Ci's father was still alive, the two families were very close. When Ci's father passed away, the family took even better care of the mother and daughter.
Tokizawa is one year older than her, but he goes to the same school as her and is currently in his third year of high school.
In the school they were in, senior high school students were taught in a separate three-story attic in a quiet environment, separated from the experimental building where Dong Ci was by a small garden. Dong Ci sent a text message to Shi Ze in advance and ran to the small garden in the center to wait for him as soon as get out of class was over.
"You came so early today."
Normally, Shi Ze would finish school later than Dong Ci, but when Dong Ci arrived today, he was already waiting for her in the round pavilion in the small garden.
"Today was a mock test, so school ended a little early." Shize took the lunch box and put it on the stone table, handed her a booklet and said calmly, "This is the key knowledge I compiled for the second year of high school, and it is different from what it is now. It’s not big, you might be able to use it.”
"Okay, thank you, Brother Shize." Dong Ci smiled, put the booklet aside, and opened the lunch box in front of him.
Shi Ze was taciturn by nature, and Dong Ci was also quiet and reserved. When the two of them sat together to eat, they were usually very silent. But today, Shi Ze seemed to notice her unhappiness and started chatting with her for the first time.
He said, "Aunt Song's cooking skills seem to be getting better and better."
This sudden sentence made Dong Ci, who was eating, slightly startled. After a while, he came back to his senses and hummed softly.
It was like a ****, some memories from the past came flooding back. Dong Ci's emotions that she had suppressed all morning were now a little uncontrollable. She sniffed, and the food in front of her suddenly became difficult to swallow.
"My mother's favorite thing was to study cooking. I still remember she once joked with me that she would cook all the delicious food in the world for me... and my father to eat."
When Ci's father was still there, Ci's mother was a housewife. Although she didn't work, she always kept the house in order and cooked all kinds of delicious food for them in different ways every day. Whenever she and her loving father praise her, the smile on her loving mother's face will be particularly satisfying.
Nowadays, things have changed, and her father left so suddenly. Dong Ci bit her lip slightly, suddenly feeling so sad that she couldn't help herself.
"Shi Ze, do you know? When I went out this morning, I somehow glanced at the spot where my father parked his car. I was even secretly expecting that the car was still there, and so was my father... "
Not wanting Shi Ze to see her tears, Dong Ci lowered his head and bit the back of his hand into his mouth, but the suppressed cries still came out intermittently.
"Xiaoci, I'm sorry."
Shize was not good at comforting people. Seeing the girl beside him crying so pitifully, he hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to open his arms and hug her gently.
"Don't cry. Although your father is gone, you still have me..."
His voice paused slightly, and his handsome face was stained with a hint of red. Shi Ze turned his head in discomfort, his voice was calm. "Your mother and I will always be with you."
“…”
Dong Ci watched Shi Ze leave. She stood there for a long time holding the empty lunch box. It wasn't until her hands and feet became stiff that she took a step back.
Her mood still hadn't recovered, and she looked lifeless. She lowered her head and walked slowly step by step. She didn't raise her head until she felt like there was some obstacle in front of her.
"you… "
Not far away, Jing Rong was leaning against the wall and looking at her expressionlessly. He was tall and slender, and he looked particularly mature in a black coat. Different from his usual leisurely and casual appearance, he looked a little depressed today.
There was more than one way back to the classroom. Dong Ci didn't want to have too much contact with him, so she hugged the lunch box in her arms tightly and turned around to take another way. Unexpectedly, a young man suddenly stood behind him.
"Hello, hello, little beauty. My name is An Chengfeng. We met last time on campus." An Chengfeng scratched his fluffy hair and looked very troubled.
With one step of his long legs, he blocked the road in front of Dong Ci and pointed helplessly behind her. "Ah Rong seems to be in a bad mood, so I suggest you go and find him obediently."
"I'm not familiar with you, I want to go back to the classroom."
How could Dong Ci dare to go see him like that? She tried to get around An Chengfeng, but his reaction was so quick that he didn't give her a chance to escape.
This is the corridor between buildings. The left and right sides are not very spacious. At this time, the roads on both sides are completely blocked. Dong Ci is trapped in it and cannot get out.
"What are you going to do? If you keep harassing me like this, I'm going to tell the teacher." She didn't want to go over to see Jing Rong, but she couldn't get out with An Chengfeng blocking her like this. She originally thought that moving out would be a problem for the teacher. They were told to restrain themselves, but An Chengfeng burst into laughter.
As if he heard something ridiculous, he held his stomach and said, "Hey, if you have the ability, you can sue the principal. But you should see if the principal will help you."
With such an arrogant look, he seemed to be really not afraid of her threat.
Also, remembering the time when she passed by the principal's office and heard the conversation between Jing Rong and the principal, Dong Ci felt a chill in her heart and suddenly felt a little powerless.
"Okay, Ah Rong's patience has never been good. I advise you not to keep him waiting for too long." After laughing enough, An Chengfeng pressed her shoulders and turned her around. He turned her towards Jing Rong. He pushed in the direction and urged casually. "Go quickly, little sister."
"I wish you good luck."
…