From childhood to adulthood, he grew up in the praise and commendation of everyone. He is smart, sensible, calm and low-key, and has always been a child that his parents are proud of. In addition, he also has an excellent appearance and tall height. He is the "other people's child" in the eyes of many parents. Even in the adults' jokes, he is regarded as the best candidate for the future son-in-law. To have the son of the Zuo family as the future son-in-law is what many mothers-in-law dream of.
Before he was sixteen, he had always been loved and spoiled by everyone, and he never knew what it felt like to like someone, until he was sixteen, in a small mountain village called Heyunling, he saw the girl who was climbing on the jujube tree in front of the door like a little monkey to pick jujubes, with a little dirt on her stubborn little face. At that age when many girls cared about their appearance, she didn't care at all and just did what she liked.
It seemed that they were not very welcoming to his arrival. Although he was not welcome for the first time, he was in a rare good mood and was particularly tolerant of the girl named Su Xian. She came down from the tree with very skillful movements. It was obvious that she was a "repeat offender", but he was still worried that she would fall, so he stood under the tree, staring at the lively girl carefully, ready for any eventuality at any time.
Undecorated short hair, half-curled trouser legs, and ordinary clothes, this is probably the legendary tomboy, but the facial features of this tomboy are very regular, especially the eyes, which are transparent and bright, and her movements are smart. Born in this poor village, she has a natural temperament and innate optimism that makes people unforgettable.
Her appearance brought many novelties and surprises to his monotonous life. When she was happy, she would laugh as if all the happiness in the world was contained in her. When she was unhappy, she would lose her temper, fight against the pebbles on the roadside, complain to a small flower or grass about the unpleasantness she encountered today, and even point to a sheep in the flock and ask him: "Zuo Yueyao, guess, is that little sheep a boy or a girl?"
So he had to look closely at a certain part of the lamb, and then told her very seriously: "It's a boy."
She immediately gave him a thumbs up and praised him generously, saying, "I thought kids from the city wouldn't know these things. You are quite knowledgeable."
He explained with some amusement: "You can still learn some basic common sense in biology class."
"Oh." She looked a little disappointed.
"But." He looked at her rosy face: "What you learn from books is dead, but what you know is alive. You are much better than me."
Then he saw her smug little face shining particularly brightly in the sun.
She took him to the hill behind the house, which was full of various plants. He had never seen them before and didn't know what they were called, so he asked her for advice one by one. She told him the names without hesitation, although he later found out that she had actually said some of the names wrong.
She found a plant on the mountain, pointed at it excitedly and shouted to him: "Zuo Yueyao, come quickly, I found something delicious!"
He ran forward and saw that the strange plant was covered with red fruits. The fruits were small and translucent red. She picked one, wiped it on her clothes, and then put it to his mouth: "It's very sweet, try it."
If his mother were here, she would never let him eat such a mess. He hesitated for a few seconds and stuffed the fruit that looked like some kind of poison into his mouth. After chewing it carefully, he found that although the taste was a bit strange, it was really sweet.
"It's really sweet." He imitated her, put the picked fruit on his clothes to wipe it clean and then threw it into his mouth, with a bit of rebellion and amusement, wondering if his parents would give him a good lesson in health knowledge if they knew about it.
"I'm not kidding, it's very sweet. We often sneaked here to eat it when we were little. But I don't know its name anymore. Who cares? It tastes good." She said as she picked the wild fruit and stuffed it into her pocket: "Put it in your pocket and eat it as a snack when we go back to study."
This was the first time he had eaten such a strange snack. It was not particularly delicious, but he ate it with gusto. Later, he slowly discovered that what he enjoyed was not the deliciousness of the fruit itself, but her satisfied smile. Her smile seemed to have some kind of healing power that could make people happy both physically and mentally.
There was no affectation in her smile, and no pretense in her words and deeds. Her innocence and frankness, as well as her integrity and kindness, gave him his initial understanding of this mountain girl.
And this understanding brought with it a love I had never felt before.
So this is what it feels like to like someone. I like to see her smile, like to see her skipping towards the neighborhood committee from afar every day, like to listen to her tell all kinds of interesting or scary stories, feel distressed about her father's harshness and criticism, but also admire her free and easy attitude of never taking any hardship to heart.
The night before leaving Heyunling, he almost did not sleep all night. When he thought about leaving this place and leaving the girl who brought him so much happiness, he felt reluctant, sad and worried, but he had to leave.
Here, he had eaten the sweetest dates, the most fragrant eggs, met the most beautiful girls, and spent countless days and nights without worries about food and clothing. However, these days and nights in Heyunling were the most comfortable days for him so far.
Originally, he planned to leave in the afternoon, but he told his mother that they could leave in the morning. Although his mother was surprised, she did not ask any questions. When the car arrived, he was talking to Uncle Zhao.
It can be seen that Uncle Zhao likes him very much. In front of her, Uncle Zhao often praises him, saying that he is not arrogant and rude like city children, but is considerate and sensible, and has excellent grades. If her son can be like him, it would be a blessing that she has accumulated in several lifetimes.
She immediately raised her head, pouted, and protested in dissatisfaction: "Uncle Zhao, you have changed! You used to praise me!"
"Uncle Zhao, my mother and I are going back. Thank you for taking care of us these days." He held Uncle Zhao's hand, his gratitude coming from the bottom of his heart. "Please tell Su Xian that I have something to do and I'm leaving early. Tell her to study hard. I'll wait for her at Nanjing University."
He looked back at Uncle Zhao wiping his tears, feeling extremely reluctant to leave. While the car was driving, he looked back frequently, wanting to take another look at He Yunling, and even more so, he wanted to take another look at that special girl. He was also worried that if she knew that he left without saying goodbye, would she be so angry that she would never talk to him again.
It turns out that the reason I like a city is because there is a person I like living in it.
He didn't leave early because he really had something to do, but he did it on purpose. He knew that although she looked brave and strong, she was actually very fragile inside. She was actually very timid and afraid of the dark, and even more afraid of separation. So he had to leave secretly so that she wouldn't have to witness the separation scene with her own eyes, which might make her feel a little better.
There is another layer, perhaps he himself was also avoiding the scene of separation from her.
After returning home, he felt tasteless for a few days and suddenly made a request to his mother, which was to fund her studies.
My mother actually liked the girl named Su Xian very much, otherwise she would not have wanted to adopt her as her goddaughter that day.
Goddaughter? He didn't want to do that because of selfish motives!
The mother also witnessed the difficulties of her family, so she agreed readily. When Uncle Zhao received his call, he was quite surprised, thinking that he probably wouldn't think about their poor village after he went back.
He told Uncle Zhao about his idea of sponsoring Su Xian's schooling, and asked Uncle Zhao to keep the secret and never tell her under any circumstances. Uncle Zhao knew that this was for the sake of the girl's self-esteem, so of course he could do it.
So in the following days, her annual living expenses and tuition fees would be transferred by her mother to Uncle Zhao's card. Uncle Zhao would give the money to her family in the name of the village committee. Apart from her schooling and living expenses, there would be some left for family expenses. The Su family's life became better, and Uncle Zhao was finally relieved. He said on the phone that it was a blessing from the previous life to have such a kind-hearted person silently helping the family.
But what Uncle Zhao didn't know was that he had other intentions.
This picture hides a joy, a heartache, and an expectation.
He didn't want her to have such a hard life, and because he loved Su Changlin, he didn't want her to have a hard life. He hoped that she would no longer have to live a hard life, and could study peacefully, and be admitted to Nanjing University with him in the future.
He often missed her and wanted to write her several times, but he tore up the letters after writing them and never sent any of them. He was afraid that his longing would disrupt her studies, so he kept it in his heart until the day she was admitted to Nanjing University.
He knew that she could be admitted to Nanjing University. Even if it was a gamble, he believed that she could make it. He silently paid attention to everything about him from Uncle Zhao's mouth. Even if he had a minor cold, Uncle Zhao would call him to tell him. These were things that his mother didn't know. He kept in touch with Uncle Zhao, just for that one person, for her. They made up one white lie after another.
She really passed the exam. Uncle Zhao told him the news of her admission to Nanjing University when he called him. He clearly remembered that Uncle Zhao almost cried when he called him. He was so happy. He said that his daughter was finally admitted to Nanjing University.
Uncle Zhao really treats her like his own daughter.
He was no less happy than Uncle Zhao. He couldn't sleep all night when he got the news. There was only one thought in his mind: what should he say to the girl as the first thing she said when she saw her? He even worried that she might have forgotten him after not seeing her for two years.
On the day of military training, he saw her. He hadn't seen her for two years. She was still as thin as before, as if she could be blown down by a gust of wind, but she was also so strong, as if no wind could blow her down. He looked at her from afar, as if he wanted to wrap her in his eyes to make up for the gap of these two years.
The beginning of his lack of confidence when he met her again. He began to become cautious and hesitant. He was not sure whether his love included sympathy, whether this love was truly the love between a man and a woman, and whether her feelings for him went beyond the friendship of a senior and a junior brother or a sister.
It turns out that the first love had been planted as early as the age of sixteen, and it was buried very deeply.
Innocent feelings, unconscious love, meeting the most beautiful person at the most beautiful age, from then on, love came from nowhere, deep and lasting.