No one expected that the heavy rain at the end of 1995 would come so quickly and violently. Before anyone realized it, it swept across the entire Jiangdong Province from south to north and from east to west with a sharp and ruthless attitude, carrying the power of heaven and earth.
Guanshan, Fengtai, Linze, Lingyang, Laiwu, Qingzhou... more than 40 counties and cities in the province, without exception, are in a state of emergency!
After one night, the flood was devastating!
Qingzhou No.1 Middle School.
Although it was daytime, the classroom of Class 3 was plunged into darkness. The howling cold wind mixed with huge raindrops blew against the glass windows, and the crackling sound was like the soul-stirring ghost cry, making people upset. Ye Yuting stopped teaching and was about to ask the students to light the candles when a stone flew from nowhere and hit the door heavily. There was a loud bang, and the whole classroom was filled with screams of female students.
The power outage happened for the third time this afternoon!
Wen Liang took the disposable lighter from Ren Yi and lit the candle in the middle of the desk. The weak light slowly illuminated the surrounding space. Ji Su's beautiful face gradually appeared in front of him. She supported her chin with both hands, tilted her head and looked at Wen Liang, saying: "What's wrong with this rain? Just listening to the sound is so scary..."
"The typhoon has landed. It's nothing serious. Don't worry."
Wen Liang protected the candlelight with his hands and comforted Ji Su casually, but he was also a little uneasy in his heart - this rain seemed to be heavier than in his previous life. Ren Yi leaned over from behind and said in a low voice: "I heard that people have died in other cities and many places have been flooded. I don't know if it's true or not... Listen, listen to the sound of the wind, it vividly explains what ghosts cry and wolves howl..."
Ji Su glanced outside, but could not see anything under the dark sky, and the worry in his eyes became heavier. Wen Liang patted Ren Yi on the head and said, "Are you still the successor of the socialist cause? Don't believe in rumors, don't spread rumors, those rumors are all slanders of imperialism that want to destroy us, Ren Yi, you must stand firm!"
This kind of official tone that is often heard in later generations can only shock young people who are inexperienced in the world. Ren Yi was startled and shrank back, covering his mouth.
Gradually, more and more candles became brighter, and one could vaguely see that most people had looks of fear on their faces. It was the first time in their lives that they had experienced such a severe rainstorm. Only at such times would one realize how insignificant they were.
Although it was relatively safe to stay in the classroom, the violent storm outside was really annoying. Ye Yuting glanced at the classroom and realized that it was impossible to continue the class. Just as she was about to speak, she faintly heard Hua Xique's voice coming from outside: "All teachers... go to the Political and Educational Department for a meeting, all teachers..."
After the power outage, the loudspeaker of the school radio station could not be used. Fortunately, Hua Xique had a loud voice after years of training. Otherwise, if it were someone else, even if they held a loudspeaker, they would not be able to shout out such a penetrating voice. Ye Yuting raised her hands high, signaling the students to be quiet, and said: "It may be that the rain is too heavy and the wires are short-circuited. The school will make arrangements soon. Everyone, stay calm! Tianqi, you and other class committee members maintain the order in the class. Don't talk loudly and don't walk back and forth. Wait until I finish the meeting."
After saying that, she was about to leave, but for some reason her eyes involuntarily turned to the lower left corner, where the sixteen-year-old boy was looking up. Even though the candlelight in the classroom was dim, Ye Yuting could still feel the concern and worry in those dark, deep eyes.
Ye Yuting smiled and nodded slightly. Not knowing if he saw it, she turned and walked out. As soon as she reached the door, she could already feel the strong wind leaking out from the crack of the door, as if countless slippery loaches were frantically drilling into the thick clothes from all angles, biting the skin and leaving bloody marks. Ye Yuting took a deep breath, stretched out her hand and opened the door. The whistling cold wind rolled up the rain and rushed in her face. It was like being sprayed by a high-pressure water gun, and she was soaked almost instantly.
She stumbled and stepped back a few steps, then fell backwards. A pair of big hands suddenly appeared behind her, just across her waist to support her. Ye Yuting turned around and saw Wen Liang staring at the door with a serious face, and whispered: "I'll take you there, the rain is too heavy..."
Ye Yuting wanted to refuse. As a teacher, the first thing she had to consider at this time was not her own safety, but the safety of her students. Although her relationship with Wen Liang was somewhat different, and could even be said to be somewhat ambiguous, when it came to the critical moment, all she could think about was the relationship between teacher and student, not between men and women.
"Let's go!"
There was a tone of refusal in his gentle voice. He held Ye Yuting's shoulder and stepped out of the classroom.
Inside and outside the house were two completely different worlds. The wind was strong and the rain was heavy. There were dead branches and paper scraps flying everywhere. The albizzia tree in front of the building was also blown crooked and might be uprooted at any time. Wen Liang propped up his arms and used his body to protect Ye Yuting on the inside of the corridor, stumbling forward step by step.
The weather was unusually cold, and the rain on my face was painful like a needle, but it was heartwarming to have someone to protect me from the wind and rain. Ye Yuting turned her head in the heavy rain and glanced at Wen Liang. The boy's temples were pressed against his face, and the rain poured down his hair. He looked inexplicably resolute and cold.
Ye Yuting's heart moved, but Zuo Yuxi's face suddenly appeared in her mind—she was looking at her from afar, smiling, yet not smiling, close yet distant!
The distance from the teaching building to the office building is only a few dozen meters. It used to take one or two minutes to walk, but today it took Ye Yuting ten minutes. Wen Liang waited in the lobby on the first floor after entering the office building. Ye Yuting went to the political and educational department for a meeting. After half an hour, the meeting ended. Wen Liang learned from Ye Yuting that the school had received a notice from the Municipal Education Bureau that in view of the increasingly severe trend of heavy rain, all primary and secondary schools in the city would be temporarily closed and the start time would be set later.
Back in the classroom of Class 3, Ye Yuting announced the holiday, which immediately caused thunderous applause. The boys and girls aged 16 or 17 did not understand what this storm would bring to Qingzhou and even Jiangdong. They only applauded and cheered for the unexpected leisure time. Wen Liang sat in his seat, the worry between his brows became heavier, which was out of tune with the cheers of the people around him.
Ren Yi was one of the people who shouted the most. He couldn't bear to see Wen Liang's expression of alienation from the people. He looked at him sideways and said, "Brother Wen, why are you unhappy?"
Ji Su also noticed his abnormality and cast a concerned look at him. Wen Liang woke up from his deep thoughts and said unhappily, "It's raining and stormy, my heart is wet, what's the point of being happy?"
Ji Su's eyes widened instantly, obviously she didn't understand. She was always generous, and it was really cute when she occasionally showed such an expression. Meng Ke was tidying up the desk, and he looked up and smiled: "Oh, today is really unlucky. Not only is it raining like crazy, but even our classmate Wen Liang has started to show off his knowledge, although I don't understand what he is saying. Su Su, do you think I should blink in admiration?"
Ren Yi laughed and said, "Don't worship me yet. Let me translate it for you: It rained heavily in broad daylight, and the sky was as dark as Liu Zhihe's face. Poor Wen, even his underwear was soaked. How can he be happy..."
In front of the girl, Wen Liang wanted to replace "underwear" with "heart clothes" to be more subtle, but he didn't expect the shameless Ren Yi to reveal everything and immediately denounced him: "Vulgar, so vulgar! Can you speak so bluntly about the affairs of scholars?"
Everyone laughed.
As luck would have it, not long after the holiday was announced, the rain eased a little, and everyone took the opportunity to rush home. Except for the boarding students whose homes were far away, the students from the city gradually found their own ways to leave. The boys were generally okay, rushing into the rain in groups of three or five, which was quite neat and tidy. Some of the girls were picked up by their parents, some left by carpooling or taxi, and some squeezed on the last bus, and many of them left soon.
Xu Yao and Ning Xiaoning left in a military vehicle. Wen Liang did not go with them, but asked them to take as many female classmates who could not go home as possible. Ji Zheng was now promoted, so his treatment was naturally different. When he drove over to pick up Ji Su, he invited Wen Liang to go with him, but he declined. Meng Ke and Ren Yi were happy to take the car and leave.
Wen Liang called An Baoqing, and then ran to Class 10 to find Tan Yu. As expected, Tan Yu was hanging his arm, crawling on the table and drawing circles out of boredom. When he saw Wen Liang coming in, he stood up and asked, "Why are you here?"
Wen Liang smiled and said, "If I hadn't come, you would have planned to spend the night in the classroom tonight?"
Tan Yu scratched his head and laughed: "My arms can't stand the rain, I want to wait before leaving..."
Wen Liang knew that the relationship between them had not yet developed to the level it was in the past, so it was normal for Tan Yu to be embarrassed to come to him. He changed the subject and asked, "Where's Beimi? Why don't I see her accompanying you?"
Speaking of Beimi, Tan Yulian's tone softened a bit, and he said, "She took a friend's car back home. It was raining so hard, and I couldn't send her off."
The word "love" makes the most sense. As the person who knew each other best in the previous life, Wen Liang still doesn't understand why Tan Yu would like a girl like Beimi. Although the love action movies that Tan Yu watched after college were all heavier in taste, this is only high school after all. Could he really be indifferent when the girl he likes does sports with someone else
Thinking of what Liu Zhihe had said to him not long ago, Wen Liang considered his words and said, "I have no right to interfere in your emotional affairs. Beimi is very beautiful, and I can understand that you like her. However, there are some things I think you should know, and then decide what to do..."
Tan Yu was silent for a moment, then said, "It was Liu Zhi and that group who spread rumors, right? They said something about Beimi and Yuan Shaojie, right?"
"There is no smoke without fire, but there is no smoke without fire..."
"Brother Wen, have you ever liked a girl like this?"
Tan Yu suddenly interrupted Wen Liang, turned his head to look out the window, and after a long while, he whispered, "I like her, I don't know why I like her so much! I don't know if it was fate, I bumped into her at the gate on the first day of school, I still remember that day she was wearing a pink dress and had long hair, here," he gestured on himself with a smile on his face, as if the scene of that day reappeared in front of him, "she walked with a swaying gait, very cute, and very beautiful... She smelled very good and soft, and she wasn't angry when I bumped into her, and she didn't wait for me to say sorry, she smiled and said to me, classmate, I don't owe you money, right..."
"I was at a loss at the time, so dumb that I couldn't say a word. My face turned red before I could utter "I don't owe you"... Maybe you won't believe it, but when I was in junior high school, I was a chatterbox who could debate with many people, but I don't know what happened that day. When I saw her laughing, I became mute..."
"Later, I saw her again in the classroom of Class 10 and learned her name - Bemi, Bemi, what a nice name! When I was lining up, I sat behind her. When I looked up, I could see her back and her long hair... For more than a month, she was all in my world, day, night, and dreams. I loved that feeling, the feeling of falling in love with someone!"
"It was more than a month later that I dared to talk to her. I didn't expect that she still remembered me. She jokingly called me a debt collector and chased me from the gate to the classroom. I really wanted to tell her that I was chasing her, but not for debts. We became friends just like that. We would greet each other and occasionally she would make a few jokes. Although it was very simple and ordinary, I still cherished it. I cherished every day I spent with her, even though we were always separated by the desks in front and behind, and by the air and sunshine..."
"Until one day, she came to me crying and told me that Yuan Shaojie was pestering her to date him. I went to argue with Yuan Shaojie on her behalf, but was beaten up by a group of people. Beimi hugged me and cried, and had a big fight with Yuan Shaojie. Then, Liu Zhi and Zhang Song brought people to block me in the toilet. Thanks to you, I would have been beaten up. It was also thanks to you, Brother Wen, that Yuan Shaojie didn't dare to bother me again, so they spread rumors everywhere and said bad things about Beimi, but no matter what they said, I would not believe it..."
Tan Yu retracted his gaze, turned his head to look at Wen Liang, and asked the same question, "Brother Wen, have you ever liked a girl like this?"
Wen Liang opened his mouth but suddenly found he had nothing to say. He was gentle, sensitive, persistent and kind, and was surrounded by many smart and impeccable girls. But if you really ask him whether he has ever loved someone as unreservedly as Tan Yu, he has no answer after living two lives.
The two of them sat facing each other quietly, each thinking about their own things, and even Wen Liang didn't notice. This scene was actually very similar to many nights in their previous lives, when two people who were also struggling in humiliation supported each other and went through those dark years.
The sound of the classroom door being pushed open disturbed the silence. Tan Yu shouted, "Bemi, why are you back again? Didn't you leave in your friend's car?"
"I forgot to take my schoolbag. Who are you talking to? Um... it's you!"
Wen Liang turned around and said with a smile: "Classmate Beimi, long time no see."
(In order to advance, I don't want to fill in some of the holes in the previous article, but Tan Yu is at least the main male supporting role, so I can't be ruthless and delete the scenes...) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)