Wen Liang was walking in the yard and saw from afar a girl standing at the gate, looking into the yard. She was wearing a sky-blue plaid nylon jacket, washed-out jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. She looked like the first branches and leaves to sprout green buds in spring, adding a bit of warmth and comfort to the cold day.
The only difference is that the ponytail that was always tied at the back of her head with a rubber band is gone, replaced by a refreshing short hair with bangs. The slightly broken bangs make the girl's already lively eyes even brighter, and when she sees Wen Liang, they immediately sparkle with inexplicable brilliance.
"Ha, you are so powerful, how did you find this place?"
Wen Liang knew that it must be Tan Xuelu's words, so he smiled and joked, but Xie Yan became nervous, lowered his head and said in panic: "I'm sorry, I know you are busy, I shouldn't come to disturb you..."
"Okay, okay," Wen Liang clasped his hands together and bowed, saying, "Aren't we friends? Why bother you? If you keep being so polite, I have to be polite to you, too, okay?"
"Yes," Xie Yan agreed with his head down, a smile that made people's heart beat faster appeared on his lips, and then he handed over the paper box in his hand, with a little shyness on his face, "This is the various sauces that my mother made. We can add some to the dishes when we cook during the New Year. I don't know if you like it..."
Seeing the girl's hands reddened from the cold wind, Wen Liang had no way of refusing such a gift, so he took it readily and said, "Thank you very much. I can smell the fragrance through the box. Auntie's cooking must be good. My mother loves these seasonings the most, I must give her a surprise when I go back."
Xie Yan became happy, she knew that Yi Wenliang's family had everything, and although her own sauces were delicious, they were not worth much, and it was a bit shabby to use them as a New Year's gift. However, these seemingly simple sauces were made by her and her mother buying the best ingredients, simmering them for a long time, and making them with the utmost sincerity and effort. They were also the best gift she could give with all she had.
Wen Liang accepted it without hesitation, without any excuses or false courtesy. Although they hadn't seen each other or had any contact for a long time, he was still the boy who appeared in her dreams, gentle and elegant, and he had never changed!
Wen Liang leaned over to the box and sniffed it, then smiled and said, "Do you mind if I open it and take a look?"
Xie Yan shook her head. Wen Liang waited for a moment, glared at her, and said, "Why don't you come and help me? I'm holding it with both hands. How can it be so heavy..."
Xie Yan exclaimed and quickly reached out to open the lid of the box. The restraint he had just felt when they first met strangely disappeared with his joking scolding. He could smell the boy's faint scent from a close distance. The thin clothes could not keep out the chill, but as he stood beside him and felt his warmth, his whole body and mind slowly warmed up.
He opened the box and found twelve bottles neatly placed side by side. Each bottle mouth had words written on it: fermented black beans, minced garlic, shrimp, eight treasures, mushrooms, beef and chicken, etc. Wen Liang was surprised and frowned inadvertently, saying, "Why are there so many?"
Although he had never made sauces, he knew that if he wanted to make them delicious, each ingredient had to be carefully selected. Although the twelve bottles seemed small, the price of the ingredients was also a considerable amount for Xie Yan's family, not to mention the time and energy spent on it.
Xie Yan said anxiously: "It's worthless..."
Wen Liang sighed inwardly, looked directly into Xie Yan's eyes, and said, "Xie Yan, I am very grateful for your kindness. I have accepted these sauces, but this will not happen again. You are welcome to come to our house in the future, but just come in person, don't bring any gifts, okay?"
Xie Yan knew that he was worried about her. Although the family was much better off than before, her mother's stall business was not good in the winter. It was just barely enough to support the mother and daughter. Especially this year, it was the second half of the senior year. All kinds of study materials and auxiliary teaching materials were indispensable necessities. Almost every penny had to be calculated and used in every necessary place. In order to make these sauces, they had an extra expense.
No, it cannot be said to be extra. To her, this is the most important thing, even more important than her dream of going to college!
Xie Yan nodded seriously and said obediently: "I'll remember that!"
Compared to what Wen Liang did for her, this was nothing, but Xie Yan was very happy to hear Wen Liang speak to her in this way, sometimes gently and sometimes admonishingly. She was gentle but strong, and only when facing this boy would she completely open the door deep in her heart and allow herself to be weak and dependent for a moment!
Because he is gentle and understanding, he is like a brother and also like a father!
In all the years that she and her mother have depended on each other, only this person has walked into her life with the flavor of a father and brother!
Wen Liang smiled slightly and stopped talking about this topic. He picked up a bottle of sauce with interest, looked at it in the sunlight, and said, "It looks delicious. Is there anything particular about the cooking?"
"This can be used to make pork with garlic sauce," Xie Yan pointed to the inside of the box and said, "This can be used to make cold seafood, and that one is best when used to make noodles. Here, there's also a bottle of Zhenwei Eight Treasure Sauce..."
"Eight Treasure Sauce? I've only eaten Eight Treasure Porridge. I wonder if there's also Eight Treasure Sauce?"
"Well, this requires eight ingredients: chicken gizzards, pork tenderloin, chicken, dried shrimps, peanuts, winter bamboo shoots, black fungus, and green peppers. Cut them all into dices first..."
The two stood face to face, the sun shining gently down from above the boy and girl's heads. The girl, who had been very quiet, became unusually excited, while the boy, who was usually talkative, just stood there, listening quietly, smiling slightly, with a clear and distant look in his eyes.
The ringing of the cell phone destroyed this rare harmonious scene. Wen Liang smiled apologetically at Xie Yan and answered the phone, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Aren't you going to post couplets? Where did you go?"
"At the gate of the courtyard, a classmate is coming, go back immediately."
Wen Liang hung up the phone, shrugged, and said with a smile: "How about going to my house for a while?"
Xie Yan's face was a little hot, secretly blaming himself for not knowing the seriousness of the matter and actually holding Wen Liang to talk for such a long time. He shook his hand hurriedly and said, "No, no, you should get busy. I'm already very embarrassed to have kept you for so long."
"If only people who give gifts were as shy as you, there would be hope for our country."
However, it was New Year's Eve, so there was really no point in keeping guests. Wen Liang rolled his eyes and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."
Before Xie Yan could say anything, Wen Liang hurried away with a box full of sauces. She bit her lower lip, grabbed the corner of her shirt with both hands, lowered her head and looked at her toes, and really stood there motionless, waiting for Wen Liang to come back.
After two or three minutes, Wen Liang came up to Xie Yan holding a large box and said, "Take this back..."
"I can't have... Wenliang, I, I really can't have... "
She was so anxious that she was about to cry. Wen Liang explained, "This is some dried vegetables distributed by my father's unit. To be honest, it's not as good as what you gave me. Dried vegetables can be bought anywhere, but the sauce made by Auntie is not something you can enjoy unless you are a good friend, right?"
Hearing the word "good friend", Xie Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't know what to do for a moment. Wen Liang blinked and said, "So I still took advantage, but the things have been taken, and I can't take them back. Xie Yan, you must give me this face, otherwise we will all lose our friendship."
At this point, Xie Yan could only nod. Wen Liang pointed to the bus stop in front of him and said, "Let's go. I'll take you there. Your stuff is a bit heavy."
The two walked side by side, and Wen Liang asked with a smile: "Have you decided which university to apply to?"
Xie Yan didn't say anything. After waiting for a while, Wen Liang turned his head to look at her and asked in confusion, "Hmm?"
Xie Yan's hand tightened again, and he mustered up the courage to ask, "What about you? Which university are you going to apply to?"
Wen Liang didn't expect her to ask him back, so he laughed and said, "I'm only in the first year of high school, isn't it a bit far-fetched to think about this?"
"No, you must have thought about it, right?"
Wen Liang paused for a moment, but continued walking forward as if nothing had happened, and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Xie Yan suddenly took two quick steps and stood in front of Wen Liang. He raised his head firmly and said, "Wen Liang, you are the kind of person who thinks about things in the long term. You are more mature and wiser than us, and you know how to plan your life better than us. So I think that when all the freshmen are still playing around, you should have already thought about your future path many years later..."
Wen Liang was a little shocked. He would not be surprised to hear these words from any one of Xu Yao, Ji, Suning and Xiao Ning, but it was the girl with whom he had the least contact and the least intersection who said these words.
"If, if you really decide, please tell me, okay? This is very important to me!"
Wen Liang sighed secretly again, his gaze passed Xie Yan, passed the treetops, passed the distant mountains and the temple of Pufang Temple, and projected to thousands of miles away. His deep eyes flashed through the past and present life's past events, the remembered, the forgotten, the happy, the sad, in the end all turned into the appearance of one person, she was either angry or happy, flying or soaring!
Xie Yan stared at Wen Liang blankly, never knowing that a man with such a fierce brow could reveal such a profound experience. She wanted to reach out and use her soft fingers to soothe his sorrow, but in the end she gathered the corners of her clothes tightly and lowered her head sadly.
After an unknown amount of time, Wen Liang suddenly laughed at himself and said, "Well, if nothing unexpected happens, I should go to Jiang University. But there are still more than two years left, so who knows?"
Jiangdong University is ranked in the top ten domestic universities. It is certainly a good and prestigious university. With Wen Liang's grades, it would be a waste of talent for him to choose Jiangdong University. Xie Yan did not ask any more questions. She just nodded, then took a small step behind and followed Wen Liang silently.
The small street is very close to the bus stop, but it is really too far away from the invisible future. (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)