It was dark when they returned to Qingzhou. They separated in the city center. Wen Liang went to Diyuan Garden. Ye Yuting opened the door and asked about Zuo Yuxi. Only then did he know that she had been to the county to investigate the progress of the work of transition from private to public. She had not been back for almost three days. During this period, Zuo Yuxi was extremely busy. She was either in various counties or on the way to the county. Occasionally, she would take a break from her busy schedule to make a phone call, but she would hang up after a few words. Wen Liang was very worried about whether her body could hold up.
Ye Yuting now comes to help Zuo Yuxi tidy up and clean the room every two days. Dou Jinghao is not in Qingzhou, so most of the time, she takes care of her sister's life as an older sister.
"Ye... Yuting, where did you go during the summer vacation?"
Wen Liang almost blurted out Teacher Ye again, but remembered that she had asked him to call her by her name when no one was around after their last deep talk, so he quickly changed his words. Ye Yuting made a cup of tea for Wen Liang and sat on the sofa opposite. Her wheat-colored skin had a different charm than before, and her temperament and mental state seemed to be a little different. She said, "We first went to Mount Tai, then to Mount Huang, Mount Song, and Mount Hua, and then we went west to Mount Qilian, Qinghai Lake, Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Lake, and the final destination was Yumen Pass. We stayed in many cities along the way and saw many scenery. The beauty of the mountains and rivers is really beyond words."
A journey of thousands of miles in two months, the desert, Feitian, Jiangnan on the Great Wall, silk, ancient roads, Yumen and Yangguan, an ascetic monk-like journey not only left footprints in the majestic mountains and rivers of heaven and earth, but also purified and sublimated the humble soul, no longer bound by the rules and regulations of the world, no longer entangled in superficial love and wavering struggles.
Compared with this vast land that exists forever, what you can truly possess are only the happiness and time in front of you!
Wen Liang was shocked when he heard this and said, "I thought you were just hanging around Su Yue, but you ran to the northwest. Are you alone?"
"Why, are you worried about me or are you concerned about me?"
Ye Yuting's eyes moved, and she looked at Wen Liang with a smile. Wen Liang's heart skipped a beat. Such words were often used by him to tease Ye Yuting, but he didn't expect that she had secretly learned them and learned them so vividly. "Yes, it's a long journey, and the road is not safe. It's too dangerous for a beautiful girl like you to be alone."
This time is different from the later times, when the roads are smooth, travel is simple, various tourist routes are well developed, there are numerous travel guides, and all bookings for tickets, hotels and restaurants can be made online in advance. The slogan of "go whenever you want" is very exciting, and one person and one car can travel around most of the Republic. But now most highways have not been opened, and the road conditions in many sections are extremely poor. In addition, car bandits and road bullies are rampant. If you really go on the road alone, it is not called traveling, it is called seeking death!
Ye Yuting smiled lightly, as if the charm she had just glimpsed had never appeared, and said: "There are four of us in our group, three women and one man, two of whom are a couple. We are all classmates from college and we all like traveling and photography. We have been preparing for this trip for almost half a year, buying equipment, making road books, and looking for tour guides. Fortunately, we have former classmates and friends in many cities, which saves us a lot of trouble..."
"It has always been my dream to go to the west. Yuting, you took the lead and took some photos, right? Show them to me so I can admire them. It's like looking at the plum to quench my thirst, and it's better than nothing."
"The photos haven't been developed yet. Some of them are at my friend's place. I'll show them to you when they're ready."
"OK!"
The room fell into a brief silence. No one knew what to talk about. Although they had decided to pretend that the accident had never happened, you might be able to fool others but you can never fool yourself.
It’s different, it’s different!
"you… "
"you… "
They both spoke at the same time, Wen Liang smiled and said, "You go first."
Ye Yuting paused and said, "How is your stay in Class 26? Are you in any trouble?"
Wen Liang was touched by his sad story, and said depressedly: "I was just about to ask you, who is that Liu Qing? He stares at me every day and speaks strangely, which makes me very uncomfortable..."
"Liu Qing? I'm not very familiar with him, but I heard from Huang Mei that he seems to be a playboy. He has changed three girlfriends in one year since he came to No. 1 Middle School. What did he do to you?"
Wen Liang covered his mouth and coughed, saying, "I suspect he covets my beauty..."
Ye Yuting was stunned for a moment, then her shoulders and body began to shake uncontrollably. Finally, she fell on the sofa with laughter, her face buried in her arms. Her long black hair almost fell to the ground. The light blue floral dress outlined her graceful figure. The hem of her skirt was lifted up several inches, revealing her crystal clear white legs.
Wen Liang was so angry that he said, "Hey, I'm serious, why are you laughing?"
"Yes, sorry... Ouch, my stomach hurts..."
Ye Yuting was almost laughing to death, but she didn't notice that Wen Liang's eyes were so gentle and compassionate. In fact, having such a person who would not hesitate to pretend to be stupid to make you happy is also a kind of happiness.
After a long while, she stopped laughing and said, "I think you can rest assured about this issue. Even if Liu Qing has... haha, he really has that hobby, he won't like your type. You are only good at deceiving girls, but not at anything else."
"I don't like to hear that. An honest man like me would never lie to girls. It's the girls who lie to me, okay?"
After talking for a while, Wen Liang looked at the time and stood up to leave. Ye Yuting felt reluctant. Since the last in-depth conversation, she and Wen Liang had not seen each other for a long time, or when they met, they only exchanged a few words and left in a hurry. They never had a warm time together alone again.
She stood up, hesitated, and said, "How about staying for dinner?"
Wen Liang knew that Ye Yuting was only here to help Zuo Yuxi tidy up the room and had no intention of cooking here. He smiled and said, "It's not worth going out to buy groceries and come back to cook at this time. How about this, I'll treat you tonight, let's go out to eat, and after dinner we'll go somewhere else, I guarantee you'll be surprised."
"Just the two of us?"
Wen Liang turned around and walked outside, saying, "Don't worry, I've been feeling a little weak lately, so even if I have that desire, I don't have the ability to do it."
"Bah, a dog can't spit out ivory!" Ye Yuting's face flushed, and she glared at Wen Liang while biting her teeth.
“If a dog’s mouth can spit out ivory, is it still called a dog?”
After a simple dinner, Wen Liang drove Ye Yuting to a house. The surroundings were quiet without any noise. The breeze blew through the bamboo forest, like a woman in white from ancient times walking into a modern city, playing a fresh and gentle flute. A hundred meters ahead, the Qing River flowed along the river channel planned by the dam through Qingzhou City. The rolling waves beat against the rocks, witnessing the imprint of many years of history.
Being here is like being in a painting!
Ye Yuting opened the car window, propped her chin on her arm, and stared at this quiet place in the bustling city, exclaiming, "It's so beautiful!"
Wen Liang jumped down from the car, pushed open the gate of the house, turned around and made an inviting gesture, saying: "My humble abode is honored to have you, beautiful lady!"
"ah?"
Ye Yuting climbed the stairs and walked past Wen Liang. What she saw was a small building with bluestone tiles in the old style. There was a winding path in the middle of the turf-covered courtyard. On the left side of the path, there was a camphor tree that was almost several decades old. Its umbrella-shaped branches and leaves spread out, bringing more coolness to the summer night. There were marble tables and stone benches under the tree, and several lush bamboos were planted around the courtyard, which looked both elegant and leisurely.
Walking slowly forward along the path, you can see the mottled sense of age on the walls of the small building. The two glass windows are made of wooden panes, carved with lifelike flowers, birds, insects and fish representing the extremely high craftsmanship of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Once you enter the building, it seems as if you have stepped across a thousand years. The bright chandeliers, comfortable sofas, brown-gray black walnut floors, and the lines of the entire room all outline the shock and surprise that only modern architectural design can have, giving people an excellent visual and psychological experience.
Ye Yuting was amazed that the two completely different styles could be blended so perfectly between the inside and the outside, in such a small space, not a bit more or less, and it was full of fantastic ideas that combined Chinese and Western elements, which was breathtaking.
The second floor is the bedroom and study. The rooms facing the courtyard have floor-to-ceiling windows. When you open the curtains, you can see the green mountains in the distance and the green river below the mountains. This makes the vision that was always confined between steel and concrete become smoother and wider than ever before.
Ye Yuting closed her eyes, stretched out her arms naturally, and took a deep breath. A gentle voice came from behind, saying, "How is it?"
Ye Yuting didn't say anything. After a while, she turned around. She couldn't hide the love in her eyes. She said, "I like it here! Wen Liang, is this the house you bought?"
Wen Liang nodded and said, "It's good that you like it. I'm also worried that if we work behind closed doors, our aesthetic taste will become niche."
Ye Yuting quietly exerted force with her fingers and said, "Are you... ready to be with Yuxi?"
Wen Liang shook his head and smiled, "That's not the case. Yuxi is so busy every day that she can't even stay in Diyuan for a few days. It's far from the city center, so she can only come here to relax when she has a break. I plan to use this place as a gathering place. Whether it's for friends' birthdays, for fun, or for being unhappy, or feeling bored, or for any other reason, as long as they want to find a quiet place, this place will be open to everyone. There are plenty of bedrooms anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem for a few more people to stay here."
"Then, can I book a room?" Ye Yuting liked this place so much that she couldn't help but blurt out.
"Of course, no problem. You're the first person to visit, so just pick one."
Ye Yuting looked up in astonishment, her charming eyes seemed to emit a shining light, and said: "I am the first one?" (To be continued)