Cheng Ran was a little surprised when he received a call from Qin Xizhen at home. The person on the phone said that Qin Xizhen asked him if he was free to come over for a walk. She was calling him from a public phone on Huanhu Road at that time.
Nothing could be heard from the tone, it was very calm, but Cheng Ran was a little confused. Looking at the sky, it seemed that it was almost time for lunch, so he had to say, "When are you coming back to the city from the lake? How about we meet somewhere in the city?"
In the end, the person on the other end said clearly that she was standing by the lake and if you didn't come, you might never see her again.
Qin Xizhen's words seemed to be joking, but Cheng Ran still felt that it was a bit abnormal, so he had to tell Xu Lan that he would not go home for dinner. He took the bus along Huanhu Road and got off at the Wanjiao stop. He just happened to see Qin Xizhen standing at the gate of the Water School.
This is a water conservancy vocational school by the lake. There is a small shop with a public telephone at the door. Qin Xizhen is holding a lollipop in his mouth, wearing a plaid coat, jeans and short boots, with his hands in his pockets, looking heroic.
When he saw Cheng Ran, he waved and said "Hi!", took out a lollipop from his pocket and asked if you wanted one.
Cheng Ran stared at her and said, "I was in a hurry and worried that you might be in danger, so I drove several kilometers to get here as soon as possible. What are you doing?"
Oh, are you angry? Don't be angry, don't be angry, come and pat your head. Qin Xizhen reached out and ruffled Cheng Ran's soft hair, with a loving look on her face.
Do you want me to call you another one? Cheng Ran's mouth twitched.
There is also this special skill. Let me hear the sound. Woof woof or meow
Cheng Ran: That’s indecent!
Qin Xizhen's hands froze. There were many people waiting at the entrance of the Water School looking at her. They were stunned by this scene, thinking that such a beautiful girl could not see that she was still very wild inside...
Later, Cheng Ran's entire right arm was bruised by Qin Xizhen, who also punched him a few times.
Cheng Ran's arm was numb and painful. He followed Qin Xizhen on the trail around the lake, looking like he was in trouble and wanted to cry but couldn't. "So... the other party is planning to... 'hidden rule' you?"
During this process, Qin Xizhen still told him the whole story. She sighed and said, "Why am I telling you this... In fact, this society is not all like this. There are many good aspects. You must not be negative."
This is treating yourself like a child again...
After such a thing happened, she was in a state of confusion. Naturally, she couldn't tell her parents to make them worry, but who could she tell? Several sisters who were far away from home? Qin Xizhen didn't want them to know that she resigned and planned to pursue her own path, because if she said it but didn't do it, it would actually hurt her self-esteem. From any angle, she was the most calm person in the dormitory back then. She didn't miss a class. Every day at class time and meal time, she would go out with her books or lunch box. She had a regular life. She didn't have many girls in the music school who stayed up all night to have fun outside. She was always the one who washed her shoes, socks and clothes the most frequently. In fact, she unknowingly led the whole dormitory. At that time, everyone called together to "Learn from Qin Xizhen!" She hoped that when they met each other many years later, she would still have the calmness of the past, instead of letting them see her helpless side.
After counting, Cheng Ran was the only one who could speak.
"It's too late. You've already inspired me. I must study hard and become a high-ranking official in the future. I can bully men and women and so on..."
Then Cheng Ran's entire left arm was also bruised.
Cheng Ran felt a little aggrieved, "I just said that, but you acted so quickly. You think of me as an imaginary enemy... I haven't done anything yet..."
Qin Xizhen narrowed her eyes and looked at him tenderly, "What else do you want to do? Tell me. Do you like my type..."
Cheng Ran said righteously, "Ahem... Now is the era of promoting civility, setting new trends, and upholding social integrity. How can you have such dirty thoughts!"
Seeing Qin Xizhen's meaningful smile, Cheng Ran suddenly felt that he had saved his life.
The sun shines on the two of them. The city is about to be in the spotlight. The bustling International Tourism Festival and Music Festival have focused countless eyes from the outside world here. The heroes will compete here, but for Qin Xizhen, the dream that was originally within reach has suddenly become so far away.
"What about you? How did you respond to Le Pinghong at that time?"
"I used to respect him, but he has completely become Wang Zhonghua's lobbyist. He said that it was indeed very embarrassing, but there is no such thing as a free favor. Only by giving can you gain. My youth is my greatest asset. Wang Zhonghua really likes me and will never treat me badly in the future... He said to me like that, and I suddenly felt that the kind teacher in front of me was extremely unfamiliar. Maybe this unfamiliar him is the real him that I have never known. In fact, he is indeed thinking about me, but he calculates everything for me from the perspective of extreme gains and losses. What I have paid is insignificant, but by following Wang Zhonghua, I can get to know the upper echelons of entertainment companies and have plenty of opportunities to deal with senior executives and professional musicians. With my professional foundation, this step alone will save me decades of struggle compared to ordinary people... In short, the gains are far beyond expectations."
Qin Xizhen paused and said, "He has already thrown away some very important things. Maybe people have to be like him to have the best of both worlds and live a comfortable life."
Qin Xizhen murmured, "After confirming this, I told Le Pinghong that I had a party in the evening and it would end at twelve o'clock. In order to avoid being seen, I went to the hotel to find Wang Zhonghua at two in the morning."
Cheng Ran thought about it and laughed, "Then you really offended someone badly."
I thought that if someone like Wang Zhonghua waited until two in the morning, and no one showed up, he would be furious. But this is Qin Xizhen's character. If you make me unhappy, I will make you unhappy too. Will I suffer any loss if I move a hamster
"What a pity... I have been preparing for a long time... but it suddenly burst like a bubble."
Qin Xizhen put the five fingers of his left hand together, then spread them out and made a gesture. Finally, he opened his bag out of boredom, took out his notebook, and flipped through it in his hands.
Cheng Ran spread out his hand, and Qin Xizhen handed it to him calmly this time.
Cheng Ran looked at the contents above. The earliest record was from 1996. The first expense was 0.6 yuan for hot water for bathing, 5 yuan for breakfast and lunch, 5 yuan for sanitary napkins. 0.3 yuan for an apple for weight loss in the afternoon. The balance of daily living expenses: 3.1 yuan.
There is income every day, 3.1 yuan, 7.4 yuan, 8 yuan, 8.3 yuan, 4 yuan... and then the living expenses surplus is calculated once a week.
Item by item, payment by payment, for more than two years, the notebook was filled with such amounts.
Cheng Ran thought of the time when she saw Qin Xizhen's notebook and she pulled it back and didn't let him take care of the baby. She thought of the way she stood in front of the music store for a long time. She thought of the band of the First Middle School, and the reason why every time she treated everyone to drinks, the band members provided enough, except for her own drink.
The money is saved bit by bit, a few dollars at a time.
Who says she has no dreams? She has always used this method to build a path to her dreams, just like building a nest with grass in her mouth.
However, the reality is often like this. Even if you try your best and become exhausted and hoarse, life may be a wall that you cannot break through even if you break your head and bleed.
…
"It's all useless."
Qin Xizhen looked up and said, "I now understand why my father hopes that I can be stable and peaceful. This world has many desires and dark places... If you want to take this path, you have to go through the thorns and bumps on the road. This requires a strong will and the wisdom to deal with it..."
"Is it better for me to accept my family's arrangement... find a stable job and marry someone I don't like but don't hate... Life in the mountains and seas is not stressful and will be very leisurely. When I have a child, I will teach him music."
"Are you willing?"
Qin Xizhen's face was gloomy, "Life is like this... You always have to accept the unpleasant things."
Cheng Ran pointed to a dike. There was a high ground there, and on top of it was a grassy slope. "How about we go for a walk and compete to see who gets up there first?"
"Young man's mind!" Qin Xizhen glanced at him but did not refuse.
The two began to rush towards the dam. There was a thick water pipe on the dam. Qin Xizhen just stretched out his hands and quickly crossed his feet like a ballet dancer. He passed with excellent balance, moving gracefully as if he was dancing. When he reached the other end, he laughed at Cheng Ran, who was walking cautiously and clumsily following him.
Walking along the embankment up the hillside, there are clusters of rosemary and poppies everywhere, with occasional vibrant weeds and streams, gurgling and clear.
Going up was like climbing a mountain, which was a bit strenuous, but the two of them didn't seem to want to stop, and they kept climbing. The sun slowly slanted down until they reached the highest point of the grass slope.
The setting sun left only afterglow and dark scenery, but in the distance, the city on the edge of the lake had already revealed some bright lights.
The magnificent sunset seemed to cover the eight thousand miles of dark clouds overhead and the hundred thousand mountains in the distance. The world seemed to be infinitely vast.
But the person standing on the hillside at this moment seems so small.
The man and woman were silent.
After a moment, Qin Xizhen said, "It's so beautiful!... Many times, I have ridden my bike past the path around the lake below, but I have never been to this hillside to see what life is like."
Cheng Ran said, "Every day, life is an epic. The difference lies in how you look at it. If you see it as stagnant water, it is muddled and terrible. If you see it as trapped like a beast, then you must fight it. If you see it as vibrant, then everything you see is a blue ocean where you can fly freely."
"How do you know this place?"
"Because I've been here at least ten times."
"one person?"
"Any age, any time... alone."
All the scenes were reflected in Qin Xizhen's big eyes, colorful and magnificent. She looked at Cheng Ran and actually always felt that this boy beside her was very strange. He was obviously her former student, and even though he was only a few years older than her, she always treated him as a child. But occasionally he acted like a mature and steady friend, and even had a vision and experience that could see through everything. Although she was reluctant to admit it, this was actually what her intuition and subconscious mind had discovered.
For example, Cheng Ran at this moment had a kind of demeanor that she had never seen before, which was definitely not something that his age and experience could show. Qin Xizhen remembered that when she was a senior, the school organized her to go to a small village as a volunteer. A veteran who was a combat hero told them about the days of the past.
Previously, the old soldier kept his real name secret and was unwilling to reveal his true identity. He worked as a worker and a farmer, and he also had many old diseases. Later, he was found to be a figure worthy of being listed on the wall of honor. In fact, the old soldier wore dark blue earthen cloth and looked no different from an ordinary farmer. The smoke of the battlefield and the experience of coal workers had damaged his lungs. The doctor said that he would not live for more than three years. However, this old man, when he talked about participating in those battles that later generations could only see in history books and film and television dramas, talked about one man, one gun, and one grenade capturing the enemy in the entire bunker, talked about seeing incendiary bombs turning the entire mountain in North Korea into a furnace, and when he went up to see that none of his comrades could recognize him and cried, and saw the Liaoshen Campaign dyeing the earth blood-red, there was a kind of calmness polished by time, as if those things that were earth-shaking for anyone were just a scar and a past for him.
A solitary smoke rises straight up in the desert, and the sun sets over the long river.
Although he knew that they could not be compared, Qin Xizhen felt that Cheng Ran gave him a little bit of that feeling at this moment.
Cheng Ran picked up her little account book and said softly, "In fact, you did so much just to ask that person for a song, so why bother?"
"I'll give you ten."
Ah C has rewarded three more leaders! This is not intended to let me have a good new year. I will pay it back slowly. Today I will also make up for yesterday's update.