Finally, he couldn't resist and was dragged by Yu Xiao to go to the Internet cafe, so he played with Yu Xiao for a while. The gameplay of StarCraft was there, and ignoring the graphics, Cheng Ran was still able to get into it. Seeing that the time moved to nearly nine o'clock, Cheng Ran finally caught up with Yu Xiao who was reluctant to leave and got up to go home.
After turning the key and opening the door, Xu Lan had been waiting in the living room for a long time. Cheng Ran had plenty of free time now, such as playing football on Fridays or playing with Yu Xiao, and coming home late after school. Usually, she would not ask about him. But today, this posture surprised Cheng Ran, and he keenly felt that something was unusual.
"A girl called you earlier, and I told her you haven't come home yet... Who is it? Hurry up and call her back..."
After a pause, he asked, "Is it the one in Rongcheng, Jiang Hongshao? Your former classmate?"
Jiang Hongshao's name was no longer a secret to Cheng Feiyang and Xu Lan. They had seen the letter she wrote to Cheng Ran before, and they vaguely knew from some people in the compound that this girl was a former first-year junior high school student and was very popular. She had come to their compound to play, but later went to Rongcheng to study.
Xu Lan didn't miss any changes in his facial expressions. Cheng Ran nodded, "I'll go to my room to play."
Xu Lan's voice came from behind, "Hey, it's right here, why can't you fight in front of me..."
…
Cheng Ran's home had four telephone lines installed. There was a phone in his bedroom, which used Fulon's "multi-channel" so that the phones could not only talk to each other but also have independent lines, without the possibility of cross-wires or eavesdropping and loss of privacy. Cheng Ran returned to his room and closed the door.
Before this, the two had not spoken on the phone for nearly a month. It seemed that they had only exchanged three letters. During this month, it seemed that Rongcheng No. 10 Middle School was also very busy, and Jiang Hongshao's replies became slower. Every time Cheng Ran received a letter from Jiang Hongshao, he would write and send it out the next day, but he would often wait for a long time before he received a response.
The most recent letter was received this Wednesday. Jiang Hongshao wrote on Monday. In the letter, she said that she had been very busy recently and her grades had dropped. She was trying hard to make up for it, so she was a little slow in replying... Let's talk on the phone after 8 o'clock this Friday evening.
The original agreement was that the call with Jiang Hongshao would be after eight o'clock, and Cheng Ran had considered this reason when agreeing to let Yu Xiao go to the Internet cafe. As long as it was not later than ten o'clock, it should be considered within this period.
In the past, when the two sides talked, it was mostly Cheng Ran who called, but unexpectedly, this time Jiang Hongshao called in advance.
Dial the phone number of Jiang Hongshao's home.
The phone rang for less than half a second before it was picked up.
Cheng Ran was stunned for a moment. Could it be that Jiang Hongshao had been waiting by the phone? This discovery made his heart ripple slightly.
As if she had guessed what Cheng Ran might be thinking, Jiang Hongshao said lightly on the other end of the phone, "The cordless phone was brought to my desk. I happened to be doing my homework, so it was right next to me... I called you, and your mother answered the phone."
"I know, so I called you right away. Yu Xiao dragged me home after school, so I came back a little late."
"Where did you go?"
"cybercafe."
"Oh... not reviewing?" She probably had some opinions about Cheng Ran playing games so late, and her voice sounded a bit reproachful, but after a moment she asked, "What are you playing? Is it fun?"
"A game called StarCraft. It may be popular for a long time in the future..."
"Then I want to play."
"You have a computer at home, right? Just install one."
Jiang Hongshao murmured, "But I don't know how to do it..."
“There is a tutorial.”
"I have a poor understanding in this area, so I may need a good teacher."
I'd be a fool to believe you.
But Cheng Ran still said, "Then next time... I'll teach you how to play together."
"Okay." Jiang Hongshao's tone became cheerful.
Cheng Ran smiled on the other end of the phone. In fact, someone like Lao Jiang would be able to play if he really wanted to.
"how are things… "
"I had a lot of club activities, so I was a little distracted from the exam. Of course, I did some cramming at the end... I was a little bothered by something recently, so I didn't reply to your letter quickly. Are you angry?"
There's that all-encompassing tone again.
In the past, she was always polite and decent when dealing with people, as if she could take care of everyone impartially, just like what Cheng Ran once felt. Even if it was just a small intersection back then, he could feel that her interactions with you were very sincere. She listened to you, gave you advice, and even joked and communicated with you.
She seemed to be able to handle study and social life with ease. But this also made smart people understand the real distance between them and her, and they could not even think of crossing the line. Once at a party, I found out that there were many people in the first grade who liked her, but they were all just admiring her.
Appreciation means accepting the distance between each other and looking at each other from afar.
Cheng Ran smiled and said, "Angry."
"Huh?" There was obvious surprise on the phone.
"Unless you tell me what it is that's bothering you."
"Ah..." Jiang Hongshao said in a gentle voice, "Well, it's nothing. Someone wanted our family to do something for them, so they came to me and wanted me to be their lobbyist... That's not good, so I refused. Also, some people in school always come to me and say some weird ideas... It's all these messed up things."
Jiang Hongshao said this and stuck out her tongue, but Cheng Ran couldn't see this action.
"What weird idea?"
Lao Jiang paused for a moment, "Exactly, you are not allowed to laugh... A man made a thick and beautiful book, on which he posted some photos of famous tourist attractions in countries he had visited and those he had not yet visited, and then told me that he hoped I could go back to those places with him in the future, and that he also hoped to take me to explore other places in the world one by one... Are you laughing? You still laughed... I won't say anything more."
Of course, Jiang Hongshao would just smile and politely decline any ordinary overtures. But the latest one was different. It was a fellow of the same generation that their family knew. Jiang Hongshao had previously considered him a friend, but he probably thought they were a good match and qualified, so he made his thoughts known to her. After all, they were young people, and sometimes they acted under the impulse of hormones without being so thoughtful and careful, which led to everyone in that circle knowing about it and causing a sensation.
There were those of her peers who encouraged her, and there was also the one who was so bold as to whitewash and belittle her, praising her highly. As for the adults and elders, everyone knew about it, but most of them just regarded it as a funny thing, and the elders on the other side even criticized that person, saying that he did not know his own limitations, etc. But once this idea was raised, there would naturally be a force that would push it forward at that level. Sometimes Jiang Hongshao had to make a clear attitude towards some of the testing relatives and friends at home. After doing this too many times, it became boring and noisy.
Cheng Ran remembered that Yu Xiao had mentioned that Jiang Hongshao was very popular. Chengdu No. 10 Middle School was both a battlefield and a love field. The battlefield described the competition among the "humble rooms and fine houses" there, and the love field naturally explained the inheritance of the "Confucian Temple style" since ancient times. This was well-known throughout the province, and his eardrums had already been callused from hearing it all.
In such an environment, Jiang Hongshao's standing out would naturally attract a large group of people to surround her.
Cheng Ran knew that some people would publicize this kind of thing involving other people's self-esteem and privacy as their own medal, but for Jiang Hongshao, it might not be told to anyone. You like me, I respect your liking, but the only thing I can give you in return is to keep this liking secret. So if that guy hadn't messed up and made it known to everyone, at least it wouldn't have been leaked from Jiang Hongshao.
Secondly, it was also a worrying thing, and she was not willing to confide her worries to others, because that would not only be of no help, but would add burden to others.
She might have said it only because Cheng Ran asked and threatened that he would get angry if she replied too slowly.
Cheng Ran was indeed laughing, but hearing Lao Jiang's tone, he tried hard to hold it back, "Okay, okay, no more laughing."
"There's no point in not laughing... Anyway, I won't talk about it."
"I haven't heard you talk about similar gossip before... Very interesting, you never told me before, tell me more."
"Then you also say, exchange."
Cheng Ran was speechless. It turned out that he was waiting for him here. It seemed that Lao Jiang had never tried to inquire about other people's privacy. Only with Cheng Ran did he seem to have found a fair way of exchange.
"Let me think about it... Some time ago, our music teacher participated in the Shanhai Music Festival and shone brightly in it. Now his album has been released in Hong Kong and Taiwan, dominating many charts..."
"Are you talking about Qin Xizhen?"
Cheng Ran was stunned and thought that Lao Jiang knew.
"Qin Xizhen is well-known at the Shanhai Music Festival. Her father is Qin Keguang, who was very famous back then... Some people in the school like her very much and know that she is a teacher at No. 1 High School. I thought at the time... maybe you know her."
"Ah, teach our class."
Qin Xizhen's rising fame in the Shanhai Music Festival will naturally spread further in her home province. In Chengdu, where information is well developed in all aspects, it is not surprising that Jiang Hongshao heard about it.
"How is she... Is she pretty in real life?"
"It's OK. A bit stingy."
"Hey, don't talk about others behind their backs..."
"I was stingy in order to save money to pursue my dreams. Now it's a good situation... It's your turn."
"Hmm..." Jiang Hongshao on the other end of the phone thought for a moment, "Some time ago, I was hospitalized for myocarditis and a persistent fever... I felt very uncomfortable and had to have an IV drip every day. It took a long time before I slowly got better."
"When did it happen?" Cheng Ran was stunned. Jiang Hongshao's replies this month were not only slow, but also short and not very emotional. At that time, he thought that she was busy with something in real life... but he didn't think about the possibility that she was sick.
Jiang Hongshao is certainly not a Transformer, she can still be knocked down.
That's why they didn't make a phone call. She kept her distance on purpose because she was afraid of his greetings. And this week, she probably just got better, so she made an appointment to talk to him.
For a moment, Cheng Ran didn't know what to feel. He felt a little distressed and sympathetic.
Cheng Ran's voice lowered, with some blame in it, "Why didn't you tell me at the time? Is it serious?"
"It's okay now," Jiang Hongshao said with a smile, "I'm fine."
Her voice is clear and calm, and has the power to soothe people.
But she did not respond directly to Cheng Ran's question.
Naturally, Cheng Ran couldn't continue his words.
Because both of them know clearly why there is no need to tell each other about those embarrassing, awkward... troubles in life every moment.
Just like sometimes, it rains in the other person’s city, and I really want to ask you if you have an umbrella.
The words came to his lips but he swallowed them back because he was afraid that the other party would respond by saying that he didn't bring it, and he would be powerless to do anything on this side of time and space.
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