Cheng Ran looked at her, and she looked at Cheng Ran in the same way. After a moment, Cheng Ran smiled, "Maybe it's just around the corner."
I thought this answer must be perfect.
"You're stupid..." Old Jiang stood in front of the Shaxian snack bar that the two had just decided on and said directly, "Of course I look good in anything I wear."
The restaurant owners and the people working in the shops, big and small, just watched the man and woman who had found food and walked in without daring to breathe. Their expression was no less than seeing the feared Black and White Devils break through the door of the inn and enter in with snow and wind.
Jiang Hongshao and I ordered two bowls of seafood wontons and two baskets of steamed dumplings. While eating, Jiang Hongshao suddenly raised her head and said, "There should be a lot of people who want to have dinner with you recently."
Cheng Ran said, "I've turned them all down. It's better to eat with you. I don't have to fight with so many people."
Jiang Hongshao smiled and continued to eat. She ate very politely. She scooped up a wonton with a spoon, drank a sip of soup, and then ate it. Occasionally, she would use chopsticks to pick up a small steamed dumpling, and usually finished it in two or three bites. Compared with Cheng Ran who ordered a big bowl of wontons and ate two or three in one bite, and stuffed dumplings into his mouth one by one, there was really a world of difference. Moreover, Cheng Ran finished one and a half of the two baskets of steamed dumplings. Jiang Hongshao ate half of the basket and gave the rest to Cheng Ran.
Just watching Lao Jiang eating, she occasionally held a spoon in one hand and leaned over to grab her hair with the other hand, Cheng Ran felt that although this was a snack bar, it was a place with good taste and flavor, of course, it was the kind of beauty that was heavenly. And when Cheng Ran was looking at him, Lao Jiang also noticed it, her eyebrows raised sideways, and she was looking at him with a desire and anger, the charm of which was even more indescribable.
This girl knows her limits in front of most other people. She is considerate and thoughtful of others. But it is precisely because she knows her limits that others admire and respect her more. For example, she has always been known as "Brother Jiang". However, like the conversation between the two of them before, she rarely says "Of course I look good in anything I wear", which is "shameless" and she only shows it in front of Cheng Ran.
The steamed dumplings at this Shaxian snack shop are actually not very big, most of them are quite delicate, and the small bowl of wontons is not very large. Seeing that Lao Jiang only ate half of the steamed dumplings and small bowl of wontons, and ate them in an elegant manner, Cheng Ran subconsciously laughed and said, "You only eat this little, which doesn't match your fierce and ferocious image when you play on the court at all?"
As a result, Jiang Hongshao bared her teeth as soon as she finished speaking. She directly hit his instep from below and bit his tender lips. This time, the previous anger in her eyes was completely transformed into a threatening expression that was almost impossible for others to see. "Can you eat well? I have tolerated you for a long time..."
…
After dinner, the two of them walked back to school. At this time, students from No. 10 Middle School were already walking towards the street along the way. The last year of high school was a bit like preparing for war. Everyone knew that there was a war to face, but they had no idea about that war that represented the end of their current days and was still far away.
Using wolfberry and other suspicious substances to make tea, the test papers began to pile up day by day, the last echoes and laughter on the court, and people began to worry and think about their future. Some people realized their goals, although vague, but began to move in that direction in a planned way. Some people are still at a loss, watching the schedule approach and wasting time. Hesitant, confused, tormented but trivial, but one day when you recall it, it seems to be heart-wrenching.
In the midst of this, Lao Jiang's voice came from the side, "Your father built the Fulong Company in two years, so can you tell people without any worries that if you don't study hard, you can come back to inherit the family property?"
Cheng Ran shook his head, "Then you don't understand that Cheng Feiyang has always said, 'We are only 18 months away from bankruptcy.' There is a saying in the field of microelectronics called Moore's Law. This is not a natural law. It specifically refers to the fact that the integration of transistors will double every 18 months. Based on this law, the information technology industry also has an anti-Moore's Law, that is, if an information technology company sells the same number of products today as it did 18 months ago, its turnover will drop by half. But in fact, based on more market environments, policy conditions, and strategic planning in reality, the reality reflected by this law will be even more cruel. Any company whose technological development cannot keep up with the requirements of Moore's Law will be eliminated, and large companies are no exception, let alone Besides, my father's company is not a big enterprise. The revenue is very high now. It is very likely that if you make a wrong strategic move tomorrow, the revenue will drop precipitously. Starting a company is not like working for a salary, and you will not get paid if you work overtime. The market is risky, and the company is always in crisis. This is not like being an official. Although being an official is also risky, at least there is a system to cover you if you make a mistake. The rule of the market is survival of the fittest, and it does not believe in tears. If you make a mistake, you pay a bloody price. This is the most direct and real world. So it is not that everything will be fine if you start a company. It is like driving a boat into a storm to catch fish. You may return with a full load and the sea is calm, or the group of people who followed you to build the empire may be overturned."
"My dad never dares to relax. When the company enters a field he doesn't understand, he seeks help from more professional people and hires more capable people to do the technology. The coordination of personnel, exploration of management methods, macro and micro grasp of the market, and minute control of the company all put forward higher requirements on him at all times... If I want to take over such a job, it would be a fantasy if I can't even study hard."
Jiang Hongshao, who had been watching him from the side, raised her lips slightly, "To some extent, you and your father are really a bit alike. Have you ever thought about what major to study and what path to take in the future?"
"And you?"
"I haven't decided yet, but I might have a major as my main occupation, and then choose a few sub-majors to correspond to my interests and hobbies and to broaden my horizons."
"I thought your family would let you be a civil servant."
"It's not necessarily a bad idea to be a civil servant. The country is developing so fast, wouldn't it be great if I could do something useful and valuable?"
Cheng Ran looked at Lao Jiang and thought that this was probably the uniqueness of her family background. They valued the value that an individual could bring to society, rather than the profit prospects that many people pursued.
He smiled and said, "Peony, peony, the best among flowers. Isn't it meant to be a high official?"
If Lao Jiang is going into politics, then her mother's path is well traceable, and as a woman, with her background, she can actually get more concessions than men on this path. But there is also an insurmountable ceiling. At least many women Cheng Ran knows can indeed make their voices heard in the political arena, but they can never avoid the restriction that there are more deputy positions than full-time positions. Moreover, in the current ruling ecology, being as strong as men may be considered "arrogant", and being gentle and gentle by playing to women's strengths may be interpreted as "weakness". It is indeed not an easy road to walk.
Jiang Hongshao smiled slightly, "There is also a saying, 'If I can't be a famous prime minister, I'd rather be a good doctor.' Treat people, heal their hearts, and heal their morals. Being a civil servant, an official, and participating in politics in the future doesn't seem interesting enough. Maybe I can also start a career and experience more fields. It seems better with more freedom."
"Are you imitating your aunt again?" Cheng Ran said.
Jiang Hongshao shook her head. "Even if my aunt wasn't around, I would think the same."
"I actually share the same view as you. I want to have a career and experience more things."
Jiang Hongshao joked, "You won't fail to finish college, will you?"
Cheng Ran smiled and said, "Probably not. Universities don't just teach professional knowledge. You can actually learn much more about these things by yourself in the library than in the classroom. But as a university that expands thinking and cultivates learning ability, universities can teach people many methods. These methods can help you find a way out of a mountain of knowledge when faced with complex fields of knowledge, and you can draw inferences from one example. You can also meet theoretical frontier figures in this field and exchange ideas to broaden your horizons. These can help people avoid detours."
Jiang Hongshao nodded thoughtfully, "Learning is beyond studying."
Then she looked at Cheng Ran, "Why do I feel like you've been to college?"
Cheng Ran smiled, "Life is university."
"Pretending..." Jiang Hongshao raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I have tolerated you for a long time."
…
There was still some time before the evening study session at No. 10 Middle School, and the two had already arrived at the school gate. A layer of red dye appeared on the horizon, and ginkgo leaves like stacked golden flakes fell to the ground. The two were like travelers passing by a golden dragon cave in a fantasy world, and they walked towards the towering teaching building to the sound of soft music from the loudspeakers buried in the flower beds around No. 10 Middle School.
The music was "Scarborough Fair".
At this time of year, the small loudspeakers in No. 10 Middle School would play various Oscar hits in turn, and most people would spend this time doing their homework at their desks accompanied by such music.
The last rays of the setting sun are magnificent. Whether students are walking on the road, looking out from the corridor of the teaching building, or occasionally stopping on the playground, they will feel that these are as silent and vast as their future.
"So beautiful." Jiang Hongshao couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
But there was a different look in Cheng Ran's eyes. He once thought that everything he had experienced with her was just a brief moment.
They chased the murderer together, ran through the mountains together, and felt the fear of evil together, but each other's presence gave them courage.
The days they spent at her house on the eve of the high school entrance examination, the farewell they made when they agreed to meet again like all other young people who didn't know the future, her silhouette sitting next to him in the sunset when she returned to the mountains and seas from Chengdu, those people and events that once amazed the time, I wonder how many people have experienced them.
Their mutual encouragement, their scholarly spirit, and their bold and decisive actions stirred up competition in the world of No. 10 Middle School.
And now, the paths they had taken were not far apart, but they were facing this evening side by side, which might be just an ordinary one.
All the gambling books disappeared with the aroma of tea, and at that time, it was just normal.
"It's very beautiful, so you must cherish it." Cheng Ran stretched out his hand.
People around were filing into the school, like swimming fish or flowing rivers, all converging and pouring into this place.
In such an environment, Cheng Ran's hand spanned the space between him and her.
"Here?" Jiang Hongshao was stunned for a moment, her beautiful pupils dilating slightly.
"Here." Cheng Ran said.
Jiang Hongshao's pretty face flushed, and she was obviously hesitant. Her propriety, her reserve and her education had never told her how to face this scene. Some books might have given her some answers, but they were of no use.
Her back tensed slightly, but she didn't say "no" in the end. She said calmly, "Okay."
Then Cheng Ran felt the hand being handed into his.
The people who were entering the school behind me stopped, and the people in front of me seemed to be hit by an overwhelming force and automatically split to the sides.
Scarborough Fair is still within earshot.
The figures playing on the court began to slow down from the intensive attacks. As a result, the ball was thrown, but when it landed, there was only an echoing fall. People slowly stopped and came to the edge of the court. Seeing this scene, someone in each pair of eyes subconsciously said, "Fuck..."
The group of people who had just come down from the cafeteria and were talking and laughing in groups of three or five seemed to be under a spell of immobilization, or the people who passed by them, who were originally discussing campus gossip or exercises, suddenly stopped, and turned their heads little by little, like a battleship beginning to spread out sideways on the waves to ward off the enemy.
The person who was sitting on the wide cement handrail under the vines in the English corner and reciting his lesson lost his balance and fell onto the grass.
As the two of them walked hand in hand towards the distant corridor of the imitation Han Dynasty teaching building, people passing by thought they were dazzled and fell on the stone platform railing, showing the expression of someone who had discovered a nuclear submarine breaking through the defense network on an aircraft carrier island.
The expression clearly showed fear: Torpedo alert! Torpedo alert!
So the entire teaching building, the three floors above and the three floors below, was filled with people whispering and spreading the word, with chests pressed against each other, creating a huge crowd.
This sensation, which was happening both inside and outside, started to rise up in the teaching building, which was lit with incandescent lights in the last twilight, and gradually began to gather momentum.
"Look! That's Brother Jiang, and that's Cheng Ran!?"
"Oh my god, this is nothing, it's out in the open! Ah... I'm going to die!"
Someone was so excited that he was incoherent, as if he had realized some truth. He pointed a finger at the two people in the sunset and said angrily to the people around him, "I knew it, I knew it... In broad daylight, in a clear and bright place, you just won't let us live?"
But a moment later, someone knocked on the iron railing with a mineral water bottle, "Dong dong dong! Jiang Ge!"
"Boom boom boom! Cheng Ran!"
"The Return of the Condor Heroes!" people shouted.
"Disappeared from the world?" Someone spoke up in a state of forgetfulness, but was dragged away by the head.
Listening to the roar and noise coming from the teaching building, Lao Jiang, who was originally a little timid, seemed to be infected by the surging and pure burning emotions in front of her. She and Cheng Ran looked at each other. People were boiling for them, and those people on the teaching building were cheering not only for the two of them but also for themselves. What a lovely time they had.
So Jiang Hongshao smiled at Cheng Ran, she straightened her body slightly, clenched her hand, and walked beside him, with such grace and elegance.
Downstairs in the teaching building, Sun Hui, the grade director and also the head teacher of Cheng Ran and Jiang Hongshao, was holding a bundle of test papers that he was going to hand out during the evening self-study session. He was the first to hear the tremor coming from the entire building. He looked up, wanting to find a few examples and tell these guys that it was not the last moment of their senior year yet and they were making a fuss about nothing and daring to violate the school's repeated ban on shouting in the building. As a result, he saw those gestures pointing towards the distance. He followed his gaze and watched for a while, then he picked up the test papers and went up the stairs. He had to hurry up, or they would meet each other on a narrow road... Should he shout at the injustice he saw
Zhang Yu, who was on the second floor of the teaching building, walked out of the door and watched this scene. His eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help coughing violently. He just looked at the young man holding Jiang Hongshao's hand, and his eyes were like the last ray of fire in the distant sky, as if they were about to burn. But then he thought of his past and suddenly felt some sympathy and pity... He was really a newborn calf. In the end, he also took the same path as himself. They didn't know what kind of storm their choice at this time would bring them, both now and in the future.
More people saw it, more people were discussing it, and there were teachers in the school who witnessed this scene. There was worry in their eyes, but also... warmth.
Yang Xia was just lost in the crowd, but she was looking ahead, and the song in her ears was "Scarborough Fair".
The song goes, "Are you going to Sarborough Fair?"
Paley, sage, rosemaryandthyme (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)…
Remember me to say hello to a girl there. She was my lover.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme appear repeatedly in the song and are said to represent sweetness, strength, loyalty and courage respectively.
As the sun sets, the return of the two is shocking.
Maybe it was because the night wind was too cool, or maybe it was because the sunset glow was too dazzling, Yang Xia shed tears, she felt that this must be a blessing.
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
In such an evening, in such a New Year’s Day, such a scene that burst out in the most innocent years of everyone in front of us, perhaps in the future, when people have already grown old in their hearts and become numb to the point where nothing can easily touch them, or perhaps in the moment when a goal that has been prepared and worked hard for a long time collapses and the body and mind feel disillusioned, in the middle of the night when one gets drunk to the point of passing out for an order or to retain a customer and finally wakes up alone, in the moment when one runs around for life and family until exhausted and holds his head up, unwilling to let tears fall...
The beauty of those soft years may also sweep across the fields of the long years, across the rivers that are about to freeze, across the sea that sighs forever, and echo in their hearts like the bloody setting sun in the distant sky today.
It makes people feel powerful and courageous.
That kind of warmth, that kind of momentum of the two people tearing apart the world... is timeless.
(I thought about this chapter for a long time, with all kinds of emotions, and finally it came out after much polishing.
Likewise, you don’t need to look for the songs mentioned in the chapter, just search for the WeChat public platform for the “Orleans Grilled Sturgeon Burger” public account, I’ve posted it above.)