Fried dumplings were too cold to eat. Xu Tingsheng held the bag in his arms, covered it with one hand, held an umbrella with the other, and trotted all the way to Xinyan Middle School.
Xu Tingsheng claimed to be Xiang Ning's cousin at the doorman, and the old doorman looked at him suspiciously for a long time, until Xu Tingsheng handed over a pack of cigarettes, he reluctantly went to the teaching building to help call Xiang Ning.
Xiang Ning came, and Xu Tingsheng stood at the door, the rain dripping from his hair drop by drop.
He said, "I bought you fried dumplings from the one next to the stone bridge."
Xiang Ning was stunned, took the fried dumplings from Xu Tingsheng's hand, and said in a panic, "Uncle." This title may come from little Xiang Ning's long-haired friend, in her mouth, Xu Tingsheng is uncle.
Xiao Xiang Ning called uncle, with a little timidity and panicked eyes.
In her previous life, she had called uncle countless times, and Xu Tingsheng had been fighting... "I should be called brother, I'm not that old", he said. This time he was younger, but when he heard being called uncle, he didn't want to fight, he just felt happy.
Xu Tingsheng didn't speak, Xiang Ning continued to say in a timid voice: "Uncle, you are not a bad person, are you?"
"No, of course not."
Xu Tingsheng quickly waved his hands, Xiang Ning was standing under the eaves, he was standing in the rain, holding an umbrella with one hand, the other arm extended out of the range of the umbrella, shaking from side to side in the rain, the rain splashed, and a drop fell on Xiang Ning's cheek...
He wanted to reach out to wipe it, but his hand froze in mid-air.
Xiang Ning took a step back, she looked like she was greatly frightened, she was not like this last time we met, Xu Tingsheng was even worried by her defenseless appearance for a while, and even educated her.
What happened to her this time
"My classmate, my best friend, you have seen... She disappeared. She ran away from home with her boyfriend during the summer vacation and ran out to play. The boyfriend took her to meet a stranger's house, and then she disappeared." As if seeing Xu Tingsheng's doubts, Xiang Ning explained.
In the previous life, Xu Tingsheng never heard Xiang Ning mention this matter, maybe because it was too painful, she didn't want to recall it.
People actually have such a self-shielding subconsciousness. They often don’t want to think about things that are truly frightening and painful to the extreme, and they don’t want to mention them again, because every time they mention them, they have to experience the pain again. The sharp knife opened the old wound.
Now Xu Tingsheng knew why she was afraid.
He thought about it, and had no choice but to bring Liu Xueli out and say, "I know you Teacher Liu, your head teacher... don't be afraid."
Xiang Ning was surprised for a while, and said, "Really?"
"Really," Xu Tingsheng said, "there is also the package that you and Teacher Liu received in April, which contained isatid root and white vinegar. I sent it. Don't be afraid, I am not a bad person."
"Ah?" Xiang Ning exclaimed with her mouth half-opened, "So it was you who sent it, um, thank you... But, why? I mean, we didn't seem to know each other before, but just now the doorman said you are my cousin , but I haven't seen you."
Xiang Ning asked Xu Tingsheng why, what should Xu Tingsheng say
He wants to say, because I have loved you for two lifetimes, and I want to make up for what I failed in the previous life ten times and a hundred times in this life;
He wants to say, because I have tasted the pain of losing you, I don't want to experience it again, so this time I will guard you like this, lest you accidentally like someone else;
He wants to say, I want to grow up with you;
He wants to say, I just want to look at you more and say a few more words to you;
He wanted to say that there was a story like this, in which Xiang Ning would fall in love with Xu Tingsheng eight years later...
But he can't say anything.
"We knew each other before?" Seeing Xu Tingsheng's blank expression, Xiang Ning frowned and asked softly, tilting his head.
"Maybe I forgot. The teacher and my parents said I was so careless." The little girl thought it was her fault, and smoothed things over for herself.
"Of course we know each other, but more than that...
I've seen you on the Ferris wheel, at the seaside, on the long street with sycamore leaves on the ground, at the gate of the park selling cotton candy...
I've seen you smile like a flower, I've seen you burst into tears, I've seen you be gentle and well-behaved, I've seen you be unreasonable..."
Xu Tingsheng said silently in his heart.
"You forgot... Yes, how could you remember that this is a past that only I have. For you, this should have happened eight years later."
He still didn't know how to speak, the bell rang for the end of early reading, and the students poured out of the classroom and flocked to the cafeteria.
Another girl, maybe another friend of Xiang Ning's, stood at the bottom of the building waiting for Xiang Ning. Xiang Ning said, "I'm going to have breakfast with my classmates."
"This." Xiang Ning shook the bag in her hand and said, "I love this, but... can I share it with my classmates? She likes it too."
"Okay." Xu Tingsheng nodded vigorously.
"Then, goodbye."
"goodbye."
"Go back and wipe your hair, it's all soaked."
"okay."
…
In the next few days, Xu Tingsheng didn't go to look for Xiang Ning again, in that case, it was not caring but disturbing.
Just like the last time he came here, Xu Tingsheng occasionally wandered around the city, and occasionally lay down on the grassy slope behind Xinyan Middle School for a whole afternoon. Fortunately, he once saw Xiang Ning appear on the playground to attend a physical education class.
The classmates who attended the class together were running, and she didn't know whether she was playing tricks or she had placed an order.
The little girl tied her hair into a ponytail, and stood under the hoop with a basketball in her arms, "holding" the ball with both hands and throwing it up again and again. Xu Tingsheng didn't know how many she threw in, he only saw the bunch of balls. The jumping ponytail flutters in the sun.
That's it, how nice.
I look at you and you don't know it.
At this moment, Xu Tingsheng thought of breaking away from Xiang Ning's life and becoming a bystander. In fact, this was not a temporary idea. He had been struggling and hesitating between these two choices, approaching or watching.
The thought at this moment is like this, but it doesn't mean that it can stop Xu Tingsheng from a few days later, or even a few hours later, wanting to hear her say something to him and smile at him.
At least for the next few days, Xu Tingsheng held back, he didn't look for Xiang Ning, he didn't even go to the grassy slope of the back mountain.
Xu Tingsheng visited the school he was going to study in advance, Yanzhou University.
This is a university town composed of 7 universities. It is located in the southwestern suburb of Yanzhou City. In recent years, due to the expansion of university enrollment, construction of university towns has been going on all over the country. Xu Tingsheng doesn't know how many universities these university towns have trained. talent, but he knew that these university towns at least supported a lot of people.
The university town named Xishan, the supporting facilities are still being gradually improved, so the adjacent town of the same name has become a bustling commercial market. Although the freshmen have not reported yet, the seniors and sisters have already returned. At least, the merchants are also busy in full swing.
Xu Tingsheng had never been to this university city in his previous life. He wandered around the small town of Xishan, asked people, and found Yanzhou University, which was located in the middle of the university city.
It feels good to be on a college campus again.
There are quiet tree-lined avenues, beautiful seniors in long skirts will walk past you with books in their arms, some people are sitting on the lawn basking in the sun, a group of people, or a couple of people, a hale and hearty old professor is doing Tai Chi, boys Groups of threes and fours roared away holding basketballs or footballs.
Going to college again may be the wish of many people in the over 30 group.
In his memory, Xu Tingsheng was so drunk in his previous life. When he woke up the next day, Xu's mother told him, do you know what you shouted when you were drunk last night? You said you still want to study.
This time, Xu Tingsheng could achieve it.