Less than a month after He Xian left, Lin Sitao's life returned to normal.
The so-called normal life was his life more than a year ago. He still rented the same house, went to work on time, and now he has a postgraduate study. Sometimes he would meet up with colleagues.
But now he has a little more expectation - as long as there is no emergency, He Xian will call every night at 10 o'clock. Lin Sitao seems to have returned to his student days, like he is obsessed with a radio talk show and listens to it on time every day. But now the radio DJ is He Xian, and he is his only listener.
They talked about everything. About everything, work and entertainment. Sometimes they would chat until Lin Sitao fell asleep.
Once, Lin Sitao heard about a long-distance breakup with a colleague. He asked He Xian, "What do you think about the way we are doing now? If we can't stop talking, will it become 'Have you eaten?' and 'What did you have for dinner?' after a while, and end up with nothing to talk about?"
He Xian's voice was very close, and he laughed, and his laughter made Lin Sitao's ears itchy.
"If you're afraid of this or that, just come over. We can have dinner together every day."
He has now become completely shameless and keeps encouraging Lin Sitao to come over at every turn.
Lin Sitao still had to be a little reserved, but he also began to prepare to look for a job with He Xian. He planned to follow He Xian after finishing his graduate studies.
When he made this plan, he felt that the sky was bluer than usual and his heart was like a migratory bird before takeoff. Everything in the future made him eager to try, just like ten years ago.
But this time Lin Sitao's luck was not as good as it was ten years ago.
First, his grandpa fell ill. His grandpa used to be quite healthy except for his hearing problems. This time, he suddenly became completely deaf, which scared Lin Sitao's grandmother.
Lin Sitao immediately took all his annual leave—he had planned to save it to visit He Xian. But his grandfather couldn't wait, so he rushed back to take the old man to see a doctor and had a minor operation.
The old man was getting older, and his movements were getting slower and slower. Although Grandpa complained that Grandma had called Lin Sitao back for such a small matter, Lin Sitao could see that every time he came back, the two old people were happy and attached to him.
That night, He Xian called as usual on time.
Lin Sitao had just finished accompanying a patient in the hospital. In the middle of summer, people sleep less, so he was not sleepy at all. He was sitting in the hospital garden when he received He Xian's call.
"How is grandpa?" He Xian asked.
Lin Sitao waved his hand gently to drive away the mosquitoes among the dense flowers and plants: "Doctor Yang will try a new hearing aid for him tomorrow, it should be fine."
This doctor was introduced by He Xian, so Lin Sitao felt relieved.
"When you get home, take a good rest for two days. Don't rush back." He Xian felt that Lin Sitao's tiredness could not be hidden in his voice.
Lin Sitao wanted to stay at home for two more days and use up all his vacation time. But he didn't come for a rest, he just wanted to spend more time with his grandparents. This was what he felt most guilty about, as he only came back two or three times a year and didn't take good care of the elderly.
"He Xian..." he said.
He Xian waited for him to speak, but in the end he stopped talking and said nothing.
He Xian joked, "You don't want to ask me what I want for dinner? No, absolutely not. This is a forbidden question."
Lin Sitao was amused by him.
But he knew what he wanted to say was: "He Xian, if I hadn't met you, I would have lived a completely different life."
This is an obvious fact that does not need to be repeated over and over again. Lin Sitao did not want this sentence to sound too heavy, as if He Xian was responsible for him or something.
No. He just couldn't help but feel this way. Life always has gains and losses. If he hadn't met He Xian, he might have been able to spend more time with his loved ones, but he might not have been able to provide them with better living conditions.
But no matter what, he has never regretted coming to this point.
Sometimes, he would be curious about what He Xian gained and lost after meeting him.
Does He Xian feel that his life is a better life after meeting him
It was really hard to say these words. It was even harder to say them on the phone. They couldn't even have sex on the phone without always laughing.
"I'll come to see you when I have time." This is all Lin Sitao said in the end.
He Xian muttered, "Just waiting for you to come visit."
Lin Sitao smiled in the dark night.
But after he settled his grandfather's affairs and returned, something unexpected happened.
There was some subtle change in his colleagues' attitude towards him.
At first, Lin Sitao thought that he was away for a few days and the accumulated work was annoying, so he made some cold remarks. But he soon found that it was not the case. Things got to the point that when he spoke in the chat group, the group suddenly became quiet.
Lin Sitao had never been excluded since he was a child, but when he was almost 30 and had worked for several years, he was suddenly excluded. It was not a good feeling. He had a vague guess as to why. But he could not ask anyone for confirmation.
Two days later, Chen Yi confirmed his idea.
Chen Yi came to the design institute, and Lin Sitao invited her to dinner. Chen Xi was quieter than usual, and during the meal she asked Lin Sitao about his girlfriend. Lin Sitao still said he didn't want to find one.
Chen Yi said: "Don't you want to find it, or can't you find it?"
Lin Sitao asked her: "What did you hear?"
Chen Yi looked at Lin Sitao's frank and honest look. The more doubts she had, the more strange Lin Sitao seemed to her.
"You know, gossip spreads the fastest in the company."
"What gossip?" Lin Sitao asked calmly. He was mentally prepared.
Chen Yi said: "He Xian is supporting you."
"He doesn't support me!" Lin Sitao blurted out.
For a moment, he felt sad for He Xian being misunderstood.
Because he knew that no matter who spread this message first, it was not to destroy him.
Chen Yi asked with concern: "What's going on between you and Mr. He? This matter has been spread with details. You are still young, don't do stupid things without a clear mind."
Lin Sitao said firmly: "This is all nonsense."
Chen Yi might not believe what he said, but it was right to firmly deny it. If he didn't deny it, the conversation would not be able to continue.
Chen Yi told him, "The rumors are very exaggerated. They say all kinds of things. They also say that Mr. He left without taking you with him, and that... he gave you a large sum of money for breaking up. In short, it's pretty nasty."
Lin Sitao listened quietly: "I didn't even know there was such a thing." He suddenly wanted to laugh.