The summer when I was 14 years old was so long that there was no end in sight.
The sun hanging high in the dome shines brightly, and the sun is so fierce at noon that no one wants to go out at this time.
As a result, the village became quiet, and the empty asphalt road took on a scorching white color, as if coated with a layer of silver frost. The air seemed to be solidified, and the shadows cast by the tree shades swayed slightly.
This afternoon, Yan Jingxing was sitting at the desk in his bedroom doing homework.
The old electric fan on the window sill made a "stinging" sound, and the fan blades were spinning swayingly. The bamboo curtain in front of the door swayed with the wind. There was a basin of cold water on the ground, and there were traces of wetness on the cement floor next to it.
The courtyard was illuminated by dazzling sunlight, and the heat accumulated on the ground made it feel hot to step on with shoes; but after being separated from the living room, the temperature in the inner room had become quite cool.
There is a white ceramic bowl on the table. In the bowl is a bowl of crystal clear magnolia jelly. Next to it is a half-eaten watermelon with an iron spoon inside.
It’s a good time to beat the heat.
The boy at the table was writing quickly, making a slight sound as the pen tip rubbed against the paper.
In the first few days of summer vacation, Yan Jingxing was led by the two girls and had no time to concentrate on studying.
This is not okay, he thought, even if it is a holiday, it is still not time to relax.
So far, Yan Jingxing has not given up on his dream of being a good student.
He concentrated on it and dived into the ocean of questions... As a result, he heard the phone ring again before he had written a few lines.
Yan Jingxing put down his pen, which he was concentrating on solving problems, and stood up to answer the phone.
"Hello, I'm Xie Yuzhi. Is Jing Xing at home?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Is that so...you, what are you doing?"
The eldest lady's tone showed a rare hint of hesitation.
"I'm doing my homework."
Yan Jingxing couldn't help but think to himself, don't you have to study hard? The person who is first in age is arrogant.
"Then...are you free tomorrow?"
It’s really one after another.
The young man sighed helplessly in his heart, but he would not show it on his lips, and he agreed fully.
"I'm free, of course I'm free."
"That's good."
"Would you like to call Chunzao?"
"...This matter originally has nothing to do with alien exploration. But if you are willing, you can ask her to come."
said the girl on the other side of the phone.
...What does "if I want" mean?
Yan Jingxing was a little confused, and Miss Xie's tone sounded strange.
After Xie Yuzhi hung up the phone, he touched his chin and thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea flashed across his face.
——By the way, did something happen yesterday?
He vaguely remembered that Chunzao had said that she wanted to call Yuzhi. In other words, there must have been a conversation between the two of them...
Yan Jingxing's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be said that this conversation brought about some kind of change?
What happened?
So much for the sudden flash of inspiration.
In order to get the answer, Yan Jingxing did not hesitate after that, directly pulled the dial and dialed Chunzao's number.
"who is it?"
The person who answered the phone was a middle-aged woman, with a tone of caution in her voice.
"...Is she Chunzao's aunt? Sorry, I'm Ji Chunzao's classmate. Is she at home?"
"Classmate? Wait."
As he said that, the other party started shouting: "Chun Zao! Someone is looking for you!", followed by a burst of soft footsteps.
"Yes, is it Jing Xing?"
"Well, it's me." Yan Jingxing hesitated, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
The voice on the other end of the phone was still as lively and cheerful as usual, as if nothing had happened.
*
"Chun Zao! Someone is looking for you!"
She was lying on the sofa in a daze when she suddenly heard her aunt calling her.
"I am coming."
Ji Chunzao responded, but his movements when climbing down from the sofa were a bit slow and he seemed reluctant.
She staggered towards the living room, her hair like seaweed falling messily behind her.
A girl's hair tends to be naturally curly. If she accidentally forgets to comb it for a few days, it will soon become messy...
Just since yesterday, she has been in no mood to take care of her appearance.
The girl's lower body was wearing old trousers that reached just around the knees, exposing two white and tender legs; her upper body was casually put on a wrinkled and baggy T-shirt, half of her thin shoulders were exposed, and the whole person looked listless. , long and thick eyelashes curled low.
The aunt holding the microphone in the living room couldn't help but frowned when she saw her sloppy appearance.
"Did you just wake up?"
"……No."
Ji Chunzao said in a low voice and reached out to take the microphone in his aunt's hand.
My aunt's eyebrows tightened and she wanted to say something, but in the end she still didn't open her mouth.
Ever since Ji Chunzao came to this home, she rarely communicated with adults, and her relationship with them was very weak. She usually only talked about it when she heard about the trouble the child had caused in school, or heard the neighbors talking about it. She was called over to criticize her, and because of this, Chun Zao had always been a little afraid of her.
However, starting from a recent day, the child no longer has any fear of herself, because she has made friends, and they are friends from very unusual family backgrounds - so the quarrels and criticisms stopped under the fear of the adults. .
However, their relationship did not get better because of this. They were still unfamiliar with each other, like strangers living under the same roof.
What the middle-aged woman thought in her heart was that even if something happened in the future, she would just let it go; but she soon discovered that this child actually did not need adults to take care of it in the first place. With Chun Zao's character, although he will do extraordinary things, he will not do bad things. In the past, I would always find fault with my children, more like I was looking for fault...
While the man was thinking, the phone in his hand had been taken away.
…
Ji Chunzao took the microphone over.
She no longer cares about things at home.
Since her biological parents left, the relationship between her blood-related relatives has been illusory in the eyes of the girl. The real family has long since disappeared, and what is left now is just a fake pieced together.
Therefore, for a long time, the girl only felt like a kite without strings, floating dangling in the sky, lacking any real connection with the real world, and preferring to indulge in fantasy.
But in the past month, things have gradually become different: since she met Yan Jingxing, all the confusion and difficulties that once weighed her down have been swept away——
Ji Chunzao finally understood: what she needed and what the truly irreplaceable relationship was.
The moment she touched the microphone, the girl's fingertips trembled slightly. The words Xie Yuzhi said to herself yesterday flashed and disappeared in her mind, brief but vivid; and when her five fingers clenched the microphone, She felt incredibly calm.
When she heard the boy's voice, no matter how complicated her thoughts were, she would subconsciously feel happy, so even lying and pretending, which she was not good at, became clear and natural.
--"Are you OK?"
--"I'm fine."
she says.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"I'm going to Yuzhi's house tomorrow. She said she wanted my help with something. Would you like to come over and join us?"
...Is there "something" going on over there at Yuzhi?
Ji Chunzao raised his head while holding the microphone, staring at the ceiling quietly.
——It must be the follow-up to that incident.
What Jing Xing didn't know was that Xie Yuzhi would not refuse him to come over, but she would not take the initiative to extend the invitation because she knew that doing so would only make the atmosphere worse.
Just like that awkward phone call yesterday.
Until the end of the call, when Xie Yuzhi told her about her agreement with Jing Xing, she could not say a word and just listened blankly, as if her brain had stopped.
In the end, Xie Yuzhi had no choice but to whisper to her, "We'll talk about this later," after repeated confirmations and still getting no response, and then hung up the phone.
Even she herself couldn't figure out what the "proper form" of the emotions surging in her heart was. After carefully touching the blurred chaos in her heart, all she could feel was the complex and incomprehensible taste rising from the base of her tongue.
But she knew one thing very well: she shouldn't go along, otherwise it would only ruin the atmosphere between the two people getting along with each other.
Since we are friends, we shouldn't do...such deliberately annoying things.
"...Forget it." Ji Chunzao replied with a smile, "I've been busy recently."
"Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. I want to...study hard."
"Eh? Real or fake?"
"Of course it's true." She said, raising her little fist and shaking it as if to demonstrate to the boy on the other side of the phone, "I have the worst grades among us, but don't think that I will just let it go! Wait and see when the next semester ends, it will definitely surprise you both."
"Haha, it's not like I stopped studying during the holidays. But, well, it's always a good thing to be ambitious. Find a time to hold a study session again. Yuzhi and I can come and help you."
The two chatted and laughed for a while, and the other party said goodbye to him as usual.
"goodbye."
"See you."
The moment she hung up the phone, the girl seemed to relax from her tense state. Her back against the wall failed to rest, so she slid down and sat on the floor.
"boom."
Ji Chunzao put the microphone back to its original position.
She wrapped her arms around her curled legs and rested her chin on her knees. After taking a deep breath, he began to stare at the empty corner in a daze, motionless like a sculpture for a while.
Learn to lie, learn to deceive, learn to tolerate emotions, and say "it doesn't matter" to him with a smile. This is undoubtedly a kind of growth.
The cost of learning it is that sometimes it makes people feel a little bit lonely——
A feeling she thought she was used to.
(End of chapter)
