The holidays are coming to an end.
This "holiday" not only refers to the students' summer vacation, but also represents Xu Yao's time in Yunnan.
On the afternoon of the day when the home visit ended, Yu Yuan made mushroom hot pot.
Now is the time when Yunnan’s wild mushrooms are on the market in large quantities. The mushrooms in this hot pot were picked and delivered by villagers who went up the mountain two days ago.
Meng Yao had hot pot for the first time in a long time since he came to Yunnan. Feng Xiao said that this is a specialty of Yunnan. They sat around the small wooden table in the kitchen, ate steaming hot pot, and shared some of the things they learned during the home visit.
Feng Xiao mentioned that there was a student who had a difficult family. After his parents got married, he only had one child. This spring, he finally gave birth to a second child, a girl. This was originally a happy thing, but the child was born with defects. This matter had long been spread in the village, and Feng Xiao had heard about it, but it was only during today's home visit that he saw the defective baby. He was only a few months old and was being held in his mother's arms. It was quite pitiful.
Such a thing is a tragedy for a poor family in a mountain village.
Meng Yao was a little sad.
The fungus hotpot is different from the hotpot Meng Yao has eaten in the past. It tastes very delicious.
Yu Yuan prepared this hot pot meal mainly because she wanted to thank everyone. It is not easy to insist on working in such a difficult area, and she has sacrificed a lot to stay in school to accompany students during the summer vacation.
Most importantly, Yu Yuan wants to thank Xu Yao.
There were no drinks or wine on the table. Yu Yuan called Xu Yao's name with a friendly smile on her face as usual. She recalled it and said, "I remember the first time I came into contact with you, you were in high school. When I first met you, you had just grown up. I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, you would have graduated from college and were ready to work."
The hot pot is cooking ingredients, making a slurping sound.
Xu Yao put down his chopsticks, looked at Yu Yuan, smiled and said, "Time flies so fast."
"Yes." Yu Yuan looked at Xu Yao and said sincerely: "You have helped us so much in the past few years."
"Don't talk about how much money we support, just donating clothes, books, and coming here to see the children. This feeling is more important than anything else."
"I can't give you anything in return. You know the conditions."
Xu Yao smiled.
Feng Xiao has always been good at livening up the atmosphere and said jokingly: "Why does this sentence sound a bit rogue?"
Yu Yuan also smiled, and then said seriously: "The word 'thank you' is not worth much, but I still want to say it."
For Xu Yao, Yu Yuan was grateful and loved her junior.
"Thank you, Aunt Yu, and thank you on behalf of these children."
Yu Yuan's voice has a gentle sense of strength. Such a woman has supported a school.
At this point, it’s no longer appropriate to joke.
The story that happened in this mountain village is not an easy experience for everyone. Whether it is Yu Yuan or Xu Yao, including Tan Hong, Feng Xiao, and Meng Yao who just joined, everyone's contribution is worth touching.
Everyone else at the dinner table fell silent.
Meng Yao turned to look at Xu Yao.
The wisps of heat rising from the hot pot blurred his brows.
Meng Yao looked at him intently.
Only when the heat dissipated did Meng Yao see him clearly. Xu Yao has a different impression than when he was young. His silhouette is more three-dimensional and his body is not as thin as before. He laughs more than before. In the past, he had a sense of distance, and you would stop looking at him from a distance. Not now, the distance on him has shrunk, and he has only set up a dividing line in his heart. But one thing is exactly the same as when he was young, that is, he always has a calmness stemming from pride and confidence.
And Meng Yao was always fascinated by his proud and confident calmness.
Xu Yao looked back at Yu Yuan.
There are some things in life that you do not actually need to get any visible feedback from, nor do you need to gain the understanding of others. When you do certain things, it will make your life more meaningful and thicker.
Moreover, although the word "thank you" does not have an explicit price tag, it is a very weighty word.
Xu Yao is not good at sensationalism, and he does not consider himself a particularly emotional person.
So he smiled lightly, feeling free and easy, but said to Yuan seriously: "This is a special and unforgettable memory for me."
This sentence is full of parting flavor.
Meng Yao realized something belatedly.
After eating hot pot, everyone cleaned up the mess together. Afterwards, Tan Hong went home, and Xu Yao and Yu Yuan went to the office to talk.
After eating too much, Feng Xiao asked Meng Yao if he wanted to go for a walk together.
Meng Yao was a little absent-minded. She glanced in the direction of the office room. Xu Yao and Yu Yuan had just entered. They were not talking so quickly. Meng Yao nodded.
There was a large open space outside the school, and there was a practical class. Yu Yuan took the children there to buy some vegetables.
Feng Xiao passed by while taking a walk and stopped to look at the growth.
"I don't know why, but vegetables grown by myself always taste better."
"The vegetables in today's hot pot were grown by Principal Yu. Aren't they delicious?"
"Yeah." Meng Yao responded. It was really delicious, but she didn't eat much.
Feng Xiao didn't notice anything strange about her. She was also worried. There was no one else here. Feng Xiao suddenly said: "I passed by Tan Hong's house today when I was visiting home. His mother happened to be sitting at the door. She stopped me and talked for a long time."
"I haven't visited Tan Hong's mother for a while. His mother asked me today why I haven't played for so long. I was quite embarrassed."
Feng Xiao had never concealed his love for Tan Hong before, anyone with a discerning eye could see it.
Meng Yao said: "Tan Hong's mother likes you very much."
"I don't know if I like her or not." Feng Xiao was silent for a while and said, "But she also wanted to bring us together before. In this mountain village, it is not easy to start a career, and it is not easy to start a family."
"Tan Hong finally went to college. If he had stayed outside to develop, he might have had a decent and relatively easy job, and a beautiful and gentle girlfriend. But Tan Hong just came back. Rural teachers, listen It looked like a great job, but the salary was low, and it was difficult to find a suitable girlfriend. As for me, I was classmates with Tan Hong, and I devoted myself to him. I chased him from the bustling city to here. His family I also understand the situation. I don’t know whether Tan Hong’s mother likes me as a person, but at least I’m more suitable.”
"But it's useless to be suitable. Tan Hong doesn't like me."
"Moreover." Feng Xiao paused, a little confused, "I suddenly thought, even if Tan Hong likes me, if we are together, will I really be willing to stay here for him?"
"I seemed to have oversimplified things before. His parents did not agree with Tan Hong's return to his hometown after graduation. As for me, I have been willful since I was a child. My parents can't do anything about me, but if I marry here, I will stay here for the rest of my life. Now, what will happen to my parents?"
This is all reality.
Just because you haven’t considered it before doesn’t mean you don’t need to.
Feng Xiao may be a little unable to face herself being shaken and realistic in the face of feelings. She was brave and naive before. So she said: "Just like Xu Yao. He supports schools and donates clothes, but he also knows what reality is and what he wants. So he will not stay here."
Feng Xiao suddenly mentioned Xu Yao, and Meng Yao looked at her.
"Xu Yao stayed in Yunnan for a long time this time. He graduated from college and will have to work. His time is not so free, and he has more things to do of his own. How much time is left for these children? After this time, Xu Yao probably won’t come again.”
Meng Yao frowned.
Feng Xiao confessed her own thoughts, but Meng Yao wouldn't say anything. She told what happened between her and Tan Hong, and talked about Tan Hong's mother. Because she didn't understand her, Meng Yao wouldn't express her opinion at will.
But guessing about Xu Yao is not possible.
Although Feng Xiao didn't say anything unpleasant, Meng Yao felt uncomfortable hearing it.
She solemnly said to Feng Xiao: "Whether Xu Yao comes here or not, we cannot ignore everything he has done for the children."
We cannot judge him on the basis that "he knows what reality is and what he wants."
Feng Xiao didn't expect that Meng Yao would say such protective words. She looked at Meng Yao and was stunned for a while before saying, "That's true."
Meng Yao didn't want to talk about this topic, so he tilted his head in the direction of the school and asked, "Are you going back?"
Feng Xiao hadn't recovered yet and nodded: "Let's go."
Meng Yao pursed his lips as he walked back.
Her first reaction was to refute Feng Xiao. After that, Feng Xiao's words "He probably won't come again in the future" kept playing in her mind.
What Feng Xiao said later is actually correct. After graduation and working, life is crowded with all kinds of things, and time becomes stingy.
Meng Yao didn't speak the whole way back to school. Feng Xiao felt that she was not in a good mood, so she remained silent.
Back at school, Meng Yao subconsciously glanced towards the office again. She and Feng Xiao separated in the dormitory building. She walked towards the stairwell, while Feng Xiao looked at her back thoughtfully.
Meng Yao thought Xu Yao was still talking to Yu Yuan in the office. She walked out from the corner of the stairs, but she heard voices. She subconsciously looked up and saw Xu Yao standing by the outer wall of the corridor on the phone.
He was very tall. Meng Yao didn't know his exact height, but he visually estimated that he was at least 1.85 meters.
He held the phone in his right hand and supported it on the outer wall with his left hand. He was slightly hunched over, and his profile was very smooth.
Meng Yao stopped and stood looking up at him.
Xu Yao turned his head while holding up his mobile phone. The moment he saw Meng Yao, he paused.
His posture when he was on the phone was very casual, and his expression was a little careless, but after he looked at Meng Yao, he suddenly stood up straighter, his loose expression stopped, and he smiled silently at Meng Yao.
Perhaps because of this short smile, Meng Yao couldn't move.
Probably because she was present and listened openly, Xu Yao's call didn't last too fast and he hung up quickly.
Meng Yao was rarely so blind.
Xu Yao threw the phone into his pocket and looked at her and said naturally: "Take a walk with Feng Xiaoxiao?"
Meng Yao looked at him with straight eyes, but her movements were a little slow. She nodded.
"I see that you didn't eat much at night. Are you used to this kind of hot pot?"
Xu Yao and she are from the same city, and they both like spicy food.
"No." Meng Yao said.
There was a distance between them. After Meng Yao gave a brief answer, he took the initiative to approach and shorten the distance.
She was still looking at Xu Yao, her eyes glued to his face as if she couldn't move away.
"Are you leaving?" The distance had shortened a lot, and there were only a few steps left between them. Meng Yao stopped and asked suddenly.
The topic changed a bit quickly and a bit abruptly. Xu Yao was stunned for a moment before he realized what he was talking about and said "hmm" softly.
"..."
Meng Yao was silent for a moment: "When?"
Xu Yao said: "The day after tomorrow."
