A day of training exhausted the three of us, and the students all went back to the dormitory to take a shower and rest. Because my mother lived alone, and in order reduce the financial burden on her, I applied to the school for day study. Since I didn't live in the school, Sheng Yinuo and Yu Xia naturally tried their best to arrange for day study as well.
At this moment, how I wish I could live on campus, so that I don’t have to drag my tired body to squeeze into the subway to go home after being exhausted.
"Yu Xia!" A girl dressed up gorgeously and exuding fragrance appeared in front of the three of us who had not yet walked out of the school gate.
This girl seems to be from the class next door. Her name is Yan Anyan. I have a deep impression of this name.
During military training, our two classes were adjacent to each other. When Yu Xia was running laps, she came to our class to ask about Yu Xia's name. Later, I heard the words "Yu Xia" from her mouth more than once, and also learned her name from other people.
My woman's sixth sense set off alarm bells in my head. I looked at the person in front of me warily and subconsciously wanted to pull Yu Xia's sleeve.
"This girl is amazing. We haven't even left the school yet, but she has already gone back to take a shower, change clothes, and put on makeup." Sheng Yinuo whispered in my ear, "My dear Su Bei, when can you learn to be as efficient as her?"
"Get lost! Didn't you see that she pretended to have a stomachache and asked for leave before the time came?" I was stunned after saying this. It turned out that I was already on guard to this extent.
"Who are you?" Yu Xia obviously didn't remember who the person in front of him was. Given his personality, he didn't just walk away coldly but asked a question, which was already a very good treatment.
"Yan Anyan, you should remember my name, because I have a feeling that I will be the most important person in your life in the future." Yan Anyan's expression was arrogant and her attitude was proud. Her courage actually made me admire her, and I ignored the desire to complain about her hypocritical confession.
Yu Xia frowned, obviously a little uncomfortable with her confident opening remarks.
I tried my best to hide the little emotions in my heart that I didn't want to be discovered, but Sheng Yinuo beside me couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Do you have something to talk to me about?" Yu Xia asked again.
"It's okay, I just want to tell you that I like you." Yan Anyan shook his hair confidently, and smiled like a shampoo commercial, thinking he was the most beautiful person in the world. "What do you think about this?"
Yu Xia was silent.
Sheng Yinuo laughed even more wildly. I lowered my head and looked at my shoes, like a soldier who was tortured by the enemy.
I knew in my heart that Yu Xia would not respond too much to such a dramatic confession, but I couldn't help but feel a little worried.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
As I expected, Yu Xia did not answer, but coldly pulled Sheng Yinuo and I past Yan Anyan, without looking back or stopping, even for a moment.
When I passed by Yan Anyan, I thought I would see a sad and frustrated expression on her face, but I didn't expect that apart from a little bit of loss in her eyes, she was still like a warrior, proud and fearless.
"Yu Xia, you're a good boy. On the first day of military training, a girl from the next class fell in love with you. You're so charming! But you're too cold. I can hear the girl's heartbreaking sound." When encountering such a thing, Sheng Yinuo certainly didn't forget to criticize Yu Xia. He pinched his throat and pretended to cry, "Wow, my little brother Yu Xia doesn't like me and doesn't respond to my confession. I'm so sad. I will punch him in the chest with my little fist tomorrow, hum!"
"Then I hope that a girl from the next class will confess to you tomorrow, or someone from our class is fine too." Yu Xia replied indifferently.
"Please let me go. There is only Su Bei in my heart. Apart from Su Bei, I don't like anyone else." As he said that, Sheng Yinuo looked at me affectionately, which gave me goosebumps.
I shuddered and said, "Two big brothers, please don't involve a little me in your war. I can't stand it."
"Oh, I told you I like you, but you're not happy about it!" Sheng Yinuo must have been acting like a drama queen. She twisted her hips, raised her head and patted my shoulder, her figure was enchanting. "If you keep doing this, I'll ignore you, hum!"
"I suddenly feel that the instructor is not that scary." I glanced at Yu Xia, and the two of us exchanged a look that showed understanding of each other's pain. We hurried forward, no longer paying attention to Sheng Yinuo who was still "possessed" behind us. Once this guy got addicted to acting, he couldn't be stopped, so he could only jog away. Fortunately, there were many people on the subway, so he returned to normal.
It was a little late when I got home. I was exhausted but suddenly I became energetic when I saw my mother. I tried my best to smile and look relaxed, not tired, and then said, "Mom, I'm back."
"Beibei is back, go take a shower and get ready for dinner." Mom was busy in the kitchen. When she heard my voice, she came out while wiping her hands with her apron. When she saw me, the corners of her mouth moved slightly. I thought she was sad because she saw through my pretense of being relaxed, but she smiled and said, "I made your favorite pickled fish tonight."
I turned my head away, my eyes red.
After my father passed away, the relationship between my mother and I was not like that of other widowed families, with mutual sympathy. Instead, we were a little cautious. We were both afraid that our own fragility and sadness would touch the other's sensitive nerves, thus causing more pain.
Even though many years have passed, this kind of relationship seems to have become a habit and cannot be changed.
When my father was alive, my mother always said that not only did we look alike, but we also breathed through the same nostril.
And now, I am afraid that these similarities in myself will become the deepest pain in my mother's heart.
Many times, when I saw my mother looking at my face, a momentary stinging feeling of déjà vu would flash across my face.
After I took a shower and prepared to go to dinner, I didn't expect Yu Xia to appear in my living room and chat with my mother. It was hard for him to talk much, but he kept smiling in front of my mother and chatted with her enthusiastically.
I stood at the entrance of the corridor, leaning against the wall and looking at Yu Xia's profile. The light cast a thin layer of light on him, making his originally handsome and distinct profile appear hazy.
"What are you doing standing there? Come over and eat." My mother invited me to eat. She was very familiar with Yu Xia, so there was no need for any small talk. We all ate and chatted very naturally, just like a family.
After dinner, my mother went to the kitchen to clean up. I originally wanted to help, but she pushed me back and asked me to chat with Yu Xia.
Yu Xia pressed a bottle into my hand: "This is what my father brought back from abroad. It can relieve muscle soreness. You can apply it on yourself later."
"Hey? You brought it from abroad. It looks so high-end!" I put the bottle away to prevent my mother from seeing it, but I couldn't help teasing him.
"It's for your own good. You're taking advantage of me." Yu Xia knows my temper well, so she can afford to make such a joke. "Remember, apply it before going to bed and massage it. Otherwise, if your legs hurt so much that you can't get out of bed tomorrow, we won't take care of you."
"I know. Have you noticed that you are very nagging?"
"Su Bei, what do you think of Yan Anyan?"
His nonsensical words stunned me, and I couldn't help but start to guess what he meant by that. Was he simply curious and wanted to ask? Or did he have a crush on Yan Anyan and wanted to hear my opinion?
Either way, it's not good news for me.
"What are you doing? You look so scary. I'm just asking casually. Don't make it seem like I'm going to be with Yan Anyan soon and abandon you and Sheng Yinuo for the sake of beauty, okay?" He said with a wry smile.
Is it true that my expression is scary?
I forced a smile and said, "Are you trying to say that I'm not the kind of person who forgets his principles for the sake of beauty? I don't believe it."
"Come on, come on. You always like to argue with me. I won't argue with you."
Later, Yu Xia said a lot of things, but I can’t remember them clearly. The question kept circling in my mind: Is he curious or does he like Yan Anyan?
There was no answer to this question until I walked him to the door.
"Su Bei, I won't like Yan Anyan."
When leaving, Yu Xia left me these words, which were like a cool breeze in summer, blowing away all the uneasiness in my heart and all the confusion in my mind.
The smile on Yu Xia’s face when she left made my heart warm.
"Yu Xia is gone?" Mom walked out of the kitchen and asked me who was grinning foolishly at the door.
"Well, I just greeted you, but I guess the sound of the water was too loud and you didn't hear it." I also walked back to the living room and hid the bottle of medicine behind my back so that my mother wouldn't see it.
"He said you guys are pretty tired from today's military training, so you should go back to your room and rest first!"
"Well , good, you should rest early too."
My relationship with my mother is always so cautious. Sometimes I want to cry in my mother's arms like other children, or tell . But every time I see the sadness in her eyes, I hide all the sadness in my heart and put on a smile to make her happy.
How long have you been getting along like this?
Three years? Five years? Or even longer?
"Yu Xia, I like you."
"Yu Xia, I like you very much."
"Yu Xia, I love you so much!"
"Yu Xia, you can be my boyfriend, or I can be your girlfriend."
…
During every day of military training, we could hear Yan Anyan's various confessions. In addition to these words, she would jump in front of us during lunch and put all the meat in her bowl into Yu Xia's bowl. She would also push me aside and hand Yu Xia a bottle of ice water during our rare break.
Sheng Yinuo and I were both a little amused. This girl had no idea that Yu Xia didn't like eating meat and he never drank iced water.
But thanks to her, Yu Xia became a celebrity among the freshmen. Even some seniors heard about this boy who was confessed to "ten thousand times" every day and came to our class to find out.
Everyone has a gossipy heart, what they lack is the gossipy factor to stimulate this heart.
At this time, I sneered at Yan Anyan's shouting confession. Later I realized that I was envious, but I just didn't want to admit that Su Bei didn't have the courage to loudly declare his love .
Yan Anyan’s confession was just a small episode in the military training life. The real drama was that we were “inhumanly tortured” by the instructors every day. For example, now, the sun was scorching, and other classes were enjoying the coolness under the shade of trees, while we were standing upright in military posture in the scorching sun.
"Su Bei, are you okay?" Sheng Yinuo, who was standing behind me, asked in a low voice.
I really wanted to answer him that I was fine, but I had been standing for too long and my whole body was stiff. I opened my mouth , but my throat seemed to be blocked and I couldn't say anything for a while.
"Instructor! Instructor, someone has fainted." My voice had just returned to normal and I wanted to speak, but before I could say anything, I saw chaos behind me.
I turned around and saw Sheng Yinuo lying on the ground, surrounded by several boys, as if something big had happened .
"Sheng Yinuo, are you okay?" I rushed over in fear.
Sheng Yinuo winked at me from where the instructor couldn't see. I realized that he was trying to create an opportunity for me to rest! Since he was like this, of course I had to cooperate. I shouted in an extremely exaggerated voice: "Sheng Yinuo! Sheng Yinuo, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!"
I clearly saw the twitching of Yu Xia's mouth when I looked up, that kind of helpless smile that he was trying to hold back.
"Get out of the way, everyone!" The instructor asked everyone to move away, and I was the only one who stayed beside Sheng Yinuo.
He looked us up and down several times and said in a deep voice, "You two feel itchy all over if you don't make trouble for a day, right? I didn't punish you today, but you want to do something weird again? Get up and continue training, don't pretend to be dizzy."
"Instructor, how could you do this? He has been weak since he was a child. He was not pretending to faint, he was really faint! As our instructor, you are also our teacher. How can you treat your students like this on Teacher's Day?" I remembered that I took a look at the calendar when I went out in the morning, and I didn't expect to use it now.
I think I must have amazing acting skills now. After all, being tired and exposed to the sun has stimulated my potential and made me have acting skills comparable to those of a movie queen.
"I can judge whether it is true or not. You, come here and see if he really fainted." The instructor pointed at Lin Momo who was standing aside watching the fun.
If the instructor had someone else check, I wouldn't be worried, but Lin Momo...
Here I would like to introduce Lin Momo. She was the "queue-cutting girl" who had an argument with me about the issue of queue-cutting on the first day of school and who mocked me when I was punished.
During the days of military training , we disliked each other and every time we saw each other, we would hold our chins high.
I never expected that the instructor would ask her to check. I can't help but admire the black-faced instructor's ability to read people's expressions. He really knows the little conflicts between each of us. Otherwise, why would he point out Lin Momo, who is inconspicuous in the crowd, to check?
"Me?" Lin Momo pointed at her nose, and after getting the instructor's affirmation, she walked out of the crowd, slowly walked to my side, and squatted down.
My heart was in my throat. These days, whenever we met, she would roll her eyes at me, clearly still holding a grudge. This time, I really had to pray for myself and Sheng Yinuo, praying that the instructor would know that he had pretended to faint and that I had acted so well, and that the punishment would be a little lighter for us.
Lin Momo turned her back to the instructor. She pretended to poke Sheng Yinuo's face, then lifted his eyelids like she did on TV, then turned to the instructor and said, "Instructor, he really fainted."
"Huh?" I was stunned and looked at her in disbelief.
"Since he really fainted, you should send him to the infirmary!" The instructor seemed a little unwilling.
In just a few minutes, my heart went through a lot of ups and downs. When the dust settled, I pretended to help Sheng Yinuo up with Yu Xia and walked towards the school infirmary. In the end, the three of us successfully skipped the next training.
Also with us was Lin Momo, who was assigned as the "inspector".
As soon as we left the instructor's sight, we became full of energy. Sheng Yinuo, who had just been in a "fainted" state, now wished he could jump a few times on the spot.
"Lin Momo, I didn't expect you to be so kind that you would help us." Sheng Yinuo raised his eyebrows at Lin Momo.
I was also surprised. At first, I was afraid that she would expose us, but later, I was surprised that she helped to cover it up. I remembered that Yu Xia always said that I only judge people by their appearance, thinking that those who look fierce must be fierce, and those who look gentle must be kind. In fact, the human heart is the most elusive thing, and no one can see through it.
When I was young, I didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, so I said that Yu Xia was mature beyond his years and always liked to talk about profound truths that others couldn't understand. As I grew older, I gradually understood that some people and some things really can't be judged at first sight.
I am not a shy person either, so I expressed my gratitude to Lin Momo directly: "Thank you for your help today, otherwise we would both be punished again."
She didn't seem surprised at all by my thanks. She looked up at me and asked lightly, "Su Bei, do you think your acting is great?"
"Ah?" I was a little confused by this inexplicable sentence.
"It's terrible!" Lin Momo's straightforwardness hit me hard, "And Sheng Yinuo is terrible too! I didn't want to help you, but that instructor has made me angry for a long time. Don't be touched blindly. I'm not doing this to help you. I'm doing this to vent my anger..."
“Hey, hey, hey, although I appreciate you, you can’t criticize my acting skills like this. I want to be a movie emperor in the future!” Sheng Yinuo said unconvinced.
The three of us started arguing about the issue of acting. Yu Xia, who was standing aside, watched us quietly with a faint smile on her face.
They kept quarreling all the way to the door of the infirmary. Yu Xia pointed at the "Keep Quiet" sign at the door and asked, "Do you want to continue?"
We immediately fell silent, exchanged glances, and suddenly burst out laughing.
As the saying goes, all grudges can be forgotten with a smile. In this smile, all the little things in the past have become dust and there is no need to worry about them anymore.
On this extremely hot autumn afternoon, I made my first real friend in college.
Of course, as a five-good youth of the new century, I severely criticized Lin Momo's shameful behavior of cutting in line. She also said that she would definitely change her ways and emulate the high quality of Su Bei's classmate.
Yu Xia was by my side when I did all this. He always spoke very little in front of outsiders and just smiled faintly. That smile was like a spring breeze, gently caressing my face. From his eyes, I seemed to be able to clearly see everyone's smiling face, including my own.