The memories of being sixteen are very long, and those are the years I least want to mention in my life.
My name is Ding Lanyin.
At the age of sixteen, I studied at Yacheng High School.
I hate Yacheng High School, which has something to do with the fact that it is a famous key high school and aristocratic school in E City. Although this school is built like a garden, it is hard to like it.
Not everyone who attends an aristocratic school is truly aristocratic. For example, I am a living exception. Compared with those children of status, position, and wealth, I am just a sweeping girl, or more precisely, the object of teasing and ridicule by those rich girls. In their original words, "Who told you to have a face that makes people jealous?"
When I was sixteen, the only capital I had was this body.
After the gym class, I stood outside the bathroom, looking at the delicate face in the mirror, my fingers gently sliding across the skin. The person in the mirror had a frown on his face, a cold light flashing in his deep eyes, and pink, plump lips that were stubbornly pursed. Warm steam kept rising, enveloping the whole body, making the whole person look extremely unreal, and the person in the mirror had a hateful and indifferent expression on his face.
Yes, I hate this face very much.
Originally, I just wanted to spend an ordinary high school life, but my poor family background and an unpleasant face made me a target of bullying in this school.
I was lost in thought when suddenly a basin of cold water poured down on my head, soaking my whole body. A few people behind me laughed in delight.
Another boring prank!
I didn't turn around, looking at the figures reflected in the mirror in a panic, with a surprisingly calm expression. Water dripped down my hair and fell in front of my eyes. I stared at those people through the mirror without saying a word.
One of them spoke first: "Oh, isn't this the famous Lady Ding? Tsk tsk tsk, look at that seductive face, look at the way she poses when she looks in the mirror, I don't know who she's trying to seduce."
Her voice was sharp and sarcastic, and the people behind her burst into laughter.
A girl followed up with contempt and said, "I think it's more like bitch Ding. Her coquettish look is disgusting, and she actually has the guts to wear such cheap clothes to school to embarrass herself. If I were her, I would have dug a hole and buried myself in it a long time ago."
The crowd laughed again.
I turned around slowly, glanced coldly at the extremely sarcastic person in front of me, and asked word by word: "Have you said enough?"
The girl who had just spoken was stunned for a few seconds, then she puffed out her chest and took a few steps forward, raised her chin proudly and continued to sarcastically say: "I haven't said enough! Ding Lanyin, get out of school as soon as possible, and don't pollute the school's air. I'm afraid that people in the school will be suffocated by your poor and mean aura!"
I took a deep breath and replied calmly: "You know what? Only dogs that don't bite will pretend to howl the loudest." After that, I dragged my wet body and quickly squeezed out of the bathroom while they were stunned.
After walking a few steps, I suddenly heard a girl behind me screaming, "Sisters, she actually called us dogs, we must make her pay today!"
I am not a soft persimmon that can be bullied, and I am too lazy to get involved with a group of flies, so I quickened my pace and ran back to the classroom.
When I returned to my seat, my deskmate who was doing homework exclaimed, "Ah Yin, why are you soaked?"
I wiped the water drops off my face with the paper she handed me, and explained nonchalantly: "Qingqing, maybe today is the Water Splashing Festival, and someone wants to bless me."
Sun Qing was my deskmate and my only good friend. She had the same family background as me, so we were able to form a group quickly. The only difference was that she had a more aggressive personality. If someone bullied her, she would definitely fight back without hesitation, so those people could only bully me.
When Sun Qing heard me say this, she suddenly slammed the table and asked angrily, "Who is the blind person who bullied you again? Let me deal with them!"
I wrung out the clothes and said nonchalantly, "Don't bother with those flies, or you'll lose face."
Sun Qing also helped to wring out the water from my clothes, and said with some regret: "I think you are too weak-tempered. If you can be like me, who dares to bully you?"
Seeing my good friend chattering away, I couldn't help but approach her, pinch her face, and say, "Girl, if you keep talking, you'll become an old woman."
Sun Qing is also a beauty with a well-proportioned figure and nice facial features. Even if she wears cheap clothes, she will still get a lot of attention in the crowd. However, she has a rather aggressive personality, which puts off many suitors.
Sun Qing looked at me, frowned and said, "Ah Yin, you should go home and change your clothes, otherwise you will catch a cold. I will ask the teacher for leave for you."
I thought about it for a while, nodded, packed my schoolbag, and walked slowly towards home.
Every time I go home, I always feel heavy-hearted.
Actually, my last name is not Ding. The home I have now is not a real home. It is just a place to live. It has no function of healing wounds or warming people’s hearts.
That home was cold, and it was the only place I could stay.
When I got home, I knocked on the door for a long time, but no one was home. I could only squat at the door and count ants silently. I didn't have the key to my house, and I didn't even have the basic conditions to own a home. I might not be able to go home when I wanted to, because the door was not always open.
When it was almost dark, the clothes were almost dried by the wind. I couldn't help but borrow a neighbor's cell phone to call Ding Xuan and ask him when he would be back. Ding Xuan is my younger brother, but he is not related to me by blood. He is the son of the person who adopted me, one year younger than me. My family gave him a cell phone, but not me. My adoptive father Ding Chushan said he was afraid it would affect my studies.
In fact, the real reason is very simple. To use Mu Lianru's original words, "If you want me to buy you a mobile phone, just daydream!"
Mu Lianru is Ding Xuan's mother and my adoptive mother, but I have never called her "Mom". Since the moment I entered the Ding family, she always looked at me with deep disgust, which made me wonder if I had done something wrong to her in my previous life.
The call was connected, and Ding Xuan's clear voice came from the other end: "Ah Yin, you can't go home? Dad and Mom are out, and they won't be back until very late. I just finished my painting class and am on my way back. You have to wait a little longer."
"Don't be anxious." As expected of my younger brother, he took the initiative to explain everything before I even asked.
The one who treated me the best in the Ding family was Ding Xuan. He was my only comfort in the Ding family. Although he always called me by my first name and never called me "sister".
After hanging up the phone, I squatted at the door in boredom, counting the dense mosquito bites on my legs. About half an hour later, Ding Xuan appeared at the door panting, holding a chestnut cake in his hand, and grinned at me.
I looked at the chestnut cake and felt a vague pain in my back.
"Look, I bought you your favorite chestnut cake." Ding Xuan handed over the thing, turned around, took out the key and opened the door.
I took the chestnut cake with a wry smile on my face.
Actually, I don’t like chestnut cake the most.
Before I was eight years old, I really liked eating chestnut cakes. However, just a few months after I entered the Ding family, I was severely beaten by her for secretly eating the chestnut cakes that Mu Lianru bought for Ding Xuan. From then on, I always felt pain in my back when I saw chestnut cakes.
The chestnut cake reminded me that although my last name was Ding, I had no relationship with the Ding family. If it weren't for my parents' money, the Ding family would not have adopted me.
As soon as I entered the Ding family, Mu Lianru taught me a lesson that I will never forget, and also reminded me from time to time what role I play in the Ding family.
After opening the door, Ding Xuan changed his shoes, put down his painting supplies, and walked straight to the kitchen. He said, "Eat some chestnut cake to fill your stomach first. I'll go cook."
I was startled and quickly grabbed Ding Xuan's hand and said, "I'm going to cook. Your hands are for painting, not cooking."
"You sound exactly like your mother."
If I let Ding Xuan cook for me and Mu Lianru knew about it, she would definitely beat me to death. Ding Xuan was her dearest, and she would be heartbroken if a hair of his felled. She often said that Ding Xuan would be a great painter when he grew up, and his hands could only be used for painting, and nothing else.
Fortunately, Ding Xuan’s personality is not like Mu Lianru.
I changed my clothes, and then went to the kitchen to cook a simple meal and brought it to the table. Ding Xuan held the drawing board and the sketch pen in his right hand, scribbling quickly on the paper. Sometimes he looked up and smiled at me, and sometimes he buried his head in the painting without saying a word.
"It's done." Not long after, Ding Xuan handed the finished to me like a treasure, and said with a smile, "How is my painting?"
The painting showed me in an apron, holding a dish, very lifelike. I took the painting and said with a smile, "Future Van Gogh, wash your hands and eat. "
I kept the painting in a small box, which also contains many works of Ding Xuan. Maybe one day in the future, Ding Xuan will become a great painter, and I can make a fortune with these paintings.
After dinner and washing the dishes, I did my homework at the desk. Under the desk lamp was a photo of my parents. Whenever I looked at their photos, I could always get some warmth in the cold home.
Sometimes I would foolishly think, if only I could grow up quickly. Then I wouldn't have to be bullied, and I wouldn't have to stay in the Ding family. Maybe I would have my own family.
I was thinking like this until I heard the sound of ping-pong in the living room. I went out to see that it was Mu Lianru who came back with her adoptive father who was drunk. The adoptive father was tall and Mu Lianru was struggling, so I hurried to help.
Unexpectedly, my adoptive father recognized me with his half-closed eyes, pushed me away without hesitation, and said viciously: "Get out!"
I staggered back a few steps and my calf hit the corner of the tea table. It hurt so much that I almost cried.
Mu Lianru glanced at me and shouted impatiently, "Why are you standing there like a log? Go get a basin of hot water."
I followed his instructions and brought over a basin of hot water.
Mu Lianru reached out to twist the handkerchief, but unexpectedly, as soon as her hand touched the water, she suddenly slapped me: "You want to scald me to death!"
I didn't have time to dodge and was slapped hard. The crisp "slap" sound echoed in the living room, which was particularly harsh.
At this time, Ding Xuan opened the door, ran out, frowned at Mu Lianru, and said anxiously: "Mom, you clearly promised me that you would not do it again."
"Baby." Mu Lianru's originally domineering aura subsided the moment she saw Ding Xuan. She put on a kind smile and said softly, "Mom didn't mean it. I was too worried about your dad, so I was a little anxious. Lan Yin shouldn't blame Auntie, right?" After saying that, she turned her head to look at me with a hint of warning in her eyes.
I covered my red and swollen face, lowered my head and whispered, "Ding Xuan, your mother didn't mean it, I don't blame her." After that, I took the basin, changed it to a basin of warm water, brought it over, then turned around and went back to the bedroom.
I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the dark sky outside the window, tears of grievance falling uncontrollably.
At this moment, it would be great if my parents were still around. After get off work, my father would definitely ask me how I was doing at school with a smile, and my mother would make a lot of delicious food for me and remind me not to waste it. If they were still around, they would definitely not let me suffer any grievances.
Sometimes I would keep reminding myself: Ding Lanyin, you should be content. At least you still have a shelter from the wind and rain, you don’t have to sleep on the streets, and you have three meals a day.
Although I know I shouldn't ask for so much, the desire in my heart is much more real than my thoughts.
The door suddenly opened, and it was Ding Xuan.
I quickly wiped away my tears, turned back with a smile, and pretended nothing had happened.
Ding Xuan frowned and looked at my red eyes. But he didn't say anything, just put the ice pack on my desk, closed the door and went out.
He was giving me some private space. Ding Xuan knew my stubbornness and determination too well, so he chose not to say anything to preserve my dignity. If he came to comfort me now, it would make me even more sad.
Ding Xuan has always understood me.
The next morning, I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror, feeling a little dazed. My face was still a little swollen, but not too obvious, just a little pale, and bloodshot eyes. I tossed and turned all night and didn't sleep well, my mind was full of Mu Lianru's cruel eyes.
When I was leaving, there was breakfast on the table, but I didn't take it. As soon as I left with my schoolbag, Ding Xuan stuffed milk into my hands and said, "Even if you don't eat bread, you must drink milk."
I nodded, took the milk, and walked slowly to school.
When I was almost at school, my shoulder suddenly loosened and my schoolbag was snatched away. I looked carefully and found that it was the girls who played a prank on me yesterday. One of them took my schoolbag and put it under her feet, stepped on it several times, and several girls even spit on it.
I frowned, looking at the already worn-out schoolbag being destroyed. My heart tightened and my indifferent eyes gradually became cold.
"Beg me, if you beg me, I will return the schoolbag to you." The girl who was stepping on the schoolbag said with an arrogant smile.
I stared at her coldly, walked up to her step by step, and suddenly kicked her hard on the calf.
"You have two choices. First, return the backpack to me; second, pick up the backpack and return it to me." Maybe my aura was a little scary, and these girls were a little dazed, until the person I kicked yelled, "Sisters, beat this bitch to death", then they came to their senses and waved their arms to slap me in the face.
After all, I was alone. No matter how I struggled and resisted, I was still pinned to the ground in the end. I was kicked hard several times. My whole body was in pain, but I didn't know where it hurt.
The girl I kicked spat at me and said, "Bah! I'll show you a way out. Go seduce Zhuang Li. Maybe he will stand up for me for this skin. Hahaha!" Then she laughed arrogantly and led a group of people away.
I leaned against the wall and struggled to get up from the ground. My hair was disheveled, my face was covered in dirt, and my whole body was burning with pain. Especially my stomach, I don't know who kicked it, it was so uncomfortable that I wanted to vomit. I held on to the wall, but I could only dry heave and nothing came out.
Why can't you give me a peaceful life?
What the girl said suddenly came to my mind.
If Zhuang Li is willing to step forward...
This is probably the biggest joke in the world.
Who is Zhuang Li? In Yacheng High School, you may not know whether the principal is a man or a woman, but you must know who Zhuang Li is. Because whenever he comes to class, all the girls in the school will become abnormal.
Looking at the whole school, the Zhuang family is the richest and most powerful. It is said that even the gatekeeper of their family can judge people with his nose. Zhuang Li himself is secretive in school. Apart from his outstanding appearance, his grades are also very good, and his name is always at the top of the red list. Due to his family background and grades, the school turned a blind eye to his frequent absences from class. As his classmate, I only saw him once from a distance. It was just a glimpse, and that cold and inviolable figure fell into my eyes, setting off a huge wave.
It is hard to imagine that the Creator could create such a perfect person. Although I couldn't see his face clearly, the blurry shadow was so stunning that it was breathtaking.
If I can climb up the big tree of Zhuang Li, maybe no one will bully me in school. Zhuang Li is also a powerful character, but no matter how powerful he is, he is still a man. Even the most powerful men have weaknesses, such as girls, such as beautiful girls.
For the first time, I thank God for giving me this body. The sad thing is that I have to use my beauty to achieve my goals.
Every day before going to school, I would stand under the ginkgo tree at the school gate waiting for Zhuang Li to come to class.
Hard work pays off. A month later, Zhuang Li finally came to class. I watched from afar a luxury car whose name I couldn't tell slowly approaching. Through the dark gray glass window of the passenger seat, I could see Zhuang Li's cold and indifferent face, as if the whole world had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, all the words I wanted to say turned into a blank in my mind. Although it was so noisy around me, I could hear my heart beating non-stop because of nervousness and fear. I had made up my mind and mustered up my courage, but I lost my courage after seeing Zhuang Li. Seeing that the car was about to drive in, I rushed to the front of the car without caring.
The driver slammed on the brakes and Zhuang Li leaned forward, looking at me unfriendly.
The cold eyes made me feel like I was in an ice cellar. I clenched my fists and bit my lips tightly, trying not to be timid. There were many people watching the excitement at the school gate, so I couldn't be a coward.
Zhuang Li got out of the car and walked towards me step by step.
He was very tall, and I was completely enveloped in his tall shadow. Every time he took a step forward, I felt the temperature around me drop by one degree.
His proud eyes were like a dense net, silently surrounding me.
Finally, I saw Zhuang Li's face clearly. It looked like it was carved by an artist. Perhaps God had put extra effort into creating him, which made him look so stunning.
In that kind of atmosphere, I felt like I would suffocate to death at any moment.
Since I was here, I could only bite the bullet and pretend to be calm and said, "Zhuang Li, let's make a bet. I bet you will fall in love with me, so before that, please protect me."
Zhuang Li had a cold face, but the playful smile at the corner of his mouth was like a white amaranth blooming in the dark night, fleeting.
The people around me sneered and laughed at my audacity and wishful thinking.
Zhuang Li didn't answer for a long time. He suddenly stretched out his slender hands, rubbed my face repeatedly with his fingertips, with emotions in his eyes that I couldn't understand.
My back was already covered in cold sweat.
Zhuang Li suddenly hugged me in front of everyone, and covered me with his cold lips. His warm breath melted on my face, and I was about to be melted. While I was still in a daze, he had already pulled away decisively, and said in an emotionless tone: "I agree to the bet. From now on, you are mine."
I stood there in a daze, watching Zhuang Li turn around indifferently and walk away.
Just like that...it succeeded?
I touched my lips in disbelief, and my cheeks suddenly turned red. My first kiss was gone, without any emotion or good feeling, only the chill that was unforgettable.
Although I succeeded, I couldn't be happy at all, because from now on I would have to put aside my self-esteem and depend on Zhuang Li.
Look, our meeting and relationship was just a gamble from the beginning. In fact, like Zhuang Li, I am an extremely cold person at heart. People like us can only feel warmth if we put out the fire with our lives.
The relationship between Zhuang Li and I was just like that cold kiss, without any of the beauty of love. Even if we walked hand in hand through school, we still couldn't feel each other's warmth.
I don’t understand Zhuang Li. He clearly doesn’t like me, but he likes to act like a model couple with me and never gets tired of it.
Some people say that I was really lucky to get close to Zhuang Li. I never asked him why he agreed. After spending a long time with Zhuang Li, I realized that his coldness was because he was too arrogant.
Every time I go out with him, I always like to hold his cold hand tightly and proudly declare my ownership to those people.
I was never afraid of losing Zhuang Li because I never had him. I was so high-profile just to make my life easier in school.
Since I got together with Zhuang Li, no one has bothered me. Those people would avoid me when they saw me, except Sun Qing.
One day when Zhuang Li walked into the classroom holding my hand, Sun Qing's eyes widened and her jaw almost dropped in shock.
I walked up to her, closed her chin, and winked at her mischievously.
Sun Qing pinched my hand tightly and asked excitedly: "You two..."
Before she could finish her words, I said, "Yes, we are together."
"Oh my god, Ah Yin, tell me, how did you get our school hunk? Please teach me some of your experience, maybe I can also bring a handsome guy here tomorrow."
I leaned close to her ear and said mysteriously, "The method is simple and effective. If you like someone, just rush up to him and tell him your love loudly, and he will be yours."
"I don't believe it."
Actually, I don’t believe it either.
I never thought that one day Zhuang Li would hold my hand. Just standing next to him, I felt it was unreal.
The moment he held my hand, I turned my head with surprise on my face.
He still had a cold face and explained without any emotion: "Since we are together, we must act like we are together."
I instantly thought of that kiss and my face started to feel hot again.
I thought there would be kisses and hugs, but apart from holding hands, there was nothing between Zhuang Li and I. A relationship that was obviously distant could not become intimate just by holding hands.
Our two hearts were stubbornly unwilling to be together, and Zhuang Li and I have always been in physical harmony but spiritually distant.
Life returned to normal. I went to school and came home on time every day, but I no longer stayed at home on weekends because Zhuang Li actually suggested that I spend every weekend with him.
When I got home on Friday night, Ding Xuan had already arrived. I was tidying up my desk when Ding Xuan came in with some fruit and stood aside, looking at me without saying a word.
As I put the books on the shelf, I asked without turning my head, "What do you want from me?"
Ding Xuan said coquettishly, "Would you like to accompany me to the suburbs to sketch on the weekend? Our teacher has assigned homework, and it would be boring for me to go alone."
I shook my head and lied without blushing: "I have to go to cram school on the weekend."
"Can you not go to tutoring?"
"cannot."
Ding Xuan stood beside him dejectedly and whispered, "You used to accompany me to sketch every weekend."
"It's different now." I continued to lie, "I'm not good at schoolwork. I need to work hard."
"Okay then." Ding Xuan left with a depressed look.
On Saturday morning, in order to avoid suspicion from my family, I got up very early and walked out very carefully for fear of waking anyone up.
When I arrived at the place where I had agreed to meet Zhuang Li, he had not arrived yet. I sat bored on a bench in the park, watching the uncle walking his dog and the aunt working out.
The air in the early morning is always exceptionally fresh, but in fact it is all just an illusion, because the morning is when plants produce carbon dioxide. It is as if Zhuang Li and I are just animals who met by chance and cuddled together for warmth, and when the weather warms up, we will go our separate ways.
I don't know how long I waited, but when I looked up again, Zhuang Li was already walking towards me. The morning light was just pouring down on him, but the air around him was too cold, and the warm morning light was also a bit chilly.
Zhuang Li's eyes were still cold and distant.
I smiled and said, "You're here..."
Zhuang Li said nothing and handed over a pink bag.
I took the bag puzzled and found a cell phone inside.
"Is this a gift for me?" I was a little unsure, after all, today was not a holiday.
Zhuang Li turned around and said, "On call 24 hours a day."
Seeing him turn around, I hurriedly stood up, took his cold hand in surprise, and asked, "Why did you want to give me a phone?"
"It was a spur of the moment." Zhuang Li said without turning his head.
I approached him, pulled up the corners of my mouth, showed what I thought was the most beautiful smile, and asked, "Where are we going today?"
Zhuang Li stopped and looked at me expressionlessly for a long while, then said coldly, "Don't smile like that..."
Could it be that I smiled too beautifully, he...
Zhuang Li added mercilessly: "It's too ugly."
I closed my mouth, suppressed my smile, and followed him obediently.
I have to admit that no matter what time it is, no matter what Zhuang Li looks like, it makes people blush. Fortunately, I, Ding Lanyin, have a thick skin and will not blush easily.
I squeezed Zhuang Li's hand and asked, "Zhuang Li, do I look good?"
Zhuang Li replied without even turning his head: "It's ugly."
“…”
I don't know who was stroking my face with his fingers at that time.
Zhuang Li took me to the suburbs because there were fewer people and it was quieter, and no one would stare at his outstanding face.
But I didn't expect to meet Ding Xuan.
He sat quietly on the lawn with an easel in front of him, holding a paintbrush in his right hand and constantly painting on the paper.
Ding Xuan has a clean and fair face, and can wear school uniforms in a different way. The hand holding the paintbrush is like white jade, slender and beautiful. On the green lawn, Ding Xuan is like the man like a daffodil in the Greek story, quietly blooming.
My first reaction was to pull Zhuang Li away quickly, but it was too late. Ding Xuan seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned back. His eyes fell on the hands held by Zhuang Li and me.
I tried to pull away reflexively, but Zhuang Li held me tightly.
I could only bite the bullet and greet Ding Xuan with a dry smile: "Brother, what a coincidence."
Ding Xuan looked unhappy. He walked over and kept looking at me and Zhuang Li. After a while, he asked, "Didn't you say you were going to make up lessons?"
My lie was exposed, and I stood there in a daze, not knowing what to say. Looking at Ding Xuan's bright eyes, I couldn't make up a lie.
Unexpectedly, Zhuang Li said, "I am the teacher who gave her extra lessons."
Ding Xuan frowned and said, "How can a teacher hold a student's hand during tutoring?"
Zhuang Li said with a serious face: "Special tutoring."
I was so happy. Perhaps it was only possible to talk about a secret date so openly with Zhuang Li's face and such a matter-of-fact tone that it worked.
I broke free from Zhuang Li's hand, then pulled Ding Xuan aside and whispered in his ear.
"Actually, I didn't have any extra classes on the weekend. Instead, I was with him." After saying that, I glanced at Zhuang Li, and he seemed a little unhappy.
Ding Xuan's originally fair face was covered with a layer of gray. He stared at me for a long while before he uttered a few words from between his teeth: "Ding Lanyin, are you... are you..." At the end of the question, his face turned red, even his ears were red, and he looked very cute.
I blinked my eyes and said mischievously, "Don't tell mom and dad. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it when we get home tonight."
Because Zhuang Li's face was becoming increasingly darker, I didn't dare talk to Ding Xuan for too long. I just said a few words and then went to stroke Zhuang Li's fur with a smile on my face.
I dragged Zhuang Li with me and found an excuse to leave. He suddenly stopped walking, turned his head and asked, "Is it so shameful to date me?"
I shook my head desperately and explained, "I just don't want to cause too much trouble. That was my brother."
"Really?" Zhuang Li said thoughtfully, "His eyes are really interesting..."
"What do you mean?"
Zhuang Li said nothing and showed no intention of explaining.
In fact, dating with Zhuang Li was boring, and there was no sense of happiness at all. When we went out to eat, he ordered the dishes and never asked my opinion. We would book the entire theater and watch brain-intensive and high-IQ movies in the huge theater. When we went to the amusement park, I was the only one who played every ride, and Zhuang Li watched me play. The routine dating was more like completing homework.
At night, the two of them no longer had the patience to be perfunctory. Zhuang Li asked the driver to drive me directly to the bottom of the building and left without saying anything.
Ever since meeting Ding Xuan, Zhuang Li's face has never been good. The moment he turned and walked away, my tense body suddenly relaxed. I never thought that being perfunctory can be very hard.
When I got home, my adoptive parents were not there. Ding Xuan was sitting in the living room, seemingly in a daze. When I walked in, I saw that his eyes were dull, and I didn't know what he was thinking.
Hearing the door open, Ding Xuan turned around and saw me, his eyes seemed to flash.
"Ding Lanyin, are you willing to come back?" Ding Xuan called my name coldly, showing that he was really angry.
I quickly stroked his fur: "Dear brother, I brought you your favorite chocolate." In fact, the chocolate was bought by Zhuang Li, and I was just offering a favor.
"Explain." Ding Xuan said angrily.
Where should I start explaining it? From how I used my beauty to achieve my goals, or from how I was bullied in school?
I sighed, sat next to Ding Xuan, looked at this ordinary home, and whispered, "In order to get more sunlight, the vines growing in the forest will choose a tree and grow upward along the tree. This kind of attachment is only for survival. I am the vine, and Zhuang Li is the tree that I depend on. Don't ask any other questions."
There was still confusion in Ding Xuan's eyes, but he didn't continue asking. There were some things he might understand, but there were some things he didn't have to understand.
He stood in front of me, his eyes burning as he said, “One day I will grow into a tree for you to cling to.”
"Brother, you are so good." I couldn't help but pinch his face.
He slapped my hand away, frowned, and emphasized again and again: "How many times have I told you not to call me brother, but Ah Xuan. Are you hungry? I'll go make dumplings for you."
"Okay, okay." I nodded with a smile.
When I was seven years old, I entered the Ding family. At first, Ding Xuan hated me very much. He secretly took money from the family and then told the adults that it was me who took it. Mu Lianru beat me mercilessly and scolded me very harshly.
No matter how hard Mu Lianru hit me, I didn't cry, I just stared at Ding Xuan. He was hiding timidly at the door, tears in his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
At night, I was locked in the utility room. Ding Xuan secretly opened the door, sneaked in, and gave me a small piece of cake. He said, I'm sorry.
I said in a hoarse voice, it’s okay.
That was the first time I spoke after my parents passed away.
Perhaps it was because those timid eyes resembled mine, because we were both afraid of losing something. He was afraid of losing his parents, and I was also timid in the Ding family because I was afraid of losing my home.
When I was beaten by Mu Lianru, I was still thinking about how to pay it back, but when he cried and said sorry, I suddenly forgave him. To the Ding family, I was the unexpected uninvited guest.
Perhaps because of guilt, Ding Xuan was particularly good to me. Because of this kindness, I missed the Ding family. The little boy who was once so small has now grown so tall and can draw beautiful paintings. It turns out that I have been in the Ding family for so many years.