Chapter 1 If You Come, I Will Wait for You 2
How could Shen Ruoyun call her Xiao Ai? Except for Sister Hua and her parents, no one else had ever called her Xiao Ai. She always felt that this seemed too intimate. But she couldn't say no, on the contrary, she seemed to be flustered and confused.
"Nothing? Xiao Ai won't forget me?" Shen Ruoyun blinked, his brown eyes covered with a layer of false innocence.
Tang Ai lowered her head, added herself on Shen Ruoyun's phone, and pushed it to him: "Do all the boys who grew up in big cities treat girls like this?"
"No, it's because Xiao Ai looks so cute when she blushes, so I couldn't help but tease her." Shen Ruoyun said boldly, completely ignoring Tang Ai who was burying her head lower and lower.
Xichen secretly hit Shen Ruoyun, who shrugged and started to joke with him. He pointed at Tang Ai and mouthed to Xichen, "She's so shy, it's so funny."
Xi Chen rolled his eyes at him and whispered, "If you bully other girls like this again, I will go back and tell my sister!"
"No, no, no, please, Master Xi, don't tell Shanshan." Shen Ruoyun clasped his hands together, almost raising them above his head.
Xi Chen said: "Then don't bully Tang Ai."
"Okay, okay, I won't bully her." Shen Ruoyun raised his hands in surrender.
You see, it turns out that the eldest daughter of the Xi family, whom Shen Ruoyun longed for, was his weak spot.
Xi Chen looked at Tang Ai, who seemed to be restrained in the familiar environment of her own home because of Shen Ruoyun's words, and wanted to change the subject, so he asked: "Tang Ai, you will be in the third year of high school after the summer vacation, right?"
Tang Ai finally raised her head and nodded in response.
"You're going to take the college entrance exam next year, right? What university do you want to go to? Tsinghua or Peking University?" Shen Ruoyun leaned forward slightly as he leaned forward curiously on the table. It was not easy for a little sister to take the college entrance exam, and he could finally use his status as a senior to "teach" her some things.
Tang Ai shook her head and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. I'm a little confused and don't know what to do."
"There's nothing to be confused about. Just choose the major you want to do." Shen Ruoyun spread his hands and spoke with extraordinary ease.
Tang Ai frowned slightly, looking a little solemn.
Xi Chen carefully noticed her expression, lowered his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Tang Ai bit her lower lip and said softly, "I don't think there are any universities I like in Huacheng, so I want to go somewhere else, but I've never left Huacheng, and I don't dare tell my parents."
“I have to say it!”
Shen Ruoyun slammed the table and said righteously, "Xiao Ai, this concerns your future. Huacheng is a small city famous for tourism. Its development in other aspects is not worth mentioning at all! If you want to go to a good university, you must go to a good city. Come to Ancheng. Xichen and I are both in Ancheng. If you come, there are acquaintances here who can take care of you."
Xi Chen patted Shen Ruoyun's arm, signaling him not to make trouble. He said to Tang Ai, "It's true that good cities have good universities, but don't listen to this guy's nonsense. Do what you want to do. Everything should be based on making yourself feel comfortable, happy, and satisfied. Don't blindly follow others and think that what others say is good is good."
Tang Ai nodded, and then asked cautiously: "If, I mean if, if I really went to Ancheng, would you really come to help me when I need help?"
"Of course. If you go to Ancheng and ask, everyone knows that I, Shen Ruoyun, am loyal!" Shen Ruoyun couldn't help but brag without blushing.
Xi Chen held his forehead, then slapped Shen Ruoyun on the face, turned his head and said to Tang Ai, "If you really come, we will do our best to help you, there is no doubt about that. But this guy is very unreliable, you can't trust him for everything. I have a sister at home, who is about your age. If you are worried about boys, I can also let her help you."
"Um..." Shen Ruoyun struggled to pull Xi Chen's hand away, but Xi Chen held his palm tightly on his face to prevent him from talking nonsense and causing trouble for Tang Ai.
Seeing the two of them playing around, Tang Ai suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled.
She really envied the relationship between Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun. She grew up alone in Qingluo Inn and had no friends. All her classmates lived in Huacheng City, but she had to take a bus back to the mountain every day because her parents and family were in the mountains.
Over time, she had no time to make friends and could only talk to Sister Hua, and plant flowers around Qingluo Inn when she had time.
Seeing Tang Ai laughing, the two teenagers were too embarrassed to continue playing around. Shen Ruoyun grabbed his messed up hair with his hands and continued eating.
There is the rustling sound of wind blowing through the leaves, and the years are quiet and good.
That afternoon, Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun drove down the mountain and left.
Tang Ai stood in the attic and watched the bus slowly drive towards the dense woods, feeling a little regretful.
She thought, they would forget her when they go back, right? After all, for tourist destinations, many people come once and will never come back again in their lifetime. So, there is no point in remembering her, let alone being friends with her?
But this time, Tang Ai thought too much.
Because at two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Tang Ai received a WeChat message from Xi Chen.
In WeChat, Xi Chen said:
"——We arrived safely."
Then, he posted a selfie of him and Shen Ruoyun.
Warm sunshine shone into Tang Ai's heart. She pressed the nine-square grid on the screen and sent a message:
"--That's good."
After they left, Tang Ai would check Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun's updates every day. Xi Chen was quiet and rarely updated his Moments, but Shen Ruoyun was the opposite. He would always post some selfies in the group, and then add text to say what he did today.
Shen Ruoyun is very good at finding angles in the pictures, and he looks handsome in every one of them. Being so cheerful, he must have no shortage of friends, especially female friends.
Tang Ai was very happy to meet them.
A week later, Tang Ai received a package from Xi Chen. In the package were photos he had developed. He kept his word and promised to send photos to Tang Ai, and he did it.
In the express delivery, there was also a letter from Xi Chen. In the letter, he asked Tang Ai for some flower seeds, saying that the windowsill was bare and it would look better if some flowers were planted.
Tang Ai was very touched by Xi Chen's keeping his promise. She asked Xi Chen on WeChat:
"——What kind of flowers do you like?"
Xi Chen replied:
"——As long as they are flowers you grow, I will take good care of them."
So Tang Ai sent Xi Chen some jasmine cuttings and a pot of lemon mint. She said that the fragrance of jasmine is fresh and elegant. When placed on the windowsill, the fragrance will sneak into the room with the wind, and the whole room will be filled with a faint floral fragrance. Lemon mint is easy to grow, and its leaves can be used to make tea, which has the effect of refreshing the mind.
In addition, she also wrote a note on how to protect the jasmine cuttings.
Tang Ai told Xi Chen that the jasmine flowers would sprout new buds in April and May of next year, and if well cared for, they would bloom healthy flowers from June to October.
Xi Chen said in WeChat:
"——Next year when new buds sprout and flowers bloom, I'll send you photos."
Tang Ai remembered Xi Chen's words and hoped that time would pass quickly.
July passed, and so did August.
Tang Ai officially became a senior high school student. In order to facilitate her studies, she stayed in school.
The first thing Tang Ai did after evening self-study every day was to pick up her phone and report her study progress to Xi Chen. When Xi Chen got the news, he would always gently praise her, saying that she had done well and should keep working hard.
Tang Ai's heart was filled with sweetness and warmth. She felt that this young man named Xi Chen was slowly changing her.
She would receive a letter from Xichen every month. In the letter, Xichen was most concerned about her studies, and then he would talk about his recent life. He told her to pay attention to nutrition while studying and avoid getting sick.
He said that one should not be anxious during the college entrance examination and should treat it calmly.
He said that if you have any questions you don't understand, you can ask him and not keep them in silence.
He also said that we should communicate with others more and not stay alone all the time. Otherwise, Girls' Generation will not be able to share some of their thoughts with others, how lonely will that be?
Faced with Xi Chen's care, the inexperienced Tang Ai easily fell into it.
She thought that if possible, she would like to go to Ancheng to study at university so that she could see Xichen again.
Therefore, she took Ancheng as her goal, and worked hard silently with this feeling hidden in her heart. Because she knew that if she didn't work hard enough, she might never see Xichen in her life.
In March of the following year, Xi Chen really sent Tang Ai a photo of jasmine flowers sprouting new buds.
Many tender green little heads popped out from the jasmine branches. Looking at the color of the new buds, Tang Ai knew that Xi Chen took good care of the jasmine.
That night, Tang Ai hid under the quilt and sent a WeChat message to Xi Chen:
"——Are there any good universities in Ancheng ?"
Xi Chen asked:
"——What major do you want to study?"
Tang Ai thought for a moment and said:
"——I'm not sure, I just want to understand."
Xi Chen replied after a while:
"——Xiao Ai, you can choose whatever you like to do."
Tang Ai turned over. What did she want to do? She had never asked herself.
Last July, she, Xichen, and Shen Ruoyun came back from the flower garden carrying shovels and other tools. Shen Ruoyun was sweating, so he went to take a shower first. Tang Ai and Xichen sat on the tatami beside the pear blossom table, brewed a cup of flower tea, and listened to the chirping of birds in the forest.
Xi Chen likes the environment here and can't help but sigh: "After staying here for a few days, it feels like a dream."
Tang Ai thought that she had been here for seventeen years and had never felt that this place was like a dream.
Seeing what Tang Ai was thinking, Xi Chen smiled and asked, "Do you know what a dream is?"
Tang Ai looked at his starry eyes and shook her head blankly. She had always lived a life of mediocrity and would not fantasize about unrealistic things. After staying in Tianwu Mountain for a long time, she had no intention of exploring the Tianwu Mountain in the eyes of others.
So she didn't know what the dream Xichen was talking about was.
Xi Chen asked: "Do you want to see the outside world?"
Tang Ai thought about it and nodded.
Xi Chen laughed and said, "Then this can also be considered a dream."
"Does this count?" Tang Ai asked.
