The golden autumn sunshine is warm and peaceful. The originally lush leaves on campus turn yellow as the weather turns cooler. When the wind blows, the leaves fall from the branches like yellow butterflies circling in the air and then fall into the artificial lake and drift with the waves.
The campus has been covered with fallen leaves these days, and the student union has specially organized some students to sweep the fallen leaves behind the campus and burn them outside the old goods warehouse.
In the old warehouse, Li Shengyu led several male classmates to clean up. The laboratory had old desks and chairs to be sent in. After clearing the space, other students moved the desks and chairs. Li Shengyu stayed alone in the warehouse waiting. At this time, the piles of fallen leaves outside were burning and floated in through the unsealed wall. He couldn't help but started coughing.
He wanted to go outside the warehouse to get some fresh air, but after taking a few steps, the old bookshelf that had just been stacked in front of him did not stand firmly and actually tilted down, blocking his way. He took two steps back and fanned away the dust with his hands.
At this moment, a classmate suddenly shouted from the back of the warehouse: "Ah, how did the fire spread over there! Find the teacher quickly!"
After hearing this, Li Shengyu hurriedly turned around and saw flames spreading to the wooden roof in the back corner of the warehouse. He was shocked. It seemed that the students outside had piled the fallen leaves too high and accidentally affected the warehouse.
He quickly turned around and tried to move the bookshelf and run out. However, the bookshelf fell down and hit his legs when he pushed it in panic. He frowned and groaned, and his body bent down, with a thin layer of sweat on his handsome face.
He endured the pain and raised his hands to move the bookshelf away from his legs. However, with his current posture, the force exerted by his arms on the bookshelf was obviously not great. Therefore, it took a long time for the bookshelf to move a little bit, and he gradually became weak due to the continuous inhalation of smoke and dust.
At this time, noisy shouts were heard outside the warehouse, and behind him was a flame that showed no sign of abating...
Su Peile was walking on the boulevard with a bottle of water and some food. She saw many classmates running towards the back area, so she ran over as well. After turning around the teaching building, she saw thick smoke coming out of the old warehouse in the distance, and the people from the school security department were using fire extinguishers to put out the fire at the back of the warehouse.
"Hey, why isn't Shengyu here? Could he still be in the warehouse?" A boy among the chaotic students said belatedly.
Shengyu is still in the warehouse? Su Peile's hair stood on end. With such thick smoke, he would have an asthma attack.
She immediately threw down the food in her arms, leaving only a bottle of water, and rushed to the warehouse without hesitation.
"Su Peile, you can't go in!" someone shouted behind him.
But she ignored it. She would never let Li Shengyu stay in such a dangerous situation again.
She rushed into the smoking warehouse without hesitation. This scene was seen by Li Zhengyu and Xia Ying who had just received the news and ran over from the teaching building.
Seeing from afar Su Peile rushing into the warehouse recklessly, Li Zhengyu ran towards the warehouse anxiously.
There wasn't much smoke in the warehouse, but the light was dim and it was difficult to see where the people were.
"Shengyu? Li Shengyu!" She shouted loudly, bending down to avoid the thick smoke above her head, and took off the sleeves of her school uniform, pouring water on them and covering her nose with them.
As she walked forward, she suddenly saw Li Shengyu lying on his side not far from the wall in front of her, with his right leg crushed by a fallen bookshelf.
"Li Shengyu!" She walked over quickly, put the bottle of water aside, stretched out her hand, and used all her strength to lift the bookshelf, trying to move it away from Li Shengyu's legs.
Perhaps because of her strong belief, she actually succeeded in moving the bulky bookshelf. She smiled happily, then squatted down and held Li Shengyu's head in her arms, pouring the remaining water in the bottle into his mouth.
At this moment, Li Shengyu, who had fallen into a coma due to difficulty breathing, suddenly felt a cool breeze coming from his mouth and nose. He weakly opened his eyes and saw Su Peile's anxious face under the smoke.
"Le Le, how did you... come in? Get out!" He said this using almost all his strength.
"I can't leave you behind, Shengyu. Hold on, I'll take you out." She didn't know where she got the strength from, but she was able to steadily lift up Li Shengyu, who was much taller than her.
It was as if the scene from four years ago appeared in front of the two of them again. That time, Li Shengyu carried the injured her on his back, and this time, she was supporting the injured Li Shengyu.
"Le Le, I feel like I'm back to four years ago." Li Shengyu said weakly.
"Shengyu, don't talk, we will be out soon." Su Peile said anxiously, gritting his teeth and supporting him to walk out.
"If... cough!" Li Shengyu coughed violently and couldn't speak.
She held his arm, and the two of them walked to the door of the warehouse, just in time to bump into Li Zhengyu who was about to rush in.
"Brother..." He shouted in horror, trying to take Li Shengyu from Su Peile's hands.
Li Shengyu's consciousness gradually blurred, but he pushed Li Zhengyu, holding Su Peile tightly with his hands, murmuring: "Le Le...Le Le, I can't, I can't leave you behind."
"Brother, what are you talking about? What did you drop?" Li Zhengyu was still looking back, thinking that Li Shengyu had dropped something.
But Su Peile understood that Li Shengyu had subconsciously returned to four years ago, and that he could not abandon her, meaning that he could not abandon her.
"Shengyu, I'm here, I'm here!" She also shook his hand back.
Hearing her voice, Li Shengyu seemed to be relieved and leaned on Li Zhengyu, but his right hand was still tightly holding her hand.
After the three of them went out, Xia Ying stepped forward to help Su Peile support Li Shengyu, but found that he was holding Su Peile's hand tightly and refused to let go. The teacher who arrived at the scene had already called 120, and soon the ambulance drove into the campus.
When Li Shengyu was carried onto the stretcher, his right hand was still tightly holding Su Peile's hand, so she had to follow him into the ambulance, while Li Zhengyu, Xia Ying and the teacher took a car to the hospital.
When they arrived at the hospital, Li Zhengyu and his friends were stopped outside the emergency room: "Doctor, can you let me in? The person who was just sent in is my brother."
"There's already someone inside to accompany him."
"What?"
"The patient kept calling out the girl's name. In order to get the patient to cooperate with the treatment, we let the girl in. But there shouldn't be too many idle people in the operating room, so you guys wait here." After the doctor said that, he closed the door of the emergency room.
The teacher put his hand on Li Zhengyu's shoulder and comforted him: "Don't worry, Shengyu will be fine. I'll go and handle the formalities, you two wait here." After that, he took the list given by the doctor and left.
Li Zhengyu took a few steps back, leaned against the wall and looked up at the house number on the door opposite.
Xia Ying sat on the bench next to her, took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, Lele went in just in time, Shengyu shouldn't have inhaled much smoke. You see he knew to call Lele, which means he is awake, but his leg is injured."
"If he was awake, why did he keep calling him Lele?" Li Zhengyu blurted out subconsciously. His question made Xia Ying slightly stunned.
"I didn't expect Lele to be so brave. Those boys didn't dare to rush in without permission, but she went in without thinking." Li Zhengyu recalled the scene just now and felt a little scared.
"If it were you, she would do the same."
"Yeah, I know. But I'm really grateful to her this time. You know? My brother experienced a fire four years ago, and I really don't want him to experience such an accident again." Li Zhengyu sighed.
"What did you say? Fire?" Xia Ying looked at him in shock.
"Um."
For a long time, neither of them spoke, waiting quietly for time to pass.
After an unknown amount of time, the door of the emergency room opened and Li Shengyu was pushed out, his right hand still holding Su Peile's. Seeing the two holding hands, Li Zhengyu and Xia Ying looked a little unnatural.
But the patient was more important at this time. Li Zhengyu and Xia Ying leaned over and called Li Shengyu almost at the same time.
"elder brother."
"Lee Sungwoo."
Su Peile wanted to step back a little, and just as he pulled his hand away, Li Shengyu immediately muttered, "Le Le, Le Le."
She had no choice but to put her hand into his again and comforted him softly: "Don't be afraid, Shengyu, I'm here. I'll accompany you to the ward. The doctor said that your leg is just dislocated and not broken. He has helped you recover. The respiratory infection is not serious. You will be fine in a few days."
Li Zhengyu looked at them in astonishment. Even if he didn't think about it specifically, the discussions of those girls he heard in the corridor on the first floor of the school still echoed in his ears.
Li Shengyu was sent to the ward. The injected medicine took effect and Li Shengyu fell into a deep sleep. At this time, the sky outside the window was already full of sunset glow.
Grandpa Li, who received the news, also hurried over and accompanied Shengyu together with Li Zhengyu. After Su Peile and Xia Ying sat for a while, they left the hospital together.
There was still a trace of the last sunset glow in the sky, the golden-red light reflected on a few white clouds, and the autumn wind blew, and the leaves of the sycamore trees on both sides fell down one after another.
Su Peile and Xia Ying were sitting on a bench at the bus stop. Su Peile was about to get on the bus, but Xia Ying grabbed his hand.
"Le Le, let's talk." Xia Ying said with a heavy heart.
"What to talk about?" Su Peile sat back next to her, looked at her sideways and asked.
Xia Ying looked straight into her eyes and asked doubtfully, "Have you heard about the recent rumors about you and Shengyu in school?"
"The rumors about me and Shengyu?" she asked back, confused.
"They said you were two-timing and fell in love with someone else, Shengyu."
"What?"
"You and Shengyu have been very busy recently, so you didn't pay attention to the rumors." Seeing Su Peile's shocked look, Xia Ying sighed slightly and glanced at her.
"But, but there's really nothing between Shengyu and me. We're just classmates and friends."
"Really? Then why did you have the courage to rush into the warehouse to save him? Why did he keep calling your name while he was unconscious and holding your hand? What happened between you two?"
"Xia Ying, did you also misunderstand me and Shengyu?"
"If you don't tell me the truth, how can I know if I have misunderstood!"
Su Peile lowered his head, looked at his toes, took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to keep it a secret for me."
"Can."
"Four years ago, in Songchuan..."
Su Peile began to talk about what happened four years ago, from when Shengyu saved her during the fire at the Youth Palace, to when she couldn't find him after waking up, to when she met Li Zhengyu, who looked similar to Shengyu, in Jiangyuan four years later, and then a series of events that happened. She told Xia Ying everything in detail.
Xia Ying had thought of many possibilities, but she never expected it to be so bizarre.
After she finished speaking, Xia Ying hurriedly asked: "If that's the case, who do you like?"
"I have asked myself this question in my heart. Although I have been obsessed with the person who saved me, the person I really like and love is Zhengyu. However, even if Shengyu is not my savior, I can't ignore him when I see him in danger... Xia Ying, you like Shengyu, right?"
Xia Ying was stunned for a long time before she looked directly into Su Peile's eyes: "Yes, I like him. But so what? He only has you in his heart. However, since you have chosen one of them, don't provoke the other. Shengyu's heart is actually very fragile, and I don't want him to be hurt."
"I didn't mean to hurt him, I just wanted to make amends."
"Compensation? Apart from your feelings, what else can compensate him? What you are doing will only make him more hopeful, which is unfair to him." Xia Ying said angrily.
"No, he said that from now on he will treat me as a good friend." Su Peile said seriously.
Xia Ying stood up with a complicated expression on her face. She thought for a moment, turned her head and said, "No matter what, I hope you don't hurt Li Shengyu, otherwise, we may not even be friends anymore."
After she finished speaking, she hailed a taxi and left.
Watching the taxi go farther and farther away, Su Peile was still in a trance for a long time. Xia Ying was so angry, it seemed that she really cared about Shengyu. Did Shengyu know?
If Shengyu falls in love with someone else, maybe he will slowly forget about me.
The next morning, Li Shengyu woke up, but Grandpa Li was still worried and asked him to stay in the hospital for another day for observation. Li Zhengyu also took a leave of absence and continued to accompany him in the hospital.
At noon, Li Zhengyu went outside the hospital to buy lunch. When he walked to the gate of the inpatient department with two lunch boxes, he met a man in a beige windbreaker coming out. He looked up and saw him: "Are you Li Shengyu?"
Li Zhengyu was slightly startled, and just as he was about to tell him that it was not him, the man took over the conversation: "Don't you recognize me? I met you and Su Peile at KFC in the summer."
When he said that, Li Zhengyu suddenly remembered and smiled and said, "Aren't you Mr. Qi from Songchuan?"
"Yes, my mother-in-law is in the hospital here, so I rushed back to see her. Why are you here too? Is anyone in the hospital?"
Although he admitted that he was wrong, Li Zhengyu was too lazy to explain and simply nodded.
"The last time I saw you and Playlok together, you were dating, right?"
This teacher is really gossipy, but considering that he was a teacher that Su Peile knew, Li Zhengyu endured it and nodded again.
Teacher Qi smiled and said, "You and Pei Le are really destined to be together. After going through all the ups and downs four years ago, you are still together now. It's not easy. Pei Le is a good girl, you must cherish her. I'm in a hurry, so I'll leave first."
He patted Li Zhengyu on the shoulder, then quickly walked towards a car that had just stopped at the door.
Li Zhengyu was still standing at the door in a daze. Teacher Qi just called him Shengyu and said that he and Pei Le could still be together after going through so many twists and turns. What did this mean?
four years ago?
Li Zhengyu's mind emerged the first time he met Su Peile. She said that four years ago he had done something very meaningful and important to her. Are these two things related?
It seems like there is something I can't figure out, but it also seems like it can be solved with just one click.
As he was thinking, a weight hit his back: "Hey, Zhengyu, are you waiting for me here?"
"Le Le, why are you here?" Li Zhengyu turned around and looked at her in surprise.
"My mother asked me to bring some fruit." She shook the shopping bag in her hand.
"I'm sorry to have cost you so much. By the way, I just saw Mr. Qi who was talking to you at KFC last time. He mistook me for Shengyu."
After Li Zhengyu finished speaking, she noticed that Su Peile's face suddenly became flustered. She held his arm and asked, "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing, I'm not familiar with him, there's nothing to say, but it seems that he not only knows you, but also Shengyu."
"Of course I know him. He is not only the host of the Youth Palace, but also a teacher at Fengyang Middle School. Let's stop thinking about this and let's go upstairs and cut the fruit." Su Peile changed the subject and took his arm as they walked inside.
Although Li Zhengyu still had a lot of questions in his mind, he was not the kind of person who would care about things, so he just put the matter behind him.
Su Peile was not at ease. She didn't mean to lie to Li Zhengyu. She just wanted to find a suitable time to tell him everything slowly.
Within a few days, Li Shengyu's body recovered.
After this incident, the college strengthened relevant management, and Su Peile was praised by the college for her courage to save people regardless of her personal safety. However, students privately distorted her behavior, believing that Li Zhengyu was also present at the time and that Su Peile did not need to save him based on his ability. She did this just to show off and make Li Shengyu grateful to her, so that he would no longer accept other girls.
Su Peile thought that these rumors were just boring things done by boring people and was too lazy to clarify anything. As long as Li Zhengyu believed in himself, it was fine. Obviously, Li Zhengyu didn't seem to take these gossips to heart.
On campus on Monday, the cold wind of late autumn blew off the few remaining dead leaves on the branches, and the scenery of the surrounding city had changed to the monotonous gray of autumn and winter.
When the school bell rang, the students in the classroom closed their books and packed their bags in unison, and their depressed mood after a day became excited and restless.
Su Peile packed Li Zhengyu's schoolbag and asked, "Are you still going to work today?"
"Of course, you won't be paid for being absent from work for the past few days." Li Zhengyu took the schoolbag and said, and was about to say, "You and your brother should go home together," but this time, he swallowed the words back.
Li Shengyu heard their conversation and hurriedly packed his schoolbag, preparing to leave with Su Peile. However, Xia Ying beside him suddenly stopped him and said, "Li Shengyu, I have something to tell you."
"What's the matter?" Li Shengyu looked at her. Xia Ying was a little abnormal today. She didn't say much all day.
"I want to find a place to talk to you alone, let's go." Xia Ying urged him, picked up her schoolbag and walked out. Han Jingjing, who was sitting at the front table, was biting a biscuit and wanted to follow her out, but was frightened by Xia Ying's fierce face and shrank her neck, turned around and walked away with Lu Mowen.
Li Shengyu looked back at Su Peile, she smiled at him gently, he nodded and followed Xia Ying out.
Li Zhengyu looked out and watched the two people walk out of the classroom one after another. He nudged Su Peile with his elbow and asked, "Why is Xia Ying acting so weird?"
Su Peile smiled but did not answer. When a girl starts to like a boy, her behavior will definitely be different from usual.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Li Zhengyu pulled her out of the classroom and whispered as they walked, "I guess Xia Ying must be interested in my brother, otherwise she wouldn't be so abnormal. In the future, you should have less contact with my brother and spend more time with Xia Ying."
"Yeah." Su Peile nodded sincerely.
Li Zhengyu also nodded. If Xia Ying could get Shengyu, then all these messy rumors in the school would be self-defeating.
There is a street park not far from Mingxin Middle School. The leaves have fallen and the thin willow branches are swaying in the wind. The evening in late autumn always makes people feel melancholy and sad.
Xia Ying and Li Shengyu sat at the two ends of a bench, watching the passing vehicles on the street. On the cobblestone road beside them, parents walked by with their children who had just finished school. Xia Ying envied the innocent and carefree nature of the primary school students.
"Are you looking for me just to sit here and act like a street vacuum cleaner?" Li Shengyu couldn't help but speak when he saw that she hadn't spoken for a long time.
Xia Ying, who had been preparing for her speech for a long time, suddenly became nervous. She wrapped her fingers around the strap of her schoolbag. She had already asked Li Shengyu to come out, and she had to say what she wanted to say.
She took a deep breath, her eyes fell on the tip of her shoe, and she asked slowly: "Li Shengyu, do you hate me?"
"Why do you ask? Do you think I hate you?"
"Do you like me?"
"you……"
"Li Shengyu, I like you. Let's date." She suddenly raised her head and looked at Li Shengyu beside her.
His expression did not fluctuate much. Perhaps it was because Xia Ying asked him out, and he already had an idea in his heart. There was a little light in his clear eyes, like stars in the night sky.
It was this kind of look that would fascinate girls, but Xia Ying felt chilled, as she had already guessed half of the answer.
"Xia Ying, aren't we good friends?" he said lightly.
"I'm a girl, how can I be your friend? And I've started growing my hair and learning to be a lady, don't you like that?"
"Why do you have to force yourself to be a lady? In fact, you have a very good personality. Also, if I have done anything that caused you to misunderstand, I will be careful in the future..." He seemed elegant and polite, but what he said left people with no way out.
This was the first time Xia Ying took the initiative to confess her feelings. Even a guy as arrogant as Li Zhengyu had said that he wanted to date her. It was the first time she was rejected, and by the boy she liked. She felt very embarrassed. Her fingers tightened the straps of her schoolbag, and red marks appeared from her wrists to her palms.
She controlled the disappointment in her heart, looked at him and asked, "Do you still like Lele? Don't try to lie to me. Lele has already told me that you are the one who saved her, and she mistook Zhengyu for you."
Li Shengyu didn't expect her to know this. He was slightly stunned and simply admitted, "Whether I like her or not, she is Zhengyu's girlfriend now. This is my private matter."
Xia Ying sneered in anger and asked, "You didn't even bother to tell me that you didn't even pretend to dislike her... Even if her feelings for you are just guilt, are you willing to do this?"
"I don't want to embarrass her. Instead of three people suffering, it's better for me to bear it alone."
"Li Shengyu, are you a fool? Can't you see my feelings for you? Are you so unwilling to give yourself a chance to move on?"
Li Shengyu turned his eyes away calmly. No matter how emotional Xia Ying was, he remained calm.
Xia Ying pursed her lips and turned her head away angrily. At this moment, she felt extremely uncomfortable. She had never experienced such pain before.
Overwhelmed with grief, she raised her head to control her tears.
Looking at her face with tears silently flowing down, Li Shengyu said nothing and could only repeat himself in his heart, "I'm sorry." If he hadn't met Su Peile first, a girl like Xia Ying would have attracted his attention. Unfortunately, in matters of love, there is always a first come, first served rule.
Once there is one person living in your heart, there will be no room for anyone else.
When the fallen leaves of late autumn covered the streets and alleys of Jiangyuan City, Su Peile welcomed her first birthday in Jiangyuan City. Her classmates who were close to her wanted to celebrate her birthday. Originally, her mother and stepfather planned to let her bring her classmates to their home, but her classmates felt that it was not appropriate to go to her house with adults around. When everyone was thinking about where to go to play, Han Jingjing provided them with a venue.
Everyone finally found out that Han Jingjing's family ran a barbecue restaurant, and Han's father specially prepared the largest private room for them.
Originally, Su Peile was planning to go to the private room early, and her classmates were already waiting in the room, but Li Zhengyu asked her to go to a place with him first.
She walked around the busy front desk of the barbecue restaurant, went up an inconspicuous staircase in the corner, and went all the way to the top floor. It turned out that Li Zhengyu was taking her to the rooftop. There was a lock on the door from the stairs to the rooftop. He reached into his pocket and took out the key.
"How do you have the key?" she asked in surprise.
"Father Han gave it to me." He smiled mysteriously and opened the door. The cool autumn breeze blew towards him. From the empty rooftop, one could see the lights of half the city and the stars in the night sky.
As she walked forward, suddenly the lights came on, and a tree full of colorful stars appeared in front of her, with a cute little bear on the top of the branches.
"Zhengyu, it's not Christmas now, why are you putting a tree here?" Su Peile walked towards the tree and turned back to ask Li Zhengyu.
" Didn't you say that when the stars fall from the sky, you would plant a tree full of stars so that they would no longer be lonely, right? So I came to plant this tree early this morning. Do you like it?" He walked behind Su Peile and hugged her waist from behind with his hands.
Su Peile leaned back in his arms, looked at the tree and said, "I like it so much. Is this the gift you gave me?"
"No, my gift for you is in the little bear's bamboo basket." He pointed his finger to the top of the tree.
She reached out to take it, but couldn't reach the bear. She turned back to him angrily and said, "Why did you put it so high when you gave it to me?"
"Hey, do you have a pig brain? Can't you think of other ways?" Li Zhengyu's rare gentleness did not last long, and he started to scold her.
"There are no stools here." Su Peile looked around for help.
"You've made the pig so mad." Li Zhengyu said this and bent down to pick her up.
"Ah." Su Peile screamed, his feet left the ground, and he hugged his neck with both hands.
Li Zhengyu rolled his eyes at her and said, "Look, isn't there a ready-made human lift? If I ask you to be carried by me, you'll die!"
It turned out that he had this little idea, Su Peile laughed.
Li Zhengyu said impatiently: "Stop smiling foolishly, are you trying to tire me to death?"
Su Peile then remembered about the gift. She reached into the teddy bear's bamboo basket, took out a small pink box, gently opened it, and a ring appeared in front of her.
There was a hollow star on the top of the ring. She exclaimed in amazement: "It's so beautiful."
Li Zhengyu smiled and said, "This is the first time in my life that I have bought something with my own money."
"So you worked part-time just to buy me this ring."
"Yes, aren't you surprised and touched?"
"Well... a little bit."
"Hey, just a little bit?"
"Too little? Then give me a little more." Su Peile smiled with curved eyebrows, and her smile was brighter than the stars on the ring in her hand.
"So what's your reward?" Li Zhengyu also smiled and stopped arguing with her about this issue, and asked loudly.
Su Peile looked into his eyes and said, "I'll give you all the gifts they gave me later, ah..." Li Zhengyu's arms, which were holding her, suddenly became vertical. She fell from his arms, and if he hadn't held her waist, she would have fallen to the ground.
"Hehe..." Falling into his arms, Su Peile felt that everything was as romantic as in a Korean drama.
"What a fool." Li Zhengyu scratched her nose with his finger.
The stars in the trees emitted colorful lights, which fell on Li Zhengyu's handsome face. His thin lips were tightly pursed and his eyes showed anticipation. This scene was extremely ambiguous.
Su Peile stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.
Li Zhengyu had never expected that she would take the initiative like this. He was slightly startled for a moment, then he tightened his arms around her waist, fearing that she would run away. He lowered his head and responded to her kiss, and the two of them were completely immersed in happiness and sweetness.
When they separated, both of them were out of breath. Su Peile blushed and picked up the ring and said, "Zhengyu, can you put it on for me?"
Li Zhengyu picked up the ring and put it on her middle finger. The size was just right. This was the mark that she belonged to him . Su Peile thought happily and asked again: "Why did you only buy one and not a pair?" Wouldn't it be better to buy one for each person?
He smiled mysteriously, reached into his collar, and pulled out a chain with a ring exactly like hers hanging on it: "I'm afraid I'll lose it if I wear it on my hand, so I put it closest to my heart, where it's safest."
"When did you become so cheesy?" Li Zhengyu was used to having a quick temper, so she found it a little hard to adapt to his sudden affection.
"There's no need to learn this. Anyone who's in love will learn it naturally." He smiled cunningly.
Su Peile turned his face away and smiled brightly.
After a long while, Li Zhengyu held her hand and said, "Let's go, let's go downstairs to eat, otherwise they will eat everything if we are late."
"But this tree is so beautiful. I haven't seen enough of it."
"Don't worry, Uncle Han said that this tree will be placed on the rooftop as a landmark for his store. Let's go." He took her hand and the two of them left the rooftop.
They pushed open the door of the private room and saw the classmates making a lot of noise. The sports committee member and several of Li Zhengyu's teammates were getting Lu Mowen to drink, while Han Jingjing and Xia Ying were eating. Only Li Shengyu was sitting quietly on the side.
"You two are back. I thought you left us alone to have some time for yourself." Li Zhengyu's teammates shouted.
"I really want to have some time for myself and ignore you guys." Li Zhengyu said directly, causing several people to playfully beat him.
Su Peile quickly pushed their hands away and protected Li Zhengyu.
The teammates teased, "Hey, Li Zhengyu, we really can't mess with you easily in the future. If we touch you, Lele will get angry."
Li Zhengyu pulled Su Peile into his arms and said, "Of course, I am the most important treasure in her heart now."
"Isn't it disgusting?" everyone said in unison.
Su Peile shyly punched his chest and glared at him in reproach.
"We are all family, so why should we be afraid?" Li Zhengyu said, kissing her forehead. "Lele, happy birthday!"
Su Peile smiled and leaned in his arms, her eyes filled with happiness.
Li Shengyu, who was sitting at the end of the table, looked at her smile, and tears seemed to flow from the corners of his eyes. The happy smile on Su Peile's face at this moment was something he had never seen before. Perhaps, the only person who could make her so happy and give her such a beautiful smile was Zhengyu.
He had always wanted to let go, but he still didn't have a broad enough mind. At this moment, he felt sad that he couldn't let go.
Xia Ying, who was not far from him, took in the expressions on his face. On one side was the sweet happiness of Su Peile and Zhengyu, and on the other side was Li Shengyu's sad and sorrowful expression and behavior that he tried hard to hide. Xia Ying felt distressed for him.
She put the cup in her hand heavily on the table. The crisp sound of the cup bottom hitting the table interrupted everyone's play in the private room, and everyone looked at her.
Xia Ying smiled unnaturally and said to Su Peile, "Le Le, happy birthday. Blow out the candles."
"Yes, blow it quickly, I really want to eat cake." Han Jingjing has been drooling over the fruit cake for a long time.
"Yes." Su Peile pulled Li Zhengyu and said with a smile, "Play with me."
"Okay!" He put his arm around her waist, and they both leaned over to blow out the candles on the cake.
As soon as the candles were blown out, Han Jingjing and others scrambled for the cake. Li Zhengyu hurriedly held Su Peile in his arms and looked at them with a smile.
Everyone started eating happily. Li Zhengyu and Su Peile were so happy that they didn't notice that Li Shengyu was a little abnormal among the people present.
Everyone smeared the remaining cake cream on each other. Su Peile's clothes were stained by the cream thrown by Lu Mowen. She went to the bathroom with a smile.
She cleaned the cream off her collar with hand soap and wiped it carefully.
At this moment, she saw Xia Ying coming in from the mirror. She turned around and called out with a smile, "Xia Ying."
Xia Ying looked at her for a long time without moving.
Su Peile asked suspiciously: "Why are you standing there? Aren't you here to use the restroom?"
"I came to see you."
Su Peile turned to look at her, and after a closer look, he found that Xia Ying's face was not good, and asked doubtfully: "Are you worried about something?"
"Are you happy today?"
"Yes, this is the first time in my life that so many people are celebrating my birthday with me. Of course I am very happy."
"I didn't want to affect your mood, but I really can't bear it. Su Peile, can you please not be so selfish?"
"Huh?" Su Peile was confused by her serious expression and didn't know what he did wrong.
"I know you and Li Zhengyu have a good relationship, but when Li Shengyu is around, can you please restrain yourself a little? Do you know how sad Shengyu is when he sees you two so happy?" Xia Ying looked into her eyes. "In order to fulfill your wish, he hid his love and took all the pain on his own, just to make you and Zhengyu happy. But what about you? What did you do? Is this how you treat the person who saved you from the fire four years ago without caring about his own safety?"
"I……"
"The fact that he risked his life to save you from the fire without any regrets is enough to show how important you are to him. I know it's not your fault that you mistook Zhengyu for Shengyu, but I would like to ask you to think carefully about how you can stop Shengyu from suffering like this." Xia Ying was still very emotional.
Su Peile looked at her, not knowing how to answer for a moment, and Xia Ying didn't want to say too much, so she turned around and walked out of the bathroom. But when she reached the door, she took a step back and bumped into it, looking ahead in astonishment, stammering, "You, why are you outside?"
Su Peile looked over when he heard the sound, his eyes suddenly widened——
Li Zhengyu appeared at the door with a cold face.
"Jung Woo." She cried out.
"Xia Ying, my brother is a little drunk. Please help me take him home." Although Li Zhengyu suppressed his anger, his voice still trembled slightly.
"Li Zhengyu..." Xia Ying didn't know if he heard it or not. She was just standing up for Shengyu because she was angry at the moment. If Pei Le and Zhengyu fell out because of this, Shengyu would not be happy either.
"Don't make me say it a second time, send my brother home!" Li Zhengyu yelled.
Xia Ying glanced at Su Peile carefully and walked out.
As soon as she stepped out, Li Zhengyu slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it.
"Zhengyu..." Su Peile was frightened by his sudden change in aura and took two steps back, leaning his back against the sink.
Li Zhengyu's eyes were burning with anger. He tried his best to control his emotions and asked her in a low voice: "Xia Ying just said that you mistook me for Shengyu, what's the matter?"
"Did you hear that?"
"What? Do you still want to keep hiding it from me?"
"I……"
"Tell me what's going on?" he urged her roughly.
"Didn't you hear it?"
"I want you to tell me in person!"
Su Peile pursed her lips. It seemed that she could no longer hide it. Sooner or later, he would know. She calmed herself down and said, "I... I am the girl who was rescued by Shengyu in the fire at Songchuan Children's Palace four years ago."
Li Zhengyu leaned forward and clenched his left fist into a fist and hit the sink countertop.
Her heart suddenly lifted up, and she felt the anger and oppression emanating from him. She whispered, "I didn't know Shengyu's name at the time, and then when I met you in Jiangyuan, I thought you were him..."
"So you treat me as Li Shengyu, keep pestering me, and do so many things for me deliberately, just because you think I saved you, right?" Li Zhengyu interrupted her and asked angrily.
"It was true at that time, but not later."
"My brother...he recognized you when he first returned to China, right? You also knew that he was the one who saved you, right?"
"……yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier? You're playing me like a fool, and you think it's fun, right?"
"That's not the case. Zhengyu, listen to me, I want to find a suitable opportunity to explain it to you slowly..."
"Explanation? What do you want to explain? Because you found out you liked the wrong person and you don't know how to make up for it, right? That's why you've been so nice to Shengyu recently. You two treat me as a clown, and you enjoy watching me being kept in the dark, right?" He shouted angrily, his fists clenched tightly.
"No, it's not what you think."
"No? You treated me as Shengyu's substitute from the beginning. You did all that for me just because you liked Shengyu, right? Otherwise, with such an annoying personality, how could I attract the attention of a good student like you?" Li Zhengyu sneered, his deep eyes were like a cold pond, flashing a cold light.
"Zhengyu, I didn't dare to tell you because I was afraid you would misunderstand." The thing Su Peile feared most happened. He really misunderstood.
"Don't dare to say it? That's because you feel guilty, right? Do you regret being with someone like me?"
"Zhengyu, calm down first and stop being unreasonable, okay?" Su Peile grabbed his arm with tears in her eyes.
Li Zhengyu dodged and said in a voice as cold as ice: "Yes, I am unreasonable. It's not the first day you have known me. Why, do you feel regretful?"
Su Peile took a deep breath. Looking at Li Zhengyu like this, she only felt sad and flustered: "If you are so excited, let's talk about it later. There are still classmates waiting for us."
She wanted to walk out, but Li Zhengyu stretched out his arm to stop her: "You have been so nice to Shengyu recently, is it really like what they said, that you want the school to give you two exchange student places, so that you can go abroad and continue your relationship?"
Su Peile didn't expect him to say that, and looked at him in surprise: "You believe that? There are only two places for exchange students. If Shengyu and I are selected together, of course I will go... Just like you said, the matter between Shengyu and I has not been resolved yet. He has done me a favor. I will not deliberately distance myself from him just because I am your girlfriend. That would be unfair to him."
"Oh, it's unfair to him? You mean I influenced you two?" Li Zhengyu looked at her with a sneer.
"Zhengyu, I thought you would understand me, but I didn't expect you to be so disappointing." Su Peile turned sadly and faced the wall.
"I'm disappointed too. If it weren't for what happened today, you wouldn't have told me that you wanted to be an exchange student! You tried so hard to make me like you, but you abandoned me so easily. Su Peile, if time could go back, I would not want to know you even if I gave up everything!" Li Zhengyu raised his hand and really wanted to smash his fist into the mirror.
He turned around in despair, opened the bathroom door and walked out quickly.
"Jungwoo—"
Su Peile wanted to chase after him, but his legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead and he could not take even a single step despite his best efforts.
For a long time, she leaned her head against the cool wall, trying to calm her brain. She had not expected Li Zhengyu's extreme reaction at all.
Feeling the coolness between her fingers, she raised her hand and saw the ring that Li Zhengyu had put on her finger on the rooftop. She remembered that time outside the fast food restaurant where he worked, he was sincerely grateful for meeting her, grateful that she could ignore his bad temper and tolerate his shortcomings. Today, he learned that all he was grateful for was due to her mistaking him for Shengyu. It must be difficult for him to accept it.
what to do?
What should she do……
It was already midnight when Li Zhengyu walked into his neighborhood.
The moonlight in late autumn was particularly cold, and it made the path glow green. He walked home in a daze. After leaving the barbecue restaurant, he walked aimlessly, not knowing where he was going, and even didn't hear his cell phone ringing countless times.
When he passed by Su Peile's house, he couldn't help but look up. The light in her room was still on...
The scene of meeting her for the first time came to my mind...
At that moment, she excitedly grabbed his arm and asked him cautiously: "Don't you recognize me?"
She said, "Oh, you look familiar to me. You look like someone I've seen in Songchuan City."
She said, "You are from Songchuan City? Then were you in Songchuan four years ago?"
…
From that first meeting, in her eyes, he was the Shengyu who saved her. Although she fell in love with him later, it was also because he was the "Shengyu" in her heart.
Li Zhengyu laughed dryly twice, laughing at himself for being too naive. How could a problem teenager like him, who was hated by everyone from the dean to the school workers and even avoided by his classmates, be pursued so persistently by an outstanding girl out of the blue?
If Su Peile hadn't recognized the wrong person, would she have deliberately approached him? I'm afraid it's like two parallel lines that will never intersect.
He didn't know how long he walked for such a short distance. When he returned home, his grandfather had already rested. When he passed by Shengyu's room, he couldn't help but stop, thinking that Shengyu was drunk at night, he must have drunk to relieve his sorrow.
Almost subconsciously, he gently pushed open Li Shengyu's door. He knew that he had a habit of turning on the bedside lamp when he slept. Under the dim light of the lamp, Shengyu on the bed seemed to be sleeping very soundly, and his extremely beautiful face was as quiet as an angel.
Li Zhengyu looked at him quietly and recalled the scene four years ago.
In the morning, Shengyu happily went to the Youth Palace to attend the award ceremony for the essay competition. He remembered that before he left, his grandfather scolded him for this matter, scolding him for his poor grades, not as good as Shengyu at all, saying that they looked so similar, but how could their brains be so different. When Shengyu walked to the door, he smiled and turned back when he heard his grandfather say that, telling his grandfather not to worry, and that he would use the summer vacation to help Zhengyu with his homework.
That was the last time he saw Shengyu's face that looked like his own, and it was also the last time he saw that smile on his face that was as warm as the spring breeze.
The next time he received the news, it was in the chaotic hospital. He supported his grandfather and saw Shengyu, who was burned almost beyond recognition, in the emergency room. The hospital corridor was really messy that day, with heart-wrenching cries everywhere.
Li Zhengyu supported his grandfather and stayed by Shengyu's bed. Shengyu was in great pain from the burns. Shengyu's classmates said that Shengyu could have escaped safely, but he went back to help a girl who fell down, risked his life to carry the girl on his back and escaped. In the end, in order to protect the girl, he used his body to block the oncoming flames for her...
The situation was so chaotic at the time that no one knew who the girl was.
Two days later, his uncle and aunt who were far away in the United States rushed back. Shengyu, who had already woken up on the hospital bed, was so sad to see himself wrapped in bandages, looking horrible and hideous that he almost went crazy.
My uncle and aunt were even more heartbroken about what happened to their son.
Since then, Shengyu stopped talking and shut himself off for a long time. It was later discovered that he had developed asthma due to respiratory infection caused by being choked by the smoke for too long. And the doctor said that asthma and lung disease will accompany this child for life.
His family felt sad for him when they saw the illness that almost suffocated him and how painful he was.
Later, Shengyu, who went to the United States to undergo plastic surgery, said to him, Zhengyu, even if I have changed my appearance, I don’t regret it. At least I did what I should do for the girl I like. I’m just afraid that if we meet again one day, she won’t recognize my face…
Returning to reality from his memories, Li Zhengyu left Shengyu's room and closed the door gently. His movements were slow and heavy. It felt like something exploded in his head, with bursts of roaring.