Chapter 2: Xiao Ai, Sorry for the long wait 2
Watching Tang Ai hurriedly leave the bakery, the female employee leaned on the counter with her hands supporting her cheeks, and couldn't help sighing. She had been paying attention to this girl since the beginning of the school year. Every time she came to the bakery, she would spend a long time choosing cakes. There were a few times when she couldn't stand it, so she took the initiative to ask her what flavor of bread she wanted. She hesitated for a long time and finally said "I don't know".
She felt that this girl was like a princess who had been locked up in a castle for a long time and understood nothing.
This girl really looks like someone.
It was probably because of the resemblance that she couldn't help but help.
After returning home that day, Tang Ai took the initiative to speak to her roommate: "Fu Wen, can I... use your scale?"
Fu Wen had just put on makeup and was taking a selfie. She said, "You use it."
So Tang Ai took off her shoes and stepped on the scale, and found that her weight had really increased from 49 kg to 52 kg.
She quickly put down the scale, and then sat on a chair alone, staring at the bread on the table in a daze. After careful consideration, Tang Ai decided to give the bread to Shen Ruoyun to eat, and by the way, ask Shen Ruoyun to do her a favor.
After learning of Tang Ai's intention, Shen Ruoyun abandoned all the beauties to meet her.
Tang Ai wants to know more about Xi Chen.
While eating the bread that Tang Ai gave him and enjoying the autumn breeze on the rooftop, Shen Ruoyun asked, "Why don't you find out for yourself?"
"It would definitely be a bit strange if someone specifically asked you about your upbringing and family background," said Tang Ai.
Shen Ruoyun thought for a moment and said, "Is it strange? It's not strange. All my classmates in the school know my family background. I don't find it strange."
"Xi Chen is different from you!" Tang Ai corrected.
"How is he different? Is he more handsome than me?" Shen Ruoyun grabbed the bread and pointed to the sky, with an attitude of "come and fight if you don't agree".
Tang Ai nodded and said, "Yes."
Shen Ruoyun sat down and said to Tang Ai, "Tang Xiaoai, this is where you are wrong. You need my help now. You should honestly say that I am indeed more handsome than that Xichen guy."
"You are not more handsome than him." Tang Ai insisted on her point of view.
Shen Ruoyun was silent for a while, then said, "I don't think I can help you with this."
Tang Ai played with his fingers, lowered his head and said nothing.
Shen Ruoyun shook his head and sighed, saying, "I thought you were quite smart when I met you in Tianwu Mountain, but now I think Tang Xiaoai is really stupid! Your whole world revolves around Xi Chen. If you keep going like this, if Xi Chen leaves you one day, you will definitely not be able to bear the blow."
"Why did Xichen leave me?" Tang Ai asked puzzledly.
Shen Ruoyun turned his head and said, "I'm just making an analogy. Do you understand? Or Xiao Ai, what is your relationship with Xi Chen now? Friends? Or lovers?"
"We're not lovers." Tang Ai shrugged her shoulders and lowered her head quickly.
Shen Ruoyun said bluntly: "But you do like him, don't you?"
Tang Ai lowered her head even more.
Shen Ruoyun continued, "You like Xichen, so you came to Ancheng for him, not to realize your own dreams. If Xichen didn't exist in this city, you wouldn't have come here."
Tang Ai's cheeks were flushed. Shen Ruoyun had spoken all of her worries, but she did not react as she had imagined. Instead, she felt as if someone had seen through some unbearable secret.
Shen Ruoyun looked at Tang Ai and asked, "Do you know what Xichen's wish is for you?"
Tang Ai shook her head, but after a moment, she nodded vigorously and said, "I know. He wrote to me in the letter. He said he hoped I could spread my wings, fly with my dreams as the direction, and get in touch with more things and more people in this world."
The more Tang Ai spoke, the lower her voice became, and finally she bit her lower lip tightly and simply stopped talking.
She didn't do a single word of what Xi Chen wrote in the letter.
When she came to this strange city, she always felt like a foreigner. She was new here, didn't know anything, and didn't understand anything. All of this was forgivable. Her roommates had different interests and hobbies from her, so she unilaterally felt that she couldn't get along with them. She had to trouble the store employees and Xichen to do something that even a child could do, such as buying bread. She met a teacher who helped her on the street and thought that she could rely on him in this city in the future.
She always wants help from others, and she always gets help from others, but she never thinks about facing and solving problems when she encounters them.
How can she compare with Xi Chen?
How can I be worthy of standing with Xichen?
Seeing Tang Ai's reaction, Shen Ruoyun hit her head with a slap. Tang Ai covered the painful part, feeling so wronged that she couldn't say a word.
Shen Ruoyun leaned close to Tang Ai's ear and said, "If you want to know, I'll tell you. Xi Chen was born in an excellent family that you can't imagine. At a young age, he controlled 50% of the shares of a subsidiary company and led the company to achieve thriving performance. People who are better than you work so hard. Don't always think about how to understand others and forget to work hard yourself."
Shen Ruoyun's words lingered in Tang Ai's ears like a reverberating sound. He was right. Compared with her and Xi Chen, Xi Chen was like a dreamer, with all the halo and glory surrounding him. Tang Ai was more like a dreamer, chasing Xi Chen's direction without stopping. She forgot that only by "making dreams" herself could she catch up with Xi Chen faster.
But without Xi Chen, can she really catch up with him?
"What are you thinking about!" Seeing Tang Ai lost in thought for a long time, Shen Ruoyun couldn't help but push her gently.
Tang Ai shook her head, hugged her knees, and said, "I think you are right."
"Then you should digest my words carefully." Shen Ruoyun smiled when he heard it.
Tang Ai nodded, which was considered as her agreement.
"Hey, I'll take you out for dinner tonight." Shen Ruoyun changed the subject, squinting and moving closer to Tang Ai.
Tang Ai didn't react and asked, "Why?"
"Why are there so many whys? You just came to this city, and Xichen and I took you out for a meal so that you can get familiar with the road. It's normal, isn't it?" Shen Ruoyun grabbed Tang Ai's head and shook it vigorously.
Tang Ai couldn't hide, nor did she know how to teach anyone a lesson, so she could only let Shen Ruoyun "bully" her with resentment. After Shen Ruoyun succeeded, he smiled happily and said, "Let's go, Tang Xiaoai."
Tang Ai stood up silently and left the rooftop with Shen Ruoyun.
Tang Ai was going out to dinner with Xi Chen and the others tonight, and she thought that she should at least dress up and stand with Xi Chen in her best light.
After class in the afternoon, Tang Ai ran back to the dormitory and carefully selected the most beautiful moon-white long skirt in the closet, matching it with a khaki shawl. When Tang Ai stood in front of the full-length mirror to fix her clothes and hair, Lin Xiaoya, who had been wearing headphones to listen to music, finally couldn't help it, took off her headphones and asked curiously: "Tang Ai, you are dressed so beautifully, are you going out on a date?"
Lin Xiaoya's clear voice attracted Fu Wen and Qu Zhouzhou to turn around. Tang Ai paused. She was shy and embarrassed to say that she went out to eat with the boys. If she did, she was afraid that they would gossip about her.
So Tang Ai laughed awkwardly and said, "No."
Then she took her bag and quickly walked out of the dormitory.
Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun were waiting for her at the dormitory gate. When they saw Tang Ai coming out, Shen Ruoyun immediately jumped up and said bluntly, "Wow, Xiao Ai, did you think we were going on a date? You even dressed up specially."
Shen Ruoyun's words made the girl feel embarrassed. Tang Ai hid beside Xi Chen awkwardly, not wanting to talk to Shen Ruoyun.
Xi Chen defended Tang Ai and said, "Shen Ruoyun, if you keep chattering, I won't take you with me. Xiao Ai is a girl, it's normal for girls to dress up. Do you think everyone is as sloppy as you?"
"Xi Chen, stop lying. How can I be sloppy? I am recognized as the most fashionable young master in A University!" Shen Ruoyun couldn't help but jump up and down when he saw Xi Chen "attack" him.
Xi Chen was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he grabbed Tang Ai's wrist and walked out: "Ignore him, let's go first."
Holding her wrist was just an unintentional act on Xichen's part.
But when his hand touched Tang Ai, her heart was still beating unexpectedly. She felt a tingling sensation in her wrist and her heart was beating so fast in her chest that it was about to jump out of her throat.
Xichen held her hand all the way, and all the boys and girls who knew him looked over here, and some of them took out their phones to take pictures in surprise. Shen Ruoyun said to Xichen, "Hey, hey, hey, how long are you going to hold Xiaoai's hand? Be careful that there will be posts about the two of you on the school forum soon!"
"What does it matter?" Xi Chen walked in front, not afraid of the eyes around him.
Shen Ruoyun saw Xi Chen talking like this, so he stopped talking. But Tang Ai had always been like a docile cat, very quiet in front of Xi Chen, and Xi Chen did not take the initiative to talk to her. The two held hands but remained silent, which made Tang Ai feel strange, but she couldn't tell what was strange.
After a while, they arrived at the dining place.
The name of this store is Enjoy, which means "enjoyment" in Chinese. The store is decorated in a grand and magnificent style, which really has a sense of "enjoyment" in it.
During the meal, Shen Ruoyun kept talking, and Tang Ai and Xi Chen occasionally responded to his topic.
From the outside, the three of them seemed to be having a lot of fun, but Xi Chen and Tang Ai had very little to talk about. This made Tang Ai feel that if Shen Ruoyun hadn't been there, there would have been endless awkwardness between the two of them.
I don't know why. Tang Ai always felt an indescribable weirdness when facing Xi Chen. This was completely different from when she was in Tianwu Mountain.
When she was halfway through her meal, the absent-minded Tang Ai suddenly saw someone walk up to the opposite table and sit down. She recognized that person as Shao Yu, so she stood up and walked over to greet him: "Teacher Shao."
Shao Yu looked up, a little surprised: "Tang Ai?"
"Teacher Shao, you still remember me." Tang Ai smiled when she heard Shao Yu calling her name.
Shao Yu also laughed: "It's a good name, I'll remember it."
Shen Ruoyun, who was standing by, came close to Xi Chen and whispered, "The teacher of physiological psychology will teach us this year. His surname is Xu. You met him when you were a child."
When Xi Chen heard this, he quickly stood up and walked to stand next to Tang Ai, and greeted Shao Yu: "Teacher Shao."
Teacher Shao raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Xi Chen, it's rare to see you."
Xi Chen smiled: "My family is too busy. I have some free time these days, so I came back to school."
"Teacher Shao, do you mind sitting with us?" Shen Ruoyun ran to Shao Yu and made a gesture of invitation. "It just so happens that Xichen and I are both your students, and you also know Xiaoai. As students, we will treat you to this meal."
Shao Yu looked at Tang Ai, said "Okay", then stood up and sat at the table with Xi Chen and the others.
Shao Yu's joining made the atmosphere at the dinner table more harmonious. Even though the topic among the few people was the same as always, praising Xi Chen and criticizing Shen Ruoyun, fortunately everyone was chatting freely and happily.
During the meal, Tang Ai also exchanged contact information with Shao Yu. Shao Yu hoped that Tang Ai would not feel afraid being alone in a strange place. He would do his best to help her when she needed help, just like Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun.
