Chapter 3 I am your strongest back wing 2
When they reached the school gate, Tang Ai suddenly saw Lin Xiaoya's small body pushing a huge parcel box, which seemed very strenuous. She wanted to help, but then she thought, Lin Xiaoya and the others didn't like her, so why should she help?
But when she saw people coming and going in the school, Tang Ai backed off again.
She thought, if she went back to the dormitory with Lin Xiaoya and had someone by her side, she wouldn't be so panicked, right?
Thinking of this, Tang Ai grabbed the strap of her bag and walked over, asking, "Lin Xiaoya, can I help you?"
When Lin Xiaoya looked up and saw it was Tang Ai, she was a little surprised.
Tang Ai squatted down, lifted the bottom of the package and said to Lin Xiaoya, "You lift that side."
Lin Xiaoya nodded blankly and lifted the other side of the package.
The two girls lifted the packages with great effort and staggered towards the dormitory. On the way, Lin Xiaoya felt her arms were a little sore, so she asked, "Can we put them down and rest for a while? My arms are a little sore."
Tang Ai looked around and said, "Let's put it on that rock. You put it first, be gentle."
Lin Xiaoya listened to Tang Ai's words, put the package on the stone, then shook her arms and smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I bought a lot of overseas snacks because I was greedy, and I delayed your time."
It was rare for Tang Ai to be so politely addressed by her roommate. She shook her head and smiled politely: "It's okay."
Lin Xiaoya smiled, with two shallow dimples on the corners of her mouth: "I'll open it and treat you to some later. The snacks in Simba House are quite niche, you may not have tried them."
Hearing this, Tang Ai smiled and nodded.
After a short rest, the two men lifted the package and continued walking. However, the package was too heavy, and Lin Xiaoya was thin and had little strength. Just when she was about to collapse, the package was suddenly taken away by a pair of long arms.
Lin Xiaoya poked her head out from under the box and called out in surprise, "Master Xi?"
Xi Chen held the parcel box and glanced at Tang Ai: "Let me take it back for you."
Tang Ai did not answer, but subconsciously avoided his gaze. Lin Xiaoya seemed very excited. As a two-dimensional girl who was obsessed with both face and voice, she was even happier to get help from the young master of Xi Group than to get a limited edition figurine: "Thank you, Young Master Xi, oh no, Senior!"
Xi Chen smiled, turned around and left with the package box.
Tang Ai and Lin Xiaoya followed behind Xi Chen, and Lin Xiaoya's admiring eyes followed Xi Chen all the time.
Xi Chen said hello to the dormitory manager and personally delivered the parcel box to Tang Ai's dormitory. When he put the parcel box down, Lin Xiaoya thanked him repeatedly.
"Do you have classes tomorrow afternoon?" Xi Chen walked up to Tang Ai and asked.
Tang Ai thought for a moment and said, "No."
"Then let's go boating on the lake this afternoon," Xi Chen invited.
Tang Ai hastily turned her head to look at Lin Xiaoya and said hurriedly: "I will go to the library tomorrow...tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh, it's okay. When you have time, we can go boating together." Xi Chen didn't take Tang Ai's refusal to heart. He made an appointment with her at another time and then left the girls' dormitory.
Watching Xi Chen disappear in the stairwell, Lin Xiaoya leaned against the door and sighed, what a good man. When she thought about it, she turned around and closed the door, and asked Tang Ai curiously: "Tang Ai, why didn't you agree to Xi Chen?"
Tang Ai sat back in her seat and opened a book: "I really don't have time."
Lin Xiaoya walked over, looked at the book, then looked at Tang Ai, and said puzzledly: "You hold the book upside down."
Tang Ai suddenly came back to her senses and turned the book back over, but she had no intention of reading anymore. Lin Xiaoya looked at Tang Ai strangely, walked back to open the package, took out a few packets of snacks put them on Tang Ai's desk.
But Tang Ai was in a trance the whole time, and she didn't hear Qu Zhouzhou and Fu Wen knocking on the door when they came back from outside to buy dinner. Lin Xiaoya ran out of the bathroom in her slippers and opened the door. As soon as she opened the door, she gestured to Qu Zhouzhou and Fu Wen to keep quiet.
Tang Ai stared at a certain place with lifeless eyes, like an empty shell with its soul taken away.
She has always believed in Xi Chen. No matter what he does or says, she will believe it. If there is something that Xi Chen is unwilling to tell Tang Ai, Tang Ai also firmly believes that it is just not the right time, and she can choose to wait. If everything is only about the two of them, she can choose to be considerate of everything she encounters, but now almost the whole school is participating in the discussion of the story of "Master Xi and the Gardening Girl". For some reason, she is very concerned.
She didn't want to stand in the limelight and listen to their judgments. She wanted Xi Chen to stand up and provide a stable harbor for her precarious heart.
But is it really good to always ask others for help?
Tang Ai covered her face in pain. She was so conflicted. She wanted to reach the same level as Xi Chen through her own efforts, but at the same time she was afraid of those rumors. Those rumors were like sharp blades to her, and she couldn't build such a solid wall to block them. But what about Xi Chen? Xi Chen was so good to her, should she keep rejecting his invitations?
She didn't want him to see her hiding.
When she was in great trouble, Tang Ai thought of someone.
She took out her cell phone and mustered up a lot of courage to dial the number. She said, "Teacher Shao? I want to see you."
The night is dark, and the sky is dotted with stars, forming a long galaxy.
Tang Ai was wearing a pair of warm slippers, standing at the entrance, clutching her bag tightly. Shao Yu poured a cup of hot water from the kitchen, looked at Tang Ai and said with a smile: "Sit down, what are you standing there for?"
Tang Ai nodded hesitantly and sat down on the sofa in the living room. She looked around. This was a simple one-bedroom and one-living room. The walls were covered with off-white wallpaper, and all the furniture was simple solid colors, which looked simple and clean.
"Did something happen?" Shao Yu put the cup of hot water in front of Tang Ai. Tang Ai held the cup, lowered her head and explained her purpose clearly.
After listening to her, Shao Yu leaned on the sofa and squinted at her: "You care a lot about what others think."
"I didn't care at first." Tang Ai said with his head down.
"But if you hear the same voice more and more often, you can't stand it, right?" Shao Yu asked.
Tang Ai looked at him and nodded.
Shao Yu said, "Why don't you just not go and listen? What's going on between you and Xi Chen? What does it have to do with other people?"
"I know that, but I can't do it." Tang Ai frowned slightly. She reached out to pick up the tea leaves on the coffee table, picked up two leaves and threw them into the water cup. After a while, the water in the water cup turned light green. You see, just like this glass of water, external factors can easily affect it.
Shao Yu leaned forward slightly, his broad figure looming in front of Tang Ai. He gently put the lid on the water cup and sat back.
Tang Ai stared at his actions in a daze, then turned her gaze to him.
Shao Yu looked at him and said meaningfully, "Never take anything that is not true too seriously. I think the most important thing for you is not to talk to me, but to talk to Xi Chen. Although those rumors are apparently directed at you alone, you cannot ignore the other protagonist, Xi Chen. You two have to face it together and make those keyboard warriors shut up as soon as possible."
Tang Ai felt a little complicated. She understood what Shao Yu said. In fact, the most important thing was to overcome the difficulties in her heart, right?
"Xiao Ai." Shao Yu suddenly called her name softly. Tang Ai raised her head and saw Shao Yu continue to say, "Don't always expect others to help you. People won't say anything about what you have worked hard for. Only by working hard to accomplish something can you truly grow."
He actually wanted to help her, but when he thought of certain things and someone, he suppressed his inner impulse.
Tang Ai exhaled softly and said, "Teacher Shao, I understand what you said. I will try it."
Shao Yu smiled and said, "I believe you can do it."
"Yeah." Tang Ai nodded firmly, and then she came to her senses again, "Oh, I'm sorry, Teacher Shao, I just realized it's very late now, I'm sorry to bother you." She stood up from the sofa belatedly and apologized hurriedly.
"It's okay." Shao Yu said sympathetically, then he stood up and took out the car keys from his coat pocket and said, "I'll take you back to school."
"No need, I can just take the bus." Tang Ai said politely.
"It's a little unsafe for a girl like you. I'm your teacher, and it's my duty to send you back to school safely." Shao Yu said as he walked to the entrance to change his shoes. Tang Ai quickly followed him.
Along the way, Tang Ai's thoughts were wandering. She thought of what Shen Ruoyun said about Xi Chen, thought of Xi Chen that everyone was talking about, thought of what Teacher Shao had just told her, and her heart became clear.
Perhaps from the beginning, she just wanted to find someone who could stand firmly by her side. As long as there was such a person standing by her side, she would feel much more at ease. At this moment, Shao Yu might be such a person.
After Tang Ai returned home that night, she calmed down and ignored the increasingly intense "stories" on the Internet, and ignored the inquiring eyes of others on the street. She spent more time improving her self-worth, studying gardening, and planting many green plants and flowers on the windowsill of the dormitory, taking care of them to make them vigorous.
She thought that as long as she ignored those "stories", everything would be fine. She lived like this for several days. Even Xichen stroked her hair and said happily, "Xiao Ai seems to have changed and become more beautiful."
She thought she had succeeded and could face the hail of bullets calmly, but she was wrong, she was not strong enough.
It was a dark day, with the warm yellow sunlight hiding behind the clouds, and it looked like it was going to rain. Tang Ai came out of the library and was about to cross the road to go back to the dormitory, but at this moment, a car came speeding from the side of the road. Tang Ai was so scared that she didn't know what to do, and her legs felt like they were filled with shot put and couldn't move. The car braked suddenly in front of her, and she was so scared that she fell to the ground, and the borrowed books in her arms fell to the ground.
Several girls of the same age jumped out of the car. They were dressed up and had thick foundation on their faces.
"Hey! Are you okay?" The girl in the lead stood in front of Tang Ai and asked with deliberate concern, but there was a teasing smile in her eyes.
Tang Ai got up from the ground, picked up the books one by one, and asked, "Do you drive with the intention of crashing into people?"
"But I didn't bump into you." The girl spread her hands with an innocent expression.
Tang Ai was too lazy to talk to them and turned to leave. However, the four girls behind her quickly surrounded her. The leading girl walked up to her with a fake smile on her face: "Let me ask you, where is Xichen?"
"I don't know." Tang Ai frowned. Some students from the same school walked by one after another, but no one offered to help her.
