My uncle and aunt were whispering about something in the room. Cheng Panpan, whose mood suddenly changed, was nowhere to be found. I quickly walked out of the house and ran towards Nino's home with an inexplicable expectation.
Outside the quiet villa, the flowers quietly blooming in the moonlight exude a refreshing fragrance. I pushed open the slightly open iron door and slipped into the brightly lit house like a loach.
"Ni Nuo, are you there?" I knocked on the door and called his name softly.
Not long after, the tightly closed door creaked open and Ni Nuo appeared, wearing an ordinary T-shirt and holding a black towel in his hand, wiping his wet hair.
Seeing me coming, a hint of surprise appeared on his calm face, but he concealed it well.
He smiled his most common smile and said sideways, "Come in. It's night time and it's cold outside."
Listening to his familiar voice, I felt much more at ease. His voice comforted me and gave me the most powerful strength during countless days and nights of anxiety.
The room
It started with a low piano accompaniment. As the rhythm became stronger, Eason Chan's elegant yet sad voice spread in my ears, penetrating into my bones and soul little by little.
"Many people listen to songs not just to enjoy the music, but to hear their own stories in the music." Ni Nuo put down the towel in his hand and poured himself a cup of coffee. "In other words, they can empathize with the music."
I wrapped my stiff fingers around the porcelain cup that belonged to me and had a picture of a little bear on it. The warm feeling instantly flowed from my fingers to every part of my body.
"Ni Nuo," I stared at the pattern on the cup, "Are there really people in the world who can empathize with me?"
"Maybe. The population of the earth is so huge. What kind of coincidences can't happen? There will always be people like that."
"Really?" I forced a wry smile in a daze.
"You're in a bad mood today, aren't you?" Ni Nuo tilted her head and spoke my mind. "You haven't told me the reason yet. It must be a little hard to say. I won't force you . Wen Yu, adjust your mood, drink this glass of milk and go back. I'll go to school to find you tomorrow and give you a surprise."
I shook my head: "It's not that I'm in a bad mood, it's just that there are a lot of things I can't figure out."
"I cast a magical spell on this glass of milk." A mischievous look appeared on his calm face, "As long as you drink it up, your troubles will be digested with the movement of your stomach..."
This trick of fooling children sounds extremely childish, but it brightened my gloomy mood. I couldn't help laughing out loud and obediently drank the milk in the cup.
Probably because my body became a lot warmer, those so-called worries really gradually faded away.
It was just another ordinary morning. I got up earlier than usual, prepared breakfast and put it on the table. Without waking up the family of three, I picked up my schoolbag and walked out of my aunt's house.
At the intersection not far away, Jiang Xing, who had been waiting there for a long time, leaned lazily under a lush willow tree. At her feet, a yellow and white kitten was sticking out its furry head and rubbing against her affectionately.
"Good morning!" I adjusted my mood and waved to her.
Jiang Xing slowly turned around, first pursed her lips and smiled, then her eyes suddenly became strange. She frowned and looked at me carefully: "Wen Yu, you look very bad, did you miss breakfast again?"
"Ah?" I stretched out my hand in surprise and touched my cheek, "I didn't eat. I got up in a hurry..."
"Don't lie to me. You're in a hurry to get up? I don't believe it!" Jiang Xing took off his schoolbag and took out two hot buns from it. "I knew you wouldn't eat breakfast, so I brought it to you. I also have soy milk here."
"Have you eaten?" I took the two buns, and my heart was moved, and my eyes were a little sour.
"Of course I eat breakfast. I'm a good and healthy girl, haha!" She patted her chest confidently.
I smiled, broke open a bun, and slowly started eating it.
Along the way, Jiang Xing kept complaining to me about last night's basketball game, how her favorite team was defeated and how powerful the enemy was. I responded to her in a disjointed manner and, for the first time ever, ate two buns and a cup of soy milk on the way to school.
"Isn't that Xiang Nanfeng?" Jiang Xing, who was explaining the game to me, suddenly narrowed his eyes and pointed at the school gate. "Who is he standing there waiting for?"
When I heard the name, what happened yesterday came to my mind again. I subconsciously wanted to escape and just replied calmly: "I don't know."
But just as I turned my eyes away, a familiar figure walked towards me, and his usually steady steps were now filled with anxiety.
Seeing this person getting closer and closer, I couldn't help but open my mouth and called out: "Ni Nuo? Why are you here now?"
The huge surprise made my emotions out of control, and my voice became several decibels higher. Not to mention Jiang Xing beside me, even Xiang Nanfeng who was standing in front of me looked in this direction silently.
"I have something to do next, and the things that my friend brought me just happened to arrive, so I'll bring them to you." There was a thin layer of sweat on Ni Nuo's full forehead. "These are very delicate building blocks that they brought from abroad. Although they look beautiful, they are also very complicated. They can help vent when you are in a bad mood."
"Is this what you were talking about yesterday?" I took the package with a red silk bow and couldn't stop smiling.
"Yeah, you'll definitely like it." He raised his hand and ruffled my hair.
"Thank you, I really like it." I hugged the box tightly in my arms.
"You should go to class first. If I'm done with my work, I'll pick you up after school and take you out for something delicious."
He winked at me and turned to leave when he heard a cold and hostile voice from the south wind:
"Hey, who are you to Wen Yu?"
In front of the noisy school gate, no one noticed the four of us, as the atmosphere was so strange that we wanted to escape.
My heart trembled, and I quickly stepped forward to hold Ni Nuo's wrist, whispering: "He is... my brother."
"Brother?" The friendly smile that Xiang Nanfeng always had on his face had disappeared without a trace. "Why have I never heard that you have a brother?"
"Hey, Xiang Nanfeng, don't go too far." Jiang Xing reminded.
"How did I go too far? It's just that this person looks older than Wen Yu, and he looks sneaky. As friends, we should understand the situation, right?" Xiang Nanfeng counterattacked coldly, his eyes fell on Ni Nuo, who had a calm expression, "Are you really Wen Yu's brother?"
"That's terrible, I actually look sneaky?" Ni Nuo joked nonchalantly.
He did not answer Xiang Nanfeng, but held my cold hand in his palm and said with a smile: "It's a good thing that your friends are worried about you. I'll leave first."
"Don't leave until things are clear." Xiang Nanfeng seemed to have completely lost his mind, and unkind words kept popping out of his mouth like a machine gun, "Otherwise - you promise here that you won't harass Wen Yu again!"
I have never seen such a Xiangnanfeng before... Could that straightforward and lively Xiangnanfeng actually express his disgust for someone in such sharp words?
What's more, this person is Ni Nuo, who is the most important to me... I gritted my teeth, unable to bear it any longer, and quickly stepped forward and accused in a hoarse voice: "Xiang Nanfeng! Have you said enough? Who gave you the right to point fingers at a stranger you just met?"
The situation changed drastically, and even Jiang Xing's expression changed.
They had never thought that Wen Yu, who was usually taciturn, would one day get angry.
Xiang Nanfeng's emotions fluctuated even more directly. His face turned pale, and he finally sneered unwillingly: "I'm worried about you! Don't you understand? How can you be sure that this person has a kind heart? If this is just a disguise..."
"That's enough!" I interrupted his explanation with trembling voice, tears falling like beads from a broken string, "You never understand my feelings, you can do whatever you want, but what about me?" I raised my hand and wiped my tears vigorously, "You are such a selfish person!"
My heart was beating violently and even my breathing became disordered. A panicked look . He grabbed my arm, held me in his arms as if to comfort me, and patted my shoulder.
When facing Xiang Nanfeng again, he was not as calm as before, and his voice was frighteningly cold .
"My classmate, Wen Yu is not in good health, please do not irritate or provoke her." Ni Nuo looked at him coldly, "If you have any opinions about me, you can speak directly."
Looking at me trembling all over and crying in Ni Nuo's arms, Xiang Nanfeng finally showed a look of struggle on his furious face. He pursed his lips and walked towards me. Just as he stretched out his hand, he was stopped by Jiang Xing, who also looked at him with a reproachful look.
"You really went too far today." Jiang Xing frowned and said stiffly, "Let's go."
I buried my head in Nino's warm embrace, and only saw Xiang Nanfeng clenching his fists and staggering away.
At this moment, I clearly felt that something had truly collapsed and been destroyed between us.
This cannot be healed or recovered no matter what.
"There are medicines in Wen Yu's backpack, remember to remind her to take them." Ni Nuo didn't pay attention to Xiang Nanfeng anymore, but handed me, whose breathing had returned to normal, to Jiang Xing, and said, "Let her drink something hot."
"I understand. Leave it to me." Jiang Xing held me seriously without asking any other questions, not even asking Ni Nuo's name.
In my hands I still hold the box of building blocks that Nino gave me. It is cold and hard, but it has become the only invisible arm I can rely on.
Xiang Nanfeng was really angry. Not only did he skip the entire morning class, he was not .
I buried my head in my arms in depression, and began to think over and over again: Was it true that what I said was a bit too much? But... Xiang Nanfeng's attitude towards Ni Nuo was also very bad!
Is this really the end of our relationship?
I don’t know if it was influenced by us, but Jiang Xing, who was sitting next to us, also had an extremely ugly expression on his face and was fiddling with something with his head down.
I looked over carefully and found that the glowing object in her hand was a cell phone.
Noticing my gaze, Jiang Xing raised her head hastily, gave a comforting smile, and asked worriedly, "Do you feel better after taking the medicine?"
I kept nodding, but couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you?"
"Alas..." After hearing my question, her brows relaxed a little, but her face was still gloomy, "I'm being entangled by a nasty person. Nothing I can do will work."
"Harassing? Is he a bad guy? Do I need to call the police?" I sat up straight with fear.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xing burst out laughing. She slammed her phone on the table and waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, Wen Yu, you've watched too many TV dramas! He's a very annoying boy. I've rejected him many times, but he still texted and called me. He just asked me out again. It's simply..."
Before Jiang Xing finished her complaint, the cell phone on the table began to vibrate wildly again.
She glared at him with gritted teeth and sighed almost in collapse: "Here we go again! It never ends!"
Looking at Jiang Xing pulling her hair desperately and looking confused, a thought came to my mind - can I also help her?
Jiang Xing is the one who always stands in front of me, protects me, and stands up for me. I don't want to hide behind her forever, watching her worry about everything while I am like a cowardly and useless person... Thinking of this, I grabbed the vibrating phone on her desk without any hesitation and pressed the answer button.
Just as the call was successful, a noisy male voice full of joy came from the other side: "Jiang Xing! You finally answer my call? Please, give me a chance, okay? I will definitely satisfy you..."
"I'm not Jiang Xing." I responded coldly, "She just went out with her boyfriend and left her phone here, saying she was avoiding someone she hates."
Jiang Xing next to me didn't expect that I would suddenly answer the phone for her. She froze in the act of pulling her hair and stared at me with wide eyes.
"She has a boyfriend?" the other party asked incredulously, "Who is it?"
"This has nothing to do with you, right? If you call or text me again, I'll call the police and report you for harassment."
Having said that, without waiting for the screaming boy on the other end to say anything else, I quickly hung up the phone, took a long breath, and made a victory gesture to Jiang Xing.
"It should be quiet for a while now, right?"
Jiang Xing's fingers moved stiffly in the air for a few times, and finally moved away from the hair that had been pulled into a mess. She approached me as if she had discovered a new world, pinched my cheek, and nodded in surprise: "Wow, it seems that our Wen Yu is also a very powerful person. Just a few short words made that annoying guy helpless ! Will you be my flower protector in the future?"
"Yes, you should be tougher when dealing with such people!" I felt a little shy after what she said, and tried to explain calmly.
"You're right." Jiang Xing reluctantly sat back in her seat, her eyes becoming distant. "The boy on the phone just now is called Xu Junze. He... can be considered my childhood sweetheart. We grew up together, played together, and even... he taught me how to play basketball."
"Childhood sweethearts? Shouldn't they be very close?" I asked subconsciously.
As if thinking of something distressing, Jiang Xing closed his eyes irritably.
"It should have been, but he suddenly said he liked me very much and wanted to be with me. My feelings for him were no different from those for friends, so after I politely rejected him, he started pestering me until now." At this point, she opened her eyes again as if she had made a decision, her pupils filled with resolute coldness, "Wen Yu, something that is forced cannot be considered love."
If you force something, it cannot be considered as liking it.
I chewed over this sentence carefully. Jiang Xing was already lying on the table, thinking about something. I didn't want to disturb her, so I looked out the window.
On the tall and sturdy banyan trees, the lush green leaves are unaware of the joy of the world and rustle in the breeze. As spring goes and autumn comes, they return to their original appearance. Perhaps time is such a strange thing.