It will rain lightly on Sunday.
I wanted to put the letter I wrote last time into the mailbox at the door of He Xubei's house. I mustered up my courage and took three deep breaths. No matter what the result was, I thought I was ready to accept it.
He Xubei's house is also on the first floor. It is his uncle's house. When He Xubei was two years old, his parents divorced. He grew up with his mother and was very sensible since he was a child, so Aunt Shen always said that He Xubei was her life. Although Aunt Shen has been raising a child alone for so many years since the divorce, she has maintained herself very well, and her skin makes her look nothing like the mother of an 18-year-old child.
My home is on the east side of the community. He Xubei's home is on the west side, and to get to his home you have to go around an alley. I held the letter tightly in my hand, afraid of losing it. I could feel the sweat on my palm.
As I approached his building, I heard people arguing.
"You crazy woman, are you sick? Why are you pulling me?"
It was Aunt Shen, and the person who was pulling her was someone I had seen before but wasn't very familiar with. He seemed to be a community cleaner, but he wasn't wearing a work uniform, so he might not be on duty today.
"I really didn't steal your stuff, you can't call the police." The cleaning lady spoke in a very soft voice, as if she was afraid of something. Some people gathered around to watch the excitement.
"You didn't steal? If you didn't steal, why were you sneaking around outside my house? And how come my clothes that were drying in the yard disappeared?" Aunt Shen questioned her, "Do you know how much my skirt cost? Over 200 yuan! I just bought it and only wore it once, and you stole it. You really have good taste! Don't you even look at yourself? Do you think you are worthy of wearing such nice clothes when you come from the countryside?"
Under Aunt Shen's pressure, the cleaning lady was about to cry. She just kept repeating "don't call the police" while holding Aunt Shen's clothes tightly.
The crowd started talking and demanded that the cleaning lady take out the clothes and apologize, but she refused to admit that she took them.
I looked at the cleaning lady carefully. Although she was dressed in a simple rural woman's outfit, her clothes were clean and she was holding a black bag. Aunt Shen also saw the bag and reached out to grab it. The cleaning lady stopped her and protected it against her chest as if it were a treasure.
When I was about to go forward to persuade him, He Xubei came back with a basketball in his hand and Ling Shanshan behind him . He obviously didn't expect me to be here. He glanced at me and then looked at Aunt Shen who was being led by someone else. He Xubei frowned and said, "Mom, what are you doing?"
Aunt Shen stopped when she heard her son's voice and immediately put on a smiling face: "Xubei, you're back just in time. This man is a thief who stole the clothes I hung out to dry in the yard."
Thief? Clothes? He Xubei thought of the skirt, walked into the house, and came out again after a while.
"Is it this one?" He Xubei was holding a beige skirt with a lace collar and ribbon decoration. It was indeed very beautiful. No wonder Aunt Shen felt so distressed.
But after seeing what He Xubei was holding, she was stunned: "Here, here. Where did you get it?"
He Xubei looked at his mother helplessly, then walked over and helped up the cleaning lady who was squatting on the ground.
"It rained a little at noon, so I put away the clothes. I forgot to tell you when you didn't come back." He Xubei explained while comforting the cleaning lady.
"Auntie, I'm sorry! My mom misunderstood you. I apologize to you!" Then he turned around and said to the people around him, "Don't look at it anymore, go away, it's okay."
Aunt Shen was a little embarrassed, but also a little unwilling. She pointed at the bag in the cleaning lady's hand and said, "What's in the bag she's holding? Why doesn't she dare show it to everyone?"
Just like that, everyone involuntarily focused their attention on the cleaning lady again. Several pairs of eyes stared at the bag, wanting to see what was inside.
"Actually...actually this is a plastic bottle. I picked it up from the trash can outside his house."
But why didn't she dare take it out and look at it?
The cleaning lady continued, "I will be going back to my hometown next month. It's my youngest son's birthday, and I want to earn more money to buy him a gift." After that, she opened the bag and found several mineral water bottles inside.
I didn't expect that He Xubei, who has such a good personality , actually has a mother who is so good at changing her expression. Her acting skills are comparable to that of an Oscar-winning actress.
After seeing that it was indeed a bottle, Aunt Shen took the cleaning lady's hand and smiled brightly: "Oh, sister, what is going on? If you had told me earlier, it wouldn't have become... Oh, misunderstanding, misunderstanding!"
Everyone dispersed, and I quietly prepared to leave. When I turned the corner, He Xubei caught up with me.
"Yi Ping'an, where are you going?" He Xubei's words still came through.
I felt like a thief caught, and I stopped guiltily and put the letter in my trouser pocket.
"Nothing, I was just passing by, just passing by!" I pretended to be calm. I thought I didn't have the courage to confess to He Xubei in person. I was afraid that I would be rejected miserably.
"Really? Why are you running to my doorstep for no reason? Are you here just to watch the fun?" He Xubei obviously didn't believe what I said, and he continued to ask.
"He Xubei, that's enough! Didn't you say you wouldn't care about me anymore? What's wrong with standing at your doorstep? Is it illegal?" I was a little anxious, afraid that if I continued he would discover my true purpose.
He Xubei might have been choked by me and blushed a little: "Well, I said it's none of your business. Well, goodbye." After a pause, he said, "Yi Ping'an, actually you are not that bad. If you study hard, your grades will catch up."
I felt angry and amused at the same time. He said he didn't care but was still worried about my studies. He was saying one thing and thinking another.
But He Xubei, if you like me too, please get close to me. If you don’t, can you please stop being nice to me?