Lu Mingyu's score was still a little short, but fortunately not too far off, and his family spent some money on him, so he was able to easily get into a fairly good local second-tier college. And I also got the admission letter from a top university in the city as I wished.
However, while other students were happily enjoying the only holiday in their lives where they could indulge themselves without any care in the world, my life was completely the opposite and I was in trouble.
That day, I had just received my admission letter from school, and when I got home, I found my home a mess.
The door was open, the floor was covered with dirty mud and debris, mahjong was scattered everywhere, and Chen Meihua, who was in a disheveled state, sat on the sofa, smoking a cigarette with an expressionless face.
I stood there stiffly, not knowing whether to go up to her to comfort her or just go into the room quietly.
Looking at the current situation, I can probably guess a thing or two. In fact, this simple mahjong parlor has long been unable to sustain itself, and Chen Meihua had a scandal with a mahjong friend before, which had a bad impact and indirectly led to the decline of business. However, I never thought that this matter would be so serious.
Chen Meihua silently looked up at me, her eyes resting on the notice in my hand, but the dark clouds on her brows did not dissipate. She lit another cigarette and said resentfully: "It's all karma. Anyway, you have finished the college entrance examination and have been admitted to university. I have done my duty to you. You can see the current situation. I earn so little money a month that I can't afford your tuition. You have to find a way out yourself."
There was no smile as I had imagined, no warm words as I had imagined, and no approving eyes as I had imagined.
No, nothing, just the mess on the ground and the resentment all over the body.
This is the only gift my mother gave me after I finished ten years of hard study.
The notice in my hand was wrinkled by me. All the warm emotions and joy that I wanted to share with the only person who was related to me by blood were all swallowed up by something called disappointment at this moment.
I resisted the urge to cry and whispered one word: "Okay."
I'm an adult now, and I really don't have the right to ask her for anything.
I put the notice in my backpack, squatted down, and started to pick up the mahjong tiles on the ground one by one. After all, it was them that pieced together and supported my high school life, and it was also them that told me that I had no right to be sad or resentful.
That night, after packing up all my things, I returned to my room and used the old computer at home to go online. I rarely go online, although Chen Meihua never restricted me from doing so.
I opened the chat software, and the information of the group created by Lu Mingyu quickly popped up. This group was created after the college entrance examination. He told us a long time ago that we would have fun together after the college entrance examination. I was naturally looking forward to it, but the current situation was really sad.
I don't have any money to waste and I still have to go to college.
So, I clicked on Lu Mingyu's profile picture and chatted with him privately, telling him simply that I couldn't attend any of the parties they had agreed to organize. As for the reason, I didn't want to tell him. In front of him, I didn't want him to know even the slightest bit of embarrassment.
Lu Mingyu replied quickly. He didn't ask too many questions, but simply replied with "OK".
This word was like a needle, which pricked me as I was sitting in front of the computer, waiting for a reply, and I suddenly lost my breath.
Why didn't he ask me why I didn't go, why didn't he ask me if anything happened.
Maybe he doesn't care whether I go or not.
Or maybe, he is having a great time now, with new friends to keep him company, and has long forgotten about me, the dull and shabby one.
Thinking of this, my tears suddenly flowed down, hot and dripping onto my arms.
It's terrible that I, who always prided myself on being carefree, would be so resentful and suspicious of others because of such a trivial matter. Thinking about it this way, I am no different from other delicate girls in the class.
whatever.
I threw the mouse aside, and my original mood of watching a movie was wiped out. I thought I should have a good sleep. After all, starting tomorrow, I will be heading towards a more difficult life.
The next morning, I got up early and went out to look for a job.
Chen Meihua was still sleeping, so I prepared breakfast and put it on the table.
She is right. I am already an adult and she has no obligation to control me anymore. How my life will be in the future depends on my own luck.
After giving myself some appropriate psychological comfort, I went out in high spirits.
In fact, finding a temporary job was much easier than I thought . After all, this city is not small, and now is the summer vacation, which is when all businesses need temporary workers like me. The Korean restaurant in a large shopping mall gave me the opportunity. This restaurant is famous for its large number of people, so the waiter work is more tiring, but the salary is also high. I have no right to be picky, and I started working soon.
However, work is not easy, and being a waiter is even harder. After being scolded by the foreman for several mistakes at work, I finally understood why Chen Meihua was in a state of irritation every day. The world is so big, we want so little, but everything is so difficult.
I don't know if it was because of the high-intensity work for several days, plus the fact that I only ate one meal a day to save money, but I caught a serious cold. Usually, I just took some medicine to cure it, but in this hot summer, it became worse. After enduring it again and again, I finally decided to ask for leave from the foreman.
What I didn't expect was that he rejected me fiercely, because I was the third person to ask for leave today, and there were too many customers today, so he couldn't afford to be short of staff. He told me very clearly that I could take a break if I felt uncomfortable, but I couldn't ask for leave, and if I had to leave, I shouldn't come tomorrow.
When I heard the words "Don't come", I suddenly became more sober. The school term is not far away. If I can't get enough money, how can I go to college? Even if the university has student loans, I still have to pay for my living expenses and accommodation by myself!
Grit your teeth and hold on. Who doesn't suffer in life? If I can't overcome a minor illness, how can I move forward in life?
I was mumbling to myself some inspirational quotes until Lu Mingyu magically appeared in front of me and the foreman.
He shouted at the foreman angrily: "I can hear you scolding her from a long distance away. She is a waitress, not a slave!"
I looked at him in shock, my blood boiling.
My God, when did he come?
"Who are you?" The hot-tempered foreman looked at me with wide eyes, "Your friend? Is he here to support you?"
"No, it's not what you think—"
I hurriedly explained, but Lu Mingyu's voice suddenly drowned out mine.
"Yes, I'm here to support her! You are a lousy place that exploits its employees like this, do you have any shame?"
Before I could stop him, Lu Mingyu roared back like a machine gun. The foreman was so angry that his face turned red and his neck was thick, and he was about to pounce on him. Lu Mingyu shouted "We quit" and pulled me out. He finally let me go after we ran a long way.
I was so angry that I yelled, "What are you doing? Do you want to keep my job?"
He was still smiling a second ago, but when he heard me say that, his expression suddenly froze. After a pause, he pointed his hand behind him and said, "You are mentally ill, right? He treated you like that, and you are so sick, but you still stand there and let him scold you. Do you know how ugly you look now? Come with me, let's get the injection!"
After saying that, he tried to pull me again, but I took big steps back.
"You finally remember me now." I don't know whether I was laughing or crying, and I don't know whether it was sweat or tears on my face.
"What's going on?" He was even more confused and asked in a low voice, "Pei Jixing, can you please stop making trouble?"
The food in my stomach was churning, and I took a breath with difficulty: "If you think I'm making trouble, you can leave."
This sentence was like a watershed. After he said it, Lu Mingyu's expression changed completely.
He was so angry that he turned around to leave, but immediately turned back.
"I'm just a fool, meddling in other people's business here!" he shouted at me angrily, "I shouldn't have spoken up for you!"
"Lu Mingyu, do you think you are the savior?" I said with a smile, tears falling uncontrollably.
When he saw me crying, he was completely stunned .
"Do you think you are helping me? Do you know how hard it is for me to get a job? In order to save money for school, I have to work despite being sick while you are all having fun! I am not like you, who have people who love me and give me money to have fun. Now I have to earn my tuition and living expenses by myself! Now you think I am being bullied and you want to stand up for me, but do you know that the foreman just promised to let me rest! If you make a fuss now, he will never let me go back!"
I almost yelled the last sentence.
I have never lost my composure like this in eighteen years.
People on the street looked at me, but I didn't feel embarrassed. I just knew that I felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Little star..." He understood the whole story, looked at me guiltily, and tried to come over to wipe my tears, but I dodged him.
"You can go back. I still have things to deal with." I wiped my tears and said lightly, "Sorry, I was a little excited just now. Thank you, Lu Mingyu."
Then I turned around and strode away.
I don’t know what expression he has on his face at this moment. Maybe it’s confusion, or maybe it’s annoyance, but it’s definitely not the expression I want to see.
Sometimes, I often think that I must not like Lu Mingyu enough, otherwise why can’t I help but lose my temper with him every time?
Later, I thought, that’s not the case.
That's because I like him so much, so the slightest sadness will make my tears flow into an ocean in my heart.
The care I want is never something that comes along the way, but rather that he will appear when I really need it, even if I don’t say anything.
But, this is just wishful thinking, isn't it?
After all, he doesn't like me.
That day, after I left Lu Mingyu behind, I returned to the restaurant and kept apologizing to the foreman and the boss. They didn't fire me because I was usually quite capable.
Later I learned that Lu Mingyu was having dinner with a group of his friends across the street. He saw me and came to help me. When they left, they were in a large group. Some of them even glanced at me with reproachful eyes. I looked at Lu Mingyu, who was walking in the lead. He buried his face under his cap, and I couldn't see his expression.
But I know he can't be happy.
After I calmed down, I started to blame myself endlessly.
After all, I didn't explain anything to him, didn't tell him my difficulties, and just lost my temper at him. Again, he doesn't like me, so why should he respond to me according to my thoughts at any time and anywhere?
Looking at it this way, I am the one who really doesn't know what's good for me.
The chaotic day finally passed. I used my own salary to buy a sushi gift box to apologize to Lu Mingyu, who loves sushi the most.
But when I returned to the community, I suddenly realized that I didn’t know whether Lu Mingyu would live here. After all, his real home was in a villa in the wealthy area.
I looked towards the carport and discovered that his mountain bike was still parked there.
Maybe, he is still there?
A small flame suddenly ignited in my heart. I didn't choose to rush upstairs directly, but wandered downstairs, thinking about how to apologize to him. It wasn't until a man walked straight to the carport and pushed the mountain bike out that I shifted my attention.
Why was he pushing Lu Mingyu's car?
Is he a thief?
The word exploded in my mind and I became alert.
As far as I know, that mountain bike is expensive, even if it is second-hand, it can be sold at a good price. I should have called the police immediately, but seeing that the man was about to leave, I got excited and stopped him boldly without caring about the consequences.
The man was obviously shocked by my action and yelled, "What are you doing?"
I held on to the front of the car tightly and refused to let go.
"This is someone else's car! Put it back quickly!" I don't know where I got the courage from, but I looked the man straight in the eye.
I thought he would be scared or try to explain after hearing this, but he suddenly became angry.
He pushed me away fiercely and said, "What do you mean it's someone else's car? This is my car! Oh, I see. You two kids are teaming up to cheat people, right? I tell you, I've encountered this kind of thing many times!"
As he said that, he took out his cell phone from his pocket, made a call, and while calling someone, he told me not to leave.
If you don't want to leave, then don't leave. Who is afraid of who? This is Lu Mingyu's car. I can't let anyone take it away casually. I want to see how he explains it.
About five minutes later, Lu Mingyu ran downstairs.
In my shocked eyes, he hurried over, and the first thing he did was to protect me firmly behind him.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. It's not what you think. She is my friend and she doesn't know that I sold the car." He, who was always arrogant, kept bowing and apologizing.
I looked at them in confusion, and after listening to his explanation, I finally understood the whole story.
It turned out that Lu Mingyu sold his car to this person.
This time, my previous heroic and confident spirit was completely gone, and I hid behind Lu Mingyu.
Fortunately, the man was reasonable and after I explained it to him, he left.
So, there are only Lu Mingyu and I left here.
The dim street lights stretched our shadows very long. I lowered my head and looked at my shoes without saying a word.
He was silent for a while, tapped my head, and then said helplessly like a parent: "You..."
Hearing him say that, I lowered my head even more.
But he reached out his hand, straightened my head, and held my face like an adult, and said with a slightly doting tone: "Come, let me see if your eyes are swollen?"
His face came closer without warning, and in an instant, it was so close that I could see his long eyelashes.
"Yeah, it's swollen." He raised the corner of his mouth and looked at me with a smile.
Many times I wonder why this world is so unfair, why so many advantages are concentrated in one person. The boy who was already beautiful enough is so kind and gentle.
He didn't mean to blame me at all, and instead coaxed me.
I was severely humiliated by my willful behavior during the day and couldn't raise my head in front of him no matter what.
He seemed to see through my thoughts, smiled slyly, took the sushi gift box from my hand, and simply sat on the flower bed to eat.
"Why do you want to sell the car? You like it so much." I sat next to him and asked in a low voice.
"Oh," he licked his fingers covered in salad dressing, "I don't use them much now that I'm in college."
"Are you short of money?" I couldn't help but worry again, "Don't take the initiative to spend money every time you go out to play."
"Am I such a fool in your eyes?" He smiled helplessly, then took out a bank card from his pocket and handed it to me. "It's not much money, but it's enough to cover all your needs. The password is six sixes."
“You—” I was confused again and let him stuff the card into my hand.
"I talked to your mother today." He seemed a little embarrassed, "I know what happened in your family, so--"
"So you sold the car?" I stood up in shock. "You don't have to do this. I can earn money by working..."
"Hey, don't be so anxious!" He smiled and pulled me to sit down. "If I had known that you wouldn't play with us, I would have come to help you find a solution. But you didn't tell me anything, so I thought you didn't want to go out with us, so I didn't ask. I was wrong today. I was too impulsive and almost messed up your work, but I really couldn't stand seeing a little girl like you working while you were sick."
At this point, he couldn't continue, not because of anything else, but because I had covered my face and burst into tears.
This happens a lot of the time. When I cry, he gets panicked.
Maybe because we were all adults, he half hugged me, wiped my tears, and said, "Don't cry, don't cry," in a voice so gentle.
I don’t know why I burst into tears all of a sudden.
Maybe it was because of the whole day's fatigue, maybe it was because of the acid churning in my stomach, maybe it was because I was hungry all day but couldn't bear to eat good food, maybe it was because at this time, the one who cared about me was not my mother, but an outsider who had no blood relationship with me.
What's more possible is that this young man in front of me sold his most beloved car for me.
The car in which he once drove the girl he loved through streets full of memories.
He comforted me so gently, but I couldn't stop crying.
He was not impatient, but patted my back more attentively, because he knew that at this moment, I could only cry to vent all the emotions that had been suppressed in my heart for a long time.
I don’t know how long it took, but I finally stopped crying. I leaned into his arms and heard his even breathing.
At this moment, he didn't push me away.
But my subconscious mind tells me that this is not right. Even if I like him and want to be hugged by him like this, it must be under the condition that he also likes me.
I sat up straight, handed over the card, and said in a nasal voice, "I can't take this money. You can take it back. I'm really happy that you can do this, but I really can't take it."
This time it was Lu Mingyu who stood up angrily: "I worked so hard to sell the car for a good price, and now you don't want it anymore!"
"How can I charge you so much money!"
"I don't need this little money! You study so hard, are you afraid that you won't be able to pay it back in the future?" He retorted with his eyes glaring, leaving me speechless.
I shook my head and was about to say something, but he stopped me again.
"Do you still remember the time were misunderstood as cheating on the test because of me? I said I would treat you well for the rest of my life. This is my promise, so of course I have to do it!"
Lu Mingyu looked at me steadily.
"We are good friends for life. Aren't you ruining my feelings and torturing yourself by doing this?"
"For a lifetime? " I asked.
"For a lifetime," he replied.
In the moonlight, his tone of affirmation was drawn out.
I just looked up at him, and suddenly I felt that meeting him in my life was worth it.
But at that time, I didn’t know how long a lifetime was.
It is possible that no matter how long it grows, it will never reach the end.
Or maybe it's fleeting.
But none of this matters. What matters is that this boy I like told me that we are lifelong friends.
that's enough.
I think this is why I like him so much, because he is the only person besides my father who cares about me, protects me and treats me well from the bottom of his heart.
Pei Zhiming, would you be relieved?