Chapter 45 Ordinary Friends

It rained all night and finally stopped early the next morning.

The sun couldn't wait to climb up, and the sunlight fell on the earth.

Shen Boyan woke up in a daze, turned on his phone, and found that Cheng Wenjun sent a message at eight o'clock in the morning: [Sorry, I forgot it yesterday. A belated happy birthday. ]

[Thank you, are you okay? ] When Shen Boyan saw the "forgot", he pursed his lips and hesitated for a while before typing out the reply message.

In fact, he still had a lot to say, but after seeing Cheng Wenjun's understatement, he couldn't say anything.

Cheng Wenjun quickly replied to him: "It's okay." ]

Shen Boyan stared at it for a long time.

These two words seemed even more distant than the sentence just now. Shen Boyan felt a little uneasy, as if the distance between them had become a chasm through the thin screen.

He began to have ominous premonitions.

Turns out he didn't think much of it.

For several days, Cheng Wenjun didn't come to see Shen Boyan. Shen Boyan saw photos from his circle of friends of Cheng Wenjun participating in different activities, including running marathons, mountain climbing, and taking junior students to visit the school history museum.

Shen Boyan knew that he was busy, but when he was busy in the past, he would not completely withdraw from Shen Boyan's life like he is now, like completely drawing a clear line. That he has changed? In fact, nothing has changed.

Occasionally when we meet, he will still say hello thoughtfully and decently. But Shen Boyan just felt different.

Disappointment gripped his heart.

Busy, everyone is busy, it’s better to be busy.

In the end, Shen Boyan couldn't hold himself back and took the initiative to disturb the busy man Cheng Wenjun: [Are you going to study by yourself tomorrow? 】【not going. ]

After more than two hours, Cheng Wenjun replied: [I've been too tired recently, so I'm going to take a rest tomorrow. ]

Shen Boyan was shocked and discouraged.

He was even more lost. In addition to the loss, there seemed to be something that could not be thought about quietly growing, entwining like vines, constantly sucking away his reason.

But his remaining sense still told him that he shouldn't have any expectations for Cheng Wenjun without permission.

He has no qualifications and no position.

Is their relationship that good? Does he have the qualifications to interfere in Cheng Wenjun's private life?

Shen Boyan asked himself, no.

But Shen Boyan was still a little unwilling. So he asked again two days later, but was still rejected in the end.

【I have plan today. 】Cheng Wenjun replied to him briefly, 【Let’s talk about it later. 】after. Is there a future? Shen Boyan thought.

If it were anyone else, Shen Boyan might come to the door and ask directly: Why are you ignoring me?

Or maybe you don't even try, just treat the relationship as if it disappears in time and become each other's passers-by.

Just thinking about Cheng Wenjun across from him, Shen Boyan didn't know what to do.

He didn't dare to question, and he didn't dare to just become a passerby.

So, they were inexplicably deadlocked.

Shen Boyan did not dare to contact Cheng Wenjun, and Cheng Wenjun did not take the initiative to talk to him.

They usually behave very blandly, and no one knows that they used to have such a good relationship. Therefore, except Shen Boyan himself, no one noticed that Cheng Wenjun was alienating Shen Boyan.

It sounds funny, but that's the reality between them.

Shen Boyan spent a long time in confusion.

He was the only person studying in the library, and the seat next to him was sometimes reserved, sometimes not. Once, even Cheng Wenxiu happened to sit next to him - but Cheng Wenjun never came. Not once.

One day when Shen Boyan was studying by himself in the library, someone called him. He went out to answer in the hallway and heard the counselor's voice.

"Student Shen, would you like to apply for a spot in the recent exchange program?" She said to Shen Boyan, "Teacher Lu recommended you to me. If you are interested, you can consider it."

"Okay, Teacher Zhang. Shen Boyan held the phone, not yet fully understanding the significance of the exchange project, so he just replied, "I'll think about it when I go back."

"Remember, it's at public expense," the counselor emphasized.

Of course, Shen Boyan would be a little confused when he suddenly encountered such a big thing. He clicked on the chat box with Cheng Wenjun and suddenly realized that they hadn't chatted for more than two months.

It's never been this long.

Shen Boyan hesitated for a moment, and finally sent a message: [The counselor said there was an exchange program abroad, and she recommended me to go. ]

Halfway through editing his second message, Cheng Wenjun replied instantly: [That's a good thing. 】

【congratulations. 】Cheng Wenjun blessed and said, 【You can study abroad. ]

Shen Boyan didn't know how to reply to him.

Is this the answer he wants to hear?

If not, what can he do?

Cheng Wenjun's words were very appropriate and seemed to be a very sincere blessing.

If he is not dissatisfied, that would be too ungrateful.

But does he really want just a heartless congratulations?

He told Shen Poxuan again, and Shen Poxuan's answer was also very direct.

[Haven’t you always wanted to go out and have a look? Now that you have the chance, of course you should go. 】

Yes, this is indeed the truth.

Shen Boyan naturally understood. He knew that he should accept this opportunity, but the sadness of separation and the fear of leaving home were indeed not things that could be given up easily, so they blinded him.

But it was indeed time for him to leave.

He has thought many times that the sea is wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky is high enough for birds to fly. He wanted to leave the cage that surrounded him and escape from the deadlock completely.

Now that the opportunity is in front of him, why doesn't he go?

So Shen Boyan agreed to the counselor, hurriedly submitted various materials, applied for a visa, and set a time to go abroad.

Before leaving, he asked Cheng Wenjun: "Are you free to see me off? I have a flight at 3pm the day after tomorrow." ]

After a pause, he added: [Shen Poxuan and the others will also come. 】

【OK. 】Cheng Wenjun did not refuse this time, 【No problem. ]

But on the day of departure, Cheng Wenjun was late again.

Several people helped Shen Boyan check in his luggage and said goodbye under the glass dome of the airport.

"I'm going to Country A later," Fang Shengyun said, "It's not far from your school. I'll come find you then."

Shen Boyan nodded: "Okay, I'll wait for you to come."

On his mobile phone was Cheng Wenjun’s message: [Sorry, there’s a traffic jam. I’ll be there as soon as possible. 】

Cheng Wenjun said he would do it as soon as possible.

In the past, he rarely missed appointments and was even less late. But he was late for both his birthday and his farewell.

Then, Shen Boyan waited and waited. When the boarding time was almost approaching the limit, Cheng Wenjun still didn't come.

"Don't wait." In desperation, Shen Boyan said, "If you don't leave, you won't be able to catch up."

Shen Boyan could only leave.

During the security check, he looked back at the huge airport. The sky above the glass dome was blue, and there were a lot of people under the dome, but there was no sign of Cheng Wenjun.

Cheng Wenjun didn't even give Shen Boyan the chance to see him one last time.

On the plane, Shen Boyan looked at the dense traffic on the ground, and for some reason he remembered the scene when Cheng Wenjun had just finished the college entrance examination three years ago.

He asked Shen Boyan to wait for him at the school gate, but he was late.

There was still a chance that time. Shen Boyan could go to self-study later in exchange for a few words with Cheng Wenjun at the door.

Not this time. ...

What happened next was so simple that it can be described in just a few strokes.

After Shen Boyan went abroad, his contact with Cheng Wenjun became less and less.

It was probably Cheng Wenjun's unilateral indifference. Shen Boyan sent many messages, most of which fell silent, and only a few of them got answers from Cheng Wenjun.

After countless long and anxious waits, he slowly accepted this fact and stopped disturbing Cheng Wenjun.

Their relationship is like countless passers-by in life, like a faded ink painting with the passage of time, turning into strange and faint traces little by little. Only the memory in his mind was left, telling Shen Boyan over and over again that they were friends once.

Shen Boyan tried to think about why they suddenly became like this, but he still couldn't figure it out.

How could he figure it out? He knew very little about Cheng Wenjun. He didn't even understand why Cheng Wenjun was suddenly so unhappy on that rainy night.

Perhaps his status as a 'friend' is insignificant to Cheng Wenjun.

There are many people like him. One more person is not more, and one less person is not more. They can be discarded at any time and forgotten at any time.

He is nothing to Cheng Wenjun.

But Shen Boyan has never been able to forget Cheng Wenjun the same way Cheng Wenjun forgot himself. He can't do it.

He couldn't forget Cheng Wenjun and his past, let alone refuse when Wu Chen forced him to marry Cheng Wenjun.

He could obviously refuse Wu Chen. He was no longer the child held in the palm of the Wu family's hands.

Shen Boyan couldn't just sit back and do nothing after knowing that Cheng Wenjun had been replaced, nor could he watch indifferently as the things Cheng Wenjun left behind were destroyed.

He really couldn't do it. Even if Cheng Wenjun was still so cold after he came back, or he might file for divorce, he would admit it.