After the results came out, I filled in two choices, University A and University F.
Both schools are good and have a good reputation. It was 20 days later that I found out that Xiang Qianlan was admitted to University A.
I pointed my finger at my admission letter and said to myself: Qi Beichen, congratulations, I can continue to be her alumni.
Chai Quan studied at a technical college. I heard that he and his two friends opened a billiard room, so he invited us to celebrate. When I went over, Chai Quan was swearing loudly to someone. He saw me, handed me a cigarette, and said to me, "My love rival, you actually came here?"
"I heard my ex-girlfriend is here," I said, "I want to rekindle our old relationship."
"Really? Come on." Chai Quan fiercely put out the cigarette butt, put it on the ground and stepped on it, "A good horse never turns back. Lanlan will be moved by my sincerity one day."
I said to him, "No, your temperaments don't match."
"The one named Qi!" he shouted in a shrill voice.
"My full name is Qi Beichen, you're welcome." After I said that, I saw Xiang Qianlan coming in from the door and some boys gathered around her.
They all greeted Qian Lan in unison: "Hello, sister-in-law!"
"Everyone should have a chicken drumstick for the lunch break!" Chai Quan said to them, shaking his head.
"Thank you, Brother Chai!" Another unison voice.
"Lanlan!" Chai Quan rushed forward, took the bouquet of roses that he had prepared in advance, and placed it in front of Xiang Qianlan.
"Thank you," she said.
Xiang Qianlan saw me and said nothing.
I asked her: "Congratulations on getting into your ideal university. What major did you choose?"
"Performance."
"Good performance! Lanlan, I think you are the next Ao...what's the name of Ao? It's the name of my goddess." Chai Quan immediately flattered her.
"Audrey Hepburn."
"Yes! Lanlan, you are so smart."
Chai Quan responded, grinning at her and giving her a thumbs up with his left hand.
At the moment she tilted her head, I saw her beautiful face smiling softly under the dim incandescent light. Long after, I kept recalling that moment and the throbbing in my heart at that moment.
That feeling is like filling a transparent bottle with clear blue water and holding it gently in the palm of your hand. It is as gentle as water, nothing more than that.
"Lanlan, look, you and the guy named Qi are here to support me, so I have to treat you with good wine and food, and also celebrate our graduation and move towards a better tomorrow!" Chai Quan spoke in a very coherent manner with a very funny expression.
Maybe I am in too low a mood. Those sad pasts will eventually be burned away, but the living people have to continue their lives.
To be honest, I am now afraid that an unintentional action of mine might mess something up , and I am hesitant to do anything.
Chai Quan sent someone to drag over a barbecue grill, and we went to a yard behind the billiard room to have a barbecue. The sun was scorching, so Chai Quan got a big fan blew it hard. The charcoal fire emitted a dazzling glow, and the people in front of the barbecue grill were busy non-stop.
"Mr. Qi, please help me. What are you daydreaming about?" Chai Quan turned around and asked me loudly.
I walked over and grilled them.
"Huo, fire, fire! Chen Hu, you are a fool, are you? How can you eat it after it's roasted like that?" Chai Quan screamed.
Xiang Qianlan placed a bowl of washed mushrooms next to me, turned around and asked me, "Do you have a cold?"
"My throat feels a bit sore."
"Don't smoke if you don't feel well."
I looked at her, she turned and walked down the stairs, her long hair swinging like a waterfall, stirring my heart. I took out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and threw it to a boy next to me. He looked at me in surprise and asked, "Is it for me?"
"For you," I said.
I saw Xiang Qianlan turning around and looking at me. I raised the corner of my mouth and put the grilled skewers of meat into the plate next to me. Several boys who had been waiting for a long time surrounded me and grabbed all the food in an instant.
"What are you fighting for! What are you fighting for! Let go of me, whoever fights will have his claws chopped off, do you hear me?" Chai Quan protected the plate of meat and chased them away like flies. Then, I saw him smile smugly at me, and happily ran to Xiang Qianlan and handed the plate to him.
Xiang Qianlan took two skewers of meat, but Chai Quan refused and gave her the whole plate and ran back.
Love is sometimes expressed in three words: be good to you.
Everyone saw how good Chai Quan was to Xiang Qianlan. It was the kind of love that said, "The whole world knows that I like you." His love was so passionate that it made me feel a little uneasy.
The smoke from the barbecue was so thick that people couldn't open their eyes, and a few more people joined in.
I walked away.
After eating barbecue, a group of people played billiards indoors, and I sat in the corner, flipping through a magazine. I didn't know why I came here, maybe just to see her.
"Chai Quan, I'll return the umbrella to you." Xiang Qianlan took out an umbrella from her bag and put it on the table.
"Don't!" Chai Quan stretched out his hand, wanting to pat her on the head but not daring to. He smiled and said, "This is our token of love." While speaking, his eyes glanced in my direction.
"Don't talk nonsense." Xiang Qianlan zipped up his backpack, stood up and left.
Chai Quan chased after her and said, "Lanlan, are you just leaving? Play a little longer, I'll take you back." Chai Quan got up and followed her. At this time, someone called him and said that there were guests, so Chai Quan had to turn back to entertain them.
I walked out of the billiard room and followed her.
I looked at the sky with tall buildings standing in all directions, watched her moon-white skirt swaying, and her white canvas shoes stepping over the green bricks, and suddenly stopped on a green brick.
She turned around and looked at me and said, "Thank you...thank you for still arranging a doctor for my mother."
After the breakup, I still asked the doctors and nurses in the hospital to help treat her mother, but the doctor told me that Xiang Qianlan's mother could go home and recuperate because there was really no need for treatment.
She added, "We won't go to the hospital anymore. The doctor told us to go home and recuperate. Besides... Mom doesn't want to go anymore. I'm telling you this."
I said, "Okay, but you can go anytime."
"Qi Beichen." She glanced at me, "Are you okay?"
She was asking about Yin Shuitong.
I thought about it and nodded: "It's okay."
"Are you hungry?" she asked me.
I said, “I’m hungry.”
She said, “Then I’ll treat you to a meal.”
I knew Xiang Qianlan wanted to thank me, so she led me to a restaurant that looked very high-end. I pointed to a small family restaurant next to it and said, "I want to eat here."
"It's too simple," she said. "It's not something you would eat."
"I am a person who pursues simplicity." I walked into the restaurant first. The owner came to greet me. I took the menu, ordered a few home-cooked dishes at random, and then asked her what she wanted to eat.
She replied: "I eat everything. I'm not picky."
I smiled and said to the boss, "In addition to what I just ordered, add another stir-fried Chinese yam and black chicken soup."
She sat down across from me and looked at me strangely: "You've never ordered black chicken soup before."
"But you ordered it." I glanced at her, "I ordered what you like."
She said, "Oh."
I smile.
She stood up and poured two glasses of water, picked up the boiled water, washed my and her dishes, and suggested that the boss use less chili. I interrupted her and said, "Boss, it should be spicier. Spicy food goes best with rice."
When she heard me say that, she teased, "Don't you have a bad stomach?"
Hearing her say this, I smiled with relief: "But I have a good appetite."
"The young couple has a really good relationship." The boss said with a smile.
Neither she nor I spoke anymore.
She sat back in her seat and said to me, "You seem a little different."
"What's different?" I said.
"I can't explain it clearly," she said.
Xiang Qianlan, are you really not clear about this at all? I don't think so.
Everything was quiet again.
After dinner, I took her home.
Tongluo Lane is located in the old neighborhood of the city. Unlike our home, this lane is always so crowded and filled with a strange smell. It is hard to imagine that a pure lotus like Xiang Qianlan grew in this muddy place.
I had just sent her to the alley when Xiang Qianlan said to me, "Qi Beichen, are you free today?"
I said, “I have plenty of time.”
She said, "Then come to my house and sit down. My mother has been complaining about not seeing you for a long time."
I followed her and said, "Wait for me for a moment." I turned and went to a fruit supermarket and bought a bag of fruit. She saw the fruit in my hand and didn't say anything.
Actually, this is my first time visiting her home.
The house was small, and the living room was full of clothes. When her mother saw me, she adjusted her reading glasses and came to pull my hand: "Oh, it's Xiaochen, come in quickly!"
I watched Xiang Qianlan roll up her sleeves and quickly clean up the living room. She went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and handed it to me. I looked at her hand that was holding the tea. She didn't have long nails, nor did she apply some messy nail polish like other girls. Her fingers were white, with well-proportioned joints, and she was very strong when holding things.
Sadly, we never held hands.
"Do you want me to give it to you?" She looked at me staring at her hand quietly and said with a smile. Then I took the tea from her hand and my chest felt warmed.
Her mother was doing needlework. As soon as I came in, she hurried to the kitchen to work.
Xiang Qianlan turned on the TV, tuned it to a clear channel, and handed me the remote control: "You can change the channel yourself. We don't watch much TV, and few channels are clear. You can stay for dinner tonight. I'll go out first ."
"I'll go with you." I stood up.
"You can go with me, but don't regret it..." She frowned.
Xiang Qianlan said hello to her mother, and then we went out. She went to the vegetable market, which was five minutes away from her home.
"Why do I smell a bad smell?" I said when I arrived at the entrance of the vegetable market.
"Just stay here and wait for me." She walked in, and a vegetable vendor saw her and greeted her warmly. The smile on Xiang Qianlan's face was completely different from what I usually saw.
I saw Xiang Qianlan ten meters away. She was leaning over to pick vegetables and chatting with the vegetable seller. The pure smile on her face was so bright that it seemed to tear a transparent hole in my heart.
The light gathered on her, and her every move reminded me of a word: fireworks happiness.
Such a girl is so gentle, beautiful and perfect that it makes me ashamed.
But what is in the heart of a girl like this?