The day before reporting to school, Chen Meihua and I went to the cemetery again.
This was the first time she and I went to visit Pei Zhiming since he left. I don't know if it was because I was admitted to the university and solved the tuition problem, but Chen Meihua looked more relaxed than any other day, and she even bought a bouquet of flowers for Pei Zhiming.
The wind on the mountain was strong, blowing her dress with big red flowers all over it. She hummed an unknown tune while clearing the weeds in front of the tomb.
Perhaps it was because of the scorching sun, I actually saw a few strands of white hair around her ears.
She is old, that is an indisputable fact.
I squatted down and started to help her.
After finally cleaning up, she sat down on the steps in front of the tomb, lit a cigarette and started smoking.
We just sat there in silence, no one spoke.
After a long time, she finally spoke: "Old Pei, I have done my best for you."
After saying this, she took a deep look at Pei Zhiming's still young face on the tombstone.
When we were going down the mountain, she took the initiative to talk to me about Lu Mingyu.
After hearing these three words, I blushed without warning. I never mentioned Lu Mingyu in front of her, because she could see through my feelings in just one second. This feeling was not good.
But what surprised me was that she didn't look like she was eager for me to get close to her like she did before.
"Are you two getting too close?" She looked at me from time to time. "Although you two are adults, you should still restrain your behavior."
I said nothing. I knew she must have seen Lu Mingyu put his arm around me many times.
Why do I say "right"? Because I never take the initiative to be intimate with him. But how can Chen Meihua see this?
"He paid for your tuition and living expenses, right? You must pay him back. I don't have much money now, but I will pay it back for you later, so don't ignore it."
She rarely talks too much, but I know what she is thinking.
"He and I are not what you think. I will return the money," I said.
"It's good that you know. After all, he is a boy. He always touches you. What a bad habit!" She snorted, "That boy looks like he is attracting a lot of attention. You are a fool and you can't control him at all."
"What do you mean by touching me? Don't talk nonsense. He and I are just good friends." I scolded.
Chen Meihua looked at me as if I were a fool, and then looked at my chest and waist.
My face suddenly turned even redder.
Since the second semester of my senior year, my bean sprout body has inexplicably started to "grow again", and even my height has grown a little. It was from that time that Chen Meihua no longer wanted me to really play with Lu Mingyu, because she always felt that one day he would take advantage of me.
It seems that no matter what, her own daughter is better for her.
I really don’t want to tell her that the girls Lu Mingyu likes are all school beauties.
"Don't think that a boy who says he treats you as a friend is really a friend to you. If one day I can't help myself anymore, I won't care who you are!" Chen Meihua took me to the bus and kept giving me advice.
"Stop talking." I didn't want to hear her say that anymore, so I turned my head and looked out the window angrily.
She snorted and finally stopped.
Looking at the vast expanse of blue sky, white clouds and fields passing by outside the window, I seemed to hear a voice telling me that Lu Mingyu is not that kind of person, absolutely not.
Lu Mingyu started school two days later than me, so he offered to take me to school to register. The luggage was heavy, and I insisted on not taking a taxi, so he was so tired that he complained bitterly.
"What the hell is in this box of yours? My home is so close, you can just go back and get whatever you need." When he arrived at the school gate, he kept rubbing his arms.
"Books." I stuck out my tongue at him. "If I don't take them, Chen Meihua will definitely sell them as scrap."
There are novels, essays, foreign classics, and British literature in it . They are my favorite books over the years. I can only calm down when I am reading. Lu Mingyu never knew these.
"No wonder you have such a bookish temperament." He praised me and glanced at the people around him. "Hey, I heard there are a lot of beautiful girls in your school, why don't I see any of them?"
"Oh, maybe all the beauties have been escorted in by someone else." I laughed and pulled him in quickly.
Soon, I found the registration office for new students and found my dormitory as planned. Male students were not allowed to enter the dormitory building, so I had to carry my luggage upstairs by myself.
My dormitory is on the third floor. As soon as I entered, I saw two girls sitting there.
One of them was chubby and had big eyes. When she saw me coming in, she greeted me and helped me carry my suitcase. I was very grateful to her. The other one sat by the window indifferently. I couldn't see her face clearly, but I had already been attracted by her appearance. She had a good figure, with curves in all the right places, and her clothes were fashionable and avant-garde. I could tell at a glance that she was either a school beauty or a department beauty. When she saw me coming in, she just glanced at me lightly and didn't say much.
I'm not an enthusiastic person, so naturally I didn't say much.
The chubby girl gave us a brief introduction, and I learned their names. The pretty girl was called Cheng Duo, and the chubby girl was called Yu Caicai. They were both my roommates.
At Yu Caicai's suggestion, we agreed to go to the cafeteria for dinner. It was at this opportunity that Lu Mingyu met Cheng Duo.
At that time, Lu Mingyu was waiting for me downstairs in the dormitory, but I didn't expect that I would come down with two other girls. I actually wanted to find an excuse have dinner with Lu Mingyu, but obviously, Lu Mingyu's reaction told me that he wanted to meet new girls more.
The moment he saw Cheng Duo, his expression changed subtly.
Cheng Duo, who had been indifferent to me, was obviously surprised when she saw Lu Mingyu. Then, she asked me with a smile: "Pei Jixing, is this your boyfriend?"
"no."
Lu Mingyu and I said this almost at the same time.
I was standing aside, looking at the two people expressionlessly, and suddenly felt that something was about to happen, and I was completely powerless to stop it.
We didn't go to the cafeteria that day, but chose to go to a not-so-cheap western restaurant outside the school. Of course, Lu Mingyu paid for it.
To my surprise, Lu Mingyu did not show any obvious interest in Cheng Duo at the dinner table, but continued to cut steak and pick up vegetables for me as usual.
These were nothing in his eyes, after all, he regarded me as a very good friend. But I knew that all of this was too unusual in Cheng Duo's eyes.
I saw some hostility in her eyes.
But maybe it was just my illusion. After all, when we just started eating, she received a call from her boyfriend. How could she be attracted to other boys when she already had a boyfriend?
For a long time afterwards, I used this sentence to comfort myself.
But later on, I realized how stupid I was.
As the days went by, I gradually got used to the boarding life.
There are four people in the dormitory. The last one to arrive is called Tang Tang. She is a top student and a hard worker. Overall, she is easy to get along with.
Under her guidance, I also found a good part-time job. After all, this year's tuition and living expenses have been solved temporarily, but there is still next year.
To express my gratitude, Yu Caicai and I went to the supermarket to buy a lot of ingredients and planned to secretly cook hot pot in the dormitory.
Seeing us carrying a bunch of ingredients, Tangtang threw his book aside and came to help us. No one expected that our action would wake up Cheng Duo who was sleeping in bed.
It was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and no one knew that she was still in bed at this time.
"Can you please be gentler? Don't you know that someone is sleeping?" Cheng Duo was furious. Her face without makeup was still so beautiful.
I am not good at speaking, and for a moment I was stunned, holding the empty basin.
"What time is it? Why are you still sleeping?" Tang Tang dismissed her carelessly.
Although we haven't been together for long, I still know a little bit about everyone's personality. Tang Tang is like me, her family is not rich, but her grades are very good. But even so, she has an innate fierceness in her bones. She speaks to Cheng Duo in a rough voice, which Yu Caicai and I can't do.
Cheng Duo didn't say anything, just lay down again and buried her head in the quilt.
In this dormitory, the only person she cares about is probably Tang Tang.
"Don't sleep anymore, come down and eat together, Little Star will treat you." Yu Caicai, who is always a peacemaker, went over and called her.
Cheng Duo ignored it and the matter just passed.
When the three of us finished cleaning up and started eating, Cheng Duo finally got out of bed. The three of us asked her to come over to eat, but she simply said to Cai Cai that she didn't want to eat anymore, and then started to put on makeup. After the military training, sleeping during the day and going out at night seemed to have become her regular life. Fortunately, the dormitory was not strictly managed, and nothing happened.
When we started, she finally walked out the door in her eight-centimeter high heels.
"Xiao Xingxing, have you ever offended her?" Tang Tang asked vaguely while stuffing a big mouthful of meat.
"Ah? I don't have it!" I was confused.
"Probably not, but Cheng Duo seems to ignore Xiao Xingxing alone." Yu Caicai also agreed.
"It doesn't matter. She doesn't care. Little Star doesn't want to play with her anyway." Tang Tang winked at me.
I smiled back and said, Tangtang is right, who cares?
We are in the same dormitory, so even if she doesn’t like me, she won’t target me. I won’t provoke her anyway.
On the weekend, I finally went to Lu Mingyu's school as I wished.
His school was quite far away, and it took me an hour to get there by bus. It was already lunchtime when I arrived, so I went to the hamburger shop opposite their school to buy some food.
But I never thought that I would run into Cheng Duo here. In fact, I really didn't want to meet her alone, so I just stood in the corner. In this way, she couldn't see me.
However, I could see .
She was wearing a dress that showed off her figure, and her long wavy hair made her look mature and charming. She was eating with another girl who was dressed in an exaggerated way, and when they got excited, they would laugh out loud. At least, I never saw her laugh like that at us in the dormitory.
Maybe she also came here to meet friends.
Thinking of this, I walked out with the hamburger.
Lu Mingyu had a basketball game today, so I went straight to the gymnasium of their school to wait for him. The game was about to end, but the audience's enthusiasm remained unabated. It took me a lot of effort to get through the group of girls who were screaming at Lu Mingyu and come to the front of the stands.
Looking at Lu Mingyu in his dark blue jersey, my heart couldn't stop beating wildly. This familiar yet strange feeling made me more nervous.
I have to say that Lu Mingyu has grown taller. Now he looks tall and handsome, and stands out in the crowd. I believe that more , but I am not jealous at all.
There are so many people who like him, but the one who can always stay with him is me.
Even though, he doesn't like me.
But, he will always keep a place for me as that friend in his heart.
The position that allows me to continue to like him quietly, humbly and insignificantly.
A whistle sounded at this moment, and the game officially ended.
Lu Mingyu took a quick glance at the crowd and spotted me. Then, amid the girls' screams, he ran towards me.
"Hey, how long have you been here?"
"We just got here." I handed him some water and food. He leaned on the railing and jumped to my side. The crowd gradually dispersed, and I walked side by side with him at the back.
"How have you been lately?" he asked casually, "Are all your roommates okay?"
"Pretty good." I giggled and chatted with him casually.
He told me a lot about his recent life, such as how the boys in the dormitory got along well with each other, and he became the monitor of his new class. The school basketball team also valued him very much, and they would have a friendly match with him soon.
Seeing his beaming face, I knew he must be doing well. So I had nothing to worry about. Even if he was not as good as others in study, he still had a colorful life.
Come to think of it, my life has become much more monotonous and shabby.
Lu Mingyu offered to take me out for dinner, but I had to decline because I had work to do in the afternoon.
Just like that, the brief meeting ended here. He gave up his lunch break and sent me directly to the bus stop.
"Little Star, I'm a little busy these days. I'll come to play with you when I'm not busy." He rubbed my hair.
"Okay, then remember to take good care of yourself. If there is anything in life that you really can't solve, just come to me. I'm good at it."
"Oh, about daily life, do you mean you want to help me wash clothes?" He smiled conceitedly.
"Sure." I answered in a good mood. I always keep my word for him.
"Hahaha, I'm really rude to you! Ever since I went to college, my mom has been too lazy to care about me." He laughed at himself, and then as if he had thought of something, he said in a pretentious manner, "Xiao Xingxing, if a boy pursues you, you must not agree so quickly, you must bring him to me for inspection."
"You're talking nonsense again." I rolled my eyes at him. I was so busy with classes, work, and taking care of him that I had no time to respond to any boy's pursuit.
"Oh, that's the best." He looked at me and said earnestly, "We are growing up, and I'm not surprised that some boys are interested in us."
"You should worry more about yourself!" I snorted at him. The bus came at this time, I waved to him and got on the bus.
Even when he sat down in his seat, he was still smiling at me in the sunshine.
Later, I often dreamed of this scene in the middle of the night, and after waking up, I burst into tears.
He is always so gentle, but this kind of gentleness is like a knife, cutting people's hearts and making them feel excruciating pain.
Facts have proved that Lu Mingyu never talks nonsense.
Since I promised to do his laundry, he did it perfectly the second time I went to him, but I didn't say anything because he was sick.
After the fall, he became ill, which was his old problem. So during this period, I had to go back and forth between the two schools. His classmates even recognized me.
After Tang Tang knew about this, she asked me very directly, "Is Lu Mingyu your boyfriend?"
I was washing Lu Mingyu's bed sheets at the time. When I heard this, I was stunned. After a long silence, I heard myself say, "No, we are good friends."
"Good friends can use you as a babysitter!" Tang Tang tugged at the bed sheet unhappily, "Pei Jixing, I see there are only three things on your mind every day: classes, part-time job, and Lu Mingyu."
"No." I was a little embarrassed. "He has helped me a lot. What I do for him is nothing."
Tang Tang rolled her eyes at me and shook her head vigorously.
"You are still too young."
After she said this meaningful sentence, she walked away with a swagger. But I began to become inexplicably irritated.
I don't know if it was because of this irritable mood that I accidentally touched the cosmetics on Cheng Duo's desk when I was sorting my clothes after returning to the dormitory. Unfortunately, one of the bottles broke. And the dramatic thing was that Cheng Duo came back at this time.
After seeing this scene, she let out a shrill and ugly scream.
I looked at her and said calmly, "I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."
Maybe it was because I was sincere, admitted my mistakes in time, and didn't try to shirk responsibility, Cheng Duo didn't make things difficult for me. But what surprised me was that her small bottle of skin care products was worth more than 2,000 yuan. In order to make a country bumpkin like me believe it, she even searched the Internet to show me the price.
Accompanied by Tang Tang, I went to an ATM outside the school to withdraw money.
More than 2,000 yuan is my living expenses for most of the semester.
The moment I got the money, I burst into tears. Tang Tang wanted to comfort me, but she didn't know how, so she just stood by and accompanied me.
All this happened so suddenly that I didn't fully realize what was happening. I was indeed too young. But what could I do? I was an adult, and I had to take care of the problems I had caused.
"Do you want to call Lu Mingyu?" Tang Tang suggested.
But I refused. I didn't want him to know my embarrassment, and my self-esteem wouldn't allow me to do so.
"Do you have any new jobs to recommend to me?" I wiped my tears and forced an ugly smile at her.
She sighed helplessly and nodded.