Chapter 5: Premonition of the Truth 2
Shao Yu's expression changed slightly, and then he stood up, put the quilt wrapped in his warmth on Tang Ai, and wrapped her tightly: "Go into the house quickly, don't catch a cold."
Tang Ai lowered her head slightly, her hands were hidden in the quilt, and Shao Yu's hands outside the quilt were holding them. She couldn't move, nor could she move.
Shao Yu took one of her hands out of the quilt and let her hold the quilt. He slowly loosened his hand, rubbed it on his body uncomfortably, and said, "Go upstairs quickly."
"Yeah." Tang Ai responded vaguely and turned to go upstairs. Wrapped in a quilt, she looked very clumsy and silly from behind, but very cute.
Shao Yu looked at her figure, and a trace of melancholy flashed across his face again.
"Oh..." He let out a long sigh, which was heard by Tang Ai who went upstairs.
Tang Ai stopped involuntarily and hid on the stairs behind the wall.
She knew that Shao Yu was worried, but she didn't know what it was. Shao Yu had helped her before and was her favorite teacher. She had thought about helping him, but she couldn't pry into his worries without permission.
Tang Ai shook her head, turned around and slowly walked up the stairs.
Shao Yu stayed in Qingluo Inn for the entire winter vacation, but most of the time he sat alone on the balcony, wondering what he was thinking about.
On New Year's Eve, Tang Ai had dinner with her parents in the hotel and planned to go back to Qingluo Inn. Shao Yu was the only one in Qingluo Inn and she was afraid that he would be lonely.
While packing dinner for Tang Ai, her mother asked, "What kind of teacher is that? You don't even go home to reunite with your family during the Chinese New Year."
"The teacher is alone, so he plans to spend the New Year somewhere else. Mom, stop complaining and give me the food." Tang Ai saw her mother cover the thermos box and quickly reached out to say.
Her mother handed her the insulated box, looked up at her, and warned her: "After delivering the food to others, go back to your room and sleep. Sister Hua is not here. It is very dangerous for a girl like you to live in the same inn with a man."
"Mom, why do you think everyone is a bad person? He is my teacher and has helped me!" Tang Ai took the thermal box impatiently and turned away in a huff.
Her mother stood behind her, angry that Tang Ai refused to obey her orders: "Girl! It's a good thing to be careful! Do you think everyone out there is your parent?"
Tang Ai walked forward angrily, the flashlight illuminating a bright spot in the dark. She didn't like her family speculating about her friends like this, she really didn't like it.
Back at Qingluo Inn, Shao Yu stood up from the balcony on the second floor, walked to the edge of the balcony, looked at the figure walking in the light, and asked, "Xiao Ai, you're back?"
"Teacher Shao, I brought you some food, come down and eat." Tang Ai looked up and called out, then walked into the inn and sat down in the hall. There were many rectangular sandalwood tea tables in the hall, with soft gray sofas on both sides of the tables.
Shao Yu turned around and walked down from upstairs, watching Tang Ai take out the food from the thermos box and put it on the table. He walked over and sat down opposite her, smiling guiltily: "Thank you for your hard work, and I'm bothering you on New Year's Eve."
Tang Ai smiled slightly: "It's not hard. I used to come back after dinner during the Chinese New Year. Come on and eat while it's hot, Teacher Shao."
Shao Yu didn't hesitate, picked up the bowl and started eating. Tang Ai sat quietly opposite him, sometimes smiling at him, sometimes looking out the window, watching the occasional fireworks blooming in the night.
"Ding——" the WeChat message rang. Tang Ai lowered her head and swiped the screen of her phone, and a photo of Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun popped up.
In the picture, both of them are laughing at the camera, holding sparklers in their hands.
Tang Ai was excited and said to Shao Yu, "Teacher Shao, let's take a picture for Xi Chen and Shen Ruoyun!" As she said that, she turned on the selfie function and put herself and Shao Yu in the camera.
When Xichen and Shen Ruoyun received the photo, they were lighting fireworks on the rooftop of Shen's house. When the fireworks bloomed in the night sky, Shen Ruoyun ran towards Xichen holding his phone and shouted, "Xichen, look, they are eating together!"
The light of the fireworks shone on Xichen's face, bright and dim. Xichen looked at the photos on his phone and just smiled: "It's just a meal."
"Hey, it's dark, and we're alone, so it's easy for something to happen, you know?" Shen Ruoyun said worriedly, as if the person he liked was about to be snatched away.
Xi Chen shrugged indifferently and played with his fireworks sticks. Shen Ruoyun was panting heavily, and he was just one word away from swearing. It was true that the emperor was not anxious, but the eunuchs were. Is Xi Chen so careless?
Xi Chen's heart is not that big. Even if Shen Ruoyun knew the ins and outs of some things, he would not be able to understand Xi Chen clearly.
After all, he is not him.
Qingluo Inn is brightly lit.
The house was quiet. The TV in the living room was on, broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala, with the volume turned down low. Although Shao Yu was staring at the TV screen, his mind was not there.
"Xiao Ai." Shao Yu sat cross-legged on the sofa comfortably and asked, "Do you know why I came here and stayed here for the New Year?"
Tang Ai paused and shook his head.
Shao Yu recalled the past and said leisurely: "On that wishing tree, there are wish strips that my girlfriend and I hung five years ago."
Tang Ai opened her mouth slightly: "Your girlfriend?"
"Yes." Shao Yu said calmly, "She passed away."
Tang Ai was stunned and didn't know what to say. Shao Yu continued, "Five years ago in the summer, we came here for the first time and hung our wishes on the wishing tree. She was a very simple person. I secretly read her wish. She hoped to come here with me to see the snow in winter, but she didn't live through that winter... She died one night. The ward was very quiet, and it was quiet outside the window, too. There was only a scary full moon."
So that's how it is. All his worries are caused by the girl he likes.
Shao Yu's eyes slowly fell on Tang Ai, as if he was looking at the woman he loved most: "Her name is the same as yours, she is also called Tang Ai, Ai of mugwort."
"Teacher Shao." Tang Ai called him softly.
The young man suddenly smiled warmly and said, "That's why I have an inexplicable sense of intimacy with you, Xiao Ai. I have fulfilled her wish. Tell me, can I forget her now?"
"I don't know if it counts as forgetting." Tang Ai slowly lowered her eyes and said, "Such an important person has passed away. If the person she missed the most doesn't keep her in his heart, she must be so sad. However, letting go of the past and starting a new life does not mean forgetting her. She will always be in your heart. No matter who you meet in the future, you will still remember her occasionally. This is enough for her. I think so... Because, if I die, I don't want to see the person I like living in memories like a trapped beast. I hope he can spend the rest of his life happily. I want to see him happy more than anyone else in this world."
Shao Yu stared at Tang Ai silently. When Tang Ai met his gaze, she quickly retracted her gaze and lowered her head.
Shao Yu's nasal voice suddenly rang out overhead. He smiled softly and said, "As a psychology teacher, I never expected that my students would have to help me with counseling in the end..."
"No, no." Tang Ai waved her hands quickly and said, "I was just talking casually." Suddenly, she smiled a little embarrassedly, "Even if Teacher Shao is a psychology teacher, I'm afraid it would be difficult for you to untie your own knot, so you think other people's words are useful to you."
Shao Yu's smile deepened and he said, "Thank you, Xiao Ai."
Tang Ai shook her head like a rattle and said, "Teacher Shao, don't be polite. I'm not your student yet. You have helped me so many times without expecting anything in return. What does this mean to me?"
Shao Yu smiled deeply, and he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his head and looked out the window. New Year's Eve fireworks lit up among the dense leaves. He turned his head and looked at Tang Ai, saying, "Happy New Year, Xiao Ai."
"Happy New Year, Teacher Shao." Tang Ai responded with a smile .
That night, the inn was dimly lit, quiet but warm. Outside the inn, lively fireworks were lit, bright and brilliant.
Shao Yu and Tang Ai opened up to each other, and Tang Ai kept the secret, and the distance between them in spirit began to slowly narrow.
After the New Year, it’s time to go back to school.
When school started for the first time, Tang Ai waited for a long time before she could see Xi Chen. When school started for the second time, Xi Chen stood at the exit of the high-speed rail station, waiting for Tang Ai like a prince waiting for a princess.
"Xi Chen!" Tang Ai pushed the suitcase and ran towards him. Xi Chen helped her lift the suitcase. "The car is parked outside. I'll take you to school."
"Yeah." Tang Ai nodded obediently.
After leaving the high-speed railway station, Xi Chen took her to his car. It was a silver-white Audi, and it was the first time Tang Ai had ridden in such a nice car.
Tang Ai sat in the passenger seat, thinking about what everyone had said about Xi Chen's identity and Xi Chen's company. Now it seemed that Xi Chen was really much better than her.
"What are you thinking about?" Xi Chen glanced at Tang Ai. She had been silent since she got in the car. Her eyes were unfocused and her thoughts were not here at all.
Tang Ai shook her head, looked at him and said honestly: "I was thinking, you are so good, I envy you."
"Excellent?" Xi Chen paused, then asked slowly, "What's so excellent about me?"
Tang Ai looked at him and said, "You drive such a nice car and are capable of running a company. Aren't you excellent?"
Xi Chen smiled slowly: "In your heart, are these excellent?"
Tang Ai nodded honestly.
Xi Chen smiled and said, "You are so young, but you are able to help Sister Hua manage the Qingluo Inn, develop the flower garden on your own, and take care of the flowers and plants so well. You are only a freshman, but you are recognized by your classmates and praised by your teachers in your major. Xiao Ai, you are actually very good, but you are not good at discovering it."
Hearing this, Tang Ai smiled and slumped down in the seat shyly, asking, "Really? To Xi Chen, I am also very good?"
"Yeah." Xi Chen looked forward, his smile gone, and said sincerely, "I envy you, too." He lowered his voice, as if thinking about something, and then slowly said, "I envy you so much..."
Tang Aixi showed her joy on her face, and did not catch the emotion in Xichen's words. She just said in her heart: I must work harder, work harder than before and now, and become better and better.
"Xiao Ai." Xi Chen suddenly called her softly again.
"Hmm?" Tang Ai looked up at him.
Xi Chen smiled and said, "Let's go to the movies on Friday night."
Tang Ai bit her lower lip, with two red clouds floating on her face. She nodded and uttered one word softly: "Okay."
When school started that time, Tang Ai brought local specialties from her hometown to her roommates, and she also received gifts from them.
Lin Xiaoya vacated the balcony of the dormitory and left it to Tang Ai to grow plants. When they had questions about the course, Tang Ai was happy to answer them. They aspired to be a "student dormitory" and let everyone in A University know their names.
At night, Lin Xiaoya, Tang Ai and two others secretly ate hot pot in the dormitory. The four girls sat together and started gossiping.
The person they love to gossip about the most is Tang Ai, simply because Tang Ai and Xi Chen are very close.
"Xiao Ai, just tell me, are you two dating already?" Lin Xiaoya grabbed Tang Ai's arm and shook it back and forth.
Tang Ai bit her chopsticks, her eyes moving back and forth between the three pairs of eager eyes, then she shook her head.
"Ah? You are not together. Everyone in school is saying that you are together." Lin Xiaoya felt a little regretful.
Tang Ai said: "Neither of us mentioned this. Although Xichen was nice to me, he never said he liked me."
"How about that, can we sisters help you think of a way to make that boy confess to you?" Qu Zhouzhou is an impatient person. She thinks that if you like someone, you should say it immediately. Otherwise, what if the other person is snatched away by someone else?
"I'd better not do that." Tang Ai was afraid that something bad would happen, so she quickly refused. "I... I think we should just let it go and not force it, right?"
"You're so stupid!" Qu Zhouzhou rolled his eyes at her.
"Tang Ai, are you going to the movies with Xi Chen tomorrow?" Fu Wen asked curiously.
Tang Ai hesitated for a moment and nodded.
Fu Wen, Qu Zhouzhou, and Lin Xiaoya suddenly looked at each other, with a naughty smile on their faces. Tang Ai suddenly felt a chill on her back.
On Friday afternoon, Lin Xiaoya and two other people "tied" Tang Ai in the dormitory. They picked out a piece of clothing that best suited Tang Ai among the three of them. Then, Qu Zhouzhou pushed Tang Ai in front of Fu Wen's desk. Fu Wen took out her cosmetics and started to put makeup on Tang Ai. They also styled her hair.
After everything was done, the three of them pushed Tang Ai in front of a full-length mirror and admired their perfect masterpiece.
"Wow, who is this beautiful shy little lady?" Lin Xiaoya hung on Tang Ai's shoulder and joked with a sly smile.
Tang Ai was embarrassed and tangled her hands together.
Qu Zhouzhou added fuel to the fire and said, "If you can stay away from coming back tonight, don't come back until curfew. Let Xichen find a way to get a room."
"Keep working hard and report your progress to us in the WeChat group at any time." Fu Wen pushed Tang Ai out of the dormitory, closed the door, turned her back to the door, and made a cheering gesture to Qu Zhouzhou and Lin Xiaoya.
This girl who looks the most ordinary among the three of them is actually dating before them.
This is something worth celebrating.
It was the first time for Tang Ai to dress up so beautifully, and she was a little uncomfortable. But deep down, she was still looking forward to Xi Chen's reaction when he saw her.
Xi Chen had already told Tang Ai the showtime of the movie in the morning. Tang Ai didn't want Xi Chen to wait for her, so she arrived at the cinema entrance early.
She stood at the door and imagined all the beautiful scenes of Xichen seeing her. However, none of those beautiful scenes came true.
Because that day, Xichen was late, very late.
People around him kept coming in and out. The movie was about to start, but Xi Chen didn't show up. Tang Ai sent him WeChat messages and called him, but no one replied or answered the call.
