Chapter 6 Blooming 1
The rebellion and resentment of youth,
It's just a joke of fate.
Eventually it will be slowly smoothed out by time.
I stayed in the hospital for more than a week, and Chen Qiaoluo never showed up during this period. Guyu came twice, and I thanked him, but he smiled and refused. He said, "Hello, Zhu Jun, I am also responsible for your serious illness. Aren't you embarrassing me by saying this?"
I smiled and said nothing else. After this incident, I felt that Guyu seemed to have changed a lot towards me. But I couldn't tell exactly where he had changed.
Lizi would come to the hospital to see me almost every day after school, sometimes bringing Tong Xiaotian along. Tong Xiaotian and I were at loggerheads at first, but gradually things got better because of Lizi.
Sometimes I think this may be life. We will always lose some people and also welcome a better future.
In mid-December, I returned to school, but Chen Qiaoluo seemed to have disappeared. Even his classmates had no idea where he was. Sometimes I would run into Guyu at school, and he would always stop and smile at me. We never mentioned what happened on that rainy day again, just like two old friends who had a tacit understanding.
Between us, Chen Qiaoluo seemed to be very far away, but one time, on the way home in the dusk, he suddenly spoke and asked, "Hello Zhu Yun, do you like Chen Qiaoluo?"
This is the first time we have talked about Chen Qiaoluo in such a long time.
I remained silent, but my pace gradually slowed down.
These days I dream about Chen Qiaoluo almost every night. In my dream, he is wearing a white shirt, and the hem of his shirt is gently blown up by the wind. It was a beautiful spring day, and he kept smiling at me, and then gradually disappeared.
Seeing that I didn’t say anything, Guyu didn’t say anything else.
After that, we never talked about Chen Qiaoluo again. But I know that his departure is the pain I least want to face.
It turns out that losing someone can be so painful.
It was New Year's Day when my dad brought Aunt Shen home. He had said hello to me before that he was going to bring a friend back. I jokingly asked him if he was going to bring a mother back for me, and a rare blush appeared on his face. When I saw him like this, I knew that my guess was right.
I have never been a daughter who doesn't know how to adapt. It was my mother who abandoned us first. My father has been raising me all these years, playing both the role of a father and a mother. Only he knows how much he has suffered. He has given so much for me, and now he has found a partner to walk with. I am so happy that I can't wait to see how happy he is. How can I possibly stand in the way of his happiness?
Aunt Shen is five years younger than my dad. Although she is married, she has no children. The first time she saw me, she gave me a bear hug and praised me for my good looks.
After a meal together, I finally understood why my dad liked her. In fact, it was not just my dad, even I, a girl, couldn't help but fall in love with her. Although Aunt Shen is in her thirties, her personality is like that of a little girl. And this kind of temperament doesn't seem to be pretended at all.
After dinner, my dad went to the kitchen to prepare some fruit, and Aunt Shen took me to the sofa to chat. She talked about the various people she had met over the years, and asked me like a child, "Hello, Yun. Girls of your age should have their own concerns. I guess you have someone you like."
I have never talked about this topic with my dad, but when Aunt Shen brought it up, I was completely stunned.
Just at this time, my dad came out of the kitchen with a fruit plate. Hearing this, he forced his way in and said, "My daughter , if you have someone you like, you must tell your dad. Don't worry about your dad, I'm open-minded. If you really bring your boyfriend back, I will definitely take him to drink until he is drunk."
My father’s words made me laugh, but I couldn’t help but think of Chen Qiaoluo.
Just when I was distracted, I heard Aunt Shen said coquettishly: "Old Zhu, Yunhao is only a little girl, and you are urging her to have a boyfriend."
"Why not ? My daughter is so beautiful, there's nothing strange about her having a boyfriend." Dad looked at Aunt Shen and said unconvinced.
"Yunhao is beautiful, but at her age, she should focus on her studies." Aunt Shen was a little speechless and said, "Look at you, you just think about these things every day."
I couldn't help but find it funny to see them arguing about whether or not I talked about my boyfriend. I've never seen my dad like this in all these years. He's full of energy.
I didn't say anything else, just smiled and walked out of the house. Maybe it would be better to give them some space at this time.
I was walking aimlessly on the street alone, and before I knew it, I came to the night market street that Chen Qiaoluo and I used to go to. There were still so many people here, as if nothing had changed. But I was the only one who knew that they were the eternal ones, and it was always us who changed.
I walked into the same store by myself and sat down. The boss seemed to recognize me and asked me while busying himself, "Didn't Chen Qiaoluo come with you?"
I smiled bitterly and shook my head, looking at the couples around me. Compared with my own loneliness, I thought of Chen Qiaoluo again.
If he were still here, we would be having a good chat over a beer at this time.
If he were still here, we would definitely order lots and lots of food and curse each other for being starving ghosts reincarnated.
If he were still...
I felt my eyes becoming sore, and I didn’t know if it was because of the fumes, or because I missed the past too much, or because I missed Chen Qiaoluo.
This person may not be able to bear the nagging. Just as I was thinking about the past, Chen Qiaoluo suddenly appeared in front of me. But this time he was not alone. His arms were tightly wrapped with another pair of hands. I looked up and saw a heavily made-up girl clinging to him. Chen Qiaoluo seemed not to see me.
He lowered his head and said something to the girl. After a while, the girl was amused and trembled.
It seems that I am the only one who is sad.
I thought with some sadness that my nails had dug deeply into my flesh, but I was staring at them intently as if I didn't notice anything.
Chen Qiaoluo and the girl walked up to the boss and talked about something. After a while, he turned and looked at me. The moment he saw me, his face changed and his eyes were deep.
We stared at each other from a distance of five meters.
I don’t know how much time had passed before Chen Qiaoluo turned away first. He lowered his head and continued talking to the girl as if he didn’t see me.
The fortress in my heart seemed to collapse at this moment. I bit my lower lip tightly until I tasted blood in my mouth and came to my senses.
It seemed that Chen Qiaoluo didn't want to hide from me, so he sat down not far from me with the girl.
Seeing how close they were, I was furious. I suddenly remembered what Aunt Shen asked me tonight. She asked me if I had someone I liked, but the first person I thought of was not Guyu but Chen Qiaoluo. It turned out that, without realizing it, my feelings for Chen Qiaoluo had already deteriorated.
I smiled bitterly and laughed at myself in my heart for bringing it upon myself.
They were still whispering intimately in front of me, and I finally couldn't help but stood up and walked to Chen Qiaoluo and their table.
It seemed that they didn't expect me to come over. They both stood there in a daze for a moment. After a while, Chen Qiaoluo finally recovered from his shock. He glanced at me and asked, "Hello, Zhu Yun. What's up?"
I didn't answer him and just pulled the girl up from beside him.
She was startled and shouted at me, "Who are you?"
The girl's scream instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the store, but I didn't care at all and said to Chen Qiaoluo directly: "Let's talk."
"Let's talk?" Chen Qiaoluo looked at me with contempt as if he had heard a joke, and said, "Hello Zhu Yun, what else is there for us to talk about? You and Guyu are already together, aren't you? Why are you looking for me now..."
"Guyu and I have never been together." I interrupted him, took a deep breath and said, "You misunderstood everything. Guyu is just using me to make you angry."
Chen Qiaoluo was silent for two seconds after listening to what I said, and then he said, "So what? You like Guyu. Even if he uses you to irritate me, can you remain indifferent to his confession?"
Seeing him like this, I couldn't help but feel sad. I looked at him with some sadness and said, "Chen Qiaoluo, you guessed wrong. I no longer like Guyu. He was just the person who happened to appear when I was a dreamer. There is always a gap between him and reality. To be honest, his confession did not make me happy. On the contrary, your departure made me even more sad. Chen Qiaoluo, I said so much just to let you know that Guyu has never been an important person, but you are different. You are."
My words made Chen Qiaoluo silent.
The girl next to him seemed to have never expected that we would end up like this, and she just stood there in a daze.
Ten seconds passed.
Thirty seconds passed.
A minute passed.
I think I understand what Chen Qiaoluo means.
I smiled bitterly, looked at him and said, "Chen Qiaoluo, I understand what you mean. So let's do this, let's get back to being the best person for each other. From now on, I, Zhu Yunhao, and you, Chen Qiaoluo, are no longer friends. Even if we meet on the street in the future, I will never even glance at you."
Having said this, I left, but I was the only one who knew clearly that with every step I took, my heart was bleeding.
When I reached the intersection, I couldn't hold it in any longer and I squatted on the street corner and broke down crying.
Just as I was crying hysterically, someone suddenly pulled me up from the ground, and before I could react, I fell into a warm embrace. Then, Chen Qiaoluo's voice rang in my ears. He said, "Hello, Zhu Yun, why are you running?"
