Chapter 7: The Endless Bond
They had to go out for purchasing, and after getting Gao Manman's approval in the name of going out for fun, Xu Cheng took Lin Wanzhou out.
Whether it was "going to the company" or going out to play with the kids, Lin Wanzhou found it very novel. She jumped for joy, holding the paper cup phone given by Xu Cheng in her hand.
Children take their favorite things with them wherever they go.
"Lin Wanzhou, do you often mention my name in front of your mother?"
Xu Cheng asked curiously, remembering Gao Manman's playful look in front of the cooked food stall that day. It was obvious that she had heard of my name a long time ago.
I think it has something to do with Lin Wanzhou. This girl likes me so much, she must have mentioned me a lot at home.
Thinking about it more , it's possible that she would say something like she would marry me when she grows up. Well, this must be the reason why Gao Manman paid attention to me.
"No." To Xu Cheng's surprise, Lin Wanzhou denied it directly, "My mother asked about it herself."
"Hmm? What did she ask?"
"Hmm... let me think... right! She asked me the name of the kid who was criticized by his parents for wetting his pants after school that day, and I told her your name."
Xu Cheng's face turned red, and she almost wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. This dark history really could not be avoided!
Lin Wanzhou stared at Xu Cheng with clear eyes, "Xu Cheng, why are you silent?"
"I've blocked you. Let's contact each other by sending a message in a bottle later."
"ah?"
Amid the noise, Xu Cheng brought Lin Wanzhou to the gate of the community. Seeing that Xu Cheng wanted to go out, Lin Wanzhou tugged at the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes in fear and said softly, "Xu Cheng... Mom doesn't let us go out to play..."
Xu Cheng nodded, "Yes, she doesn't let us go out to play, but we are going out to do business! We are not going against your mother's wishes, right? This is not a conflict, right?"
Lin Wanzhou tilted his head back and thought about it. He felt as if something was wrong, yet it also seemed as if there was nothing wrong at all.
Xu Cheng leaned close to Lin Wanzhou's ear and whispered, "Don't you want to play with the company anymore? Aren't you curious about what's on the other side of the sea?"
Lin Wanzhou was startled, "We are going to the beach?"
“It’s a metaphor.”
"What is a metaphor?"
"Don't you know what a metaphor is?" Looking at Lin Wanzhou's confused face, Xu Cheng suddenly became impatient. The child was really troublesome, like a burden. He couldn't understand what was said and couldn't follow the joke.
"Forget it, forget it. Don't follow me. I'll go shopping by myself. You go home first and tell your mother that I'm going home by myself."
Ignoring Lin Wanzhou's pitiful expression, Xu Cheng turned around and walked out of the community gate, leaving Lin Wanzhou standing there alone.
After taking a few steps, he staggered and felt someone pulling at the corner of his clothes. He turned around and saw that it was Lin Wanzhou who was pulling him.
"Didn't I tell you to go home?"
The breeze was neither fast nor slow, and Lin Wanzhou's small hands held the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes tightly.
"But... Mom said it's very dangerous outside... There are a lot of bad people... What if Xu Cheng gets into danger? I have to protect Xu Cheng..."
Xu Cheng was stunned for a long time and coughed twice, "Then you have to follow me well."
“Yeah.” Lin Wanzhou smiled happily. Her two dimples seemed to blend in with all the colors around them, spreading brilliantly at the corners of her mouth.
Xu Cheng's destination was Jinghai Wholesale Market, which was not too far from the family compound. It might only take an adult about ten minutes to get there, but according to his estimation, it would take two children half an hour to walk there.
The afternoon sun was warm but not scorching, and the warm breeze unique to spring lingered around the two children.
"Xu Cheng, Xu Cheng, how long will it take? Tell me a story." Lin Wanzhou's little hand was still tightly grasping the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes, and the paper cup phone that Xu Cheng gave her was hanging around her neck.
In the past, when Xu Cheng was bored in kindergarten, he would chat with Lin Wanzhou and tell her some stories suitable for children, such as the little pig in Langlang Mountain and the puppy with a chainsaw on his head, which were light-hearted and interesting fairy tales.
"Then let me tell you a story about a little duck lining up." Xu Cheng held his hands behind his head. "Once upon a time, there was a little duck lining up. He wanted to align with the duck in front of him, but he couldn't align no matter what he did. He kept muttering: "Can't align duck, can't align."
Lin Wanzhou stared at Xu Cheng with confused eyes, which made Xu Cheng feel embarrassed. "Ahem, why are you looking at me... Do you understand?"
Lin Wanzhou nodded gently and said "hmm". Her clear eyes were filled with smiles. The corners of her mouth curved like a crescent moon. She looked very happy. She put her hands behind her back and hopped forward. The two paper cups of the paper cup phone also jumped in the air as she jumped.
"It's okay~"
The two of them walked through alleys and intersections together. All the experiences were new and new to Lin Wanzhou. Along the way, she would suddenly squat down to look at the pretty flowers on the roadside, or go over to touch the orange cat napping under a stone bench.
The closer they got to the wholesale market, the more people there were. Lin Wanzhou looked at the red light on the sidewalk that was about to turn green, and the steel torrent whistling on the road, his face serious as if facing a great enemy.
Xu Cheng noticed her expression, "What's wrong with you?"
Lin Wanzhou explained hesitantly, "I walked too slowly. If I hadn't walked past, I would have been hit by the big car..."
Xu Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Then hold my hand and let's rush across the road in one go!"
"oh!"
Lin Wanzhou held Xu Cheng's hand tightly. The warmth from Xu Cheng on her palm made her feel much more at ease.
The moment the red light turned green, Xu Cheng pulled her little hand and rushed across the zebra crossing. Both children were running out of breath. Lin Wanzhou's forehead was soaked with sweat, and a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead, but she was very happy.
With Xu Cheng around, crossing the road doesn’t seem so scary anymore.
I took Lin Wanzhou to a toy wholesale store. It was normal for children to buy toys, but buying other things would arouse suspicion among adults.
He and Lin Wanzhou looked around the store for a while, and waited until an uncle came in and bought something from the owner. Then he ran to the front desk and said to the owner, "Auntie, I want five Tamagotchis that uncle just sold wholesale, and ten plastic pistols."
He just heard the prices. Five Tamagotchis are 40 yuan, and ten plastic pistols are 2 yuan. I believe the owner will not feel comfortable cheating him now.
"Little boy, why did you buy so much? Does your family know? Auntie can buy one here, but the price is a little higher."
Xu Cheng responded calmly, "Auntie, I have many brothers and sisters at home. Mom said I can't be a selfish child. I want to buy some toys for them too."
"Ah! You are such a sensible child. Auntie will help you put it together."
Everyone likes a sensible child. The owner packed the things for Xu Cheng and gave him change. He spent a total of 42 yuan and got 5 Tamagotchis and 10 plastic pistols.
Tamagotchi, also known as electronic pet eggs, is now popular all over the world. The one Xu Cheng bought is a pirated copy with good quality and low price. Pirated products driving out genuine products is a characteristic of Dragon Country. Bandai's genuine products have always performed poorly in the Chinese market because of their high prices.
Carrying the black plastic bag, Xu Cheng left contentedly and went to Lin Wanzhou who was waiting at the store door.
"Xu Cheng, are you okay?"
"Okay, okay, we've completed the shopping."
"So what are we going to do next?"
"Sales, but you don't have to worry about this, let's go back quickly."
The way back was very long for a child. The two walked for more than ten minutes. Lin Wanzhou cried and grabbed the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes, saying pitifully that she couldn't walk anymore.
"If you can't walk anymore, take a break."
Xu Cheng found a roadside lawn with three abandoned cement pipes piled on it. The two men climbed up and sat on them.
At dusk, the setting sun cast a golden edge on the clouds in the sky. The chirping of birds mixed with the music from the loudspeakers of a primary school not far away after school. It was melodious and peaceful. With a slight breeze, a few pale pink petals of peach blossoms fell like drizzle, bringing the fragrance of peach blossoms to the tip of the nose, refreshing the heart.
Xu Cheng leaned against the pipe and stretched leisurely. The world was incredibly beautiful at this moment. He hadn't stopped to look at it for many years.
"Xu Cheng."
Lin Wanzhou picked up the paper cup phone hanging around her neck and threw it to Xu Cheng, "Let's talk!" Her little face looked rosy under the setting sun.
Xu Cheng yawned and put the paper cup to his ear. Lin Wanzhou's crisp voice came from the paper cup, sounding a little magnetic.
"Xu Cheng, what is your dream?"
Xu Cheng blurted out, "Buy a house."
Lin Wanzhou seemed disdainful and pouted, "Tsk, your dream is too boring."
"So what is your dream?"
“I wish I could grow up quickly!”
Xu Cheng was surprised, "Why do you have to grow up so quickly?"
"When you grow up, you can do a lot of things. You can watch TV for a long time without anyone bothering you, you can buy whatever you want, and you can get married..." When it comes to marriage, Lin Wanzhou seems to become shy. She secretly glanced at Xu Cheng a few times, her face blushed a little, and her voice became softer.
"Is growing up so good? Have you ever thought that you won't recognize me when you grow up?"
Lin Wanzhou looked confused, "Why don't you know Xu Cheng?"
"There are many reasons. For example, we will be going to primary school soon. Your family's financial situation will definitely send you to the best experimental primary school in the city, and I can only be assigned to the ordinary Chengguan Primary School. By then, it will be difficult for us to see each other every day, and it may even be difficult to say a word to each other."
"In the future, maybe we won't say a word to each other for one year, three years, four years, ten years... Even if we occasionally meet, we will feel awkward and pretend not to know each other. Slowly, we will forget about each other."
Lin Wanzhou, who had never experienced separation, had never thought about these things. When she heard Xu Cheng's words, tears came out all of a sudden, as if she had lost something important.
She put the paper cup on her legs, her eyes sparkling in the sunset, "I don't want to go to a different elementary school than Xu Cheng... I don't want to forget Xu Cheng... wuwu..."
Lin Wanzhou was crying so hard that Xu Cheng was at a loss. He patted her back and tried to comfort her, "Ahem, don't cry. We will definitely be able to go to the same elementary school."
Lin Wanzhou raised her head and looked at Xu Cheng with tears in her eyes, her eyes red, "Really?"
Xu Cheng wiped the tears from her eyes with his sleeve, "Really, really, you've cried like a kitten."
Lin Wanzhou sniffed hard, then searched around and picked a bunch of white fluffy dandelions from the lawn.
"Then let's... make a promise to the dandelions..."
"Lin Wanzhou and Xu Cheng...neither of us can abandon the other...we will grow up together!"
Lin Wanzhou held his hands in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and blew gently at the dandelion. The seeds like small umbrellas flew away with the wind.
At this moment, there was no adult's playful expression on Xu Cheng's face.
It's still quite sad. I remember that every time I saw childhood sweethearts like Shinran and Yubing showing off their love, I would feel a little lost and regretful deep in my heart.
But he didn't expect that in the time when he had completely forgotten everything, there was such a sweet and soft girl who regarded him so important.
Of course, life is always filled with misses and separations, and no one dares to say that anyone can stay with anyone forever.
But since time has given him the opportunity to meet again with the destined person he missed, he should hold on to the fate tightly. Perhaps this bond will really be like the language of dandelions and will never end.
