Chapter 8 The Deceased Boy 2
Tonglin rolled her eyes and stopped shouting in her "violent" way. Instead, she stood there and said calmly, "Xichen is here."
As soon as the words fell, the girl on the bed turned over and sat up violently, staring at Tong Lin with eyes filled with strong resentment.
Tang Ai was really angry that Tong Lin mentioned Xi Chen at this moment, but Tong Lin didn't take it seriously. Instead, she grabbed Tang Ai's arm and said, "Put on your clothes and wash up, and I'll take you out."
"I'm not going!" Tang Ai shook her hand off.
Tong Lin crossed her arms over her chest, raised her toes on the ground, and said impatiently: "Isn't it just that the person you love died? You are still alive, do you have to be so hard on yourself?"
"The one who died wasn't the person you liked? What do you know!" Tang Ai raised her voice and retorted.
Tong Lin looked at her silently, and suddenly sneered: "Do you know me? How do you know that the person I like has never died?"
Tang Ai paused, raised her doubtful eyes and looked at Tong Lin. Tong Lin had an indifferent attitude, as if those past events were just other people's gossip: "As for me, my first love committed suicide, which was even more heartbreaking than Xi Chen's accident."
Tang Ai's eyes gradually softened, with a hint of guilt in them.
"Do you want to know?" Tong Lin slowly turned her gaze to Tang Ai. Tang Ai was slightly startled and nodded.
"Put on your clothes and come out with me." Tonglin raised her head slightly and signaled Tang Ai.
Tang Ai nodded, quickly changed her clothes, washed up briefly, and then followed Tong Lin out.
In fact, there was another person waiting outside—Xu Yueping.
Seeing Xu Yueping here, Tang Ai was confused but did not ask any more questions.
The photography exhibition was held far from the school, so Tang Ai and her three companions took the bus. Xu Yueping sat in the front, while Tang Ai and Tong Lin sat in the back. Tong Lin took this opportunity to tell Tang Ai her own story.
It turns out that Tonglin’s first love was her childhood sweetheart, and they had been in a relationship for eighteen years.
Tonglin’s first love was called Tongdan, which is pronounced as “shan” (shan) and was the older brother of the small compound where Tonglin lived. He was only one year older than her.
When Tonglin was born, little brother Tongdan finally had a younger brother and sister. Although he was still unsteady on his feet, he stumbled from home to Tonglin's house and witnessed the birth of Tonglin.
From then on, Tong Dan had a playmate, and he grew up with Tong Lin. Tong Dan was very protective of Tong Lin, even more so than Tong Lin's parents, but Tong Lin always loved to bully Tong Dan, and sometimes beat him until he cried loudly.
But Tong Dan never minded, because in his heart, Tong Lin was a little angel and his favorite person.
Although Tongdan is a boy, he does not have the characteristics that a boy should have. On the contrary, he is timid and introverted and will only play with people he is very close to. Apart from Tonglin, he has no friends.
During their youth growing up together, Tongdan had always been like this. He would rely on Tonglin to help him make decisions on many things.
Tonglin didn't want Tongdan to continue like this, so she secretly took him to see a doctor, only to find out that Tongdan suffered from dependent personality disorder.
In order to cure Tong Dan's illness, Tong Lin tried every method she could think of, but to little avail.
Even so, Tonglin did not dislike Tongdan, because in Tonglin's world, Tongdan was the one who treated her best without asking for anything in return.
Tonglin did not rush for success, but took a gradual approach, slowly pulling Tongdan out of his dependent personality disorder. However, when Tongdan was about to come out of his dependent personality disorder, a huge change happened in his family.
Dad was imprisoned for accidentally killing someone, and the victim's family came to Mom and demanded a huge amount of compensation. The cowardly Mom was unable to pay it back, and could not bear the persecution and insults of the debt collectors, so she committed suicide by cutting her wrists in the bathtub. The 19-year-old Tong Dan, who had just been admitted to university, ran home to tell his mother the good news, but saw this horrifying scene in the bathroom.
The horrifying scene stimulated his simple brain, causing him to lose his reason and consciousness, and he became even more introverted.
Later, Tonglin hadn't seen Tongdan and his mother for several days. She pried open the door of their house and went in. She saw mother and son cuddling together in the bathroom, covered in blood, and had already stopped breathing.
That scene was deeply engraved in Tonglin's mind and she would never forget it.
She didn't know when Tong Dan committed suicide. It must be something that Tong Lin herself could not have imagined that could make Tong Dan forget to look for her to solve his fear.
Others say that Tonglin is unlucky for falling in love with such a bad person, but only Tonglin knows how good Tongdan is.
When there are no adults at home, Tonglin always cooks for her.
When Tonglin was scolded by her parents, Tongdan was always the first to notice and stayed by her side silently. When she cursed, he listened; when she hit, he took the blame. As long as she was happy, he was willing to endure anything.
When encountering bad guys, Tong Dan would pull Tong Lin behind him. Even if he was beaten black and blue by the bad guys and didn't know how to fight back, he would not let Tong Lin get hurt at all.
Tongdan is a flawed child in the eyes of others, but in her heart, he is the most perfect person.
When Tonglin said this, there were barely noticeable tears in her eyes.
Tang Ai listened silently beside her. Tong Lin said with emotion: "Xiao Ai, I really envy you. The person you loved passed away, but there are so many people around you who are willing to use white lies to protect you in a beautiful life. There is even a person who is so similar to Xi Chen who loves and protects you with all his heart. I am not as lucky as you. When Tong Dan died, I was the only one in the whole compound. Over the years, I have never met another person who treats me as well as he did."
Tang Ai was silent for a while. Then she slowly leaned her head on Tong Lin's shoulder. Although she did not say a word, the emotions she wanted to express in her heart were all absorbed by Tong Lin through this action and the warmth of her body.
It sounds funny, but there is no malice in it. It turns out that when you find out that others are worse off than you, the pain you feel is nothing.
Along the way, Tang Ai didn't say a word, and she wasn't as averse to people approaching her as before.
The bus stopped outside the exhibition hall, and Tang Ai followed Tong Lin and Xu Yueping out of the bus and walked in. Xu Yueping walked in front and said, "This photography exhibition was jointly completed by French photographer Isabelle Sabé and plant stylist Duian Duque. Each photo has a hazy and soft feeling. A girl like Tang Ai must like it very much."
Tang Aimo smiled without saying anything. It was just a dandelion photography exhibition. What was there to like so much? When she was a child, she often ran around Tianwu Mountain and picked all the dandelions, big and small, on the mountain.
However, when she saw the works at the photography exhibition, she was immediately stunned.
The combination of dandelions, poppies, sunflowers and other plants with models shows the different textures of these plants. Some look like dust, some look like smoke, and some look like marshmallows. Each picture has a different artistic conception and shows a different beauty. It is a beauty that Tang Ai has never seen before.
"Ah, if someone with trypophobia comes to see this, they will definitely not be able to bear it, right?" Tong Lin stared at a picture in which a dandelion "veil" covered the model's eyebrows and eyes. She shuddered all over and kept clicking her lips.
Xu Yueping turned around and said bluntly: "That's called art, you don't understand."
"You know!" Tonglin made a face at him.
"I don't quite understand either, but Xiao Ai must understand." Xu Yueping looked at Tang Ai with a "fanboy" look on his face.
After hearing this, Tang Ai shrugged awkwardly and said, "I don't really understand it either, I just like it when I see it."
Tonglin immediately glared at Xu Yueping, implying that he had failed in his attempt to flatter her. Xu Yueping stuck out his tongue and said softly, "That's better than you, and you can't even appreciate it."
Upon hearing this, Tonglin pretended to hit him. At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from the other direction of the exhibition hall.
"There will be an 'Old Style' photography exhibition in our city next month. If Mr. Lin is interested, just make a phone call and Xi Feng will come and accompany you." Four people walked out from a corner of the exhibition hall. One was Xi Feng, and the other seemed to be his work partner. The two following behind were their assistants.
When Tang Ai saw Xi Feng, she stopped, her body seemed to be fixed there, and even her eyes were fixed on him. Xi Feng also noticed the people here, and when he looked over, his expression changed.
When Tang Ai received Xi Feng's gaze, she hurriedly dodged and turned away without saying a word.
Upon seeing this, Xi Feng hurriedly said to his work partner: "Sorry, Mr. Lin, I have to leave you for a while." After that, he ran up to chase Tang Ai.
Tong Lin and Xu Yueping were very quick to react. They were stunned for a moment, walked up to Mr. Lin, and said, "Mr. Lin, right? Mr. Xi has some difficult things to deal with. Since we are young, please understand. Next, the two of us will accompany Mr. Lin to visit this photography exhibition. Mr. Xi will be back soon."
Mr. Lin looked at the situation and guessed something in his mind, but he just smiled and said nothing.
Xi Feng, who had chased after her, ran up with a few big strides and grabbed Tang Ai's hand, saying in an urgent and helpless voice: "Xiao Ai..."
Tang Ai tried to withdraw her hand, but she couldn't get it free. She avoided his gaze and said with her head down, "Let me go. It's not good if others see us."
"Xiao Ai, I..." Xi Feng hesitated, "I haven't seen you for a long time."
"It doesn't matter. We don't have to meet. After all, we have nothing to do with each other." Tang Ai's head was like a ball of paste, sticky and thick, and she couldn't make out what she wanted to say.
"Is there really no relationship between us, or do you not want any relationship between us?" Xi Feng frowned, his heart aching slightly, but he had no intention of letting go.
Tang Ai finally raised her eyes after dodging them for a long time and stared into Xi Feng's eyes. Her facial expression seemed to conceal a lot of worries, but her words came out as if she had thought it through and said firmly: "You are not Xi Chen, you are Xi Feng."
You are not him. All the love I have for you is for Xichen, not for you.
"Just because I'm not your brother, are you going to hide from me forever?" Xi Feng asked with concern.
Tang Ai avoided his gaze again and whispered, "Please let me go, Xi Feng. I hope there will be no connection between us anymore. I hope you can understand me and understand how I feel when I see your face and think of the dead Xi Chen. You lied to me, I don't blame you, but please let me go, okay?"
Let her go...
If he let her go, Xi Feng didn't know if he could catch her again. In that case, how could he agree to let her go?
"Xiao Ai, I like you as much as I do my brother." Xi Feng released his hand and said seriously, "I will give us some time. You are actually used to me, but you are not used to the identity of Xi Feng. It doesn't matter. We can take it slowly. If you have time, can you recall what happened between us before? Please, don't forget me..."
Xi Feng's thoughtful words made Tang Ai's heart tremble slightly. The reason for the trembling was that those memories with Xi Feng were particularly unforgettable to her, and she couldn't forget them even if she wanted to.
Tang Ai sighed slightly, did not answer Xi Feng, turned around and walked out of the exhibition hall, and went to stop a car across the street.
In fact, her mind has always been confused about Xi Feng. The relationship they had in the past was not fake and could not be erased, but it was also true that she could not continue to get along with him, and there was no doubt about it.
As soon as Tang Ai stopped the car and left, Xu Yueping and Tong Lin ran out of the exhibition hall. They saw Xi Feng's back, walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and asked, "Where's Xiao Ai?"
Xi Feng had a little regret on his face and said, "Let's go."
"Then you guys..." Tonglin hesitated to speak.
Xi Feng knew what Tong Lin wanted to ask, and said, "It's still the same. In her eyes, she only recognizes Xi Chen, not Xi Feng."
"Xi Feng, don't be anxious, take your time. It's normal that Tang Ai can't accept it for a while." Xu Yueping comforted Xi Feng.
Xi Feng smiled faintly: "I know, I can wait."
"Then you go back to the exhibition hall first, and we'll go back to see Xiao Ai." Tong Lin was worried that Xi Feng would be away for too long and General Manager Lin would be unhappy.
Xi Feng nodded and looked at the two of them gratefully: "Thank you for your help."
Then he returned to the exhibition hall alone.
Tonglin and Xu Yueping looked at each other, shrugged, and took a taxi back to school together.
Soon, summer vacation arrived. The summer in Ancheng was a bit hot and humid. If you walked out of the house wearing thin clothes, you would feel the suffocation in the air after a while, and warm sweat would soon form on your neck.