Chapter 9 Old Childhood

  Sweethearts The autumn sunset hung in a corner of the sky, stretching the shadows of the sycamore trees on both sides of the campus path.

  Wen Ling, holding Fang Qing on her arm, skipped along the way, chattering non-stop about today's happiness. The smile on the girl's face gradually infected Fang Qing's mouth.

  Her brother Fang Ming was working overtime today, so he sent a message in advance, telling Fang Qing to go home with her classmates after school, or to go to Wen's house first and wait for him to pick her up after work.

  Wen Ling happened to be pestering her to help her with the questions these days, so she simply replied to her brother and said she would go to Wen's house to wait for him.

  The two girls were waiting for Wen Ning at the school gate. They turned around and saw a new store opened on the roadside. Without saying a word, they pulled Fang Qing inside.

  The glass display cabinets made of new wood were wiped to the ground so that the glass could not be seen. Wen Ling lay on top of them and looked at the rows of them. The more she looked, the more itchy she felt.

  "Qingqing, look! This racket is much better than the ones sold in department stores! If I buy this, I guarantee no one will be able to beat me."

  Fang Qing followed Wen Ling's hand and looked over. It was a pair of high-quality table tennis rackets. In recent years, the country has encouraged the development of sports, and colleges and universities have begun recruiting students with athletic specialties, leading to a surge in enthusiasm for sports in schools.

  Wen Ling, despite her seemingly playful appearance, surprisingly loved table tennis. During breaks, she could often be seen playing against other students.

  In Fang Qing's opinion, those who could consistently play table tennis possessed a sharp mind and a stable mentality. So, when he learned of her passion for table tennis, he initially thought she wouldn't be able to stick with it for long. Unexpectedly, this girl, who knew nothing about math, physics, and chemistry, had an exceptionally strong grasp of the game.

  Fang Qing raised his hand to signal to the boss that he wanted to see something, then took the racket and handed it to Wen Ling.

  Wen Ling carefully took it, gesturing with it for a few times, and her love for it grew even stronger.

  Seeing Wen Ling's fondness, Fang Qing was tempted too. But after glancing at the price tag, he felt a bit embarrassed: this racket was only three yuan!
  In those days, economic development was still slow, and the average person only earned a few dozen yuan a month, so three yuan was a significant expense.

  They were still students, and after deducting their daily expenses, they only had a few yuan left in their pockets. Coming up three yuan at once was a bit of a stretch for Fang Qing.

  But remembering that the weekend was Wen Ling's birthday, Fang Qing steeled his resolve and took out his own food allowance for the following week. While Wen Ling wasn't paying attention, he quietly called the boss over to give her a surprise.

  "Boss, wrap this up for me..."

  "That's a great racket, Brother Changqing, I want it!"

  Angered at the sudden yanking of the racket from his hand, Fang Qing turned to see who had been so ungracious, and was stunned to find Sun Changqing and Liu Xiuxiu.

  The boy's face was beaming with a friendly smile; the girl was pretty and charming, her clothes stylish. Although they didn't look like the same kind, their linked arms betrayed their close relationship.

  Fang Qing didn't want to pay attention to them, but he was determined to buy something, so he gestured to the boss to pack it up. But Liu Xiuxiu kept holding onto the racket, which made the boss a little embarrassed. "Sorry, this is the only one we have in the store right now. The next batch will arrive next week. Hey, young man, this is the one the girl liked first. How about..."

  "Brother Changqing, my birthday is coming up soon. It's rare to find something I like, so buy it for me..."

  He then pretended to have just noticed Fang Qing, "Classmate, just give it to me... Hey? Fang Qing? It's you..."

  Sun Changqing immediately recognized Fang Qing beside him. The little girl had grown into a beautiful woman, which made Sun Changqing's face suddenly feel a little hot. "Qingqing, long time no see."

  Sun Changqing's soft voice was like a pleasant bell, making the girls' eyes light up. But Fang Qing didn't react at all. She just nodded politely and greeted him. Then she looked at Liu Xiuxiu beside her and said, "This is what I liked first. Sorry, I'm in a hurry to use it."

  Hearing this, Liu Xiuxiu pouted in grievance, but Sun Changqing's attention was all on Fang Qing. He shook Liu Xiuxiu off and hurriedly replied, "It's okay, it's okay, I'll give it to you first."

  The boss breathed a sigh of relief and quickly put the box in a small box and handed it to Fang Qing.

  "You, are you okay?" he asked again.

  Looking at the red-eared boy in front of him, Fang Qing felt as if he were in another world. In her previous life, he had stood before her like this, shyly yet stubbornly handing her a beautiful envelope, earnestly confessing his love to her amidst the falling autumn leaves.

  Back then, she had been his childhood playmate, and rumor had it their families had arranged a marriage for them. So, Fang Qing was anticipating and certain of his confession. Had it not been for something that happened to her later, perhaps they would have had a happy ending.

  But life has no rehearsals. Her previous life had been so miserable, and those youthful loves, which only existed in her memory, had long since dissipated in the passage of time during the long and painful years.

  Although she had never considered rekindling their past relationship, she had never imagined that they would meet under such circumstances in this life.

  Fang Qing's silence made the atmosphere awkward. Wen Ling turned around and noticed the strange boy staring directly at Fang Qing. She instinctively stepped in front of Fang Qing and was about to rebuke him when the girl next to her spoke up, "Fang Qing? Don't you recognize me? I'm Xiuxiu."

  Liu Xiuxiu? Oh, of course she recognized him. Although she had deliberately distanced herself from those people in her hometown in this life, this former "good friend" had done so many good things for her that she couldn't forget him even if she wanted to!
  In their previous life, they had been playmates since childhood, and when they grew up, they went to school and played together. After she got into trouble, she had no one to confide in. Because Fang Qing trusted her completely, she told her about her pregnancy and asked for help. But she never expected that the next day, it would cause a sensation in the city...

  Thinking of this, Fang Qing's face turned slightly cold. She put her things in her bag, lowered her eyelids to block the look in her eyes, and said, "I don't remember." After saying this, she was about to pull Wen Ling away.

  Unexpectedly, Liu Xiuxiu stepped forward and grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving, pretending to be close to her, "Qingqing, Brother Changqing heard about your situation recently, and we were worried about you. Fortunately, the matter has been resolved. It's been a few years since we last met, how come you learned to fight? Girls, you still have to pay attention to your image..."

  Fang Qing was confused by Liu Xiuxiu's behavior, and it took her a long time to react. She tried to pull her arm away several times, but Liu Xiuxiu held it tightly. Fang Qing even felt that she was deliberately pinching the tender flesh on the inside of her arm.

  Seeing her frown in pain, Wen Ling pushed away the entangled Liu Xiuxiu, her hands on her hips and her brows furrowed, "I say, are you crazy? She said she doesn't remember you, why are you still pestering her? Let go, you're hurting her!"

  Liu Xiuxiu looked at Wen Ling, who was in the way, with venom in her drooping eyes. She turned around and looked at Sun Changqing, and her expression immediately changed.

  (End of this chapter)