20 Chapter 20

As the fight went on, Chen Ying suddenly felt upset. She cried silently on the pillow for a while, and then inappropriately thought of the night when no one showed up for the appointment. She stood in the wind for several hours, feeling the cold wind chill her heart.

The grievance in her heart grew bigger and bigger. The words she had typed were deleted completely in an instant. Chen Ying lay on her back on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

——

All the tension before the college entrance examination disappeared after the last subject. All the pressure is gone. The college entrance examination is over. No matter whether you are a boy or a girl, you are a hero again!

Chen Ying's uncle was very concerned about Chen Ying's mental stress. He would send delicious and nutritious food to the school gate every now and then to wait for Chen Ying. On the day of the college entrance examination, he even forcibly tied Chen Ying from the school gate and took her home, and also took Zhou Baixi with him.

Chen Ying's parents also went. They've been paying more attention to Chen Ying lately. For the last week, her mother has been staying at the rented cottage with her every day, cooking for her and washing fruit. Her father has also been coming over every few days, worried about Chen Ying's college entrance exams and his wife's health.

As expected, Zhou Baixi's parents had arrived early. Mother Zhou was helping in the kitchen, while Uncle Zhou and Chen Ying's father were peeling potatoes and picking vegetables in the living room. Chen Ying's mother was in poor health and wanted to help but was refused, so she could only stay in the kitchen and chat.

When Zhou Baixi met Chen Ying's parents for the first time, he inexplicably felt that her mother looked very similar to her uncle, with a similarity of about 85%.

Wu Qianqiu plays guitar on the balcony.

Chen Ying deliberately walked last, hiding her thin body behind Zhou Baixi, trying to hide herself in the corner.

The door was not closed. My uncle pushed it open and came in. He said happily to the person inside, "I brought the two children back. Is the meal ready? The children must be hungry."

Chen Ying looked up inside and called out "Uncle", but accidentally met Wu Qianqiu's eyes on the balcony and quickly lowered her head.

The elders attach great importance to their children’s college entrance examination and are very happy that they have finally finished the exam and no longer have to face so much pressure.

Zhou Baixi's parents never put pressure on him. He doesn't need to worry about grades. As one of the top three students in the grade of a key high school, he will not fail the entrance exam no matter how badly he does. His parents have only one requirement for him: to be physically and mentally healthy.

Chen Ying's parents would not care about her at all. After all, they had never taken care of her since she was a child, and she didn't listen to advice much when she grew up. From the first day of school, Chen Ying made all the decisions, big and small, by herself, and she accepted the consequences no matter whether they were on the wrong path or the right path.

She also knows the importance of the college entrance examination and will work hard for her future.

As soon as she entered the house, Chen Ying went straight into the kitchen, looking around for work to do. Of course, her aunt wouldn't let her do anything. She pushed her out of the kitchen and said, "Hey kid, you finally finished your exams and can relax, but why are you still in the kitchen? Go play with your brother. He asked for leave to come back specially. He asked the instructor for a long time for help."

Forehead……

Chen Ying was a little at a loss.

Compared to her bewilderment, Zhou Baixi seemed much more at ease. As soon as he entered the door, he went straight to the balcony and chatted with Wu Qianqiu, arm in arm, as if they were very familiar with each other.

"Yingying, come here." Chen Ying's father waved at her.

"How is it? What are your plans after the exam?"

Chen Ying sat down on the stool next to her and helped pick the vegetables. "I don't know yet. I just finished the exam and the room hasn't been cleaned up yet."

Zhou Baixi's father nodded with satisfaction, looking at Chen Ying with admiration. He pushed aside the unused leaves in the basket, picked up a new water spinach, and asked, "Yingying, do you want to go on a trip? I heard that kids nowadays go on a trip to relax for a few days after their exams. You can go with Baixi. It's safer to have a boy in the group."

Chen Ying glanced at Zhou Baixi out of the corner of her eye, shook her head, and continued with her work. "I'll probably find a summer job, not travel."

Chen Ying's father thought about it carefully and felt that she was right. "Entering society early will help with future work. If Yingying becomes independent sooner, I can retire sooner and go home to spend more time with your mother."

Chen Ying hummed lightly.

She always knew the reason why her family ignored her, so she was used to it and didn't react too much.

I heard that when her mother was pregnant, she was carrying twins, a boy and a girl. Later, she slipped on the stairs. The hospital tried to save her baby for a long time, but only one was saved.

Everyone in the family hoped the baby would be a boy, but Chen Ying had always known, from her grandmother's reactions since she was little, that she wasn't expected to be born. Furthermore, Chen Ying's mother had a difficult labor and heavy bleeding during childbirth. While Chen Ying wasn't experiencing any problems, her mother had survived a near-death experience, battling death.

Therefore, Chen Ying's father has always cared about her mother. Not only does he not have to go to work or do housework, but all the big and small things in the family are centered around Chen Ying's mother, and everything is done according to her preferences. As long as she takes good care of her health and stays happy every day, it's fine.

The grace of parents’ upbringing is greater than anything else, and Chen Ying also understands this truth. She has never blamed her parents for not caring about her, nor has she blamed her grandmother for not looking forward to her birth. She is used to being alone and can survive on her own.

"What nonsense are you talking about again." Chen Ying's mother just came out of the kitchen with her hands still wet. Chen Ying's father saw it with sharp eyes and immediately took out some paper to wipe her hands dry.

"I've told you so many times, don't touch cold water, it will hurt your stomach!" he scolded softly.

Chen Ying's mother slapped his hand away and smiled awkwardly.

"Yingying, if you want to travel with your friends, just tell mom. You've been under too much pressure these past few years. It's time to go out and have some fun."

Chen Ying smiled bitterly in her heart, thinking that even if she wanted to go out and play, she could go out alone, why did she have to find friends to go with her.

She had no idea who to go with her.

My uncle changed his clothes and came out. He walked around the kitchen again and came out and said, "Qianqiu, take your brother and sister to buy a few bottles of drinks. I forgot to buy them yesterday. I forgot that children can't drink alcohol."

Wu Qianqiu put down his guitar, and Zhou Baixi also put down his phone and came out with him.

The two walked to the entrance and found Chen Ying still sitting there. Wu Qianqiu returned the same way, patted Chen Ying on the head naturally, and said with a smile, "Let's go."

"I won't go. I'll help pick the vegetables." Chen Ying refused subconsciously.

"Hurry up, hurry up, who told you to pick the vegetables? Go out and play with your brothers." Her uncle didn't indulge her and directly lifted her shoulders to pull her up. "Ask your brother to pay for what you want to eat. He earns a little money from his part-time job. Don't save him money."

Zhou Baixi also came to pull her, and Chen Ying reluctantly followed the two men out.

There was clearly a convenience store selling drinks at the corner of the community exit, but Wu Qianqiu insisted on showing off his driving skills and suggested driving to the supermarket two blocks away to buy some.

Wu Qianqiu didn't know what was going on. His personality had changed a lot since he went to college. He had changed from being a mean and stingy person to a warm-hearted big brother next door.

Chen Ying watched him fasten her seat belt in horror, not daring to move, and suspected in her heart that he had attended a fake university.

These two people seemed abnormal today. When they arrived at the supermarket, they didn't look at the drinks first, but instead dragged Chen Ying to the snack area.

"Buy some of this, this, and this." Wu Qianqiu waved his hand and bought everything he thought Chen Ying would like.

Zhou Baixi was not to be outdone. He carefully selected many snacks. He saw that many girls in the class liked to eat them.

Chen Ying didn't want to pick anything and followed them numbly, not knowing that the snacks were picked for her. It wasn't until Zhou Baixi walked to a place selling fish tanks, looked at them several times, and asked Chen Ying for her opinion, asking her to choose her favorite one that she realized belatedly that Zhou Baixi was going to give her a gift?

She walked away embarrassedly and went to the beverage area to get milk silently.

She was actually very embarrassed to face Zhou Baixi. She didn't know why, but every time she saw him, she always felt shy, and her already taciturn personality became even more silent. She just wanted to watch Zhou Baixi from a distance. Being too close would make her heart beat faster.

After picking out the milk, she quietly went to the checkout counter and waited. Wu Qianqiu came out with a cart of snacks for young girls and excitedly paid the bill. The cashier glanced at the three of them, her face suddenly beaming. She said, "Little sister, it's great to have two brothers now. Buy whatever you want, they pay anyway. My brother only knows how to quarrel with me. I don't know when he will grow up."

Chen Ying wanted to say no, they bought it for themselves to eat, but she felt that it was unnecessary and it didn't seem to have any impact if she didn't explain.

So he smiled politely and helped pack the bags on the other side.

When the three of them arrived home carrying several large bags of snacks, the last dish in the kitchen had just been prepared and the dining table was already full of dishes, waiting for the three children to come back.

Wu Qianqiu seemed to have changed his personality. He kept picking food for Chen Ying, making her feel uncomfortable. She even began to miss the days when she was ignored. She thought to herself, why don't you just exclude me?

Zhou Baixi sat next to Wu Qianqiu, and they had a pretty good relationship. It was obvious to all that Zhou Baixi was good-looking. In fact, Wu Qianqiu was not bad either. He was a little ugly when he was a child, but he turned out to be quite good after growing up. I don't know why his biological parents abandoned him. He was quite pitiful.

Chen Ying was preoccupied with what she had to do tonight, and her attention was absent as she picked up the food. She had wanted to pick up a piece of fish to clear her head, but when she didn't pay attention, her chopsticks reached in and accurately caught a fish bone. She didn't see it clearly until she was about to put it into the bowl.

"Yingying." Uncle suddenly mentioned Chen Ying.

She was startled and the fish bone fell into the bowl. She put down her chopsticks and listened to her uncle first.

It’s nothing more than that Chen Ying has been very independent since childhood, and has always been his pride, to the extent that he would praise it to everyone he met. Finally, the college entrance examination is over. I hope that the future path will always be smooth, without obstacles, and in good health.

Chen Ying missed a beat of what was said afterwards because she was shocked by the collision of her soul. Almost at the same time, the second after she put down her chopsticks, two hands reached out to pick up the chopsticks at the same time.

Wu Qianqiu was a bit far away, and the moment he saw Zhou Baixi reaching out, he withdrew his hand. So Chen Ying watched helplessly as Zhou Baixi, sitting next to her, picked up her chopsticks, picked out the small piece of fish bone and placed it on the plate, then repeated the process of picking up a piece of intact fish meat for her.

She seemed to have forgotten what her uncle said after listening to it once, and could only nod, smile and say "hmm" according to her heart.

Chen Ying's father asked her to toast her uncle. Chen Ying got anxious and stood up from her seat. She toasted her uncle with water instead of wine. Because she drank too quickly, she choked, which made everyone laugh.

Her palms seemed to be sweating and wet, which made her feel very uncomfortable. Chen Ying wanted to wash her hands before eating, so she sneaked into the kitchen while no one was noticing her.

The evening in midsummer is still very hot. When the cool water wets the palms of your hands, the coolness seems to penetrate into your heart, making you calm down and feel the sound of the water.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Chen Ying was startled by the sudden sound. Zhou Baixi walked around to her with a smile and put his hand under the faucet.

Chen Ying replied calmly: "Wash your hands, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Baixi placed his washed hands in front of her and smiled, "I'll wash my hands too."

His slender white hands were covered with water droplets. He shook his hands, and even if they were only half dry, he didn't need to look for a tissue to wipe them dry.

When he was about to leave, Chen Ying stopped him, not knowing where she got the courage from. "Would you like to go downstairs to get some fresh air tonight? Let's go together."

Seeing the boy's puzzled look, he mustered up the courage to say, "I have something to tell you. Let's go to the pavilion downstairs."

The young man responded crisply, "Okay."

Finally... I finally had the courage to say this. As I said it, Chen Ying's heart was trembling.

Her palms seemed to be sweating again, so she washed them again before going back.

There were a lot of dishes to cook tonight, and my aunt didn't want Chen Ying to go into the kitchen, but she insisted on helping.

While cleaning up, I could hear some laughter from outside from time to time, but it was not very clear because of the sound of water.

As soon as Zhou Baixi came out of Wu Qianqiu's room, he heard Uncle Chen Ying talking about Taekwondo. He keenly caught a key word: stars.

"Uncle, I forgot to ask you before, what was the name of the little boy who played with me when I was a child?" He sat on the armrest of the sofa and asked curiously.

Hearing this question, Uncle Chen Ying laughed for a long time before saying, "You're talking about the stars, right? That's Yingying!"

Zhou Baixi was stunned. He followed his gaze towards the kitchen and asked in shock, "She is... that little boy?"

Zhou Baixi's father had just heard about Chen Ying's childhood story. He rolled his eyes at Zhou Baixi and said, "What little boy? She's a little girl. She was so cute since she was little."

"No matter how cute he is, he is still a boy. He has such short hair and doesn't like to talk." This is unreasonable.

Uncle Chen Ying smiled and pointed to the kitchen. "Look at how talkative my Yingying is now. Isn't she still the same as when she was little?"

Zhou Baixi: “…” Indeed, it makes sense.

Zhou Baixi didn't give up and went to the kitchen to ask Chen Ying, "When you were little, your name was Xingxing? Was it the little boy I kicked that year?"

“…”

Little boy... Zhou Baixi realized belatedly that his choice of words was inappropriate, "Are you angry?" He rubbed his hands, a little nervous.

Chen Ying shook her head. "No. My grandma always asks me why I'm not a little boy."

“…”

Zhou Baixi frowned and said nothing. After a moment of silence, he walked straight out of the kitchen.

Chen Ying was a little puzzled, thinking that Zhou Baixi was blaming her for not telling her that she was Xingxing, and she got angry.

She didn't understand. Was she really that annoying? Today, her cousin wasn't angry at all, but Zhou Baixi was...

Chen Ying, who was already silent, became even silenter. She washed the dishes silently and didn't even hear her mother calling her from outside.

At 9:10 in the evening, I finally cleaned up the kitchen.

Chen Ying remembered the agreement, but did not see Zhou Baixi in the house. She thought he had gone to Wu Qianqiu's room again, so she waited patiently for him to come out.

It was ten o'clock, and Zhou Baixi still hadn't come out. Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou were about to leave, and Chen Ying realized that Zhou Baixi had gone out a long time ago. His friend called him to ask him to sing, and he went out while she was still washing dishes.

Her heart seemed to sink for a moment, and Chen Ying followed him downstairs silently.

It was no longer hot now, and the air was very fresh. Walking outside was just the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, but cool and pleasant. Chen Ying went to the pavilion and sat down, leaning against the pavilion pillar in a daze.

Yes, she knew where her courage tonight came from. It was probably those vague preferences that she felt.

It’s not that no one in the class had gossiped about them, but it was too outrageous. Even she, the person involved, couldn’t be trusted, let alone Zhou Baixi. Besides, the two of them had always kept a distance and had not done anything inappropriate. The most they interacted with each other was doing homework and tutoring. Even the teacher asked her to communicate more with Zhou Baixi.

But those patient explanations over and over again, exceeding the patience he showed others, and the occasional caring, all made Chen Ying feel special. It was like the first time she wanted to give her all to someone without asking for anything in return, without reservation, that was partiality.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, she was still waiting.

During this time, her parents called. For the first time in her life, Chen Ying lied and said she was out playing and would be back later. Her parents didn't say anything.

At twelve o'clock, there were almost no residents downstairs. Those who needed to sleep had already gone to bed, and those who had been working overtime had all returned. The lights on both sides of the cobblestone road were still on, but they could not illuminate the pavilion.

Chen Ying walked to the street light, leaned against the lamppost, and remained silent for a long time.

At 1:30 in the morning, my uncle also called and said that the door was not locked, and I should remember to lock it when I came back. He also reminded me to be careful when playing with classmates, and not to lose my vigilance late at night.

In fact, by now, Chen Ying herself knew that Zhou Baixi would not come, and she should go back, but her feet seemed to be rooted and she could not move at all.

There were too many mosquitoes under the street lights, so she went back to the pavilion and sat down, hiding herself in the night and staring blankly.

The night wind was a little chilly, and she was wearing thin clothes. She couldn't help sneezing, and her forearms were cold.

She was no longer waiting for someone, but she was unwilling to give up, and she couldn't bring herself to call Zhou Baixi to ask if he couldn't come because of something. She was worried that there were other people around him, and she didn't want anyone other than Zhou Baixi to know her feelings.

At 2:50 in the morning, Chen Ying, who had been exposed to the cold wind for a long time, finally cheered up, took a deep breath, turned on the flashlight and went back to her uncle's house.

She has a room at her uncle's house, but she rarely stays there, regardless of whether Wu Qianqiu is at home or not. Tonight, her parents are sleeping at her uncle's house, and Chen Ying sleeps with her mother. Her mother has fallen asleep early, and she is wondering how she can go back without waking them up.

The elevator was a little dark, and somehow I felt like there was someone inside before I even got in.

Chen Ying stopped and cautiously shone the flashlight inside, and saw a person standing next to Elevator No. 1.

He was smoking a cigarette, and when he saw the light, his eyes were blocked by reflex, and he slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth.

————

"Honey, are you asleep?" Ye Jinyi knocked on the door of Chen Ying's room.

"without."

The door opened and Ye Jinyi came in with a piece of cut fruit salad. He put a piece of paper under the bowl and then climbed into Chen Ying's bed.

"Move a little closer, it's so narrow here."

Chen Ying moved to the side.

"Did you tell me? Did you tell me?" Meeting Chen Ying's troubled eyes, Ye Jin immediately stopped smiling and scolded her, "I knew you weren't ready yet."

Chen Ying whispered, "I think being just ordinary friends is fine."

"Oh my, oh my, just ordinary friends." Ye Jinyi teased, passing the fork with a piece of mango to him. "I say, just ordinary friends, are you willing? We have to give it a try. What's so scary about failure? It won't bring shame."

Chen Ying remained silent and just ate the fruit mechanically.

Ye Jinyi was anxious. He stuffed the big bowl into her hands, took out his phone from his pajamas pocket and looked through the list. "I'll ask around for you."

"Who are you asking? Don't scare me!" Chen Ying was so panicked that she wanted to grab the phone.

"I'm looking for Song Xia, who else can I look for?" If she could find Zhou Baixi directly, she would want to get into his mind to see what he was thinking. He would look for Chen Ying whenever he had time, and he would look for her just to have a meal. Ye Jinyi didn't believe that he was looking for the feelings of the past.

"Let me tell you, based on what you've said about his behavior since you came back, I conclude that he either wants to pursue you, or he's a scumbag who's deliberately trying to hook you." If he really dares to hook me, I'll have to go find him and make a big fuss.

WeChat really dialed out, and Song Xia answered it quickly, and a lazy voice came from the megaphone.

"Hey Xiaoxia, how are you doing recently?" Ye Jinyi was chatting with others with a smile, but when Chen Ying thought about the purpose of Ye Jinyi making this video, she wanted to bury her head in the quilt.

As expected of someone working in the new media, Ye Jinyi has mastered the art of speaking. In just a few words, he naturally brought up the topic of Song Xia's boyfriend, and then went on to talk about her boyfriend's brother.

"His brother's name is Zhou Baixi. An old sister of mine saw his photo from somewhere and insisted that I ask about him. I'm not familiar with him, and that damn girl Chen Ying was just his high school classmate. We've only known each other for two years, so we don't know anything about each other. I just want to ask you..." Ye Jin raised his eyebrows, as if he was asking for gossip.

Song Xia let out a long "oh" as she applied the facial mask, then said briskly, "That's really unfortunate. Li Hao said that his brother is a stubborn person and already has a girl he likes. He probably won't add other girls."

"What?!" The two people on the other end of the phone were shocked at the same time.

Song Xia paused and asked in a low voice, "Sister Yiyi, is Sister Chen here?"

Ye Jinyi regained his shock and glanced to the side. The video camera was focused on Chen Ying, who had been hiding in the quilt since the video was connected. "Look, she's full and plump."

Chen Ying quietly stuck her head out and greeted Song Xia.

"Oh, Li Hao specifically told me not to tell anyone. My sisters, please don't tell anyone." She washed her hands, picked up her phone, and found a place to lie down outside. "But you should all know that person."

Chen Ying smiled awkwardly, "Do I... know him too?"

"Of course!" Song Xia raised an eyebrow, "You knew him before any of us did."

Chen Ying could only think of her high school classmates.

Finished, Barbie buckled. Ye Jinyi didn't dare to look at Chen Ying's face.

Why did she bother to make this call? Now that the other person has someone he likes, Chen Ying must be sad.