Chapter 78

Chuxia ran home, put on her schoolbag, put on her scarf and gloves, whispered something in Wu Xuemei's ear, then went to the front yard, pushed her bicycle, and ran out swiftly.

She pushed the bicycle in front of Lin Xiaohan, and handed the handlebars to him while breathing slightly. After he lifted his legs and got on the bicycle, she climbed to the back and sat down.

When Lin Xiaohan rode his bike out of the alley, Chu Xia stretched her head and asked him, "What do you want to eat?"

Lin Xiaohan said, "It's your turn to decide."

It's already evening, and it gets dark early in winter.

So Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan didn’t hang around outside for long and went straight to find a place to have dinner.

Nowadays, when you eat out, the restaurants are all state-owned, there isn’t much variety, and the food is limited.

The only thing that could be a little special is to have Western food, so after thinking it over, Chu Xia invited Lin Xiaohan to a Western restaurant.

It was cold riding on the road, so the two of them didn't say anything.

Sitting down in the restaurant, Chuxia took off her hat, scarf and gloves, and started chatting with Lin Xiaohan. She asked, "Why did you stay here to go to college? I thought you wanted to go to another place."

When filling out the application form, Lin Xiaohan did not tell her which university he applied to, nor did he tell her about his thoughts and intentions. Chuxia did not ask more questions either. She was used to keeping a distance when interacting with him and not asking too much.

The waiter brought the menu over and asked them to order.

Lin Xiaohan didn't respond. He and Chuxia ordered food together and waited for the waiter to leave before continuing, "Why do you think I want to go to college in another city? I don't think I ever said I wanted to go to college in another city."

Chu Xia looked at him and prepared for the situation. "Then I'll just say it straight."

Lin Xiaohan could naturally see her caution and just said, "Can I eat you?"

Hearing him say that, Chu Xia said directly: "Of course you can't eat me, but I'm afraid that if I say something wrong I'll make you unhappy, and you'll just slam the table and walk away. Wouldn't that be very embarrassing for me?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia silently for a while.

Then he took a deep breath and said, "Is it tiring to get along with me?"

Wow, he actually reflects on himself. It's like the sun rising from the west.

Since she had already said it directly, Chu Xia did not try to be tactful and continued to answer: "Yes, she is moody and unpredictable. You can never tell when she will be unhappy. Her face is ugly and her words are unpleasant to hear. When she is in a cold face, she is particularly scary."

Lin Xiaohan naturally could not deny his previous behavior.

He looked at Chu Xia and said, "Okay, I will try my best to correct it in the future. If there is anything I do not do well again, you can directly point it out to me. Don't be polite to me."

Chu Xia stared into his eyes, "Really?"

Lin Xiaohan nodded: "Yes."

Chu Xia was really not polite, "You said it."

Lin Xiaohan: "Well, I said it, so why do you think I will go to college in another city?"

Chu Xia thought for a while and said, "It's nothing. I just feel that your relationship with your family is so bad. Your father doesn't treat you as his own son at all. You should be more willing to go to other places than to stay here."

She wasn't sure if he would like to talk about his family, after all, they were his scars, so she laid the groundwork.

Lin Xiaohan said indifferently: "Insignificant people cannot influence my decision."

Chu Xia was curious, "What influenced your decision?"

Lin Xiaohan: "Of course it's the future."

That's true. From the perspective of school alone, his current choice is definitely better.

Chuxia thought to herself that he didn't go to study in another province like in the novel, maybe he was influenced by her.

Because when she was reviewing before, she often mentioned Peking University in front of him and said that she wanted to apply to Peking University.

He must have been thinking, if she could get into Peking University, why couldn't he?

After all, he is the kind of person who can't stand being crushed by the people around him.

As we were talking about this, the waiter just came up with the meal.

After waiting for the waiter to put down the plates and say "thank you", the two of them picked up their knives and forks and started eating.

Now I have time to think about things that I didn’t have the mood or energy to think about before.

So while eating, Chu Xia looked at Lin Xiaohan again and asked, "I still want to know. Before we returned to the city, you clearly wanted me to stay away from you, and you are not someone who needs friends. Why did you take the initiative to find me after we met again at night school, and even offered to be friends with me?"

Lin Xiaohan threw the question back to her, "What do you think?"

Chu Xia looked at him and whispered the first possibility: "Did you...have some improper thoughts about me because I suddenly became so beautiful?"

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

He said expressionlessly: "I'm not Han Ting, I'm not that superficial."

The answer is as expected.

Chu Xia looked at him and thought again, "What evil plan is he planning to make against me?"

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

He rolled his eyes at Chuxia and said, "You're so afraid that I'll plot against you, yet you still agree to be my friend?"

Chu Xia looked at him and blinked, "Yes, I agreed too hastily. Now I can still do it later..."

Lin Xiaohan directly forked a piece of beef into her mouth and interrupted her, saying, "No!"

Chu Xia: “…”

She chewed the beef slices and swallowed them, then asked, "Why is that?"

Lin Xiaohan stared at Chu Xia for a while and said, "Do you want to hear the truth?"

Chu Xia met his gloomy gaze, and when she heard him ask this, her heart beat faster subconsciously.

I can’t explain why, but I suddenly felt a little panicked.

Just at this moment, the waiter came to deliver the food, interrupting the slightly weird atmosphere at the table.

After the waiter left, Chu Xia was no longer panicked and said, "Of course I want to hear the truth."

Lin Xiaohan no longer had the same expression as before, and replied in a normal tone: "Because I found that being friends with you has more advantages than disadvantages, and there is only gain and no loss."

Of course, the truth cannot be told.

His image in her mind is still negative.

He needed time to reshape his image in her mind.

Without waiting for Chu Xia to speak again, he continued to ask: "What about you? You obviously don't like me, you obviously think I'm not a good person, and you're afraid that I'm plotting against you, so why did you agree to be friends with me?"

Chu Xia thought about it seriously and said, "Maybe we have been together for such a long time, eating together, going to get off work together, and going home together every day, and doing many things together, so there is still some affection, and you have also helped me a lot in the process of getting along."

Most importantly, he helped her break away from the setting of the original novel.

He also saved her from a little hooligan, played music for her when she was in a bad mood, gave her snacks, and made a rabbit lantern for her when she was homesick...

After returning to the city, I lent her the review outline.

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia and his gaze froze again.

His heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. After a moment, he lowered his brows, suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Chuxia said "Oh" and watched him get up and walk away.

When she withdrew her gaze, she suddenly caught a glimpse of someone looking at her at a dining table not far away.

She wasn't sure at first glance, so she raised her eyes and looked over again.

This one look naturally confirmed it - someone was indeed looking at her, and she knew this person, Tong Rui, someone she hadn't seen since she went to the countryside.

Compared to two years ago, Tong Rui has naturally changed.

Probably because of her military service, she looked more dignified and noble than before, and her aura that made people dare not approach her was even stronger.

Although Chu Xia and Tong Rui did not have much face-to-face contact, they knew each other after all, so she smiled politely at Tong Rui, just as a greeting.

After she finished laughing, Tong Rui responded to her with an uncertain smile.

After Chu Xia greeted Tong Rui, she didn't look at her again.

She lowered her head and took two bites of the creamy grilled salad, and then Lin Xiaohan came back.

Lin Xiaohan and Tong Rui had no previous interactions. Chu Xia felt that Lin Xiaohan would not be interested in Tong Rui, after all, she was Han Ting's ex-girlfriend, so she did not mention it.

The two of them ate and chatted about other things.

After finishing the meal and putting down the knife and fork, it's time to leave.

When she stood up from the dining table and left, Chu Xia politely greeted Tong Rui.

After saying hello, she was about to go to check out with her schoolbag on her back, but was pulled away by Lin Xiaohan.

Lin Xiaohan pulled him out of the restaurant by the bag strap.

Chu Xia turned her head back a few times and said, "We haven't paid for our meal yet."

Lin Xiaohan said: "No need, I have already paid."

Chu Xia couldn't believe it and asked, "Is this true?"

Lin Xiaohan: "How can a fake family let us just leave like this?"

Chu Xia was very confused and asked him, "Didn't I say I would treat you to a meal?"

Before Lin Xiaohan could answer, he suddenly heard a voice from behind him: "Are you Tang Chuxia?"

Chuxia and he turned around together and saw that it was Tong Rui who had caught up with them.

Chu Xia was stunned for a moment and said, "Yes, I am."

Lin Xiaohan let go of Chu Xia's schoolbag strap and said, "I'll wait for you outside."

Tong Rui watched Lin Xiaohan go out.

Then he looked at Chu Xia and said, "You've changed so much. When you greeted me just now, I didn't quite recognize you."

She just felt that she looked familiar, and it took her a lot of effort to remember who she was.

She remembered that she used to be very inconspicuous, and was like two different people now.

Chu Xia and Tong Rui are not familiar with each other, so there is no need to explain too much.

She smiled and greeted, "You haven't changed much, you're still as beautiful as ever. I recognized you right away."

After finishing their meal, they were in a hurry to leave, and their friends were still waiting outside. Tong Rui was naturally embarrassed to talk to Chu Xia for more, so she smiled and asked again: "Are you recruited? Where do you work now?"

Chu Xia replied, "I'm at the Meisi Food Factory."

Tong Rui nodded, "Okay, I won't waste your time now. I'll come play with you again when I have time."

Chu Xia nodded politely, "Okay, I'll leave first then."

Tong Rui waved at her, "Well, goodbye."

When Chuxia walked out of the restaurant, Lin Xiaohan was already waiting outside on his bike.

She went straight to the bike, climbed on the back and said, "Let's go."

Lin Xiaohan hooked the pedal and started riding the bicycle.

After the bike started moving, he said, "I'm going to ask you about Han Ting?"

Chu Xia said: "I didn't ask, but it must be because of him. I'm not very familiar with her."

Lin Xiaohan suddenly sneered and said, "I didn't expect there would be someone more stupid than you."

Chu Xia sat in the back and continued his words: "This is called love, you don't understand."

In the past, Lin Xiaohan would respond with disdain: I really don’t understand.

But this time he didn't answer it. After a moment, he said, "How do you know I don't understand?"

Chu Xia said: "Of course it's because there is no woman in your heart."

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

She won’t remember it for the rest of her life, right?

***

The bicycle stopped in the alley.

Chuxia jumped off the bicycle, but did not immediately grab the handlebars. Instead, she picked up her schoolbag, opened the lid, took out her purse and said, "Hey, I'll give you the money for dinner tonight."

Lin Xiaohan said: "There's no need to be so calculative between friends."

Chu Xia was stunned and looked at him - could such words come out of his mouth? How could Lin Xiaohan say the three words "don't care"? ?

You know, in the past, whenever he bought her a five-cent popsicle, he had to put it in the account.

no.

Early summer continues to empty the purse strings.

He said, "I won't be able to sleep if I take advantage of you."

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

He had no choice but to look at Chu Xia and said, "Then just owe it to me first and pay it back when you have time."

Chu Xia raised her head and looked at him again, "Doesn't that mean you owe two meals?"

Lin Xiaohan said: "Just owe it to me. We will be studying in the same school anyway, so we have plenty of time."

It is normal for friends to have such give and take, but it is not good to calculate too much.

So Chuxia pulled her hand out of her schoolbag, closed the lid and said, "Okay."

Lin Xiaohan held the handlebars with one hand and said, "Let's go back."

Chu Xia took the bicycle from him, pushed it into the alley and said, "Goodbye."

***

In early summer, I pushed my bicycle to the gate of No. 8 Courtyard.

When I parked my bike and entered the second gate, there was no one in the yard. However, the lights were on in the houses on three sides. In the east room of the Han family, I could hear the quarreling of Han Mengyuan and Han Feipeng, and the occasional scolding of Han Lei.

In the main room.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei had already washed up and were sitting at the head of the bed.

Tang Haikuan was in a sleepwalking state, and said to Wu Xuemei: "Why don't you slap me in the face twice? I still feel like I'm dreaming. Did our Xia Xia really get admitted to Peking University?"

This took the whole afternoon.

Wu Xuemei smiled and pushed him, "Look at what you have accomplished."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard someone push the door open.

Of course it couldn't be anyone else, so Wu Xuemei shouted out, "Xia Xia is back."

Chu Xia responded from outside, then went straight over, pushed open the door of Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei's room and went in.

Wu Xuemei saw her and smiled and said, "Your father is still dizzy and says he is dreaming."

Chu Xia smiled and sat down on the bed, looking at Tang Haikuan and said, "Dad, this is really not a stroke of luck. I study so late every night, you should know that."

Tang Haikuan nodded repeatedly, "I know, I know, Dad, you haven't seen the world, have you?"

Chu Xia smiled and said, "We have lived in the imperial city and have never seen the world. Who has seen the world?"

These are the words that are repeated over and over again.

Wu Xuemei also didn't let Chu Xia tell Tang Haikuan.

She changed the subject and asked Chu Xia: "Who are you going out to eat with?"

Chu Xia said, "Oh," "He was a classmate who went to the countryside with me. I got close to him when we were in the countryside. He and I were both teachers. We got the quota together and he was admitted to Peking University."

When Wu Xuemei heard that he had been admitted to Peking University, her eyes suddenly widened and she said, "This student is pretty good."

Chu Xia smiled and said, "Well, I'll make more friends when I go to school."

In this case, Wu Xuemei would have nothing to worry about.

She took Chuxia aside to chat casually, and since she had to go to work the next day, it was almost time so she let Chuxia go back to wash up and go to bed.

After washing up in early summer and lying on the bed, I felt comfortable all over.

She recalled every little thing that happened after she awakened to self-awareness, her efforts to cut off her relationship with Han Ting and Su Yun, her efforts to move out of the educated youth point, her efforts to get the application form back to the city, and her efforts to review and get admitted to university. Her heart was filled with emotion.

As I thought and sighed, I blinked my eyes slowly and fell asleep in a peaceful and comfortable manner.

The next day, Monday, I got up in the morning and rode my bike to work as usual.

Chuxia probably received the admission letter relatively early, and no one in the factory was discussing being admitted to university, so she did not take the initiative to tell others.

Life in the factory was no different from before.

After lunch in the cafeteria at noon, Chuxia and Feng Jingzhi went to the dormitory to rest together.

She had just arrived at the dormitory for a short while when someone came to call her and said someone was looking for her downstairs.

Chuxia didn't know who would come to look for her downstairs in the dormitory.

She left the dormitory but did not go downstairs. She first went to the railing and looked down.

When she saw that the person looking for her was Tong Rui, she knew what was going on and turned around and went downstairs.

When he came downstairs to Tong Rui, she smiled and said hello, "Why are you here?"

Tong Rui said a little embarrassedly: "I'm really sorry to disturb you suddenly." After all, they were not familiar with each other.

When she asked her where she worked, Chuxia knew that she would come sooner or later.

And her coming today only proves that, just like what is said in the novel, she really cares about Han Ting.

It’s not convenient to talk downstairs in the dormitory.

Chuxia took Tongrui to the playground.

Find a secluded corner of the playground.

Chu Xia said directly: "Just ask anything you want to ask."

There was nothing else to talk about between them, so Tong Rui didn't beat around the bush. She took a deep breath and looked at Chu Xia and said, "Did you come back with him? Which factory is he in now?"

Chuxia didn’t know why Tong Rui asked this.

She looked puzzled and said, "He hasn't come back yet. He's still in the countryside."

Hearing this, Tong Rui was also confused, "He didn't come back?"

Chu Xia nodded at her, "Yes, he didn't get the quota to return to the city, and he is still in the countryside."

Tong Rui frowned and asked herself in a low voice: "How could this happen?"

Chu Xia asked her doubtfully, "What should that be like?"

Tong Rui looked at Chu Xia and said bluntly, "Before the college entrance examination was resumed, he sent me a telegram asking me to help him get a return quota. I asked my father to do it. Why didn't he come back?"

“…”

There is actually such a thing.

Chu Xia looked at Tong Rui and was speechless for a moment.

Of course Chu Xia didn't know what was going on and just shook her head at her.

Tong Rui took a deep breath, frowned, stood up and left angrily, "I'll go back and ask my dad!"

If no instructions were received from the countryside, then the problem must be with her father.

No wonder Han Ting never replied to her telegrams or letters later. He must have felt that she had deceived and tricked him.

Seeing Tong Rui like this, Chu Xia couldn't help but call Tong Rui and asked her, "Don't you want to know what he did after going to the countryside? Don't you want to know who he asked for this quota for?"

She knew Han Ting's character and also knew the plot of the original novel.

Han Ting is a person who cares too much about his reputation. He would never ask Tong Rui for help for himself. It must be for Su Yun.

Hearing this, Tong Rui indeed stopped.

She turned around to face Chuxia and looked at her without saying anything.

Chu Xia didn't waste time beating around the bush and continued directly, "After he went to the countryside, he quickly fell in love with someone else, and that girl's name was Su Yun. He didn't even read any of the letters you wrote to him. He didn't like you at all. He pursued you because he thought you were so high and mighty and that was why he pursued you like that. He doesn't like getting along with you at all, and doesn't like to coax a young lady like you. He didn't ask for the return to the city quota for himself, but for Su Yun."

After hearing this, Tong Rui's eyes were filled with tears.

She was not a fool, of course she knew that Han Ting had disliked her for a long time.

It's just that she still can't let him go, can't let go of their past, and still has fantasies in her heart.

She also thought that Han Ting fell in love with someone else.

But all her imaginations were not as painful as what Chu Xia said.

She was a decent person. She lowered her brows and suppressed the wetness in her eyes. She looked at Chu Xia and asked, "Is that girl much better than me?"

Chu Xia shook her head at her: "She is not better than you, whether it's her appearance, family or ability, she can't compare with you. You don't have to think that you are not good enough, that's why Han Ting likes someone else. There is nothing wrong with you, it's just that he is not loyal to his feelings, he is not worthy of you. I hope you can think it through, he is not worthy of you liking him so much, let alone doing so much for him."