Chapter 94 Because of Love, He Grows "Wherever you go, I'll go..."

The dog days of summer are incredibly hot.

The Zhonghua Market, with its massive, sun-shading canopy, is much cooler than outside. In summer, it becomes incredibly lively, bustling with people. The night market stalls and jewelry streets stretch from Wuyi Road all the way to Jianghan Road. Unlike winter, when it's desolate and deserted.

"Are you hot?" Jiang Yueming fanned Li Leshan with a fan, being overly attentive, completely oblivious to the sweat on her own forehead.

Xiuli wasn't there; she'd gone out to get her hair done. They were going to have the trendy big waves, and apparently they were having a promotion—anniversary sale or something—where you could get a 10% discount. Hearing that, she was so excited she practically flew off to the salon without a second thought. So, Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan could openly be all lovey-dovey without anyone interfering.

"Do you want some ice cream?" Jiang Yueming asked again.

"It'll melt if you buy it," Li Leshan shook his head.

Jiang Yueming smiled at him and quickly said, "I won't melt if I run back."

He finished speaking and darted off like an arrow, though the distance wasn't actually that far. There were ice cream stalls and roasted chestnut stalls at the entrance of the Zhonghua Market.

It felt like less than three minutes later, Jiang Yueming came running back excitedly, probably sprinting at top speed; he must have run another 2800 meters. Seeing Li Leshan, he was overjoyed and quickly handed him the ice cream.

"It hasn't been dissolved, has it?" Jiang Yueming was more concerned about this.

Li Leshan took the ice cream and reached out to wipe the sweat from Jiang Yueming's forehead.

Outside, various small loudspeakers were blaring promotional announcements; one store was offering a discount of one yuan, another two. The cacophony was deafening, making it feel like there were four loudspeakers blaring continuously within a ten-meter radius.

It was midday, and after finishing their boxed lunches, hardly anyone else came into the shop. Jiang Yueming lay half-asleep in the rocking chair, a ceiling fan blowing gently, offering little relief from the heat.

Li Leshan sat down next to him on a small stool. There was only one rocking chair, which Jiang Yueming usually used to lie on. In front of him was a small square table made of boxes, which he used to do his exercises.

He waved the practice problems in his hand at Jiang Yueming, wanting to show them to her. This was the set he had bought last time and had Xu Qing deliver to him. He had already filled out most of it.

"Are the questions above difficult?" Jiang Yueming asked.

"A little." Li Leshan gestured, indicating that the final question would be a bit difficult, but almost all exam papers have difficult final questions, so there's not much to say about that.

"I think this is incredibly difficult," Jiang Yueming said with a look of utter despair. It wasn't that he hadn't tried it before; in fact, he wasn't a bad student. He was quite diligent when he was seriously working on the questions. "Last time I did this, I got seven out of eight wrong, and the only one I got right was a guess."

Li Leshan curled the corners of his mouth, his gaze softening as he looked at Jiang Yueming. He picked out another copy of the "53" textbook from the pile of books beside him and handed it to Jiang Yueming.

“You’ve humiliated me.” Jiang Yueming raised an eyebrow.

Li Leshan quickly shook his head and said no.

He knew in his heart that of course not. Li Leshan had never mocked him for being stupid, for his poor grades, or for not being able to learn. He would never mock anyone, even if the questions seemed as simple as one plus two plus three to him.

Jiang Yueming opened the practice questions and instantly understood Li Leshan's intention. Some of the questions were marked with red pen as important points, and others were marked as "high-frequency test points." Almost every page was like this.

“The questions above are the ones I found to be the most frequent and important, and they’re not that difficult,” Li Leshan gestured to him. “Try writing them down when you have time, and ask me if you don’t understand anything.”

Jiang Yueming hurriedly flipped through the book; almost every page was marked with important information, and there were notes in the margins. He was all too familiar with this scene; Li Leshan had always helped him like this over the years.

"Luckily, I also chose science." Jiang Yueming joked, but she felt a pang of jealousy. "If I had chosen humanities, you would have had to analyze and write so many words for me. You would have gotten tendonitis."

As he spoke, he felt that Li Leshan was wasting too much time. He had to go through the problems he had already solved once, highlight the key points, write the solutions, and take notes all over again because of him. He was afraid that Li Leshan wouldn't understand, so he had to explain in great detail, even noting which page of the textbook the knowledge point was on.

“Actually, you don’t need to do this,” Jiang Yueming said. His grades were just so-so, especially in math; he figured they’d be mediocre no matter how hard he tried. People will do anything when pushed to the limit, except for math problems. Jiang Yueming understood this principle. Wasting so much time on him wasn’t worth it.

"For you, it's all worth it, no matter what." Li Leshan smiled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

Jiang Yueming was stunned. He touched the thin calluses on Li Leshan's finger joints. Over the years, these marks were much deeper on his hands than on those of his peers. Even in the distant future, when he no longer needed to study day and night... the calluses from writing would gradually disappear, but the bones in his finger joints would become slightly bent.

Looking into Li Leshan's bright, clear eyes, Jiang Yueming tried hard to etch that image into his mind. So that no matter how far he went, no matter where he went, he would remember that in this small county, there was someone who so firmly believed he was worthy.

After Liu Yang insisted that Li Leshan stop working the night shift, Li Leshan no longer needed to run back and forth between Sanxiang, Zhonghua Market, and back to Sanxiang. His body simply couldn't take it anymore; his weight had only decreased over the past six months.

Liu Yang didn't ask for anything in return, just hoping Li Leshan would play a few more rounds of mahjong for him. Li Leshan's luck was truly exceptional; he was practically always ready to win after just one draw. Last time, Li Leshan played for him for half a day, winning more money in a whole week than Liu Yang had ever won. In one round, with concealed kongs and self-draws, he won an unknown amount. Even in Dou Dizhu (a card game), he could have several winning hands in a row.

So after Xiuli's supermarket closed, Li Leshan went home with him. They rode a bicycle together, with Li Leshan carrying him and Jiang Yueming sitting on the back.

It wasn't because he was lazy; he simply wanted to put his arm around Li Leshan. When he rode his bike, Li Leshan always put his arm around him, acting all shy. What kind of relationship did they have? Was it really necessary to act like that?

“Lele,” Jiang Yueming leaned against Li Leshan’s back, wrapped her arms around his waist, and said, “You seem to have lost weight.”

Li Leshan freed one hand and gently patted Jiang Yueming's hand.

It's no surprise that he's thin. For the past six months, Li Leshan has been going to school during the day and working at night, eating breakfast and dinner haphazardly, only eating when he has time and skipping meals when he doesn't. Time is extremely precious to him, and he wants to seize every minute and second.

Brother Liu Yang told him not to work so hard and to take a break. He always says, "People need to rest, you know?"

Li Leshan knew his physical condition better than anyone else; it was his own body, how could he not understand? But he also knew better than anyone else that he had to endure it, that he had to push himself. To put it bluntly, he dared not, and was unwilling to, give up. He felt that time was no longer his own.

"Where are you going to college?" Jiang Yueming's voice came from behind, then faded into the wind.

He knew Li Leshan couldn't answer, and he didn't actually expect an answer from him. He muttered to himself, "Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen... or the provincial capital?"

"Wherever you go, I'll go." This was what Jiang Yueming wanted to say most. He wanted to follow Li Leshan for the rest of his life, no matter where Li Leshan went. Even if he went off to conquer the world, he would follow behind him slowly. If he couldn't keep up, he would run a few steps.

“If you leave Shengping, I’ll go with you.” Jiang Yueming hugged his waist tighter. “Okay? Lele, we made a promise.”

When he was young, he never thought of leaving this place, away from his longings. This thought was still buried deep in his heart, but Jiang Yueming suppressed it. He understood that Shengping had many things he longed for, some he could still have, and some he could never have again.

He knew Li Leshan would definitely leave. They say the sky's the limit, and he was sure Li Leshan could fly incredibly high. Sheng Ping would restrict his wings, preventing him from soaring high or going far. Only by leaving this place could he live the life he wanted.

He persisted and worked hard for more than ten years. At this critical moment, Jiang Yueming could not let anyone hold him back.

After an unknown amount of time, the bicycle slowly came to a stop in front of the tenement building, and Li Leshan parked it in the stairwell.

He walked back to Jiang Yueming, the dim streetlights casting long shadows on them.

“Go wherever you want.” Li Leshan looked into Jiang Yueming’s eyes.

“I can’t keep you here,” Li Leshan said in sign language. “I know you’re reluctant to leave this place.”

He couldn't ask Jiang Yueming to abandon all her memories of this place and leave with him. This was Jiang Yueming's home, not his own. He couldn't ask Jiang Yueming to abandon her home, and that wasn't what he wanted either.

The years I've spent here have been happy and fortunate, even though Li Yong's arrival has cast a shadow over my happiness.

But because of Sheng Ping, he met Jiang Yueming.

Because of Jiang Yueming, he has love.

He grew because of love.

“I am reluctant to part with you,” Jiang Yueming admitted, “but I am even more reluctant to part with you.”

He was born in Shengping, and his hometown nurtured and shaped him. His roots, stems, leaves, and veins were able to grow. But upon closer reflection, there was both happiness and bitterness in it.

"I want to have a home with you." Jiang Yueming said from the bottom of her heart, with great seriousness, "Lele, let's have a home together in the future."

He didn't ask for much. A small house would be fine, not too big, just enough to shelter him from the wind and rain. If possible, he'd also like to get a small dog.

Li Leshan's Adam's apple bobbed. He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, only feeling a slight stinging in his eyes.

After a long pause, he finally nodded.

If a child without a home is like a blade of grass, then Li Leshan is a blade of grass growing against the wind in a corner. He has been alone and adrift for as many years as he has lost his mother. This blade of grass wandered for ten years, battered by wind and rain, until finally someone promised him a home.