(38)

At that moment, although Ye Wenyu was a mature woman at heart, she still cried. Perhaps it was because in her previous life, despite experiencing the vicissitudes of life, she had never received true love from anyone.

Cai Wenchuan stood at the entrance of the girls' dormitory and saw the girl in front of him suddenly cry. He felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Today, when he came home from work and saw the empty campus, he realized that the students were on holiday for the National Day. He immediately thought of Wenyu, knowing that she had no home, no relatives, and was homeless. So, without even having dinner, he rushed to the girls' dormitory and knocked on the door. Sure enough, when he opened the door, she was alone in the dormitory, standing in front of him with tears streaming down her face.

He wanted to hug her and comfort her, but he was afraid of scaring her, so he reached out his hands, cupped her tear-streaked face, and used his long index finger to wipe away her tears. But somehow, she seemed to be made of water, and the more he wiped her tears, the more they flowed.

The surroundings were quiet. The two looked at each other, one with tears streaming down her face, the other heartbroken beyond words.

He said gently to her, "Don't cry, okay? I'll spend National Day with you."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenyu's tears flowed even more freely, like a tap being turned on. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't control herself. A person walking alone in the cold will especially cherish the only person who gives them warmth; a person walking alone in the darkness will especially be grateful to the only person who gives them light.

For someone who is emotionally deprived, even a little bit of love will make her extremely grateful.

When she was feeling particularly pitiful, Brother Wen appeared and said he would spend National Day with her. At that moment, she was no longer in pain, but moved and happy, which filled her heart.

It turns out that there is love in the world.

To all others, she was nothing but grass and trees, but only Brother Wen saw her as a green mountain. She would never forget such deep love and affection.

His long, clean fingers gently wiped away the tears on her face. Warmth, carried by his fingertips, seeped into her skin and body, slowly warming her heart, which had been almost frozen.

Gradually, the tears dried, and her originally fair and translucent face turned red, from pink to crimson. Her originally cool skin began to burn, like a wildfire spreading from her face to her ears, then to her neck, and finally to her shoulders.

She lowered her head, thinking that the blush on her face probably wouldn't fade until the next day.

Cai Wenchuan realized something, and his fingertips trembled as if he had been electrocuted. He withdrew his hand, put it in his pants pocket, and said to Ye Wenyu, "Let's go have dinner together." He saw her looking at him, her big eyes smiling, her earlobes as red as agate, shining brightly under the dim yellow light of the dormitory.

The air almost seemed to ooze sweet sugar threads. Happiness is sometimes elusive and a luxury, yet sometimes it arrives so simply and abundantly.

Cai Wenchuan felt a little awkward. He coughed lightly twice, looked up at the girls' dormitory, and asked her, "Have all your roommates gone home?"

Ye Wenyu nodded.

He looked around the dormitory and praised, "Your dormitory is so clean."

Ye Wenyu smiled again and said softly, "I don't have a home, and I have nowhere to go during the holidays, so I have to treat the dormitory as my home. So naturally, I have to keep it clean. This is the result of my afternoon's work."

Upon hearing this, Cai Wenchuan's eyes softened.

He felt even more affection for this strong, optimistic, self-respecting, and self-reliant girl. He reached out and patted her round head. Wen Yu's hair had just been washed, and when he touched it, the fragrance of her hair filled the air. When Cai Wenchuan's fingers left her hair, there was still a faint fragrance between his fingers.

The girls all smelled wonderful, especially the young and beautiful ones. He had watched Xiaoyu grow up since she was a child. Looking at her now, he was reminded of himself when he was a child.

Memories, like butterflies fluttering among the grass in spring, drifted in and lingered in his heart.

The two families were neighbors, living in a tenement building where the doors of two apartments faced each other. When he was in junior high school, he would see Xiao Wenyu sitting at her doorstep after school, carrying a big schoolbag, like a docile little kitten. Because her mother hadn't come home from get off work yet, she had to wait for her mother to open the door before she could go inside. At that time, he felt sorry for her and liked her. He would always take out his key to open his door and let her in. Then the two of them would do their homework together. When she encountered a problem she couldn't solve, he would help her with her homework.

Sometimes, when it was time for dinner and Ye's mother hadn't returned yet, he would invite her to stay for dinner. She was just like his little sister, the poor little girl he had watched grow up.

Time flies like flowing water. Now he is old, and she has grown up. But fate seems to have not changed much, and they finally meet again. She is still a poor child with no one to take care of her. Fortunately, she is optimistic and strong by nature. Like a weed growing in a crack in a rock, she knows how to comfort and take care of herself.

Compared to her, he felt ashamed, as if he were in the same difficult situation and feared that she was not as optimistic and strong as him.

Cai Wenchuan pulled his thoughts, which had been drifting away like a kite, back to his feet. He checked the time; it was already five in the afternoon. He said, "How about this? You're on holiday, and so am I. Let's have dinner together tonight. Come to my house, and I'll cook you some good dishes. Who says you don't have a home? Brother Wen's home is your home!" His tone became very gentle and certain as he spoke.

"Go to his house?" Ye Wenyu's eyes lit up, her heart skipped a beat, but then her face flushed red. She said nervously, "I haven't seen Uncle Cai and Aunt Cai for many years! Let's not go, I'm not prepared at all." She was thinking that after she graduated from university and became independent, she would marry Brother Wen and wait until she was strong enough before bringing gifts to meet Brother Wen's parents. Now was definitely not the time.

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