Chapter 21 Chapter 21

"Ah, so it's true. I was wondering if you looked familiar." A smile appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes. "How is Mr. Wen doing lately?"

Wen Shuo nodded. "Grandpa is doing well and in good health. It's just that even after retirement, he's always busy at home."

"That's great! Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away, and Lili's dad said he wanted to go visit Mr. Wen." Lin Yuan glanced at her watch and said with a smile, "It's getting late. Auntie and Lili still have some things to do, so we'll be leaving first. Be careful on your way home."

"Okay, Auntie, you go ahead and do your work."

Ren Li stood aside, looking at this inexplicably harmonious scene, still a little uncomfortable.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Ren Li followed Lin Yuan into the car. Wen Shuo then turned around and said, "Let's go too."

Zhang Xintong: "Brother Shuo, is your home far away? Do we need to take a taxi first?"

Wen Shuo: "It's not far, just walk."

Wen Shuo didn't plan to take them back to the more distant Lakeside neighborhood, because if things got messed up, they'd have to clean up, otherwise Jiang Lan would catch them and nag them endlessly. So he planned to take them to another small apartment in the city, which was uninhabited for a long time. When they were done playing, they could just have someone come and clean up after them.

The apartment wasn't far away. Just walk east along the main road after the bookstore, then turn right at the traffic light. The sun was still blazing at 5 p.m., and the three of them strolled slowly along the sidewalk. Zhang Xintong chattered non-stop.

There were many tall buildings in the city, and the wide streets were bustling with traffic. The restaurants along the streets had also opened for business. Zhou Qi was already hungry, so he asked Wen Shuo, "Boss, do you have any food at home?"

Wen Shuo thought for a moment and said, "No."

Zhou Qi: "Then let's buy some to take back?"

Wen Shuo: "There's a supermarket in the neighborhood. They have some food there. Just buy something and take it back."

Zhou Qi: "Okay."

However, after walking a few steps, Zhou Qi pointed at a car in front of him as if he had discovered a new world. He turned around and asked, "Is this the car that Ren Li's mother was driving just now?"

Zhang Xintong: "You must be mistaken. I remember it was a white car."

Zhou Qi: "It's red. Are you color blind?"

Zhang Xintong: "Looking for a fight again, huh?"

The glass curtain wall reflected the restaurant's interior. Wen Shuo turned his head and saw Ren Li sitting in the window seat. Across from her, a man was chatting with her. They were talking about something, but Ren Li suddenly smiled. Off to the side, Lin Yuan was also chatting with a woman sitting across from her. The scene was unusually harmonious, and Wen Shuo's jawline unconsciously tensed.

As far as I can remember, Ren Li never smiled so gently at any boy before.

Who is this guy? He thought to himself, huh.

On the other side, Zhou Qi failed to argue with Zhang Xintong and repeatedly raised his hands in surrender. He had been chased far away by Zhang Xintong, and Wen Shuo was finally forced to turn his attention back.

He walked very fast all the way, and he didn't know where the uncontrollable anger in his heart came from. Even after everyone entered the community and went to the supermarket to shop, he couldn't help but think of Ren Li's faint smile just now.

Zhou Qi was adding a box of frozen dumplings to the shopping cart. When he turned around, he saw the snack shelf and was about to happily add it to his purchase when he was startled by Wen Shuo, who was leaning against the shelf and looking at his phone with a sullen face.

"Is there something wrong?" Zhou Qi asked tentatively.

Wen Shuo put away his phone and remained calm: "It's okay."

He had just been messaging Ren Li, seemingly chatting casually, his tone full of probing questions. Unfortunately, Ren Li gave him a bunch of answers he didn't want to hear.

-

"I still remember when Xiaoli was in kindergarten, she always loved to cry. Jiacheng even brought his favorite snacks to school to cheer her up. It's quite funny to think about it now," said Zhou Yan.

"Yeah, or we'd say we're old." Lin Yuan put down his water cup and said with emotion, "The two kids have grown up in the blink of an eye. A few days ago, Lao Ren told me that Jiacheng is also at No. 4 Middle School. Then I remembered that we haven't seen each other for a long time."

"Who says it's not? If you ask me, you and Lao Ren should have transferred Xiaoli to No. 4 Middle School earlier. In fact, transferring in the third year of high school is a bit late. I insisted on not letting Jiacheng go to the affiliated middle school because of the high teaching quality of No. 4 Middle School."

"Yeah, the teachers at No. 4 Middle School really care. Lili has only been there for a month, and her grades have improved a lot."

…

Ren Li held her water cup, quietly listening to Lin Yuan and Zhou Yan's small talk. She knew this "socializing" was inevitable, so she simply remained silent and drank more hot water.

She and Zhou Yan were not very familiar with each other. The only explanation was that the boy sitting opposite her, Lin Jiacheng, was a senior in No. 4 Middle School, just like her.

Lin Yuan enjoyed maintaining relationships that Ren Li considered unnecessary. For example, a while ago, after Ren Quan reminded her that his son also attended No. 4 Middle School, she quickly put Zhou Yan on the agenda for dinner. However, Ren Li wasn't very familiar with Lin Jiacheng; the only memories she could recall of them were vague memories of attending the same kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school.

What’s interesting is that these impressions are remembered after being repeated to her by others.

For example, when she was in kindergarten, Ren Li did remember that she loved to cry and many people shared food with her, but there were many people who gave her snacks at that time, and Ren Li couldn't remember who Lin Jiacheng was.

The adults' conversation continued, from school to work, from family to parenting, until they started praising each other for their good looks and asking where they got their nails and hair done. Then Ren Li knew that Lin Yuan had successfully returned to Zhou Yan's "friends" list.

Lin Jiacheng was probably used to such social occasions, so he behaved much more naturally than Ren Li. From the moment they sat down to the meal, the adults chatted animatedly, and he took the initiative to chat with Ren Li whenever he had the chance:

"I just found out a few days ago that you transferred to No. 4 Middle School."

Ren Li nodded: "Auntie just said, you are in Class 20?"

Lin Jiacheng: "Yes, it's also a key class."

When talking about Class 3 (20), Ren Li recalled the time when she went there to take an exam. However, it was better not to bring up such a topic. After all, taking an exam here was not something worth talking about.

The phone vibrated at this moment.

Ren Li put down her water cup, took out her cell phone, and found an unread message from Wen Shuo.

She opened it out of curiosity. After all, Wen Shuo had never sent her any message on his own initiative.

W【Busy】

Ren Li:?

These two simple words were simply unbelievable to Ren Li.

So, Wen Shuo and I are already so familiar with each other that we can casually send messages and chat?

She thought about it and replied.

Ren Li [having dinner with an auntie I know]

Ren Li [By the way, do you know Lin Jiacheng from Class 20? He's here today too.]

After replying to the message, it took a while before Wen Shuo sent a message back.

W【I just sent this to the wrong person, just ignore it】

Ren Li was completely confused and even felt that she had wasted her emotions just now.

Across from him, Lin Jiacheng saw Ren Li pursing her lips at the phone screen and asked casually, "What happened?"

Ren Li put down her phone: "Nothing, it was Wen Shuo who sent the wrong message to me."

Hearing Wen Shuo, Lin Jiacheng was quite surprised: "Oh, you two have a good relationship?"

Ren Li: "No, he's my deskmate now, though he probably won't be in a couple of days. But do you know Wen Shuo too?"

"We were both at Stanford during last year's summer school. I'm not familiar with him, but he's a Wenshuo after all, so there should be few people at No. 4 Middle School who don't know him."

He finished speaking and smiled, "He's a popular figure in No. 4 Middle School. He's known for his popularity and many girlfriends. It's normal for him to send you the wrong message."

Ren Li actually didn't hear much of Lin Jiacheng's last words. She was so shocked that her thoughts were still on Stanford.

Thinking about it carefully, going to various prestigious foreign universities for summer study in high school is quite consistent with Wen Shuo's usual personality. Ren Li sighed silently in her heart, it turns out that the students of No. 4 Middle School are all so competitive. While she was lying at home eating popsicles, enjoying the air conditioning and watching anime, those outstanding students had already gone to study at prestigious universities.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly, people really can't be compared. But on the other hand, she also admitted that the days of eating and drinking without worrying about grades at the affiliated high school were actually quite happy.

After the meal, it was finally time to leave.

Lin Yuan drove Ren Li back home. After arriving home, the two of them lay on the sofa watching a variety show. Lin Yuan suddenly had an idea and wanted to have a heart-to-heart mother-daughter night talk with Ren Li.

"Lili, what do you think of Jiacheng? I saw today that he's very capable, good at studying, and also quite caring."

Ren Li blinked, and Lin Yuan continued to enlighten her: "Mom and your Aunt Zhou get along quite well, and she also said that she likes you very much."

Ren Li: "So?"

Lin Yuan: "It's nothing, it's just that Mom suddenly feels that time flies so fast. I remember you were just little kids in kindergarten, and now you're already in your third year of high school. In a while, you'll be going to college, and you'll be far away from home..."

Ren Li: "This has nothing to do with Lin Jiacheng."

Lin Yuan sighed, wanting to say something but stopping herself: "It's just that Mom suddenly feels that you will go to college, graduate, and then have a boyfriend. After that, you will start your own family, and gradually you will be further and further away from me and your father."

These words made Ren Li feel sad. She was actually a very home-loving person. The area where she grew up was no more than a few kilometers away from home. So when she thought about leaving Linyuan to go to college in the future, she was reluctant to leave.

"So your father and I actually really hope that you can find a boyfriend from this city in the future. That way we'll feel much better. Of course, it's best to find someone we know well, with a family background and education level that's comparable. Also, he has to be good-looking, and most importantly, good character."

She seemed to be hinting at something, but Ren Li didn't notice. Instead, she was left in a state of confusion: "Mom, don't you think it's a bit too early to worry about this?"

"It was just small talk." Lin Yuan suddenly changed the subject. "As for finding a boyfriend, of course we have to wait until you finish your college entrance exams. You're in your third year of high school now, so you still have to focus on your studies. Besides, I honestly don't think there's any boy who's good enough for my Lili."

Ren Li: ...

In fact, she had never thought about falling in love at all.