watermelon juice

Lin Qi held the bunny doll next to her face and asked Fu Xingchuan, "Does it look like me?"

It didn't look alike at all, and the rabbit's eyes weren't red, but he said with a half-smile, "It's quite similar."

Lin Luo took it in his hand and looked at it carefully, muttering softly, "But I don't think it looks like it."

"Ring, ring, ring~" The phone rang. Lin Luo subconsciously searched her pocket, but she didn't have her phone with her. She looked in the direction of the ringing sound and saw that it was Tong Yun calling. She picked up the phone, "...Okay, I'll be right there."

Lin Luo walked over and she just hung up the phone. "What happened?"

Tong Yun stuffed the doll Zhu Sui'an had given her into her schoolbag and replied, "The restaurant owner is back and said there's a last-minute banquet and he wants me to help."

"Aren't you tired?"

"It's okay." Tong Yun made a "yeah" gesture with his hand, "Because the salary is twice the usual amount."

She said goodbye to the others and said, "I'm leaving now."

Zhu Changyu snatched Tang Muchen's hot dog and stuffed his mouth full. "Wait, I'm leaving too. I'll give it to you."

"You big bad guy!" Tang Muchen was about to cry as he watched the robber flee. Lin Luo hurriedly coaxed him, "Don't cry, I'll buy you another one."

"He can cry." Fu Xingchuan suddenly spoke up. Lin Luo looked at him and said in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "He's still young, why can't he cry? Haven't you cried enough? And why are you scolding him?"

What happened to him? Was he still recovering from the ghost scare? Lin Luo watched him carry Tang Muchen to buy hot dogs. The boy, relying on his support, stopped sobbing, made a face at Lin Luo, and put his arms around Fu Xingchuan's neck.

So envious!

Crazy, Lin Luo hit himself on the head.

"We meet again." It was such a strange voice. Lin Luo looked back and saw the man wearing a bright green suit. He was the one who sent Zhu Sui'an back last time. He was talking to Ruan Ye just now.

Ruan Ye looked at him coldly without saying a word. Zhu Sui'an said to Zhong Qing, "Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the door?"

"I missed you, so I just came in." He took Zhu Sui'an's hand and threw a doll in her hand to the ground. "Such a cheap thing doesn't suit you. If you like it, I'll take you to buy a good one."

Zhu Sui'an shook off his hand, picked up the doll on the ground and dusted it off, "No need, I can tell the good from the bad."

Fu Xingchuan brought Tang Muchen back and saw Zhong Qing frowning. He leaned over to Zhu Sui'an and asked softly, "Why is he here? Haven't you broken up with him yet?"

"He went to Jinghe and just came back today. I'll talk to him about it later." Zhu Sui'an raised an eyebrow at him, "The show is about to begin."

"Be careful, I'll let Uncle Li accompany you."

"good."

Lin Luo didn't know what they were whispering about. At this time, the lights on the Ferris wheel came on and she looked up at the top.

Zhong Qing and Zhu Sui'an left, and they took Fu Xingchuan's car back. Lin Luo fell behind and saw Fu Xingchuan take the first step to sit in the back seat. Ruan Ye closed his eyes as soon as he got in the car, so she had to sit in the passenger seat.

The driver was a young man, probably not the Uncle Li Zhu Changyu had mentioned earlier. Lin Qiao glanced at the backseat through the rearview mirror. Tang Muchen noticed her and took a doll from the pile beside him and asked, "Sister, do you want this?"

Seeing that Fu Xingchuan also had his eyes closed, Lin Luo breathed a sigh of relief and took the doll. "Thank you."

She looked at the two dolls in her hands, one was a rabbit and the other was... a dog?

Arriving at Changlin Lane, Tang Muchen reluctantly said goodbye to Fu Xingchuan. Lin Luo freed her hand and waved at him, "Goodbye."

"Yeah." He replied lightly, and Lin Luo took Tang Muchen's hand and left. Ruan Ye was already far away from them. When they were almost downstairs at home, she walked slowly.

When she got home, she placed the two dolls on the bed, pulled out her phone, and told Lin Dayong, "Dad, I rode the Ferris wheel today. I just realized how happy I was living with you before, but I just didn't think about it that much back then. I'm sorry, I was too greedy."

[When you come back, I want to go ride the Ferris wheel with you. ]

She lay in bed, and suddenly wondered if Fu Xingchuan liked her a little bit. He seemed to be very special to her.

The screen of the mobile phone next to her went out, and then it lit up again when the alarm rang at seven o'clock the next morning. Lin Luo turned off the alarm, had breakfast and went to Fu Xingchuan's house as usual.

As August approaches, the osmanthus tree in front of the old villa is adorned with a few small flowers, and everyone passing by the door will be stained with a faint fragrance. By the end of August, the autumn is getting deeper, and the fragrance of flowers has become richer. The whole alley is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus, which is refreshing.

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

Zhu Changyu's cell phone on the table vibrated and rang, saving him from the boring physics problems. It was an unfamiliar number, but he immediately picked it up and went out to answer it.

Tong Yun slapped her face. Although summer was almost over, the weather was still very hot. She worked until very late every day, and she was naturally sleepy due to the heavy burden and fatigue.

Lin Luo was stumped by a math derivative problem, and seeing her actions, he handed her a bottle of mineral water.

She was also tired, so she stole a glance at Fu Xingchuan. He was holding a red pen and correcting a comprehensive science paper she had done. Noticing Lin Luo's gaze, Fu Xingchuan raised his head.

Is he... glaring at her?

Fu Xingchuan didn't stop writing on the paper with a red pen. Lin Luo felt guilty and looked away. She accidentally caught a glimpse of Ruan Ye grinning foolishly. How could someone smile so creepily?

Zhu Sui'an brought in a plate of iced watermelon. Lin Luo observed her expression and found it was no different from before. It seemed that the breakup did not cause her much harm.

It was said that Zhu Sui'an had even found a bunch of fish from her ex-boyfriend's fish pond and beat him up. She held out the plate, and Lin Lu instinctively dodged, but luckily the impact wasn't significant enough for her to notice.

Lin Luo picked up one of the slices and said to her sweetly, "They say that the joy of summer is inseparable from watermelon and the seaside."

Zhu Sui'an pinched her little face and said, "Do you want to go to the beach? Pack your things and we'll leave now."

As Zhu Sui'an spoke, Fu Xingchuan handed her the corrected paper. She glanced at the score and could only describe it in two words: disheartening. The days of overtaking on the curve were few and far between, so she had better cherish them!

"Forget it! I was just saying it casually." There was obvious regret in her words, even the bright red fruit flesh in front of her was overshadowed.

Zhu Changyu rushed in and said, "Oh no!"

Tong Yun put the watermelon down and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Xu Yangyang ran away from home."

"What?" Lin Luo had chatted with Xu Yangyang yesterday. She had even said she would bring Lin Luo some delicious food when school started. "I'll call her."

"Her phone is turned off." Zhu Changyu said this, but still called her again.

Fu Xingchuan asked: "Who called you just now?"

"Her mother asked if she had come to see us. She asked all the relatives and neighbors but no one answered. She also didn't go to school."

"What should I do now?" Zhu Changyu panicked and his hands began to tremble.

Tong Yun asked seriously, "Have you called the police?"

"I have."

"Let us help look for it too." Tong Yun said as he picked up his bag.

Lin Luo also put on her bag, and even Ruan Ye stood up, but Fu Xingchuan was still sitting, as if he was messaging someone.

Zhu Changyu was about to step out the door when he said, "Wait, I know where she is."

"How do you know?" Zhu Changyu hurriedly walked up to him, and the others also came over. Lin Luo saw the chat history between Fu Xingchuan and Qi Yao on his mobile phone.

He started by asking Qi Yao, "Can tonight's performance be cancelled?"

Qi Yao: [What's wrong?]

Line: [My classmate is missing.]

Qi Yao: [The female classmate who ran away from home is not the one called Yangyang, right?]

Line: [You have seen her]

Qi Yao: [Yesterday, that girl came to the shop and sat for a while. There weren't many customers during the summer vacation. She left her train ticket in the shop. I only recognized her when she hurriedly came to look for me later.]

Qi Yao: [I thought she was just out having fun, but who knew she was running away from home? She even borrowed two hundred yuan from me thanks to my friendship with Zhu Changyu!]

Line: [Where did she go?]

Qi Yao: [Huaicheng.]

"I'll contact someone I know there and ask the police to check the hotel registration. We'll find her soon," Fu Xingchuan said calmly. Zhu Changyu scratched his head and said angrily, "Xu Yangyang, you're dead."

"Huaicheng, a seaside city! Why don't we go find her in person? Let's go to the beach and have some fun. Lin Luo, didn't you just say that the joy of midsummer is inseparable from watermelon and the beach? Now that we have the watermelon, let's catch the tail end of summer and go to the beach!"

Lin Luo was a little tempted, but she was worried that Du Yunyan might not agree, and she was also worried about her grades, so she hesitated. Tong Yun suddenly said, "Let's go! This kind of opportunity is rare. Maybe it was destined."

She treasured her study time more than anyone else, yet she also gave up her chance to make money. Lin Luo felt that compared to that, she had nothing to back out of. "Let's go! I don't want to have any regrets, and I don't want to regret it later."

"Okay, let's go find Xu Yangyang now."

Lin Luo has never been able to travel on a whim. She likes to make travel plans and likes to set off after making preparations. But she is only seventeen this year. She will set off when she has time, when she has saved enough money, and when everything is just right. How old will she be then?

It is enough for her to have the courage to leave at any time and friends who can go crazy with her.

Lin Luo went home and packed some clothes in a small backpack. Du Yunyan kept saying that she was in danger, and Aunt Li was there to persuade her. Finally, Lin Luo insisted on going out despite her obstruction, and smiled and told Tang Muchen that she would bring him some shells.

A Land Rover was parked at the entrance of Changlin Lane, with the same driver as before. Three girls were sitting in the back seat, laughing and making noises. Zhu Changyu was sitting in the passenger seat, looking straight ahead and muttering to himself.

Fu Xingchuan was holding a book of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Ruan Ye had a smile on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The three-hour drive was pleasant. They entered the territory of Huaicheng. At the same time, Fu Xingchuan learned that the hotel Xu Yangyang was staying in was an affordable hotel close to the sea.

There was a food stall not far from the hotel. Zhu Changyu noticed Xu Yangyang as their car passed by and said, "Stop."

He got out of the car angrily and walked towards Xu Yangyang. Lin Luo hurriedly followed him. As they got closer, they heard Xu Yangyang say to the food stall owner, "Boss, I don't have any money. Can I help wash dishes in exchange for a meal?"

The boss frowned and said, "You have no money, and your friends have no money."

Xu Yangyang turned around and saw the two of them. She pursed her lips and almost cried as if she had seen her relatives.

Zhu Changyu had never seen her like this before, and he couldn't bear it. He swallowed the scolding he had just practiced in the car and whispered, "Don't you have my phone number? Why didn't you contact me when you got out?"

"My...my phone is broken."

“You won’t borrow from others.”

"I don't remember the number." Xu Yangyang sounded more and more aggrieved.

"..." Zhu Changyu was speechless, "You must remember your mother's phone number!"

"I didn't dare to fight. I was scared." She burst into tears. Lin Luo quickly hugged her and comforted her: "It's okay. Next time, be sure to contact us first. We are all very worried about you."

"Who worries about her?" Zhu Changyu said stubbornly. After that, he walked to the side to order food. Every dish was Xu Yangyang's favorite.

At dusk, everyone sat together at a round table at a roadside food stall. The table was filled with barbecued seafood, stir-fried dishes, and homemade dishes. But Xu Yangyang was munching on octopus balls, which Zhu Changyu had bought for her at a small stall on the beach. "This is exactly what I want. The owner finally opened his stall today."

"If someone doesn't know, they would think you came to Huaicheng for this." Zhu Changyu looked down on the way she ate and opened a bottle of soda and placed it next to her.

Xu Yangyang swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "That's why I came here! I suddenly wanted to eat. My mom refused to bring me here, and she was tired of keeping me here, so I came here on my own in a fit of rage."

"It was already quite late when we arrived, and I was hit by someone as soon as I got out of the car. My phone broke and I can't turn it on. I didn't know hotels were so expensive here. I booked the cheapest single room, and I only had a few dollars left."

"Luckily, I have you guys, otherwise I don't know what to do!" Xu Yangyang looked around with bright eyes.

"Forget it, let's not talk about the bad things. Fu Xingchuan has already called your mother to explain the situation. You can call her again later to reassure her." Zhu Sui'an said, raising the glass in his hand, "Let's drink one first."

"To friendship," she said.

Everyone raised their glasses, each filled with ice-cold watermelon juice, and said in unison, "To youth."

"Bang—" a crisp sound of hitting the wall was heard.

Lin Luo deliberately slowed down a step and bumped into Fu Xingchuan first.

Cheers to you and me.

Cheers to us.