Chapter 37 I will help you, no matter what.

It's hard to describe Jin Zhao's feelings when he heard Meng Yanxi's voice; they were too complex.

Like walking alone on a rainy night, looking up and seeing a warm-colored streetlamp, silently illuminating the rain, and illuminating her as well. She couldn't deny the healing feeling in that instant.

But the streetlights were too high for her to reach. And the rain was so heavy that she knew she couldn't stay under one for long.

She didn't say anything.

Her silence made the boy on the other end of the line inexplicably impatient. He showed an unusual recklessness and asked impatiently, "I heard you're going abroad. Where are you going?"

This question instantly pulled Jin Zhao back from his daze, and embarrassment quickly overwhelmed him.

Meng Yanxi probably realized he had been abrupt, even though he didn't know why, and quickly explained, "What I mean is, I also travel abroad often, and I go out to play during winter and summer vacations. Give me your address, and I'll come find you."

Having seen through Jin Wenhui's true nature, Jin Zhao had stopped crying. But now, Meng Yanxi's words, "I'm coming to find you," brought a single tear to her eye.

Outside the door, the scrap collector finally arrived and talked to Jin Wenyi. Jin Zhao quickly wiped her face.

Her prolonged silence immediately made Meng Yanxi realize that something was wrong.

Meng Shixu always said that although his son was a scoundrel, he was really smart, and no one knew his son better than his father.

The boy's fingers tightened around the phone: "What happened? Tell me. I'll help you, no matter what."

"Bang!"

The scrap collector tied Jin Zhao's old exercise books and notebooks together with a rope and threw them one by one onto the scale outside the door. The heavy books hit the scale with a dull thud mixed with the muffled creak of metal.

Jin Zhao blinked quickly twice, trying to ward off the heat: "What if I kill someone?"

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

The August sun was at its most intense, shining down relentlessly on the rooftop without a single shadow. The seventeen-year-old boy was equally candid: "Then you were acting in self-defense. If someone were to harm you, I would help you even more."

The heat in her eyes finally became uncontrollable, and tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

Jin Zhao never expected that when her father and family abandoned her, and she was most isolated and helpless, there would be someone willing to stand by her side. He didn't ask for reasons, right or wrong, or any sense of justice; he arbitrarily and domineeringly told her that someone else had harmed her.

He asked her, "Who is it?"

She wiped away her tears, her voice calm and firm: "No one, I was just joking with you. I will never do anything bad in my life."

She paused for a moment: "But Meng Yanxi..."

Meng Yanxi: "What?"

Jin Zhao: "Thank you."

Thank you for standing by my side.

Even though we're not even in the same world, as long as I have your words, no matter how many storms I encounter in the future, I will never feel isolated and helpless again.

Meng Yanxi: "But I'm not joking with you, I can help..."

"Goodbye, Meng Yanxi," Jin Zhao interrupted him lightly but firmly.

That's enough.

She doesn't need his rescue, and he can't save her. Birds and fish walk different paths; each has its own journey and its own path ahead. A traveler in the rain may be healed by the light, but the light cannot walk the rest of the way for them. Staying under the light will only make them more soaked and miserable in the rain, and they will become even less able to face the storms and lightning.

"Where are you going? Give me your contact information." The boy asked urgently after hearing her say goodbye.

“No need,” Jin Zhao smiled gently. For the first time, she told herself a vain lie. “I’m going abroad. Once I leave, we probably won’t see each other again.”

"Meng Yanxi, I wish you a lifetime of joy and that all your wishes come true."

With all my sincerity and goodwill.

"Stay where you are! I'm coming right now!" Meng Yanxi's voice suddenly rose on the phone.

The scrap collector worked quickly and finished collecting the recyclables in no time. Outside, the sound of him chatting casually with Jin Wenyi came through: "I remember you're not the owner of this house?"

Jin Wenyi smiled faintly and said, "The owner has already moved out."

"So, are you moving in?"

"No, we're moving too."

While listening to Jin Wenyi and her master's casual conversation, Jin Zhao also heard the boy on the phone open the fire door on the rooftop and run down the stairs.

She loved listening to the sound of boys going down the stairs at school, leaping down several steps at a time, unrestrained and free-spirited, embodying the unbridled youthful spirit that nothing could restrain.

Even the head of the teaching department can't.

"Meng Yanxi, where are you running off to when class starts?"

"Meng Yanxi, I'm talking to you!"

"Come back here, you brat!"

It turns out it's class time now, and he should be in Class A.

Jin Zhao looked at the empty house; there was no one there, and the air was filled with dust.

Her fingers gripped the receiver so tightly that her nails turned a ghastly white. Jin Zhao spoke with difficulty, "Meng Yanxi, I'll send that dress back to you."

The boy's hurried footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

"What did you say?"

Jin Zhao looked quietly at the blazing sun outside the window: "I'm in a rush to catch my flight, so I can't return it to you in person. I'll use a courier service, sorry."

The air was still, and the faint, disordered breathing of a boy after running quickly could be heard through the receiver.

When he spoke again, his voice suddenly turned sharp: "Are you planning to never see me again?"

That was nine years ago, the last conversation between Meng Yanxi and Jin Zhao. It started off well, but unfortunately, it didn't end pleasantly. It was more like a microcosm of their brief encounter, like a lamp in the rainy night, a seed in the swamp. The throbbing was real, the expectation was real, but it was too weak to bear fruit.

The call ended with Meng Yanxi saying, "If it's true, then send it."

Later, when Jin Wenyi returned from selling the recyclables, she helped her pack her clothes and saw the silk dress with feathers. She asked, "Do you want to take it with you?"

Jin Zhao remained silent for a long time before gently shaking his head.

Where should I take it? To the dormitory at No. 1 High School? The dormitory is so small, each person only has a small locker, there's not even enough room to spread out clothes, how could I possibly fit such a precious dress? If my classmates see it, won't they have the same bad impressions as Jin Wenhui?

The feather skirt is unwearable in the rain; what she should do now is get out of this rain as soon as possible.

Jin Zhao called the courier and handed the carefully packed box to the courier.

She insured the price, even though it seemed unnecessary.

*

"The cost of studying abroad for high school and undergraduate degrees is relatively high. I went abroad for my master's degree. Generally, once you get a doctorate, you're basically a working person and don't have to spend your own money."

Perhaps this is the meaning of growing up. Things that were embarrassing and shameful to talk about when we were young are now commonplace, without any ripples, and we can even make a joke about them.

"I also want to thank Luo Heng and Cao Bo for recommending Linshi No.1 Middle School to me."

The wind outside had stopped, and a gentle drizzle fell. Jin Zhao sat under the lamp, propping his head up with one hand.

Si Tian sat opposite her and asked in surprise, "Linshi No. 1 High School? Luo Heng and Cao Bo still know you transferred schools? That's too much! You told them but not me and Meng Yanxi!"

Jin Zhao hurriedly said, "No, no, you've misunderstood."

Jin Zhao explained how those two guys had been frantically spreading anxiety behind her before the final exams years ago. They both said they would transfer schools if they fell out of the A class, even overnight, and they had already decided on the school: the No. 1 High School in the neighboring city. In the end, they didn't transfer, and the school they had already chosen ended up benefiting her.

Si Tian: "That's more like it."

After she finished speaking, the air fell silent abruptly. Neither of them spoke for a moment. After a few seconds, Si Tian cautiously asked, "You didn't go abroad, so why didn't you tell Meng Yanxi? The No. 1 Middle School in the neighboring city isn't far away. It only takes three or four hours to drive there, and the high-speed rail is even faster, just over an hour. If you had told her, Meng Yanxi wouldn't have had to travel abroad so often during those years."

The word "overseas" made Jin Zhao's eyelashes tremble rapidly.

She looked at Si Tian, ​​wanting to ask, but didn't know where to begin.

Si Tian had already understood her gaze and sighed softly, "We all thought you went abroad. Meng Yanxi probably knew more than us, but he also thought you went abroad. During his senior year of high school and later in college, he would go abroad whenever he had a holiday. At first, it was Europe and America, then Japan and South Korea, and then Southeast Asia."

The osmanthus flowers planted in the mountains bloom late. Tonight, a gentle breeze and rain brought the sweet fragrance of osmanthus flowers from who knows where.

It was faint and light, like an illusion. Jin Zhao focused his attention to smell it, held his breath, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.

Jin Zhao said softly, "He might just be out having fun."

“Indeed, it’s also possible she’s going out to earn money,” Si Tian said. “Do you know what Attorney Luo said about Meng Yanxi?”

"What?"

"Lawyer Luo said that Meng Yanxi is born with the destiny of a god of wealth. There is no situation in this world that he cannot win when it comes to money."

Jin Zhao: "..."

Okay, that's enough, it'll only make you resent the rich.

Si Tian suddenly changed the subject: "Have you ever considered that Meng Yanxi might like you?"

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and the next second, Jin Zhao suddenly looked up.

Why do you think that?

"Doesn't this seem natural?" Si Tian countered. "For example, today, so many people teased you two so many times, and he never denied it once."

Jin Zhao: "Maybe he's just lazy."

After all, Meng Yanxi doesn't seem to care about her reputation.

Si Tian nodded in agreement and said, "Then let's talk about when he was diligent. Do you remember how attentive he was when he was in school, explaining problems to you? Others would just give him the answer, but he would proactively highlight the key points for you. Besides, about his trips abroad, he's such a lazy person, yet he went abroad frequently during those years. Admittedly, he might have gone abroad to have fun, or he might have gone abroad to make money, but how could it not be that he wanted to reunite with you?"

Jin Zhao remained silent for a long while. The warm-colored floor lamp beside the sofa illuminated her pupils, making them appear as gentle as water, and shimmering softly like water.

But perhaps humans are inherently self-loving and self-critical, like right now. Despite being thrilled and filled with anticipation, reason always seems to jump in and dampen my spirits.

“You said it yourself, it was your student days, and nine years have already passed. Do you know how long nine years is? If I had children, they would have already completed nine years of compulsory education.”

This seemingly reasonable analogy confused Si Tian, ​​who stared at her blankly.

A detached, mocking voice came from outside the door at the same time: "Teacher Jin's child was born without having to babble or crawl, and went straight to elementary and middle school. This isn't a genius, this is Nezha."

Jin Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head.

At the entrance, Meng Yanxi held a tray in one hand, on which were freshly steamed osmanthus cakes. The cakes were made of snow-white glutinous rice and sprinkled with freshly picked golden osmanthus flowers. The sweet aroma of osmanthus and glutinous rice mingled with the rising white steam.

Meng Yanxi's dark eyes were hidden behind the mist, her expression indifferent and aloof: "Sorry, the door wasn't closed."

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Author's note: Sorry for the lateness, bowing deeply.