He turned around and looked at Lin Tao: "Is that so?"
Lin Tao nodded and went to organize other things. She took the package of five-nut mooncakes and couldn't help but take a bite. She couldn't hold back her tears.
A tear slid down Lin Tao's fair cheek and fell into her mouth, mixed with the five-nut mooncake and eaten by her. She cried silently, and only shed two tears, and she held back the rest.
Seeing her like this, Li Chengxi felt a pain in his heart.
His sword-like brows were knitted together, his thin lips were tightly pursed, and he walked to Lin Tao and hugged her.
Lin Tao hated herself for becoming so fragile. She had suffered so much injustice when she was a child, hadn't she? In the past, no matter how wronged she was, she could hold back her tears in front of others and cry secretly when she was alone.
But now, in front of Li Chengxi, she couldn't help it. She knew that if she was sad, Li Chengxi would be sad too.
She bit her lip, swallowed the mooncake, adjusted her mood, and said, "Chengxi, I actually understand Dad very well. It's because I understand him too well that after he said that, I have no reason to write to him to come over earlier."
If it was some other reason, she might be able to persuade him.
But because of these two reasons, she couldn't even persuade him.
In fact, if she didn't know that she could bring her father to live with her, she wouldn't have expected it. But she knew that she could, and she held on to hope, so when she saw the letter saying that her father didn't want to come, she felt sad.
Because she had been looking forward to this letter for many days, she thought she would get the result she wanted, but the result was this.
But she understood her father.
"Okay, I just ate
I was so excited about this mooncake that I couldn't hold it back. Now it's okay." Lin Tao smiled at Li Chengxi and handed the half mooncake she hadn't finished to Li Chengxi, "It's really delicious. Do you want to try it?"
The two of them have been together for so long that they have kissed countless times. Lin Tao is no longer embarrassed as she was on the train, fearing that Li Chengxi would taste her saliva.
Li Chengxi opened his mouth, took a bite of the mooncake, and nodded: "It's delicious."
Lin Tao smiled and stuffed the mooncake into Li Chengxi's hand, saying, "Then you eat something to fill your stomach first. I'll go cook and it will be ready soon."
"Okay." Li Chengxi took the mooncake and looked at Lin Tao's busy back.
I didn't say much, but I was thinking about another thing in my mind.
Tonight we had pork bones stewed with kelp soup. Lin Tao and Li Chengxi both liked to eat soft stewed kelp, so it took a little longer to cook. By the time it was taken out of the pot, the house was filled with the aroma of bones and kelp, and the rich flavor of meat.
Last time, Lin Tao fried the clams with chili peppers and they tasted very good.
The ginger grown at home is ready to eat. Today, Lin Tao made a stir-fried ginger shreds. The taste of ginger is a bit strong, some people like it, some people don't.
Li Chengxi was one of those people who couldn't eat Yanghe ginger. He frowned as soon as he took a chopstick of it. After chewing it quickly and swallowing the Yanghe ginger in his mouth, he quickly ate a piece of kelp to suppress the taste in his mouth.
Lin Tao found it a little funny and ate several mouthfuls of Yanghe ginger in succession. She thought it was delicious and didn't taste bad at all.
This is a rare occasion when one of them likes a dish but the other doesn't.
After dinner, the two of them went for a walk as usual. However, this time, Li Chengxi did not take the east road as usual, but took Lin Tao to the west road.
The west side is close to the military training area, and usually few people come here.
Li Chengxi led Lin Tao to a place full of rocks and pointed to the distance: "Do you see the lighthouse in front?"
"Lighthouse?" It was already getting dark, and Lin Tao couldn't see it clearly.
This was normal, because she had never noticed where the lighthouse was, and Li Chengxi knew where the lighthouse was, so when they looked at the same place, even if their vision was the same,
The one who knows can see more clearly.
"It's okay, we'll be able to see it soon." Li Chengxi glanced at the time on his watch. "Every August 16th, the lighthouse at sea will be turned on to escort the ships."
Of course, the lighthouse built near their coastal defense zone is certainly not just for escorting ships passing by.
But he didn't tell Lin Tao about these, otherwise it would take too long to talk about them.
"5-4-3-2-1-Okay, A-Tao, look to the other side again." Li Chengxi said to Lin Tao after the countdown ended.
When Lin Tao looked over again, she finally noticed the lighthouse on the sea. The light of the lighthouse was lit, and it was particularly dazzling in the darkness.
Li Chengxi told Lin Tao a story about a lighthouse on the sea, which is why the lighthouse here is turned on every August 16th.
Because ten years ago on August 16, a hero saved a boatload of people, but sacrificed himself.
In order to commemorate this hero, every year since that year, on August 16th, the lighthouse will be lit from 7 o'clock all night long.
Lin Tao sighed, but finally whispered: "Actually... if it were me, I would also choose to sacrifice myself to save the people on that boat."
Her fair and small face was full of seriousness, and her black and white eyes were no less brilliant in the darkness.
Li Chengxi chuckled and reached out to rub the top of her head, as if he was petting a small animal.
Lin Tao thought he didn't believe her, her face turned red, and she looked at him unconvinced, biting her lip and explaining, "I'm serious, I really will go."
"I know." Li Chengqi took her hand.
There was no one else here, so he could hold Lin Tao openly: "But I won't let anything happen to you. I promised my mother before her grave that I would protect you for the rest of your life."
Lin Tao: “Yes, I remember.”
Lin Tao felt that nothing could be more touching than the words she heard tonight.
As autumn approaches, there are fewer mosquitoes, but there are always some stubborn ones that slip through the net and still stubbornly try to suck people's blood.
Lin Tao was unlucky and was bitten twice, and two lumps soon appeared on her arms.
Li Chengxi felt so distressed when he saw this that he took her home without further delay.
When she got home, she took some toilet water and rubbed some on the mosquito bite. Lin Tao still felt itchy, so she pinched it a few times with her fingernails. She used to feel the same way, and after pinching a few times, it didn't seem to hurt so much.
The bath water had been boiled and put into a kettle. Li Chengxi took it to the bathroom, poured hot water into the basin, and filled half a bucket of cold water from the water tank. He stirred it, tested the water temperature, and told Lin Tao that she could take a bath.
Lin Tao had just found her clothes to wear to sleep at night and responded, "I'm coming."
She went in to take a shower, looked at the two bottles that had been used up, and looked at Li Chengxi: "Are you taking a cold shower today?"
She didn't complain when the weather was hot before, but after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was getting cooler. She was afraid that Li Chengxi would catch a cold if she took a cold shower at night.
Li Chengxi paused, his eyes darkened, and asked, "How about we take a shower together today?"
Lin Tao's face turned red and she quickly closed the door.
Li Chengxi chuckled when he saw her running faster than a rabbit.
When it was time to go to bed at night, Li Chengxi simply held Lin Tao in his arms and coaxed her to sleep like a child, and did nothing else.
************************
After one night, Lin Tao's longing for his lover faded a little and she didn't feel so bad anymore.
Li Chengxi got breakfast from the army canteen and bought some meat from the non-staple food factory so that he could cook braised pork at home tonight.
After the couple had breakfast together, they went to work.
After arriving at school, Lin Tao found that Xu Yuting had not come yet. She thought Xu Yuting was feeling unwell and got up late. After asking the principal, she found out that Xu Yuting had asked for a class leave.
After class, Lin Tao returned to the office and saw Xu Yuting sitting at the desk with her head down.
Lin Tao walked in and called out, "Yuting, what did the doctor say? Is everything okay?"
When Xu Yuting heard Lin Tao's voice, she subconsciously hid the list in her hand into the drawer, closed the drawer, raised her head, and shook her head, saying, "It's okay, I just have a little indigestion."
Although she said so, Lin Tao could tell at a glance that things might not be that simple.
Xu Yuting's expression was not right. She was not good at pretending, nor was she good at speaking. When she spoke just now, she didn't even dare to look herself in the eye.
What was that thing you just hid in the drawer?
It looks like a prescription from a hospital.
What's written on it?
Why did Xu Yuting keep it a secret from herself?
Lin Tao couldn't figure it out, but since Xu Yuting didn't say anything, she didn't ask. Maybe it was some private information that Xu Yuting didn't want her to know.
Lin Tao is not the kind of person who lacks propriety. Even if she has good friends, she will not try to find out the truth when she knows that the other person does not want her to know. She thinks such people are somewhat annoying. It is important for people to know themselves, and it is not good to be too curious.
Lin Tao nodded and asked Xu Yuting to pay more attention to it and not go to bed directly after eating. She must take a walk before going to sleep.
Xu Yuting nodded and smiled at Lin Tao: "Okay, I understand."
Lin Tao: "Did you go to the movies last night? Land Mine Warfare."
Xu Yuting was not interested: "I went, but I just didn't have any interest in this kind of movie. Plus, I wasn't feeling well, so I went back early."
Just at this moment, there was movement at the door and someone came.
Lin Tao winked at Xu Yuting, signaling her not to talk nonsense. "Land Mine Warfare" is an anti-Japanese film, a red film. Xu Yuting said this as a capitalist lady. It's okay to say it to Lin Tao alone, but if someone with ulterior motives heard it, I'm afraid they would make a fuss about it.
Xu Yuting was used to speaking without restraint, but after Lin Tao's warning, she pursed her lips and started preparing for class without saying anything else.
The one who came in was called Yao Guilan, a math teacher in her thirties, older than both Xu Yuting and Lin Tao. She was quite kind, and she had even taken the initiative to talk to Lin Tao on her first day at school.
One was a music teacher, her last name was Zhang. She had fewer classes, so Lin Tao didn’t have a deep impression of her. She only remembered that her last name was Zhang, but she forgot her name.
There is also a Chinese teacher named Jin Pingping, who is the one Xu Yuting mentioned last time. The students in her class like Lin Tao and don’t want to take her class, which makes her very angry.
The class taught by Jin Pingping had a math class first this morning. She came late and had a mutton bun in her hand.
People who like mutton find it very delicious, but people who don't like it feel like vomiting when they smell it.
Xu Yuting doesn't eat mutton. Jin Pingping's office is very close to her. Xu Yuting only felt a moment of time.
Everyone was surrounded by the stench of mutton.
The smell made her stomach churn. Xu Yuting resisted the urge to vomit and said to Jin Pingping, "Can't you go out to eat if you want to? Do you have to eat in the office? It smells terrible."
The two of them had never gotten along. Jin Pingping snorted coldly, and sat still in her seat, mocking, "If you don't like the smell, why don't you go out? Why do you want me to go out? I'm eating at my own desk, how does that bother you? Even if you're a capitalist lady, you can't be so unreasonable!"
Lin Tao frowned when she heard this.
Normally, she seldom had contact with Jin Pingping. Even though she knew that Jin Pingping had always had opinions about her because the students in their class liked her more, she just pretended not to know about it. Anyway, the two of them didn't interact with each other.
I didn't expect Jin Pingping to say something so irritating. No wonder Xu Yuting doesn't like her.
"Teacher Jin, that's not what I meant. The office belongs to everyone, but everyone must be well-mannered. You can't eat mutton buns today and I can eat stinky dried tofu tomorrow. What will happen to our office? Teacher Xu just asked you to go out for buns. Is there a problem? What does it have to do with her identity? Is this unreasonable? Then my ancestors were all poor and middle peasants, and my father is a retired soldier. Can I ask you to go out for a meal? Are you going to say that poor and middle peasants are so unreasonable?"
Lin Tao's expression was indifferent and her voice was a little cold. She didn't seem very angry, but the words she said made Jin Pingping embarrassed. She stammered and wanted to say something but couldn't.
Xu Yuting wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the feeling in her stomach became even more uncomfortable. She gulped and rushed out of the office.
Seeing this, Lin Tao quickly followed him out.