"Is this your high school?"
"That's right." Han Zhan said to Song Ci while taking off his seat belt, "The pea jelly here is especially delicious. You will definitely like it."
Song Ci followed Han Zhan out of the car and walked to a small stall to the left of the school gate. There, she saw an old man setting up shop. In front of his stall, he had small bowls of jelly. The jelly looked very clean, a bit like crystal-clear lychee flesh.
Han Zhan was too tall, so he had to squat down to talk to the old man. "Uncle, give me two servings of Wan'er Gao, one with cilantro and one without."
Song Ci gathered her skirt and squatted down like Han Zhan. She saw the old man cut the bowl cake into slices horizontally and vertically with a blade and sprinkled it with secret garlic sauce.
When Song Ci smelled the aroma, she was actually a little reluctant. She didn't usually eat such strong-flavored food, and she always felt a garlicky taste in her mouth after eating it.
The old man handed the bowl cake to Han Zhan and said, "Here, it's originally 8 yuan per piece. If you buy two, I'll charge you 15 yuan."
Han Zhan took the jelly and said, "The price has increased. It used to be three yuan per serving." As he spoke, he took out his mobile phone to scan WeChat.
The old man was so angry at Han Zhan that he laughed. He rolled his eyes and complained: "When it was three yuan a bowl, I was still your uncle, but now I am your grandpa."
Han Zhan raised his eyebrows, thinking that this made sense, and stopped talking.
Song Ci and Han Zhan sat under a parasol and ate jelly. Han Zhan hadn't eaten this for a long time and was enjoying it. When he had just eaten the fifth piece, he suddenly heard Song Ci ask, "Does Du Xueyan like this too?"
Han Zhan had a mouthful of jelly stuck in his throat.
He swallowed the jelly with difficulty, and when he noticed that Song Ci hadn't eaten a single bite, he said, "She doesn't like it. She's too obsessed with being an idol and dislikes the strong smell of garlic."
"Oh." Song Ci then picked up a piece of jelly and put it into his mouth.
Han Zhan sat stiffly on the bench, feeling a little restless. Song Ci swallowed the jelly and gave it a two-word evaluation: "Not bad." She finished the bowl of jelly gracefully and stood up.
Standing in the scorching sun, Song Ci called Han Zhan's name, "Han Zhan."
Han Zhan looked up and saw Song Ci's wine-red curly hair emitting a hazy luster in the sunlight. She was charming and beautiful, but her expression was stubborn. Song Ci said, "Han Zhan, I don't like eating such strong-flavored food either. But if you like it, I'm willing to accompany you."
After a pause, Song Ci said, "You have to cherish it." After saying this, she turned around and walked into a convenience store to buy a bottle of lemonade.
After taking a sip of the lemonade, Song Ci lowered her head to tighten the bottle cap, only to discover that the lemonade's spokesperson was Du Xueyan, whose portrait was printed on the bottle. Song Ci completely became a lemon spirit under the lemon tree.
Han Zhan walked over, snatched her lemonade, threw the bottle into the trash, and then stuffed a candy into her hand. Song Ci lowered her head, looking at the toffee in her palm, and said nothing.
"Eat something sweet and drink less sour food," said Han Zhan.
After a moment of silence, Song Ci peeled the toffee and put it in his mouth.
The tip of her tongue pressed against the candy and spun it around in her mouth, filling it with a sweet taste. Song Ci then stood up and looked at Han Zhan. Pointing to her chest, her eyelids drooped, she said, "Han Zhan, I feel uncomfortable here. Even after eating candy, I still feel uncomfortable."
Han Zhan's expression changed slightly.
Song Ci's eyes were filled with tears, and she said, "I think I like you a little bit."
Han Zhan's Adam's apple moved.
He suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if his heart had been ripped open, and a trace of sweetness poured in. Han Zhan hugged Song Ci, "It's all in the past, Song Ci. I can correct any shortcomings, but my past cannot be changed."
Song Ci said in a muffled voice: "I understand the reason, but I just feel uncomfortable."
Han Zhan really had no choice but to hug Song Ci tightly. After a while, Song Ci sorted herself out. She came out of Han Zhan's arms and reminded him, "It's time to go. Grandpa is waiting for us to go back for lunch."
Han Zhan was worried and looked at Song Ci seriously for a moment. Seeing that Song Ci had really calmed down, he took her hand and got back into the car.
-
As the car reached the outskirts, traffic thinned out, and farmland and three-story buildings came into view. Song Ci lowered the window and stared at the endless expanse of lush green rice paddies. She imagined Han Zhan rolling up his trousers and planting rice in the fields, and she couldn't help but laugh.
Song Ci asked Han Zhan, "Are these second-season rice?"
"Yes." Han Zhan told Song Ci: "It will be ready for harvest in another month."
"They're all harvested by harvesters now, right?"
"Um."
Song Ci rubbed her hands, feeling a little bit expectant. She asked Han Zhan, "What fruits are ripe at grandpa's house now?"
"Hawthorns, chestnuts, and jujubes are almost ready for picking."
Song Ci rolled up his sleeves and said, "Then I have to go pick chestnuts and make chestnut roast chicken for you."
"OK."
The car turned a corner and drove onto an asphalt road. Song Ci heard Han Zhan say, "We're almost there. That's the house hidden among the trees."
Song Ci looked up and saw Han Zhan pointing to a self-built forest villa halfway up the mountain. The large villa, with yellow tiles turning red, nestled in the forest, exuded a sense of luxury and mystery in its understated elegance. It was completely different from what Song Ci had imagined.
"It turned out to be a forest villa. I thought my grandfather's house was just an ordinary self-built villa in the countryside."
Han Zhan told Song Ci: "This was designed by my grandmother when she was alive."
"This should be the most luxurious villa within a ten-mile radius around you."
Han Zhan joked: "After all, this is the hometown of the richest man."
Song Ci thought that when she arrived at her grandfather's house, she would be surrounded by villagers as if she were a national treasure. But when she actually arrived at her grandfather's house, she found that there was no one else within a kilometer.
Most of the villagers' houses are built along the road, while Han Aoyu's house is built halfway up the mountain. A wall surrounds the area of more than 300 meters around the villa, which is planned to be built into a garden, a playground, a swimming pool, a school ground and a vegetable field.
At the entrance of the villa, there is a solemn black iron gate with the words "Han House" written on it.
With such majestic grandeur, who among the villagers nearby would dare to visit?
Not only Han Aoyu lived in this house, but also his housekeeper Zhong Buhui, and two officers who were responsible for protecting the old man's life. Seeing Han Zhan coming back, the uncle named Lin Chong'an opened the door and saluted Han Zhan from a distance.
Han Zhan lowered the car window and returned the salute.
"Zhanzhan, long time no see. Are you back with your wife to visit grandpa?" Lin Chong'an glanced at Song Ci and his eyes lit up. Zhong Buhui didn't lie. The wife Zhanzhan found was indeed a great beauty.
Han Zhan said helplessly: “Uncle Lin, I’m already over 30 years old, don’t call me Zhan Zhan anymore.”
Lin Chongan said: "So what if you are in your thirties? I will always be ten years older than you. In front of me, you are always a child."
Han Zhan gave up struggling.
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