Chapter 37 Chapter 37 “You… still want to…
Yan Bin and his ex-wife divorced when Yan Zhiru and Yan Jiawei were less than five years old. It can be said that during the more than ten years of growth of the siblings, he, as a father, had no involvement at all.
Humans are emotional animals. If they don't live together for a long time, there won't be any feelings between them.
Since the reunion of father and daughter, Yan Zhiru has been asking for things with a clear conscience, and Yan Bin, out of guilt, has been compensating her materially. The daughter, who is in her rebellious period, treats her father as a stranger, and the emotional communication between the two is very rare.
This results in the situation that when problems arise, only temporary harmony can be maintained through constant compromise.
So, that night, after consulting Tao Siyun, Yan Bin asked her and Yan Zhiru to share a key. It seemed that the problem was solved, but that was only a superficial phenomenon.
Seeing that she couldn't find any fault with Qin Ru, Yan Zhiru turned her attention to Tao Siyun.
In order to protect his aunt, Tao Siyun had had several unpleasant arguments with her before. They lived in the same room, and the relationship between them was particularly tense.
Yan Zhiru has a domineering personality. When she learned that Qin Ru usually tutored Tao Siyun, she forbade Tao Siyun to practice the cello in the room. To be more precise, she forbade them to talk about anything related to the cello at home.
Qin Ru and Yan Bin met and fell in love in the school orchestra. Tao Siyun was not sure if this was the reason why Yan Zhiru disliked her so much.
Tao Siyun didn't say anything about her "unfair treaty". Anyway, she hadn't practiced the piano in her room since Yan Zhiru came.
But what really made Tao Siyun unbearable was that Yan Zhiru did not allow her to make any noise on the upper bunk, even if she just turned over.
Otherwise, you will be "retaliated" by her.
In Tao Siyun's opinion, Yan Zhiru's means of revenge against her were quite childish, but she really suffered a lot from it.
For example, Yan Zhiru would always kick the bed in the middle of the night, wave the flashlight, etc. She would deliberately wake her up in all kinds of unexpected ways to prevent her from sleeping. Later, she went even further and would specifically play horror thriller novels outside in the early morning to scare her.
During that period, her sleep quality was particularly poor. She often had nightmares, her nerves were extremely weak, and she would wake up at the slightest sound.
Tao Siyun had never suffered such torture since she was a child. At the beginning, Yan Zhiru didn't indulge her. If Yan Zhiru didn't let her rest, then neither of them could sleep.
Although she had to go to school during the day, Yan Zhiru had a whole day to catch up on her sleep. After a few days, she found that she could not last longer than her.
Later, Yan Zhiru changed her strategy and turned off the lights whenever she was doing her homework.
It wasn't even ten o'clock yet, and I didn't disturb her rest.
So she turned off the lights, and Tao Siyun turned on the desk lamp and continued studying.
After a few times, Tao Siyun gradually came to his senses and realized that Yan Zhiru did all this on purpose, deliberately trying to provoke him to quarrel with her, so that she would have a reason to make the house a mess.
In order to prevent Yan Zhiru from causing trouble again, Tao Siyun would tolerate and give in to some small matters whenever he could.
Although she lived in her aunt's house, Qin Ru was married and had her own family.
Tao Siyun, who is "living under someone else's roof", is very clear-headed. In the true sense, Qin Ru and Yan Bin are now a family, and it is not good to always make things difficult for them because of these things.
But even so, her concessions did not make Yan Zhiru stop, but instead she became more and more demanding.
Qin Ru and Yan Bin became estranged because of Yan Zhiru's matter, and a cold war began between the couple.
No one can stand such a life for a long time.
In the end, Qin Ru was exhausted and returned to Jingfu with Tao Siyun during the summer vacation.
Unexpectedly, two months later, things took a sudden turn. On the first day of school, Yan Zhiru actually took the initiative to ask to live on campus.
Although she didn't tell the reason, Yan Bin felt that this was the best way to resolve family conflicts, so he agreed. He not only met all the unreasonable demands she made, but also promised to give her an extra 1,000 yuan in pocket money every week as compensation.
This is undoubtedly good news for Tao Siyun. She can finally temporarily stay away from the shadows brought to her by Yan Zhiru.
After coaxing his daughter, Yan Bin began to prepare Qin Ru's birthday gift, hoping to take the opportunity to ease the relationship with his wife.
At Tao Siyun's suggestion, Qin Ru chose a necklace from the Paloma Picasso series according to her preferences.
Qin Ru's birthday happened to be on Friday, and the house was decorated very warmly, with flowers, balloons and ribbons everywhere.
Yan Bin personally cooked a sumptuous dinner to apologize to Qin Ru.
The cake was in the shape of a heart, with red rose petals all around the sides.
After turning off the lights, Qin Ru's husband and niece sang birthday songs. She closed her eyes and made a wish with a happy face. However, at this moment, the sound of keys turning suddenly came from the door.
This is what Yan Zhiru saw when she walked in——
Her father, stepmother, and Tao Siyun... they are a happy family of three.
The smiles on their faces disappeared in an instant when they saw her. It was obvious that they did not expect her to come back at this time.
No. 8 Middle School has mandatory evening self-study classes, and boarding students can only go home after getting a leave note approved by their class teacher on Saturday morning, and must return to school before 6 pm the next day.
Yan Zhiru looked at them coldly as they were having fun together. She felt that the scene was particularly glaring. She said nothing, turned around and went back to her room, then slammed the door shut.
The originally warm and happy atmosphere turned cold.
Tao Siyun looked at Qin Ru, who was at a loss, and felt very uncomfortable. He held her cold hand and said, "Auntie, blow out the candles first..."
Qin Ru's face turned pale, and he forced a smile, "Okay."
A few minutes later, Yan Bin put a piece of cake on a paper plate and brought it to the room.
"Why didn't you call Dad in advance when you got home today so I could pick you up? Have you eaten yet?"
Yan Zhiru leaned back in her chair, not changing her shoes, and crossed her legs. She faced him with her dirty, muddy soles and gave him a sarcastic smile: "Did I come back at the wrong time and disturb you three?"
Yan Bin was exhausted and sighed, his tone almost pleading, "It's Aunt Qin's birthday, at least don't quarrel today."
“…”
After he left, Yan Zhiru angrily poured the cake on Tao Siyun's bed.
The cream was sticky on the bed sheets, mixed with a few rose petals.
Tao Siyun returned to the room and looked at his unrecognizable bed. He was stunned for a moment and did not feel surprised at all.
She had long expected that Yan Zhiru would not easily let go of this opportunity to find fault, and she was already accustomed to this kind of trick.
It would be abnormal if nothing was done.
Tao Siyun did not show any anger, nor did he ask as before, "You did it?"
She crumpled up the dirty sheets and stuffed them into the washing machine. After quietly cleaning them up, she replaced them with clean sheets, put on an eye mask and earplugs, and went to bed.
Ignored Yan Zhiru's "dissatisfaction".
The more Yan Zhiru tried to provoke her in this way, the more Tao Siyun chose to ignore her. It was obvious that she was deliberately looking for trouble, and she would not fall for it.
Since you want to be the protagonist, then just perform a solo.
"Ignoring it" was the best way she could think of to deal with it.
***
It was originally agreed that the keys would be given to Tao Siyun on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However, since she handed the keys to Yan Zhiru, there was no such thing as "taking turns". Tao Siyun had even seen the keys only a few times.
Fortunately, school ended late during that period, and Qin Ru and the others were usually off work by the time she got home, so it didn't affect her much.
This went on until the end of the semester.
After finishing the last English exam that day, Tao Siyun got home before four o'clock. He stood at the door and knocked for a long time, but no one opened it.
She thought Yan Zhiru was out and not at home, so she sat on the stairs and waited for a while. She was tired and sleepy after taking exams for two days and almost fell asleep leaning against the wall. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the TV coming from the house.
Yan Zhiru did it on purpose and deliberately didn't give her the key. She let her wait outside for a long time and didn't open the door for her.
Tao Siyun had no choice but to go downstairs silently with his schoolbag and call his aunt to ask her when she would be back.
Qin Ru said it might be six o'clock. Tao Siyun thought, why not go to Shanghai University first to wait for Qin Ru to get off work, and then they can come back together. There are still more than two hours left, so it's impossible to just stand there stupidly downstairs, right?
After leaving the community, she walked towards the subway station. On the way, someone suddenly grabbed the strap of her backpack from behind.
Tao Siyun frowned, turned around, and met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling.
"Where are you going? I remember your home is over there." Xu Ji's voice was lazy, and he didn't know if it was intentional. He pointed at the residential building behind him and said nonchalantly: "Classmate, what's wrong with you? You can get lost in front of your home in broad daylight?"
"..." Tao Siyun took off his headphones, slowly put away the wires, and awkwardly pulled the backpack strap out of his hand, "I'm not going home."
Xu Ji wasn't embarrassed at all. He took his hand back and put it in his trouser pocket. He faced her, walked backwards, and asked, "How did you do on the exam?"
"...It's okay." She knew almost all the questions in this test, but she didn't say it out loud.
Tao Siyun is very self-aware. She is only slightly better than him in English, and they are barely on par in Chinese.
Xu Ji is a pervert. He always gets full marks in math, physics, chemistry and physics. The only one who can compete with him is the female hero Li Huan.
In the face of absolute strength, she would not humiliate herself by asking questions like "What about you? How did you do on the exam?" like other students, and then become so anxious that she couldn't wait to compare answers and calculate scores with the top student.
Tao Siyun has never been the kind of person who feels inferior because others are too outstanding and dazzling.
She doesn't need to feel inferior.
Tao Qian once said something that she still finds very philosophical when she thinks about it today:
"Everyone has something to be proud of. If you become anxious because of someone else's innate talent, then besides wasting your time and constantly devaluing yourself, your very existence is your greatest value."
"Hey, be careful! There's a car ahead!" Tao Siyun grabbed Xu Ji's wrist and quickly pulled him aside.
The next second, a middle school student on a bicycle whizzed past them.
Xu Ji's gaze slowly moved downwards, his eyes fixed on her pulling his wrist. Seeing her nervous expression, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, "You care about me so much?"
Tao Siyun said nothing and shook off his hand.
Xu Ji acted nonchalant: "Middle school kids these days, not only do they ride their bikes on the sidewalk, but they even dare to let go of the handlebars. How arrogant!"
"I wasn't as arrogant as you. I was walking the wrong way on the sidewalk and was almost hit by a car."
"Am I going against traffic? Is walking backwards considered going against traffic?" Xu Ji's competitive spirit suddenly took over. He whistled at the receding figure on the bicycle and boasted, "Believe it or not, I can ride faster than him and still keep a straight line."
"...Yeah, you're the best." Tao Siyun was a little angry at his disregard for his own safety. "Walk properly, okay?"
I don't know what there is to compare.
Seeing that she was in a low mood and obviously unhappy, Xu Ji stopped teasing her and turned around to walk side by side with her.
"Tao Siyun, when will you return to Jingfu?"
"The day after tomorrow at noon."
"What are you doing during summer vacation?"
"Practice piano and attend cram school."
"Where do you want to go now?"
“……?”
Arriving at the subway station, Tao Siyun bought a ticket at the self-service ticket machine. He looked at Xu Ji standing beside him with a strange look and said hesitantly, "You... still want to follow me?"
Their destination is the same.
"Let's go together. I happen to want to go to University Town too." The young man smiled carefreely, flicked the subway ticket in his hand with his fingertips, and asked her bluntly: "Do you want to go to university in Shanghai West or return to Beijing?"
Tao Siyun hadn't worried about this question. Both the Beijing Fu Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Western Conservatory of Music were among the best in China, with little difference. She'd just take whichever one she got into. She held the subway ticket in her hand, thought for a moment, and said, "It's either good."
"Then let's go and see your school."
***
The Conservatory of Music used to be independent from Shanghai University. The two universities are not far from each other and can be reached in about ten minutes on foot.
Before the exam, there are always some classmates who shout slogans like "One more point, beat a thousand people" to cheer themselves up. Tao Siyun feels that there is no need to create anxiety for himself too early, and it is better to keep a calm mind.
But now, the Shanghai Institute of Music was right in front of her, and for the first time she felt that the saying "the college entrance examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge" was not an exaggeration.
As one of the famous schools, there are thousands or even tens of thousands of music students applying every year, but there are less than 300 admission places, so the competition is extremely fierce.
She had been nearby several times before, but she had only seen it from a distance and had never stood so close to the gate.
After looking up for a long time, she didn't even have the courage to take a step forward.
"What are you standing there for? Come on, go in."
"I still don't want to..." Tao Siyun was grabbed by Xu Ji's sleeve, shaking his head repeatedly, hesitating for a long time like a child, "I won't go in, I'll just look at the door..."
The words "Shanghai West Conservatory of Music" are right in front of him, but for Tao Siyun, a student who has not yet entered the second year of high school, it seems so far away.
If she could obtain a certificate of passing the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in the school entrance examination one year later, she would go there to visit without any pressure and look forward to her life in the next four years.
But not now, it’s not the right time yet.
A certificate of qualification is equivalent to a pass, but she is not qualified yet and lacks something called "affirmation".
Xu Ji didn't know about the weird little thoughts in her mind. He thought this girl was so twisted. Since she was already here, what was so good about the gate?
"What are you afraid of? It's open all day and you don't need to make an appointment in advance. I'll take you in."
Xu Ji walked in front, holding her schoolbag strap in his hand, and pulled the awkward girl behind him into the music college in a swaggering manner.
***
They walked on the tree-lined avenue lined with sycamore trees. Tao Siyun looked at Xu Ji's back. The interweaving of light and shadow actually gave him a vague expectation for his future university life.
Although she didn't know what she was expecting.
Maybe I wish time would go a little slower, or this road would be a little longer.
Suddenly, I had a thought in my heart, "I really want to keep going like this."
Tao Siyun lowered his head, with his heels touching the toes of his shoes, and measured the distance of the road step by step, counting silently in his mind.
The wind moved the shadows, and two young and immature high school students in school uniforms walked one after the other on the university campus. The rustling sound of leaves replaced the brief silence between them.
At the age of seventeen, it seems that you are only one step away from growing up in the true sense.
They walked to the end of the road, and Xu Ji suddenly turned around and called her.
"Um?"
"What were you thinking about?"
"Not thinking about anything, just counting."
"How many steps did you count?"
“…”
Tao Siyun was distracted by his interruption and forgot about it.
"How about we walk back?"
Tao Siyun unconsciously rolled up the backpack strap in his hand, shook his head and said, "Let's do it next time."
Qin Ru is about to get off work at this time, and she is going to Shanghai University.
Xu Ji thought it was very casual but asked directly: "When is the next time?"
Next year, or after the college entrance examination?
The young man stood against the light, looking lazy and nonchalant, but his eyes revealed strong expectation as he looked at her without blinking.
For Xu Ji, the meaning of these two words is equivalent to an "agreement" between them.
He thought so unilaterally at the time.
"Hmm... I don't know." Tao Siyun pursed his lips, silently set a goal for himself in his heart, and whispered: "I'll tell you after I get the certificate."
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