The last gift he left for her
As soon as winter comes to Xinghai City, the temperature drops immediately, especially from sunset to sunrise the next day. It is so cold that people don't want to go out.
After lunch that day, the sun was shining brightly. Chen Xing didn't want to take a nap, so he took his easel and drawing board to the small park in the sanatorium to paint.
This time, Chen Xing wrote on the drawing board very seriously and carefully. Every stroke was a mark left after she had considered for a long time. It was no longer a black and white painting, nor a sketch, but a colorful oil painting, which was also the kind of painting she had always loved and studied throughout her life.
Shi Nannan and Shen Xuyang brought their four-year-old son Chaochao to see Chen Xing in the afternoon.
Chaochao was very well-behaved when being held by his parents, but as soon as he saw Chen Xing, he let go and ran over impatiently.
"Aunt Xingxing, I'm here!"
When Chen Xing heard Chaochao's voice, she turned around and saw him running towards her. She put down her paintbrush, took off her apron, and opened her arms to greet Chaochao.
Seeing this, Shi Nannan behind him hurriedly chased after him, shouting, "Chen Chaolin, be careful! Don't fall."
Chaochao has been very noisy since he was born. When he was still in Shi Nannan's belly, he punched and kicked all day long and never had a moment of peace.
She and Shen Xuyang originally thought that the child would be quieter after being born, but it turned out to be even more obedient in the belly. Its mouth and limbs were definitely exerting force at the same time. If it hadn't been too sleepy to fall asleep, there would have been no time to stop.
He is more lively and noisy than Shen Xuyang and Shi Nannan combined. He has inherited all the genes of both of them, and he has a bit of both of them. It is hard to tell who he resembles most.
But it's strange to say, Chaochao didn't actually meet Chen Xing until this year, but they became familiar with each other in just a few minutes. She liked Chen Xing very much and listened to her the most. She also acted like a well-behaved child in front of Chen Xing.
Shi Nannan often told Chaochao a lot of stories about their past, and every time they told them as bedtime stories, Chaochao never got bored of listening to them over and over again.
Chao Chao threw herself into Chen Xing's arms with an excited look on her face. Her thin arms couldn't hold Chen Xing. She secretly glanced at Shi Nannan who was chasing after her, and tried even harder to hide in Chen Xing's arms.
"Auntie Xingxing, I'm scared. Hold me tight and don't let mommy hit me." Chaochao's baby voice was so cute that Chen Xing loved it very much.
Shi Nannan chased over, her face flushed, and she gasped and said, "Chen Chaolin, what did you say when you came here? Don't tell me you don't remember. Your little head is smarter than your dad's."
Chen Xing looked at Shi Nannan who was panting with exhaustion and smiled. She was still the same as before. Once she started running, her face would turn red and she would gasp for breath as if her life was about to end.
Among the four of them, it seemed that only Shi Nannan had never changed. Apart from the slight traces of time on her face, her personality and temper had not changed. She was still as simple and innocent as before.
Shen Chaolin saw Shen Xuyang walking over with no expression on his face. He knew that he was going to make a note of him. He made his wife angry and he couldn't watch cartoons in the evening.
Chen Xing said: "Okay, why are you angry with the child? He is at the age of being naughty, it is better for him to be more lively."
Shi Nannan glanced at Chaochao who was hiding in Chen Xing's arms. Chen Xuyang handed her a bench to sit on, and he stood behind her.
Shi Nannan asked, "Xingxing, what are you drawing?"
Shi Nannan saw that there was only a bit of light blue drawing paper on the easel behind Chen Xing. She couldn't tell what she was going to paint, but it was much better than the previous black and white. It didn't have such a sad tone and the colors were also rich.
Chen Xing said, "His birthday is coming soon. I give him a sketch every year, but I want to draw something different this year."
When Shi Nannan heard what Chen Xing said, she looked at the little light that appeared in her eyes, not knowing whether it was good or bad.
On Wen Yu's eighteenth birthday, Chen Xing promised him that she would give him a portrait every year on his birthday, but except for the first one, she was unable to deliver any of the portraits she drew afterwards to him.
Even though they have been separated for many years, Chen Xing still draws him every year. When he is abroad, he does not celebrate Christmas, but only his birthday.
Shi Nannan smiled and said nothing, then shifted her gaze to Chao Chao and said, “Chen Chaolin, you are still not honest even when being held. You have thorns on your body, why are you moving back and forth?”
Shen Chaolin was held in Chen Xing's arms and sat on his lap. He saw the palette on the ground and wanted to pick it up. When he bent down, he almost buried his head in the grass. Fortunately, Chen Xing grabbed him in time.
Chen Xing put Chao Chao down, picked up the palette and gave it to him, saying, "Chao Chao, do you want to paint?"
Chao Chao's eyes lit up as she smiled and nodded, "Well, I want to be a great painter like Aunt Xingxing. I love painting, but my mother doesn't let me paint at home and even took away all my paintbrushes."
Chaochao always complains to Chen Xing whenever he sees her. He doesn't understand what family-like friendship is, but it can be seen that in his mother's heart, Chen Xing has the same status as his grandparents.
Shi Nannan wanted to teach Chao Chao a lesson when she heard this. "Chen Chaolin, you know very well why I don't let you paint at home. Every time you paint the walls and floors of our house with all kinds of colors, and in the end, who cleans up until late at night? Don't you know?"
Shi Nannan was not very strict with Chaochao, and often let him be as he pleased. She had a happy childhood, and she also wanted to give Chaochao a happy childhood.
But only after becoming a mother did I realize that it is the parents who suffer and get tired while their children have a happy childhood.
Chao Chao knew that with Chen Xing around, Shi Nannan wouldn't be too harsh on her, so he imitated an adult's tone and said, "It's obviously Dad who does the housework, but you are always harsh on him."
Shen Xuyang felt warm in his heart when he heard his son talking to him. This kid often complained to him in front of Shi Nannan, and it was rare for him to think about his hard work.
Shi Nannan glanced at Shen Xuyang, who was secretly laughing behind her, then turned around and said, "How was I mean to him? He just pissed me off for no reason. Also, put your arms down. Why are you imitating adult speech at such a young age?"
Chen Xing looked at the little thoughts on the faces of each of the four members of the family and thought that this is what a loving family should be like.
Chen Xing said, "Well, it's rare for Chaochao to have something he enjoys doing, so let him paint if he wants."
Chen Xing gave the paintbrush to Chaochao. The easel was too high for him to reach, so she gave him a blank sketchbook.
"Okay, take it and go draw over there. Don't get your clothes dirty."
Chaochao usually uses watercolor pens, but when she saw oil paints, she liked them very much. She took her paintbrush and sketchbook and ran to a bench not far away to paint.
Shi Nannan sighed, "Oh! I really gave birth to a nemesis for myself."
Chen Xing glanced at Chaochao behind him, his face full of childishness. It is really simple to be happy in the world of children.
Chen Xing suddenly said, "It would be nice if Xixi was here."
When Shi Nannan and Shen Xuyang heard what Chen Xing muttered, their faces immediately turned bad.
Chen Xing's mental state seems to be normal more often these days, but she has fabricated a person who does not exist.
Shi Nannan never understood who the "hehe" Chen Xing was talking about.
Shen Xuyang said: "Chen Xing, I said last time that I would bring you a gift, and I brought it today."
Chen Xing blinked and said, "What is it?"
Shen Xuyang took out an old object from the bag on his shoulder. Chen Xing was stunned when he saw it.
"Time capsule." Chen Xing said lightly.
Shen Xuyang handed the time capsule to Chen Xing and said, "This is Wen Yu's. This is what he wanted to give you ten years later."
Chen Xing's eyes were unconsciously filled with tears. She looked at the time capsule in her hand, excited and surprised. When she heard Shen Xuyang say that Wen Yu intended to give it to her, she asked, "Why didn't I find it ten years later?"
Shen Xuyang was a little surprised and asked, "Have you been to Xinghai No. 1 Middle School?"
Chen Xing nodded. She not only went to the place where she had memories of him, but they hadn't seen each other for many years at that time, but she still had only room for him in her heart.
Shen Xuyang said, "Wen Yu asked me to take it out before he died. He saw you for the last time that day and knew you were doing well. He said he didn't want you to know how much he loved you and didn't want you to live with a burden in the future."
When Chen Xing heard this, her heart was like a raging sea, and her broken heart seemed to be one step closer to a sudden stop.
Chen Xing's tears fell on the grass. She opened his time capsule and found a locked box inside.
Shi Nannan said: "I told you, I didn't hear it wrong back then, it must be an object."
After Shi Nannan finished speaking, she looked at Chen Xing's sad expression and then shut up.
Shen Xuyang said: "The key has always been in your hand, and I don't know what's inside."
The moment Chen Xing raised his head, tears fell from his eyes, and the world became clearer with his washed eyes.
“What key?” she asked.
Shen Xuyang said: "It was the eighteenth birthday gift he gave you. I remember I gave it to you on the day you left."
When Chen Xing heard this, she remembered that on the day she left Xinghai City, she did take away the 18th birthday present that Wen Yu gave her, but she had not opened it yet. She always felt that if she opened it, their relationship would be severed.
Chen Xing held the box tightly in his hand and did not rush to look for the key, as he did not want to end it so abruptly.
Chen Xing suddenly looked up at the sky. There were only a few white clouds floating in the sky. He looked lonely, but he had someone to keep him company.
"Is it about to snow in Xinghai City?"
Shi Nannan sighed and said, "You don't know, there hasn't been much snow in the winter in recent years. When the snow stops, the snow on the ground melts into water and freezes."
Chen Xing raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with a tone of pity and regret: "Really? Then can I wait until the next snow?"
Shi Nannan didn't hear clearly, she just followed Chen Xing's gaze and saw only the sunlight so bright that she couldn't open her eyes.
She also didn't know why Chen Xing liked to look at the sky so much. Regardless of day or night, he always liked to lie by the window and could never get enough of looking at it.
Only Chen Xing knew that she just missed them and she would not let them wait too long.
*
A few days later, Chen Yue suddenly came to see Chen Xing alone, and she brought something that Chen Xing had been looking for.
When Chen Yue came, Chen Xing was drawing by the window. She said, "Chen Xing, I found that dress for you."
When Chen Xing heard the voice, he stopped what he was doing, put down the palette and brush, and took the clothes handed to him by Chen Yue.
It was a white cotton jacket with rabbit patterns on the buttons that she wore when she was a child. Gao Yamei was reluctant to throw things away, so she packed up all of her and Chen Yue's childhood clothes and put them in the storage room.
Chen Xing was looking for this dress because she was looking for Wen Yu's memory of her.
Chen Yue looked at Chen Xing's excited expression as she held the dress in her hands. She said, "Is there anything special about this dress? After all these years, you still remember it."
Chen Xing's eyes were red. He didn't answer Chen Yue's words. He just took out a button with a little rabbit pattern from the cabinet beside the bed, and immediately two tears fell.
When Chen Yue saw that the button in Chen Xing's hand was exactly the same as the one missing from the clothes, she suddenly remembered an old story and suddenly understood when Wen Yu met Chen Xing.
It turned out that she had been in his heart for so long.
Chen Yue never believed that there could be unrequited love in this world, but Wen Yu truly loved Chen Xing purely without asking for anything in return, and even gave her a chance to live, but he didn't want her to know that he had loved her deeply for a long time.
Only at this moment did Chen Yue realize how funny she was. If she hadn't told Chen Xing that Wen Yu liked her, perhaps Chen Xing would never know how much Wen Yu had done for her.
It is also possible that by this time Chen Xing has already settled abroad, living an ideal life and having a bright future.
Chen Yue asked, "Chen Xing, do you blame me? I blame you for all the pain, for bringing everything back to square one. You tried so hard to be yourself and choose the life you wanted, but because of me, you would rather..."
Chen Xing interrupted, "I don't blame you. I even thank you. Thank you for letting me know that my confession wasn't without a response. Thank you for letting me know that my life isn't mine alone. It's them who gave me my future."
"But without them, I'm really not happy at all."
"Fortunately, fortunately I found out not too late. I can't let them wait too long. I want to see them as soon as possible. This time, no matter what they say, I won't let go of their hands again."
When Chen Yue heard what Chen Xing said, she didn't blame her. She wasn't very happy, but felt guilty and self-blamed. She knew that there was no place for them in Chen Xing's family anymore.
Chen Yue regretted making the appointment with Chen Xing that day and said a lot of things she shouldn't have said.
After Chen Xing came back from the countryside and was about to leave Xinghai City, Chen Yue and Chen Xing met.
She confessed to Chen Xing that when Gao Yamei didn't let her go to Jinghua University, she didn't come out to dissuade her because she had her own selfish motives.
At that time, Chen Yue did not get the score she wanted in the college entrance examination. Seeing that Chen Xing was so confident of going to the best university in Beijing, she admitted that she was jealous.
She has always supported Chen Xing unconditionally, but later the relationship between Chen Xing and Wen Yu became better and better. Seeing her sister making continuous progress and even surpassing her, Chen Yue felt very uncomfortable.
Her kindness to Chen Xing has always been based on the fact that she is not as good as her. Chen Xing never wants to compete with her, and she has always been the one who wants to compete.
Chen Xing's change made Chen Yue realize that what she worked so hard to get was easily obtained by Chen Xing. She was not only jealous that Chen Xing was better than her, but also jealous that she had a group of very good friends and Wen Yu's love.
If Chen Xing didn't have a congenital heart disease, perhaps all the love from her father and mother would have been taken away from her.
So at that time, Chen Yue said nothing, but just watched coldly, watching Chen Xing leave that home with her own eyes.
But after so many years, Chen Yue had already regretted not being able to love Chen Xing as always.
If her love for Chen Xing was selfless, would the ending be different?
Chen Yue and Wen Yu have been classmates for many years and have always been described as a perfect match, but she knew earlier that Wen Yu had always liked Chen Xing.
People who are not familiar with Chen Yue and Chen Xing will mistake them for each other, and sometimes even relatives will make mistakes, but Wen Yu has never made a mistake with Chen Xing.
Ever since he only knew Chen Yue, he knew that the girl he met who looked exactly like Chen Yue was another person.
Later he learned her name, Chen Xing, a name as bright as the stars in the sky, and it has been deeply imprinted in his mind ever since.
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