Chapter 48
The second evening self-study session has ended.
Qi Yang, who usually doesn't return home until after 3 PM with the boarding students, is waiting for her at the school gate.
He was carrying something in one hand, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a Vivo brand bag, while he was looking at his phone in the other.
Guan Nan walked over and called out, "Brother Qi Yang."
Hearing this, Qi Yang looked up and saw her coming over to hand her the bag. "I brought it for you, X5."
"The latest X6 is a bit pricey, but the functions are similar. He suggested that it would be more suitable to buy the X5."
Yesterday, Guan Nan wanted to buy a smartphone. Qi Yang told her that he also bought his phone from his classmate's house, and the price was much lower than the market price. So Guan Nan asked him to help her find a classmate to buy her the latest model.
His words were also an explanation for why it was the X5 and not the latest X6, although she, who doesn't pay attention to these things, wouldn't know that anyway.
"Thank you, brother." Guan Nan put the bag into his backpack. "How much is it in total? I'll give you the money."
Qi Yang said, "1980."
After saying that last night, she took out 3,000 yuan and put it in her schoolbag. When she heard the price, she immediately took out a wad of money from a hidden compartment in her schoolbag and gave it to Qi Yang 1,980 yuan.
I put the rest back, pressing them down with books at the bottom, and will put them in the drawer when I get back.
From now on, we need to always keep some spare change at home.
After putting it away, the two headed out of the school gate.
Guan Nan remembered the MP4 in her pocket, and casually took it out, intending to return it to Qi Yang, when she saw Jiang Li and the other two coming out together. Despite the cold weather, they were not riding bicycles, but taking the bus.
Seeing this, the three of them had different expressions. Yu Shu winked and asked, "Squad leader, what are you doing?"
His "I've seen it all" expression is quite annoying.
Guan Nan glanced at Jiang Li discreetly.
He stood under the stone pillar, the incandescent light casting two shades on his face, making him resemble a half-crescent moon.
In a fleeting moment, his heartbeat responded to the boy once again, though from afar.
Guan Nan quickly looked away, afraid that someone would notice something was wrong, and whispered, "Let's go home."
They went to the bus station together.
Yu Shu was not only naturally outgoing, but also had excellent social skills. He already had a deep impression of Qi Yang, and once they started talking, he couldn't stop chattering like a chatterbox.
Fortunately, although Qi Yang seemed to be the same kind of person as her, he was actually very adept at social interaction.
The two chatted about this and that, and Yu Shu especially felt like they had known each other for a long time.
"Squad leader," Lin Rui glanced at them, then turned to Guan Nan, "You two know each other?"
Guan Nan nodded: "Neighbors who grew up in the same building."
"No wonder," Lin Rui muttered to himself.
"?" Guan Nan didn't understand why he was so surprised.
Lin Rui chuckled, "I thought you two were dating. I knew it shouldn't be like this, how could you...?"
He kept talking, but Guan Nan seemed to hear nothing. All she could think about was the phrase "I thought you two were dating," and her mind went blank for a moment, as if she had been struck by lightning.
I thought you two were in a relationship too early.
You guys are having puppy love.
you.
Early romance...
Guan Nan shuddered, suddenly finding those words incredibly chilling...
Rumors mutate like a virus and spread at lightning speed. Given his past record of spreading rumors, Guan Nan felt a deep sense of awe towards him.
I can't imagine how much power the combination of "you guys" and "puppy love" will have after tonight.
Guan Nan was at a loss, her eyes lowered in fear, and she remained silent.
When she came to her senses, she didn't know when Lin Rui had left. She only saw Jiang Li standing not far away, not too close, not too far. It was exactly the "distance" she was looking for.
Guan Nan turned her head away; the three people had disappeared from the bus stop, leaving only her and Jiang Li.
The person was looking down at the tree, playing on their phone, and seemed quite impatient while waiting.
Immediately afterwards, she heard the man say, "Are you coming or not?"
His tone sounded rather impatient.
Guan Nan hesitated for a moment, then walked awkwardly toward him, without taking out the MP4 she was holding.
An arm's length is the distance between the two people.
They seemed to have agreed beforehand that neither of them would speak and the other would ignore the other, and they just stayed on the platform.
When the car arrived, they stepped on each other's shadows and boarded silently.
Upon arriving at Hecangyuan, the two silently got out of the car, their understanding unspoken.
They silently crossed Renmin Branch Road, bypassed the Liberation Monument, and went straight onto the road leading to the grocery store. There, Jiang Li stopped under a banyan tree and saw her pause briefly as she passed the grocery store window.
Then, the closed door opened, and a woman walked out.
He heard Guan Nan call out, "Mom."
As if to verify something, he didn't leave immediately, but stared at the entrance of the grocery store.
Then Guan Nan greeted the woman who came out with her. The two women exchanged a few words, and the other daughter patted her mother on the shoulder, waved, and turned into Building 26.
Yesterday, it was the same scene; he was standing right here.
They lingered for a while longer.
......
Once upstairs, I opened the door and turned on the lights, and saw the sofa covered in clothes.
Underwear, thermal underwear, sweaters, and cotton-padded coats, some with labels cut off and some with labels still on, were scattered haphazardly on the sofa.
Guan Nan stood there, stunned, at the doorway.
She saw Ran Mingju pick out a cotton coat and try it on. The intimacy between mother and daughter always seemed a little distant, not as warm as the atmosphere between her and Zhenjie.
“I see that all the clothes in the closet are too old to wear,” Ran Mingju said awkwardly. “I went to the mall with Zhen Xiaoya today and bought a few pieces, but I don’t know if they will fit.”
Guan Nan was a little envious, and smiled, "It's suitable."
"Go in and try them on." Ran Mingju handed her the clothes, then grabbed a few more and gave them all to her.
These new clothes are a departure from black, featuring bright pink, white, blue, green, orange, and yellow. The inner layers are all white, and the sweaters come in various styles and vibrant colors.
Having grown up surrounded by vibrant colors, she was used to black, white, and gray, so these colors now seemed utterly unfamiliar to her.
The pants came in all shapes and sizes: jeans, cargo pants, wide-leg pants, and the otherwise empty shoe rack was crammed with several layers.
Every piece of clothing, pants, and shoes here seems to be making amends to her, every piece of clothing is saying "I'm sorry" to her.
A mother's love may seem clumsy, but it is nonetheless tender.
Seeing her change her clothes and come out to show them off, Ran Mingju explained, "Your Auntie said that we couldn't carry all the clothes we bought, so the mall had them delivered to us. I couldn't resist and bought so many."
In fact, Zhen Xiaoya's original words were, "Over the years, this child has suffered, being reluctant to eat."
However, Ran Mingju did not want to tell her, so that she would have to relive the past.
A child without a mother is like a blade of grass, but her Guan Guan is not.
Her Guan Guan has a mother.
"Mom." Guan Nan knew without a doubt that Zhen Jie had paid for today's bill. She opened the TV cabinet drawer and told her that the money could be spent here. Then she turned around and went back to her room, taking out the scholarship card and the cell phone she had received that evening. "There's money in here, you can use it as you like. This is my cell phone, it has my number saved in it, remember to take it with you when you go out."
The "ma" she called out wasn't "mother".
The changes in the Chinese people's core essence come from their mothers and mothers.
"Mom" represents over a decade of dependence and reliance, while "mother" signifies shedding those ties, revealing a signal of independence and separation.
Looking at the card in front of her, Ran Mingju's lips trembled. She had become particularly sensitive to these things since her illness, and now her eyes were filled with tears.
“Mom,” Guan Nan squatted down in front of her, her knees resting on the sofa, and looked up at her earnestly, “Spend it as you like. I can earn money now, I can support you, I can afford to support you.”
Ran Mingju wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "That won't do. I have to work and earn money. The more I earn, the more my daughter can spend."
Guan Nan pursed her lips, her face trembling with tears, and smiled.
Ran Mingju ultimately didn't take the card. Due to the lack of income, she began to worry about finding a job.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
I tried on outfit after outfit, and the sizes were just right, not too big or too small, and they fit perfectly.
After Guan Nan finished showering, she changed into her newly bought clothes and put on her warm pajamas. She returned to her bedroom, took out her framing book, and began to read it page by page in the living room, looking at Ran Mingju's work.
Each piece of decorated flower and leaf is labeled with the time, location, and variety.
Ran Mingju looked down and turned the pages one by one.
Guan Nan looked at her and suddenly understood why her mother used to take her to see flowers and read books when she was little. She would pick up leaves and flowers and press them into books, then boil, absorb, and dry them to make bookmarks and specimens.
Back then, she always followed her mother around, busy doing this and that, not knowing what she was busy with, but she was very happy.
Why did her mother look at her and smile so happily back then?
I didn't move then, but only now do I truly feel it.
Feeling, understanding, becoming.
......
When Guan Nan went downstairs in the morning, Qi Yang was already waiting for her.
After walking for a while, Guan Nan remembered the MP4 player, took it out of her pocket, and handed it back to him: "Brother Qi Yang, thank you."
"Finished the listening comprehension questions?" Qi Yang took the MP4 and deleted the transcript from it.
“I’ve finished writing it all,” Guan Nan replied, “and checked the answers.”
Qi Yang asked, "Didn't they let you hear the real exam questions from the special training camp?"
Guan Nan shook her head: "No."
I'll give it to you tonight.
He meant to go to the office in the afternoon to download videos and audios. Guan Nan knew he often went to the office to download and print materials, so she wasn't surprised: "Okay, thank you, Brother Qiyang."
After Qi Yang finished deleting the data, the two walked for a while longer, until they were not far from the platform.
Qi Yang seemed to only then remember that Yu Shu had forcibly pulled him onto the bus last night. By the time he realized it, the bus had already started moving, and Guan Nan hadn't gotten on either.
Then I thought of the boy who was with Guan Nan last night.
He frowned, and instead of answering directly, asked, "Did you talk to Aunt Ranran about the parent-teacher conference?"
Guan Nan hesitated and shook her head, not yet knowing how to start the conversation, as the parent-teacher conference was tomorrow.
"You're not planning to tell me?" Qi Yang asked.
Before she could speak, Qi Yang added, "If it's inconvenient for Aunt Ranran, I can go over. My sister Zhen is going too, so the teacher won't say anything."
In fact, Qi Yang's idea was perfectly feasible. The students in the second and third years of high school all knew about their relationship and wouldn't misunderstand.
However, Guan Nan still chose not to do so: "No need, I'll talk about it tonight."
The parent-teacher conferences at Fuzhong High School were all scheduled for the same day. It was impossible to keep the fact that Zhenjie was going to attend Qiyang's parent-teacher conference a secret from Ran Mingju. At this time, Ran Mingju was still in a sensitive period, and Guan Nan was worried that she would be sad if she found out.
Hearing this, Qi Yang nodded without pressuring him.
The car arrived, and after they got on, Qi Yang spotted Jiang Li, who was still sitting in the same seat he had seen before. Time and again, it gave the impression of a deliberate coincidence.
Qi Yang followed her inside and noticed that Guan Nan was clearly stunned and paused when she saw that person.
He was certain that this was the one.
—"Female classmate".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
