Chapter 51
The trees in Fuling, especially the banyan trees, are very special.
It was clearly the most inconspicuous one, left in a corner, that could grow without soil or air. Even in the harshest conditions, it could still take root and survive 100%.
They grow by the water, clinging to rocks, tenaciously reaching upwards.
Just like that half-year-long attempt to suppress and distance themselves in an effort to eradicate the problem completely, which was ineffective.
A young girl's thoughts are like a banyan tree; seemingly just sprouting and breaking through the soil, they grow rapidly and become a towering tree in the blink of an eye.
The girl in the classroom looked at the sticky notes filled with names.
She tore it apart and pieced it back together silently.
Hidden in the palm
——I like JIANGLI
As time went by, the feeling of "I like Berry" spread from my throat to the depths of my heart, seeping into my very being.
......
The unexpected event behind the peaceful and idyllic scene occurred on the Dragon Boat Festival.
Ran Mingju was on vacation at home. Before Guan Nan left in the morning, she said that she would buy bamboo leaves and wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to send to her at noon.
That day, Guan Nan waited for a very long time, but her mother's zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) never arrived.
Guan Nan assumed it was just a failure with the rice dumplings, but she didn't see any posts about failure on her WeChat Moments that day, so she had a bad feeling.
After returning home from his part-time job, Ran Mingju, who had been stable for half a year, seemed to be acting strangely again.
In the living room, all the neatly arranged items were now scattered all over the floor. Kitchen bowls and plates lay on the floor, and dried bamboo leaves were strewn everywhere, covering the spilled glutinous rice.
Ran Mingju sat on the ground with disheveled hair, her face expressionless and her eyes vacant, revealing no emotion.
Reason told her she should contact the dean immediately.
But this time, selfishness and emotion prevailed over reason.
She didn't want that kind of life to happen again, didn't want Ran Mingju to fall into that helpless, panicked confusion again, and didn't want Ran Mingju, who had finally recovered, to become cautious again.
Mom has finally gotten a little better; she won't get any worse.
Guan Nan supported her forehead with her hand, squatted down on the ground to calm herself down, and silently cleaned up the scene.
She pulled Ran Mingju up from the ground without asking any questions.
He just paid more attention to Ran Mingju's emotions.
......
After that awkward encounter, things eased somewhat between the two.
They added each other on WeChat, and as usual, they greeted each other, copied each other's homework, and went to and from school together.
It was around this time that Guan Nan noticed Jiang Li's presence under every single one of Ran Mingju's WeChat Moments posts.
A hardworking child; my dearest daughter; the library at 3:00 PM; my daughter loved making hand-rolled pancakes for the first time...
He liked every single one of them.
The latest one was posted an hour ago.
During the summer before her senior year of high school, Guan Nan worked as a cashier at an internet cafe, but she was also busy with her studies and had to find other part-time jobs.
At the same time, we also need to take the time to pay attention to Ran Mingju's emotional fluctuations.
As a result, her relationship with Jiang Li was more of a stagnation than a thaw; it neither progressed nor regressed, and remained in the status quo.
That day, Guan Nan was working on her practice problems at the front desk when the motion-activated doorbell rang. She immediately looked up and saw what was happening.
A person wearing a baseball cap walked towards us, looking nonchalant yet arrogant.
He was slender, upright, and powerful, dressed in a dark color scheme with bright pink accents. His overall aggression was softened by the contrast, yet he exuded a unique personality despite his understated demeanor.
Guan Nan recognized the person by the necklace around her neck.
"Turn on the machine." Jiang Li, standing outside the machine, slowly took off his hat. The moment his eyes met hers, he raised his eyebrows and smiled, his eyes captivatingly.
We haven't seen each other for just one summer vacation.
The once spirited young man became increasingly arrogant and unrestrained.
Guan Nan looked at his face clearly and asked curiously, "Jiang Li, have you gotten darker?"
"Is it that obvious?" Jiang Li glanced at his arm and said casually, "I went to two summer camps during the summer vacation, and I also came here after getting my arm repaired."
"Oh." Guan Nan nodded, and was about to ask him for his ID card when she heard him say that.
“My mom signed up for it every summer vacation, and Jiang Siyao signed up for it before she graduated.”
Guan Nan hesitated for a moment. Was this an explanation of "I can copy your summer homework later"?
“I spent a week in Beijing following the art scene, and half a month in Guangdong following the special police,” Jiang Li looked at her and explained sincerely, “I guess it was from those two weeks of sun exposure.”
After hearing this, Guan Nan opened his mouth, and then heard him say something else.
"I just got off the plane this morning."
"......"
"I went to a beauty salon with my mom at noon."
"......"
"I haven't eaten yet."
Guan Nan turned around and looked at her. "Do you want instant noodles?"
"Mm." Jiang Li nodded.
Guan Nan wanted to give him the instant noodles, but then she remembered that he was a picky eater. So she picked up the lunchbox on the table and handed it to him: "You can have this. I packed it up for lunch. It's still clean and quite light."
Jiang Li took it and saw her looking down to find chopsticks. "I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
"No need, I'm on the night shift today." Guan Nan looked down as she searched for chopsticks.
Jiang Li didn't urge him, leaning lazily on the counter with his arms outstretched: "What will you eat if I give it to you?"
“You can eat instant noodles,” Guan Nan said, pulling out a pair of disposable chopsticks, standing up straight and looking at him with her eyes crinkling. “I haven’t had instant noodles in a long time.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone shouted, "Internet cafe manager, a bucket of instant noodles and a bottle of cola!"
Guan Nan scooped up a bucket of instant noodles, pointed to the lounge on her right, and pressed a button on the remote control. "You can eat in there. I'll open the door for you."
The glass door opened.
Watching her deftly tear open the plastic film, rip open the seasoning packets one by one, and go through the glass door to pour boiling water.
Jiang Li sat in the lounge and glanced around briefly.
The interior is simply furnished with two office chairs, a desk, and various miscellaneous items scattered around. It looks like both an office and a storeroom, and even the water dispenser is inside.
At that moment, he also noticed the pink backpack lying on the office floor.
This was replaced with a new black one in the second semester of my junior year of high school.
—"Knock knock".
There was a knock on the glass door from the outside.
Jiang Li turned his head and saw her coming in from outside, noticing that she was wearing a skirt today.
She wore a white T-shirt and short skirt, with a pink cardigan sweatshirt over it, and her long hair was unusually loose. She looked like a rabbit, clean, fresh, and elegant yet vibrant.
“I asked, it’s 50% sugar,” Guan Nan said, taking the lemonade out of the bag. “It won’t be too sweet or too sour. There’s also a croissant inside. If the food doesn’t suit your taste, you can eat this.”
Jiang Li paused for a moment, then a happy smile appeared on his lips: "Why isn't it Sprite?"
His preferences were so obvious to her.
“Yes.” Guan Nan said blankly, pointing to the bag, “It’s inside. It’s icy and a little cold.”
After she finished speaking, she turned to leave.
Jiang Li called out to her, "Did you just go downstairs to buy this?"
“No,” Guan Nan answered honestly, “I sent them a message when you came.”
Jiang Li glanced at the bag: "?"
Seeing his strange and suspicious expression, Guan Nan didn't hide anything from him, "Because we have a lot of customers here, the dessert shop downstairs has added us on WeChat, so they can deliver it up as soon as it's done, and we'll give them priority because we don't have to wait in line."
"......"
Seeing that he didn't speak, Guan Nan said, "Then I'll go out first. You can rest here after you finish eating."
As she turned around, her gaze swept over the necklace around his neck once more.
Subconsciously, she looked down at her right wrist and saw the identical coin.
The wristband on my wrist felt strangely hot.
I remember the last time Ran Mingju asked, she vaguely said that she made it with her classmates, and that it was a talisman.
After a while.
Jiang Li came out, holding a lunchbox, and asked her where she was washing the dishes.
"I can't wash it here, give it to me, I'll take it home to wash." Guan Nan took the lunchbox and put it into her bag.
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Li handed him his ID card and turned on the machine.
When Guan Nan took the ID card and entered the data, her gaze fell on the person's ID card and noticed the date of birth.
—May 5, 1998
He was born in the Year of the Tiger and is one year older than her.
After the information was entered, Guan Nan returned his ID card to him and told him the phone number.
He was in the lobby, amidst the noise and shouting of people playing games, wearing headphones and watching TV.
The summer vacation continued like this for the next two weeks.
Guan Nan went to work, while he watched TV.
Guan Nan was doing his homework, and he was copying it.
Guan Nan was eating, and so was he.
Guan Nan gets off work and goes home.
It's like clocking in and out at a fixed time, just like going to and from get off work.
Days passed by, and before she knew it, it was the eve of the start of the new school term. After finishing her last day of work, Jiang Li accompanied her to Hecangyuan.
They were on the early shift that day, and it wasn't even dark yet. The two of them were holding ice cream cones.
I could hear a commotion coming from some building when I was still quite a distance from the grocery store, but I didn’t pay much attention to it at first.
Until Guan Nan heard Zhen Jie's sharp voice: "Let's see who dares!"
Instantly, Guan Nan's expression changed, and the ice cream cone fell to the ground.
She had already run away.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Li immediately followed.
But by this time, quite a few people were already standing downstairs at Building 26. Residents who were nearby opened their windows and craned their necks to look up. He didn't have the authority to go up, so he could only choose a spot and look up.
Upstairs, Sister Zhen stood in front of Ran Mingju, like an eagle protecting its chicks.
Ran Mingju was trembling, and her mood was visibly bad.
Opposite them were Guan Weimin and Zhang Guilian.
"Now you're asking about money. Where have you been all these years?" Sister Zhen shouted, holding a kitchen knife in her hand. "Now you know your mother is dead? You drove her to her death, so why are you looking for her? In all these years, what have you done to wrong yourself or your family?"
Guan Weimin's face was dark, and he dared not speak his anger to Sister Zhen.
"Where was your mother before she died? You have no shame! Did she take your mother's money? How could she possibly get your mother's money? Ask anyone in the entire Hecang Garden, who doesn't know what kind of person your mother is? Would she give her money to Ranran?" Sister Zhen was indignant at their shamelessness.
Zhang Guilian said softly, "My mother had so much money before she died, who else could it go to if not her? It's all for Weimin, her son—"
Her words made Sister Zhen, who was holding a kitchen knife, tremble. She turned around and yelled at her, "Shut up! Who do you think you are! When did a mistress like you have the right to speak here? Take a piss and look at yourself before you speak!"
Even a neighbor couldn't stand it anymore: "This family is truly shameless."
"Not a penny to speak of, not a single cent." When someone who didn't know the truth asked if she had really taken the money, the woman spat out, "Everyone in Hecangyuan knows that Ranran has been married into this family for so many years, and she's always the one who pays for everything."
"He cheated on her even before they were divorced, and who knows when those two got together. He even wants Ranran to give him money."
"Your mother died in 2013, and Ranran hasn't been here since 2009. Where did she get the money?" Sister Zhen's sharp eyes swept over the neighbor, she spat at Zhang Guilian's feet, then turned to Guan Weimin and continued to berate him: "Don't you know what your own family's assets are? This house, that house in Tangzi Lane, that house in your hometown, weren't all paid for by Ranran...?"
The entire building was filled with Sister Zhen's voice, deafening and penetrating through the walls.
Guan Weimin interrupted her, not letting her continue, saying, "That's enough! This is a family matter, and it's none of your business to interfere!"
"What family matters are you talking about?" Guan Nan walked through the crowded corridor. "I'm sorry, my mother, Ms. Ran Mingju, and this Mr. Guan divorced on May 6, 2009."
“We and my godmother are family, so there’s no such thing as family matters.”
Upon hearing this, Guan Weimin, who had been repeatedly humiliated by Guan Nan, raised his hand to strike him, saying, "How dare you talk to me like that!"
"If you dare touch her, I'll kill you today!" Sister Zhen walked towards Guan Weimin with a knife in hand.
The hand that had been raised halfway in the air abruptly stopped.
Guan Weimin dared not gamble. There was a precedent set by Zhen Xiaoya, that madwoman, who had previously attacked and killed the people who had caused trouble at the grocery store. Since then, no one had bothered the grocery store again.
"Even if we divorce for many years, I'm still your father!" Guan Weimin said angrily.
Guan Nan didn't even glance at him. She helped Ran Mingju, who was in a terrible state, back into the house. Someone called the police, and when they arrived, they dispersed the crowd and gave Zhen Jie a long and earnest talk.
Guan Weimin and Zhang Guilian also received a lecture.
However, Sister Zhen did not give up. Although the police took away her knife, she was still angry and kept calculating how much money he had taken from Ranran, how he had wronged Ranran, and how Guan Nan had spent the past six years in Tangzi Alley.
"You really think no one will know if you don't tell?" Sister Zhen became more and more agitated as she spoke. Taking advantage of the police officer's inattention, she kicked him while he was blocking her way. "Officer, tell me, how can people be so heartless? They raised someone else's daughter properly, and this is how they treat their own daughter? Do you deserve to be parents? And now you want this house back!"
"Guan Weimin, you should have a conscience! You've completely lost your conscience!"
Guan Nan didn't know how things calmed down outside after that.
She hugged Ran Mingju tightly as they sat on the sofa.
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