Reunion at the Train Station (Part 1)
The rain stopped last night, leaving only a damp ground.
It was the weekend, and Jiang Yichun arranged to meet He Yinxin in the school's study room.
She had just picked up a stack of printed contracts and stepped out of the dormitory when she saw a familiar figure.
He Yinxin was wearing a light-colored T-shirt, glasses, and holding a parasol as she stood at the dormitory entrance.
Jiang Yichun froze for a moment, then strode forward and rushed into the shadows under the umbrella.
"Old He, didn't you tell me to wait for me at the library entrance?"
He Yinxin looked down at her, her fingers tracing the umbrella handle: "I can't wait, I want to see you as soon as possible."
He stepped forward and took Jiang Yichun's wrist: "Xiaochun, may we hold hands?"
Jiang Yichun looked up, her fingertips trembling slightly, and she smiled: "Of course, Lao He."
"Besides, you're already on a leash. You stupid dog."
He Yinxin froze, then placed his hand directly on her trembling lips.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the shade of a tree, his voice trembling: "Xiaochun, Baobao, you, you mustn't call me that..."
"I'm still downstairs in the dorm. My adrenaline is pumping, it's making my blood flow faster and my face flushed..."
"It's just shyness. Who isn't shy?"
Jiang Yichun's cheeks were flushed. She lowered her head, feeling only a little embarrassed after her blood had boiled over: "But you called me baby too."
"So we're even, let's just pretend nothing happened."
He Yinxin sighed softly and raised the corners of her mouth: "You really love to talk about this. Okay, I brought you breakfast."
"You don't eat breakfast except when you're working 8 a.m., right?"
Jiang Yichun frowned as she looked at the steaming meat bun: "So what if I don't eat breakfast? It's not like I'll die."
He Yinxin yanked at the plastic bag, making a rustling sound, and forced it into her hand: "Skipping breakfast can easily cause cholecystitis, which will damage your health..."
Jiang Yichun stared at his lips moving up and down, then chuckled and took the steamed bun from him: "Alright, alright, I'll eat it. But I'm perfectly healthy, at least I've never been in an ambulance."
“You really are…” He Yinxin’s cheeks flushed red, and she gently pinched the back of her hand.
Jiang Yichun took a bite of the meat bun, blinked at him, and asked, "Old He, speaking of which, how's your finances lately?"
"Don't spend money to buy me steamed buns anymore."
He Yinxin brushed a stray hair from her forehead and forced a smile: "The price of steamed buns is not high, so it won't have any impact on my finances. Don't worry, Xiaochun, don't worry too much about me."
His fingertips restlessly pinched hers, and finally his large hand covered hers, holding her tightly.
"I wasn't worried about you. I was worried you wouldn't have the money to fulfill the contract with me." Jiang Yichun pouted, gave a soft snort, and squeezed his hand back.
He Yinxin chuckled softly, said nothing, and went to the library with her.
"Bang!" Jiang Yichun slammed the contract on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat upright in front of him, resting his chin on his hands.
"Old He, take a look at this contract. I wrote it last night, and there are no problems..."
Before Jiang Yichun could finish speaking, He Yinxin took out a pen and quickly signed his name on the paper.
He looked up at her and smiled, "It's signed."
Jiang Yichun placed his hands on the paper, his eyes wide: "He Yinxin, you...you didn't even read the contract terms carefully? You're not a bot..."
Aren't you afraid I'll write something that's detrimental to you?
"I believe you, Xiaochun." He Yinxin met her gaze, his eyes filled with an indescribable turmoil.
The gentle waves surged towards her through the air, enveloping all her senses.
She took a deep breath and slapped the contract paper on her hand: "No, He Yinxin, you must read the contents of the contract carefully before you sign it. This is a matter of attitude, understand?"
"I just think your attitude is bad and you don't value our relationship enough."
He Yinxin's hand holding the pen froze.
He had intended to use his cleverness to win her favor, but instead of being moved, he was met with her firm and accusatory questioning.
Okay, that's very Jiang Yichun.
Well, I've been too clever for my own good again and made her angry.
He Yinxin's eyelids drooped, she exhaled, pushed up her glasses, and looked at the contract.
Without Party A's permission, Party B shall not engage in intimate behavior with Party A.
[Party B must promptly report any unexpected events to Party A and must not deceive Party A.]
Both Party A and Party B are independent entities; if either party fails to respect the other, the contract is invalid.
The sparse black characters climbed the white paper, and only two words could be seen between the lines: "respect".
He smiled slightly: "Yes, I've read it, Xiaochun. The contract... is very meticulous. I think it's a contract that is beneficial to both parties."
“I also saw your desire for respect in your contract, and I will do my best to live up to that.”
"Tch, what's with the self-help lecturer act?"
Jiang Yichun snorted, crossed his arms, and tilted his chin up: "You silly dog, you really love to whine, but..."
She reached out, pulled the contract back, and grasped the back of his hand that was resting on the table.
“Not bad. I mean, what do you think of me?” Her cheeks flushed, and her fingertips gently caressed the back of his hand.
Her gaze fell on the still-healing scar on his hand: "Such beautiful hands, burned like that, robot dog, you really are..."
He Yinxin froze on the spot. His usually sophisticated brain function stopped working again, and he could only mechanically repeat, "Xiaochun, what are you doing? I... I'm fine. I'm not going to be a hand model. So what if I look ugly?"
"I'm touching my boyfriend's hand." She smiled and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.
Her tone faltered, then her smile became even more wicked: "I... I'd be heartbroken if you had a scar on your hand, you know, because I'd still need to see it."
Her eyes darted around, and she uttered three words: "Boyfriend."
Those three words were like a spark, completely igniting the fuel in his heart.
He Yinxin transformed into a marble sculpture, standing on a white plastic chair.
"What, what, Xiaochun, what did you call me?"
Jiang Yichun chuckled, stuck out his tongue at him, and pulled the contract paper from the table: "Looks like you haven't read the contract carefully yet."
"I'll only say nice things twice, take your time to think about it! Okay, I have to go to work this afternoon, so I'll head out now."
He Yinxin stood there, stunned and at a loss, only able to watch helplessly as her ponytail spun in the air and as the door in front of her closed.
He had even forgotten to say goodbye to her.
His cheeks were steaming hot, like a pressure cooker, bubbling and turning.
He lowered his head and looked at the contract he had kept in his hand.
During the pre-contact period, you can use affectionate nicknames for your partner, including "baby," "boyfriend," etc.
He raised his hand and slowly covered his lips, the corners of his mouth unable to suppress a smile.
A blush spread from his cheeks all the way down to his neck.
Xiaochun...did she call me boyfriend?
I have a formal status now?
Can I call her baby now?
He murmured softly, "Xiaochun, hehe, Xiaochun..."
"girlfriend."
"Beep beep beep!" The phone rang.
He Yinxin immediately snapped out of her romantic daydream and answered the phone.
"Brother! Brother! Where are you? I heard Grandpa is dying, so Mom, Dad, and I came here. We're already at the hospital. You..."
"What? Xuexi, don't be nervous, speak slowly." His fingertips trembled incessantly.
"I...I wasn't nervous! You interrupted me, bro! I meant you need to come here right now!"
The other person's voice was tinged with sobs: "I've come to see Grandpa one last time."
He Yinxin hung up the phone, his chest heaving violently. He casually stuffed the contract on the table into his bag, strode out the door, and rushed towards the hospital.
The blazing summer sun was blinding, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, dampening his temples.
His vision gradually dried up under the sunlight, leaving only a vast expanse of white.
He rushed back to his childhood and met his grandfather.
Ever since he could remember, his grandfather had difficulty walking and always used a cane.
He was known in the neighborhood as a "bad-tempered eccentric old man," and in his own eyes, he was a rigid and annoying grandfather.
Before his grandmother passed away, he often sat alone in his study, wearing his reading glasses, flipping through books and humming songs.
When I was a child, I would often sneak into the study and flip through my grandfather's books, which I could never understand.
Once, while I was looking at the illustrations in a book full of words, my grandfather appeared behind me.
Grandpa walked towards me with a stern face, wearing reading glasses and leaning on his cane.
My heart started pounding. I shoved the book under the table and forced a sweet smile at him.
Back then, I seemed to have already become a little liar.
"Xinxin, what are you doing?" Grandpa frowned, his thick eyebrows furrowing as he pounded his cane on the floor.
Having been good at reading people since childhood, I naturally dared not tell the truth, because it seemed that my grandfather was about to get angry.
He didn't say anything, just shook his head, his lips pursed.
"Reading a book, Xinxin?" Grandpa's thick eyebrows slowly relaxed, and the corners of his straight mouth slowly turned up.
"How many words does Xinxin know now? What book is she reading? Let Grandpa read it to you."
She pursed her lips, but in the end, she took the book out of the drawer and placed it in her grandfather's hands, awaiting his judgment.
Grandpa's poker face lit up, and he actually laughed: "Journey to the West? Xinxin, that's one of the Four Great Classical Novels, my favorite. Hey, Sun Wukong!"
"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!"
Grandpa struck a pose like Sun Wukong from the TV show, then sat down, chuckling as he rubbed his head: "Come on, Xinxin, let Grandpa tell you this story."
Perhaps it was because I listened to my grandfather tell me exciting passages from novels in the study every day that I developed a love for reading and learning, which led me to where I am today.
Those fragments about Grandpa gradually came back to me.
I once overheard my grandfather muttering to himself while he was asleep from reading: "Run, sister, those people... they're coming!"
"Run! Father, Mother! They've taken our home and killed our people!"
"Mom, I'm hungry."
He Yinxin rubbed her sore eyes, unable to distinguish between tears and sweat.
He muttered to himself, "Even Sun Wukong... Sun Wukong can't cure cancer."
"Besides, there are no gods in the world."
His phone rang again in his pocket.
"Brother, Grandpa is really dying. He said he wants to eat egg yolk pastries. Could you buy him one?"
He Yinxin sniffed, gave a soft "hmm," and turned to run towards the pastry shop on the side.
After buying the egg yolk pastries, he took a taxi directly to the hospital.
He Yinxin pushed open the ward door and the first thing she saw was her grandfather lying on the hospital bed.
Tears welled up in her eyes without her noticing, and she was carrying a large box of egg yolk pastries.
He Yinxin's gaze shifted and met two familiar faces.
That's his...
Before he could even see the face of the person in front of him clearly, he heard footsteps.
"Smack!"
A slap landed on his face.
"You shameless, heartless wretch!"
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