19 wild camellia
Yang Xiao didn't know what to say for a moment. She knew how hard he worked and how little money he had. But then, like a magic trick, Zhou Qi pulled out two phones, which, for them at the time, would have been priceless, and asked her to choose the one she liked. This kind of Zhou Qi, this kind of Zhou Qi, left her at a loss.
"This is too expensive, you..." Yang Xiao instinctively shook her head, put down the spoon, and began to wave her hands. "Don't worry about me, I gave out scholarships a while ago. A cell phone is just an object after all. It only has value when it's in someone's hands, right?" He pushed the two boxes in front of Yang Xiao again. "Take a look, which one do you like?"
Yang Xiao felt like crying again. She looked at Zhou Qi, the budding feeling in her heart already breaking through the soil. She chose the white one, treating it like a treasure, unsealed it, then slowly put it back, carefully placing it in her bag. So, would Zhou Qi be there for all those sleepless nights she'd tossed and turned?
Whenever she couldn't sleep, Yang Xiao felt abandoned by the world. It was the steady breathing in the dormitory that made her realize this. She seemed to be transported back to the day Yang Guizi passed away, the day when people came and went in Lu Town, but she had no family left. She and her sleeping roommates were separated into two worlds: one fighting the night in solitude, the other wandering in sweet dreams.
But now, someone broke in and handed Yang Xiao a magic box, trying to establish a connection with her who was lonely in the world of insomnia, and told her: You are not alone, you still have me.
When Fang Qiu arrived, he saw Yang Xiao, dazed, holding her phone case while Zhou Qi inserted a SIM card into her. "Come, Sister Yang Xiao, try the new matcha cake. We haven't named it yet. Can you think of one for me?" He placed a green cake in front of Yang Xiao, which reminded her of Camellia Mountain. Camellia Mountain is a mountain in Lu Town where vegetation flourishes year-round.
The trees there are evergreen year-round. In winter, the mountains are covered in wild camellias, some pink and some bright red, a truly beautiful sight. When she was little, Yang Quezi would sometimes take her to the mountains to pick wild camellias, and she loved the white ones best. The white petals, dotted with yellow stamens, bloomed one after another on the branches, undeterred by the cold wind.
"Well...how about calling it wild camellia? When winter comes where we are, the mountains are full of camellias." Yang Xiao replied.
"Okay, then let's call it Wild Mountain Tea." Fang Qiu agreed without hesitation.
Zhou Qi knew the place. He'd been picked up by Zhou Daye in the small temple at the foot of the mountain. His memories of the past had faded with age, but he couldn't forget the pungent, yet alluring, scent of incense wafting from the small statue. Because after that gust of wind, Zhou Daye had arrived, and he had a new home.
Suddenly, he felt like he was that crying child squatting at the entrance of the small temple. Next to him sat Yang Xiao, with her pigtails, and Zhou Daye, who came with a pancake and asked if he was hungry. From then on, his life began to blossom like a wild camellia, blooming brilliantly even in the depths of winter.
When Zhou Qi was distracted, Yang Xiao almost finished eating the piece of "Wild Tea". While eating, she watched Zhou Qi's wandering mind and burst out laughing. "What's wrong?" Obviously, this laugh immediately brought Zhou Qi back to his senses. Yang Xiao shook her head and said, "I thought you wouldn't be in a daze."
"I'm just an ordinary person." Zhou Qi added again when he saw that she couldn't stop smiling.
"Well, I'm just an ordinary person. Let's go, Zhou Qi, I feel like I'm almost relaxed. I didn't expect that I could come and experience the place where you do odd jobs today." After Yang Xiao finished speaking, she felt much more relaxed. She put the last spoonful of cake into her mouth, and the aroma of tea filled the air.
"If you haven't even washed dishes here, you can't really say you've experienced Zhou Qi's life." Fang Qiu said with a smile, as if he was determined to tease Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao nodded and stood up. "Then wash the dishes first before you leave."
"Hahahaha—oh Zhou Qi, you little sister. Okay, okay, I was just kidding. Come again next time, Yang Xiao." Fang Qiu went back to the kitchen and handed a few paper bags to Yang Xiao. "These are the cookies I baked. Take them to school to try and help me advertise."
"What is the name of the store? I still don't know." Yang Xiao was confused.
"It's called Wu. It means nothing. Look, there's not even a plaque." Fang Qiu didn't try to be sophisticated and tell Yang Xiao the origin of the name. He smiled and waved to the two people at the door, "Come back next time."
Just like the name of the shop, Yang Xiao felt like she'd just spent a day without anything. She'd always believed that only knowledge could change her destiny, so she'd poured every ounce of energy into studying. But today, a day without learning anything, nothing happened, and the knowledge in her head didn't slip away like an hourglass.
Instead, she felt even more relaxed. Zhou Qi and Maomao were right. There was no conflict between proper relaxation and the idea that knowledge could change one's destiny. Even soldiers in a long-term battle needed rest, didn't they? Thinking of this, she felt incredibly lucky to have met Teacher Ji, who cared for her students, Zhou Qi, Maomao, and Maoqiu, who were tolerant and encouraging, and Zhou Daye. Without him, she wouldn't even have enough to eat.
After returning to school, Yang Xiao became her usual cheerful and cheerful self. She no longer obsessed with becoming Zhou Qi and changing herself; Yang Xiao was still Yang Xiao. Although her mindset had gradually improved, her stubborn insomnia would occasionally return. Initially, she was filled with anticipation, composing paragraph after paragraph of her feelings to send to Zhou Qi.
"Zhou Qi, have you slept? I can't sleep again. I don't know why I still have insomnia. Maybe I'm still very concerned about my grades. I didn't do very well in this monthly exam. But I will try my best to adjust my mentality. I just feel a little lonely when I can't sleep, and I want to find someone to talk to. There don't seem to be any other side effects. Oh, there are still some side effects. I fell asleep during morning reading zzz."
But the person on the other end didn't reply immediately, as she'd hoped. Yang Xiao consoled herself by saying it was three or four in the morning, and Zhou Qi was so busy, so it was normal for him not to reply right away. Besides, her purpose was to talk, not to get his comfort or sympathy. So, when the person on the other end finally replied, and the phone screen lit up beneath the covers, Yang Xiao fell back into a light sleep.
"Sorry, Yang Xiao. I just saw your message. I'll send you some milk to the security office this Wednesday. Drink a bottle before bed to help you sleep. As for your grades, before the college entrance examination, all the ups and downs are telling. Keep up the good work."
"Zhou Qi, I can't sleep again. But tomorrow is Saturday, so I can catch up on some sleep during the day. Hehe. I did pretty well on the math exams these days. Are you too excited to fall asleep? Haha? Congratulate me!"
"Zhou Qi, Zhou Qi, are you asleep? I can't sleep. Cat said counting sheep can help you fall asleep quickly. I've counted over 10,000 sheep, but why haven't I fallen asleep yet? I'm so sad."
"Zhou Qi! I slept well last night, but I'm having trouble falling asleep again today... There was a school sports meet this week, and I took first place in the 800-meter race. Although I felt terrible after the run, I felt a great sense of accomplishment with the gold medal hanging around my neck."
...
"Sorry, I just got out of surgery and just saw your message. Great job, keep it up!"
"Sorry, I forgot my phone at the hospital last night and only saw it this morning. Counting sheep can be quite cognitively taxing, as your brain is constantly engaged in logical thinking. Try pretending to sleep next time? I'll take you to the sleep department this weekend."
"Sorry, I have an early class today and went to bed early last night. Did you take your medicine on time? Relax before bed. The gold medal is awesome too!"
Yang Xiao began to realize that both her insomnia and her adjustment to her academic mindset were her own problems. She couldn't rely on Zhou Qi, or imagine that his "time difference intervention" could save her. She could only save herself, and the only thing Zhou Qi could do was provide her with an emotional outlet.
She has her own path to follow, and so does Zhou Qi.
Miao Yue had been quiet for a while. Teacher Ke Li said she was engaged to a family that owned a pharmaceutical company. Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief. His and Miao Yue's lives weren't supposed to intersect much, in any meaningful sense. But he didn't expect Miao Yue to reappear a few days later.
She arrived at Zhou Qi's rotation department, carrying a bag of wedding candy. After distributing it to most of the colleagues, she called Zhou Qi away. Zhou Qi, suppressing his displeasure, followed her to the stairwell because he needed to clarify something: "What exactly are you going to do, Miao Yue?"
Miao Yue saw that he was angry, and she smiled even happier. She walked closer to him and said, "I'm engaged. I'm sending you some wedding candy."
"Thank you, and happy engagement." Seeing that she had no other intentions, Zhou Qi turned around and turned to open the door to return to the department. Miao Yue took her fair hand with red nail polish and leaned sideways on Zhou Qi's back, making them seem particularly intimate.
Zhou Qi dodged as if he had been electrocuted, turned around and looked at her, his inner irritation and anger unable to be suppressed no matter how hard he tried: "Are you crazy? You are engaged now." Miao Yue saw his intense reaction, but her smile did not fade: "So what? Do you think my nominal husband will be cleaner than me in the future?"
Zhou Qi once again witnessed Miao Yue's ability to be unreasonable and confuse people: "You and your future husband have nothing to do with me. I say again, I have no feelings for you, and I will not cross the basic moral bottom line of human beings." After saying that, he shook Miao Yue's hand away. The moment he opened the door, he heard Miao Yue say:
"You'll have that day."
She was truly baffling. When Zhou Qi returned to the department, several of his usual colleagues, who were on good terms with him, came up to him and asked how he met Miao Yue. He was so annoyed that he simply refused to answer. But if he didn't clarify, his irritable silence might someday be interpreted as his desolation at not being able to find love and achieve his ascension.
Screw it.
He just doesn't want to say anything now.
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