Chapter 29
From that day on, Bai Shu's life was filled with He Xi. Whenever she had free time, she would send him WeChat messages, video chat with him, and chatter about her daily life. If he showed any signs of being unhappy, she would tell him some ridiculous jokes to make him laugh.
"Uh… cats meow, dogs woof, ducks quack, and chickens what? Chickens are for those who are prepared!"
"And this, why can't a sheep sleep after being shorn? Because... it loses its wool, hahaha!"
"Hahaha, this is also very funny. Let me tell you. Why is a flower funny? Because poof, she has a joke..."
If Bai Shu didn't respond, she would put her face against the screen, look at Bai Shu at a weird angle, shake her head left and right, and tilt her head like she was teasing a dog.
"Bai Shu, smile."
"Why aren't you smiling, huh?" She said in a gruff voice, pretending to be fierce. "Smile for me!"
If Bai Shu smiled, she would say, "Oh, that's right." and nod with satisfaction.
Bai Shuyao still didn't smile, so she opened her claws towards the screen and pretended to pounce on him, "You're not smiling yet? Then I'm going to pounce on you and bite you - Awooo!" She ground her teeth and made short threatening sounds like a small animal.
Bai Shu was amused by her appearance and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "He Xi, aren't you tired?"
He Xi put away his claws, put his hands on his hips, raised his chin and looked at her, "I'm not tired!"
She lightly pushed back his questions and refusal.
When he walked out of the school gate during the holidays, there was always a little man jumping up and waving happily at the door. Bai Shu walked closer and saw that the little man had turned into He Xi with a bright smile.
"Here! White Tree!"
The smile in her eyes seemed to make up for the lack of the sun hidden in the clouds on a cloudy day, illuminating his dark and lonely world. Bai Shu's heart softened completely, and he let the girl pull his arm and let her lead him away.
He Xi took him to the barber shop and cut his overly long hair, to the mall to change out of his black, white, and gray clothes, to the theater to see the latest movie, to a boutique to put a cute doll headband on his head, pulled him in front of the mirror to look at him, and took him to take photos with him in funny poses, and went to the amusement park to play all the rides in one go. Finally, under the sky full of fireworks, she silently leaned her head against his and gently said to him, "Bai Shu, don't be sad, okay?"
Bai Shu remained motionless and silent. This was not something he could control. He wanted to return to the Bai Shu he used to be, more than anyone else, but he couldn't.
From childhood to adulthood, his life had been smooth sailing, without many setbacks. He had a happy family, close friends, and a childhood love of basketball. He knew his future long before other children, and he persevered for over a decade. In his mind, becoming a basketball player was a foregone conclusion. But at the age of eighteen, fate played a huge joke on him. He missed out on the basketball he loved, his dreams, and there was no going back.
He suddenly lost his goal, even though his family and coach told him that he was young and that there would be many more things to come. But they didn't know that he couldn't see.
"He Xi." Bai Shu choked up a little, "After losing his basketball, Bai Shu seems to have become a useless person."
He turned his head and said under He Xi's shocked gaze, "Don't you think so?"
"Don't you think so?" He asked himself, "But I feel like I'm a useless person. I can't do anything."
He took a deep breath and said, "This is why I am unhappy."
"Before, my world was all about basketball, and my future was all about it. But now my world has become blank, and I can't see anything. I really... don't know what else I can do."
"So, He Xi, I beg you to give up."
"You can't save me, and I can't save myself." Bai Shu suddenly squatted down, held his head with both hands, and hit his head wildly. He was terribly desperate.
He Xi knew that Bai Shu could no longer control the overwhelming sadness.
"I know!" She bent down and squatted in front of him, put down his hand, and held his face. "I know it's hard to save someone."
"But can I accompany you?"
"I have confidence. As long as I am given time, I will be able to do it—"
"Don't be silly, He Xi." Bai Shu interrupted, turning away and burying his head deep into his knees, looking extremely vulnerable. "Have you found what you want to do?"
"He Xi?" Bai Shu asked back, "Did you do it?"
Bai Shu's distrust met He Xi's eyes. She was stunned by the question. She couldn't imagine that he would say such words in order to make him give up!
She was unwilling to give in, so she stood up and looked down at him, "If I find out what I want to do, will you be willing to believe me?"
"Yes." Bai Shu didn't move.
"I understand." He Xi turned and left, but suddenly stopped a few meters away, not caring about Bai Shu's reaction behind him. "I will do it, but before I find it, I will still come to find you."
"I won't give up on you!" She said these words decisively and forcefully, with a resounding momentum.
-
This was Bai Shu's excuse for her to give up, and it was also a test he left for her.
He Xi turned over in bed at night and thought about it.
If she could find out what she wanted to do, would he also have the courage to take another step forward?
He Xi forced himself to close his eyes and began to think about this problem.
The next day, He Xi got out of bed with a pair of panda eyes, which scared his roommates.
"He Xi, what's wrong with you? Did you steal vegetables last night?" roommate Gao Hanhan asked bluntly.
Roommate Lin Qimei also put on her glasses and squinted at me, "Yeah, you have really dark circles under your eyes."
He Xi yawned and said, "There's a question I've been thinking about all night and still haven't figured it out."
"What's the problem? What's the problem?" Another roommate, Chen Fangfei, came in from the corridor collecting clothes.
"How can I quickly find what I want to do?" He Xi paused, his expression serious. "Or a goal I'm willing to work hard for my whole life."
"Oh, this question is so difficult." Chen Fangfei was stunned for a moment and continued to put on makeup in front of the mirror.
Lin Qimei adjusted her glasses and spread her hands helplessly. "I think most people never find what they want to do in their lives. They hate going to school, they hate working, and they hate every job they do... It might be easy for you to find your hobby, but it's hard to fall in love with it while working, right?"
"I agree!" Gao Hanhan clapped her hands. "That makes so much sense."
He Xi then asked Lin Qimei, "Why did you choose to major in Sports English?"
"Because Beihai University is a good school." Lin Qimei answered with great difficulty.
He Xi looked at Gao Hanhan. She touched her bangs, looking up shyly. "I am a little interested in English. Considering that it is not easy to find a job with English alone, I chose a program that combines applied skills."
"Me too." He Xi sighed. "I didn't even know which university to set as my goal at the beginning, and it was a coincidence that I chose this major."
"Huh? You all have no interest in this major?" Chen Fangfei said, applying lip gloss with a lip brush. "When I was little, I watched European sports with my dad, and I've always wanted to be a sports English broadcaster. Now that I've finally been admitted to the Sports English major, it's a small step towards that goal."
A strange glow illuminated the gloomy sky, and the entire Beihai playground seemed to be soaked in orange sparkling water. He Xi, feeling itchy, swiped a basketball from a nearby vending machine and dribbled it twice, bored.
After regaining some touch, she dribbled the ball, then with a beautiful butterfly-through-flowers move, she jumped, stopped, and shot, the ball dropping steadily into the net. He Xi, completely in high spirits, picked up the ball and started again. The wind blew her hair, and her movements were smooth and flowing, neat and beautiful. She stopped, shot, and jumped again and again, the ball dropping into the net again and again, and the haze in her heart was swept away, leaving only the clearness of unparalleled focus.
The ball fell through the net again. He Xi rested her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She recalled her conversation with Chen Fangfei that morning.
"Hypothesis, Feifei, I'm really just making a hypothesis. If one day, due to some unforeseen circumstances, you missed out on your dream of becoming a sports broadcaster, how would you immediately pick yourself up and find a new goal?"
"Hmm... I shouldn't have that problem." Chen Fangfei seemed to be choosing a hair accessory at the time. "I have a lot of hobbies. If I can't be a sports broadcaster, I'll be a dance instructor. If that doesn't work out, I'll be a singer. If that doesn't work out, I'll be a blogger in our own media. Anyway—"
Under He Xi's attentive gaze, Chen Fangfei counted on her fingers as she gave examples, speaking with great enthusiasm, "For me, Chen Fangfei, there is absolutely no such thing as only one fulcrum in life."
"Why?" He Xi asked blankly.
Chen Fangfei spread her hands and laughed, rarely being serious. "Because once that fulcrum is gone, isn't your life over?"
A word awakens a dreamer. Isn't Bai Shu like this now?
Wasn't that the same thing she did? She got into Beihai University, majored in physical education, and then what? Did she stop pursuing other interests and hobbies? Did she limit her life to only one possibility?
It is indeed Bai Shu who needs to change, but not only Bai Shu, she also needs to make changes.
There aren't many burglaries in this world, nor are there so many gears of fate turning. Life is a maze with no solution, and you need to keep exploring it yourself.
She seemed to know where her problem lay. Empty companionship, self-righteous counseling, and empty words of comfort were all part of the life lessons that lay before her.
She needed to explore through experimentation and review through feedback. He Xi opened her phone, clicked on the short video platform, entered her personal homepage, and clicked on the first "" in her life.
-
He Xi started his journey as a self-media person.
She began planning a video series called "Challenge and Explore 100 Possibilities in Life", recording the 100 hobbies she tried through the camera, and discovering the potential possibilities in her life.
The camera flashed, and He Xi appeared on the screen. She greeted netizens and began to introduce her first challenge to everyone - self-taught baking.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
