Half a month later, Zhan Xiaoman returned to the courtyard.
That's not quite right. For the past two weeks, every evening when Wang Wenfeng walked his dog, he would walk directly from his house to Zhan Chunlan's house. Both he and Zhan Xiaoman wanted to see her every day.
The wound on her foot had actually healed almost completely in a week, but Wang Wenfeng was worried that walking the dog might cause her further injury, so he waited another week before returning Zhan Xiaoman to her.
In the adult world, there's no need to explain everything so clearly.
For the past two weeks, he has brought Xiaoman over every night, watching her play with him. He would occasionally bring food prepared by Ms. Fang Li, and sometimes other small gifts. The atmosphere between the two has become increasingly ambiguous, but neither of them has made any promises.
"You're off tomorrow, let's go see a movie."
According to the pattern of the past few days, Wang Wenfeng should have gone home by now, but something was off when he arrived today. Zhan Chunlan also noticed this and tried to pretend that she hadn't noticed anything, focusing on playing with Zhan Xiaoman.
He fumbled in his pocket for a while before finally mustering the courage to pull out two movie tickets. Zhan Chunlan secretly rolled her eyes. She thought he was going to do something big, he was so nervous, but it turned out to be just this?
Actually, she doesn't like watching movies and TV series because she has a very strong sense of empathy. When the characters in a movie cry, she cries; when the characters in a movie suffer, it's as if she's suffering herself. She feels even more distressed than the characters in the movie. She can't change anything, so she can only feel bad. Therefore, she almost never watches movies or TV series.
But Zhan Chunlan still agreed, because after thinking it over carefully, she realized there didn't seem to be any other projects.
The film they watched was "The Red Lantern." Although model operas are different from later films, and are more like stage plays or musicals, Zhan Chunlan easily became immersed in the story and watched it very attentively. When she saw Li Yuhe and Grandma Li sacrifice themselves, and Li Tiemei return home and close the door to cry, Zhan Chunlan couldn't stop her tears from flowing.
She felt a pang of sadness. From God's perspective, watching them head relentlessly toward their predetermined fate, a sense of powerlessness rose within her.
Suddenly, a plaid handkerchief was handed to him from the side. It was Wang Wenfeng. Presumably worried about his pride, he didn't turn around and kept looking at the screen.
Zhan Chunlan burst out laughing. Isn't this just burying your head in the sand? How do you know I cried if you didn't see it?
Hearing Zhan Chunlan suddenly laugh, Wang Wenfeng turned his head in confusion. In the dim light, he could vaguely see a pair of watery eyes, curved in a smile. Wasn't she just crying? Why is she suddenly laughing?
Zhan Chunlan didn't explain. She took the handkerchief, carefully wiped away her tears, and whispered, "I won't watch movies anymore. It makes me sad."
A normal sentence, when it reached Wang Wenfeng's ears, was reduced to just the word "later"—she was willing to have a future with me?
"Okay, whatever you say."
Wang Wenfeng's smile stretched from ear to ear, and everyone around him could feel his joy.
Now it was Zhan Chunlan's turn to be puzzled: "Is this guy crazy? I told him I felt unwell, why is he so happy?"
After watching the movie, Wang Wenfeng dropped Zhan Chunlan off at home and stood in the yard without leaving.
Zhan Chunlan was curious to see what kind of trouble this person was up to this time, so she ignored her and teased Zhan Xiaoman on the side.
Half an hour later, Wang Wenfeng had organized his thoughts in his mind, made up his mind, and slowly said, "Comrade Zhan Chunlan, I have thought about it for a long time and I think I should formally express my attitude and determination to you."
Zhan Chunlan's hand, which was petting the dog, paused slightly, and her heart jumped. She couldn't help but secretly berate herself: Wasn't he going to confess his feelings? Why are you so nervous?
Wang Wenfeng's voice remained steady, yet it carried a warmth that was more pronounced than usual: "That 'play' three years ago was an unexpected and special beginning in my life. It brought us together in a deeper way."
"This time when I came back," he said, his gaze lingering on her reddened earlobes, "I saw a completely new you—independent, strong, shining brightly in your role. This fills me with admiration, and it also forces me to be honest with myself—my feelings for you are no longer simply pity and care."
"So today, I want to set aside all the past 'jokes' and excuses, and with my most sincere feelings, make a request to you—"
Wang Wenfeng took a deep breath, slowed his speech, and spoke each word clearly and firmly:
"I hope to build a deeper revolutionary friendship with you, with marriage as the goal. This is my determination, and a carefully considered decision I've made after long deliberation and observation."
A gentle evening breeze rustled through the flowerbeds in the corner of the courtyard, carrying a faint, delicate fragrance. Zhan Xiaoman seemed to sense the change in atmosphere and quietly lay down at her feet, her tail gently stroking the ground.
Time seemed to stand still, and everything in the courtyard became quiet.
I don't know how much time had passed, but I heard a shout of "Good!"
The voice was soft and gentle, yet to Wang Wenfeng's ears it sounded like heavenly music.
Although Zhan Chunlan agreed to go to the movies with him, it was actually a subtle hint that in this reserved era, the two had already implicitly acknowledged their romantic relationship.
But Wang Wenfeng still wanted to give her a definite answer and also wanted her to give him a positive response.
Perhaps it was fate that brought the two of them together. A temporary measure brought them closer, and now that they have reunited after a long separation, they have a different understanding of each other. There was no dramatic event, but rather a natural and inevitable outcome.
“Then I’ll call you ‘Chunlan’ from now on.” Before anyone knew it, Wang Wenfeng had walked up to her, squatted down and started massaging Zhan Xiaoman with his hands, giving her a massage on her head and back, until she lay comfortably on the ground.
"Okay, whatever you want." Zhan Chunlan felt the person next to her getting closer and felt a little nervous and at a loss. She didn't know why, even in the dimly lit movie theater with a tense atmosphere, she didn't feel this way. Now, just by him getting a little closer, she felt a little shy. Was this right?
"So what are you going to call me?" Wang Wenfeng sensed her emotions. He liked the feeling of tension that came after they had just started dating, so he didn't want to miss it.
Zhan Chunlan thought about it carefully. Since he had asked, it meant he didn't like the previous "Brother Wenfeng." Remembering how Ms. Fang Li had always called him "the mistress," she cautiously asked, "Third Brother?"
"Heh~" Wang Wenfeng stopped what he was doing and looked at her seriously: "Wang Wenchuan calls me that? You still want to be my sister?"
When Zhan Xiaoman felt the hand on her body suddenly stop, she grumbled unhappily, raised her head, and gently placed Wang Wenfeng's hand on her back with her mouth.
"You're such a heartless little thing. I've been massaging you for so long, can't you even stop for a moment?" Wang Wenfeng gently tapped the dog's head.
Zhan Chunlan, however, felt that this person was making veiled accusations, and she had evidence!
"Then I shall call you... Wen Feng?"
Ugh—I feel so embarrassed, I can't bring myself to say it out loud, what should I do?
Wang Wenfeng found it somewhat amusing that she managed to say her name with such difficulty: "Never mind, call me whatever you want."
“Okay, Brother Wenfeng!” Zhan Chunlan immediately replied. This was the only one she could say without any difficulty. As for things like Wenfeng or Brother Feng, she really felt like her mouth weighed a ton.
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