In the restaurant, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao sat facing each other at the dining table.
Sitting on Ruan Xi's left was Ruan Qiuyue, and on his right was Ruan Hongjun and Ruan Hongbing.
Four people against one person.
Ruan Hongjun pursed his lips to smile, cleared his throat and said, "Baby...baby?"
Ling Yao: “…”
Ruan Qiuyue pursed her lips to prevent herself from laughing.
After saying that, Ruan Hongjun turned to look at Ruan Xi, "Sister, who is this? Do you have such a powerful friend?"
Ruan Xi looked at Ling Yao and smiled, still a little unfamiliar, "How about you introduce yourself?"
Ling Yao then cleared his throat twice and said, "We have seen it before. You and Xixi went to the countryside at that time. You were still quite young."
After hearing this, Ruan Qiuyue suddenly remembered, her eyes lit up and she said, "Oh, oh, oh, now I remember, you are the boy who lives in the stilt house, your mother even checked my feet, right?"
Ling Yao nodded at her, "Yes."
It was quite a surprise and a pleasure to meet again. Ruan Xi looked at him and said, "You've changed so much that I didn't recognize you. When you were a child you were like that...like that...and now you're...like this..."
If he didn't call her, she would definitely not take the initiative to recognize him.
Ling Yao responded, "You've grown up. You've indeed changed a lot. You've changed a lot too."
Ruan Xi blinked at him, couldn't help laughing and asked, "Then how dare you call me? And it was through the loudspeaker in the auditorium..."
Everybody heard it. All the students were looking at him, some even covering their mouths and laughing. Who would have thought that the teacher who was teaching attentively and calmly one second ago would suddenly call himself "baby" the next second.
It was simply a large-scale social death scene.
Anyway, it was really awkward. Ling Yao cleared his throat and said, "I didn't think too much about it at the time. I just thought, what if it was you? I finally met you here. If I missed it, I might never see you again in the future."
After hearing what he said, Ruan Xi suddenly felt a little sad.
But reunion is a good thing, she smiled and said: "No, Xiaojie works in the Education Bureau, maybe one day she will find your name on the invitation list, and then I will know it is you."
Ling Yao looked at her, "If you knew it was me, would you look for me?"
Ruan Xi thought for a while, then said with a smile: "I might... be embarrassed to look for you."
After all, he is doing so well now, and they have been separated for so many years with no contact. How could she feel embarrassed to suddenly go to his house and try to establish a relationship with him, as if she was seeing that he had become successful? The thought of it made her scalp numb.
She smiled and said, "But I will be very happy for you. When I go out to brag, I have to brag about you. Look at my childhood friends. They are very successful now. They are scientists and work in the most powerful research institute in the country. Especially Gao Haiyang and his gang. I must go back and slap them in the face. When I was a child, I always said that you were a little fool."
Ling Yao laughed, "There's nothing to brag about, it's just an ordinary job."
When Ruan Xi saw him smile, she was slightly stunned. Then she felt a sense of familiarity in him and connected him with the thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy in her memory.
When he smiles, he looks the same as when he was a kid.
The smile of the person in front of her slowly overlapped with the smile of the boy in her memory, and Ruan Xi was certain in her heart - he was really Ling Yao, the boy she called "Zi Zi" after living with her in the countryside for two years.
After a few words, the dishes came up, and the five of them ate and chatted. As we became more familiar with each other, we naturally had more topics to talk about, and we talked a lot about our lives over the years.
Ling Yao's life was actually very simple. He went to school after returning home. After vaguely hearing the rumor that the college entrance examination would be resumed, he concentrated on reviewing for three months and then successfully entered the university.
In college, he was trained as a special talent and had a tutor at an early age, so his academic progress was not in sync with other people. While in school, he participated in various scientific research projects, and because of his outstanding performance, he naturally entered the highest research institute.
Because of his many research results, his current position in the research institute is quite high.
Of course, he himself did not talk about these unusual things about himself. He spoke very simply, as if he was no different from other people. It means studying in the research institute and working on projects every day.
Ruan Xi put it very simply, saying that after he and Ruan Jie came to the city, they went to study and make up for the opportunity to go to school that they had missed for more than ten years. They came here after being admitted to university, and stayed after graduation.
Ling Yao asked her: "Which unit are you in now?"
Ruan Xi smiled and said, "I don't have a job. I'm working as an individual now."
Ling Yao was a little surprised, "Didn't you take the job assigned by the school?"
Ruan Xi said: "I went there for half a year, tried it out for a while, and then I felt it was not suitable for me, so I quit."
Ling Yao nodded, and stopped asking about work. He then asked, "Where do you live now?"
Ruan Xi: "I live in the countryside now, with my third aunt and her family. They are here too. But I just saw a house in the city yesterday. If everything goes well, I will buy it, clean it up, and maybe move to the city."
Ling Yao looked at her, "Are all your family members here?"
Ruan Xi nodded, "There's no way out in the mountains, come and do something with me."
Ling Yao nodded, but didn't continue. He asked, "Where is the countryside? And where is the house in the city you want to buy?"
Ruan Xi said: "It's in an alley near the front gate."
After thinking about it, I told him the detailed addresses of both places.
Because Ruan Xi and Ling Yao were reminiscing about the past, Ruan Hongjun, Ruan Hongbing and Ruan Qiuyue had no common experience of living in the countryside with them and could not get a word in, so they remained silent.
After finishing the meal, Ling Yao took out a piece of white paper from his pocket, unfolded it, handed it to Ruan Xi, and said to her: "This is my office phone number. If you have any questions, you can call me."
Ruan Xi looked at him and smiled. Although she felt that she would not need to consult a researcher like him for anything, she still smiled and said, "Okay, I'll call you when I have time."
Seeing her speak like this, Ling Yao also laughed.
Ruan Xi still likes to see him smile. Only when he smiles does she feel close to him.
His appearance and temperament are now very different from when he was a child. When he was young, he looked dull and boring when he didn't smile, but now when he doesn't smile, he gives people a feeling that he is a thousand miles away and difficult to approach.
Including her, everyone feels the same.
It was not a good idea to sit in the restaurant for too long after dinner, so the five people got up and left the restaurant.
It was completely dark outside and it was almost time for everyone to go home. Ruan Xi led Ruan Hongjun and the other two to stand in front of Ling Yao, looked at him and said, "Since you invited us this time, I will invite you next time when I am free."
Ling Yao nodded at her, "Okay."
That was about enough talk, so we each went our separate ways and went home.
Ling Yao stood there and watched Ruan Xi riding his bicycle with Ruan Qiuyue walking away. When they were about ten meters away, Ruan Xi suddenly held the handlebars with one hand, turned around and waved at him while riding the bicycle.
He couldn't help but laugh, and the curves of his eyes and mouth corners became bigger and bigger.
Because it was a little late, Ruan Xi did not take Ruan Hongjun and the others back to the countryside at night, but went to Ruan Jie's house again. The four of them went upstairs and knocked on the door. When the door opened, Ruan Xi looked at Ruan Jie and said, "We have to stay here for one more night."
There is no problem living here forever, Ruan Jie said, "Come in quickly."
Chen Weidong was not on duty tonight and was at home, standing next to Ruan Jie and greeting Ruan Xi and others.
Ruan Hongjun, Ruan Hongbing and Ruan Qiuyue also greeted him politely and called him brother-in-law.
Ruan Xi entered the room, and Ruan Jie pulled her arm and asked, "How was your conversation with Ling Yao?"
Ruan Xi went to her house without any hesitation and went straight to the kitchen to get some water. "It's nothing special. We just met after a long time and simply caught up and exchanged our current information. I told him the address and he gave me his office phone number."
Ruan Jie thought about what happened in the afternoon, leaned against the stove and said with a smile: "He called you with a loudspeaker in the auditorium this afternoon, and it has spread throughout our unit. You don't know that many female colleagues envy you to death."
Outside, Chen Weidong was arranging a bath for Ruan Hongjun and others, and he turned on a TV program for them to watch.
Ruan Xi took a sip of water from the cup and looked at Ruan Jie: "Envy?"
Ruan Jie nodded, "Well, your name instantly became the focus at that time. When you saw him lecturing on the stage, could you have imagined what he would do later? I really admire him to death."
Ruan Xi couldn't help laughing, "The cub is the focus, okay?"
Thinking of Ling Yao calling herself a cub, Ruan Jie couldn't help but lower her head and laugh.
The contrast between his before and after is really too great, making people feel embarrassed, distressed and funny.
When he was a child, he really fit the description of "Zi Zi", but now it's not even close to that at all.
Ruan Xi drank all the water in the cup, paused for a moment and said, "We have been separated for so many years, and we have no contact at all. I didn't expect that he still misses me so much. This kid is really good. It's not in vain that I treated him well."
Ruan Jie thought about it and said, "Perhaps the two years in the countryside left a very different impression on him."
After all, Ruan Xi appeared in his life when he needed her the most. She protected him, accompanied him, and gave him warmth and smiles during those two years. Helping someone in need is much more likely to be remembered than adding icing on the cake.
Ruan Xi took a deep breath and said, "It's good to just walk out. Look how powerful he is now."
Ruan Jie nodded, "I'm no longer the little fool who allows others to bully me."
Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie chatted in the kitchen about their past experiences in the countryside. When Ruan Hongjun and the other two had finished taking a shower, Ruan Xi went out to continue taking a shower. It was getting late, so after washing up, everyone went back to their rooms and went to sleep.
Chen Weidong is here tonight, so Ruan Xi and Ruan Qiuyue will sleep in the same room.
Ruan Qiuyue was lying next to Ruan Xi, talking to her: "I feel more and more that it is better for you to have a deeper relationship in the countryside. Look at Ling Yao, I haven't seen you for so many years, and I still feel so desperate to see you."
Ruan Xi said as he lay down, "Because life in the countryside is hard, any sweetness will be felt as sweet, and will naturally be engraved in memory. When life gets better in the future, no matter what kind of meat you eat, it will not taste as good as the meat you ate when you were poor. This is a truth."
Especially since Ling Yao was still very young at that time, the friendship between children was purer and more unadulterated, and therefore more precious in their memories.
Ruan Qiuyue muttered, "I don't even have friends like this, I'm so envious."
Ruan Xi laughed, "Don't you have me?"
Ruan Qiuyue stood sideways and hugged Ruan Xi's arm, "I will come to see you in two years."
The rising sun pierces the rays of light through the eaves and ridges.
Ling Yao finished his breakfast and sat down in the office. Before his butt could even warm up the bench, a colleague walked up to his desk, stood there, leaned on it, held a cup of water in his hand, and stared at him while drinking.
Ling Yao: "What's the matter?"
The colleague cleared his throat: "Baby?"
Ling Yao: “…”
The colleague suddenly grinned again, "Would you like some water, kid? I'll pour you a glass."
Ling Yao: “…”
The colleague looked at the expression on Ling Yao's face, smiled and came over to hug him, looking at him and continued to ask: "Zizi, who is Xixi? Why don't you let us know?"
Ling Yao raised his hand to cover his forehead: "Get lost!"
The colleague still hugged him shamelessly and started to act: "I won't leave, you haven't told me yet, who is Xixi? I always thought you only had the laboratory in your heart, who knew you actually had a woman in your heart!"
“…”
Ling Yao covered her eyes and let him hug her shoulders and rock her.
Just when he was embarrassed, Academician Chu suddenly appeared at the door of the office and called him to make matters worse: "Zi Zi, come to the lab with me."
puff……
The rest of the office laughed at the same time.
The colleague who was hugging Ling Yao started to laugh so hard that he shook, then he loosened his arms and let go of Ling Yao.
Ling Yao stood up and left the office, followed Academician Chu and said, "Teacher Chu, you should just call me Ling Yao."
Academician Chu smiled and said, "Isn't the baby doing well? He's so kind."
Ling Yao: “…”
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