Chapter 7 Cosmos (6) She used her childishness to the point of being ridiculous...
After leaving the teaching building, Lin Xia borrowed He Chuan's admission letter to read. It was a very simple and ordinary notice with the start date of the school, tuition information, reporting requirements, etc. written in black and white. Because he had to go abroad, there were additional visa requirements compared to other schools, and an introduction to the process and relevant forms and documents that needed to be filled out and mailed were attached.
"You actually started school on August 15th," Lin Xia couldn't help but be surprised, "That's so early."
There is only one month left, and their high school doesn't start until September.
"Um."
He Chuan didn't seem to care about this. He folded the admission letter carefully, put it back in the envelope, and said to her:
"Go back."
The two people walked towards the school gate. When they were still far away, they saw a person standing outside the school gate, waving at them desperately.
As I got closer, I found that it was a handsome boy of about eighteen or nineteen, wearing glasses. He pointed at the banner hanging on the door and shouted loudly:
"I told him this was me, but the security guard refused to believe me and wouldn't let me in. It's vacation time, and there's no one at school. Why is he being so strict?"
Lin Xia looked in the direction he pointed, and saw the banner read:
Warm congratulations to our school student Tan Zhizhou for being admitted to Peking University
It turns out that this boy is Tan Zhizhou, the first on the honor roll and this year's city champion in liberal arts.
He Chuan asked: "You didn't bring your student ID?"
"I'll throw that crap away after the exam. Who would keep it?"
Seeing Lin Xia standing beside him, Tan Zhizhou couldn't help but bumped He Chuan's shoulder and said jokingly:
"That's great, kid. You finally got it! This is your junior high school girl, right? When did you start dating?"
Lin Xia couldn't help but feel very embarrassed. This was not the first person who couldn't figure out the relationship between her and He Chuan, but he was the first person who mistakenly thought that they were... they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
He Chuan glared at Tan Zhizhou and whispered:
"She is Uncle Lin's granddaughter."
Tan Zhizhou was stunned for a moment, and then a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face:
"Oh, I see. I made a mistake. But then, aren't you uncle and nephew?"
He was very familiar with He Chuan's family affairs.
Tan Zhizhou then turned around and gave Lin Xia a smirk: "I'm Tan Zhizhou, a classmate of your uncle He Chuan. According to seniority, you should call me Uncle Tan."
Lin Xia was a little unhappy: "I don't call him uncle."
"What's that called?"
What was his name? She seemed to have never called him that before.
After thinking for a while, she said:
"My name is He Chuan."
"That's not polite. At least call me brother."
"No, just He Chuan."
Lin Xia didn't know why she insisted.
Tan Zhizhou wanted to say something, but was interrupted by He Chuan:
"Okay, don't be so stubborn. Did you bring the things?"
Tan Zhizhou then remembered the main purpose of being called out by He Chuan, so he handed the plastic bag to him:
"Here, here you go. Didn't you dislike reading it before? If you had told me a few days later, my mom would have sold it as waste paper."
He Chuan took it, took a look, and then handed it to Lin Xia:
"Are these okay?"
Lin Xia took it with confusion, opened it, and saw that there were dozens of comic magazines inside.
"This is?"
"For you."
Lin Xia then remembered that on the first night she came to her grandfather's house, when she went to the study to look for books, she seemed to have said that she liked reading comic books.
Unexpectedly, he actually remembered it and even helped her borrow it from his classmates.
Lin Xia was extremely happy. She hugged the bag of books and nodded vigorously:
"Okay, okay! This is my favorite!"
Before, she had been begging Zhao Qianyi to subscribe to this magazine for her, but Zhao Qianyi refused no matter what. She was particularly curious about the plot of the subsequent series, so she could only run to the small bookstore opposite the school and stay there every month when the new issue came out. Over time, the owner knew her and would impatiently drive her away every time, which was so embarrassing!
She smiled sweetly at He Chuan and Tan Zhizhou, her little canine teeth faintly visible:
"Thanks!"
He Chuan said lightly that it was not necessary. Tan Zhizhou was a little embarrassed by her smile and said directly:
"If you like it, I'll give it to you. I can't take it with me to college anyway."
He Chuan took the heavy bag from Lin Xia and put the admission letter in it. Tan Zhizhou saw it and said:
"Did you get it back? Come here, let me see it!"
It seems that everyone is very curious about this letter from that distant city that they have only heard of on TV.
Tan Zhizhou read it from beginning to end, including the front and back, and clicked his tongue twice:
"Should I call this perfunctory or simple? I thought Peking University's admission letter was shabby enough, but yours is even shabbier! Is CUHK really that poor?"
He Chuan took the admission letter from him and scolded him with a smile, "Come on, stop showing off at every opportunity and keep talking about Peking University!"
"Haha, I went through so much trouble to get in, why shouldn't I show off? I could boast about the words 'Peking University' for the rest of my life! Who told you not to take the exam?" Tan Zhizhou chuckled. "You were besieged by your teacher again today, weren't you? Did they make you repeat the year?"
He Chuan didn't answer, which was considered as his consent.
"The day before yesterday, when I came to school to pick up my admission letter, she kept nagging me, asking me to persuade you. I told her you were stubborn and obstinate, and I couldn't persuade you. Oh, don't think I don't know what they're up to. They know how much prize money Tsinghua and Peking University get, and how much prize money Renmin University and Fudan get. They're all in a rut every year. They're obsessed with competing with Yifu Middle School. This year, the first and third places were both experimental schools, and they're still not satisfied. They're still thinking about next year. What a beautiful dream!"
Tan Zhizhou scoffed at this.
Young people are often cynical, disdainful of everything, and disdainful of established rules, believing that only they hold the truth. The smarter they are, the more so. However, Tan Zhizhou did have the capital to be arrogant. In the remote little city of Wangchun, where students go to Tsinghua and Peking University every year, they'd be eager to support such a school. He even dared to say this in front of his homeroom teacher.
He Chuan was very calm: "They are doing this for my own good."
"Hey! He Chuan! You won't compromise, will you? Don't let them brainwash you. What do they know? They only know about Peking University and Tsinghua University. They are like sitting in a well and looking at the world from afar. It's a rare opportunity for me to admire you so much. Don't give up!"
"No. They think they're doing this for my own good, and that's the truth."
He Chuan smiled and said softly,
"But that doesn't matter to me."
.
The admission letter required a "confirmation of admission" reply to the school by fax or email. He Chuan originally wanted to go to an Internet cafe, but Tan Zhizhou said he had a computer at home and forcibly took He Chuan and Lin Xia to his home, which was not far from the school.
After replying, Tan Zhizhou pulled He Chuan to play games again.
"Before, when I asked you to play, you refused no matter what, for fear of affecting your studies. Even after the lights were out, you would still read under the covers with a flashlight. Even on the weekends, when I finally got half a day off, you wouldn't leave your desk. Now that I've finally had time, I beg you, Uncle He, to play a few games with me!"
He Chuan hesitated for a moment and looked at Lin Xia.
Lin Xia nodded quickly, "You guys go ahead and have fun! I'm fine. I have comics to read!"
"Look how reasonable our little sister Lin Xia is! Wait, I'll go plug in the power!" Tan Zhizhou was afraid that He Chuan would go back on his word, so he quickly ran to the living room.
So the two teenagers played Contra on the TV with an external game controller, and Lin Xia sat on the side reading a comic magazine, with snacks and drinks that Tan Zhizhou had brought out to entertain them. Tan's parents were at work and not at home, so the three of them spent most of the day leisurely, and it was already afternoon when they left.
The bag of comic books was very heavy and not convenient to carry on the back or put in the front basket. On the way back, Lin Xia sat on the back seat of the bicycle holding the bag, looking at the back of the boy in front of her. She wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so she could only chat rambling.
"Are you tired of riding your bike to school every day?"
He Chuan's voice came from the front:
“I lived on campus in high school.”
"Is it mandatory to live on campus? I don't want to."
“It’s not compulsory, and there are many day students.”
"That's good." Lin Xia thought for a moment and then asked, "Is Tan Zhizhou your roommate?"
"We have bunk beds."
"No wonder you two are so close."
He Chuan usually looks too steady and calm, a bit old-fashioned. Only in front of Tan Zhizhou does he show some of the youthful liveliness that is expected of a person of his age.
"Yeah," He Chuan replied softly, "We were in the same class in the first year of high school, and he was my only friend."
"Nothing else?"
"Others should just be classmates."
"Why?"
"Because..." He paused, "Because everyone is busy studying and has no time to care about others."
Is high school really that scary? Lin Xia couldn't help but feel a little scared about the upcoming experimental high school life.
"Um...you're applying to a university in Hong Kong, Ping...um, does your mother agree?"
He Chuan said lightly: "She doesn't care about me."
Didn't she even care about something as important as the college entrance exam? Aunt He Ping seemed like a very caring person, but when Lin Xia thought about how she would just leave He Chuan at home without even telling him what to do, she became a little unsure about what kind of mother she was.
"Why do you insist on applying to a university in Hong Kong?" Lin Xia asked cautiously.
It was so far away, so unfamiliar, the tuition was expensive, the language was a barrier, it was neither a 985 nor a 211, and Lin Xia didn't even know if it was considered a key university. All of them had been taught since childhood to go to a key university, to take the exam for a key university, and to stay within the established framework, but why did he insist on going his own way despite everyone's misunderstanding?
He Chuan didn't answer.
Did she ask the wrong question? Lin Xia was a little nervous and didn't dare to speak again.
The two of them rode in silence along the path between the mountains and forests, neither of them spoke a word.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a motorcycle suddenly appeared from the fork in the road ahead without warning, blocking the bicycle's path. He Chuan was quick to brake in time and avoided a collision, but due to inertia, he and Lin Xia fell to the ground with the bicycle.
"ah--"
On the motorcycle was a fat middle-aged man, shirtless and drunk. He rushed around and hurt others. Instead of apologizing, he shouted a few swear words at them, then stepped on the accelerator and drove away.
He Chuan staggered to his feet and stared at the receding figure on the motorcycle. Knowing that it was useless to chase after it, he could only slowly exhale the foul breath in his chest and turned back to check on Lin Xia's condition.
At first glance, he couldn't help but be shocked. Lin Xia was injured much more seriously than him. He fell sideways and only had a scratch on his arm and a slightly sprained ankle. But Lin Xia was wearing a skirt and sitting sideways in the car, so when the car fell to the ground, she fell to the ground with her knees, hands and arms touching the ground with large areas, all of which were bruised. Blood and dust mixed together, and she looked extremely embarrassed.
Fortunately, her arms and the hat on her head blocked the damage and her face was not hurt.
Lin Xia had been sitting behind He Chuan and didn't see what happened in front of her at all. She just felt a huge force coming suddenly, and her body was empty, her eyes went black, and she flew forward. Her mind was blank, and she just subconsciously held the things in her hands tightly.
It was not until He Chuan helped her sit up that the pain in her body slowly came up, and she couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Xia Xia! Does it hurt? I'm sorry, I didn't ride steadily!"
Seeing her crying, He Chuan was at a loss. He didn't know whether to wipe her tears first or treat her wounds first. Seeing that she was still holding the plastic bag tightly, he subconsciously reached out to take it.
However, the more he pulled, the harder she pulled. He Chuan was almost at a loss whether to laugh or cry:
"Let go! Why are you still holding it? Do you like reading comics so much?"
When people are in a state of weightlessness, their conditioned reflex is to drop the things they are holding. If she had just dropped the bag and pounded the ground with her hand, her arm might not have been injured so seriously. But she did the opposite. After thinking about it, He Chuan could only think that she was reluctant to part with her beloved comic book.
“No, no…”
Lin Xia cried and stammered:
"Here, there's your acceptance letter..."
When an accident happens, how long does it take for someone to tilt and fall? Seconds? Milliseconds? In the blink of an eye, perhaps not enough time for the brain to complete a single thought, calmly weigh the pros and cons. All actions are merely a subconscious reflection of what has been going on.
At that moment, Lin Xia was not thinking about comics or magazines at all, but the admission letter from He Chuan in her hand, the university admission ticket, the invitation from a distant city. He gave up all his spare time and worked so hard, and ranked third in the city, going against the expectations of the whole world, and finally got the admission letter.
So important.
She couldn't let go.
After understanding the meaning of Lin Xia's words, He Chuan was stunned.
He thought that the plastic bag was tied very tightly, so even if it slipped out of his hand, the things inside would not necessarily fall out. Even if they flew out, he could just pick them up again, and it didn't matter if they got dirty.
Even if it is really lost by the wind or damaged in a puddle, you can contact the school, provide materials, and reissue it. Although the process is cumbersome, it is not hopeless. This is no longer the last century when information was not well developed and you could not go to college without the admission letter.
But he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Did anyone care about his journey to the Gaokao, from registration to the exam, score estimation, application, results release, admissions results, and finally receiving his admissions letter today? Did anyone care about his three years of high school? Or did anyone care about his life and whether he lived or died in the previous decade or so?
There was only this little girl in front of him, sitting on the ground, her face red from crying, a deformed sun hat on her head, her arms and legs covered in blood. She had a heart as clear as crystal. She knew what he cared about, what was most important to him, and she protected his persistence in her childish and almost ridiculous way.
He Chuan suddenly felt weak all over. It was a sudden feeling of weightlessness that made him feel dizzy and he fell backwards and sat on the ground.
He took off Lin Xia's dirty straw hat, smoothed her sweaty and messy hair, and chuckled softly.
"Thank you."
He spoke from the heart and sincerely.
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