At that time, Xi Murong was contemplating life. He felt that he should no longer drift through life aimlessly and had to face his future. So he chose a dark roadside to ponder, not wanting to go home to face his parents because he felt ashamed.
After racking his brains for a long time without coming up with a solution, Xi Murong, whose feet were freezing in the late autumn north wind and whose nose was running, decided to go home.
Then he heard someone walking over, and he realized that there was a public phone nearby. So he sat down again, intending to wait for the person to finish their call before leaving. The person making the call was Qian Manduo. She first called the village committee and then hung up.
Qian Manduo and Xi Murong didn't move. One was waiting for the other to finish the call, and the other was waiting for her parents to answer the phone. Because only the village committee had a phone, Qian Manduo had to make two calls each time, and then wait for about ten minutes in between. It took her seven or eight minutes to run from her home to the village committee.
Xi Murong's nose was running from the cold, but he was too embarrassed to go out, afraid that people would misunderstand him as eavesdropping on the phone. So he huddled in and kept holding it in. Fifteen minutes later, Qian Manduo called back and chatted with his family. It was quite a coincidence that the dialect of Qian Manduo's hometown was similar to that of his father's hometown. Although he couldn't speak it, he could understand it.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but his hearing was too good, and he couldn't help himself. He overheard everything. Qian Manduo had called home specifically to discuss his younger brother's college entrance exam.
Her younger brother also had good grades and was admitted to the best high school in the county. However, his grades declined in high school, and his teacher said that it would be difficult for him to get into a university. Qian Manduo's parents did not want to support him anymore and wanted her younger brother to drop out of school and work to ease the burden on the family. When Qian Manduo found out, she called back to persuade him. Xi Murong always remembered what she said at that time.
“We’ve already supported him through his senior year of high school. We have to make sure he gives it his all. Even if he only gets into a junior college, we’ll still support him. It’s the only way he can see the world. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll send money home tomorrow. My classmate introduced me to a job where I can earn several tens of yuan a day. Our family will definitely get better and better in the future. The difficulties are only temporary. Don’t be discouraged. We must make sure he takes the college entrance exam. If he doesn’t pass, he can always find a job.”
Later, after Qian Manduo's persuasion, her parents seemed to agree. After hanging up the phone, Qian Manduo didn't go back to her dormitory. Instead, she stood under the phone booth for a long time, looking up at the moon in the sky.
Qian Manduo was looking at the moon, and Xi Murong was looking at her. It was then that he suddenly noticed how beautiful Qian Manduo's profile was, with an indescribable stubbornness. The two of them stood there like idiots, enjoying the cold wind. Then Xi Murong heard Qian Manduo clench her fist and softly say "Go for it!" before leaving. From beginning to end, Qian Manduo didn't even notice Xi Murong.
That very night, Xi Murong took a liking to Qian Manduo. Afterward, he would pay attention to the girl intentionally or unintentionally. The more he paid attention, the more he discovered how outstanding she was. Qian Manduo's self-discipline and hard work were exactly what he lacked, and they deeply attracted him.
Later, he pretended to chat with Qian Manduo casually and asked if her younger brother had been admitted to university. He learned that her brother had done well in the college entrance examination and had been admitted to a normal university in the province. He was the second college student in the village. The tuition for normal universities is very low, and being a teacher is a respectable job. Her brother had applied to this university on purpose, which shows that he is a very sensible child.
Xi Murong admired Qian Manduo even more. Such a thin girl, yet she shouldered the heavy burden of the family. Compared to her, he was truly ashamed!
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