Chapter 22 New Discoveries on the Spring Outing
"Oh, thank you."
"Is your leg better? I heard you injured your leg and were hospitalized for the past few months." When An Nianyu said this, anyone who knew him well could tell that his expression was very unnatural.
Yes, Ning Yanzhao in this world was hospitalized for several months due to a car accident, and she only recovered recently when school started. I wonder if anything will happen during the spring outing.
"Yes, I'm almost fully recovered. Thank you for your concern."
"An Nianyu, where have you been? The PE teacher and the sports committee member are calling you." In the distance, Ning Yanzhao heard several classmates from Class 1 calling him.
"That's good, then I'll be going now." An Nianyu pointed to the people who had called him over there, gesturing for Ning Yanzhao to see.
"Bye-Bye."
"Bye-Bye."
Ning Yanzhao, at this moment, has no idea what has happened between her and An Nianyu in the past few months, but judging from her personality, it's estimated that nothing major has happened.
As Ning Yanzhao was still sighing as she watched An Nianyu's retreating figure, a sudden, powerful force struck her.
"Yan Zhao!!! Hurry up and tell the truth! What's going on between you two? Do you know him? Or are you close?" Jing Yiran, with her sharp eyes, saw the interaction between the two from afar. After An Nianyu walked away, she finally couldn't help but rush over and hug Ning Yan Zhao's shoulder.
"Do we count as acquaintances? If we're just ordinary classmates, then we should count as acquaintances." If they were just ordinary classmates, they would definitely count as acquaintances now, since they've taken several essay writing tutoring classes together. But judging from the tone of Jing Yiran's question, she and An Nianyu should not count as acquaintances now.
"Oh, what's he doing here? Bringing you a drink?"
"Yeah, after our group finished their competition, I forgot to take it, and then he gave it to me."
"It's that simple?"
"It's that simple. Well... if someone forgets their drink, he might bring it over."
"Then why didn't he bring it to me even though I didn't take it?"
Ning Yanzhao: "..."
It's true what they say, "Ten years east of the river, ten years west of the river." Ning Yanzhao hadn't expected that after analyzing Jing Yiran's situation, it would be her turn so soon. But she didn't know why An Nianyu would specially bring her a drink and put it in the same spot as before. Logically speaking, since the drink had a name on it, no one should have taken it.
"I don't know," Ning Yanzhao answered truthfully; she truly didn't know.
"They probably didn't take it from you because they were afraid their class's sports representative would get angry," Ning Yanzhao added "kindly."
"Ahhh, Ning Yanzhao, do you believe I'll 'tear' you apart?" Jing Yiran felt that no matter what she asked, Ning Yanzhao could always connect her to that sports committee member from Class 1, whom she had absolutely no recollection of.
"No, no, I'm already tired, I don't want to chase and play with you anymore."
"Hey, you think I wanted to? Actually, I'm tired after chasing and playing around with you for a while. Just kidding, just kidding, I want to rest too. But it's really boring. I thought I could hear some gossip."
Jing Yiran also leaned against the basketball hoop to rest. She usually liked all kinds of idol dramas and shoujo manga from various countries. In those idol dramas, when the male lead had a crush on the female lead, the female lead would secretly find opportunities to chat with him. She often took advantage of these small opportunities. When the male and female leads were being ambiguous, the tug-of-war between their intentional and unintentional words and small actions filled the screen with pink bubbles, which was so sweet that it made her swoon.
Jing Yiran also wanted to have some sweet moments in the boring school. She finally saw that An Nianyu and Ning Yanzhao were showing signs of interaction, but it didn't seem like the things she had imagined were happening. Was she too late? An Nianyu is really something... However, she did have a little secret about An Nianyu that Ning Yanzhao didn't know. She smiled without saying anything and decided to keep it a secret for now.
"By the way, what did your aunt and uncle want when they came to see you?"
"They just took leave from work and are about to leave. They have an urgent matter to attend to at my aunt's house in another province this week. They won't be home when I come back this weekend, so they're stopping by to check on me and give me my allowance for next week. They could have just left the money at home, but they insisted on stopping by to see if I was doing well. As a result, we almost missed our train while we were chatting, and I don't know if we made it."
"Oh dear, it's all because your aunt and uncle care about you. Just accept their love and care. It's okay, you'll definitely make it. Call them again after class to ask."
The No. 1 Middle School is located in the city center. Although it is not far from the train station, you still have to take a short detour to get there.
Since it's delayed by the departure time, and they're going to take a detour to see their daughter, what other reason do they need to explain it? Of course, it's because of the love and blood ties between family members. Even though they haven't been apart for long, they've always missed each other and cherish every opportunity to meet.
When we were students, we probably didn't understand. We always thought that unless it was a matter of life and death, we could stay with our loved ones forever for many years.
In reality, this is not the case. For most people in relatively underdeveloped areas, after they go to university and start working, apart from a small number who will return to their hometowns, most will go to other places to make a living after they reach adulthood due to complex reasons such as studying, living, and their children's education, and settle in a fixed place for a long time, only returning home during holidays.
In families built on love, parents who used to think their children hadn't really grown up might suddenly realize with a sense of loss when they casually say, "Hurry up and wash your hands and come out to eat," that their children haven't been home for months or even years because they're working away from home.
Children who used to complain about their parents' nagging will sometimes miss the aroma of every dish and soup their parents used to cook, and the heartfelt nagging they used to say, even when they are far away from home. They yearn for the warmth of home, but they are helpless because of life.
In such families, love is given to each other and they complement each other.
Ning Yanzhao is now spouting these profound truths well, but these are things she only discovered after going to university and starting work.
In the past, Ning Yanzhao also thought that things would be better when she grew up. She thought that growing up would give her freedom, that she could eat whatever she wanted, and that she wouldn't have to be constantly stressed about studying. However, growing up brought her more bitterness and certain "fears," such as the fear of unemployment, the fear of feeling powerless to do certain things, and the fear of feeling her loved ones' life energy gradually diminishing.
Her parents were alright; they still had more time and energy to see each other. In contrast, her grandparents and maternal grandparents were even rarer to see, and it could be said that every time she saw them, it would be the last time. Every time she met her family again, seeing their increasingly aged faces, slow movements, and unchanging concern, she couldn't help but want to shed tears.
Ning Yanzhao spent some time here and figured out some patterns. Perhaps the minor events might be different from when she first experienced them nine years ago, but the trajectory of the major events would not change. So, a few years later, she and Jing Yiran would still go to work in other places.
Now that Ning Yanzhao has the opportunity to go back nine years, she will cherish the time she spends with her family even more than before. She will also try to remind those she considers important to cherish the time they spend with her, especially since Jing Yiran is now traveling all over the world for work and often can't go home to see her parents. She will regret it when she doesn't have as many opportunities in the future: "You should cherish it. If you go to university or work in another city in the future, your aunt and uncle will have to take a long bus ride to visit you."
“You’re right. Sigh, I still don’t know where I’ll go to university or work in the future. It feels like a long time. I know my parents care about me, and I’m not afraid of holding them back.”
"Since things have come to this, and since my parents aren't home this weekend, I don't want to be home alone. I'm scared to sleep alone. How about I come stay at your house after the spring outing this week? I really want to eat your cooking. We haven't had a cooking competition in ages. We can even study together on Sunday when we have tutoring classes."
“Great! My family would love to have you, and my mom would be so happy.”
"Then it's settled! We can go back together this week. Wow, we can buy lots of delicious food on the way back and bring some for Uncle and Aunt to eat together. I've seen the route for the spring outing, and I heard that a really good chicken strip shop recently opened near the junior high school we'll be passing by. We definitely have to try it..."
An otherwise uneventful work week is about to end. Friday is the annual spring outing for No. 1 Middle School. Since Ning Yanzhao has taken precautions and made preparations in advance, she should not break her leg again during the spring outing.
This spring outing was the largest outing Ning Yanzhao could remember. Although there was also a school anniversary celebration and a sports meet on the surface, only the athletes were allowed to leave the classroom to participate in the competitions. Other students were forced to stay in the classroom to study.
The spring outing in the first year of high school was "forced" to be canceled because of more than a month of continuous heavy rain. So this was actually the first and only time that the class of 2016 had the opportunity to participate in a spring outing. After all, after the senior year of high school, it was time to "focus on studying" and there shouldn't be any extra activities.
Because everyone knew the significance of the spring outing, they were especially excited and started preparing early on without the homeroom teacher's knowledge. The homeroom teacher also knew that the spring outing was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so she turned a blind eye.
The important task of preparing supplies for the spring outing was handled by the day students. Apart from the class monitor, who could openly go out to buy things with a leave slip, the other students would secretly bring in some things from outside the school every day if they wanted something they couldn't get normally.
"Ning Yanzhao, please, I really want to read that new comic magazine, but it's only released on weekdays. If I wait until the weekend to buy it, it will definitely be sold out. I usually don't have time to read it because I can't even finish my homework, but this is a rare holiday for the spring outing, and I want to relax. I really want to read it during the spring outing. Could you please bring me a copy to school?"
"Ning, I've run out of instant film. The school can't deliver packages here. Could you please pick up my package for me at the package pickup point across from the school? I finally managed to buy some at such a low price last weekend, and I'm really looking forward to taking some nice photos during this spring outing."
"Yan Zhao, I really, really want to eat that brand of toast. Could you buy me a few portions the day before the spring outing? I plan to make snacks for the outing and bake them while I'm at it."
"..."
"Okay, okay, I'll try my best, I'll try my best."
And so, Ning Yanzhao and the other day students, who were particularly easy to talk to, accepted all sorts of requests that she could fulfill.
Although the requirements weren't difficult to fulfill, they were quite detailed and involved different people, so Ning Yanzhao had to take some notes to avoid getting confused.
Today was the day Ning Yanzhao went to the bookstore to buy anime magazines after evening self-study. It was also on this day that she saw An Nianyu again outside the school. An Nianyu was sitting in an inconspicuous corner of the bookstore, writing something that looked like an exam paper.
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