Chapter 57 Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes: Senior, hurry...
"Why do you look like you've lost your soul?" Tian Xingyu asked, puzzled. "What did Ye Xingzhi say?"
Zhu Liushuang's voice choked with immense surprise, and she stammered, "He... He Ming is here. Senior Ye said... we should meet them in front of the gymnasium."
She probably didn't even realize that when she said those words, her cheeks suddenly flushed red, and the hydrangea-like pink spread from her cheeks to her ears.
"My heart is fluttering with spring fever!" Tian Xingyu couldn't help but tease her friend's radiant face. She strode in front of her, raised her chin, and said, "Let's go... to see Senior He, whom you've been thinking about day and night."
Zhu Liushuang couldn't utter a word of rebuttal. She rubbed her slightly flushed cheeks and followed him awkwardly and shyly.
As the sun rose higher, the campus was bustling with people coming and going under its blazing rays. Among them were many familiar faces, but Zhu Liushuang could no longer recall the names of many of them.
People came and went on the bustling tree-lined path, but none of them stopped for each other. They only glanced at each other briefly as they passed by, and then walked away with a mixture of curiosity and reminiscence.
"Hey, are you Zhu Liushuang?" Zhu Liushuang stopped and turned around in surprise when someone called out to her from behind.
Standing behind her were two tall, young girls, one with cool short hair and the other with wavy curls. It took Zhu Liushuang several seconds to recognize these two unfamiliar faces.
"I knew it was her! The little mushroom-headed girl who secretly followed us back then."
"I still recognize her eyes, even after all these years."
The two outgoing girls whispered to each other with smiles, while Zhu Liushuang greeted them somewhat shyly: "Hello, senior."
"You still remember us!" The short-haired senior student, who had grown taller, exclaimed in surprise.
"You were the only first-year student who helped out during that shouting event, but unfortunately, I didn't see you anywhere until the end of the event," the curly-haired senior said regretfully, pointing to her companion. "I even had to ask her to go find you."
That night, after handing out glow sticks, she was supposed to go downstairs immediately to join the music club members, but at that moment, she completely forgot what she was supposed to do next. Stung by He Ming's cold reaction, she walked back to her dormitory alone, dejected and lost.
Zhu Liushuang snapped out of her reverie and smiled shyly, as if the incident was insignificant in her memory: "Sorry, senior, I don't remember very clearly. I think something came up that day, so I went back to the dorm early after handing out the glow sticks."
"It's nothing important!" The short-haired senior student took out her phone. "Since we've bumped into each other, let's add each other on WeChat. Are you working in Gucheng now?"
Zhu Liushuang nodded and mechanically pulled up the WeChat QR code.
"I've added you, remember to accept. Let's go shopping together sometime." The two senior students said with a smile, "We're heading to the performance venue now, talk to you later."
"Okay, goodbye, senior." Zhu Liushuang watched them leave with a gentle smile.
Standing beside her, Tian Xingyu hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.
Zhu Liushuang took Tian Xingyu's arm again and said, "I'm fine. What's past is past... We have to look forward."
Yes, we need to look forward.
She looked ahead and saw that the square in front of the stadium was filled with red-themed stalls, a huge autograph wall in the center of the square, and colorful balloons with ribbons dancing in the wind.
In the crowded throng, she spotted He Ming at a glance.
The man, dressed in the simplest white shirt and gray trousers, stood straight under the blazing sun.
Just like the boy who handed her a tissue through the cold autumn wind back then.
Who says you have to be fixated on the past?
Zhu Liushuang smiled again: "Ayu, let's go quickly! They're waiting."
————
There were volunteers wearing red baseball caps guiding people in front of the signature wall, so it wasn't too crowded.
"Senior." Zhu Liushuang greeted the two men with a smile as she approached them.
"Liu Shuang, why have you two been touring the teaching building for so long?" Ye Xingzhi was obviously getting impatient. Regardless of who the "senior" was, he asked, "The person who talked to you on the way here was from our year. How do you know him?"
Zhu Liushuang's gaze lingered on He Ming's perfectly wrinkle-free shirt collar. When she called him "senior" earlier, he had nodded at her. Compared to the talkative Ye Xingzhi, he seemed remarkably quiet.
That was true before, and it is true now.
"Why can't we get to know people from your year?" Tian Xingyu answered for Zhu Liushuang, who was lost in thought, with her arms crossed.
Ye Xingzhi pursed his lips and handed the pen to Tian Xingyu: "That's not what I meant, I was just asking out of curiosity! Here, take the pen and sign it."
Tian Xingyu glanced at the black pen in the man's hand with great disdain. If there hadn't been no other pens around, she wouldn't have wanted to take it at all.
"Thanks," Tian Xingyu said to Ye Xingzhi, her words not entirely sincere.
Ye Xingzhi was already used to her behavior, so he smiled shamelessly, then turned to He Ming and said, "Brother, your pen..."
Before he could finish speaking, He Ming reached out and handed the pen to Zhu Liushuang. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt there was something strange about the atmosphere between the two of them.
They didn't seem to know each other at all, only nodding acquaintances, yet there was a certain unspoken understanding between them.
For example, when He Ming handed her the pen, he placed it directly into Zhu Liushuang's palm. Another example is when Zhu Liushuang walked forward, He Ming moved to a sunny spot to shield her from the glare. Even when she struggled to find a suitable place to write, he pointed out a relatively empty spot for her.
Could there be something going on between these two?
Ye Xingzhi was startled by his own thoughts. He quickly lowered his head, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. In all the years he had known He Ming, he had never seen him so "close to women."
Driven by curiosity, he looked up again, wanting to play the role of "Sherlock Holmes" and find some clues to verify his conjecture. Little did he know that his furtive actions were noticed by Tian Xingyu, who had just finished signing her name.
In Tian Xingyu's eyes, Ye Xingzhi was nothing more than a giant light bulb.
"What are you looking at?" she said irritably, pulling the obstructing light bulb aside.
"Do you think there's any possibility that these two people...?" Ye Xingzhi couldn't keep anything to himself and quietly asked Tian Xingyu.
Unfortunately, Tian Xingyu had no intention of gossiping or chatting with him at all.
"Speak less, and stop making wild guesses," she warned him with a sidelong glance.
As Zhu Liushuang wrote on the signature wall with the black pen, her hand wobbled, and her originally neat and tidy handwriting became crooked. She took a step back and glanced at her name with some regret.
Who told him to stand right next to her, staring at her with those beautiful, deep phoenix eyes? How could she possibly write well under such scrutiny?
"Sigh, it's crooked." She sighed, turned around and whispered to He Ming, "Senior, where is your name written?"
He Ming's gaze moved upwards, and he slightly raised his hand, pointing to his signature, saying, "Here."
He was tall and signed his name at the very top of the red wall.
Zhu Liushuang stood on tiptoe and looked up: How wonderful it would be if she could sign her name next to his!
However, that place was too high; even if she jumped, she couldn't reach it.
The person next to her seemed to notice her disappointment and comforted her, saying, "It's just a signature, it doesn't matter whether it's crooked or straight."
“Hmm, maybe the cleaning staff will take this autograph wall away after the school anniversary celebration.” Zhu Liushuang took two steps back on tiptoe.
"Watch where you're going." The person next to her suddenly stepped behind her and warned her in a low voice.
Zhu Liushuang then realized that a group of new alumni were swarming over to sign autographs behind her back, out of her sight. If He Ming hadn't reacted quickly and separated them, she might have been knocked down.
"Thank you, senior," Zhu Liushuang said apologetically, "I've caused you trouble again."
The girl's voice was so soft that he had to lower his head to barely hear it.
"No need to thank me, there's something over there..." As he spoke, his gaze fell on the back of Zhu Liushuang's neck, where a section of fair and delicate neck was hidden in his shadow, tinged with a faint pink.
He subconsciously looked away at the ground at his feet, a familiar yet strange sense of unease washing over him.
The last time I had this feeling was when he carried her on his back.
Zhu Liushuang was unaware of what had happened that caused He Ming to stop speaking.
Perhaps it's because they're too close?
She could sense that the large body behind her was slowly moving away from her until—she could no longer feel his presence.
Zhu Liushuang turned around immediately after him and saw him push through the crowd, leaving her behind as he walked towards a souvenir stall not far away.
"Shuangshuang, come quick! There are alumni commemorative photo albums and merchandise from No. 1 Middle School!" Tian Xingyu waved and called out to her excitedly.
"Liu Shuang, hurry up, or all the souvenirs will be gone," Ye Xingzhi said deliberately.
“There are still plenty left. I’m already in line, I’ll get it for you!” Tian Xingyu glanced at Ye Xingzhi, “Don’t listen to him.”
Zhu Liushuang chuckled; the slight sense of loss she had felt earlier vanished in an instant. She strolled towards the two who were playfully bickering.
————
After receiving the souvenirs, Ye Xingzhi suggested having lunch at the staff canteen.
Although the student cafeteria has been open to all alumni these past few days, it's been too crowded. Queuing might take a long time. The others had no objections and were willing to follow the host's arrangements.
On the way to the staff canteen, Tian Xingyu was particularly excited: "I've been to No. 1 Middle School for three years and have never eaten at the staff canteen before. I heard that their braised duck and beef brisket stew are super delicious!"
"Ah Yu, you've never eaten this before, how do you know?" Zhu Liushuang asked.
“Some classmates who went back to their alma mater to visit their teachers have eaten at the faculty and staff canteen before, of course, I heard it from them.” Tian Xingyu left Zhu Liushuang and ran forward, “Ye Xingzhi, do you have enough money in your card? I’m going to make something special today.”
"Everyone knows you're a 'big glutton,' I'll make sure you eat your fill!" Ye Xingzhi took out his meal card from his pocket, tossed it into the air like a show-off, and caught it back in his palm with perfect accuracy.
He grinned and shoved his meal card into Tian Xingyu's hand: "Here, order whatever you like."
Zhu Liushuang followed behind, walking slowly. He Ming lagged two steps behind her; despite being tall and having long legs, he walked even slower than her.
She couldn't help but want to turn back and look at him, but she was too embarrassed to make it so obvious. Listening to the sound of footsteps rising and falling, her heartbeat gradually became erratic.
As we got closer to the faculty and staff canteen, the people behind me suddenly stopped.
Zhu Liushuang stopped and turned around, looking back at him with a puzzled expression.
"I need to take this call, you guys go ahead first," He Ming explained to her in a low voice.
Zhu Liushuang hesitated, unwilling to leave, and waited in place. She didn't know who was on the other end of the phone, but she saw He Ming's calm expression instantly turn serious the moment the call was answered.
"What happened?" Her intuition told her that something bad must have occurred. She asked anxiously as he hung up the phone.
The man's face was even more pale than when he answered the phone. He spoke hastily, "Aunt Yuan said she's on the ambulance now; Grandpa suddenly fainted. I have to get to the city hospital immediately..."
A sharp, piercing sound seemed to pierce her ears. Zhu Liushuang looked up in disbelief, her eyes instantly reddening. Tears welled up in her eyes: "Senior, please go quickly... Dr. Xie is a lucky man!"
As she spoke, she saw the man turn around quickly and run towards the school gate. His tall figure ran faster and faster under the blazing sun, disappearing into the bustling crowd in the blink of an eye.
Zhu Liushuang was rooted to the spot, seemingly still not recovered from the panic and worry.
"Plop—" Warm liquid dripped onto the stone pavement.
Those were tears she was holding back.
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Author's Note: I went out to buy New Year's goods yesterday, so I didn't have time to update. [Chin resting on hand]
Next up is writing the plot summary, which is incredibly stressful. I might experience some writer's block. [Chin resting on hand]
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