Chapter 14
After dinner, Yang Bing and Meng Juan went out.
Lin Jiu returned to the bedroom, opened the cupboard, took out a thin quilt, removed the quilt cover, and put it in the washing machine. Then, she put the sheets and pillowcases in the wash.
She picked up the quilt, put it on the clothesline outside, and slapped it to dry in the sun.
After she had packed up the bedding for the evening, she began to clean the bedroom.
She filled a plastic basin with some water, found a clean rag, dipped it in water, and started wiping.
There are not many pieces of furniture in the bedroom, just a 1.5-meter bed, a wardrobe and a dressing table.
The bed was my grandmother's dowry. It was made of wood and was quite old. The legs were cracked, sawdust was often falling off, and the bed board was getting darker in color.
She only wiped the headboard and swept the dust off the bed, then put an old cotton quilt on it as a mattress.
The wardrobe was used by his parents before. It was very big, but some parts of it were peeling off, revealing wood chips. It would only take about ten minutes of wiping to fix it.
As for the dressing table, Lin Jiu had a headache and she didn't want to touch it.
This one has been gnawed by mice many times, and there are small holes in many places. It's not as stable as it used to be. Moreover, the surface layer has begun to peel off, revealing the wood inside. To be honest, it can't really be called wood, because the whole thing feels like it's made of wood chips.
The only good thing about this dressing table is the round mirror. As for the tabletop, it's too narrow and small. Whenever she puts a book there, it takes up most of the space.
Looking at the dressing table, Lin Jiu wondered if there was any need to keep it.
Keeping it would not be very useful. Not keeping it would be a shame, since her house didn't have much decent furniture anyway.
In the end, she decided to leave it in her bag.
She dragged the original dressing table from the window to a small corner next to the wardrobe and wiped it briefly.
Afterwards, she found an old and useless bed sheet in the closet and spread it on the bed. It looked like it could still be used.
Finally, she mopped the floor twice and the room looked much cleaner and tidier.
After finishing all this, she was sweating profusely. She took a break and used the fan to blow on her clothes. After resting, she hung up the sheets and quilts.
Looking at the things hanging out to dry, she suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment.
Later, she suddenly remembered that she should find a stable table to do her homework.
During the summer vacation of her second year of junior high school, she moved two long wooden benches together to use as a makeshift desk. As for why she didn't use the dining table, it was because the grease on the table had seeped into the wood and couldn't be wiped off.
After looking around the house, she couldn't find a suitable table to use as a desk. Suddenly, she had an idea and went to the utility room.
The utility room was built next to the house and contained a lot of farm tools and miscellaneous tools.
I saw a square wooden table covered with dust. Yang Bing picked it up from a neighbor's house and had kept it there ever since.
She had never thought of using it before, but now she thought it was quite good. Although the paint on it was almost peeling off, it was very stable.
After clearing the debris from it, Lin Jiu carried it outside, wiped it thoroughly, and left it to dry in the sun. After it dried, she took it back to her bedroom and placed it in a corner near the window. She tried it with a stool at home, and finally, she decided that the bamboo chair at home was the right height, so she moved it to the table.
After putting books, an alarm clock and a desk lamp in the room, Lin Jiu looked at this small study corner and suddenly became filled with ambition. She felt that she could do it.
After a moment's scrutiny, she turned back to the main room. There were a lot of mud spots on the floor. They must have gotten on Yang Bing's feet after he went to work, bringing them home. After a few seconds of thought, she spent another two hours cleaning everywhere. Only then did she begin to feel comfortable with the tidy house.
I glanced at the time on the alarm clock and it was already five o'clock.
Lin Jiu collected the sheets and quilt, and ten minutes later, her bed was made, and the day's housework was finally over.
So she immediately went to the bathroom, washed her hair, took a shower, and washed off all the dust.
After a simple dinner, Lin Jiu chatted with Meng Juan for a while, turned on the TV for her, and then returned to his bedroom.
She turned on the desk lamp and began to do the homework the teacher had given her. The homework for each class wasn't much, but when all nine subjects were combined it seemed like a lot.
Lin Jiu wrote until eleven o'clock, ending her busy day. After washing up, she went to bed.
Seven o'clock in the morning.
Lin Jiu was awakened by the alarm clock. She touched her cell phone with her hand, squinted her eyes, turned sideways and reached out to turn off the alarm clock.
After lying on the bed for a few seconds, she struggled to sit up.
She put on her slippers and went to wash up. After washing her face, her mind became much clearer.
After eating the noodles, she went back to the bedroom.
She first swiped her phone and found that there were many more books in the bookstore, but she didn't feel like reading them now.
She is now far behind her classmates.
She felt anxious when she thought that they might be doing exercises or taking extra classes at home.
After looking at the bookstore intently for a few times, she decided to look at it after the college entrance examination.
Before the college entrance examination, it would be better for her to improve her grades, otherwise she would not be able to concentrate on reading novels.
After turning off her cell phone, she sat down at the desk and started memorizing English words.
She didn't actually do much that day. She just finished the four test papers that were handed out.
Although she said she had finished the test, there were actually some big questions left blank on the test paper that she didn't know how to answer and had no idea how to answer. She decided to wait until she returned to school and listen to the teacher's detailed explanation.
On the third day at home, Lin Jiu repeated the schedule for the second day, but replaced the test paper with the exercise book she bought herself.
At ten o'clock in the morning, she was doing math problems. They were a bit difficult, and she had to think for a long time before she could come up with an idea. However, she was able to solve some of the problems, so she was very happy.
She was just fretting over a complicated math problem when she suddenly heard Meng Juan yelling outside. She was still using the same old curse words, the same old words over and over again, and when she got emotional, she would raise her voice and roar towards the sky.
The noise is too loud and disturbing to others.
Lin Jiu heard Yang Bing's voice advising Meng Juan, probably asking her to speak more quietly and not say those things.
However, reasoning with a mentally ill person is essentially futile. Meng Juan, already agitated, heard this and snapped, "Leave me alone." She then continued to curse.
Lin Jiu, who was sitting in the room, was already confused about his thinking when doing the test cards, and he became even more upset when he heard the noise outside.
Putting down her pen, she lay back in her chair, staring blankly at the bright window. She had heard those words over and over again for years, and she had long since become numb to them.
She didn't intend to go out and dissuade him because it was useless.
When Meng Juan wasn't ill, she was gentle, a little dull, and prone to acting like a child. But once she was ill, she went into yelling and cursing mode, her language becoming aggressive and fierce. At this point, no one could console Meng Juan; they could only wait until she tired of yelling and felt comfortable enough to stop.
Half an hour later, Meng Juan was probably thirsty, so she went into the kitchen to drink a glass of water and then went into her room.
Hearing the noise, Lin Jiu opened the door and went to take a look at her. He found that she was lying on the bed, still saying something, but her voice was much softer.
With a sigh of relief, Lin Jiu returned to his room and started studying again.
Over the next few days, Meng Juan occasionally suffered a bout of illness, but it was brief. During those bouts, Lin Jiu would rest appropriately, treating it as a vacation. The rest of the time, she would bury herself in her homework, as planned.
On the last day of National Day, after breakfast, Yang Bing sent Lin Jiu to catch the bus. This was the last bus of the morning and it arrived quite late, a little after ten o'clock.
This time when returning to school, Lin Jiu had a lot of luggage, including a large suitcase and a quilt. Yang Bing helped Lin Jiu carry the luggage into the car.
After getting on the bus, Lin Jiu sat by the aisle. She put her schoolbag on her lap and leaned forward to look out the window, only to see Yang Bing's back as she left.
She has seen this kind of back view countless times since she started school.
At first, she felt a little sad, but later she got used to this short separation.
Lin Jiu sat up straight, retracted his gaze, closed his eyes, and prepared to conserve his energy.
After all, the journey back to school would be a bit difficult, she had too much luggage...
As soon as the car stopped, many people got off in a hurry. Lin Jiu made room for them and was the last one to get off.
She first took the suitcase down, then put the quilt on the suitcase and dragged it along. It took more than ten minutes to reach the bus stop.
She glanced at the bus stop sign and decided to take the No. 46 bus that she took last time, which would take her directly to the destination.
She stood there waiting for more than ten minutes. Countless buses passed by her, but the one she was waiting for was not there.
After taking a look at her luggage, she felt that there was nothing valuable in it, so she decided to leave it there and go to the bus stop to see if there were other routes to the school.
Just a few steps away from her luggage, she saw two people she knew walking out of the entrance of Lushan Park.
——It’s Wen Min and Ji Xin.
Wen Min wore a black dress and simply let her long hair down. Although she looked casual, her outfit was still eye-catching. Ji Xin wore a black T-shirt and loose grey trousers.
Wherever the two of them went, people turned their heads to look at them, even middle-aged and elderly people couldn't help but look at them sideways.
And they were coming towards her.
Watching them getting closer, Lin Jiu was struggling internally, wondering whether or not to say hello.
She sat far away from them, hardly ever spoke to them or socialized with them, so she was not really familiar with them.
If she said hello, it would be awkward if they didn't recognize her, and she didn't know how to say hello.
If they didn't say hello, it would feel awkward. After all, the three of them were classmates, and it was fate that they could meet in such a big place like Qingshan District.
Although Lin Jiu rarely greeted other students at school, that was because the school was so small that she would run into people even when she went to the bathroom. If she greeted everyone, she would be exhausted. Besides, she wasn't an outgoing person. So, she only greeted people she knew.
Just as she was struggling, Wen Min walked up to her and smiled brightly: "Hi, why are you here?"
Lin Jiu never thought that Wen Min would greet her, and was a little surprised for a moment.
Seeing that Wen Min was waiting for her to answer, she pointed at her luggage and replied, "...I'm taking the bus to school, but I haven't waited for the No. 46 bus. I was planning to see which buses go to school."
"So that's how it is..."
Wen Min turned to look at Ji Xin, who was radiating cold air like a popsicle, and asked directly, "Which other bus goes to school?"
"Route 27," Ji Xin said sternly. "This bus has a shorter departure time and is more convenient than other routes."
Route 27.
Lin Jiu had seen this bus passing by him.
This trip should indeed be better.
Although Lin Jiu also planned to watch it herself, she was still very grateful for their enthusiasm.
She gave them a small smile and nodded, "Thank you."
Seeing Lin Jiu's sincere thanks, Wen Min tilted her head and smiled: "You're welcome. We are classmates. Meeting is fate."
Then she took a look at Lin Jiu's luggage and felt that there were too many things and it would be difficult to get on the bus.
So she suggested to Ji Xin: "Let's take her to the car."
Lin Jiu probably guessed what Wen Min meant, but she was not used to accepting other people's kindness and subconsciously wanted to refuse.
Before Ji Xin could speak, she waved her hand and said, "No need. I just carried it for a while and it's no problem getting on the bus. It will take some time to wait for the bus. You guys can go and have fun as planned."
"We just had a little fun in Lushan Park. We don't have anything to do right now, so it's okay to wait."
After saying that, Wen Min didn't wait for Lin Jiu to refuse, and pulled the corner of Ji Xin's clothes at his waist: "Really?"
Ji Xin nodded, "Yes." His tone was still cold.
Lin Jiu wanted to say a few more words, but Wen Min seemed to have noticed something and quickly pointed to the road, "The bus is here."
She was sent to the car by Wen Min and Ji Xin.
Of course, Wen Min didn't carry the suitcase. She just directed Ji Xin from under the car. Ji Xin worked hard and carried the suitcase and quilt into the car without any complaints.
Lin Jiu, standing in the car, looked at Wen Min and Ji Xin through the window. She didn't know how to express her gratitude, so she could only wave at them and say: Goodbye.
Wen Min was originally looking at her and immediately noticed her. He waved at her enthusiastically and responded to her.
Then the car drove away, and their figures became smaller and smaller until they disappeared from sight.
On the way, Lin Jiu couldn't help but sigh that fate is really wonderful.
When she first met Wen Min and Ji Xin at the beginning of the school year, she simply paid them a little extra attention because of their looks. As a result, the three of them unexpectedly became classmates. Now, the classmates who were once strangers have actually started a brief social interaction because of this encounter.
She found this brief encounter very pleasant.
She had never thought that Wen Min would be so enthusiastic. Ji Xin was as cold as usual, but a nice person.
She felt that this pair of childhood sweethearts were really a good match, both in terms of appearance and personality.
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