Chapter 48
After finishing their last exam, Lin Jiu, Zhou Jingmeng, and the others went to the cafeteria for a meal, their last meal together before winter break. That afternoon, the three of them packed up and went home.
Lin Jiu had actually packed his things that afternoon. Since he and Chen Miao would be separated for a while during the winter break, he had deliberately stayed a day with him.
The next day, Chen Miao drove her to the high-speed rail station. She had never taken a high-speed rail, but she had taken a train, and the process was basically similar.
While waiting in line to enter the station, she vaguely saw a familiar face in front of her, but didn't think much of it. Ten minutes later, she stood in the aisle, repeatedly checking her seat on her phone. Then, looking at the person next to her, she felt a complicated feeling.
There is no such coincidence in the world!
So many time periods, so many trains, so many carriages, so many seats.
She and Qin Zheng actually met again.
Obviously, Qin Zheng was also confused when he saw her. After a few seconds of confusion, he smiled and stood up from his seat. "Let me help you put the box up."
"Thank you, Senior. I'm fine." This time, she took a 22-inch suitcase. It was filled with toiletries and underwear, so it wasn't really heavy. Besides, she didn't really want to trouble Qin Zheng.
After saying that, she lifted her suitcase and placed it on the luggage rack. Jinhai was the starting station, and she had arrived early, so there was plenty of empty space on the luggage rack.
After being rejected, Qin Zheng showed no emotion and just sat back in his seat.
After Lin Jiu put down her luggage, she stood for a few seconds and finally sat down next to him holding a white tote bag.
After sitting down, neither of them spoke.
After the train started, Qin Zheng looked at the moving high-speed railway station outside the window and suddenly said, "It seems like we haven't seen each other for a long time."
Lin Jiu didn't look at him, but only at the small table installed behind the seat. "It's been a long time."
Since the student union incident, Lin Jiu and Qin Zheng hadn't seen each other or spoken to each other since. However, Lin Jiu wasn't unfamiliar with Qin Zheng. She often heard Qin Zheng's name from Zhou Jingmeng, and only then did she gradually get to know this fellow countryman.
Qin Zheng's family conditions were not good, so he started working part-time to support himself during his freshman year and received scholarships every year.
I don't know where he got the energy from, but while balancing his studies and student union affairs, he also teamed up with seniors and won two highly prestigious awards in computer science, the second prize in the Blue Bridge Cup and the first prize in the Information Security Competition.
Now he seems to be preparing to start his own business and is very busy.
That's why Zhou Jingmeng complained that she rarely saw him in the student union, and he had almost no time to chat with her, so she couldn't pursue him at all.
After a brief recollection, Lin Jiu came back from his thoughts and heard Qin Zheng say with a smile: "We two are quite destined to meet each other."
After a few seconds of silence, Lin Jiu managed to utter two words: "Indeed."
"Originally..." Qin Zheng turned his head and looked at Lin Jiu and said, "Originally, I wanted to ask you to go back together, after all, we are from the same hometown. However, I thought you would refuse, so I didn't send you a message. I didn't expect that we would actually meet by such a coincidence."
Lin Jiu looked at the little rabbit pendant on the bag and said, "I didn't expect that either."
Qin Zheng: "Did you come to the high-speed rail station alone? Or... did someone send you off?"
Lin Jiu sat up straighter and said to him, "My boyfriend sent me here."
"Is it the boy who picked you up at the train station earlier?"
"Um."
As soon as she answered, she realized something was wrong.
Boy?
She didn't seem to have told Qin Zheng about whether they were a man or a woman, she just said they were friends.
Lin Jiu turned his head to look at Qin Zheng and asked, "How did you know that the person who picked me up at the train station was a boy? Did you guess?"
"After leaving the station, I stayed at the orientation area for a while and saw it," Qin Zheng said. "And, judging by your behavior in the car, the person picking you up is most likely a boy."
Lin Jiu lowered his eyes, thinking back to his behavior on the train. He was indeed a little nervous. "I was indeed a little nervous at the time."
"So…when did you get together?"
Lin Jiu didn't expect him to ask this. He looked at him in surprise and replied, "On the same day."
Hearing this answer, Qin Zheng's expression changed slightly. He leaned back in his chair and asked thoughtfully, "Are you two high school classmates?"
Lin Jiu nodded, "Yes."
"......" Qin Zheng looked at the trees drifting outside the window and was silent for a long time.
Lin Jiu took out headphones from his bag and was about to put them on to listen to music when he heard him say, "In the past few months, I've often eaten scrambled eggs with tomatoes. The eggs in it really taste good."
"Maybe it's because we are both from Guicheng and have similar tastes. It's normal that you like it," she replied.
The train just entered the tunnel. Qin Zheng looked at her through the window glass, lowered his eyes, and said softly: "Maybe..."
Fate but no destiny.
-
At seven o'clock in the evening, Lin Jiu officially arrived home.
Dragging her suitcase, she opened the door of her bedroom. Inside was the same as when she left home, without any change.
It looks like no one has lived there for a long time.
An empty bed, a closed wardrobe and a desk that is visible all the way.
Before going to school, she deliberately put all the things that were visible into the closet to prevent them from accumulating dust.
After putting down the suitcase, she went into Yang Bing's bedroom, where a family ethics drama was playing on TV. After Yang Bing picked her up, she went back to her room and lay on the bed to watch TV.
Meng Juan sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the TV.
She noticed Lin Jiu coming in and smiled: "You're back from school."
Lin Jiu nodded, "Okay, I'm back from school, you stay here and watch TV." Turning around, she went to the kitchen to find something to eat to fill her stomach.
In winter, her family eats early, around 5 a.m. If she gets home at this time, she can only eat leftovers.
The rice in the rice cooker is still keeping warm.
She took a bowl, poured half a bowl of rice into it, and picked up some of the remaining half bowl of stir-fried carrots and meat on the table, and dealt with it casually.
Back in her room, she walked over to the suitcase, on top of which she had her bag.
She flipped through it, then took out her cell phone and saw the message Chen Miao sent her: Are you home?
She leaned against the wall and replied to him: I'm home and just had some food.
CM: What did you eat?
Her fingertips paused, and she replied: There are quite a lot, it’s so hard to type.
A few seconds after sending the message, she typed another line of words.
Jiubujiu: I’m so tired and want to sleep.
CM: Then you should have a good rest.
Putting her cell phone in her bag, she moved the suitcase to the corner.
She looked at the large project in the room, took a deep breath, and then cleaned up the room in an orderly manner.
Forty minutes later, Lin Jiu went to the bathroom to take a hot shower to wash off the dust, put on the pajamas he brought back, and lay down on the bed with his arms and legs spread.
The quilt has been in the cupboard for half a year and has developed a bit of a smell, as if there are a lot of dirty mites in it.
Even when she was lying flat, the smell went straight into her nose.
It was late at night, and she couldn't care less. She could only ignore it and endure it.
Anyway...this is how I've been living for all these years.
-
After going to Jinhai City to study, she never came back.
Jinhai City and Guicheng are far away.
The high-speed rail takes fourteen hours to go round-trip, and the round-trip fare is one thousand yuan, which is too expensive. The train is cheaper, but it takes thirty hours to go round-trip, which is too expensive.
Lin Jiu felt that it was unnecessary to go through so much trouble to go back.
None of them likes to chat and they talk very little...they can finish a conversation in just a few minutes on the phone.
She went home on purpose, but it didn't make their relationship any closer. Moreover, every time she thought of the dusty bedroom, she felt tired.
Fortunately, Yang Bing didn't say much about Lin Jiu not coming home often.
During the video call, Yang Bing would also say to Lin Jiu: If you want to reply, reply. If you don’t want to reply, don’t reply. It’s up to you.
The first few days at home.
She basically put down her phone, sat by the bed and chatted with Meng Juan, which was a disguised form of companionship.
In fact, there was nothing much for them to talk about.
Meng Juan fell ill. Except for the time when she was sick, she was silent most of the time and had no desire to speak at all.
So the chat is: Lin Jiu asks, Meng Juan answers.
Meng Juan was old and mentally disturbed, so her answers were illogical and out of the blue.
After listening to it, Lin Jiu carefully distinguished it and soon realized that it was some nonsense.
Most of the time, Lin Jiu was patient with this silver-haired old man. She would ask again and again without getting tired of it, and even if she got several completely different answers, he would still hug her with a smile.
Occasionally, she would tire of this game of question-and-answer, especially when Meng Juan wouldn't understand and would answer irrelevant questions. At these moments, she would end the conversation, turn on the TV to the music channel, and then retreat to her bedroom.
As for Yang Bing, Lin Jiu had almost nothing to say to her.
Both mother and daughter are quiet and their relationship is not deep enough for them to have a long chat.
Yang Bing wouldn't ask Lin Jiu about what happened at school, and Lin Jiu wouldn't share anything. As for the village gossip, Yang Bing wouldn't talk about it, and Lin Jiu wouldn't ask about it either.
While eating, they would chat a few words about the food.
“This dish is a bit salty.”
--really.
"What are you having for dinner?"
——Stir-fried meat with cucumber.
"What vegetables should I buy tomorrow?"
——Water tofu.
......
Repeat these words over and over again.
Simple communication made the two people look less like strangers.
-
Ten days after returning home, Lin Jiu went on a long journey.
February 6th is Chen Miao’s birthday, and she needs to prepare a birthday present for him in advance.
Originally, she communicated with Wen Min, who already had a boyfriend, and asked what would be a good gift.
After thinking for a long time, Wen Min suggested that she give him a cup as a gift, which would symbolize a lifetime.
Lin Jiu felt that the implication was too heavy.
It's hard to say how far she and Chen Miao can go, and she doesn't want to make some unrealistic promises.
During that time, she was very distressed. It was not good for her boyfriend to be too rich. Chen Miao had no shortage of money, so she felt that any gift she gave him would be too simple.
Moreover, this was Chen Miao's first birthday since they were together, so she felt it should be celebrated seriously.
After thinking for a long time, she decided to wish him peace.
So, Lin Jiu lied to Yang Bing and said that he and his friends were going out to play for two days.
Yang Bing frowned and was about to speak. She had said beforehand that she had some money left over from school, enough to cover the expenses for the next few days. Later, Yang Bing agreed without asking who the friend was, probably assuming Lin Jiu knew what she was talking about.
So, Lin Jiu took the high-speed train to a city outside the province. There was a famous temple in the city, which was said to be very effective.
She went to the temple and found a lot of peace and blessings in the store. She could get them by paying some money. It felt like a wholesale business.
After walking around the temple, she met an old monk who looked venerable and respected. He was a resident of the temple.
Perhaps sensing a connection with her, he personally drew a talisman for her after hearing her purpose. Then, he waved his hand and asked her to go to the Bodhi tree near the temple, make a sincere wish, and take a Bodhi leaf.
In this way, she received a blessing of peace wrapped in a red sachet.
After returning to Guicheng, Lin Jiu asked Chen Miao for his specific address, sent the things to him, and asked him to open them that day.
On his birthday, Chen Miao posted a circle of friends, which seemed to be showing off.
——A birthday gift from my girlfriend.
Plus a picture of peace and happiness.
Meng Qinyang commented: Ha. Is my gift unworthy of being on the table?
Within two minutes, Meng Qinyang immediately took a screenshot of what Chen Miao had just posted and posted it on his Moments. Many people liked his screenshot, some with the comments "Aunt Qing," "Uncle," "Dad," and "Mom." They all looked like family members.
In addition to the screenshots, he attached pictures of the gifts he gave.
The gift he gave was a mechanical watch that looked very valuable.
Meng Qinyang posted on his Moments: [Angry] The gift I gave him is not worthy of appearing in his Moments!!!
Chen Miao commented: ...Come up here to get beaten?
After reading these two posts on WeChat Moments, Lin Jiu felt a little embarrassed. It was really beyond her expectation that the little message "Ping An Fu" would be posted on WeChat Moments.
What she didn't expect the most was that Chen Miao announced it directly and his family also knew about it.
Suddenly the pressure was enormous.
Later, she consoled herself by saying that it was normal for others to post about their love lives.
-
On New Year's Eve, Chen Miao and she stayed up together until the early morning.
When the fireworks were set off, she ran outside, took out her phone and recorded several short videos. She sent them all to him so that he could see her fireworks.
CM: It looks very nice.
CM: However, if there is a chance in the future, I hope we can stand together and watch it.
Although Lin Jiu felt that there would not be such an opportunity, she still typed a few words against her will.
Jiubujiu: There will be such a day.
While we were chatting, she lost the connection and fell asleep.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, she was awakened by the sound of villagers visiting each other to wish each other a happy new year.
Yang Bing and the villagers who came to pay New Year's greetings all went out, planning to walk along the road with them to pay New Year's greetings to others.
After waking up, Lin Jiu sat on the bed, opened his hazy eyes, and checked the messages on his mobile phone.
Chen Miao gave her nineteen red envelopes.
Long time no nine:?
Centimeters: New Year’s money.
Jiubudujiu: Whose family gives out so much New Year’s money?
CM: This is your 19th year, I have to make up for all the New Year’s money I gave you before.
During the winter break of her senior year, Chen Miao had also sent her one. At that time, she and he were just ordinary classmates, so she didn't accept it.
Different year, same day.
The relationship between the two is completely different.
She accepted the red envelope and was about to praise him when a few words appeared in the dialog box: My boyfriend is so nice.
The message hasn't been sent yet.
The bank card received a huge amount of income: 190,000.
So she immediately deleted the words in the dialog box and asked: What are you doing?
Attached is a screenshot of the bank notification.
CM: I think the red envelope is too small and not enough to express my gratitude.
Jiubujiu: You are too rich...
CM: From now on, all my money is yours.
After the first day of the Lunar New Year, time flies.
The village is very lively, with relatives visiting everywhere. You can hear the unique sound of cars rolling over the ground, which you don’t usually hear, and occasionally the sound of noisy chatting.
Lin Jiu's family didn't have many relatives to visit, so although it wasn't very lively, it was still a reunion.
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