University extra (10)
After leaving the train station, Xu Jianing pushed his bicycle while Wen Sheng sat on the back. The two walked like this for a while. Although it was still a bit cold, the sun came out, and the sunlight gradually warmed them up.
"Are you hungry?" Xu Jianing asked, turning around.
"A little." Wen Sheng honestly admitted that she was quite hungry after being at the train station for so long.
"There's a state-run restaurant up ahead, let's grab something to eat before heading back." Xu Jianing hopped on the bike, pushed off, and it started moving.
They first passed through a dense area of single-story houses, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and a faint smell of coal in the air. Gray brick walls, low roofs, and piles of honeycomb briquettes in front of every house; some families even had sheds in their yards, filled with cabbages and radishes.
After turning a corner, several newly built red brick buildings suddenly came into view.
These buildings are six stories high, with brand-new red brick exteriors, spacious and bright windows, and each household has its own balcony where quilts and clothes can be dried. Compared to the gray and dusty bungalow area just now, it's like another world.
"Wow...this must be six stories high, right?" Wen Sheng looked up and counted the floors with her fingers.
"This must be a newly built residential building from last year." Xu Jianing slowed down and glanced to the side.
“Happy Community,” she read the blue sign with white lettering at the entrance of the community, “the people who live here must be very happy.”
Wen Sheng's gaze wandered over the buildings and he noticed a pot of red flowers on the windowsill of one house, blooming brightly in the sunlight.
“Look at that house, they even have flowers.” She patted Xu Jianing on the back, gesturing for him to turn around and look.
"Yes, these new buildings are all designed quite reasonably, with good lighting and ventilation. I visited a professor's house before, and it had the same structure, with heating inside," Xu Jianing said.
"Every household has its own kitchen and toilet, right?"
"It should be. These new buildings are all designed with detached, single-family units."
Wen Sheng sighed enviously, "That's great! We don't have to fight with others for the tap, and we don't have to go to the public toilet in the dead of winter. The best part is, we don't have to go to the public bathhouse to shower!"
The bicycle continued on, passing another new construction site. Several high-rise buildings were under construction, and workers were busy on the scaffolding. A large slogan was painted on the wall outside the construction site: "Development is the only way forward."
When she rode to the entrance of the construction site, dust was kicked up by the bicycle wheels, making it hard to open her eyes. The road surface was uneven due to construction, and the bicycle bounced around, causing the back seat to sway, almost making Wen Sheng lose her balance.
Xu Jianing frowned, immediately slowed down, and simply got off the bike and pushed it: "This road is uneven, push it for a while so you don't fall off."
"Wen Sheng," he suddenly called out to her.
"Hmm?" She was focused on watching the workers construct the site when she was startled by his name and looked up at him.
"If in the future..." Xu Jianing paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts.
"What about later?"
"If you were to buy a house in the future, what kind would you want?"
Wen Sheng rolled her eyes and thought about it seriously: "I want a two-bedroom apartment, with one bedroom and one study."
"What else do you want?" he asked.
"I need a balcony, facing south, with good sunlight. I want to grow flowers on the balcony, like bougainvillea and roses. In winter, I want to sit on the balcony, bask in the sun, and read a book."
As Wen Sheng described the house, she became more and more excited, as if the house filled with the fragrance of flowers and sunshine was already in front of her, ready for her to move in immediately.
Xu Jianing nodded, "Okay, south-facing, with a balcony."
"And another thing, I want a huge bookshelf!" she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, gesturing with her hand. "It has to fill an entire wall, so it can hold all my favorite books, and I also need to leave a shelf for photo albums and small ornaments."
“Okay, and we also need a large bookcase.” Xu Jianing noted down each of her requirements.
Looking at the new buildings gleaming in the sunlight, she suddenly asked, "Xu Jianing, do you think we'll ever be able to live in a house like this in our lifetime?"
"Yes," Xu Jianing said without hesitation.
How can you be so sure?
"Because I want to spend my whole life with you. Since it's for a lifetime, I must make sure you live in the house you want."
"With a balcony, we can grow flowers and bask in the sun; with a bookshelf, we can put all our favorite books in it; with a spacious kitchen, we can cook together; with a warm bedroom, we can sleep in each other's arms at night."
As he finished speaking, his gaze fell on her, and he made his first promise.
"Most importantly, with you here, that's what home is."
Wen Sheng said, "Then I also need to work hard to earn money so that we can move into that kind of home sooner."
Xu Jianing chuckled softly and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Okay, let's work hard together."
One day, they will have a home of their own. Not a dormitory, not a rented house, but a place that truly belongs to the two of them.
*
After more than ten hours of bumpy travel, the train finally arrived at Hanchuan Railway Station.
Wen Sheng was sleeping with her head resting on Xu Jianing's lap when she heard the broadcast and groggily opened her eyes.
"We've arrived?" She rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Okay. Don't rush off yet, wait until there are fewer people before getting off the bus."
Xu Jianing took out a comb and a mirror from her small bag, gently parted her smooth hair, and carefully combed it back.
After he finished combing her hair, she sat up and stretched her stiff neck and shoulders. After sitting on the train for over ten hours, she felt completely exhausted.
They waited until the crowd had mostly dispersed before slowly making their way to the car door. Xu Jianing stayed close to Wen Sheng, protecting her from being bumped into.
As soon as Wen Sheng got off the bus, the damp, cold wind unique to Hanchuan blew in, and he immediately felt much more energetic. Although it was winter, the cold here was different from the dry cold of the capital; it was a damp cold, carrying moisture.
She stood outside, took several deep breaths, and felt much better. Finally, she was free from the stale air in the carriage, which was filled with the smell of smoke and instant noodles.
Xu Jianing shifted the luggage to her other hand, freeing her hand to adjust her scarf: "Let's go, someone's waiting at the exit."
"Sheng Sheng! Wen Sheng!"
Before she even stepped off the platform, Wen Sheng heard a familiar voice. Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw Li Qingmiao wearing a dark blue woolen coat and a white woolen hat, standing on tiptoe and waving frantically in the crowd.
She shook off Xu Jianing's hand and excitedly ran towards Li Qingmiao.
"You're finally back!" Li Qingmiao hugged Wen Sheng tightly, then stepped back a little, looked her up and down, left and right, and said with heartache, "You've lost weight, you must not have been eating properly."
After saying that, she glared at Xu Jianing, making no attempt to hide her reproach: "Xu Jianing, how have you been taking care of Sheng Sheng? She's gotten so thin!"
Xu Jianing was somewhat helpless under her glare and was about to explain when Wen Sheng spoke first.
"Qingmiao, don't blame him. I lost weight because I started exercising. I even won a prize in the 1500m at my school sports meet." She took Li Qingmiao's hand and smiled as she helped him out of the awkward situation.
"Really? Don't you never like sports? Why did you run 1,500 meters?" Li Qingmiao looked at her with disbelief.
"Don't even mention it! I got screwed over by our class's sports representative." Wen Sheng pouted, still feeling angry when she thought about why she signed up that time.
"Where's your brother?" Xu Jianing asked.
“My brother is waiting for us in the car. He just got his driver’s license and insisted on coming to practice today.”
The group walked towards the train station entrance, chatting and laughing. Sure enough, they saw Li Changshui leaning against the door of an old Santana, holding a bag of oranges in his hand.
Upon seeing Xu Jianing, he immediately opened his arms and gave her a big hug.
"Ah Ning, it's been a year since we last saw each other!"
Xu Jianing was so tightly hugged that she could hardly breathe. She frowned and said, "Your orange hit my back."
Li Changshui immediately let go and shoved the bag of oranges into his arms: "That's perfect, it's both a gift and an apology."
"Alright, alright, you two stop being so sentimental and get in the car. It's freezing outside," Li Qingmiao urged.
Li Changshui opened the trunk, put Xu Jianing and Wen Sheng's luggage inside, and then called everyone to get in the car, "Come on, let everyone experience the driving skills of the Hanchuan City car god."
Li Qingmiao rolled her eyes. After Wen Sheng got into the car, she leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't listen to his bragging. My brother only drives less than 30 miles per hour. Riding in his car is slower than riding a bicycle."
Wen Sheng covered her mouth and chuckled, "Really? Then I'll have to see later whether your brother's car is faster or Xu Jianing's bicycle is faster."
Li Changshui, sitting in the driver's seat, twitched his ears and immediately turned his head to protest: "Hey, hey, hey! What are you guys saying in the back? I'll show you what lightning speed is all about in a minute."
Xu Jianing sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and asked, "Does this radio still work?"
"It works, but the signal isn't very good. I'll just have to make do with it," Li Changshui said as he reversed the car.
But his reversing skills were really nerve-wracking. He turned the steering wheel without any skill, and the car veered to the left and right, with the tires making a "squeaking" sound as they rubbed against the ground.
Xu Jianing couldn't stand it any longer and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"I'll go downstairs and direct you as you back up."
Li Changshui said, "Hey, hey, what do you mean? You're disgusted with me?"
“I don’t dislike you, but I feel that if you keep backing up haphazardly, your father will scold or beat you. Wen Sheng and I are going to stay in the city for a few more days, and we don’t want to have an awkward meeting every time we see each other.”
Li Changshui could never find a way to refute Xu Jianing.
To others, he was a talkative and witty fellow, but when it came to Xu Jianing, he was like a snake caught in its vital spot, only able to obediently listen to her.
Li Qingmiao, sitting in the back row, laughed loudly until she lost her balance and fell onto Wen Sheng's shoulder: "Sheng Sheng, you don't know, now only Brother Xu can scold my brother, not my parents."
Li Changshui chuckled twice, then guiltily touched his nose: "That's because I respect him, sister, do you understand? Respect."
Under Xu Jianing's direction, the car was finally able to drive out of the parking space smoothly.
Li Changshui gripped the steering wheel, still trying to save face: "See? With my and A Ning's perfect teamwork, we still made it out, didn't we?"
"Come on, bro. If it weren't for Brother Xu's instructions, you'd still be spinning in circles right now," Li Qingmiao said.
Xu Jianing closed his eyes and leaned back in the passenger seat to rest.
Li Changshui glanced at the passenger seat while driving and smiled, "Look, he's completely confident in my driving skills; he's even closed his eyes and fallen asleep."
“No,” Xu Jianing said without even opening his eyes, “I just think that if you bump into something with your eyes closed and can’t see it, it might not be that scary.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
