University Side Story (11)
"Say it again?"
Wen Sheng was startled awake by Xu Jianing's stern voice. She opened her eyes and found the atmosphere in the car was a bit strange. Li Changshui, who had just been laughing and joking, was now gripping the steering wheel with an embarrassed expression.
"You were planning to stay at my house for a few days... so my parents put you two in the same room..."
“Qingmiao and I both have single beds in our room, not enough for two people to sleep in.” Li Changshui continued to explain, “My parents said you two are guests and dating, so they let you sleep in their beds, and they slept on the floor in Qingmiao and my room.”
Xu Jianing frowned and shook her head in refusal: "Changshui, this won't do. Your aunt and uncle are old, how can we let them sleep on the floor?"
“I said that too! But my parents insisted that you were guests and needed to be treated well. My mom also said that you two are both college students, and that the train journey was tiring, so you should rest well when you get back.” Li Changshui defended himself, feeling wronged.
"No need, I can sleep on the floor in your room."
Wen Sheng immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, I can sleep on the floor in Qingmiao's room. There's no need for Uncle and Aunt to make things difficult."
Li Changshui sighed: "A-Ning, you'll have to ask. I'll find you the thickest bedding in our house, no, you sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."
The car quickly entered the city center. The streets were noticeably wider and cleaner than those near the train station, and there were many cars on the road.
"We're almost there," Li Qingmiao said, pointing ahead. "It's that residential area up ahead."
Wen Sheng looked in the direction she pointed and saw a cluster of six-story residential buildings with light yellow exterior walls, looking very new. There was also a guardhouse at the entrance of the community, where an old man wearing reading glasses was reading a newspaper, with a thermos bottle at his feet.
"Your family has changed their address?" Wen Sheng was a little surprised. She remembered that when she came last time, the Li family was still living in the old town.
"Yes." Li Qingmiao nodded with a smile. "My parents were allocated an apartment by their workplace. They just moved in last year. It has three bedrooms and a living room, and it's over 80 square meters."
The car drove into the residential area and parked in front of one of the buildings.
Li Changshui parked the car at the entrance, turned off the engine, and breathed a long sigh of relief, "Mission accomplished."
He pushed open the car door, jumped out, went around to the trunk, took out Xu Jianing and Wen Sheng's luggage, and said to Li Qingmiao, "Sis, take them upstairs first, then call Dad down. I don't know how to reverse and park."
Li Qingmiao was carrying her small bag and about to go upstairs when she heard this and rolled her eyes: "Brother, didn't you say you were the racing god of Hanchuan City? How come you're afraid to even park?"
Li Changshui chuckled awkwardly: "You don't understand, do you? Even racing gods have their specialties. I'm the king of straight-line speed."
"Okay." Li Qingmiao ignored him and pulled Wen Sheng towards the stairwell. "Sheng Sheng, let's go upstairs first."
Just then, the balcony door on the third floor was pushed open, and a middle-aged man wearing a floral apron poked his head out, holding a tea mug in his hand, and looked down with a smile: "Come on up, the food at home is all ready."
"Dad! My brother can't back up the car, can you come down and help me park it?" Li Qingmiao shouted from downstairs.
Upon hearing that voice, Wen Sheng suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.
It felt like she was back in her first year of high school, when she and Li Qingmiao stood downstairs at the dormitory, asking a boy to go inside and call for Li Changshui. But the boy didn't go inside; instead, he stood downstairs and shouted, "Li Changshui from room 201! Your sister's looking for you!"
Now, a similar scene is unfolding again, and I feel like I've gone back to three years ago.
Li Jun, listening from the balcony, burst into laughter, spilling water from his teacup: "You brat, you dare drive my car but don't dare stop? Wait, I'm coming down right now."
Footsteps soon echoed in the hallway as Su Yu followed Li Jun downstairs.
When she saw Wen Sheng, she immediately ran over, grabbed her hand, and said with a big smile, "Oh, Sheng Sheng, you're finally back! You must have had a hard time traveling by train. Come, come, Auntie specially made braised pork for you today, and the other dishes were all cooked by your Uncle Li."
"Mom, did Dad make braised prawns?" Li Qingmiao asked, leaning closer.
"Yes, yes, your dad went to the seafood market this morning to buy the freshest shrimp," Su Yu said with a smile.
At this moment, Li Jun parked the car neatly, picked up his luggage and came over to interrupt them: "The shrimp is for the guests, don't just eat it yourself as soon as it's on the table."
Li Qingmiao pouted and made a face: "Dad, I'm just trying the taste for the guests first."
Li Jun pretended to glare at her, then turned to Wen Sheng with a smile: "Sheng Sheng, and Aning, you two eat more tonight. Look how thin you and Aning have become."
Wen Sheng was a little embarrassed. "Uncle, we eat really well at school."
The group went upstairs, with Xu Jianing following at the back, carrying the luggage.
Upon reaching the third floor, Su Yu opened the door and greeted, "Come in, come in, everyone. The slippers are ready. Aning's are the gray ones, and Sheng Sheng's are the blue ones."
"Thank you, Aunt Su," Xu Jianing said politely.
Li Jun hung the key on the hook by the door and patted Xu Jianing on the shoulder: "Ah Ning, is this your first time in this house? Last time you came you said your mother just opened a shop, how's the shop doing now? Is business good?"
Xu Jianing nodded and said slowly, "It's alright. It's right next to the Cangshui County bus station, with a lot of people coming and going, so business is fairly stable."
Li Jun nodded in satisfaction after hearing this: "Yes, the station is a popular place. Your mother is capable; she picked a good spot."
Su Yu brought the dishes to the table one by one. The braised pork was glistening with oil, the braised prawns were fragrant, and there were also steamed pork ribs and a bowl of clear chicken soup on the side.
"Hurry up and wash your hands and get ready to eat. All the dishes are ready, just waiting for you to come back and start eating."
Everyone sat around the dining table, and Wen Sheng was deeply moved as she looked at the table full of dishes. Li Jun served Xu Jianing and Wen Sheng each a bowl of chicken soup: "Here, this is chicken soup that I specially made. You two should drink some soup to warm yourselves up. You've been on the train all day, so you need to nourish yourselves properly."
"Thank you, Uncle Li," they both said in unison.
"Don't thank me, eat more, make yourself at home," Su Yu said with a smile, putting a large shrimp into each of their bowls.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was lively and harmonious. Li Jun took a sip of wine and started talking about Li Changshui.
"Changshui is currently studying at the police academy, and he's in his second year. Qingmiao is studying medicine. Both of my children are very busy these days."
Li Qingmiao was peeling shrimp when she suddenly looked up, smiled slyly, and said, "Wen Sheng, do you know what? My brother has a girl he likes now, and you even know her."
"Ouch! Ouch!" Li Changshui almost choked on his soup. He quickly put down his spoon and reached out to stop her. "Sis! Don't say that!"
Wen Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Who is it? Do I know them?"
"Don't listen to her nonsense!" Li Changshui quickly interrupted, his face flushed red from choking, as he hurriedly served Xu Jianing food while changing the subject.
"Ah Ning is doing well in the capital, and she's even made a lot of money on her own, right, Ah Ning!"
"It's alright, I do some tutoring, write some articles, and earn some pocket money," Xu Jianing replied cooperatively.
Wen Sheng, who was sitting next to him and had been drinking her soup with her head down, suddenly slapped her forehead, excited as if she had discovered a secret: "I know! Is it Zhang Qin?"
"Cough cough cough cough!" Li Changshui was really choked this time, his face turned even redder, and he coughed uncontrollably.
"What Zhang Qin? Who is Zhang Qin?" Su Yu asked curiously.
“She was a classmate of ours in high school, in the same year as us. She transferred here later. She’s very pretty and has a good personality,” Wen Sheng explained.
“She’s the daughter of my brother’s police academy instructor. She came to deliver food to my dad, and he took a liking to her,” Li Qingmiao continued to explain.
Li Jun and Su Yu exchanged a glance, then grinned from ear to ear. Li Jun slapped the table with a cheerful laugh: "Not bad, kid, you have good taste."
"Dad! Mom! Why are you both joining in the commotion?"
Su Yu smiled and advised, "What's there to be embarrassed about? If you like someone, just be open about it. Look at Aning, they got together as soon as Shengsheng graduated."
She paused, then said, "It's so good that Aning and Shengsheng are like this, taking care of each other and making progress together. Changshui, you should learn from them too, don't be so hesitant."
Wen Sheng lowered her head and drank her soup, trying to hide her blush. Xu Jianing, unaffected, calmly picked up a shrimp, carefully peeled off the shell, removed the vein, and then put the peeled shrimp meat into her bowl.
Eat more.
Li Qingmiao witnessed this scene and immediately patted Li Changshui on the shoulder: "Brother, you've been learning from Brother Xu in the warehouse for two years, how come you still haven't learned it?"
“I…” Li Changshui looked at Xu Jianing’s skillful movements and then at Wen Sheng’s happy expression, and he did feel a little envious.
"What, are you tempted?" Li Qingmiao continued to add fuel to the fire.
"Eat your food!" Li Changshui picked up a large piece of pork rib and stuffed it into her mouth.
Li Jun also sighed, "Young people these days know so much more than we did back then. We knew how to date, but we didn't know anything about these things."
"You still have the nerve to say that," Su Yu said with a laugh, teasing him. "When you were pursuing me, writing love letters was a piece of cake, wasn't it?"
"Madam is right." Li Jun put down his wine glass and laughed heartily. "How come my son didn't inherit my talent for writing love letters?"
The meal was very relaxed and lively, with laughter almost non-stop, and all the dishes on the table were emptied.
After finishing the meal and cleaning up, Su Yu said, "It's getting late, and you must be exhausted from the journey. Get some rest. Your Uncle Li and I have prepared the master bedroom, so you two can sleep there. The bed is big, so you'll be more comfortable."
Xu Jianing quickly shook his head: "Aunt Su, that won't do. Changshui and I can squeeze in together, or if it really doesn't work, I'll sleep on the floor."
Wen Sheng chimed in, "That's right, Auntie. Qingmiao and I will share a room, while you and Uncle Li will sleep in the master bedroom."
Seeing that they were all insistent, Su Yu had no choice but to give up: "Alright, alright, we'll do it your way."
*
As evening fell, the house gradually quieted down.
Li Changshui lay down on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and said to Xu Jianing, who was sleeping on the floor, "A-Ning, are you really not going to sleep on the bed?"
"I'm used to sleeping on the floor, it's fine."
Li Changshui rolled over, face down, resting his chin on the pillow: "A-Ning, can I ask you something?"
Xu Jianing looked up at the ceiling and gave a soft "hmm".
"My teacher at the police academy told me that if he ever broke the law, no matter how deep our teacher-student relationship was, he had to be arrested. What does that mean?"
"It means that people should have a bottom line in life. Rules are rules, and if you cross them, you are wrong."
“But what if one day, the person standing in front of me is my most trusted teacher, friend, or even family member?” Li Changshui asked.
Xu Jianing turned to look at him, "Then we can't hesitate even more. Because since they chose that path, they've already betrayed you."
"Ah Ning, do you think I'd be a good policeman?"
Yes, it will.
It definitely will.
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