Chapter 31 The warm light of friendship.
The night was drenched in damp rain.
Bo Xia glanced out the window through the glass. After taking the money from the boss, she found that he had given her fifty too much. After she explained the situation, the beautiful woman impatiently drove her away: "You are not happy with the extra money?"
She was a little stunned, and a few seconds later a transparent umbrella appeared in front of her.
"Take this too. It's in the way in the store."
Bo Xia took the umbrella and walked to the door. He couldn't help but look back. After the woman and the others left, he lit a cigarette and casually flipped through the collection of essays on the table.
A warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she opened her umbrella and went home.
A gust of wind blew, and the wet crabapple petals fell, gently landing on the transparent umbrella. In the distance, the hazy weeping crabapple trees formed a pink patch, like a dream adorning spring.
It’s a pity that the crabapple has no fragrance, so people compare it to bitter love.
Bo Xia quickly returned the money to Wen Xin. Wen Xin originally wanted to tell her that it was okay if she didn't return it, but after a moment, as her good friend, Wen Xin didn't say these words out loud.
Wen Xin sometimes felt she was too stubborn, willing to endure hardship without any hardship. But she wasn't her, so how could she truly understand her need to protect her pride? Just like a flower in a greenhouse, it couldn't understand why grass, exposed to wind and rain, struggled to grow.
She didn't say anything, but Bo Xia knew what she was thinking: "Wen Xin, keep it. Now that it's resolved, it's no big deal."
Any difficulty that can be solved is not a difficulty, she can still face it. The most terrifying thing is not the difficulty, but being trapped in the current situation forever and unable to escape.
With a relieved smile on her face, she shared with her friends her experience with the proprietress who seemed to have a bad temper but was actually very kind.
Wen Xin looked at her and smiled, shaking her head. She inexplicably thought of the pot of mint her mother, a notorious plant killer, kept. The lack of sunlight forced the mint to grow too tall, its long leaves frantically reaching upwards in search of sunlight. No matter how harsh the environment was, it couldn't kill its vitality.
There were still three minutes left before class started. Bo Xia's new deskmate came over and saw Wen Xin and teased, "This place is almost becoming your home, and I'm the class monitor. Are you not going to be Bo Xia's little shadow these days?"
Wen Xin laughed as she heard this and stood up, remembering that Zhou Suiye had been busy participating in his debate competition recently and was indeed a bit busy.
Unsurprisingly, Zhou Suiye won first prize. The class was empty before evening self-study, and Wen Xin remembered something: "It's a good opportunity for you to treat us to a meal to celebrate. Remember to invite Jin Yunyan."
He saw through the other party's intentions at a glance and deliberately said, "No, I've received many such awards, so there's no point in celebrating."
Still installing it?
Wen Xin kicked him and found that the flesh on this tall man's body was so strong that it was like kicking an iron pillar, which hurt her a lot.
She took a breath and said, "Can I ask you?"
"Will you invite me or Jin Yunyan?"
Bo Xia stopped Wen Xin: "Forget it, you don't have to help me..."
Wen Xin called her a coward, and Bo Xia opened her lips and said, "I saw him getting very close to a girl in the bookstore the other day. Maybe..."
Wen Xin had actually seen some gossip on the forum, but she hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. After all, there were so many people who liked Jin Yunyan, so it wasn't uncommon for some secondary creation stories to occasionally circulate.
"No way," she nudged Zhou Suiye's arm, "Do you know about this?"
"have no idea."
Just as the two were about to continue the discussion, other students entered the classroom one after another, and the topic naturally ended.
Before the evening self-study session was over, Bo Xia received a note from Zhou Suiye, saying that he was going to celebrate his birthday at the weekend and invited them to go karaoke, and that Jin Yunyan would also be invited.
Looking at the powerful and bold handwriting above, a warm lamp seemed to light up in the dark corner of her heart.
Jin Yunyan was probably busy taking exams or something during those days, so Bo Xia hadn't even seen him in the classroom. Wen Xin kept asking Zhou Suiye if he had sent the notifications. Zhou Suiye admitted defeat, "Little ancestor, I've sent him so many messages and he hasn't replied. What can I do?"
"Just keep sending it."
"I must have seen it, don't worry."
Wen Xin called his name, and Zhou Suiye looked up: "Okay, okay, I'll go to his house to find him and go with him, okay?"
"That's more like it."
Bo Xia felt a mix of emotions. On the one hand, she longed to know the answer, but on the other, she wondered what point would knowing it have. There were only two possible outcomes: either end her one-sided feelings, or continue walking down that dark tunnel with no light and no end in sight.
Secret love is never a fair game, and no god promises that hard work will be rewarded. It is more like sending an unsigned letter and then waiting for a miracle to happen over a long period of time.
She thought about refusing, but she also enjoyed her friend's concern for her. Moreover, being able to see him was a happy thing in itself.
So Bo Xia chose to be selfish.
The late spring rain was still spreading, and the fine rain was like an endless beaded curtain, decorating the eaves of the small town. Bo Xia carefully combed her hair before going out and wore her favorite dress in the wardrobe, but she still looked a little disheveled because of the bad weather.
No wonder Jin Yunyan doesn't like rainy days.
When passing by the bookstore, Bo Xia put the umbrella that the boss lady gave her last time in the storage basket at the door, and then took advantage of the fact that no one was around to stand in front of the glass window and tidy up the loose hair on her forehead.
She and Wen Xin arrived at the KTV first, holding a gift for Zhou Suiye. Wen Xin also ordered a big cake, but the two of them sat there staring at each other for a long time, and still no one showed up.
Wen Xin hated it most when people stood her up. She had even thought of the words to ask them by phone, but the call just wouldn't go through.
She glanced at Bo Xia, who also picked up his phone and made a few calls, and the situation was the same.
Wen Xin was so angry that she almost couldn't stand up. "It's okay to stand up, but you didn't even answer the phone? Today isn't April Fool's Day. Are you planning to invite two girls here and leave us alone?"
She said that the next time she saw you, you'd be dead. Bo Xia grabbed her hand and said, "Nothing will happen, right?"
Wen Xin was also anxious, saying, "No way." Although she always slandered Zhou Suiye, she also knew that he was a reliable person and would not do such a thing as letting someone down.
A thousand theories raced through their minds, from a sudden family emergency to an accident on the road. Initially, they were only slightly worried, but in the end, their own imaginations frightened them. Bo Xia said, "Let's call the others."
She didn't care about being timid at this time and called Shen Ran. The other party smiled and said, "Shouldn't you know Brother Zhou's whereabouts better than me? He's almost become your little follower."
Bo Xia hung up the phone and searched for the familiar number in her address book, the one she had asked Zhou Suiye for last time. A beeping sound rang in her ears, like the beat of a drum beating against her heart.
After a while, there was no response.
She couldn't tell whether she was relieved or disappointed. She made a few more calls and looked at Wen Xin, but neither of them could find any trace of Zhou Suiye. They even called Zhou Suiye's home phone.
"Isn't something really wrong? Don't they say 'Good men don't live long, but evil men last a thousand years'?"
Bo Xia frowned. She had never expected the originally happy gathering to turn out like this. Just as she was thinking about whether to go to his house with Wen Xin to find him, the door of the KTV suddenly opened. Zhou Suiye stood at the door, his face a little pale: "Sorry, I'm late."
She breathed a sigh of relief, and Wen Xin angrily went over and pinched him, saying he was so bold as to stand them up. Zhou Suiye looked a little off, and after apologizing, he seemed a little lost. It took him a long while to remember something: "I forgot to look for Ah Yan..."
He knew they weren't here for his birthday, but more to use this opportunity to meet Jin Yunyan. Even though Bo Xia had said he was important, he could feel that most of the time he was no match for the other person.
Sometimes Zhou Suiye even guessed that perhaps it was because of his good relationship with Jin Yunyan that Bo Xia was willing to associate with him.
He was in a terrible mood that day and couldn't help but think of the worst. He thought that since Jin Yunyan was not there, why not everyone just disperse... Anyway, this party no longer had any meaning.
But before he could utter those words, Bo Xia looked at him with bright eyes: "It's okay, I'm glad you're okay. Wen Xin and I were worried to death just now."
Wen Xin quickly denied this, her voice low, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not worried at all. I just don't want someone to get into trouble because of me asking them out. How can I sleep well at night if I do that?"
She glanced at Zhou Suiye and said, "Come over and celebrate your birthday. Do you know how much time you've wasted?"
Bo Xia's eyelashes trembled slightly as she observed him carefully. "Are you sick? You look very pale."
A pair of slender hands rested on his forehead, the warmth flowing down his skin and into his heart. All his sentimental thoughts faded away, and he was instead tightly enveloped by the warmth of friendship, almost airtight.
Emotions surged in his heart, blocking his throat and preventing him from uttering a word.
Bo Xia was only concerned about him. Suddenly, the door outside opened. She looked up and saw a familiar face appear in front of her. Jin Yunyan was holding a cake in his hand and just happened to see her hand on Zhou Suiye's forehead.
She felt inexplicably guilty and withdrew her hand in a panic, but these little movements did not catch his attention. Jin Yunyan did not care about them, nor did he delve into them, as if those were just things that happened in another world.
He just continued to look at them with those gentle and forgiving eyes, his body still damp with the smell of rain, and said lightly: "I just got back from Nan'an. I hope I'm not too late."
The extra cake was placed on the table. Because the door was open, they could still hear the roar of "Blooming Life" from the next room...
Jin Yunyan gently closed the door, isolating all the sounds outside. He took off his thin coat and chuckled, "Happy birthday."
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