Chapter 60, Chapter 60: Lin Hua is in the rain.
After the New Year, the second semester of junior year will begin.
With a full schedule and many students, Xia Qingwan and Shi Xiaoyu had to divide the tasks when changing classrooms after each class: one would go to the restroom while the other would rush over to reserve a seat.
To catch her breath outside of her intensive coursework, Xia Qingwan also took an elective course in philosophy called "In-depth Reading of Zhuangzi".
This class was especially crowded, with students from the philosophy department majoring in philosophy, those taking electives, and those attending as auditors, filling the entire room.
Xia Qing's classroom was far away in the evening, so she ran all the way there, panting, and found a place to put her feet in a corner. She had nowhere to take off her bag, so she slung it over her shoulder, took out her laptop, supported it with one arm, and typed notes with the other.
Wearing a gray long skirt with a trench coat, the outfit is simple and elegant. Her long hair is tucked behind her ears, and she stands with her head slightly lowered, carrying a bag and holding a laptop. She exudes a unique and refined scholarly air.
A tall boy by the window glanced at her a few times, seemingly casually, and then handed her a note.
"Hey kid, come over here and put your computer down."
Xia Qingwan took the note and looked up. The boy picked up his laptop from the windowsill, closed it, put it in his bag, and gestured for her to enter.
She moved a few steps over there, put the computer down on the windowsill and whispered thank you.
The boy smiled and shook his head, then tactfully moved aside.
It is a popular course, it is fascinating and step-by-step. Listening to the whole thing feels like having a brain massage.
After class, Xia Qingwan packed up her computer and schoolbag and followed the crowded crowd to the door. The passage became narrower and someone was squeezed over. When she looked up, it was the boy from before.
When they walked outside, he naturally struck up a conversation with her and said, "I didn't take notes just now. Can you send me your notes?"
"good."
When we added each other on WeChat, he said, "My name is Ruan Xu."
After introducing each other's names and changing the notes, Xia Qingwan sent the notes over. "I remember it was a bit messy."
"If you don't understand, I'll ask you again." The boy smiled and said, "Are you studying Chinese?"
"Well, how did you know?"
“I’ve audited Chinese literature classes before and met you there.”
He already knew her name.
Xia Qingwan smiled and said, "I'm going to eat now. Bye."
Ruan Xu nodded, "Bye."
When she arrived at the cafeteria, Shi Xiaoyu had already taken a seat and had her meal ready for her.
Before she even sat down, Shi Xiaoyu said, "You're truly a warrior. Not only are you pursuing dual cultivation, you even have the energy to take classes in the philosophy department."
"Change your mind."
"You are truly a god."
Xia Qingwan chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I sound like a pervert."
"Don't you think so?" Shi Xiaoyu's eyes widened. "Don't you want to just sit around and relax for a while?"
Xia Qingwan paused and said, "...I just want to fill my brain."
Shi Xiaoyu was quick to speak, and the next sentence was already on the tip of her tongue when she caught a glimpse of her indifferent expression and realized that it was inappropriate. She quickly stopped herself and changed her words, "Have you met the most handsome guy in the philosophy department?"
Xia Qingwan was naturally quiet, but Shi Xiaoyu noticed that she was different from usual lately. Perhaps "quiet" would be a more accurate description than "quiet".
One time when we were chatting, I found out that she had broken up with her boyfriend.
Shi Xiaoyu realized it later. No wonder she hadn't seen the Maybach coming to pick her up for a long time.
Xia Qingwan stared blankly at the plate with her eyes lowered. After a moment's reaction, she asked, "...Who?"
"Ruan Xu!"
Is he the most handsome guy in the department?
“…I saw it.”
Shi Xiaoyu had just put a piece of food into her mouth when she vowed, "When is the next class for 'Zhuangzi Intensive Reading'? I'll go with you!"
Xia Qingwan smiled, "Okay, I'll call you next week."
-
In order to save commuting, Xia Qingwan moved back to the school dormitory this semester.
The dormitory is a four-person room. My roommate is Shi Xiaoyu, and there are two other students majoring in English. Both of them are preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. Therefore, the atmosphere in the dormitory is often tense and busy, and people in the room can't help but feel anxious.
Shi Xiaoyu is a player who always plays badly, so he doesn't like to stay in the dormitory. Most of the time, he stays in the library with Xia Qingwan.
Xia Qingwan is preparing for the IELTS exam and often spends time in the library taking online classes.
In March, NYU was on spring break, and Lin Xiangyu returned to Beijing and moved directly into Xia Qingwan's bedroom in the old Xia family house.
On weekends, Xia Qingwan came back to play with her.
The two of them made and drank milk tea together when they were free, and Lin Xiangyu talked about his student life in New York.
"Thinking about it now, although my decision to study abroad was impulsive, it was truly worth it! I'm glad I went."
"There are many social practice activities. I meet new people every day and am bombarded with information every day. I feel full of energy."
Xia Qingwan listened silently with a look of longing.
Do you have plans to go abroad?
Lin Xiangyu asked.
"Yes, I took the IELTS test first, then volunteered at an NGO, and applied for an internship at the United Nations during my senior year."
Lin Xiangyu was dumbfounded. "It's already planned?"
Yes.
Xia Qingwan said with a smile.
"I'll keep an eye out for you; it would be great if you went to New York too."
Lin Xiangyu Road.
"good."
Lin Xiangyu leaned back in a starfish shape, lay on the carpet in front of the sofa, let out a long sigh, and said with relief, "That's great."
They tacitly agreed not to talk about the past, but just looked towards the future.
-
During the summer vacation of her junior year, Xia Qingwan successfully applied for a volunteer internship opportunity at WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) in China.
She is responsible for organizing documents and preliminary translation in the office on a daily basis. Due to her outstanding work performance, she was given a place on the regular snow leopard protection trip to Qinghai in July.
After arriving, Xia Qingwan quickly got into the state.
As was the day's routine, the conservation organization explained the basics to the tourists searching for snow leopards before accompanying them into the Angsai Canyon.
The sky is vast and lonely.
Standing between heaven and earth, what meets the eye is endless gray-brown bare rock, covered with a thin layer of light green, occasionally dotted with a few small flowers of various colors.
The unbridled wilderness brings a strong shock. Eyes that are used to seeing tall buildings in the city need to squint slightly and feel the trembling of nature with every breath as the heart beats.
Under the guidance of experts, the off-road vehicle stopped at a fixed location. The photographer got off the vehicle and put down his equipment. The members of the protection organization and the tour leader looked at the map and used binoculars to look out.
Xia Qingwan was wearing a windbreaker and a fluffy hat, fully equipped, squinting his eyes and looking at the mountains and mountain ridges in the distance.
She wore no makeup, and her eyelashes were squinted into a tuft, giving off a cold and melancholy feeling.
The photographer, carrying a camera, scanned everyone's faces before finally fixing his lens on her. "Qingwan, look at the camera."
Xia Qingwan turned around and saw the camera, and asked with a smile, "Are you filming me?"
How do you feel now?
She honestly said, "I'm very nervous, I don't know if I'll be able to see the snow leopard." As she spoke, she turned her head to look into the distance, and the camera followed her, showing her out-of-focus profile in the corner of the lens.
Its cool and serene appearance was unexpectedly well-suited to the vast wilderness.
She felt a sense of vastness and emptiness.
Snow leopards were hard to find and we chased them for three days straight.
At night at the protection base, strong winds occasionally blow.
It was the first time in Xia Qingwan's life that he experienced such a fierce and shrill wind. It felt like the whole world was being torn apart.
In that extreme chaos and disorder, calming down can actually help rebuild a sense of order within oneself.
Listening to the howling wind, I was working on a PowerPoint presentation on my laptop, making final preparations for tomorrow's science popularization presentation. A strange sense of disconnect arose between the grandeur and vastness of nature and the small task at hand.
However, in this sense of separation, Xia Qingwan sensed a subtle sense of solidity and lightness - only by deeply feeling his own insignificance can he realize his own irreplaceability and throw himself into the torrent of mundane affairs without hesitation.
Life is but 30,000 days, and all the hustle and bustle is but mundane affair. It will vanish with the wind, slip through our fingers, and become the past second by second with the ticking of the clock, leaving only the feeling of the present moment.
The feeling is like the wind, light and fleeting, perhaps without any weight, perhaps unaware of where it is about to drift. However, in the instant when the wind stops and the clouds disperse, it will gaze upon an irreplaceable scene.
Skyscrapers and bustling traffic, vast open fields and desolate plains shrouded in mist—all that can be seen is the beauty of nature.
Deep in the magnificent and rugged canyon, Xia Qingwan spent an irreplaceable summer of her 21st year climbing three pairs of hiking boots during that month-long trip.
-
In July, Wang Jingzi took a short vacation and returned to Beijing.
After a short rest at home, he went to Ye Garden to meet up with Ye Peixiu, and then went to the Ye family's old house in Xishan together.
When we arrived, the old man was sitting under the pavilion at the other end of the lawn drinking tea.
Upon seeing Wang Jingzi, the old man greeted him kindly, asking how he had been doing in the past six months and whether he had visited his parents and grandparents.
We chatted cordially for a while.
Treat Ye Peixiu as a transparent person throughout the whole process.
Ye Peixiu sat down on another armchair, lit a cigarette, put his hand on the armrest, smoked halfway, and looked through his sunglasses at the dense forest in the distance that was glittering in the sunlight.
Faced with the old man's praise, Wang Jingzi smiled and said, "I don't deserve it. Even if I achieve something in the future, it will all be the result of President Ye's cultivation."
He knew, of course, that the so-called transfer to a lower position seemed like a demotion, but in reality, it was Ye Peixiu's way of protecting him. Otherwise, if the Pei family took action personally and brought the matter before the old man, it would be disastrous.
The old man snorted coldly and glanced at Ye Peixiu. "His mentorship? What good can one learn from him?"
This glance and seeing his nonchalant look made me even more angry.
"Look at him, so stubborn and unyielding!"
Hearing this, Ye Peixiu laughed and brushed off the ash from his cigarette nonchalantly. "Don't stare at me. In a few years, my brothers and sisters will grow up. There will be so many children for you to choose from and use at your command. It will be enough for you to show your talents."
"How many years can I live?!"
"May you live a long life, and you still have at least twenty more years to live."
"You——" the old man pointed at him, "you are going to piss me off to death."
At the beginning, after Pei Yaxian and Xia Qingwan had a conversation, Ye Peixiu came back and had a big fight with the old man.
This time, even Grandma Cheng Fei stayed away.
All she heard was a series of banging noises coming from the study in the west wing. Cheng Fei waited in fear for an hour. Finally, Ye Peixiu came out first. He looked very normal and didn't look angry at all.
Grandma Cheng Fei walked into the study and saw a mess on the floor. She didn't know who had messed it up.
A month after this major conflict, the old man personally went to Ye Garden.
At that time, Xia Qingwan had already moved all his books and clothes away. Ye Peixiu received his grandfather very calmly throughout the whole process.
After all, they are grandfather and grandson, and the old man personally came to their door to offer a way out, so of course they should reconcile.
However, even after reconciling, the two of them would always start arguing after only a few words.
After so many days, this pattern seems to have become the norm.
At this moment, the grandfather and grandson were calm in the quarrel, which made Wang Jingzi, who was standing by, feel bad and kept trying to smooth things over.
Ye Peixiu felt bored, so he put out his cigarette, left the pavilion, changed his clothes, and went to the court in the back to play tennis.
After he left, the old man sighed and said to Wang Jingzi, "Look, the older you get, the more you go back to your old ways and become rebellious."
Wang Jingzi smiled, tried to appease him, and then, after assessing the old man's expression, continued, "...I've been following Mr. Ye since I graduated. I've learned a lot over the years, not only about how to act, but more importantly, how to establish myself."
"Mr. Ye has always been a self-disciplined and pragmatic person," Wang Jingzi paused. Seeing that the old man's expression had softened, he ventured to say, "...Last year, I occasionally picked up Miss Xia from get out of class. While chatting in the car, Miss Xia said that Mr. Ye's life was 'like a hardship.'"
Hearing this, the old man looked at him.
Wang Jingzi laughed, "I had the same reaction as you at the time, thinking that this little girl, though young, was very insightful about the world and people's hearts."
The old man's expression remained calm. He sighed softly and said, "...He is someone who cares about others and understands their difficulties."
"Boss Ye's position is getting higher and higher, and it's inevitable that it gets lonely at the top. For so many years, there has been no one around him who he can trust."
I finally got this one, but we were separated before we had even been together for a year.
The old man snorted, "Did he send you here as a lobbyist?"
“No,” Wang Jingzi said honestly. “Of course President Ye knows that talking about this kind of thing is useless. He didn’t ask me to say anything. But, since I know President Ye and Miss Xia quite well, and seeing that there is a misunderstanding between you and President Ye, I’d like to take the liberty of expressing my feelings, as a way of doing my part for the Ye family.”
This statement is absolutely flawless.
The old man didn't say anything else.
It's July, and as usual, the old man is about to set off for Beidaihe to escape the summer heat.
This time, Ye Peixiu stayed with his grandfather for a few days.
Everything was ready. Before leaving, Ye Peixiu's father Ye Tingwen called him over and gave him some instructions.
Ye Tingwen is in his early fifties, a prime age, and he commands respect and authority in public.
He knew about Ye Peixiu and the girl, but he had never asked about it. In his opinion, these were minor incidents, insignificant. Whether Ye Peixiu stood up for the girl or dealt with Xia Changping and Qiao Wu, it was nothing to worry about. As long as the incidents were not too outrageous, they were not worth his attention.
He guessed that Ye Peixiu knew what to do and when, and he didn't need to explain it to him, because Ye Peixiu would understand.
"It's all over now, don't make your grandfather angry."
"I see."
"I've already told your grandmother Cheng Fei to stay quiet for the next few years," Ye Tingwen said, "When the time comes, I'll help you choose one myself."
Ye Peixiu, who was standing by the window smoking, looked up at him without saying a word.
-
Arrive at Beidaihe villa.
The old man and a few old friends sat in the courtyard chatting, while Ye Peixiu read a book on the terrace.
In the evening, after dinner, Ye Peixiu played a few games of chess with his grandfather.
Two people sat on rattan chairs under the eaves, playing chess.
Far away from the old house in Xishan, there was no one around, the guards were far away, and there was only the setting sun.
Lush forests, tall bamboos casting slanting shadows, and round lotus leaves create a refreshing and pleasant atmosphere, evoking a sense of timelessness.
Ye Peixiu lost the first two games.
While waiting for Ye Peixiu to collect the chess pieces, Grandpa sighed and said, "Peixiu, it's not that I want you to have a hard time, but I don't want you to take a detour and follow my old path."
When the old man was young, he insisted on marrying Liang Xinwu despite his family's objections.
After more than 20 years of traditional marriage, the couple had been unhappy due to the harsh words of their elders. In addition, Liang Xinwu's family was often involved in trouble, and the atmosphere at home was once very tense.
Later, Liang Xinwu took the initiative to file for divorce. Then, the old man married Cheng Fei, a young lady from the prominent Cheng family.
"Then let me ask you," Ye Peixiu said, "if you could do it all over again, would you still marry Grandma?"
The old man was stunned for a moment when he didn't expect him to ask this.
He was stunned for a long time.
"It all depends on how you define 'detour,'" Ye Peixiu put away the chess piece. "...In my opinion, marrying the one you love is not a detour."
Grandpa leaned back in the rattan chair, looked at him for a long time, and then laughed.
"...You are more like me than your father."
Ye Peixiu smiled faintly, "I take that as a compliment."
“But these things are fine to say to me,” Grandpa picked up the chess pieces and started a new game, “...it’s no use saying these things to your father.”
Ye Peixiu half-closed his eyes, and after a moment, he said, "I plan to go down to the countryside for two years."
The old man lowered his eyes and thought, "...Okay."
-
In early August, Xia Qingwan finished his trip to the Angsai Canyon and returned to Shangjing.
Go to work, read books and memorize them every day.
Pei Meizhu traveled in Europe for a month and went directly to Beijing when she returned to China instead of returning to her home in Shanghai.
She was bored living alone in the villa, so after discussing it with Xia Qingwan, she moved into the Xia family's old house.
In the evening, the two girls watched a movie in the living room wrapped in blankets.
The 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.
While eating snacks, Pei Meizhu said, "I just saw that you have a mimosa tree in your backyard too?"
"Yes, why is it 'also'? Do you have it at home too?"
"No, Ye Yuan also has them."
Pei Meizhu found it strange, "How come I remember Ye Garden didn't exist before? Could I be remembering wrong?"
If I remember correctly.
Xia Qingwan went through it carefully in her mind; there had been no mimosa trees in Ye Garden before.
"Speaking of which... I heard Wang Jingzi returned to Beijing last month? Did you two meet?"
Pei Meizhu asked, seemingly casually.
"No, I was in Qinghai last month."
"...Oh right, I saw your post on WeChat Moments."
The two chatted about their holiday experiences. Just as the movie was showing Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy arguing and confessing their love under the pavilion in the rain, Pei Meizhu's phone rang.
She answered the phone.
Xia Qingwan pressed pause.
"I'm at my sister Qingwan's house."
Seeing that her phone call was getting longer and longer, Xia Qingwan simply stood up and walked to the French windows.
Only upon looking out did I realize that the sound of rain earlier wasn't just background noise in a movie; it was actually raining outside.
The rain poured down relentlessly.
It came on strong.
"You're coming?!"
Pei Meizhu raised her voice.
Xia Qingwan turned her head away, and Pei Meizhu gave her a wink.
After hanging up the phone, Pei Meizhu immediately confessed, "My cousin is coming."
"...Coming to pick you up?"
"No, you said you came to see me."
Pei Meizhu pursed her lips, her eyes flickering, "Judging from that tone, she wanted to sit for a while. He's never been this kind before."
Xia Qingwan gripped the edge of the windowsill. "...When will we arrive?"
He said ten minutes.
Xia Qingwan nodded, turned around and walked towards the side hall.
Pei Meizhu called from behind, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to see the movie?"
"Wait a moment."
As she spoke, she walked to the tea table in the side hall.
The tea leaves in the house are all kept in the drawer under the tea table; she remembers there is white tea.
After a moment, she brought over a tea tray.
I brewed three cups.
Pei Meizhu could have made a joke, but she swallowed the words back.
Xia Qingwan sat on the carpet in front of the sofa with her knees drawn up to her chest and said, "Let's continue watching the movie."
Pei Meizhu took the remote control and turned it on. Less than two seconds later, the doorbell rang.
She looked at Xia Qingwan, "Who will open the door?"
"Go ahead."
Pei Meizhu pulled off the blanket, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the entrance.
Xia Qingwan looked down, casually picked up a book from under the coffee table and opened it. Before she could even see the cover, she heard Pei Meizhu's voice from the entrance hall, "Sister Qingwan made you some tea."
"Yeah."
A soft, deep male voice.
Xia Qingwan's body stiffened.
Hearing footsteps approaching, he caught a glimpse of the cuffs of his trousers out of the corner of his eye, and then looked up.
I had planned to just glance at him and nod as a greeting, but when I looked up, our eyes met immediately.
The two looked at each other for several seconds before Xia Qingwan looked away and said, "Please sit down."
Ye Peixiu sat down on the sofa not far from her, with the corner of the coffee table between them.
Pei Meizhu feigned innocence, offering him the tea with both hands, "Try it."
He added, "I'm going to the restroom."
Once she left, only Xia Qingwan and Ye Peixiu remained in the large living room.
At first, no one spoke.
Xia Qingwan kept her head down, busy flipping through the book.
Ye Peixiu spoke first, "What movie did you watch?"
Xia Qingwan looked up at the screen, where the paused scene was exactly the moment Mr. Darcy said "I love you".
"pride and Prejudice."
Is it pretty?
She nodded.
Have you had dinner yet?
"have eaten."
Fearing he would press her for details about what she ate, she added, "I had pan-fried buns, which were pretty good."
She herself didn't realize that throughout the entire conversation, she kept her eyes down and her fingers were constantly fiddling with the remote control.
Although she didn't look up, she could feel that Ye Peixiu was watching her.
That gaze seemed to carry heat, relentlessly scorching her.
She was wearing a casual sundress, so loose that her legs were completely tucked inside.
Her long hair was neatly gathered behind her shoulders, revealing her delicate profile and a section of her fair shoulder, where he had kissed many times.
Sometimes, he would kiss her from her shoulder down to her neck, and then up to her chin and lips.
Endless tenderness.
Ye Peixiu unconsciously tugged at his collar.
In Xia Qingwan's peripheral vision, one could see the outline of his lower body.
His long legs were naturally open, his waist was hunched, and he was lean yet powerful.
In the past, she would have been able to move over and sit on his lap.
more than.
On one occasion, in Ye Yuan's study, he held her waist and made her sit down on the sofa.
At that moment, the lights were on, and as he licked and kissed her, she didn't even dare to look down at his hair.
Xia Qingwan abruptly stopped her thoughts, stood up, and said, "I'll go check on Meizhu."
Pei Meizhu was peeking into the bathroom through the door. When she saw her approaching, she asked, "My cousin left?"
“No,” Xia Qingwan said, “Weren’t you going to chat?”
"……All right."
Pei Meizhu followed her back to the living room and sat on the sofa.
Xia Qingwan did not return to the original place, but went straight to the kitchen.
He closed the door behind him, leaned against it, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
In the living room.
Pei Meizhu said angrily, "I'm not going back. Who told them to mess with me? I'm just having a relationship, do they have to be so eager to break us up?"
“Your dad said that if you don’t come back next week, he’ll come and take you back.”
“I’m staying at Sister Qingwan’s place. If you don’t tell them, I’d like to see who can find me.”
"Do as you please," Ye Peixiu said. "Since you're staying at her house, you should at least be polite and follow the rules, and not act recklessly."
As he spoke, he slightly raised his chin, gesturing to the potato chip crumbs on the coffee table, "Clean it up."
Pei Meizhu pouted, "Are you here to lecture me?"
While saying it, they dared not disobey, quickly grabbing tissues and the trash can.
"What have you been eating lately?"
"Sometimes we order takeout, and sometimes my sister cooks for us in the evening."
She answered honestly.
Have you washed the dishes?
Pei Meizhu opened her mouth and whispered, "...Start washing today."
Ye Peixiu finished the cup of tea in his hand.
"I'm leaving."
As he spoke, he stood up.
Pei Meizhu immediately dashed to the kitchen.
"Sister Qingwan, my cousin is leaving." She took Xia Qingwan's arm. "Let's see him to the door."
The two of them came to the entrance hall together, and Pei Meizhu said that her stomach hurt again, so she turned around and ran towards the bathroom.
Ye Peixiu walked to the corridor and said, "No need to see me off, it's chilly outside."
"good."
Xia Qingwan stood under the eaves, watching him open the big black umbrella and walk into the rain.
A man in a white shirt and black trousers, tall and with long legs, one hand in his pocket and the other holding an umbrella, his figure gradually blurred into a white and black dot in the misty rain.
He walked along the path in the front yard, his sleeve brushing against the rain-soaked flowers.
The rain blurred my vision, and I couldn't see anything clearly.
Thinking that his car should have already left, Xia Qingwan turned around, took an umbrella from the umbrella stand, and ran down the steps.
Walking through the path to the gate, I could see in the distance an Audi in the dim light, his hands on the steering wheel, his wristwatch gleaming faintly.
The car's headlights pierced the rain.
The rain poured down.
Ye Peixiu saw her figure in the rearview mirror.
Standing far away at the doorway, it grew smaller and smaller.
The original purpose of this trip was to tell her that he was being transferred for at least two years.
However, those words remained in my heart, and I couldn't bring myself to say them.
I'm afraid she'll wait, but I'm also afraid she won't wait.
-----------------------
Author's Note: One more chapter to come, will be posted later.
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