Her clear voice with a hint of tears, her innocent face that smiled through her tears, and especially the words: Brother, thank you for saving me, I will marry you when I grow up.
It's a pity that this sentence was said to Ji Zong. At that time, he was struggling to help Shu Mei pick up the clothes she kept talking about from the turbulent river.
Shumei had no idea that Jizong couldn't swim at all at that time, and that she was the one who rescued her from the water. Jizong only helped pull her ashore on the river bank.
"Ji Zong, carry her back to shore first and help her get rid of the water she choked on. I'll go after her clothes. If we're late, they might get washed downstream and be hard to find. When she was dying, she was still mumbling about her clothes. They must have been very important to her."
Boyi, who was only ten years old, used his not-so-strong arms to drag Shumei to the shore and handed her to Jizong who was waiting anxiously there.
"Okay, be careful."
Boyi swam back into the river again, and Jizong dragged little Shumei to the grass. At this time, Shumei was already in a coma because she had choked on the water.
Ji Zong followed the method he learned from adults, pressing Shu Mei's chest hard, and then carried her to a big rock to make her lie down, so that she could vomit out the water in her stomach. Unexpectedly, this folk remedy really worked.
Shumei coughed lightly a few times, and the water from her mouth flowed onto the ground. When she woke up, she looked up and saw Jizong the first thing she saw. In a tearful voice, she said she wanted to marry him.
"Little sister, I'm glad you're okay. Where is your home? Can I take you home?"
At this time, Boyi was returning with the clothes he had retrieved from the river and heard the conversation between the two.
"My clothes, luckily they are still there."
Shumei burst into laughter, climbed down from the rock, snatched the clothes from Boyi's hand, and held them tightly in her arms.
"I live in Kangjia Village on the other side of the river." Xiao Shumei pointed to the other side of the river and said to Ji Zong with a smile.
From then on, Boyi started to be a third wheel, and he did so for twenty-one years.
Perhaps at the time, no one took Xiao Shumei's words to heart. But later, through repeated interactions, the three became close friends. As the saying goes, time breeds affection, and coupled with that deeply remembered childhood message, Xiao Shumei, as she grew older, came to regard Jizong as her true emperor.
Of course, Ji Zong also had a good impression of Shu Mei. When they both reached the age where they understood love, they quickly confirmed their relationship and started a free love relationship with the purpose of getting married.
Although Boyi had developed feelings for Shumei the moment he emerged from the river, he was still young at the time and didn't think about love. But as he grew older, he found that Shumei's position in his heart became more and more important, so important that there was no room for anyone else.
Unfortunately, Ji Zong kept jokingly telling him that Xiao Shumei would be his sister-in-law from now on. Because of his relationship with Ji Zong, he didn't dare to think too deeply about it.
Later, when Ji Zong and Shu Mei confirmed their relationship, he couldn't speak out anymore. This feeling was buried deep in his heart for twenty-one years.
Now that he was in his early thirties, and Shumei was getting old, he didn't know how many twenty-one years he had in his life, and how many twenty-one years he could afford to wait.
"Shumei, have you ever thought about finding someone else to love and care for you and help you support this family?"
In the end, Boyi couldn't help but ask a question to test Shumei.
Shumei walked with her head down, thinking. In the dim light of the flashlight, Boyi saw the sadness on her face.
After a long moment, Shumei finally spoke back, "Boyi, you, Jizong, and I grew up together. Besides Jizong, you're the one who understands me best. I'm also very confused. Can you tell me, is there anyone in this world who can replace Jizong's place in my heart?"
Shumei actually answered him like this, which really puzzled him. Does Shumei really want to start over?
"Yes, it will happen. You are still so young and have suffered so much. God will bless you. You just need to open your heart to accept a new beginning. Believe that there will be a rainbow after the storm."
Shumei sneered after hearing Boyi's words. She said nothing more, and Boyi didn't intend to press the issue any further. He had already waited twenty-one years, so he didn't mind waiting a little longer. He wanted to give Shumei enough time to fully move on from the past.
Boyi sent Shumei to her doorstep before returning to the storage room alone to pick up Xiao Youchen.
The door to the main room was still wide open, and a dim light shone inside. Wu Ju, Zhang Binglin, and Zhang Xiaoqin, who had stayed at her mother's house out of spite, were all sitting in the main room, seemingly waiting for Shumei.
"Mother, have you eaten yet?"
"No! I'm going to wait for you to come back before doing it! Otherwise you'll be cold again when you come back." Wu Ju replied calmly with a blank expression.
Wu Ju didn't even get angry when she came home so late. Ever since her aunt came to live with her, Wu Ju's attitude has really improved a lot. Shu Mei didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Shumei hurried to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
"Mom, did you find out? She secretly ate delicious food outside without telling us and came back." Zhang Xiaoqin's nose was really sharp. She could actually smell the smell of braised meat on Shumei.
"Good stuff? What good stuff?"
"Such a strong smell of braised meat, don't you smell it?"
"She's already eaten it, what can we do? Can we make her vomit it out?"
Zhang Binglin heard the conversation between the mother and daughter, took a deep puff of the cigarette in his hand, exhaled a puff of thick smoke, and shook his head helplessly.
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