Extra 2
Yesterday the sun shone brightly, but today it's drizzling and the air outside is damp and fresh, with a pleasant chill in the air.
Wen Yan was awakened by a fragrance. He lingered in bed for a while before leisurely getting up to wash up.
He changed out of his pajamas, stretched, and walked into the living room. "It smells so good! What delicious food did you make?"
Su Jibai came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, carrying two bowls of porridge. He smiled and said, "Millet porridge, steamed buns, and fruit and vegetable juice."
Wen Yan smiled and helped Su Jibai take off his apron and hang it on the kitchen wall. She then patted his shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my chef."
The millet porridge looked delicious, with a delicate aroma; the steamed buns were all round and plump; even the fruit and vegetable juice was clear and bright, with a sweet and refreshing taste.
Wen Yan's taste buds were thrilled, "Your cooking skills are getting better and better!"
From the first super salty sandwich he made to the delicious and visually appealing breakfasts he makes now, Su Jibai's culinary skills have made an epic leap forward.
Su Jibai propped his chin up with his hand, his eyes brimming with laughter, "I'll cook for you every day from now on."
After breakfast, the rain stopped, and Wen Yan and Su Jibai went downstairs for a walk.
The grass was green, and dewdrops from the rain still clung to the leaves, glistening and translucent. Several electric bikes sped past, splashing water from the puddles on the road.
Several more parents, clutching pieces of paper, hurried past them with their children.
Wen Yan glanced at them a few more times, and only after looking up at the gleaming flagpole in front of her did she remember that these days were the middle school's visiting days.
Just a few more streets away is his alma mater, the best high school in the south of the city, Nancheng No. 1 High School.
Yan felt nostalgic and said, "Let's go visit my old high school. It's been so long since I've been back."
"Okay." Su Jibai was very interested in everything about Wen Yan.
The school was packed with people. Parents surrounded the teachers, asking questions about their children's grades and whether they could get into Nancheng No. 1 Middle School. Students acted as volunteers, holding loudspeakers and trying their best to maintain order.
Upon entering, there is a fountain, behind which is a wide avenue with bulletin boards on both sides. At the end is a tall and beautiful teaching building with a huge clock embedded in the center, which can be clearly seen from afar.
Su Jibai walked to the bulletin board, his gaze softening. "This is you."
Wen Yan walked over and saw that the photos of this year's outstanding graduates were prominently displayed on the bulletin board, using her own ID photo from her first year of high school. In the photo, Wen Yan pursed her lips, her eyes were clear and gentle, and the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned; even without smiling, she had a smiling expression.
Looking at her youthful photos, Wen Yan sighed, "Three years have passed by in a flash."
Su Jibai seemed to really like that photo, looking at it from left to right, as if he wanted to tear it off and take it home to keep.
Wen Yan hooked her arm around his neck and walked forward, saying, "Don't look, I have plenty of photos at home."
Su Jibai's gaze remained fixed on the photo. "This one too?"
"have."
The two walked up to the teaching building. The stairwell and corridors were full of smiling parents and junior high school students with admiring expressions. They looked around and read through all the stories of famous people posted on the walls.
Wen Yan led Su Jibai through the classrooms where he had spent three years of high school. The classrooms were empty except for the desks and chairs. The blackboard still had colorful doodles by the students, and the walls were covered with colorful sticky notes, all of which contained the students' goals and ideals.
A bunch of curled-up sticky notes were crammed together. Wenyan carefully rummaged through them and found her own sticky note among them.
"I hope to get into S University. If that wish comes true, I also hope to have a relationship."
Wen Yan took a pen out of her pocket and happily ticked it off, "All done!"
"Let's go for a walk on the playground."
Su Jibai paused for a moment, then quietly took off the sticky note and put it in his pocket.
The familiar red running track came into view, with a football field surrounded by grass in the middle, and a few old footballs lying forlornly beside the goalposts.
To the left of the track is a badminton court, and next to it is a basketball court. Several students are playing basketball. The rackets are swung, making a sharp sound as they cut through the air, and the basketballs hit the ground with a dull thud.
Wen Yan sat on the steps, looking at the white line at the start of the track, and seemed to see the scene of her running five thousand meters last year, when the whole class cheered and shouted.
Su Jibai looked at him quietly, "What happy thing came to mind?"
Wen Yan smiled and said, "I participated in the sports meet last year and won first place in the 5,000 meters. I felt really nauseous after the race and almost threw up, but a lot of my classmates cheered me on, so I was still quite happy."
Su Jibai listened attentively, his eyes filled with curiosity and admiration. The schools he had attended all held fun sports meets; he had never seen a sports meet as competitive and exciting as the one at Wenyan School.
“The only place in the whole school without cameras is the wall around the playground.” Wen Yan suddenly pointed to the wall in front of her. “One weekend, I was so tired from working that I overslept. In order to avoid being caught by the teacher on duty and having points deducted from the class, I climbed over the wall here.”
"That day, our teacher happened to be absent from the morning reading session, so I managed to slip by."
Wenyan then looked at the gymnasium not far away, "There's a swimming pool inside, it's huge, and it even has a temperature control system. We look forward to swimming lessons the most in the summer. But there are too many people at school, so they can only schedule two lessons for each class at most per semester."
Wen Yan leaned back, and suddenly something touched his face, tickling him. He turned his head and saw it was a hibiscus flower.
He picked a flower, pinched off the stem, and put it in Su Jibai's mouth. "Suck it, there's nectar inside."
The sweet nectar hit his mouth, and Su Jibai nodded, "So sweet."
"This whole area was planted by the school for our own consumption. Every time there's an event, we eat all the flowers in this area."
After recounting her vibrant campus life, Wen Yan took Su Jibai to the snack street near the back gate. The street was packed with students.
The dessert shop was packed. After finally managing to find a seat, Wen Yan quickly pulled Su Jibai to sit down. He ordered several bowls of dessert and then went next door to buy some barbecue.
The cassava soup was soft and chewy with a sweet flavor. Wen Yan quickly finished a bowl, then took a bite of a beef skewer and looked at Su Jibai, who was eating sesame milk pudding, with a smile. "This soup looks just like you—"
Su Jibai raised his face, twitched his eyebrows, and waited for him to finish speaking.
"White on the outside, black on the inside."
Su Jibai smiled, put down his spoon, and pinched his cheek. There were too many people here; he'd deal with him when they got back.
The two had already eaten their fill, so they only strolled around the food street without buying anything, and finally went for a walk in the small park.
An old man was holding a large handful of cartoon-themed balloons. Wenyan bought two: one with a sheep design and the other with a white branch design.
He tied the Pleasant Goat to his own hand and tied a white branch to Su Jibai. He shook his hand, then pulled off the Pleasant Goat and hugged it. "When I was little, I would buy one to play with every holiday. Once I accidentally let go and the balloon flew away. After that, I always tied it to my hand."
Su Jibai looked curiously at the balloon floating above his head. "What's the name of this rabbit?"
Wen Yan paused for a moment, then stroked her chin. "This animated film doesn't exist in the novel world. I'll take you to see it when we get home."
"good."
After walking along the cobblestone path for a while, the stone ox statue, hidden behind lush green leaves, suddenly appeared. Wen Yan patted its head and said, "When I was a child, I would come here every year to ride it and take a picture. But I stopped riding it when I grew bigger than it."
Su Jibai's gaze shifted from the stone ox to Wen Yan. The size difference was significant, and he laughed so hard his shoulders shook.
Wen Yan silently locked his throat with her arm and threatened him fiercely in his ear, "If you laugh again, I'll ride you like a bull tonight!"
“Okay,” Su Jibai said, his smile fading but the curve of his lips remaining. “Want to take a picture?”
Wen Yan tightened her grip, "I'm going to kill you!"
In the koi pond, the glow of the streetlights blended into the water's surface, and golden-red koi swam in the water, swaying their tails, their scales shimmering.
There was a self-service fish feeder nearby, five yuan a bag. The carp in the water were all plump and healthy, clearly having been fed a lot.
Looking at the fat carp blowing bubbles, Wen Yan suddenly said quietly, "When I was a child, I would use my pocket money to buy feed for them whenever I came here. I only realized how silly I was when I grew up."
Su Jibai: "Why?"
Wenyan said, "We pay to feed the fish, and the park manager saves money and makes money at the same time. Five yuan a pack is too much of a rip-off. Outside, it's five yuan for two packs! I should have used that money to buy snacks when I was a kid!"
Su Jibai couldn't help but chuckle, "These fish have grown so big thanks in part to you."
Two carp suddenly leaped out of the water, their scales shimmering, as if echoing Su Jibai's words.
Wen Yan said, "...Consider it an act of good karma."
A crescent moon hung in the dark night sky, its light faint. Dark clouds filled the air, as if another downpour was imminent, and the air was heavy and oppressive.
The two walked out of the park hand in hand. People came and went, and even though they were stared at with surprised looks, they did not let go of each other's hands.
The usually composed Su Jibai was puzzled, "Why are they staring at us like that?"
Wen Yan sighed, "Because in this world, homosexuals are a minority, and same-sex marriage is not protected by law."
Su Jibai was taken aback, his eyes wide with surprise. "This world is really strange."
Wen Yan smiled and said, "That's right, this world is really strange."
There were many stalls set up at the entrance of the community. When Wenyan saw watermelon juice, she ran over excitedly and said, "I want a glass of watermelon juice."
The two of them shared a glass of watermelon juice, almost taking turns sipping it. Passersby stared at them in astonishment, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
Wen Yan wasn't about to back down either, glaring at them fiercely. They lowered their heads and quickened their pace to walk past.
Su Jibai frowned and said, "Strange person."
Wen Yan suppressed a laugh, wanting to tell Su Jibai that in other people's eyes they were the weirdos, but seeing his somewhat angry expression, she stopped herself from speaking.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Su Jibai asked, "Are they discriminating against homosexuals?"
“Hmm…” Wen Yan’s eyes darted away, “You could say that… some people discriminate and some people don’t.”
He gripped Su Jibai's hand tightly, "Who cares about them? Why should we care about what other people think?"
Su Jibai nodded, "Yes. I used to think it would be painful for you to leave the place you grew up in, but now that you've experienced life here with me, I feel like you're happier in the book."
Wen Yan kicked at the pebbles by the roadside, her voice muffled: "Actually, I'm someone who's very afraid of being alone. After my parents passed away, I was all alone at home, and that feeling was truly terrifying..."
“After my parents passed away, the government sent me back to the orphanage, but I didn’t want to. I would always sneak over the wall to go home. My adoptive parents treated me like their own child and loved me very much. Their home is my home. There are so many wonderful memories here. I don’t want to leave here and live in a strange place again.”
“After climbing over the wall so many times, the government couldn’t do anything about it. They could only give me a living allowance every month and send someone to check on me on time. I clean my house every day, and I change my clothes as soon as they get even a little dirty. I want to prove to them that I can live well on my own, so that the government won’t send me to an orphanage.”
Wenyan's voice grew softer and softer, her steps slower and slower. "The longer I live alone, the lonelier I feel. Especially when I come home from school, there's no one there. I really... I wish someone was home waiting for me, even if it's just to say a word or two each day..."
Hearing his words, Su Jibai's eyes reddened. She suddenly stopped, hugged him tightly, and said in an extremely gentle voice, "Now you have a new home. Uncle Wen, Aunt Wen, and Brother Wenling all love you very much. I love you too. We will always be with you and will never let you feel lonely again."
"I love you all very much too." Wen Yan nestled in his arms, absorbing his warm body temperature.
The two hugged for a long time until the dark clouds covered the moon and then the moon reappeared, shining its light on them. Only then did they hold hands and go home.
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