Ruan Qiuyue was sorting things in the house. She was surprised to see Ling Yao. She was stunned for a moment and greeted him with a smile: "Hello, scientist."
Ling Yao couldn't help introducing himself again: "Not really, just call me Ling Yao."
Ruan Qiuyue smiled, "Okay, Brother Ling Yao."
Just after she finished speaking, Ruan Hongjun and Ruan Hongbing came in again carrying sacks.
The two put down the sacks, took a breath, and said with beads of sweat on their heads: "One more move should be enough."
There was no rush to go back and move again. Ruan Xi told them: "Take a break and drink some water first." Ruan
Hongjun was no longer in a hurry to go. He followed Ruan Xi to the main house with Ruan Hongbing and Ruan Qiuyue. Ling Yao naturally followed behind. When they got to the house, the five of them sat down at the round table and drank water with their cups.
The water had been boiled long ago, and now it was cool, just right for cooling off.
Ruan Hongjun finished a large glass of water in one gulp, put down the glass and took a long breath.
After he finished, he looked at Ling Yao and asked, "Did the elder sister ask you to help us move?"
Ruan Xi was about to say no, because she had a hard time taking a break on Sunday, so how could she ask him to do physical work like moving? But before she could finish her words, Ling Yao looked at Ruan Hongjun and nodded and said, "Yes."
Ruan Xi was speechless for a moment, and could not say anything, so she had to smile at him with the corners of her mouth raised.
Ruan Hongjun was very impolite, and smiled and said, "Then you can ride the tricycle later."
Ling Yao did not refuse, and directly responded, "Okay."
Ruan Hongjun reached out and patted him, "Okay, what's good?"
Then he looked at Ruan Hongjun, "If you are tired, then let me ride."
Before Ruan Hongjun could say anything, Ling Yao said again, "It's okay, I'll ride."
Ruan Qiuyue and Ruan Hongbing watched them fighting over things, and silently picked up their cups to drink water.
Because Ruan Qiuyue and Ruan Hongbing could not help much, Ruan Xi did not let them go with him when he went to the countryside to move things. He just pulled the things over and asked them to help move them and tidy up each room.
After a good rest, Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun were ready to go back for the last move, and this time Ling Yao would help.
The three of them walked out of the courtyard gate, and Ling Yao went straight to the tricycle and sat down.
Ruan Xi followed him, grabbed his arm and pulled him down, "Get down, get down, I'll ride."
The tricycle itself is relatively heavy, and it has three wheels. Riding it is tiring and slow, and it is not as convenient as riding a bicycle. If he really wants to help, let him ride a bicycle.
But Ling Yao sat still, looked at her and said, "I'll ride."
Ruan Xi: "..."
Sure enough, he is not the same child as when he was a child, and the way he speaks has changed.
He was very obedient when he was a child, basically whatever she said was what she did, and she never refused to negotiate.
In that case...
Ruan Xi hesitated for a moment and let go of his arm, "Then you ride."
Ruan Hongjun rode his bicycle and stopped next to Ling Yao and said to him, "Just ride over there, I'll take a breath, and I'll ride when I come back to get things, and you can ride the bike then."
Ling Yao turned to look at him, "It's okay, I'll do it."
Ruan Hongjun smiled, "If you don't mind being tired, that would be great."
The three of them rode out of the alley and hit the road, Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun on bicycles, and Ling Yao on a tricycle.
Ruan Hongjun rode his bike beside Ling Yao and kept muttering: "You don't seem to like talking much. You look like someone who is not easy to approach. Are all scientists like this? Can you make friends this way?"
What kind of questions are these? Ruan Xi cleared his throat at Ruan Hongjun, but Ruan Hongjun didn't respond.
Ling Yao said: "I don't have much time or opportunity to make friends."
Ruan Hongjun: "I really don't have any friends!"
Ling Yao: "Not really, colleagues are friends."
Seeing that the two of them were chatting like this, Ruan Xi didn't care and just listened quietly.
Ruan Hongjun said again: "Then you definitely don't have a girlfriend."
Ling Yao didn't respond, but suddenly looked at Ruan Xi and asked: "Xixi, what about you?"
Because she didn't participate in the chat, Ruan Xi didn't react for a while and asked: "Ah? What about me?" Girlfriend?
Before Ling Yao asked again, Ruan Hongjun continued, "She is alone and her mind is all on making and selling clothes. You know my cousin Ruan Jie, she is one year younger than my eldest sister. She got married a long time ago and is about to have a baby. She is with someone in our compound. The third aunt is worried about my eldest sister and said she wants to find a matchmaker to find her a partner."
After that, he asked Ling Yao, "Aren't your family members worried?"
Ling Yao said, "My family doesn't care about me so much."
Maybe because he was too strict with him in the countryside during those years, his personality became more dull. Zhou Xueyun always felt that she owed him, and basically didn't care about him later. Zhou Xueyun would not arrange anything for him that he didn't want to do.
Ruan Hongjun continued to ask: "How old are you? You look about the same age as my eldest sister."
Ling Yao nodded, "Almost."
Ruan Xi had already caught up with the topic and said, "To be precise, you are one year younger than me."
Ling Yao glanced at her and said, "There is no difference between being one year younger and being the same age."
Ruan Hongjun understood, "No wonder my eldest sister called you 'baby' when she was little, it was because you were younger than her and she treated you as a little brother, so she called you that." As he said this, he suddenly laughed, "I wonder if she originally wanted to call you little brat."
Ruan Xi couldn't help but laugh , stopped and looked at Ruan Hongjun: "Don't talk nonsense, it's not just because of his young age, he looked very young when he was a child, so cute, tender and adorable, who wouldn't want to pinch him when seeing him? He's just a cute little kid."
Ruan Hongjun still smiled: "Look, isn't he a little kid?"
Ruan Xi rolled her eyes at her, and he suddenly said in a tut-tut sound: "I don't remember at all, and I can't imagine what he looked like when he was a child, tender and adorable. It's really hard to imagine..."
He doesn't look cute or tender at all now, and he doesn't look cute at all.
Ling Yao cleared his throat while riding the bike, "It's all in the past. I've grown up now. I'm not a brother or a kid."
Seeing him resisting so much, Ruan Xi couldn't help laughing again - it seems that the name of kid really hurt him.
The three of them chatted and hurried to the countryside.
When they got to the countryside, they drove into the yard one by one and parked. Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun took Ling Yao into the house to drink water. They poured water and sat down to rest, taking a big sip to slow down their breath.
Ruan Cuizhi heard the noise and came out of the main house. She came in and said, "Are you exhausted? I told you to wait until your uncle is free and let him help move it, but you insisted on moving it by yourselves, going back and forth so far."
Ruan Xi put down the bowl in her hand and continued, "It's just a small matter. We have no problem."
Ruan Cuizhi was about to say something else when she saw a stranger standing up from the table. Of course, he stood up out of courtesy when he saw her enter the house. She was slightly startled, her eyes sparkled, and she suddenly smiled and asked, "Xiaoxi, who is this?"
The boy was good-looking, tall, and looked really handsome.
Ruan Xi also stood up, "You don't recognize me? Ling Yao."
Ruan Cuizhi was surprised, "Huh?"
After saying "huh?", she looked at Ling Yao carefully again, with an expression of disbelief on her face.
Ling Yao said, "Auntie, I am Ling Yao."
Ruan Cuizhi still didn't dare to believe it, and smiled and said, "You have changed a lot, you are different from when you were a child. I still remember what you looked like when you were a child. You went to the tailor shop every day to study with Xiaoxi and Xiaojie."
She thought Ruan Xi had found a partner and suddenly brought him back.
Since it wasn't, she naturally didn't mention it. She asked again, "Ling Yao, you are also in Beijing?"
Ling Yao nodded, "Yes, I work here."
Ruan Cuizhi smiled and said, "That's great, come and visit often when you have time in the future."
In fact, she knew Ling Yao was in Beijing. A few days ago, Ruan Xi brought Ruan Qiuyue and others back from the city to play, and several children mentioned this matter, saying that he was regarded as a little fool at the beginning, but now he is amazing.
Especially Ruan Changsheng was very shocked when he heard it, "That little fool? He was so silly when he was a child?"
Now he brought it up again, of course, for the sake of greeting.
After a few words of greeting, Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun stopped standing and took the time to move all the remaining things onto the car. There was no room on the tricycle, so they tied it to the back of the bicycle as they had done in the previous trips.
Ling Yao, Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun greeted Ruan Cuizhi together, and then rode to the yard.
The tricycle was heavier with the things towing, so Ling Yao naturally did not let Ruan Xi and Ruan Hongjun ride. Ruan Xi was a girl with less strength, and Ruan Hongjun was young, so he was the most suitable person to ride, so Ruan Hongjun and Ruan Xi were still allowed to ride.
After walking for more than half an hour, Ruan Hongjun turned around and said, "Sister, I'll ride over first. When I get to the place, I'll put the things down and come back to pick you up. Let me ride your tricycle."
Ruan Xi held her breath, "You go ahead, and rest when you get there."
Ruan Hongjun didn't respond, but pedaled the tricycle and left, pedaling the tricycle so hard that it almost flew up.
Ruan Xi watched Ruan Hongjun walk away, turned around and said to Ling Yao: "We are not in a hurry, just ride slowly."
Ling Yao looked at her and smiled, "I am not in a hurry either."
Ruan Xi turned her head to look at her for a moment, and when the front of the car was about to tilt, she quickly steadied it and looked forward. She seemed to have discovered another similarity between him and before, that he could only smile easily when talking to her.
It's not that he never smiles at others, but he smiles less, and when he smiles occasionally, it only stays at the corners of his mouth.
Ruan Xi took a deep breath, looked at the road in front of her, and smiled slightly unconsciously.
As soon as Ruan Hongjun left, he seemed to be willing to speak actively, and suddenly asked Ruan Xi: "You haven't been in love and married for so long, have you never met the right person?"
Speaking of her age, she is not young anymore, and according to her conditions, she should not be single until now. In his previous imagination, she should have found her ideal partner, walked into the marriage hall, and lived a happy life.
He really didn't expect that she is still single now, after all, Ruan Jie is already married.
Of course, although he didn't expect it, although he had already made up his mind, but when he saw her appear in the auditorium that day, he was not even sure if it was her, but he still lost control of his mind at that moment.
It was a big joke, but he didn't regret it.
Even if she is married now, he and her will still be strangers, and he doesn't regret doing that day.
Hearing him ask this, Ruan Xi turned her head to look at him and replied, "It's not our destiny yet."
Although she has been very busy and has not left much space in her mind to think about this matter, she is indeed not in a hurry, but she has not deliberately avoided or rejected this matter.
Anyway, it didn't work out, so that's it.
During the four years of college, school romances were not allowed, and everyone was studying, but no one expressed that kind of intention to her. After graduation, she thought Xu Zhuo might confess to her, but Xu Zhuo didn't. She
did consider whether she would refuse or choose to give it a try if Xu Zhuo confessed to her.
Of course, because they had known each other for so long, from middle school to college, and had been friends for seven or eight years, they were really too familiar with each other, so there was no feeling of heartbeat and passion, and he should be the same.
Xu Zhuo left without confessing
his love, so that was fine. When she was working at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, some colleagues liked to introduce her to potential partners, but she didn't meet anyone she could get along with. Two of them showed their affection to her and wanted to pursue her, but they stopped immediately after she asked for her resignation.
The world of adults is realistic, and no one gets married for love.
In the one year since she quit her job, she has spent most of her time in the countryside, drawing pictures and cutting fabrics, or going to the city to visit old customers and choose fabrics and materials.
Although Ruan Cuizhi and the others wanted to introduce her to someone, they didn't want to find a country matchmaker to find a country man for her. And since they didn't know anyone in the city, they delayed it and hoped that Ruan Xi would find someone herself.
Ruan Xi herself was not proactive and always said that she would just let it go, so she just kept dragging it on until now.
But Ruan Xi didn't elaborate on this. She asked Ling Yao, "What about you?"
Ling Yao said, "I think I'm still young."
Ruan Xi: "..."
What do you mean! Is she old just because she's one year older!
Even if the ages of two lifetimes are added together, she still thinks she's eighteen years old!
Ling Yao looked at the expression on her face and laughed, "You and I are still young. I don't think there's any need to rush."
Ruan Xi put away the expression on her face and said with satisfaction: "I think so too."
Twenty-five in virtual age and twenty-four in actual age, what's the rush?
She was almost thirty in her previous life, and she had never been in a hurry about this. Just live your life the way you want.
At this point, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao were completely relaxed. Especially Ling Yao, it was as if he had taken off his guard. The expression and tone of his voice had changed a lot, and he was no longer as distant as before.
The two walked forward side by side while chatting.
The farther they walked, the less distance they felt, and the more familiar they felt.
Ling Yao's eyebrows triggered memories, and Ruan Xi unconsciously remembered that when she was fourteen years old, she and Ling Yao went to the town to buy wine for the old tailor, and walked side by side on the mountain road. When they were tired, they held hands, and finally almost dragged each other to the town.
The figures of the two children at that time slowly overlapped with the current scene.
She looked at Ling Yao and couldn't help laughing, and Ling Yao also smiled.
The faded memories of those two years were suddenly ignited, the dust film scattered, and the temperature was transmitted to the present. The eight years of time and distance between them seemed to have melted and disappeared in this instant.
When the two were chatting and were about to ride to the city, Ruan Hongjun came back on an empty bicycle. He rushed to Ruan Xi, braked to stop, gave the empty bike to Ruan Xi, took Ruan Xi's bike and said, "Sister, you can ride the empty bike and take a rest."
Since he was back, Ruan Xi didn't be polite to him anymore.
She rode the empty cart and after entering the city, she suddenly thought of something and turned to Ruan Hongjun and Ling Yao and said, "You guys take your time and go home directly. I'll go buy some things." She rode the empty
cart first and went to buy a lot of food, snacks, fruits, and a big watermelon.
When she got home after buying the things, Ruan Hongjun and Ling Yao had not arrived yet. So she went to the kitchen to get a big basin, and filled a basin of tap water next to the stone trough in the yard, and put the watermelon in it to soak.
Ruan Hongjun and Ling Yao arrived just after the watermelon was soaked, so they moved all the things into the house, put them in the rooms where they should be, and then sat together at the table in the main room to eat watermelon.
Ruan Hongjun took a big bite of the watermelon and said comfortably, "It's so sweet!"
Ruan Xi ignored him and looked at Ling Yao and asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll treat you to it later."
Ling Yao ate the watermelon and said, "I'm not picky, anything is fine."
Ruan Xi had to look at Ruan Hongjun, who worked the hardest, and said, "Old Five, what do you want to eat?"
Ruan Hongjun said bluntly, "I want to eat meat!"
As he wished, after eating the watermelon and resting for a while, Ruan Xi took them to the restaurant. They ordered a table full of meat, pork, mutton, beef, fish, shrimp, whatever meat was available.
Ruan Hongjun smiled happily, "You are really my dear elder sister."
While eating, Ruan Xi looked at Ling Yao and said, "This time it doesn't count as repaying the last meal. I will find time to treat you next time."
Ling Yao was naturally not polite and did not refuse. She replied, "Okay."
Ruan Hongjun, Ruan Hongbing and Ruan Qiuyue did not say anything. They were really hungry and ate everything with chopsticks.
After dinner, they left the restaurant and went home. The three of them were so full that they burped.
When the five of them returned to the courtyard, Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan had already closed the store and returned from dinner. After they came back, they were not idle. They were packing things in their rooms, making the bed, folding the quilt and arranging clothes.
They agreed with Ruan Xi that the main room would be for Ruan Xi to live in. The space was large enough for Ruan Xi to put a chopping board and put machines in it as a workshop. In the future, he could concentrate on designing, drawing and making patterns here without being disturbed.
Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan lived in the east room, which had three rooms in total. When school started
, they took Ruan Dabao to live in the east room as well. The remaining west room would be left empty for the time being and used as a guest room. Whoever came over would live there.
The back room was not used because it faced north and did not see sunlight all year round. It was used to store miscellaneous items.
Seeing Ruan Xi and the others coming back from dinner, Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan stopped what they were doing. Before they spoke to Ruan Xi and the others, they saw Ling Yao, and Ruan Changsheng asked first, "Huh? Who is this?"
This time, Ruan Xi didn't say anything, and Ruan Hongjun said, "Don't you know her? It's Ling Yao."
Ruan Changsheng recognized her immediately after hearing this, and hurriedly smiled and came up to shake hands with Ling Yao, "If we were walking down the street, we would definitely meet this person. " I really can't recognize you. I heard from Xiaoxi and the others that you are very good now and a scientist."
Ling Yao said, "Not that good, just ordinary."
Ruan Changsheng let go of his hand, still smiling and said, "I really didn't expect that a child who was so quiet and silent when he was young could become like this now. I thought you were stupid at that time, but now I know that we are stupid." Those
who think that studying is a bad thing are all big fools!
Ling Yao stood and exchanged a few words with Ruan Changsheng, and then sat down to chat.
Seeing that the night outside was getting darker, Ruan Xi looked at the time on the clock and asked Ling Yao, "It's getting late, why don't you go back first? I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for you to go back too late."
After all, he is living in a unit now, so it's better not to go back too late.
Ling Yao looked at the night outside, nodded to Ruan Xi, stood up and said to Ruan Changsheng and the others, "It's really late, you still have to clean up the room, then I won't bother you, I'll go back first."
After saying that, he looked at Ruan Xi again, "If you need anything, call me."
Ruan Xi nodded at him, "Okay."
Ling Yao was ready to leave, and when he went out, Ruan Xi followed behind to see him out.
Ruan Changsheng wanted to go with him, but Qian Chuan pulled him and winked at him, so he paused. Seeing that Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan didn't go out to see them off, Ruan Hongjun, Ruan Hongbing, and Ruan Qiuyue naturally didn't go out either.
Ruan Xi sent Ling Yao to the gate and told him: "It's dark, be careful on the road."
Ling Yao turned around and said: "I will be careful, you go back soon."
Ruan Xi watched him go down the stairs and go around the stone lion in front of the gate.
When he was about to walk to the side of the bicycle, she suddenly called him: "Ling Yao."
Ling Yao stopped, turned around in the night, looked at her and waited for her to speak.
Ruan Xi hesitated for a while and said: "You wrote me three letters after you returned to the city, and I didn't receive any of them. At that time, my mind was full of other things, and I was relieved to know that you returned to the city. I didn't worry about you because I knew you would live a good life, so I didn't think much about it. Later I found out that the letters were burned, and I beat her up."
Ling Yao stood there for a long while, then said, "I'm sorry, I didn't think much about it... I was afraid that writing letters all the time would disturb your life, so I stopped sending letters after the college entrance examination was resumed... Maybe I should write a few more letters... Maybe... I should send them to the countryside..."
Ruan Xi raised the corners of her mouth slightly, "It's okay, I know what you want to say."
Ling Yao looked at her, smiled, and his eyes were like water.
The alley at night was very quiet. The two smiled at each other across the night. The round moon hung over the alley, illuminating the two stone lions in front of the door, and also illuminating the faces of the two people. Feeling
comfortable, Ruan Xi said again: "Hurry back, I'll treat you to dinner next Sunday."
Ling Yao smiled and replied: "Then I'll come to you."
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