Su Shenglin raised his hand slightly, "Let's go sit on that terrace over there, it's less crowded there."
My mouth opened slightly, and after a pause, I asked, "You... don't you have to entertain guests?"
"Aren't you a guest?" The implication was that accompanying me was also a form of entertaining a guest.
My cheeks flushed again. I followed him to the second-floor terrace, feeling the cool night breeze and the fragrance of the mountain grass and trees. The question resurfaced in my mind.
"Mr. Su, I—"
"Jiang Wan, you..."
After a moment of silence, we suddenly turned to look at each other at the same time and started talking at the same time.
Then their eyes met, they both stopped, and couldn't help but laugh.
Su Shenglin raised his hand, "You go first."
I pursed my lips, suppressing my racing heart, and looked at him, asking, "I want to know, did you already know me? And were you deliberately getting close to me all this time?"
Su Shenglin's Adam's apple bobbed, his deep, captivating eyes fixed on me. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke: "Jiang Wan, do you really have absolutely no recollection of me?"
My face went blank, and I stared at him wide-eyed. "I...we know each other before?"
As soon as I said those words, I frantically searched my mind for any trace of the person in front of me, but I couldn't recall anything at all.
Seeing my blank expression, Su Shenglin smiled elegantly and gave me a hint: "It was many years ago, so it's normal that you don't remember it."
"Many years ago?" I was even more puzzled and asked tentatively, "When I was a child?"
"Yes, when you were eight or nine years old, in Xuzhen."
He mentioned a place name, and my eyes lit up immediately. "My maternal grandmother's hometown?"
“Yes.” Su Shenglin leaned slightly against the balcony railing, his handsome face seemingly lost in memories. “I was only about ten years old at the time. Because of my unruly and disobedient nature, my grandfather took me to his military base and I stayed in Xuzhen for three years.”
I frowned and tried hard to recall, but it had been too long and I really couldn't remember.
“I was quite feisty when I was little. My grandma said I dared to fight with the boys in town. Could it be that I beat you up?” Otherwise, how could he still remember me after so many years?
Su Shenglin's smile widened, and he shook his head, saying, "You've never hit me, but you've saved me, twice."
"What? I saved you? Twice?" I was even more surprised, completely forgetting that I had performed such a heroic and great feat when I was a child.
"Yeah, once it was me and a few kids from the military family compound who got into a fight with a group of kids outside while playing basketball. They were a bit older than us, and we got beaten up pretty badly. We were only saved when the police arrived, otherwise it could have been a really big deal. Later I found out that a little girl had run to the police station and called the police, saying that there was a fight at the basketball court, people were bleeding from their heads, and someone was going to die..."
Before Su Shenglin could finish speaking, a distant and fleeting impression flashed through my mind.
It seems that's true...
That day, after playing at my friend's house, I was on my way home when I passed by the basketball court and saw a group of boys fighting. They were picking up bricks from the bushes and throwing them at each other. Their heads were bleeding, but they were still fighting.
I shouted, "Stop hitting! Someone's going to die!" But no one paid any attention to me. So I ran like the wind all the way to the town's police station and called for a police officer.
But when I was halfway home with the policeman, my grandma called me home for dinner, so I went home with her.
"You were among those injured?" I exclaimed in surprise, my voice rising in pitch.
“Yes, I was the one with the bloody head.” Su Shenglin nodded in acknowledgment, then bent down and pointed to the hairline on his forehead. “It’s right here, but it’s been a long time, so the scar isn’t very noticeable anymore—I had to get five stitches back then.”
I looked in the direction he was referring to.
Sure enough, there was a thin scar on his right forehead, near his hairline. It was a light-colored scar that was hard to spot unless you looked closely.
“After I recovered from my injuries, I learned that a kind person had called the police, which is how we were rescued. I went to the town police station to ask the person who called the police, but by the time I found your house, your grandmother had already taken you back to the city, and we missed each other.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.
It turns out that my "connection" with him can be traced back to my childhood.
That's amazing!
"Then... what about the other time?" Since we missed each other, why would I save him again?
Su Shenglin nodded and continued, "Another time, it was during the summer vacation of the following year. I was swimming in the river with two kids from the family compound. Actually, I'm a pretty good swimmer, but I was unlucky that time. Not long after I got into the water, I got a leg cramp. The kids with me saw me being swept away by the current and tried to save me at first, but they couldn't catch up, so they quickly ran to find an adult..."
As he said this, I suddenly remembered!
My eyes lit up as I continued, "I was passing by Xuzhen Bridge on my way to buy ice cream when I saw someone struggling in the river. I quickly shouted for help, but it was the middle of the day and there was no one on the road!"
When Su Shenglin saw that I remembered, a smile appeared in the corners of his eyes and brows. "You rushed down into the river and first threw me a piece of rotten wood, but it was too light and too small, and it was swept away in an instant. Then you picked up a tree root and handed it to me. At that time, I was holding onto the water plants, which were about to break. Luckily, you handed me the tree root in time, and I was fortunate enough to grab it. Just then, my friends who went to get help also called the adults, and they successfully rescued me."
This incident left a deep impression on me.
Because I remember afterwards, several officers in military uniforms came to my grandmother's house with a lot of gifts.
But I was nervous and shy at the time, and I had never seen much of the world. When I saw so many uncles in military uniforms coming to my house, I was terrified and hid in my room.
“My grandfather took me to your house to express our gratitude, but you refused to come out. Only your maternal grandmother received us. I saw you hiding behind the bedroom door, and I even smiled at you.”
"Really?" I asked in surprise, having no recollection of this scene.
Su Shenglin said helplessly, "This is the first time in my life that I've been completely ignored."
I felt a little awkward, and my smile was forced. I said modestly, "Actually, it wasn't really me who saved you that time... Even if it weren't for me, your friends would have called an adult."
"No, I had already drifted a long way in the river by then. My legs were cramping and I couldn't use them. I could only try to tilt my head back to keep my face above water, but I swallowed a lot of water and was exhausted. If you hadn't thrown me the tree root in time, I would have sunk immediately after the waterweed broke. Even if the rescuers had arrived, they might not have been able to save me in time."
After Su Shenglin finished speaking, he stared at me with his deep, intense eyes and said very solemnly, "So you're the one who saved me."
My cheeks were burning hot. I never imagined that something that happened more than ten years ago would be so deeply etched in his memory.
I lowered my eyes shyly, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly remembered something. "Could it be that all these years, you've been watching over me? Then why didn't you... didn't you—"
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