Chapter 135 Let's switch. It's a promise, you can't lie to me again...
The scene of that day, with the breeze brushing against the man's cheek, seems as vivid as if it were still before my eyes.
But in the blink of an eye, the fleeting white horse never looked back.
At that moment, overjoyed Li Xiao didn't have time to think deeply about how far into the future the other person meant by "after".
He didn't even ask a single question, why...
Later, when Li Xiao realized that everything was traceable, all that overwhelmed him was an increasingly cold and piercing regret.
He was like a fool kept in the dark, carefree and unambitious all day long. Only when he was forced to face the truth did he truly experience the pain of being forced to grow too fast.
Would it be better to die...?
Li Xiao thought that it might not be so bad if the seedlings that had lost their future withered and died directly in the field.
But how could he die with even a sliver of hope?
After all, he hadn't yet waited for Yu Qingzhou to wake up and hear her say those words herself: "You won, so let's date and see."
"Yu Qingzhou, why are you staring at the loquat tree?"
"There is a loquat tree in the courtyard..."
When was that memory? It's both distant and near, blurry and profound, like a lifetime ago, yet it feels like a replay of yesterday.
The bored boy, leaning against the railing, tilted his head and asked a question that had been lingering in his heart for a long time, seemingly unintentionally.
What I heard was this barely audible murmur.
"What?" he asked again.
"nothing."
Yu Qingzhou smiled and said, "You must have been daydreaming during Chinese class again."
A look of guilt flashed across Li Xiao's face as he raised his head and let out a soft snort through his nose: "Fine, I won't tell you then. What's the point of insulting me like this? If you don't want to tell me, I don't want to know anyway."
Yu Qingzhou ignored Li Xiao's complaints and instead softly repeated: "There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, which my wife planted in the year she died. Now it stands tall and spreading like a canopy."
The man's voice was very soft, like the words someone might speak in a dream.
Li Xiao only vaguely understood what he was hearing, but that didn't stop his heart from suddenly tightening.
He stared blankly at Yu Qingzhou.
This person was so close, practically within reach. Yet, for a moment, he feared that the other person might vanish from his sight like a gust of wind, or a butterfly about to take flight.
"Yu Qingzhou..."
Just as Li Xiao was overwhelmed with emotion, Yu Qingzhou threw out a sentence: "High school Chinese textbook, Volume 5 (required)."
"Huh?"
"Eh what?"
As Yu Qingzhou spoke, she turned around, picked up a book, and gently tossed it to the boy.
The latter hurriedly took it and discovered that it was the Chinese textbook that Yu Qingzhou had just mentioned.
"The exam is just around the corner, and you still look completely clueless."
Li Xiao choked. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn; he simply couldn't concentrate on it.
Anyway, as the other person said, with the big exam just around the corner, whether you work hard or not, the result will be the same, so why waste your time?
His father would never watch his only son starve to death, no matter what.
In fact, Li Xiao's good-for-nothing father had considered simply packing up his good-for-nothing son and sending him abroad. He figured that if he came back with a diploma, at least he'd be presentable.
But Li Xiao absolutely refused.
They even went on a hunger strike at one point.
On the surface, it was because he couldn't bear to leave his parents and couldn't get used to life away from home, but in reality, it was just because of Yu Qingzhou.
Just kidding, he already suffered a great loss because of his young age.
If they were thrown into some remote, obscure place and stayed for a few more years, they probably wouldn't even get a scrap of meat.
It is said that no one knows a son better than his father.
Li Xiao's little scheme was obvious to his father, but what was most outrageous was that his father actually supported it.
Some even claimed that this boy had the same demeanor as Lao Tzu back in the day.
As for Li Xiao's mother, she had always been indifferent to her son...
And so, Li Xiao got her wish and stayed.
As a result, I really didn't learn anything.
With the big exam just around the corner, I have no recollection of what I've learned, let alone a comprehensive understanding of it.
Li Xiao is extremely impatient with reading. After finally opening a book and glancing at it twice, he felt overwhelmed.
"Why don't you just tell me directly what it means?" Li Xiao leaned closer to Yu Qingzhou, blinking her two beautiful, eerie green eyes in an attempt to get away with it.
Unfortunately, he forgot that he was no longer the little kid he was when they first met.
The expression he made didn't make him seem innocent at all; instead, it made him look like a wolf in sheep's clothing with a smiling face, clearly plotting something sinister.
Naturally, they could only be pushed aside.
"Yu Qingzhou, how about you kiss me, or I kiss you? Then I'll start studying hard, okay?"
Li Xiao was still thinking about that matter.
It should be said that I'm becoming increasingly itchy and restless.
That brief sip not only failed to quench my thirst, but it also completely whetted my appetite.
But after that, Li Xiao never had another chance, or rather, Yu Qingzhou never gave him that chance again.
It's the time when they're hungry and growing, and to have a plate of fragrant braised pork right in front of them every day, to smell and see but not to taste, is such torture.
"Consider it a little encouragement for this young master~" Li Xiao said with a shameless grin.
Yu Qingzhou raised an eyebrow, looking at the shameless boy with amusement: "Why should I? You didn't learn it for me, did you?"
To everyone's surprise, Li Xiao didn't even blink, nodding readily and saying, "Of course."
Li Xiao felt he hadn't lied, because he really had stayed to study for Yu Qingzhou's sake.
But Yu Qingzhou didn't seem happy at all. Instead, she said, "I don't need it."
He then turned and left the house.
Seeing this, Li Xiao wanted to chase after him, but he didn't expect that his legs would go numb from standing for too long. He stepped on the ground and lost all feeling, becoming rooted to the spot and unable to move an inch.
The textbook that Yu Qingzhou handed him was casually placed on the windowsill.
Another gust of wind, carrying the scent of early summer, blew in through the window, making the pages of the book rustle.
He glanced at it casually, and by sheer coincidence, it was exactly the page Yu Qingzhou had mentioned.
Upon closer inspection, it was no coincidence; Yu Qingzhou had actually placed a bookmark inside.
What kind of article was it?
It seems to be a collection of random writings by a man named Gui Youguang about his daily life reading in his study.
Li Xiao couldn't understand the details either, but he felt that this person was quite pitiful. He couldn't understand his studies and was disliked by his mother-in-law. He finally managed to get married, but his wife passed away before him.
Finally, looking at the loquat tree I planted the year my wife passed away, at the lush and leafy tree, I realized how long she had been gone.
And so came Yu Qingzhou's words—
“There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, which my wife planted in the year she died. Now it stands tall and spreading like a canopy.”
Li Xiao slowly uttered that simple sentence, which contained a husband's deep longing for his deceased wife.
When he first picked up the book, he was just a clueless teenager.
I used to think that what was written in books was ultimately distant, and no matter how poignant or touching it was, it was just something that happened to other people.
Only when he could easily recite that sentence without having to open the book did he truly understand its meaning.
Unfortunately, they were already trapped and unable to escape.
They were unwilling to extricate themselves.
Leaning against the enormous culture chamber, the pale-faced youth murmured to himself, then wearily closed his eyes amidst the droplets and the hum of the machines.
Li Xiao had almost forgotten how long he had been here.
But he knew he didn't have much time left.
"Yu Qingzhou, look, I'm about to do what I promised you."
"..."
"And what about you? When are you going to wake up and fulfill your promise?"
"..."
"Everyone says that liars have to swallow a thousand needles, but I can't bear to do that. So, when we meet, I'll punish you by making you kiss me more often... Although we might not see each other so soon, it won't be long. And I've waited for you for so long, let's switch roles. This time, you wait for me. Let's switch, okay? You can't lie to me again..."
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