Chapter 76 Spring chill rises to warmth.
When Xia Zhu woke up, she found that she had left the dream and was lying on her bed in the dormitory.
She stared at the bed frame above her head for a long time until her vision fully returned and she could see the gray-blue light filling the room. Then she suddenly sat up in bed, looked around the room, and finally saw Ying Huo sitting at her desk, leisurely with his legs crossed.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds in the early morning room. The curtains blew in through the half-open window behind Ying Huo, and Xia Zhu looked away and shrank back into the quilt.
"Trespassing is illegal." She pulled the blanket up to her mouth, her voice muffled from inside.
"I didn't barge in; I walked in through the window openly. I was going to say hello, but you were fast asleep."
Even someone as expressionless as Xia Zhu couldn't help but roll her eyes under the covers.
"Do you really have to stay here?" She needed to confirm.
“To be precise, I absolutely must stay with you.” After saying that, Ying Huo seemed to think for two seconds, then quickly added, “If I remember correctly, you said you would take in a homeless person like me. I thought you would be someone who keeps your promises…”
Ying Huo's voice grew softer and softer as he watched Xia Zhu get off the bed, swing her arms, and strut aggressively toward him, looking down into his eyes.
"You can follow me, but you must agree to two conditions first."
Her hair fell down, a few strands brushing against Ying Huo's face, causing a slight itch.
"Okay...okay."
“I did say I agreed to let you stay in the team, and for whatever reason, I can’t go back on my word, so…” She lowered her upper body slightly, forcing Ying Huo not to look around and avoid her gaze.
"Condition one: I will be able to complete the leave of absence from school and return to the Feng family in a few days. During this period, you cannot follow me, and I need to consult Feng Feng first. Only if she agrees to let you enter the Feng family territory can you follow me in."
“Condition two,” she paused, taking a deep breath, “I don’t know what your purpose is in following me, but I will never let you hurt my friends, and… and no matter what, I am just Xia Zhu, not… someone you know.”
"These are my two conditions. Do you understand?"
She rattled off a whole bunch of things in one breath, and it was unclear how much Ying Huo actually took in. He just stared blankly with his eyes wide open, and Xia Zhu could see her face, which was too close to his, reflected in those silver-gray eyes.
"Understood."
Ying Huo lowered his eyes, blocking her probing gaze. He lowered his head slightly, seemingly considering the rationality of the two conditions.
Xia Zhu straightened up, no longer looking at him, went back to the bedside to get a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom without a word. Ying Huo was left alone, sinking into the back of his chair, looking down and turning the ring on his hand.
“Harm?” he murmured the word.
When Xia Zhu came out after taking a shower, the room was empty again, with the curtains waving like a lonely hand toward the dimly lit sky.
Over the next few days, Xia Zhu packed up her things in the dormitory, got her leave of absence certificate, and dragged her only large suitcase home.
The house was still the same, but Xia Zhu no longer seemed to be pathologically attached to it. With a peaceful mind, she cleaned the house inside and out, sweeping away the dust and cobwebs that had accumulated in the beams and corners during her absence. She took down the curtains in the room, put them in the aluminum basin where she used to bathe as a child, added laundry detergent, scrubbed them, and finally hung them out to dry in the yard.
He then knocked on his neighbor's gate with two skinny chickens in hand, and finally returned home with a large bag of Sachima that he couldn't refuse.
At night, lying on the bed she had slept in for eighteen years, she began to recall how her grandfather had taught her to grow up, and how she had gained a basic understanding of the world from books. Later, she couldn't help but imagine the future, a clear future in which she would be surrounded by a group of close friends, and together they would see a wider world.
Perhaps that house facing the sea, filled with flowers and adorned with sparkling wind chimes, can also come true.
Thinking of that little house by the sea inevitably brings to mind another person.
Then she fell asleep without realizing it.
The next day, Xia Zhu got up early and went to the incense shop in town to buy some things to take to her grandfather's grave. She hummed a little tune as she swept away some of the withered branches and fallen leaves, leaving the other grass and wildflowers to grow freely.
She sat in front of her grandfather's tombstone and talked to him for a long time, introducing him to all the friends she had made during this time, telling him not to worry about her. Xia Zhu is a completely different person now and is very good at getting along with people.
“There’s one more person…” She touched the mugwort sachet in her inner pocket, her voice growing softer and softer.
"A strange person." Unable to find any other description, she could only use "strange" to explain.
Xia Zhu told her grandfather that the strange person was as beautiful as the moon in the sky, but he spoke harshly and had an unpleasant personality. Strangely enough, she didn't think he was a very bad person.
He was a wealthy man, perhaps of some status, surrounded by many imposing demon gods and sycophantic clansmen. Yet, for some reason, Xia Zhu could sense the same emotions emanating from him as she did.
The more crowded the person is, the sadder they are.
"Grandpa, I was born from Mom's womb after ten months of pregnancy, and you raised me with your own hands, right? I am Xia Zhu, not anyone else..."
It wasn't until the sun was almost setting that Xia Zhu dragged her suitcase out of the village and arrived at the town's bus station.
The spring chill lingered, and she wrapped her coat tighter around herself, standing at the station entrance waiting for the last train to depart. Holding a steaming hot roasted sweet potato in her hand, she finally got to eat her first hot meal after walking for so long. Steam fogged up her glasses, so she had to use one hand to wipe the fog from her eyes.
A car drove into her newly cleared field of vision.
She saw herself curled up in the reflection of the black car window, blinked, glanced at the waiting point sign behind her, hesitated for two seconds, then wrapped the roasted sweet potato up again, put it in her pocket, and dragged her suitcase to the side.
"You want to walk by yourself again, huh?"
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a gloomy face with taut lines and light-colored eyes staring intently at Xia Zhu, who was moving at a snail's pace, with dissatisfaction.
"I didn't intend to leave on my own, I just didn't know how to contact you," she said softly. Although she really didn't know where to find Ying Huo, she still felt inexplicably guilty.
"Alright, I know my place. Now that I'm here, what are you waiting for? Aren't you getting on the bus, Xia Zhu?" He pronounced her name with a distinctive intonation.
“But I’ve already bought a ticket.” She held up the thin ticket stub to her eyes.
"Come on, riding that beat-up car of yours, with its endless shifts, who knows when we'll get to Shushan. Don't you want to see those Feng family members sooner?"
Xia Zhu thought about it carefully, then nodded and dragged her luggage to the door.
"Wait for me, I'll be right back." With that, she ran into the station.
Ying Huo lowered his car window again, rested his elbow on the windowsill, and suddenly felt that the temperature inside the car was particularly high, and the stuffiness made it difficult for him to breathe.
The cool evening breeze blew on his skin, and the slight stinging sensation was just right.
Xia Zhu went there and returned quickly, sitting sullenly in the passenger seat.
"What, they won't give you a refund for your ticket?" Ying Huo mocked her, starting the car and driving along the narrow road in the town.
"Hmm." Xia Zhu was a little down. The ticket couldn't be refunded or exchanged within half an hour before departure, which meant she had wasted several tens of yuan.
That's enough to buy several roasted sweet potatoes.
"Don't be so downcast, how about I make it up to you in some way?"
"Huh? But you don't owe me anything..." Xia Zhu thought that rich people were probably all like this, giving away money without a second thought.
"Isn't this to thank you for taking me in?" He freed one hand and pointed to the back seat of the car, then quickly straightened his body and stared intently ahead. The town was crowded and the roads were narrow, making it difficult to drive.
But he tried his best to remain calm and not give Xia Zhu any clues.
He wouldn't tell her that he got the car through a middleman and that the driver's license was fake. (This is discouraged, strongly discouraged, and a fictional scenario.) Yes, this was his first time driving.
Ying Huo suddenly felt a little proud when he thought of this. He was naturally gifted and could master it after practicing for a while or two.
Xia Zhu took a small square box from the back seat with a puzzled look on her face. When she saw the English on it, she almost gasped in surprise.
"A smartphone!" Her eyes lit up as she held up the phone case, exhaling hot breath from her nose. But she quickly calmed down, unaware that Ying Huo beside her was subtly curling the corners of his mouth into a smile.
"It's too expensive, I can't accept it."
"Don't overthink it. I'm just afraid that next time you'll try to get rid of me with that lame excuse of not being able to contact me." He didn't hear Xia Zhu speak, so he added, "Besides, you saved my life."
Xia Zhu thought about it for a long time before making a decision.
"Thank you, I'll wait until I have money..."
"Stop, who knows when that will be?"
Xia Zhu didn't say anything more, but pursed her lips and couldn't help humming a country tune happily.
"By the way, I agree."
"What?" Ying Huo was focused on the road conditions and didn't react for a moment.
"Xiao Feng agreed to let you come back to the Feng family with me," she explained.
"oh."
A cool breeze blew into the car from both sides of the windows, carrying a smell of earth and mist, trying to disperse the uncontrollable rise in temperature inside the car.
Xia Zhu hummed a song to herself, holding the unopened phone box, gazing at the scenery outside the car window.
Ying Huo tried to focus only on the road in front of her, but her ears unconsciously picked up the words she was humming.
What do you mean by "the green hills and clear waters are so beautiful"?
He had never heard a song like this before, yet he found himself agreeing with it without realizing it.
"You're given a phone to use, not to hold and look at like some precious treasure," he couldn't help but remind her.
"I know." Even though she said that, she still hugged him.
Xia Zhu can be as stubborn as an ox at times.
She had her own considerations; the happiest moment is always the moment she receives something, and happiness is something she cherishes dearly. She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy it as much as possible.
The two drove east, stopping occasionally at service areas to rest. Ying Huo barely slept, while Xia Zhu was very worried, mainly about her own safety, but she didn't have a driver's license and couldn't share the worry.
The only thing she could do was add an extra egg to Ying Huo's bowl when getting instant noodles from the hot water station. But that person, oblivious to her rudeness, poked it with chopsticks, waved it in front of Xia Zhu's eyes, and asked her in an incredibly irritating tone, "Is this something for human consumption?"
Xia Zhu was so angry that she refused to speak to him for the rest of the journey.
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The author says: My mindset has undergone a subtle change again.
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