Chapter 101 (Part 1)
"Did you beg? Did you beg?"
The others pretended to be guessing Liang Mei's electrical appliance attributes, but their minds were actually on the railing. As soon as Gao Dian returned, Zheng Miaojia couldn't wait to wink at him.
Zhu Xiaoliang and Liang Mei exchanged a glance. "So you both knew all along."
“Of course it’s obvious, I guessed it. When I saw you two earlier, I wasn’t as excited as you two. Qiaoqiao is going back to Beijing soon, what else can he do if I call you two back?” Zheng Miaojia finally said.
As Zhu Xiaoliang clicked his tongue in amazement, he glanced at Liang Mei, then looked at Miao Jia with newfound respect, saying, "Little Miao Jia, you used to be so quiet, but now it seems you're the one with the most mischievous ideas."
Liang Mei rarely interjected, saying, "Li Yingqiao's wicked ideas are written all over his head, but you're the only one who can't see them."
Zheng Miaojia chuckled, her eyes gleaming mischievously as she looked at Liang Mei: "So, Teacher Liang, what did you and Qiaoqiao talk about just now?"
Liang Mei's expression froze slightly.
Actually, they didn't talk much. Li Yingqiao said that if she didn't come back this time, she planned to go to G province to find her before returning to Beijing.
Liang Mei scolded her for being a Monday morning quarterback.
“Comrade Liang Mei, you haven’t changed at all. You never hesitate to assume the worst about me,” Li Yingqiao retorted sarcastically.
Liang Mei glanced sideways, expecting the master and apprentice to engage in another verbal battle, but the next second, both of them couldn't help but laugh, their eyes meeting briefly before looking away. The fine lines at the corners of Liang Mei's eyes instantly deepened, and she became more kind and gentle, unlike her previous unapproachable and harsh demeanor.
She asked, "When did you two get together?"
"It'll only take a few months."
Liang Mei recalled Yu Jinyang's visit to G Province to deliver donated winter clothes to the children and exclaimed in surprise, "You two haven't been in touch for the past few years?"
Li Yingqiao nodded honestly: "No, he went abroad to study in Chicago. He decided to give up his job and come back from abroad because of his father's foot injury."
Liang Mei said, "You called me once when you were in Beijing. You haven't called him once in all these years, and he hasn't called you either?"
Li Yingqiao didn't speak, quietly watching the river not far away. She knew what Liang Mei would say, so she dared to fight; she also knew what Yu Jinyang would say, so she didn't dare to fight.
Liang Mei sighed softly, "Li Yingqiao, I often wonder whether I helped you or hurt you. If I had just left your mother's salary on the table and left that time, what would you be like now?"
“Then I definitely won’t be able to get into a university in Beijing,” Li Yingqiao thought seriously. She had always found studying tedious, and Shuli never forced her. She frankly said, “If it weren’t for you and Teacher Zhu, the rest of us might have… except for Miao, who will eventually go abroad. It’s just that I was too naive back then. I accidentally saved people twice, and with a bit of cleverness, I really thought I was a hero—”
At this point, she smiled, with a self-deprecating tone: "I thought I could change the world... I felt I could definitely make a name for myself in Beijing. So after the college entrance exam, I arrogantly wrote those letters to the education bureau to help you seek justice."
She lowered her head. "Now I finally understand why you tore up our letter that time."
Liang Mei watched her quietly. Li Yingqiao had really grown up a lot. She couldn't say she was gratified. She had once hoped to see a Li Yingqiao who was so mature, sensible, and able to weigh the pros and cons. But now that she had actually seen her, she realized that she had never understood the complexity in Tan Xiujun's eyes before. It was precisely the unspeakable melancholy she felt for Li Yingqiao at this moment.
Actually, after I scolded her in the rain that day, she cried herself when I turned around and went home.
Since no one knew where those letters would end up, it would be a better outcome if they were simply ignored and discarded. The real fear was that if they were noticed, their names would be forever linked with Liang Mei's. At that time, the director of the Education Bureau was also a confidant of Li Boqing, and Qian Dongchang's job was arranged by him.
But these high school students obviously didn't understand the stakes involved. It wasn't that she hadn't tried; no one could pry open that intricate web of personal connections, like a spiderweb. Liang Mei had even compromised before; it wasn't that she hadn't knocked on the bureau chief's office door—
Liang Mei, who had never spoken a kind word to anyone in her life, humbly apologized, saying that she had acted too aggressively and would reflect on her actions, hoping that the leaders could give her another chance.
However, these compromises and concessions were met with Qian Dongchang's later sarcastic remark when he came to her door, saying, "Liang Mei, you're nothing special."
Only then did she truly realize what she was fighting against. At that time, the entire economy of Fengtan was driven by the wooden toy industry. The county government leadership was rotated every few years, and everyone was under Li Boqing's guidance. Qian Dongchang was a man who was willing to risk everything.
However, the wave of corruption swept through the capital after that, gradually spreading from the city center, and it was only in recent years that it reached a small place like Nanlai City. With the decline of the wooden toy industry, Li Boqing's foundation gradually began to crumble.
But she had long since given up on being a teacher.
If it weren't for that time when she delivered that salary to Li Shuli and saw Li Yingqiao huddled in a bungalow in the far corner of the farmers' market, surrounded by the incessant chirping of chickens, ducks, and geese.
In the center of that two-bedroom apartment, an old, standing fan, seemingly on its last legs, creaked and groaned as it swayed precariously. Meanwhile, a fourteen-year-old girl, munching on sunflower seeds and glued to a comic book on her computer screen, grinned from ear to ear, completely unaware that if she didn't study hard, her own life, like that of the fan, was nearing its end.
She decided to be a teacher one last time, no matter how far it could take her.
So Liang Mei broke up with Li Yingqiao in the most intense way back then, in order to stop her from interfering in her affairs, and also because she was afraid that if she told these ignorant kids some things, you would never know what stupid things they might do with their mindset at that time.
Just like Zhu Xiaoliang, who was doing well as a teacher, he resigned with her in a fit of anger. However, at that time, he was also arrogant and thought that he had a talent for teaching mathematics and that the school would try to retain him. Unexpectedly, she agreed without even thinking about it.
Liang Mei couldn't help but laugh as she said this: "Isn't he stupid? People are just worried about not being able to get in through connections."
Li Yingqiao smiled too, her thoughts drifting back to that afternoon. After she broke off her friendship with Yu Jinyang, they no longer had a math buddy. Liang Mei then brought Zhu Xiaoliang back, who was wearing slippers. As soon as they entered the door, they were all startled. This person was actually the sashimi weirdo from Crazy Harbor.
She never understood why Zhu Xiaoliang ate goldfish.
Liang Mei countered, "You're trying to understand a math madman? He says fish vertebrae are naturally derived from the Fibonacci sequence, do you believe that? Do you remember him trying to use math to provoke your human games? Is that something a normal person could come up with?"
So when Zhu Xiaoliang pressed her for details about what she and Qiaoqiao had talked about, Liang Mei smiled but didn't answer, turning her gaze to the others—
“He definitely wouldn’t ask in front of us. Neither of them are the outgoing type. Just now, when Teacher Zhu asked a few questions about the details, Yu Jinyang’s ears turned red. I guess he’ll just ask in private.” Sun Taihe believes that virgins understand each other well. “So let’s just pretend we don’t know.”
Zhong Su suddenly revealed, "You guys don't know, do you? Yu Jinyang kept a photo of the two of them shaking hands when they were little in a hidden compartment of his suitcase in Chicago. Later, there was a blizzard in Chicago, and all flights were delayed. When he was transferring, the airline lost his luggage. You know how it is with international flights; if you really can't find it, you can only accept your bad luck. He waited alone at the airport for fifteen hours. I don't know why, but the first thing he did after he got his luggage was to open the hidden compartment of the suitcase and check that photo."
So he thought otherwise. Yu Jinyang had specifically called the teacher back, surely hoping to receive everyone's blessings. He suggested, "How about this, we'll come back later and see. If Li Yingqiao is wearing a ring, it means the proposal was successful, and we can at least congratulate her. If Li Yingqiao isn't wearing a ring, it means it wasn't successful, and we can pretend nothing happened."
For the first time all night, Zheng Miaojia condescended to look at him properly: "Wow, boyfriend, this is the first time I feel like you actually have a brain."
Zhong Su glanced at her coldly: "So you only target brainless men to fool, is that it?"
Zheng Miaojia was speechless, realizing she couldn't give him a friendly look.
Gao Dian repeated his previous statement: "You two should break up too."
Sun Taihe raised his chin, gesturing to Zhong Su: "I've put up with him for a long time."
With Li Yingqiao absent, Zheng Miaojia took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of Gao Dian: "Let's see who dares to touch our little pastry shop."
Zhong Su stood there, seething with anger. Before he could even retract his hand, his face grew even colder: "Zheng Miaojia, I think we should really break up."
Sun Taihe sighed, patted his shoulder to signal him to take it easy, and turned to get his phone from Zhao Pingnan, only to find himself in trouble himself. Before he could even turn his head, someone grabbed his ear and blasted in a piercing voice: "Sun Taihe, you dare to play me! Yesterday you didn't reply to my WeChat messages for half an hour, and you said you were coordinating an important cross-platform project. I thought it was another MCN agency trying to sign you!"
Sun Taihe: "No, Meituan refunded my order, so I had to check Eleme."
Gao Dian: "Nan Nan, you don't even acknowledge that I unilaterally declare you the most affectionate person in Qingyi—"
"Why is there a fight over there?"
Yu Jinyang and Li Yingqiao leaned against the riverside railing side by side. They saw Zhao Pingnan grab Sun Taihe by the ear and yell something, while Gao Dian handed Zhao Pingnan an empty wine bottle. Miao Jia and Zhong Su were also locked in a tense standoff. Only Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang sat there helplessly and awkwardly, like two embarrassed old people who had mistakenly entered a grandparents' birthday party but forgot to bring red envelopes.
The two of them casually leaned their elbows against the railing, their relaxed postures not at all like they had just proposed. Their gazes were calm and restrained as they looked down at the brightly lit Fengtan Lake below. Occasionally, they would exchange a smile, look down at their friends and mentors in a state of chaos, and look up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, their eyes met at eye level, reflecting their unwavering determination and focus.
During her senior year of high school, after returning from Fengtan Ski Resort, she talked on the phone with Miaojia all night. Miaojia said with emotion, "You and Yu Jinyang are like the sun and the moon, respectively. When you are enthusiastic and unrestrained, you wish you could shine all your light on everyone. But our Miaomiao is like the moon. He only comes out to protect this land when you are tired, go down the mountain, or go home to find your mother."
"Miaojia said you're a moon-type guardian boyfriend," she suddenly remembered and whispered to him.
Yu Jinyang glanced at her: "What did you say to her? It sounds a bit like sanitary napkins."
Li Yingqiao: "………………What's wrong with sanitary napkins? Sanitary napkins are great! Girls can't live without them!"
Yu Jinyang burst out laughing.
It was also a kind of approval, like Li Yingqiao's. After saying that, she turned around.
"Gao Dian!" Li Yingqiao shouted towards the night market stall.
Everyone, who was in complete chaos, suddenly stopped and looked toward the source of the sound. Li Yingqiao was standing on the railing, facing the night wind, with her best friend from when she was five years old, who was also her boyfriend at twenty-eight, standing beside her.
"Miaojia! Pingnan! Taihe! Teacher Liang! Xiaoliang! Zhong Su—"
She happily called out everyone's names.
When everyone looked over, they saw Li Yingqiao smiling and waving eagerly in their direction from afar.
Even from this distance, where the eyes couldn't see clearly at all, that action made everyone realize almost instantly what it could be. What the hell could it be?!
The bright moon hangs high overhead, its clear light shining like a wash, but the world is chaotic and noisy.
In reality, between ideals and reality lie countless long, uneventful years and months, unnoticed by anyone.
"Li Yingqiao, Yu Jinyang!"
Happy Wedding!
...
When taking the final group photo, the group still sandwiched Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang in the middle, and the other positions remained unchanged: the girls were in a row, the boys stood behind them, and Gao Dian stood between Zhu Xiaoliang and Liang Mei.
"One, two, three, look at the camera!" Miao Jia commanded.
At that moment, Li Yingqiao suddenly looked up at Yu Jinyang—
The latter subconsciously looked down at her and, seeing her playful and flirtatious gaze, smiled as well.
Then, understanding the unspoken message, he lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
The moment Yu Jinyang's lips touched hers, his warm breath unexpectedly sprayed onto her eyes, causing her to tremble and instinctively close one eye.
The camera happened to be there and captured it.
Yu Jinyang lowered his head and kissed her forehead. Li Yingqiao smiled and gave a peace sign to the camera, along with a vibrant wink.
The image freezes.
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