Chapter 20: Two Little Loves

  Qing Lan pulled out her hand from Lin Xi's grasp, pouted, tiptoed, and put her hands behind her back. She raised her face high and hummed softly through her nose, "Hmph! He doesn't care about me, I don't care about him either. I have plenty of little friends to play with."

  "Ling Xuan, you..." Lin Xi stomped her foot and glared at Qing Leng, her delicate white face flushing bright red with anger or anxiety.

  "Hmph!" Qing Lan haughtily turned her face to one side, but her eyes were shining with tears that swirled in her eye sockets.

  Actually, Qing Lan also knew about this last night.

  After learning this news, she didn't feel sad and lost like An Shaojie did.

  Although she was also reluctant to see Lin Xi leave Liujiacun, she felt that the person who should be more heartbroken than her was Lin Xi, because Lin Xi could no longer go to school with Shao Jie every day and could no longer see their beloved Shao Jie every day.

  And she can still go to school with him every day and get out of school together.

  So she thought the happy person was her, and the sad person was Lin Xi.

  And she thought optimistically, without Lin Xi, she would be even better to him.

  And she thought he couldn't stand being alone, as long as she persisted in being good to him, eventually he would understand her.

  So Qing Lan was confident in herself, but seeing the stubborn An Shaojie, she couldn't help feeling a little wronged.

  An Shaojie put his gloves and diary into his backpack, pulled Lin Xi's hand and walked forward.

  Lin Xi was dragged forward by An Shaojie while looking back at Qing Luan who was still standing in the wind.

  Qing Lan turned around, her eyes blurry with tears as she gazed at An Shaojie pulling Lin Xi away into the distance. In her heart, she resentfully and softly shouted: "Shaojie ge, one day, I'll make you like me!"

  But she didn't know that at this moment, An Shaojie's heart was also secretly saying: "An Shaojie, no matter how good Qinglan is to you, you must not be good to her, don't forget the humiliation her father and mother brought to you."

  In mid-March, it is the season when flowers are in full bloom and willows are green.

  The willows by the pond in front of Liu's village have already sprouted bright green new buds, the pear blossoms at the door are blooming vigorously, and several peach trees are about to bloom, revealing a hint of tender red.

  Lin Xi transferred to Wu Feng County Cheng Shi Experimental Primary School with Lin Wen Hui's job transfer.

  After Lin Xi left, An Shaojie was no longer like before, quickly finishing his meal and not waiting for Shao Min. Instead, he followed Lin Xi and Qing Lan to school. Now, no matter how much earlier he finished eating than Shao Min, he would quietly wait for her to finish her meal and go to school together.

  If it was Shao Min who finished eating first, he didn't remain silent like before, but instead shouted to Shao Min: "Sister, wait for me, I'll be done soon."

  So after Lin Xi left, An Shaojie always went to and from school with An Shaomin.

  He is not alone.

  This situation was something Qing Lan had never thought of.

  But An Shao Min can't always accompany him to school, right? So Qing Lan still has confidence in herself.

  After Lin Xi left, Qing Lan did not follow Lin Xi's instructions to go to An Shaojie's house every day to invite him to school. Because during those days his mood was very bad, every afternoon after school, he either locked himself in the room or ran to the haystack on the threshing ground to cry, and didn't talk to anyone, not even his mother knew what to do, so Qing Lan dared not to touch the nail.

  But every day after dinner, Qing Lan would wait for him at the bridgehead in front of her own home.

  Liu Jiawei still didn't accompany Qing Lan and An Shaojie's two younger brothers to school.

  When Shaojie and Shaomin walked to the bridgehead, An Shaojie always passed by her side without looking at her.

  After passing by her side, Shǎo Mǐn would turn back and glance at Qīng Lán with an apologetic gaze.

  Shaomin knew that Qinglan was waiting for Shaojie, but she also knew that Shaojie didn't like her. In order to cater to her younger brother's eccentric and stubborn personality, Shaomin could only walk away and turn back to give her an apologetic smile, but she didn't dare say a word to her either.

  For a faint smile of apology, it's enough to warm Qinglan's heart.

  So Qing Lan also smiled back at Shao Min with a understanding smile.

  After Xiao Jie and Xiao Min walked past her, Qing Lan followed behind them. They quickened their pace, so did Qing Lan; they strolled, and Qing Lan also slowed down her footsteps.

  It's just the opposite when school is over.

  Qing Lan walked in front, An Shaojie and Shao Min followed behind.

  But An Shaojie was not like Qing Lan, who followed him at the same pace. When he walked fast, she also quickened her pace, and when he slowed down, she also slowed down. An Shaojie always proceeded at his own pace, either quickly or slowly, so in fact, it was Qing Lan who adjusted her pace to follow theirs.

  But sometimes, Shao Min would look at their distance with Qing Lan and adjust her pace to match Shao Jie's.

  After Lin Xi left, although no one shared snacks with Qing Lan anymore, Qing Lan still brought some snacks from home and put them in her backpack. When school was over, she would either take out the snacks she brought from home or buy some at a small store by the road, walking while eating.

  Qing Lan knew that now she and An Shaojie couldn't share snacks like they used to when Lin Xi was around, so after Lin Xi left, she prepared two portions or bought two portions of snacks. One portion she ate herself, the other she quietly placed by the roadside at an appropriate time.

  She knew that Shao Jie wouldn't take the snacks by the roadside.

  But she also knew that Shao Min would pretend not to see it was her who put the snacks on the side of the road, and would pick them up, feigning surprise, exclaiming: "Wow, Shao Jie, look! Someone lost a bag of snacks! Haha, I found it!"

  Then, Shaomin pretended to be excited and tore open the snack, savoring a bite, "Mmm, today is really lucky, this snack tastes great and smells wonderful."

  After taking a bite, she handed the snack bag to Shao Jie, "Shao Jie, you try some, isn't it delicious?"

  Although Shao Jie knew that this snack was put down by Qing Lan, in order not to disappoint Shao Min, he also pretended not to know.

  Anyway, the snack bag had already been torn open by Xiaomin and she had eaten a mouthful. It couldn't be returned to her even if I didn't eat it.

  At first, because of his guilty conscience, Shao Jie knew that the snack was left by Qing Lan. He hesitated and refused several times until Shaomin had almost finished eating it before he finally accepted the snack from Shaomin and ate the rest.

  Later, it's unclear whether it was due to Shao Min's good acting skills or that he had slowly gotten used to the tacit understanding between Shao Min and Qing Lan, but he no longer declined. As soon as Shao Min picked up some snacks from the side of the road, he shared them with Shao Min together.

  Qing Lan heard Shao Jie's happy laughter behind her and happily shared the snacks she left with Shao Min. Qing Lan's heart was smiling beautifully. Qing Lan pulled out her hand from Lin Xi's grasp, pouted, tiptoed, put her hands behind her back, lifted her face high, and hummed softly in her nose, "Hmph! He doesn't care about me, I don't care about him either, I have plenty of little friends to play with."

  "Ling Xuan, you..." Lin Xi stomped her foot and glared at Qing Leng, her delicate white face flushing bright red with anger or anxiety.

  "Hmph!" Qing Lan haughtily turned her face to one side, but her eyes were shining with tears that swirled in her eye sockets.

  Actually, Qing Lan also knew about this last night.

  After learning this news, she didn't feel as sad and lost as An Shaojie did.

  Although she didn't want Lin Xi to leave Liu Jia Village either, she thought the person who should be even more heartbroken than her was Lin Xi. This is because Lin Xi would no longer be able to go to school with Shao Jie every day and could no longer see their beloved Shao Jie every day.

  And she can still go to school with him every day and get out of school together.

  So she thought the happy person was her, and the sad person was Lin Xi.

  And she thought optimistically, without Lin Xi, she would be even better to him.

  And she thinks he can't stand loneliness, as long as she persists in being good to him, one day he will understand her.

  So Qing Lan was confident in herself, but seeing the stubborn An Shaojie, she couldn't help feeling a little wronged.

  An Shaojie put his gloves and diary into his backpack, pulled Lin Xi's hand and walked forward.

  Lin Xi was dragged forward by An Shaojie while looking back at Qing Luan who was still standing in the wind.

  Qing Lan turned around, her eyes blurry with tears, gazing at An Shaojie and Lin Xie's slowly disappearing figures in the distance. In her heart, she resentfully yet softly shouted: "Shaojie ge, one day, I'll make you like me!"

  But she didn't know that at this moment, An Shaojie's heart was also secretly saying: "An Shaojie, no matter how good Qinglan is to you, you must not be good to her, don't forget the humiliation brought to you by her father and mother."

  In mid-March, it is the season when flowers are in full bloom and willows are green.

  The willows by the pond in front of Liu's village have already sprouted bright green new buds, the pear blossoms at the door are blooming vigorously, and several peach trees are about to bloom, revealing dots of tender red.

  Lin Xi transferred to Wu Feng County Cheng Shi Experimental Primary School with Lin Wen Hui's job change.

  After Lin Xi left, An Shaojie was no longer like before, quickly finishing his meal and not waiting for Shao Min. Instead, he followed Lin Xi and Qing Lan to school. Now, no matter how much earlier he finished eating than Shao Min, he would quietly wait for her to finish her meal and go to school together with her.

  If it was Shao Min who finished eating first, he didn't remain silent like before, but instead shouted to Shao Min: "Sister, wait for me, I'll be done soon."

  So after Lin Xi left, An Shaojie always went to and from school with An Shaomin.

  He is not alone.

  This situation was something Qing Lan had never thought of.

  But An Shao Min can't always accompany him to school, right? So Qing Lan still has confidence in herself.

  After Lin Xi left, Qing Lan did not follow Lin Xi's instructions to go to An Shaojie's house every day to invite him to school. Because during those days his mood was very bad, every afternoon after school, he either locked himself in the room or ran to the haystack on the threshing ground to cry, and didn't talk to anyone, not even his mother knew what to do, so Qing Lan dared not to touch the nail.

  But every day after dinner, Qing Lan would wait for him at the bridgehead in front of her own home.

  Liu Jiawei still didn't accompany Qing Lan and An Shaojie's two younger brothers to school.

  When Shaojie and Shaomin walked to the bridgehead, An Shaojie always passed by her side without looking at her.

  After passing by her side, Shǎo Mǐn would turn back and glance at Qīng Lán with an apologetic gaze.

  Shaomin knew that Qinglan was waiting for Shaojie, but she also knew that Shaojie didn't like her. In order to cater to her younger brother's eccentric and stubborn temperament, Shaomin could only walk away and turn back to give her an apologetic smile, but she didn't dare say a word to her either.

  For a faint smile of apology, it's enough to warm Qinglan's heart.

  So Qing Lan also smiled back at Shao Min with a understanding smile.

  After Xiao Jie and Xiao Min walked past her, Qing Lan followed behind them. They quickened their pace, so did Qing Lan; they strolled, and Qing Lan also slowed down her footsteps.

  It's just the opposite when school is over.

  Qing Lan walked in front, An Shaojie and Shao Min followed behind.

  But An Shaojie was not like Qing Lan, who followed him closely. He walked fast, she also followed quickly; he walked slowly, she also followed slowly. An Shaojie always proceeded at his own pace, sometimes walking quickly or slowly, so in fact, it was Qing Lan who adjusted her pace to follow theirs.

  But sometimes, Shao Min would look at their distance with Qing Lan and adjust her pace to match Shao Jie's.

  After Lin Xi left, although no one shared snacks with Qing Lan anymore, Qing Lan still brought some snacks from home and put them in her backpack. When school was over, she would either take out the snacks she brought from home or buy some at a small store by the road, walking while eating.

  Qing Lan knew that now she and An Shaojie couldn't share snacks like they used to when Lin Xi was around, so after Lin Xi left, she prepared two portions or bought two portions of snacks. One portion she ate herself, the other she quietly placed by the roadside at an appropriate time.

  She knew that Shao Jie wouldn't take the snacks by the roadside.

  But she also knew that Shao Min would pretend not to see it was her who put the snacks on the side of the road, and would pick them up, feigning surprise, exclaiming: "Wow, Shao Jie, look! Someone lost a bag of snacks! Haha, I found it!"

  Then, Shaomin pretended to be excited and tore open the snack, savoring a bite, "Hmm, today is really lucky, this snack tastes great and smells wonderful."

  After taking a bite, she handed the snack bag to Shao Jie, "Shao Jie, you try some, isn't it delicious?"

  Although Shao Jie knew that this snack was put down by Qing Lan, in order not to disappoint Shao Min, he also pretended not to know.

  Anyway, the snack bag had already been torn open by Xiaomin and she had eaten a mouthful. It couldn't be returned to her even if I didn't eat it.

  At first, because of his strange mind, after all, Shao Jie knew in his heart that it was Qing Lan who had put down the snack. Shao Jie still hesitated and refused several times until almost all of the snacks were eaten by Shao Min before he accepted the snack handed to him by Shao Min and finished the rest.

  Later, it's unclear whether it was because of Shao Min's good acting skills or if he had slowly gotten used to the tacit understanding between Shao Min and Qing Lan, but he no longer declined. As soon as Shao Min picked up some snacks from the side of the road, he shared them with Shao Min together.

  Qing Lan, who was walking in front, heard Shao Jie's happy laughter from behind and happily shared with Shao Min the snacks she had left behind. Qing Lan's heart couldn't help but smile sweetly.