chapter6

  After that day, nothing else happened. After Yuan Zhi and others recovered a little, they started going to school normally. In their free time, they would hang out with He Shou Si. He Song had already started learning 4th grade content. Days passed by in such a carefree state.

  The weather is getting colder and colder, by the end of the year it has snowed several times, one after another, and the accumulated snow outside has not melted. Yuan Zhi seems to be afraid of the cold, during this period he almost hid in the house and didn't come out much.

  The day before the end of the year, Aunt Wu prepared to return home and would not be back until three days later. She prepared food in advance and put it in the refrigerator. The two children could eat directly after heating it up when they were hungry. She also informed He Sheng about some of Yuan Zhi's eating habits to avoid conflicts when the time came.

  He Sheng nodded slightly, but she was uneasy in her heart. She and Yuan Zhi seemed to be incompatible from birth, almost every glance could trigger a disaster. Even so, she didn't dare to ask someone to stay, after all, Chinese New Year is a time for family reunions, and it only happens once a year.

  The next day after Wu Shu left, He Song got up early to wash clothes and then made breakfast for Yuan Zhi. The door was still closed, she knocked on it and turned the handle to enter. The warm air hit her face, the curtains were still drawn, and the light was very dim.

  Yuan Zhi was lying on his side in bed, hugging a quilt, with a clear and cold gaze looking at her, and had actually woken up.

  He Sheng turned around and said in a low voice: "I came to bring you breakfast."

  Yuan Zhi remained in that posture without moving, hoarsely saying, "Get out."

  He Sheng lowered his head, and his voice also dropped a bit, "This is what Aunt Wu ordered, I'm just following her instructions..." Before he could finish speaking, a pillow came flying over and hit him in the face, accompanied by Yuan Zhi's suppressed roar: "I told you to get out, are you deaf?"

  Because of the special day, there were already some scattered firecracker sounds outside at this time, filling the air with a peaceful and festive atmosphere.

  He Sheng was stunned for a few seconds before obediently retreating.

  It's really a luxury to have a good talk with Yuan Zhi.

  He Shuang spent half a day cleaning the room, and it was still necessary to dust at the end of the year. Then she hid in her room reading books all the time. For lunch, she just found some snacks hidden from usual to fill her hunger. It wasn't until evening that she went downstairs to find some food in the refrigerator to make noodles for herself. She didn't bother with Yuan Zhi again. That violent boy would have been scolded even if he had gone according to this morning's rhythm, and He Shuang didn't want to go against him again.

  She put in all the ingredients she could, and when she ladled it out, it was already a big bowl full. The aroma wafting up made He Song's eyes curve into a satisfied smile as he carried the steaming bowl away.

  As soon as the result walked into the living room, he was stunned on the spot. Yuan Zhi, dressed neatly and elegantly, sat upright on the sofa with his legs crossed, staring at the TV screen in front of him with a blank expression.

  He Sheng's face was slightly pale, and she stood still for a while before slowly walking over to put the bowl on the tea table, squatting down to pick up her chopsticks and stir the noodles, which were still fragrant but had lost their appeal.

  At a distance of two meters, one sitting steadily on the sofa and the other crouching on the floorboard, He Sheng hesitated and asked: "Are you hungry? I'll go make something for you to eat."

  Yuan Zhi glanced at her lightly and turned his gaze to the bowl of noodles, saying coldly, "How can you eat this?" Rarely did he not lose his temper.

  "Don't people usually eat noodles during Chinese New Year?"

  "Isn't it traditional to eat dumplings during Chinese New Year?"

  He Shuang was stunned. "Dumplings? I only eat noodles during the New Year." Since she could remember, Qian Shuai had always given her noodles with shredded meat for the New Year.

  "You're wrong." He said again: "Go cook dumplings."

  He Sheng lowered his head and looked at the steaming noodles in front of him, put down his chopsticks and walked into the kitchen. In the refrigerator, there were dumplings. Wu Shu said that if she was hungry at night or any other time, she could cook them to eat as a snack. Not once did she mention that Yuan Zhi liked dumplings too.

  As she thought, the water in the pot had already boiled. He Shuang opened the package and poured the frozen dumplings into the pot all at once. The white dough wrappers jumped up one by one with the boiling water. She picked up a spoon to stir back and forth so they wouldn't stick together. Then she covered it with a lid again. After they were all cooked and floated to the surface, He Shuang poured the seasoning packet into a bowl, scooped out the dumplings, and handed them over to the young master.

  Yuan Zhi remained in the same passive state as before, He Shuang brought the dumplings to his face and put them down, then turned back to herself. The big bowl of noodles was dry and hot, with no soup left, and the rim of the bowl still had a warm temperature. She stirred it with chopsticks, and it was a dry lump, looking quite disgusting.

  He Sheng felt a little sorry, and then he buried his head and started eating. Fortunately, the taste was still good, and she wasn't a difficult person to get along with, so she ate quite comfortably.

  Yuan Zhi stared at the dumplings in front of him, but didn't seem to want to eat them. He didn't know what they were for either. Hei Song waited until he had almost finished eating before looking up at him and licking his lips, saying: "Not going to eat? Or is something wrong?"

  Yuan Zhi hasn't eaten anything for a whole day, and now thinking about it, He Sheng still has some responsibility. After all, at noon and in the evening, she didn't even ask politely, so if you think about it carefully, maybe she was the one who was wrong.

  "Are you not going back home for Chinese New Year?" Yuan Zhi replied with a non-sequitur.

  The word "home" is now a bit cruel for He Sheng. He picked up his chopsticks and lightly held the bowl, hesitantly replying: "The road is too far."

  "Where is your hometown?"

  "In the mountains." He Sheng thought for a moment and added, "A small village in the depths of the mountains."

  It's strange that there is still a strong rural flavor now, Yuan Zhiqiu sat up with his knees bent and his hands clasped around them, staring at He Song with a thoughtful expression. He only knew that this person was sent by Yuan Chongyang, but as for the reason and more information about her, he didn't know anything. What did that person want to do with this mountain boy?

  He Sheng's hair stood on end as he stared at him, put down his chopsticks and lowered his head, his hands clenched into fists on the carpet in a daze.

  Yuan Zhi asked again: "Why come here?"

  This is the one question that He Sheng is most unwilling to face, being abandoned by her family at the age of twelve without any hesitation, no matter what the reason was, it's all unacceptable to her.

  "I don't know." She replied vaguely.

  Yuan Zhi raised an eyebrow, but didn't get to the bottom of it. He seemed different that night, more tolerant in his attitude towards He Shuang. He pushed the dumplings forward and said simply: "Eat."

  "Huh?" He Song stared at him blankly, "Eaten?"

  Yuan Zhi pointed with his finger and said, "Reward for you."

  He Sheng rubbed his belly and looked at his larger rice bowl, finally revealing a look of difficulty on his face, "I'm full."

  He raised an eyebrow, "I told you to eat, so just eat."

  He Sheng insisted, "You eat, don't you like it? Besides, we haven't eaten all day."

  Yuan Zhi sneered, "Isn't this your responsibility!"

  "I went to call you, but you didn't want to."

  Yuan Zhi suddenly raised his voice, staring at her, "Did you call me at noon? Did you call me in the evening? If I hadn't come down myself, I reckon you wouldn't have even known if I was dead."

  He Sheng's face changed, and he subconsciously spat a few times, "Children's words are innocent, children's words are innocent." He looked at Yuan Zhi, who was stunned, with a self-aware guilty appearance, "Don't say such things, it's not good for the New Year."

  Yuan Zhi curled his lip, "What's with the act of being kind? Given our relationship is like fire and water, we'd rather not see each other at all. And what's with this nonsense about who's older or younger? Can't you think before speaking?"

  He silently listened to a lecture, what Yuan Zhi said wasn't unreasonable either. Before tonight, every time they met, not one of them didn't get ridiculed and mocked by him, their relationship really wasn't ordinary bad.

  But...... "I didn't pretend, they all said you're not bad, and I saw you carrying leftover food to feed stray dogs the day before yesterday." He Song pursed his lips, scratching his fingers, "Maybe it's my problem, anyway many people dislike me."

  Yuan Zhi heard her say this and his expression became somewhat awkward, "How did you see that?"

  "I went to buy soy sauce for Aunt Wu."

  He went to feed the dog before dinner, which happened to be when there were the fewest people around. Unexpectedly, she saw him.

  Yuan Zhi glared at her and warned: "Don't tell anyone else."

  "I know." She barely said it, but these two words were taboo for Yuan Zhi.

  The TV program was still on, and no one spoke again. He Sheng sat for a long time until he started yawning and dozing off, thinking of going upstairs first, but as soon as he stood up, he was stared back by Yuan Zhi with a glance.

  He growled menacingly: "Stay here tonight, and you can sleep after I've slept."

  He Xun nodded dully, his eyes blurry. Compared to before, this kind of torture was already merciful.

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