Chapter 40

  After that day, Yuan Zhi would always stay by He Sheng's side at night when he set up his stall, and never took a step back. As for He Shou, the reaction was the greatest, no one accompanied him to play in the internet cafe, alone and unenthusiastic, finally slowly and reluctantly stayed at the stall.

  Yuan Shuyun would occasionally run over, sometimes staying for a while and sometimes just taking a glance before leaving. Chen Jiaoyan couldn't understand her behavior, nor could He Song.

  Later, Yuan Zhi, who had always treated her as air, suddenly spoke to her: "Don't come again in the future."

  Yuan Shu Yun was taken aback for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise: "It's nothing, I'm not tired."

  "I'm not concerned about whether you're tired or not, I just don't want to see you." Yuan Zhi's hands were placed on his knees, and he looked at her with the same gaze as a stranger. "Don't you know what your mother's name is? Don't you know that she and I are like fire and water? Don't you know that seeing you is just like seeing her disgusting face?"

  Yuan Shuyun's smile on her face finally couldn't be maintained, "Brother!"

  "Go!" Yuan Zhi bowed his head again, shooing away flies, "Don't come back in the future."

  Yuan Shu Yun stared at him foolishly for a while before slowly getting up and walking away, her dejected appearance as if she could burst into tears at any moment.

  Her figure faded into the distance in the midst of the bustling crowd, the gentle breeze rustling her long hair, lively yet desolate.

  Chen Jiayin whispered in He Sheng's ear, "Is this person really Yuan Zhi's sister? Why does she look like she has a crush on Yuan Zhi?"

  He Sheng furrowed his brow, "How is that possible?"

  "Then... Brotherly Love?"

  "Maybe!" If I had to say it's a normal relationship, it would be hard to convince anyone.

  The two-month summer vacation passed quickly, and the days after school started were no different from usual. At most, Yuan Zhi and He Shou's school uniforms were different, and their dismissal times were also different. They still had to attend evening self-study sessions, so for a long time, He Shuang could only walk home with Chen Jiaoyin after school.

  High school courses left no time for entertainment, and the heavy workload made Yuan Zhi very annoyed. He squeezed out time to be lazy, but He Sheng was more concerned about himself than Yuan Zhi. Three years later, they would have to prepare for the college entrance examination, so now they could only suffer a bit. Therefore, he nagged and strictly supervised, leaving Yuan Zhi with no way out.

  After entering the school, he and He Shou Si were in the same class. There were many familiar faces in the class. After a period of time, everyone got along well with each other. Sometimes when they passed by the junior high school department in groups, they saw He Sheng and Chen Jia Yin, and someone would jokingly shout: "Ah! Mrs. He is here! Where are you going?"

  Sentences like these are all said to Chen Jiayin, and most of the time facing He Sheng is just a smile. This little girl is too boring, saying a few words can't even get out a fart, especially Yuan Zhi is still protecting her tightly, making people not have any intention of teasing at all.

  Chen Jiayin would blush every time, shouting at those rascals in a sharp, fine voice filled with an attempt to cover up her joy and shyness.

  It wasn't until later that He Sheng realized that Chen Jia-yin and He Shou-si were actually dating, but whenever the four of them were together, the two would still bicker and argue, except now He Shou-si would smile and apologize more often, showing that love can also be expressed in this way.

  Yuan Zhi finished his evening self-study class, but the public transportation had already stopped operating. Taking a taxi was also inconvenient, so he specially bought a mountain bike to ride back home. This way, they won't have to squeeze onto crowded buses in the morning either.

  But the mountain bike didn't have a back seat, He Sheng had his backpack on his chest and hesitated to look at Yuan Zhi who was sitting on the bicycle with one leg on the ground staring at him, "This is too hard to sit, you ride a bike It's not convenient either."

  "I told you to sit down, it's none of your business whether I'm comfortable or not!"

  He Sheng touched the crossbeam and shook his head, "It's too crowded!"

  Yuan Zhi pulled her up, "Hurry up and get on, can a bus be more crowded than this? If I don't take the bus in the future, you'll still be pushed up by someone's butt."

  How could she be so weak?

  He was pushed and squeezed by him onto the crossbeam to sit firmly, with a schoolbag squeezed in front of him, feeling particularly uncomfortable.

  "Wu Aunt stood at the door watching the two children making a ruckus, and couldn't help but say: "Yuan Zhi, why don't you just let He Sheng go sit by herself? Look, like this, her backpack is going to squish her face out of shape.""

  Yuan Zhi glanced over and indeed, He Sheng's entire face was stuck to her backpack. He simply swapped his with hers, and the weight difference was staggering. Yuan Zhi furrowed his brow and said, "What did you put in there? It's so heavy."

  "Heh." He Shuang adjusted his flat school bag in front of his chest, "Then I'll carry a bit less today after school."

  "Just bring your homework and you're done."

  He Sheng thought for a moment, "Okay!"

  After that, many weekends and holidays, Yuan Zhi had to make up classes, while He Sheng would go to Chen Jiaoyan's place, the two of them chatting, doing homework or setting up a stall, waiting for Yuan Zhi to finish school before sending her back home.

  Chen Jiayin was short of many daily necessities, so He Sheng accompanied her to the supermarket to restock. The huge shopping mall had a large customer flow, and she carefully selected items in the department store area with her basket, being more frugal with her finances after living alone. Chen Jiayin did very well in this aspect.

  Toothpaste and toothbrushes were also bought, two sets in total. He Sheng looked at them and moved his mouth, but still didn't say anything.

  When I went downstairs, I passed by the food area and saw a mother and son across several shelves in front of the aisle. The little boy seemed to be shouting that he wanted to buy the giant robot on top, while the woman was squatting in front of him with a helpless expression, her face full of doting and kindness.

  As if noticing their gaze, she subconsciously turned her head, her expression suddenly stiffening, then hastily picking up the little boy who had already started crying and hurriedly walking away, as if being chased by someone.

  He Sheng turned to look at Chen Jia Yin, her face pale, slowly lowering her head, her lips lightly pursed, for a long time before smiling and dryly saying: "I thought she would at least come over and ask if I'm doing well."

  He Sheng looked at her for a few seconds, then suddenly picked up a pack of chocolate that Chen Jia Yin liked to eat from the shelf, and smiled: "Let's go, go home and eat chocolate, it's sweet."

  The mouth is sweet, and other things may not be so bitter.

  Time flies quickly in such a fulfilling rhythm, and when He Shuang finishes the middle school entrance exam, the little girl is already 16 years old. Her grades are very good, and Yan Bo specially rewards her, preparing to take her out for a trip!

  He Sheng was very happy when he heard that, but Yuan Zhi was not satisfied. First of all, let's not talk about his attitude towards Yan Bo, just the time alone, he couldn't spare it, he is now approaching the third year of high school, where did he have the international time to travel? And letting He Sheng follow Yan Bo alone, is that possible?

  At night, in He Sheng's small room, the two sat face to face on the bed, Yuan Zhi said seriously: "Don't mention this matter, you tell Yan Bai tomorrow that you're not going, did you hear?"

  "Yan said it would be just three days."

  "That won't work either, you want to think about going out and playing, I'll take a break and bring you to other fun places."

  "What's wrong?"

  "It doesn't matter if you haven't been there anyway." Yuan Zhi patted the bed and looked at her, "Didn't I tell you? If you're going to go with him, then don't talk to me again. You'll be walking alone to and from school."

  He Sheng pinched the teddy bear's ear for a while and nodded, "Got it."

  So the trip that was about to start was cancelled, and He Song felt very embarrassed as he declined over the phone. Yan Bai wasn't surprised after hearing it, thinking that only Yuan Zhi could be behind this. His protection of He Song was so tight that it was both astonishing and worrisome.

  After a few days, Yuan Zhi took a break and fulfilled his promise to take He Sheng out for fun. Accompanying them were naturally He Shou Si and Chen Jia Yin, the two of whom had already publicly displayed their affectionate relationship in a very high-profile manner. However, it was strange that He Sheng still felt like it wasn't real.

  The location was the city's aquarium, where they bought tickets and lined up to enter. First, they saw a coral reef over ten meters long, as well as various aquatic exhibits. Then, they entered the underwater tunnel, where the deep-sea creatures swimming inside captivated He Song's attention. When Yuan Zhi turned around again, she had already stuck her face against the glass, and a fish even nudged her face through the glass.

  Yuan Zhi hastily took a step forward, grabbed her collar and pulled the excited person over, wiping his hand on her face several times, saying: "Are you stupid? It's dirty up there, why stick your face up there."

  He Xiang smiled mischievously, pointing at the fish, "That one is very playful, I stick it on and it will come to kiss me."

  "It's no fun either, those are all bacteria." Yuan Zhi hugged her neck and wouldn't let her lean in any closer, "Too much trouble."

  That day, He Shou brought a camera and they took many photos. This was the first time He Song and Yuan Zhi had their picture taken. Later, for some time, Yuan Zhi carried their photo with him every day but didn't dare to take it out to look at it. In the still of night, under the anesthesia of nicotine and alcohol, he repeatedly fantasized about what would have happened if He Song were still around, how many years had passed and what kind of person the child would have become?

  But found nothing could be thought of, leaving only sorrow and upheaval.

  After the promotion, He Sheng can go to and from school with Yuan Zhi again. However, she is no longer in the same class as Chen Jia Yin. Her current deskmate is Shen Yan, who wears glasses, rarely speaks, and buries her head in studying every day. The number of times they talk to each other in a day can be counted on one hand.

  This year she also felt the darkness and busyness of high school, that kind of heavy pressure almost always loomed over her head, suffocating her to the point where she couldn't breathe.

  While they were stuck in the mud, Yuan Zhi and his friends had already started moving towards freedom. Three years of high school had achieved their university dreams, and now they needed to prepare for the final sprint.

  About the future, there was a time when He Shou Si loudly discussed plans to go to a city in the north at Chen Jia Yin's small apartment, fantasizing about the street scenes, humanities, and luxurious life there. Chen Jia Yin smiled and listened, seemingly indifferent, but these things were so unfamiliar to her.

  On the way back, He Sheng sat on the crossbeam, looking at the shops and pedestrians passing by in front of him. After a while, he opened his mouth to ask Yuan Zhi, "Which university are you planning to take the entrance exam for?"

  Her back was stuck to his chest, and when Yuan Zhi spoke, he could feel the slight vibration of his thoracic cavity. The other party said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Of course it's the one closest to home, it's also convenient to come back, otherwise what would you do?"

  At that moment, He Song silently let out a breath. She found that if Yuan Zhi went to a very far place, she would still miss him, but...she would never stop him either.

  The moment the verdict was announced, He Shou's dream came true. Chen Jia-yin still looked calm and indifferent. On the bustling streets, a young man put his arm around her shoulders and laughed heartlessly: "Little parrot, I'll be waiting for you in that city. Two years from now, you must come."

  Chen Jiayin smiled and nodded, two years, it's fast!

  The dust settled, and He Sheng had always thought that Chen Jia Yin didn't have much of a reaction to this matter. However, several days later, during the evening self-study session after school, as they walked on the campus path under the dim streetlights, she suddenly asked He Sheng: "Yuan Zhi seems like he'll be staying here, right?"

  "Uh-huh." He Song nodded, "He's used to it here."

  "Yes!" She said heavily: "Why can Yuan Zhi stay but He's surname cannot?"

  He Sheng's footsteps paused, while the other had already crouched down in the darkness, gently holding her head and crying, her slender shoulders sinking at this moment. This was the first time Chen Jiaoyan had seen tears since Zhang Shuying gave up on her, showing that He Shoushu's influence on her was much greater than what met the eye.

  Actually, everyone is not strong, they just don't break easily.

  The author has something to say: The next few chapters should be considered the first major turning point for He Sheng and Yuan Zhi, which occurred when Yuan Zhi was in high school year three and He Sheng was in high school year one.

  And their separation will occur when He Sheng graduates from high school

  This article is not as long as you imagined, it's just a few hundred thousand words.

  I can't write long pieces, every time I start writing and then reach a dead end

  I remember when I first started writing, I thought it would be awesome to reach 600,000 words. Later, after breaking through the 1 million mark, I felt like I could defy the heavens. Then, seeing others write tens of millions of words, I couldn't help but feel both envious and admiring.

  This is my first article with over 200,000 views, I'm thrilled, and I also hope you will be satisfied in the near future!

  PS: Whether it's Gu Wei or Yuan Shu Yun, in the end you will only feel sorry for them and not think they are bad. Enjoy reading, everyone.