Chapter 7

A City is likely to wait another half month for spring to bring forth greenery, and during this time, there will be a lengthy period to adapt to this awkward phase of gradual warming

the day after tomorrow

As he finished speaking, he stood up and lightly tapped her nose with his finger. There was no intention to delve deeper into the topic; he spoke softly and slowly, saying: "Come down with me"

So... he has always understood it very clearly

Wen Ge immediately covered her face, revealing only a pair of pitch-black eyes looking at him, her voice muffled and filled with guilt: "Wen Ge is still young, isn't it shameful for my uncle to compare himself with me?"

Every day, she receives the same pitying and sympathetic gazes from various different people. Gradually, she begins to feel as if she is indeed very pitiable. This feeling... is quite terrible

... ...

The textbooks she packed and those packed by her uncle are neatly placed together, and the principle of survival of the fittest is strikingly evident

Wen Shaoyuan glanced at the somewhat wrinkled cover of the Chinese textbook, speechless

Especially in March, the heating supply will cease. The chill of spring at that time is truly unbearable

Wen Ge finished memorizing the vocabulary and text in the morning, and then completed a set of first-year junior high school math exercises, preparing to show them to Wen Shaoyuan. As she pushed back her chair and stood up, the book cover that had been pressed under her desk spilled all over the floor

She dares not imagine her future, nor does she dare to envision what it might be like. She fears that she will be overwhelmed, she fears that one day she might go astray, she fears that she will not be able to bear the solitude of being alone, she is very afraid

Wen Shaoyuan's fingers, which were incessantly tapping on the keyboard, paused for a moment as he glanced at her and casually asked, "Didn’t you say you couldn’t ride?"

Healing Theater

By the way, many kinds of "adaptations" were also used that her intelligence could comprehend... um, methods

Thus, when she was finally able to get in touch with her uncle's family after some twists and turns, Wen Ge felt almost a sense of relief

However, this sentence "You don't need to worry" left Wenge feeling confused, unsure whether it meant not to worry about the old man's arrangement for Uncle Zhang to pick her up and drop her off at school every day, or not to worry about the bicycle issue

Mission accomplished

After having this idea in mind, Wenge kept it to himself. He did not mention it to Aunt Xin, but silently held onto the thought. When Saturday came and he went to Wen Shaoyuan's hotel for guidance on his homework, he finally brought it up in a consultative tone: "Uncle, may I buy a bicycle?"

However, since the beginning of the school year, the old gentleman has had his driver pick her up and drop her off. At first, Wen Ge did not think much of it, but after several consecutive days, she could not help but start to wonder—will it be like this from now on?

To be honest, she cannot take these for granted and enjoy them with a clear conscience

What are you doing? He walked over, pulled out the chair next to the desk, and sat down

Without family, she is like duckweed on the surface of a river, drifting and swaying with the ripples of the water

After some thought, Wen Shaoyuan said, "You need not worry about this"

Soon, the day for registration at School A arrived. Since all the transfer procedures had been completed, Wen Ge's first day at school went very smoothly.

It is clearly a familiar place, one she has lived in for over ten years. Yet every night, she feels an extraordinary fear. The night is so quiet that she cannot help but recall the heart-wrenching feeling of disbelief when she learned of her parents' passing.

Wen Ge pointed to the freshly wrapped Chinese language book, her brows slightly raised, yet her tone carried a hint of frustration: "I am wrapping the book, but I am so clumsy."

However, he seemed to be very busy, so Wenge did not dare to continue bothering him about this matter

Wen Shaoyuan got up late. Hearing from Aunt Xin that she had gone back to her room early in the morning to work, he thought to go take a look.

In the past, it was difficult to comprehend such intense words as "collapse" and "madness," yet at that time, Wen Ge was merely a step away from them

The feeling of surviving a desperate situation

Hearing the song and sensing the movement, I turned around while holding the book.

Thus, she diligently strives to demonstrate her obedience and understanding. She knows that even in moments of unhappiness, she must not show it. What she needs to do is to comply. She is afraid, once again, of losing a family.

Wen Shaoyuan pushed the door open and entered

It is Sunday, a day when Wen Shaoyuan rarely has the opportunity to rest completely and undisturbed

The spine of the book, and at the back cover, a mark has been carefully folded out first. Following this mark, it is easy to fold it in half, pressing down gently with my fingers, I slightly raised my chin, signaling her to bring over the tape

Wen Ge was still sitting in the chair, somewhat lost in thought

That segment of dark memory, apart from the intense and profound feeling of heartache, left little behind in her recollection. She only knew that she could only watch helplessly, unable to make any effort, even her expression was so numb that she did not know how to react

How can there be such stubborn and almost paranoid thoughts

The voice was lowered, almost as if she had been wronged

Sitting back in her little corner, Wen Ge took out her English book and began to recite. For some reason, as she sat there, looking at the neat and cold letters on the page, she could not calm her mind no matter what.

Perhaps it is because he was the first person to stand in front of her window, reaching his hand through the mottled security bars to shake hands with her. That long-lost warmth felt like a traveler on the brink of death in the desert, experiencing the sensation of finally encountering life-giving rain in the last moment of existence

The door to the room is not closed, standing open at a forty-five degree angle, allowing for a clear and immediate view of the situation inside

Accompanying the sound of speech is the crisp and skillful sound of the keyboard, rhythmic and well-ordered

But she never anticipated that the reality was far more brutal than her imagination

Pulled from darkness into the light by another. When darkness caresses and occupies you, nearly swallowing all your beliefs, your savior appears like a divine being, allowing you to feel, in your lifetime, the warm and bright sensation of sunlight kissing your eyes.

After her parents passed away, her grandmother also followed suit. After the funeral, she lived alone in her grandmother's house for several days.

The early spring in City A seems to be even colder than the harsh winter, suppressing the frost. This chill envelops the entire city; once one steps away from the warmth of the indoors, everything breathed and touched is imbued with a certain sharpness in the air

She carefully conceals her shortcomings, desperately suppressing her original personality, and strives to present herself as obedient and understanding, in order to prove that she is a child who can be completely independent and does not require much concern or effort to manage.

Among the many habits developed since childhood that are related to Wen Shaoyuan, one of them is that whenever I am in the same room as Wen Shaoyuan, no matter how focused I am on a task, I inevitably find myself lost in thought about the man in front of me

Wen Shaoyuan finally said, somewhat curtly, "The hands are indeed quite clumsy"

Wen Ge followed his gaze and looked over

Do you understand

A is somewhat far from Wenjia... Even if riding a bicycle, it would take more than twenty minutes. Fortunately, lunch is taken care of at school, so there is no need to rush back and forth.

He lowered his gaze, focused on the document. His left hand rested on the keyboard, with long fingers and distinct knuckles. Suddenly, his brows furrowed, and he lifted his gaze, his eyes calm and composed

The feeling of being torn away from one's family... is too deeply etched in her memory, and it fills her with profound hatred.

Casually, he naturally took the mathematics book that she was tormenting from her hands, pressing it flat to create just the right crease. As his gaze swept over it, he estimated the basic length, casually snipped a few times, and adjusted the length to fit perfectly.

After a few quiet minutes, Wen Shaoyuan suddenly remembered something and smiled. He lightly tapped his finger on the desk and asked her: "Do you still remember what you said to me here when you were seventeen?"

Wen Shaoyuan seemed taken aback by her unexpected retort, momentarily stunned. A smile spread across his deep, dark eyes, like ripples in water, creating circles of gentle waves: "Isn't it better to be a bit more lively? Or is it that being careless, reckless, and distant is what makes one more likable?"

The voice already carried a hint of threat

Wen Ge has always felt that meeting Wen Shaoyuan marked a new beginning for her

"You said that on your eighteenth birthday, you must confess to the person you like." He looked at her with a faint smile in his eyes and asked, "Really, not even a little impression?"

Wen Shaoyuan caught a glimpse of her intently focused on her fingers, her head lowered, revealing only the rounded and slightly upturned tip of her nose, and couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile

The curtains are tied up with ribbons, hooked onto the walls on either side of the window. Outside, the rare bright sunlight is streaming in through the window, illuminating the entire room with brightness and warmth

Later, my grandmother fell gravely ill. Even at the brink of death, she was filled with regret and unwilling to leave. Before closing her eyes, she repeatedly murmured with unease: "I still do not want to go, my Wen Ge is still so young, how is one supposed to live alone..."

clumsy

Listening to the song and pouting, how could I still remember all the words she said...

Someone caught peeking immediately looks around with familiarity, trying to cover up their actions.

It is as if someone has brutally chiseled a large hole in the softest part of your heart, causing blood to flow profusely... Wen Ge understands the uniqueness of her parents' professions; she has also imagined what it would be like if one day her beloved father and mother were to suddenly leave...

If she had not encountered Wen Shaoyuan, if she had not met Wen Jing and Jiang Junyu... She did not know what her future would become, how terrible it would be, and those unbearable wounds have yet to heal.

She always felt that this day was far away, that she had not yet grown up, and how could they possibly leave? Yet, just like that, without any warning, she was brought home by her extremely pale-faced grandmother. When she learned of this news, it was almost as if she had not yet realized it herself, and tears were already streaming down her face.

Wen Ge fell silent for a moment, explaining: "A is too far from home, and going to school is not just a matter of one or two days. I do not want to trouble Uncle Zhang to pick me up and drop me off every day"

After the formal start of the school year, Wen Ge discovered a problem

Unconcerned, imprudent, and unreserved

Hearing the song ... . ... she reluctantly recalled ... . After she said that back then, he had a huge outburst. ... ... I used to wonder how he could get so angry, but now looking back, the more I think about it, the more I realize it was jealousy!

Wen Ge has a slight case of rhinitis; whenever the extremely cold weather arrives, his nose begins to ache slightly. It is bearable, yet it is an uncomfortable kind of pain

Having paid the tuition fees, the school distributed the textbooks, and before noon, classes were dismissed early

During the most difficult nights, she would hide alone under the covers, trembling with fear. In her despair, she dared not cry, enduring it all with gritted teeth, only managing to fall into a fitful sleep after exhausting herself.

The words that she had once mastered now came out stutteringly. She simply stopped and suddenly remembered how he had just been leaning in the very spot where she was now sitting, lazily holding a pen and doodling on her book. ... Then, without any effort, he solved the difficult problem that Wen Ge felt could give her a headache if she stared at it for too long ...