Ah Heng took a sip; the pungent smell was strong, but once it entered her mouth, it tasted warm, sweet, and fragrant.
Yanghe?
Yan hope's eyes lit up—"How did you know?"
Ah Heng's face flushed slightly—"When I was little, my father would buy liquor and I would sneak a sip. It was sold in bulk, very cheap. Although, it wasn't pure."
The boy's lips curled up, and he muttered something in a very soft voice.
"How come we never noticed before that it was a treasure?"
Treasure? Ah Heng was stunned.
After a long pause, he chuckled awkwardly. Perhaps only Yan hope would say something like that.
Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to be on good terms with him before his death is over remains to be seen.
That day, as dusk fell and the courtyard was bathed in golden light, only two people were hiding in the dark wine cellar, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts.
When he came out, the boy's face was flushed red in the peach blossom grove.
"Aheng, what should we say if the adults ask?" he asked her, half-hiding his eyes as he was still slightly drunk.
"I drank the juice with Yanxi, it was so delicious." Aheng smiled, her expression calm, her face fair, and her lips, teeth, and fingertips exuding a sweet fragrance.
"Good girl." He patted her head again, smiling childishly.
"Ah Heng, let's have some juice together again next time we're free." The boy smiled, revealing the little red flesh on his gums, and stretched out his slender little finger, looking adorably innocent—"Pinky promise."
Ah Heng was both amused and exasperated. She gently hooked the boy's finger with her little finger, then immediately let go—"Okay."
She always keeps her promises, which is a kind of persistence, but also a kind of terrifying quality.
So she became Yan hope's regular juice buddy, and later his drinking buddy. When they were close, it was nothing more than that; when they were distant, it was nothing more than that.
In early June, the weather was already extremely hot, and the central air conditioning in the house started working, maintaining a constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. It was neither too hot nor too cold, so comfortable that Ah Heng felt a little depressed.
She didn't like overly comfortable environments, especially artificial ones, so she mostly went to Xiaoxia's house on weekends when she had free time. The adults were all busy, and after school, Siwan and Sier were often left alone at home.
Speaking of which, Si'er was frail as a child and pampered by her family, so she started school a year late and only entered high school this summer. Right now, in order to prepare for the high school entrance exam, Siwan is putting in a lot of effort to help Si'er grow taller, as if she won't give up until she gets into Xilin High School.
It was Monday again. Ah Heng's biological clock was stable, and he always woke up on his own at the appointed time. However, this time, he was awakened by an unpleasant, hoarse ringing of a bell.
Pulling back the curtains, a boy in a pink shirt stood under the sycamore tree, leaning against a dilapidated bicycle, his smile bright, looking up at the window, pressing the bicycle bell hard with his hand.
"Aheng, look!" he said excitedly.
"What?" Ah Heng rubbed her eyes.
"Yo girl, see, quick, see, my rickshaw, with a crossbar!" Yan hope exclaimed excitedly.
This car?
Ah Heng laughed—"Where did you come from?"
The boy spit as he spoke—"I found this in the storage room yesterday. It's the old man's old bike, a 20-year-old antique. You rarely see these days. I don't let just anyone see it!"
Ah Heng sighed – “Have you eaten?”
"Does a bowl of soy milk, a bowl of spicy soup, and three steamed buns count?" Yan hope asked with a delighted expression.
She peeked out and smiled. Yan hope usually ate very little for breakfast, but he only ate a bowl of soy milk. He seemed to be in a really good mood today.
"I'll take a stroll around the yard first. Hurry up, I'll take you to school in a bit!" The boy returned to school, waved, and somewhat comically climbed onto the crossbeam, looking like an old man, swaying as he walked.
This bicycle is nearing the end of its life.
As she was intently eating her breakfast, biting into a steamed bun, someone angrily knocked on the door.
Aunt Zhang opened the door; it was Yan hope.
There were several black marks on his face and hands.
"What's going on?" Siwan clicked her tongue in amazement.
"I haven't even run half a lap yet, and the chain has fallen off. I can't put it back on!" Yan hope plopped down, her eyes wide open, taking up half her face.
"What kind of chain?" Siwan asked, confused.
Ah Heng laughed – “Your face is dirty.”
Yan hope muttered as she ran to the bathroom, while A Heng put down her steamed bun, picked up her repair kit, and went out.
Unbeknownst to them, half of Siwan's face was darkened, and the other half looked uncomfortable.
Sure enough, I saw a bicycle that was almost completely disabled.
She frowned, looking at the chain that was older than her with difficulty.
Pliers and screwdrivers are all over the floor. Oh well, I'll just use whichever one looks good to me!
Crackling and clattering.
Ah Heng watched the chain tremble slightly as it returned to its original position, and felt that he was truly a talented person. He thought he should ask Grandpa He if he needed anyone else...
"How was it installed?" Yan hope asked in surprise.
Ah Heng pondered, "Is this a physical principle, a mathematical principle, or both?"
She looked up, but Yan hope smiled.
Ah Heng knew her face was probably no better looking than Yan hope's just now, so she became serious and tried to hide her blush—"I think you should thank me."
Yan hope also said seriously, "I think you should consider the feelings of someone who likes comedy."
Ah Heng stared, counted three, and couldn't help but laugh.
Yan Xi smiled and gently wiped away a speck of black from between the girl's eyebrows with his index finger—"Thank you. I'm so glad I got to ride this bicycle today. Thank you CCTV, thank you MTV, thank you Rolling Stone, thank you Sony, thank you Aheng, okay?"
Ah Heng nodded demurely, secretly pleased.
hehe.
On this day, Ah Heng sat on the bicycle, just like the swaying sedan chair carried on TV, dizzy and wobbly.
The broken-down car swayed along at a pace of one step per second. Halfway there, it encountered Da Yi, who was clearly unsophisticated and startled. He opened his mouth wide and smacked his lips, then leisurely studied the car with great interest. Yan hope was furious, turned his head, and rammed directly into Xin Da Yi.
Although the car is dilapidated, it still has the potential to cause damage.
Yan hope looked contemptuously at Xin Dayi, who was lying on the ground, and triumphantly left a mark on the boy's leg with the wheel of his car before disappearing into the air.
Ah Heng blushed, covered her face, and decided to deceive herself so that no one would notice there was someone in the back seat of the broken car.
However, knowing that Yan hope had bad habits such as being prone to regret, being stubborn, and being headstrong, she still accompanied the young man all the way, despite the awkwardness and discomfort.
But how long will it take for him to realize how precious this companionship is?
Sometimes, even if you empty your heart and give your all, you can never find it again.
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Grandpa Yan is going abroad.
Ah Heng first heard about it during dinner, when her grandfather mentioned it.
Grandpa Yan had been preparing for his visa to go abroad before the Lunar New Year. The higher-ups felt that the old man had dedicated his life to the military and made many contributions to the new China, so the military should allow him to go to the United States to reunite with his son and daughter-in-law. That's why they approved it.
Otherwise, with Mr. Yan's military rank standing there, the people in the Overseas Affairs Office would really be in a difficult position.
"Where is Yan hope?" Aheng asked, only realizing after speaking that she had spoken too hastily.
Grandpa glanced at her and frowned—"That child absolutely refuses to go. Yan Shuai has been coaxing her since the beginning of the year, but Yan hope still won't agree. These past two days, the two of them have been having a cold war."
Meanwhile, Siwan had already put down her soup spoon and, disregarding table manners, strode away.
Si'er glanced at her mother and grandfather's expressions and tried to smooth things over—"Brother and Yanxi have always had a very good relationship."
Old Wen snorted, his eyes turning somewhat sinister—"Such a big child, I really don't know where he's putting his mind!"
Ah Heng felt awkward. Who was Grandpa talking to?
She quickly finished her meal, returned to her room, and dialed Da Yi's cell phone.
“Dayi.” Aheng pursed her lips.
"Oh, it's Aheng. What's wrong?" There was some noise around Da Yi.
"Siwan, Yanxi, are they with you?" She thought for a moment and asked the boy.
"Yes, the two of them are arguing. Hey, Yanxi, my beauty, don't be angry, don't smash my game console, I just bought it. Siwan's words didn't mean anything!" Xin Dayi put down her phone to mediate, and Aheng overheard most of it on the other end.
Sure enough… she sighed softly.
"Um, I'm hanging up now, Ah Heng, I'll call you back in a bit... Holy crap, Wen Siwan, have you gone mad today...?"
A busy signal.
She put the microphone back down and sat down at her desk. She looked at the neatly stacked books on the desk. No matter which one she picked up, every story was crystal clear, yet they all seemed unbearably dull.
Newton's laws of motion, ah, always create conclusions from nonexistent conditions...
Will AgCl and BaSO4 never dissolve...?
Single-celled plants with cell walls and single-celled animals without cell walls—regardless, they are all single-celled…
Sine and cosine curves look the same, yet they are always a quarter of a period apart...
She looked at the book with gentle eyes, breathing softly, trying to calm herself, but found that even a single breath could lead to uncontrollable chaos.
In the end, however, he gave up interpreting things through his own lens, forgave himself, and slowly slumped onto the table.
She wasn't smart enough, so how could she dare to entertain such delusional thoughts and disturb other people's lives...
Who can overcome the reluctance in their heart and yet not try to hold on to that person?
However, it's better to endure it; if you can endure it, you can let go of it.
Ah Heng sighed, then slowly sat up straight, opened her Chinese textbook, and softly read the text in her long-unused Wu dialect.
No one will understand, that way I can feel at ease.
“Gui Youguang, ‘The Record of Xiangjixuan’, Xiangjixuan was the old South Pavilion…” She smiled, touching the words on the book. She had studied quite a few classical Chinese texts, but this was her favorite.