...
It's winter solstice again.
Xu Xingyan personally cut a bunch of white chrysanthemums, took Lin Shengmiao's hand, and came to her grandparents' graves.
"Grandpa, I've brought Miaomiao to see you."
Lin Shengmiao solemnly placed the white chrysanthemum in front of the tombstone and bowed deeply, saying, "Grandpa, Grandma."
Xu Xingyan looked at her beloved relative, who had long since passed away but whose memory was now eternal, and smiled faintly: "She is the person I love most, and I have long wanted to bring her to you to see."
Back in the summer before her second year of high school, Xu Xingyan lay on her grandfather's lap, her voice trembling with tears, and told him that the person she loved very much was going to a very far place...
The old man's broad, kind hand stroked his granddaughter's thin shoulder. His eyes held both heartache for her suffering from separation and a wise understanding, as if he knew everything but never spoke of it.
He slowly recounted his understanding of love—
"Love is respect, understanding, giving, not taking, not envying, love is fulfillment..."
He told her that love is about letting go.
He asked her, "Since you like the wild and untamed nature of the gyrfalcon, why do you always want to tame it? The sky is so vast, why do you want to keep it by your side?"
Growing up in a complex social circle, despite her strict upbringing, upright family values, and loving parents, she had seen her share of tricks. That summer, as the day of their separation drew near, her heart was consumed by anxiety, and she considered a hundred ways to keep Lin Shengmiao by her side forever.
But all those secret motives vanished with a single, understated remark from my grandfather.
Xu Xingyan turned her head and silently looked at her lover beside her.
A person who possesses a blue sky has a clear and bright expression, even between their brows, which is breathtakingly beautiful!
Thank goodness, thank goodness...
You clearly have a brain, goals, abilities, and excellent ideas... You are so smart and hardworking, you should be able to soar freely.
Grandpa, thank you.
...
Not far from the cemetery, there was a small supermarket. When Xu Xingyan returned from buying water, she saw Lin Shengmiao, who seemed to have met an acquaintance, an aunt who looked to be in her fifties.
The woman was probably in a hurry to go to sweep the tombs, so they didn't chat for long, but they both had smiles on their faces.
"Who is that?" Xu Xingyan asked as she walked over.
"I never expected to run into Aunt Gu, who used to help me find part-time jobs," Lin Shengmiao said as she took the bottled water from her, feeling a sense of joy at meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
"I met her in college. She's a really nice person. Back then, there was a crematorium nearby that was hiring part-time night watchmen. The pay for one night was 1,200 yuan, which was about enough to cover my food expenses for a month. Whenever Aunt Gu had this kind of job, she would always ask me if I needed it."
As she spoke, her eyes were filled with gratitude. Having experienced hardship, she knew all too well the value of kindness, and cherished it no matter how small.
Xu Xingyan often felt that if Lin Shengmiao were to stand on the podium one day and give his acceptance speech, the number of people he would have to thank would fill all the pages.
That's just the kind of person she is; she never lets any kindness go unappreciated, and she never feels that her wretched and stumbling past is anything to be ashamed of.
...
"Miss Xu, Miss Xu..."
As soon as they entered the parking lot, they were stopped again. Xu Xingyan turned around and looked back, feeling somewhat helpless.
When I checked the almanac today, I only saw that it was auspicious for bathing and cleaning... but I didn't see that it was auspicious for reunion.
Is it because of the winter solstice that it's so easy to run into acquaintances in the cemetery?
The newcomer was a girl in her early twenties with regular features. She looked genuinely surprised. Xu Xingyan remembered her; her name was Cong Ran. About seven or eight years ago, she almost committed suicide by jumping off a building because of the large debts left by her father.
Unfortunately, Xu Xingyan stumbled upon her. Even more unfortunately, the location she chose to jump was one of the Xu family's buildings. Whether out of humanitarianism or for profit, Xu Xingyan could not let it go.
She didn't do much. First, she lent her a sum of money in her own name to stop those vicious debt collectors. Then she found her a job, which was 12 hours a day. It was hard work, but the salary was also very high.
Even hoping to avoid further trouble by paying money, Xu Xingyan never thought she could get that money back. However, the girl is very hardworking and makes a monthly repayment. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be able to pay it off in a few years.
Cong Ran smiled broadly: "I never expected to see Miss Xu here, what a coincidence."
Xu Xingyan smiled and said, "It is quite a coincidence."
She glanced at Cong Ran's face and clothes. It's actually quite easy to tell whether a person is doing well or not. Cong Ran should indeed be doing alright. Even though he was a little strapped for cash, he was in good spirits.
So I casually asked about his recent situation.
Cong Ran agreed to everything and expressed her gratitude repeatedly. Xu Xingyan replied that it was nothing and that it was no big deal. They exchanged pleasantries back and forth.
Seeing Cong Ran's gaze fall on Lin Shengmiao, Xu Xingyan introduced, "This is my lover."
That's right, not a friend, not a girlfriend, but a lover. Ms. Xu's love has always been open and honest.
Lin Shengmiao lowered her head, a warm smile on her face.
Cong Ran visibly paused for a moment, then quickly said, "This... is a very, very good match."
Xu Xingyan smiled genuinely: "Thank you, we think so too."
Cong Ran walked a long way, then suddenly turned back and glanced at the two people walking side by side. They were indeed a perfect match, both in appearance and temperament, like a perfect couple.
In the cold December wind, she recalled that year when she stood on the railing of the top floor of a building, filled with despair. It was drizzling, and the surroundings were cold and desolate. A girl walked towards her step by step, radiating light.
In an ordinary life, what I fear most is meeting someone who is too amazing.
But you have seen the stars and felt their light. Even if you have never owned them, they have illuminated countless dark nights. Even though they are far away in the sky and unreachable, it is enough to comfort you for a lifetime.
"Miss Xu, I wish you happiness."
Cong Ran murmured softly.
There were tears in her eyes, but her smile was genuine.
...
"Miss Xu is incredibly charming!"
Once inside the car, Lin Shengmiao's first words were half-joking and half-sour: there were too many rivals in love, and Cong Ran was nothing compared to that. Lin Shengmiao had developed a keen eye and could instantly discern the strengths and weaknesses of her opponents.
Xu Xingyan wanted to reply with, "Likewise."
However, the truth is that Lin Shengmiao is very decisive in his relationships with people other than Xu Xingyan. Once he senses a budding romance, he will nip it in the bud, whether explicitly or implicitly.
In this instance, it seems that Ms. Xu is indeed in the wrong.
Thinking this, Xu Xingyan untied her scarf, revealing a section of her snow-white neck. She glanced at Lin Shengmiao and raised her eyebrows, saying, "Come on, leave a mark and assert your dominance."
Lin Shengmiao looked at her, clicked her tongue, and without hesitation lowered her head and bit down.
After a while, a soft cry came from the wind—
"You're really going to bite me! Be gentle, it hurts!"
Chapter 47 Extra 2
Xu Xingyan is a very self-aware person.
She knew that no matter how beautiful she seemed, she was not perfect and had many flaws. Just like the bright moon, which has captivated countless people throughout five thousand years of history, but in reality, the moon's surface is full of craters.
When Xu Xingyan first saw the photos taken from the moon in a book, she realized a truth: if you want something sacred to remain on a high platform forever, then don't get too close.
Therefore, whenever those who have only met her a few times or have received some benefits from her express their love, no matter how sincere their feelings are, she remains unmoved.
What they like is merely the superficial facade of Huayao that she has cultivated; it's all very shallow.
She knows she's a bit petty, vengeful, repressed, and arrogant... She's full of little thoughts but refuses to speak them out, forcing others to guess, which causes a lot of trouble for people.
But there's no way you'd get her to change!
Many people have a common problem: they like to change others, always wanting to mold another independent person into the way they want to be. Ms. Xu thinks this is crazy.
This is just my nature, take it or leave it!
It sounds easy to say, but reality is never a fairy tale. When you live in this world, you can't help but carry expectations, the most typical of which is from your parents.
Xu Xingyan received an inexhaustible supply of love from her parents, but similarly, President Xu and Ms. Fang Yi also had their own expectations. Their list included many things they hoped Xu Xingyan could do, and they even had expectations for her future, her personality, and the career path she chose.
This is understandable, but Miss Xu, who is in her adolescence, still finds it very annoying.
At night, she silently made a wish to the moon, wishing for someone who would love her completely, someone in whose eyes everything about her was beautiful and unchangeable.
"Hilarious! How can there be such a person in this world?" Miss Xu shook her head and laughed after making her wish.
But Sister Moon really remembered the order, and when the time came, she delivered it to the door.
Luo Jing always felt that Xu Xingyan's obsessive love for one person was distressing, but she didn't know that Lin Shengmiao was truly blindly in love in this relationship.
Just like how you find craters of all sizes as you get close to the moon's surface, how could Lin Shengmiao not know what Miss Xu's true nature is over time?
But in her eyes, Xu Xingyan was absolutely adorable! Flaws? Did she even have any?
Actually, the idea of tutoring English in the second year of high school was proposed by Miss Xu. Her main purpose was to spend more time together. You think Lin Shengmiao didn't know? NO! No one is better at half-heartedly agreeing than her.
Xu Xingyan's English is really bad, the kind that she just can't seem to improve, but Lin Shengmiao doesn't think so. She finds Xu Xingyan's deep thinking and scratching her head extremely cute. Occasionally, when she gets a perfect score on a vocabulary dictation test, she always thinks, "Who said our Xingyan has no talent for English? Look, she's got quite a talent, isn't she?"
When the test papers were handed out, they were covered in red crosses, but she had a filter in her eyes. Holding the corner of the paper, she sincerely praised, "Wow, you got this basic question right! Your foundation is great. And this cloze test is really difficult, but you got two right! That's awesome!"
The violinist played two wrong notes.
"Huh? Really? I think it sounds amazing! Much better than everyone else's!"
I came in second place for drawing.
"The first place winner is three years older than you and has studied for three more years. Our Yan Yan is already amazing enough!"
Even when peeling an apple, Lin Shengmiao felt that she peeled it better and rounder than others.
This all-encompassing, encouraging education made Ms. Xu both overjoyed and completely bewildered.
Every day I'm in high spirits, and the smile on my face can last from morning till night, as if... I've never been truly happy in my life until now.
The scariest thing is that Lin Shengmiao herself doesn't feel blind at all; she genuinely believes that Xu Xingyan is adorable from head to toe, down to the last strand of her hair!
Even after many years, this filter hasn't faded much, even though Lin Shengmiao's rational mind is still aware of some of Xu Xingyan's minor issues...
But—just as she loved Xu Xingyan's strengths, she accepted them all with a smile and was happy to accept them.
When she was little, her grandma always said that there are gods watching over us, and we should know how to be respectful. Xu Xingyan would retort that the books say there are no gods in this world!
However, after meeting Lin Shengmiao, Xu Xingyan began to believe it. She didn't know about the other gods, but she was absolutely certain that the Moon Goddess was truly in charge.