**********************Divider*****************
In June, news broke that Z University's medical school was exchanging students with a renowned French medical research institute. The news seemed dubious, with several versions circulating, but the key point was the number of places available: five.
Anyway, given the current trend of China valuing overseas returnees, going abroad for three years to get a "golden" makeover is definitely not a bad thing.
Students from all grades, even those who had already started working, came back to find out what was going on.
Finally, after being questioned repeatedly, the institute admitted that the matter was indeed true, but that selection would not be based solely on grades; French language skills were mandatory, and candidates would have to pass an exam administered by the research institute to be considered.
Everyone was rushing to learn French, and Ah Heng joined in the fun, buying a beginner's French book. After reading it for a few days, he started getting goosebumps.
The ordeal of the CET-4 and CET-6 exams has only been over for a few days, and now I'm making things harder for myself.
He threw down his books and went to the lab to do experiments. Mr. Li happened to be in the lab as well. After exchanging a few words, Mr. Li asked, "Wen Heng, have you ever thought about going abroad?"
Ah Heng scratched his head and said he thought about it a couple of days ago, studied French for two days, but then stopped thinking about it. "It's too difficult," he said, "the phonetic symbols are so strange."
Mr. Li laughed and said that French is the most authentic language besides Chinese. He added that he studied and worked in France when he was young and has a good foundation in the language. He suggested that if the student wanted to learn, he could come to him.
Ah Heng was stunned. "Sir, don't you dislike me?"
Mr. Li's eyes were full of smiles, yet he sighed, "Pedantic, pedantic, utterly pedantic. It seems it wasn't that Fei Bai misjudged you back then, but that he never truly understood you. You stayed by my side for nearly half a year during SARS. Humans aren't plants or trees; it's rare to have such a bond between teacher and student. What harm is there in me helping you?"
Ah Heng said, "Sir, I haven't decided yet whether I want to go abroad."
Mr. Li nodded and said, "Come find me when you've made up your mind."
When I got back and told Aheng about it, Xiao Wu slapped Aheng on the head and said, "Are you a pig-brain? What a great opportunity, and you're still acting all high and mighty."
Ah Heng murmured, "Going abroad? It'll take three years, and I won't know anyone there."
Xiao Wu said, "So what if it's been three years? It would be better if you didn't know anyone. Staying in your dilapidated garden all day, constantly thinking about all sorts of nonsense, doesn't that make you uncomfortable? Anyway, your mom and grandpa have Wen Siwan and Wen Sier to take care of them, and the Yun family has Yun Zai. What are you still worried about?"
The eldest sister frowned. "Alright, Xiao Wu, stop talking. Let Aheng think about it herself. You can't decide this for her."
Then, Ah Heng kept thinking and thinking, and even when summer vacation came, she still couldn't figure it out. In short, the thought of going abroad made her anxious and upset.
Yun, carefree and smiling, still seizes every opportunity to snuggle into Aheng's arms and sleep.
She sighed, "Young Master Yun, if I were to go abroad, where would you plan to lie down?"
Yun placed her elbow on Aheng's lap, her smile as gentle as a cloud, yet she remained silent, her dark eyes gazing at her with tender clarity.
After a long pause, she spoke softly, "Wen Heng, I said I'd go to France with you. What do you think?"
************************ Divider **************
During summer vacation, Aheng stayed at home and watched French movies all summer long.
Si'er shook her head. "You've recited this passage eight hundred times already. Are you planning to learn French and go to France?"
Ah Heng, holding the remote control, said, "I might actually go."
Hey, Sier, could you at least open the curtains before you go? Watching a movie isn't about pretending to be withdrawn. What are you doing?
After speaking, he drew back the curtains.
Ah Heng covered her face, saying it was too bright, and then turned it off.
Si'er pulled her along, "Come on, let's go shopping. Why are you so listless since you came back this summer? You look like you've just broken up with someone. I've never seen you like this since we broke up."
Ah Heng laughed helplessly, "Slow down, I haven't changed out of my pajamas yet."
Walking down the street, the shopping malls have put up new summer posters. Some people are more civilized and throw the old posters in the trash can, while others are less civilized and just throw them on the ground. They get trampled on and walked past. No matter how much you liked or appreciated them before, you just can't see them now.
Si'er was trying out cosmetics on the first floor of the mall, while Aheng, bored, stood outside the mall waiting.
I recalled a long French sentence I had just learned from a movie and muttered it to myself.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky suddenly darkened. In August, the rain was unpredictable, thunder rumbled, and soon it poured down.
She ran into the mall. Si'er was still wearing a face mask. She was in the last step and didn't have time to talk to her. Aheng just squatted there watching the rain.
Not far from her, in the rain, there happened to be a poster, lying quietly on the ground in the downpour.
The mud-stained painting, the once clean face, the arched eyebrows, the soft lips, the bright eyes, the black tailcoat.
This was a cover advertisement that caused a sensation at the time.
Because of this poster, the fan club of the person on the poster tripled in size.
once.
Then, the rain splashed down, soaking the muddy water and turning it into something unrecognizable.
She stared quietly at the poster, her eyes clear and bright.
A young working woman hurriedly walked past in the rain, shielding her hair with her bag. Her sharp heels stomped hard on the poster, trampling on the face of the person on it.
She watched quietly.
There were high school students rushing home from school, striding through the rain, their rough soles completely covering their faces, their arrogance crumbling inch by inch.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier.
One, two, three, four...
She pointed, each pedestrian coming and going, so many feet, gradually, became uncountable.
After finishing her face mask, Si'er rushed to find Aheng, only to see her running into the rain.
Ah Heng, where are you going?
She asked her.
She seemed not to hear him. She walked to the middle of the road, bent down, picked up a poster so dirty it was unrecognizable, stuck it to her cheek, and with red eyes, she cried out in the rain like a lost child, looking into the distance.
She said that if you could go back to 1998, Wen Heng, you should never fall in love at first sight with a figure in a window.
Even if you fall in love at first sight, you should never know that his name is Yan hope.
Even if you know his name is Yan hope, you should never go to Wuzhen with him.
Go back to Wuzhen with him, but make sure you don't fall in love with him.
Even if you fall in love with him, you should never stay by his side.
Even if you stay by his side, you must not give him your whole heart.
He's being nice to you because he's repaying a debt of gratitude, you know?
He's nice to you because you were abandoned before, you know?
Don't think that he treats you differently just because he calls you "daughter".
Don't convince yourself how much he loves you just because he calls you "baby".
Even if everything happens, he said that when we're together, you must still say, "Thank you, but I don't love you."
Because when you break up, he will say to you, "Wen Heng, I don't like you, never."
Chapter 95
Chapter 94
When it all began, we, in the future, will call it the past.
She said, "My past is the same as yours. From one person, back to one person's destiny."
However, it leaves an indelible tooth mark, biting at the throat; one inch deeper, and it would be fatal.
—Foreword
When Siwan said that Lu Liu wanted to have a casual meal with her, Aheng was drinking the cappuccino that Sier had been making all afternoon, and then the foam almost sprayed out of her nostrils.
Si'er despises it; such a pathetic attitude, it's disgusting enough to make anyone sick.
He threw the handkerchief at her face.
Ah Heng TOT, look at Si Wan, I won't have a casual meal with him, a casual meal, what a despicable and insidious person he is, if I go, what if he sells me out?
Siwan said that her brother was just a messenger, and it was up to him whether he went or not.
Si'er slammed her hand on the table. "Why not eat when there's free rice? Besides, when Lu Liu invites you to dinner, it's usually a five-star restaurant or higher. Don't be afraid of what he says, just plug your ears and eat. Besides, what common ground could you possibly have with him?"
Siwan = =, they really do have something in common...
Sigh, a man we once shared.
The difference is that Lu Liu has a share but no name, while A Heng has a name but no share.
Then, let's make a fundamental distinction: the first fifteen years of this man's life, and perhaps the infinitely distant future, belong to a man, while the five years and one hundred and eighty-three days in between belong to a woman.
Ah Heng, holding the white porcelain cup filled with cappuccino, gazed into the distance with endless melancholy. Si Er pinched the child's face and threatened, "Hurry up and finish it. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I'm telling you, I've been cooking this all afternoon."
Ah Heng cried, thinking, "You spent all afternoon cooking this stuff, and it tastes better than anything I can make with a simple bowl of water."
In the end, Ah Heng still went to Lu Liu's invitation for a casual meal...
Ah Heng remembers it clearly. That day, Lu Liu wore a dark green T-shirt and slightly faded blue jeans. His hair was unkempt and soft. He smiled, and his smile reminded people of a Bodhisattva with a dot of cinnabar between his eyebrows.
Then, Si'er guessed wrong. The place he took her to was not a five-star or (n>5)-star restaurant, but just an ordinary restaurant with a private chef who only cooked ten tables of food a day, and tea was free.
The taste... the taste is somewhat familiar.
Lu Liu served her food, saying that Chen Wan, a model under Lu's Group, learned her cooking skills here.
Ah Heng picked up a piece of shredded meat. Oh, it's Su cuisine, from our area.
They ate something else, laughed, and said it was similar to what I made—a home-style dish. ^_^
But in my heart I was cursing myself for being able to laugh. What a kid!
He put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and said sincerely, "Young Master Lu, what's on your mind? Please just say it. I'm not used to being so friendly."
Lu Liu smiled and said, "It's nothing. I did say I'd treat you to a meal. I usually keep my word."
Ah Heng remained silent and began to eat. He started with the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, moving clockwise to the ribs and taking two bites; then he moved counter-clockwise from the chicken broth shark fin to the ribs and took two more bites.
Lu Liu was very attentive and moved the ribs in front of her, saying that the ribs were a specialty here.
Ah Heng couldn't laugh, but said she could taste it; it was really delicious.
Thinking back to what I did before, what was that all about? I cooked braised, steamed, and boiled dishes all the time. Even if I changed the dish every day, I would have eaten each dish 300 times in 5 years, even if I deducted a year and a half. Besides, when I was in a bad mood, I would add chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and vinegar and throw a tantrum. No wonder people ran away.