The New Year of 2012 arrived earlier than usual.
Just a week after Lin Xiche’s birthday, the Chinese New Year came.
The first snowfall in Xicheng had just arrived, blanketing the entire city in a pristine white. The sycamore trees, stripped of their leaves, appeared lifeless, and occasionally, unidentified birds could be seen flying by.
Lin Xige’s holiday lasted less than half a month, as she had to return to school on the seventh day of the new year. Even on New Year’s Eve, she didn’t spend much time teasing Lin Xiche. Instead, she woke up early, sat at her desk, and started solving problems.
Her diligence influenced Lin Xiche, who suddenly felt like she had been particularly lazy in the past few days.
Lin Xiche also got up early with Lin Xige, taking up the position on the bed. She leaned against the headboard, put on her glasses, and began reading a book related to veterinary medicine.
Unconsciously, an entire afternoon passed.
After finishing this part, Lin Xiche relaxed her eyes, turned to her side, and pulled open the bedside table. She took out a small wooden box with a lock on the opening, making it impossible to open. She looked down at it, flipping it up and down in her hands.
Lin Xige was disturbed by her movements, turning her head and asking, “What are you doing?”
“You tell me.” Lin Xiche suddenly sat up straight, asking her, “Is Xu Fang sick?”
“…,” Lin Xige remained silent for a moment, then reached for her phone on the side, “I don’t know. Should I ask him for you?”
Lin Xiche didn’t pay much attention to her words. She shook the box in her hand again, wondering what was inside. It didn’t make any sound. The box wasn’t large, slightly bigger than her palm, and quite light.
She shook it vigorously again, and the only sound it made was the crisp click of the lock: “This is a birthday gift Xu Fang gave me.”
“Ah? This box?” Lin Xige shook her head, her cheeks puffed out, “It’s what’s inside.”
“…,”
“He kept the key himself,” Lin Xiche continued, gripping the lock tightly, “He said he was giving me this, then locked the box and kept the key. Even though we see each other every day, he still hasn’t given me the key…”
“Is this normal?”
Lin Xiche went on with her story, not paying attention to Lin Xige, who was now tapping on her phone’s screen. It seemed like she was sending a message to someone.
Thinking back to what she had just said, Lin Xiche leaned in and asked, “You really sent a message to Xu Fang…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Xige noticed that Lin Xige had sent the message without adding any contact information, displaying only an unfamiliar phone number.
Lin Xiche blinked, “Who’s this?”
“I don’t know.” Lin Xige touched her phone’s screen and looked puzzled, “Before this, aside from my parents, there was always another number calling me. The number was registered in Yuanhong City, so I thought it was you using someone else’s phone to call me, so I answered.”
“And then?”
“They never spoke on the other end, and I thought it was a wrong number, so I hung up.” Lin Xige said, “Then, a few days later, they called again, still not saying anything. I found it annoying, so I blocked the number. Recently, the number’s origin changed to Xicheng, and I received a call from it while I was working on my exam paper yesterday. I got angry and didn’t hang up. I asked who it was again, but they still didn’t say anything. So, I scolded them thoroughly.”
After saying this, Lin Xige added, “It was quite a dramatic scolding.”
“…”
“Then they started talking.”
Lin Xige didn’t expect things to develop like this and was curious, “What did they say?”
She hadn’t even asked the question when Lin Xige’s phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.
Thinking it might be the same person calling again, Lin Xige frowned and was about to hang up when she noticed that the incoming call wasn’t from an unfamiliar number but from her father.
Lin Xige’s expression seemed even more troubled. After hesitating for a while, she tossed her phone aside without answering.
After a few rings, the call was disconnected. Lin Xige breathed a sigh of relief but then felt that her actions might not have been the best. She tried to act as if nothing had happened, returning to her desk to continue working on her assignments.
Not long after, the landline phone in the living room rang.
At that moment, Grandfather was busy preparing the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner in the kitchen and didn’t have time to answer the call.
Lin Xiche jumped out of bed and ran to the living room, picking up the phone. “Hello, who’s calling?”
On the other end of the line, a mature and tired-sounding male voice spoke, “Is this Chichi? Can you let Jingjing take the call?”
Lin Xiche’s smile froze for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Eventually, she managed a faint “Okay” and got up.
Coincidentally, Grandfather heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with an apron. He asked, “Who’s on the phone?”
“It’s…” Lin Xiche paused in her steps towards the room and looked at Grandfather. She mumbled softly, “Dad’s calling, and he wants Jingjing to take the call. I’ll go call her…”
“No need,” Grandfather interrupted her, then went over to answer the phone himself.
Lin Xiche stood still for a moment, not hearing the conversation between them, and then returned to her room.
At this moment, Lin Xige also lost the mood to study. She sat at her desk, staring into space, and soon snapped out of it. Lowering her head, she picked up a pen and started scribbling aimlessly in her notebook.
Lin Xiche sat cross-legged on the bed, watching her, and suddenly asked, “Do Mom and Dad know that Lin Deng hit you?”
“I haven’t told them,” Lin Xige said, her eyes down as she stuffed her textbooks into her bag. “They probably don’t know.”
“Have they taken Lin Deng to see a psychologist?”
“They talked about taking her to see one in October, but Grandma didn’t agree. She said it would make people talk and label Lin Deng as mentally ill. They’ve all started to believe that now. They don’t let her go out and just keep her at home. Besides, they think Lin Deng has been getting better slowly, that a change of environment will help her even more.”
“…”
“Anyway, most of the time, she seems pretty normal.” Lin Xige thought for a moment. “Actually, Lin Deng hasn’t hit me much. Most of the time, she stays in her room and doesn’t talk. Occasionally, she would suddenly start crying or screaming.”
After a while, Lin Xiche suddenly stiffened and tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I told Mom and Dad.”
“What?”
Lin Xiche’s eyes widened slightly as she continued, “I told them about Lin Deng hitting me. I thought they would take her to see a doctor, but after a while, they sent me to Grandfather’s house.”
“…”
“It’s okay; I’m not that unhappy here anyway.” Lin Xiche rubbed her eyes and said slowly, “Here, Grandfather is really good to me, Xu Fang still comes over to study with me like before, and you still call me…”
Lin Xige lowered her head, responding with a subdued “Okay.”
“I thought that under normal circumstances, I would stay at Grandfather’s house for a while, not provoke her in front of her, and my parents would insist on taking Lin Deng to see a doctor. After some time, she would get better, and I could go back home, and we would continue to live together as we did before.”
“…”
“But it seems that’s not the case,” Lin Xiche’s voice was very soft, her expression calm. “Maybe raising three children at the same time is just too difficult for them.”
Lin Xige didn’t know what to say, staring at her, feeling somewhat lost.
Lin Xige sighed and said earnestly, “Let them take her to see a doctor. She’s sick, and when you’re sick, you need to see a doctor and take medicine to get better. Getting sick is not something to be ashamed of; everyone gets sick.”
After Lin Xige left, Lin Xige went to the kitchen to help Grandfather.
The two of them chatted intermittently, mostly Lin Xige talking while Grandfather occasionally shifted his gaze from the pot to her, scolding her affectionately.
With only the two of them for the New Year’s Eve dinner, it didn’t feel lonely at all.
After serving all the dishes on the table, Lin Xige scooped two bowls of rice from the kitchen.
Grandfather was sitting at the head of the table, and he took the bowl of rice she handed to him. “Let’s eat.”
Lin Xige obediently replied, sitting beside him, and began to serve him some dishes.
After a long while, Grandfather finally spoke, saying, “When your father adopted you, there were a lot of procedures, and some conditions couldn’t be met. After the paperwork was completed, and they brought you back home, your mother said she didn’t want to keep you and wanted him to send you back.”
Lin Xige’s chopsticks paused.
“Your grandmother and I said at the time that a child is not an object; you can’t just decide to keep or abandon them like that. We took you in.”
Lin Xige asked hesitantly, “And then?”
“Later, I don’t know what your father said to your mother, but they wanted to take you back again. We had you for several months, and we didn’t want to let you go, but your mother kept crying, so we let them take you back. Now that you’re living here, it’s actually better. It’s like a reunion of our family.”
The atmosphere remained quiet for a long time.
“Really?” Lin Xige’s eyes welled up with tears as she gripped her chopsticks a bit tighter. She spoke words she had never said to anyone before, finally letting them out now, “If they didn’t want me, would you have taken me back?”
Grandfather nodded and patted her head. “Really.”
Lin Xige didn’t know if he meant it for real.
But right now, she really needed and wanted to hear this answer.
“Look at Jingjing; she’s such a good girl…” Lin Xige’s tears fell like raindrops as she wiped them away with both hands, like a child seeking comfort, “If Lin Deng hadn’t… hadn’t done those things, she would have become such a good person too…”
Grandfather patted her back and spoke with kindness, “You’re a good child too.”
“I’m too afraid… too afraid to blame them…” Lin Xige choked back tears and confessed everything she had bottled up for the past few years. She listened to Grandfather’s comforting words, and with her tears, it seemed that all the anxiety and cautiousness she had carried with her for so long were finally released.
In this moment, it felt like her tears were washing away all the fears and worries.
Lin Xige didn’t return on the first day of the Lunar New Year; she stayed there for several more days.
When Lin Xige finally returned to school, her second semester of freshman year began. She had more major courses this semester than in the previous one, and combined with her responsibilities in the club, her life became busier.
She and Xu Fang still managed to find a matching slot in their schedules and enrolled in the same elective course.
In addition to their meals, the library was the place Lin Xige and Xu Fang visited most often during this semester. Xu Fang’s daily routine this semester was quite different from that of his friends.
While his friends slept soundly in their dorms, Xu Fang would be carrying his backpack, urged on by Lin Xige, with a pile of textbooks on his way to the library.
While his friends were busy playing games in the dorm, Xu Fang would be carrying his backpack, urged on by Lin Xige, with a pile of textbooks on his way to the library.
While his friends finished playing basketball and prepared to go out for drinks and flirting, Xu Fang would be carrying his backpack, urged on by Lin Xige, with a pile of textbooks on his way to the library.
…
Xu Fang felt that his life was even more challenging than his high school senior year.
It seemed that Lin Xige had noticed his not-so-good mood. She had tried to cheer him up, saying with a smile, “Don’t you find this life fulfilling? Your days are packed from morning to night, with no wasted time.”
Xu Fang didn’t want to pay attention to her.
Even though Xu Fang always didn’t look happy when Lin Xige urged him to go to the library, he never arrived late. Within ten minutes of her reminder, he would always show up at the library’s entrance, never once being late.
The elective course they took together was an easy one, and Lin Xige had specifically checked on the school forum to find out that this professor’s class was particularly easy before deciding to take it.
One day, Lin Xige woke up later than usual for her nap and arrived at the classroom later than Xu Fang. She expected him to have chosen a seat in the back rows, but after searching the back rows for a while, she finally spotted him sitting in the first row.
In the spacious classroom that could accommodate a hundred students, most of the students were squeezed into the back rows.
Only Xu Fang was sitting alone in the front row, very conspicuous.
The bell had already rung, and it would be a bit embarrassing to ask him to change seats now, so Lin Xige decided not to disturb him. She walked over and found a seat beside him, asking softly, “Why are you sitting in the first row?”
Xu Fang glanced at her, his tone not too good, “Didn’t you tell me to study hard?”
“…” She didn’t say that it included easy courses like this.
Lin Xige didn’t want to discourage his positive attitude, so she forced a smile and nodded. She took out her textbook from her bag, flipped through it, and then took out a set of questions for the English CET-6 exam and started working on it.
Xu Fang didn’t pay her much attention, listening to the lecture and taking notes in his textbook.
Lin Xige couldn’t help but be drawn to his actions. When they attended this class together in the past, she would either fall asleep or do something else, rarely paying attention to what he was doing.
But now, Lin Xige noticed that he was also taking notes in his textbook.
The handwriting was clear and neat, organized and dense.
Seeing his current state, Lin Xige could imagine how he must have been in other classes.
Lin Xige paused for a moment, then suddenly put down her pen and grabbed his left hand, playing with his fingers as if teasing him.
Xu Fang didn’t raise an eyebrow or react in any way, but he subconsciously held her hand, gripping her fingers tightly to keep them in place.
There was a noticeable difference in strength between the two.
Lin Xige couldn’t move her hand at all, so she used her other hand to pry open his fingers one by one. After she managed to pry open the fifth finger, Xu Fang suddenly stopped moving.
She looked up.
She saw Xu Fang’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, his eyes deep and calm, lips pressed tightly, as if she had somehow affected him and he wasn’t too pleased.
“Don’t mess around.”
Lin Xige blinked, about to say something.
Before she could speak, Xu Fang’s eyebrows relaxed, and his tone became more casual with a hint of revenge.
“I’m more interested in studying than you are.”
“…”
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