Chapter Fifteen The Distant Summer Fruit

  Yao Qiyun's face was badly injured, and he went straight to his room as soon as he got home that night, temporarily avoiding Xue Shaoping's eyes. Situ Xuan thought about how the beating he took was more or less because of himself, so after taking a bath, he sneaked downstairs to knock on Yao Qiyun's door, forcing a bottle of red flower oil into his hands and asking if there was anything he could help with.

  Who would have thought that Yao Qiyun, that stinky-tempered guy, would unhesitatingly reject her kindness and even say that as long as she didn't cause trouble, he'd be grateful. His attitude successfully shattered the thread of goodwill that Situ Yue had just managed to ignite towards him, and she cursed his dog-biting-Lü-Dongbin in her heart before storming back into her room.

  The next morning, things didn't go so smoothly for Situ Jiu'an. As soon as Situ Xuan walked out of the room with sleepy eyes, he heard his father, who had gotten up early, asking Yao Qiyun what was going on with his injury. Yao Qiyun lied that he had accidentally bumped into a stool while bending down to pick up a pen that had fallen on the floor, but Situ Jiu'an wasn't an idiot and didn't believe him, thinking instead that he must have gotten into a fight somewhere and was too ashamed to say so.

  This child is naturally not fond of causing trouble, and Shi Tu Jiu An knows it, so he asks directly, "Is it related to that girl Shi Tu Xuan?"

  Situ Xuan was so angry upstairs that he thought, what kind of father doesn't trust his own daughter? How could no one think of the good things she's done?

  Fortunately, Yao Qiyun was still sensible and didn't take the opportunity to drag her down. No matter how much Situ Jiuan asked, she stuck to her story. Seeing Xue Shaoping also joining in on the "concern", Situ Yue couldn't take it anymore and gave them a "truth". She said that after school, she was almost bullied by some hoodlums on her way home, but luckily Yao Qiyun stepped forward and saved her, and the hero thought he had been gloriously injured.

  It turned out that Mr. and Mrs. Situ Jiu'an quickly accepted this explanation, and it seemed to be the answer that best fit their mental image of the person. After praising Yao Qiyun's inscrutable expression, he turned around and scolded his daughter, telling her not to wear such short skirts and run around everywhere in the future.

  Situ Xuan responded with a gloomy face, muttering: "If I were the one being beaten, there wouldn't be so many people concerned about me."

  "Shut up," said Situ Jiu'an, "you're fine as long as you don't hit others."

  Xue Shaoping, who had been persuading her, also saw this scene and sincerely believed that letting Yao Qiyun accompany her daughter was the wisest decision.

  With the departure of the third-year students, summer arrived quickly. Lianquan didn't call Situ Xuan again until two weeks later, when Situ Xuan and Yao Qiyun, who were attending the school's summer English supplementary class, met him after class as he came to school to pick up his admission notice.

  Situ Xuan was someone who couldn't learn to pretend not to see each other on a narrow road, and it had been a while since they last met, so he genuinely missed him. He took the initiative to approach him, "Lianquan, great to see you! Have you received your admission notice?"

  Lianquan's gaze touched the person behind Situ Xuan, and for a moment, it was frosty. However, upon seeing Situ Xuan's bright smile, she couldn't help but return with a smile as well. "Yes."

  Two people who were once intimate, with endless whispers to share, now stand together again after many days apart, as if a layer of invisible gauze has come between them, and they don't know where to start with the countless things they want to say.

  Si Tu Xin decisively pulled him up by the hand and said, "Let's go find a place to have a good talk."

  Lianquan hesitated for a moment, then nodded quickly, "Let's go to the back of the experimental building under that shaded area, look at you, all sweaty."

  "Right, getting even darker would be a disaster."

  The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder for a few steps, but both seemed to have thought of something and turned their heads back at the same time.

  Yao Qiyun hugged several books and stood quietly on the spot.

  Lianquan shook his head and smiled bitterly, shifting his gaze to look at the empty playground.

  Situ Xuan said to Yao Qiyun: "You go back first, I'll head home later."

  She also didn't think Yao Qiyun would take her words seriously, and apparently Quan was the same.

  "Never mind, let him be however he wants, anyway it's all natural now," said Lianquan.

  Unexpectedly, as he watched them leave, Yao Qiyun took a few steps forward, but didn't follow them again. Instead, he quietly walked in another direction.

  Xīng Tuó and Lián Quán walked straight to the quiet tree shade. She sat at one end of the stone bench, flipping through his admission letter from a famous university in Beijing, and said sincerely: "Great, congratulations on getting into this university."

  Lianquan smiled and said, "Thank you."

  Under such politeness and courtesy, the two fell into silence again. To be strict, although some unpleasant things had happened between them, they hadn't broken up, at least not yet, still in a relationship. Had all those happy times been unable to withstand the impact of one setback, reaching the point of treating each other with cold respect so quickly?

  Xīng Tuò couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness for this first love and the promise that still lingered in his ears, and he tried to salvage it. He opened the skylight and spoke bluntly to Lián Quán: "Do you really plan on ignoring me from now on after what happened that night?"

  Lian Quan was taken aback and shook his head.

  "I thought you'd call me." Si Tu Jue smiled self-deprecatingly.

  Lianquan said: "I wanted to, but you were so angry that day..."

  "Afterwards, I thought about it for a long time. At that time, I was on fire and said many angry words, but you hitting me was also wrong. You didn't call me, I don't blame you, I didn't call you either. Let's just calm down and forget about the unpleasantness of that day." Situ Xuan raised his face and sincerely said to Lian Quan.

  "Can you just forget about the unpleasant things? Can you? If Yao Qiyun is forgotten, does that mean he never existed?" Lianquan's voice was filled with contradiction.

  "Sidao Xuan let go of the hand that was holding his, and his voice also gradually cooled down. 'So what do you want to do? I don't like your wishy-washy attitude. Lianquan, let's get things clear between us. I won't guarantee that I can make Yao Qiyun disappear completely, but our matters are our own after all. If we can't control him, then we'll just focus on ourselves. First, I apologize for my temper the other day. If you're willing, we can go back to how things were before; if you don't want to be with me anymore, just say so, and let's end it today. I won't force anything.'"

  Lian Quan heard this and slowly raised his hand, embracing Si Tu Xuan in his arms. "Si Tu, I really like you."

  Xī Tù Xué took a long, deep breath, slowly lifted his head from Lián Quán's embrace, and gazed at the twinkling golden light filtering through the leaves. The cicadas on the branches were chirping wildly, their cries leaving people feeling empty and desolate inside.

  Xīu Tuò Jìn and Lián Quán seemed to have returned to normal, he would go north for school after the summer break, and in the following month, they also made an appointment several times. On non-school days, wanting to find opportunities to stay together was not so easy, the "little hooligan" incident made her parents more worried about her, and the evening curfew was stricter, a few times borrowing buying things or going to the library as an excuse to meet Lián Quán were also under Yáo Qǐyún's accompaniment.

  I don't know why, but after that time, Yao Qiyun no longer followed so closely. Every time she and Lian Quan met, he would consciously disappear from their line of sight, leaving them enough space. However, the words of the ancients have some truth to them - as they say, "a broken mirror is hard to repair". The mirror that had been shattered between Situ Xuan and Lian Quan was maintained in its original shape under the strong adhesive, but the cracks were unavoidable.

  They all became cautious, always afraid that if they weren't careful, they would touch on some taboo topic. After arguing, it was easier to fall into a prolonged cold war. When the silence came, neither of them knew what the other was thinking in their heart. But they were also too lazy to take the initiative to break the silence.

  What's even more ridiculous is that in the past, when Yao Qiyun was standing guard nearby, Si Tu Jue, who was with Lian Quan at the time, would deliberately try to make some noise just to annoy her. Now, Yao Qiyun has disappeared, and in this free space that belongs only to her and Lian Quan, she feels like something is off. Hugs and kisses have become dull and uninteresting. In the past, they always felt like their time together was fleeting, and they had to part ways before they could even finish talking. Now, after sitting and chatting for what felt like a long time, they looked at their watches and realized it had only been ten or twenty minutes.

  Situ Xuan and Lian Quan's "dates" were ending faster and faster, even Yao Qiyun, who was waiting for her at a certain location to go home together, noticed something. Situ Xuan couldn't understand why this relationship was gradually going sour, on the one hand, she was annoyed by the sudden downturn of that night in the botanical garden, on the other hand, she secretly hated herself for being unknowingly "cheap", how could her interest disappear with the departure of the plague god?

  Watching her leave Lianquan's side with a sulky look, Yao Qiyun couldn't help but become more and more puzzled. Unable to hold it in any longer, she casually asked her, "Did Lianquan bully you?"

  Every time this happens, Situ Xin often jumps up to refute, saying that she and Lian Quan are together and don't know how happy they are. Of course, she would rather die than say that they have gradually become speechless, but instead, she adds fuel to the fire in front of Yao Qiyun, depicting the sweetness between her and Lian Quan. Yao Qiyun listens silently, never commenting, with a faintly sarcastic smile on his face.

  He said: "Is it fun for you all to be together like this?"

  "Of course it's interesting, but for someone as clueless as you, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

  "How common!" He gave a verdict of one word truth.

  Cai Tuo Xue suddenly reached out to touch his face, and as soon as he made contact, he quickly jumped back, his whole body turning red, his eyes blazing with anger. "What are you doing, Cai Tuo Xue?"

  "Sima Yi sneered, 'If you were really a person who had transcended lowly tastes, you should be calm and composed. Look at how frightened you are! You're so inexperienced and common!'"

  Although the feelings between Lianquan and Situ Xin had become a burden, Situ Xin hadn't thought of how to end it. After all, Lianquan had never opened his mouth about it, and this was also her first romance in life, she subconsciously wanted to cherish it.

  At the end of August, Lianquan left G City and boarded a plane to Beijing ahead of schedule. He was supposed to leave anyway, and Situ Xuan didn't think there was anything wrong with that. What she couldn't accept was that not only did he not let her see him off, but she also found out about his departure from Meimei's casual chat.

  She was surprised by what she heard, and Mei Mei was also shocked, saying "Situ Xuan, how did you get a girlfriend like this?"

  Situ Xuan did not try to contact Lian Quan again, and their relationship ended in an awkward way. Lian Quan's sudden departure greatly hurt Situ Xuan's pride, but more than sadness, she felt suffocated, so much that she couldn't take it anymore, and her mood was low for a long time.

  This was the first time Situ Xin had watched a relationship fade away before his eyes, wanting to salvage it but unable to do so as it drifted further and further away, leaving him with a feeling of powerlessness that chilled his heart.

  She only then realized that there were some things in this world that couldn't be obtained just by "working hard".

  If only she had known, she would have rather ended things with Lianquan after a fight, at least there would be something "intense" to remember, better than being left with a pile of worthless, burnt-out emotions. Or maybe it would have been better if they never saw each other again after that angry parting in the botanical garden, so she could still blame Yao Qiyun for ruining her first love. Unfortunately, she couldn't deceive herself like this anymore, the culprit wasn't Yao Qiyun, but herself, who didn't understand emotions.

  Wu Jiang successfully enrolled in the best medical university in the area. He comforted Si Tu Jue by smiling and putting his arm around her shoulder, saying: "The game of playing house is over, come back to our team, buddies won't look down on you." Si Tu Jue kicked him with a bad temper.

  At this time, Mei was still considerate as a girl, accompanying Situ Xuan to lament for a long time, and lamenting until Situ Xuan felt that Mei was more sorrowful than her.

  Everyone's coveted piece of fat, you were holding onto it and then lost it, what a pity... But the people lining up behind Lian Quan are delighted. Mei Mei sat on Si Tu Jue's bed, rummaging through clothes suitable for meeting online friends while saying this. Seeing Si Tu sitting there silently without any reaction, she leaned in mysteriously and asked in his ear: "Honestly, is it because of Yao Qi Yun?"

  "Suddenly, Situ Xuan exploded, 'Get out...'"

  Mei Mei fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling and said in a drowsy voice: "Actually, if I'm being honest, your family's Xiao Yao isn't bad either. Drought or flood, he'd die either way, sigh!"

  Situ Xun's hand trembled as he reached out to touch his good friend's forehead, "Chen Jiamei, may I ask if you are Chen Jiamei? You don't have a fever, do you?"

  It's no wonder that Si Tu Jue found it strange, Mei Mei had known her for many years. Seeing Yao Qi Yun arrive at her home, she hadn't laughed at the silly guy less. Now she suddenly changed her tune and said Yao Qi Yun was "not bad", unless her brain was burned out.

  Mei pulled Si Tu to lie down beside her on the bed, propped herself up and said: "You can't say that, Yao Qi Yun has changed a lot in these two years, especially after removing his braces... We remember him being malnourished too deeply, but it's different for younger girls. I heard someone secretly asked about him, they think his introverted appearance is quite stylish. Si Tu, do you think the water at your house is special? Even a country bumpkin can be transformed into a refined person, maybe one day I'll come to your house to freeload a meal?"

  Situ Xuan made a face that looked like he wanted to vomit but couldn't, and also gazed at the ceiling with a dazed expression, just like Mei Mei. On the ceiling, for some reason, appeared Yao Qiyun's face.

  Has he changed? It's said that people who live together every day are the hardest to notice changes. Now thinking about it, his hair is no longer the messy, dry and yellowish color it used to be, but soft and black, contrary to his temper. His skin has become whiter, having lived in the city for a long time, and the conditions at the Su family home are not bad, so the rural flavor has faded. As for the braces... thinking of the suffering he endured when he had orthodontic treatment, Su Yu felt a sour taste in his mouth, but fortunately the effect was good, and he became more dignified overall.

  But it's just proper anyway.

  "I think he's just so-so," said Situ Xin seriously.

  "Situ, you need to look at the problem with a developmental perspective. Yao Qiyun is that kind of person who, when he walks towards you, you may not necessarily stare at him, but after he passes by, you turn your head and only see his back, and then you can't help but want to kick yourself."

  "I feel like he's the type of person who makes you want to kick him at any moment and then trample him flat." Siu Yuk Yin said with a bad tone, "It's rare that you like him, so I'll just arrange for you two to be together."

  Mei Mei and Situ Xin laughed together in a heap.

  "I can't afford it. Besides, he's not yours, you just give him away?"

  Just then, a knock at the door came, and Situ Xuan's face turned red as she quickly made a silencing gesture to Mei Mei, jumping off the bed to open the door. The person who arrived was indeed the one she had just "promised" to go out with.

  Situ Xun stared at him, thinking about Mei Mei's "kick" theory earlier. Yao Qiyun, however, was made uncomfortable by her gaze and directly threw the clothes he had just picked up back at her, saying: "I helped you re-button your school uniform, with your sewing skills, I almost doubted your gender."

  "Your craftsmanship also makes me suspect your gender!" Si Tu Xuan awkwardly threw the clothes back onto the bed, and Mei Mei, who was being a bit of a handful, flipped out that school uniform and looked at the neatly sewn buttons before starting to make suspicious noises.

  Yao Qiyun only then realized there were other people, her face flushing with embarrassment, and she hastily left.

  After he left, Meimei's strange calls continued to rise and fall, "He even picked up the underwear you hung outside, oh, my little heart can't take it..."

  "Can't take it? Then leave quickly, you evil-minded person!" Si Tu Jue also felt unbearable, but his face still pretended to be calm.

  Mei Mei took a look at the time and suddenly became anxious, "I have to go meet my online friend."

  Situ Xuan sent Mei Mei downstairs and suddenly had an idea, suggesting: "I'm bored to death, why don't you take me with you?"

  Mei Mei instinctively refused, "I don't want you as a reference."

  After seeing off her friend, Si Tu Xuan turned around listlessly. Her entire summer vacation had been extremely dull, Wu Jiang went on a "donkey trek" with a group of friends, but her parents were afraid it was too dangerous and didn't let her go along, Lian Quan left, and even Mei Mei didn't take her out to play. With the start of school looming ahead, she felt even more restless and annoyed.

  She walked with her head down and didn't come to until she bumped into a dining table, wincing in pain.

  Yao Qiyun stood at his door and said: "Situ Xuan, have you lost your soul?"

  "Mind your own business!" Si Tu glared at him.

  Yao Qiyun surprisingly didn't retort, and the atmosphere was awkward for a while before he slowly said: "Hmmm... do you want to go shopping?"

  "Want to go window shopping? Come with me?" It's not that she didn't understand, it's just that the world has changed too fast.

  He murmured again, seeming to want to give up, "Forget it then."

  Xīng Tuò Jǐn hastily grabbed him and said in a flurry: "What you said, no taking it back. Not just helping me carry things, but really accompanying me to 'stroll around'. When I try on clothes, you have to wait outside, and..."

  "Lending you money, is it?" Yao Qiyun smiled rarely.

  "You're clever."

  Situ Jiu'an adheres to the principle of treating everyone equally, and the pocket money given to the two children is exactly the same. However, Situ Xuan has many friends, so she often pays for things outside, and by nature, she doesn't like to be stingy. When her classmates and friends are in trouble, they all love to borrow from her, so she ends up with very little money left on herself. On the contrary, Yao Qiyun is always profitable, belonging to the kind of "invisible rich" who doesn't know where to spend his money, and it's only natural that he becomes Situ Xuan's creditor.

  Cai Tuo Xue quickly went up to change clothes, and Xue Shao Ping saw the two children go together, so naturally she didn't say anything.

  In fact, going shopping with Situ Xuan is a chore. If not restricted, she can shop from dawn till dusk. In the past, Yao Qiyun couldn't stand this the most, he always said, "You're like you'll die if you don't buy one more piece of clothing."

  This time, he fully utilized his patience to the extreme. Except for the floor with underwear where he disappeared for a while on his own initiative, he really accompanied her throughout the entire process. Although it was impossible to expect him to enthusiastically offer good suggestions when she was selecting clothes, at least every time Situ Yuan asked him "how is it?", he could still utter a single syllable of "hmm". Until nightfall, after strolling around until his face turned pale and leaving the mall with big bags and small bags, he didn't utter a single complaint.

  They say shopping can clear a woman's mind, and Ci Tu Xuan stood at the entrance of the mall, looking at the neon lights that had just risen, suddenly feeling heroic and refreshed. Perhaps what she was entangled in wasn't Lian Quan's sudden departure, but her own self-esteem; however, since it had ended, why bother being hung up on the method? He left, the night was equally beautiful, nothing would change, except that she no longer needed to love for love's sake.

  The mall entrance is often the hardest place to hail a taxi, so Yao Qiyun and Situ Xuan walked together to another intersection. Seeing his hands full of shopping bags, Situ Xuan reached out to help him carry some.

  "It's all right, don't bother." Yao Qiyun didn't accept.

  Situ Xuan looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile and asked the question that had been on her mind all day: "Can you tell me now, why are you being so kind to me today?"

  "Don't try to be clever and take advantage of others."

  "Is it because of Lianquan's matter? You're having a guilty conscience?" Si Tu Xuan asked, looking at him with slanted eyes.

  She also knew Yao Qiyun.

  Looking at her being disheartened and unhappy, for some reason, Yao Qiyun felt a pang of guilt in his heart. If it wasn't for his outburst that day, if she hadn't unexpectedly stood by his side, perhaps today wouldn't be like this.

  "Alright, I really can't stand your gloomy look," said Yao Qiyun.

  "I'm not depressed at all, anyway I've been thinking of breaking up with him for a long time." Si Tu Jue walked along the pedestrian path, her hands behind her back, swaying gently.

  "Why." Yao Qiyun didn't believe it.

  "Uh, because he can't button his pants." Situ Jin said with a chuckle. After a while, it seemed like he thought the joke was in poor taste and cleared his throat twice, then pulled one out from the shopping bag on his hand.

  "It's yours."

  Yao Qiyun was taken aback for a moment, "Mine? You bought something for me?"

  "What's with that face."

  He actually wanted to make a more subtle expression, unfortunately, he didn't succeed. So he stopped and opened that bag instead.

  Inside wasn't anything earth-shattering, just several dozen socks, some for summer and some for winter.

  When he was young, Yao Qiyun was a person who rarely had the desire to shop. Although his uncle gave him pocket money, he never dared to use it recklessly. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about food and clothing in daily life, as the clothes on his body were either bought by Xue Shaoping or Situ Jiuan. Especially Situ Jiuan, who had also experienced hardship, did not want Yao Qiyun to be laughed at by his classmates because of his rural upbringing, so he always liked to buy him some valuable clothing and accessories. T-shirts, jackets, coats, sportswear, and even underwear, Yao Qiyun was never short of, sometimes even having the problem of having too many clothes to wear. However, Situ Jiuan was after all a man, and inevitably not meticulous enough in details, he had never bought Yao Qiyun socks before, and Xue Shaoping, who took care of the family's food and clothing expenses, seemed to have also overlooked this point.

  Situ Xuan lacked something, he could ask his parents for it without any scruples, but Yao Qiyun couldn't. He would occasionally buy a few pairs on his own, and since he rarely went out, when his socks got holes in them, he would carefully mend them himself. He had never mentioned this embarrassing distress, nor did he think that Situ Xuan would notice these things.

  "Don't get so emotional that you cry, I can't stand ripped pants anymore. If I see another patch, I'll never be done with you." Si Tu Xuan said irritably.

  Yao Qiyun quietly closed the bag, not saying a word. As they crossed the road, Si Tu Jue hastily rushed forward, regardless of everything else. He freed up his hand to grab hers, dodging a car that ran the red light, and tightly clasped her hand in his fingers, protecting her as they moved forward in the crowd.

  "Situ Xuan, your eyes aren't just for reading comics, please watch where you're going, don't you want to live?"

  Although she knew he was being kind, Si Tu Xuan was still annoyed by his words. "You don't want to live anymore, what's with the comics? I'm telling you, my aunt came today and I'm very irritable, so don't mess with me."

  Yao Qiyun sneered, "Your aunt just left last week and now she's back again. Aren't you afraid of hemorrhage?"

  Situ Xuan's anger burst forth, and he heavily kicked him, shaking off his hand.