When little girl Jiang Yuan was a child, she lived in Haining City. In the first grade of primary school, the house that had been empty for three years was suddenly occupied.
There was only a little boy moving in, and this little boy was Chi Xu.
At that time, Jiang Yuan carried a small schoolbag to and from school alone. She was very independent, which made her parents quite relieved.
A week after Chi Xu moved into the opposite house, during lunch, she heard her parents chatting.
It was so pitiful for Chi Xu to live alone in that empty house.
So, under the order of her parents, she was asked to take a fruit basket over and make friends.
Jiang Yuan was thus driven out of the house by her parents. Holding the fruit basket, she stood pitifully at the door and knocked on Chi Xu's big door.
The door opened. When Jiang Yuan looked up, she saw Chi Xu, who was half a head taller than her.
The little boy had delicate and three - dimensional features, fair skin, and a high nose bridge. He seemed not fully awake yet, with droopy eyebrows and eyes, vaguely showing impatience.
It was the first time Jiang Yuan had seen such a good - looking boy. She became infatuated in a rather embarrassing way and stared straight at him.
Her voice was soft and waxy. "Wow, big brother, you're so pretty!"
The tall and straight boy stood at the door. After waiting for a long time, he heard such an infatuated remark. His whole face darkened.
He hated it most when others said he was pretty, as it made him seem unmanly.
With a "bang", the door closed, and Jiang Yuan was rebuffed.
"Just because you're good - looking doesn't mean you can be so bad - tempered! I might as well eat this fruit basket myself instead of giving it to you!"
Jiang Yuan was angry, and the consequence was serious.
The serious consequence was that Jiang Yuan decided to keep the fruit basket for herself and not give it to him.
Jiang Yuan glared angrily at Chi Xu's door and then turned back to her own home.
Just as she was about to enter her own door, she suddenly heard her parents' voices in the living room.
Jiang Yuan got a shock and quickly turned back.
When she returned to Chi Xu's door again, Jiang Yuan touched her little head and murmured, "What should I do? I can't take this fruit basket back. Mom and Dad will definitely ask."
"But I don't want to give it to you either. You're so bad - tempered. Who would like you?"
"Forget it. I'll just leave it at your door. Whether you get it or not is none of my business."
Jiang Yuan simply put the fruit basket at Chi Xu's door and then scurried back home like a thief.
Her parents saw the hasty Jiang Yuan in the living room and quickly called her.
"Yuanyuan, did you give the fruit basket?"
"Gave it, gave it!" Jiang Yuan replied vaguely and slipped into her room.
In the evening, Jiang Yuan went out with her parents nervously, afraid that her parents would find out and scold her.
When they opened the door, they found that the fruit basket at Chi Xu's door was gone. They didn't know if Chi Xu had taken it in or if someone else had taken it.
Anyway, there was no fruit basket at the door.
The little girl Jiang Yuan was instantly overjoyed, with her eyes and eyebrows curved into a smile.
Maybe hearing the noise from the opposite house, Chi Xu also opened his door. He still looked half - awake, as if he had no energy at all.
His clean and refreshing face was as good - looking as ever.
"Hey, Chi Xu, did you receive the fruit basket?" Jiang Yuan's mother, who was changing shoes, asked him with a smile.
Jiang Yuan's heart tightened. She forced herself to stay calm and tried hard to signal Chi Xu when her parents weren't looking.
But Chi Xu seemed not to understand. He slowly opened his droopy eyelids. His shallow amber eyes were calm, and his tone was flat.
"Auntie, what's wrong with your daughter? She keeps blinking. Is her eye twitching?"
Jiang Yuan: "..."
The little volcano in her heart was on the verge of erupting.
She clenched her small fists, imagining giving him a slap when her parents weren't around.
"Yuanyuan, what's wrong with your eye?" her parents asked with concern.
Jiang Yuan forced a smile. "Some dust got into my eye just now. It's okay."
Only then did her parents feel relieved.
"Uncle and Auntie, I received the fruit basket. Thank you."
The little Chi Xu thanked them neither over - humble nor over - assertive. His eyes were calm and clear, as clean as if washed by water.
"I'm glad you like it. If you're free in the future, come over and have dinner with us. It's so pitiful for you to be alone."
Jiang Yuan's mother invited warmly.
Jiang Yuan put on a pained expression.
Chi Xu had just been playing tricks on her.
What a stingy boy.
Sure enough, good - looking people were not good.
Jiang Yuan thought hatefully.
Jiang Yuan's first meeting with Chi Xu was very unpleasant. After learning that Chi Xu transferred to her primary school and took away her first - place throne,
she was furious. She even dreamed about how to pull Chi Xu off the first - place throne.
Damn Chi Xu, stinky Chi Xu...
In the third grade, there were often hooligans hanging around the school gate. The teacher especially emphasized that parents must pick up their children.
But Jiang Yuan didn't tell her parents and still went her own way.
She was small and pretty, extremely eye - catching in the crowd, and easily became the target of hooligans.
After walking alone for several days, Jiang Yuan always felt someone following her. She was so scared that she would look back every few steps. The ten - minute journey took half an hour.
Chi Xu, who had been following behind Jiang Yuan, didn't know why he was so bewitched that he silently followed her.
After Jiang Yuan turned her head for the Nth time to look behind, Chi Xu couldn't bear it anymore and appeared in front of her. His delicate eyebrows and eyes slanted at her as he said a few precious words, "I'll walk with you."
Jiang Yuan's mind wandered far away. She suddenly realized, "I know. There are hooligans at school recently. Don't worry. Sister Yuan will protect you."
Chi Xu: "..."
Wasn't the one who needed protection most actually Jiang Yuan herself?
Chi Xu was so angry that he laughed. He just took a step forward and left Jiang Yuan behind.
He thought there must be something wrong with his brain.
After walking ten steps or so and finding that Jiang Yuan didn't follow, Chi Xu turned back to look for her and found that Jiang Yuan was blocked by those hooligans.
What happened next? Next, Chi Xu attracted the hooligans' attention and took the opportunity to let Jiang Yuan run away.
Jiang Yuan failed to escape.
Chi Xu was grabbed and beaten brutally by them. He always protected Jiang Yuan in his arms.
The commotion was so big that it gradually attracted passers - by. Jiang Yuan and Chi Xu were saved.
From then on, Jiang Yuan remembered this kindness and changed her stereotype of him. She would follow him around, calling him Brother Chi Xu.
Chi Xu still looked lazy as if he had no bones and seemed not to care about anything.
But Jiang Yuan knew that she was different in Chi Xu's heart.
It was an indescribable feeling.
At that time, the setting sun gently covered the whole land.
Jiang Yuan's heart was as sweet as honey, bubbling with happiness.
In her dreams, there were endless test papers, and there was also the young boy who leaned against the window, scolding her for being stupid but carefully helping her correct the wrong questions.
Time flew like a runaway wild horse. They went to school with the first ray of morning sunshine and waved goodbye under the moonlight.
Soon, the high - school entrance examination came.
On the day after the exam, Jiang Yuan ran to Chi Xu's house. Naturally, she took the key Chi Xu gave her and opened the door.
Then she ran to Chi Xu's room, knocked on the door, and peeked in with half her head out. Her eyes curved into a crescent moon.
"Chi Xu, I'll tell you a secret when the results come out."
"What secret?" The sleepy boy yawned and looked down at Jiang Yuan listlessly.
"In previous years, the high - school entrance examination results came out at 10 a.m. I'll wait for you by the artificial lake in the nearby park at 2 p.m. Then you'll know."
Because the secret was so precious, Jiang Yuan's eyelashes trembled slightly when she issued the invitation, and a blush appeared on her fair and delicate skin.
Chi Xu came to his senses and stared at her. He seemed to understand something.
Suddenly, he raised the corner of his mouth, looking as annoying as ever. "Don't tell me you didn't get into the key high school, or my heart will be scared to death."
"How could that be!"
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan widened her almond - shaped eyes.
She turned her head and saw the dolls on the sofa. She immediately picked one up, ran into Chi Xu's room, and threw it at him forcefully.
She missed. The doll floated lightly without any strength.
Chi Xu easily caught it and let out a hearty laugh.
On the day when the results came out, the key high school also announced the admission score line. Jiang Yuan got into it as she wished.
Jiang Yuan picked out the prettiest dress from her wardrobe, secretly put on a little lipstick, looked at herself in the mirror several times, and then set off for the artificial lake in the nearby park.
Her heart was pounding as if it was about to jump out.
At 2 p.m., Chi Xu didn't come.
Jiang Yuan rarely used her phone because her family was strict.
She comforted herself that maybe Chi Xu was delayed by something and continued to sit patiently by the artificial lake and wait.
At 4 p.m., Chi Xu still didn't appear.
Dark clouds appeared on the horizon, blocking most of the sunlight. Passers - by nearby were in a hurry to go home.
At 6 p.m., Chi Xu still didn't show up.
Big raindrops fell hard.
Jiang Yuan was a bit dazed by the raindrops. She just sat there stupidly. Her pretty little dress was soon soaked by the rain, and her hair stuck to her cheeks in strands.
Did he have something to do and couldn't come? He wasn't such a person.
Jiang Yuan kept making excuses for him in her heart.
The rain slid down her face and splashed tiny water flowers on the ground. Jiang Yuan hugged her arms tightly, but her body still couldn't stop trembling.
Could it be that Chi Xu guessed what she wanted to say and deliberately avoided her?
Jiang Yuan didn't know. She only knew that she was very cold now, cold to the core.
Her consciousness gradually became blurred. In a daze, it seemed that someone was running towards her in a hurry with an umbrella.
Jiang Yuan was overjoyed, thinking it was Chi Xu. She quickly jumped off the bench and staggered towards that person. She grabbed the person's clothes and tried hard to open her eyes wide.
It wasn't him. It was her father.
"Yuanyuan, what's going on? Why are you standing here in the rain alone? I've been looking for you for a long time." Her father was both angry and anxious.
The hand that was holding her father's corner of the clothes slowly slipped off. Her eyes suddenly turned red. She tried hard to raise her head, and the rain mixed with tears slid down her cheeks.
What happened after that? After that, she was taken home by her father. She had a high fever that night. Her consciousness was always drowsy, and her dreams were fragmented.
She dreamed that Chi Xu was staring at her coldly without saying a word.
She tried hard to run towards him, but no matter how she ran and chased, she just couldn't catch up with him. She watched helplessly as Chi Xu disappeared in front of her.
Three days later, the high fever finally subsided.
At the same time, she also learned the news that Chi Xu had left.
He left without even saying goodbye to her.
Jiang Yuan stared blankly ahead, with her mind a complete blank. Her hand under the bedsheet was trembling.
Was Chi Xu so eager to leave?
Was he avoiding her?
Her rosy cheeks were pale and haggard, and a bitter taste filled her mouth.
Do you hate me that much?
Jiang Yuan silently asked in her heart.
No one would answer.