When Jiang Yuan woke up again, it had been an hour. The bus slowly drove into the nursing home.
After the bus stopped steadily, Chi Xu stood up and gently patted Jiang Yuan on the head. His voice came from above, "I'll go over there first and organize things."
Jiang Yuan casually responded, packed up her things, and got off the bus with other classmates.
"Jiang Yuan, you're also here for this activity. I didn't expect you to be so kind - hearted." A familiar voice rang in her ear.
Jiang Yuan turned her head and saw Zhou Xiangmeng.
She seemed as if nothing had happened and got close to greet her very familiarly.
There was a girl beside Zhou Xiangmeng. She was also a classmate, but Jiang Yuan couldn't remember her name.
"Yeah, what a coincidence." Jiang Yuan ignored the sarcasm in her latter words and calmly responded.
They were all classmates, so there was no need to make things unpleasant.
Over there, Chi Xu was looking at the grouping list on his phone and calling out names group by group.
Zhou Xiangmeng wanted to say something else, but Jiang Yuan didn't want to stay with her any longer. She took the excuse of the ongoing grouping and slipped away directly.
The Volunteer Association had a president and two vice - presidents. Usually, the president would lead the activity group, but Chi Xu talked to the other two vice - presidents and then went to lead the logistics group.
"Okay, all the members of the logistics group are here. The boys go to the bus and carry down the supplies we bought in advance. The girls follow me to clean the rooms and tidy up the belongings of the elderly.
"Especially, we need to ask for their permission in advance and clean the rooms only when they allow. After the boys finish carrying the supplies, remember to come and help with the cleaning."
Chi Xu arranged things methodically. After explaining all the precautions, he led everyone to get the tools first.
The whole nursing home was very big. Jiang Yuan followed Chi Xu through a long garden before entering the living area of the elderly.
The weather was warm. Many elderly people came downstairs to bask in the sun lazily or gather around a small table to chat.
It seemed that time had stood still at this moment.
An old lady saw the new faces coming in and slowly waved her palm - leaf fan, "Where did such a handsome young man come from?"
"You, don't always make fun of good - looking people. You might scare them away." An old man couldn't help but say with a smile.
The students who were led here were trying hard not to laugh, carefully looking up at Chi Xu, curious about his reaction.
Jiang Yuan was no exception. She laughed openly with the corners of her mouth widely opened.
It was the first time she saw Chi Xu being flirted with in public. It was quite novel.
Chi Xu wasn't angry. With a smile on his face, he strode up to the old lady, leaned forward slightly so that the old lady could hear him clearly, "Grandma, we are students from Jing University. We're here to help you tidy up your room. Do you need our help?"
"Tidying up is good. Tidying up is good." The old lady squinted her eyes with a big smile, "My room is on the second floor, the left - most one. Thank you."
"It's not a trouble. It's what we should do."
Chi Xu then asked other elderly people in the yard if they needed their rooms cleaned, noted down their answers on his phone one by one, and regrouped the students. Each group followed an elderly person to their room to clean.
Jiang Yuan and Chi Xu were still in the same group. The old lady led them upstairs.
The boy's back was straight. His hand holding the broom had distinct knuckles. He deliberately slowed down his steps to keep the same pace as the old lady.
"I didn't expect him to be so careful." Jiang Yuan whispered.
If it were her, she would just directly go to clean the elderly's room without considering other problems at all.
For example, if the owner of the room wasn't there to watch and then later accused her of stealing valuable items from the room after the cleaning, she would be in a really tough situation.
There used to be bad people, and now those bad people have grown old and become the elderly.
The group came to the old lady's room.
Her room was simply decorated. There was an old but neatly - arranged bed, a wooden wardrobe, and a table with a few small items on it.
Chi Xu gently opened the window to let in fresh air. The sunlight also shone on the floor.
He and another classmate swept the floor and wiped the wardrobe and the table, while Jiang Yuan made the bed, smoothing out the wrinkled sheets and folding the quilt neatly.
While working, Chi Xu chatted with the old lady, "Grandma, are you used to living here? What are your hobbies?"
The old lady sat aside with a smile on her face and said slowly, "I'm used to it. The people here are all nice. I just like to bask in the sun usually."
"Basking in the sun is good. I like it too. It's very comfortable. It's almost the Beginning of Winter. After this period, there won't be much sunshine." Jiang Yuan picked up the topic, "I just came here. I don't know what winter is like here."
"Winter here is also very beautiful. There will be heavy snowfall. It's spectacular." The old lady said cheerfully, "You mustn't miss it. If you have someone you like, you should watch it with them. Some things, once missed, are missed for a lifetime."
"No, no, no. Grandma, let me see if your clothes need to be tidied up." Jiang Yuan quickly waved her hand to change the topic. She stole a glance at Chi Xu with her peripheral vision and then quickly looked away.
The tips of her ears hidden under her long hair turned slightly red.
The old lady just smiled without saying a word.
After cleaning the old lady's room, Chi Xu and the others were going to the next room. The old lady called Jiang Yuan and asked her to help carry a chair downstairs while she herself carried an old doll.
Jiang Yuan stared at it blankly. She liked to buy all kinds of dolls, but it was the first time she saw an old person having a doll on their bed.
It seemed to be very old.
The chair was placed in the middle of the yard, and the doll was put on the chair to bask in the sun.
The old lady didn't sit on it. Instead, she sat on a stone bench in the yard and invited Jiang Yuan to sit with her.
"Grandma, this doll of yours..." Jiang Yuan stared at the doll for a while and couldn't help asking.
"My husband gave it to me. It was the first gift he gave me. Dolls were very expensive at that time. He bought it for me as soon as he got his first salary." The old lady closed her eyes slightly and told the story slowly.
"Then why are you alone..." Realizing she had asked the wrong question, Jiang Yuan quickly apologized.
The old lady looked at Jiang Yuan gently and waved her hand indifferently, "He has passed away. I'm just waiting to go and find him one day and apologize to him."
"Why?" Jiang Yuan asked.
"Because I did something wrong. He could never forgive me. He was still brooding about it before he left." The old lady seemed to be in a daze, and her voice was low.
"Little girl, there are some things that you may not see clearly yourself, but an old person like me can see them clearly. Or maybe you're just pretending to be confused and deceiving yourself."