Thirty-three

  Later, I finally got into college and we met less often. When I was a sophomore, he suddenly told me that he was going to study in the United States. He also said that men should establish their careers before getting married. I thought this was probably his way of telling me that it was over between us, but I guess that was just my own wishful thinking - after all, I had never been part of his life plans.

  She guessed the ending: "So you agreed to Ai Qing's pursuit." Liu Qing nodded: "The most deadly thing is that I fell in love with him irretrievably. The most deadly thing is that Gao Tian, this person, actually came to me one day and said that his dearest person was me, asking me to go to America with him. I told him it was impossible, but I couldn't hold myself back. He's my first love, ah! First love is like frost; you must understand. Our first love was so pure that we hadn't even held hands or kissed. It's precisely because of its purity that it's etched in my memory forever. I've fantasized about giving myself to him ten thousand times, but it never came true. Hahaha." Liu Qing burst out laughing as if this matter was the most hilarious joke under the sun.

  She looked at Liu Qing in a daze, when Ye Xuanran heard the noise and came to knock on the door. She only then realized that the sky was already near dusk. Liu Qing said: "Xiao Ye come in, let's go eat."

  She anxiously asked, "Liu Qing, are you okay?" Liu Qing smiled slyly and said, "It's nothing, this little thing won't kill me." Then she casually asked him, "Where do you want to go eat?"

  He said without hesitation, "Let's cross the river first and then find a place to eat." The three of them took a taxi across the river. Liu Qing insisted on sitting in the front seat and remained silent the whole time. He tightly held her hand and gazed deeply at her.

  After dinner, they invited Liu Qing to go to their place. Liu Qing refused: "I haven't fallen to the point where I don't even have a place to live. I'm going home." She thought that at this time, home was probably the best place to heal wounds. They sent Liu Qing all the way to her building and left after seeing her go upstairs. Before going upstairs, Liu Qing said to him: "Take good care of Ruo Xu, she's the best girl in the world."

  She returned to their home, feeling exhausted and tired from the bottom of her heart. He helped her lie down on the bed, turned on the small nightstand lamp, and a warm yellow light suddenly flooded into the room. As he got up to leave, she grabbed his hand and said, "Don't go." He gently turned back and said, "I'll go get you some water."

  When she came over again, she brought a kiwi and cut it in half with a spoon to feed her. She bit into the middle of the small black seeds and felt comfortable with her mouth full.

  "When did you buy it?" she asked him.

  "I bought it yesterday and left it in the fridge."

  She asked him, "How did you know my birthday was yesterday?" He said lovingly, "I can find out anything I want to." She suddenly remembered that her name tag at work had her birthdate on it. He also said, "That's also the day we first met."

  She pulled him close and leaned into his arms, feeling great in his embrace. He gently stroked her hair, feeling great with her in his arms. She softly asked: "Why didn't you ask me what Liu Qing said?" He honestly replied: "I already knew that during the holidays she often ran to Mian City, bumped into her on the street and wandered around, she told me."

  "I knew it all along." She repeated unconsciously.

  "He hastily explained: 'It's just that when we met up, I said we didn't have anything going on and she seemed pretty happy at the time.'"

  She remained silent for a while, and he thought she had fallen asleep, intending to put her down. However, she hooked his body, brought her mouth close to his lips, and kissed him fiercely. He was taken aback at first but immediately responded passionately. As they kissed, their breathing became urgent. She murmured, "Yecanran, take me." He was startled, thinking he had misheard, and looked at her steadily. She didn't dare raise her eyes, only hugged him tightly and said, "Don't you want me?"

  He was suddenly excited and immediately pressed her down on the bed, kissing her face, kissing her lips, kissing her head with a fragrant apple scent. She put her hands on his waist, a very suitable place to put her hands. He stroked her, stroking her head, stroking her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and small mouth that was kissed red.

  Tears welled up in his eyes: "No, I won't let you go."

  "Why can't I?" she asked vaguely with wide open eyes.

  "He told her clearly and distinctly: 'I love you like frost. I won't do things that make you unhappy, I won't do things you haven't thought through.'"