Chapter 47 That Familiar Little Road

  There weren't many people on the slowly moving bus, although every seat was taken and a few young passengers were standing inside the carriage. Compared to rush hour when people go to work or school, this crowd wasn't considered large at all.

  A girl wearing a school uniform sat by the window on the right side of the bus, with a light yellow backpack hugged to her chest. She was quietly reading a book, her slightly pointed chin resting on top of the bag, her long eyelashes trembling slightly under her lowered eyelids, and her straight nose supporting a rosy mouth, all of which were perfectly in place.

  The girl's gentle temperament and outstanding appearance made most of the young men on the bus quietly focus their attention on her. The bolder or more confident ones were secretly thinking about whether to go up and chat with her, if they could make such a girl their girlfriend, it would be really wonderful. But the girl's serious expression made people reluctant to make any noise beside her.

  A gentle breeze occasionally crept in through the open car window beside the girl, blowing her unbound black hair onto her delicate face. The girl lifted her pale white hand to casually brush away her disheveled locks, and this unintentional movement revealed a beauty that earned silent admiration from the male passengers in the car.

  Because the girl holding the book raised her hand to tidy up her hair, the mischievous breeze seized this opportunity and suddenly swept away the half of the book page that was not pressed down by her hand. The girl couldn't help but let out a low cry of surprise when she saw the wind messing up the page she was reading. Although the girl's low cry was in a very small volume, it still didn't escape the ears of most of the boys who were paying attention to her every move. The girl's face with a slightly surprised and lovely expression, and her low cry that sounded like a yellow oriole singing, made those boys drunk again. The beauty that the girl naturally revealed made even the boy in the car who thought he was the coolest feel a little ashamed, and no longer dared to have the idea of making this angel-like girl his girlfriend.

  The bus slowly drove onto the Luojia Bridge, and the scenery outside the window was a vast expanse of rippling river water. The source of the rolling river and its distant endpoint were both invisible, as if this jade ribbon-like river had divided the earth into two halves, splitting the globe into two hemispheres.

  At this time, the bus stopped at a station just after crossing the Luoshida Bridge. The girl in school uniform with a light yellow backpack got off at this station. When she got off the bus, the sunset outside shone on her face, dyeing her hair a bright red like a rainbow. Her hair, which was slowly drifting in the breeze, was as enchanting as the evening glow that fell to the ground.

  Most of the men on the bus gazed silently at the beautiful girl's receding back, and couldn't help but feel a little lost. The bus continued to move towards the next stop, when suddenly a man who had just come to his senses shouted: "Oh no, how did I end up on this side of the river? My home is on the east side of the river! ... Driver, driver, stop the car quickly... I want to get off..."

  Li Jingru walked slowly along the path leading to her residential area, carrying a light yellow backpack. This path was so familiar to Li Jingru. When she was in elementary school, this path was a must-pass every day, and at that time, she and Lin Xiaoyu, two children, would happily jump up and down on this road with big bags on their backs.

  On both sides of the path, there was a small stone step built along the path. The stone step was about ten centimeters higher than the ground and had a width of about one palm. In the past, when Lin Xiaoyu and Li Jingru walked on this road together, Lin Xiaoyu always liked to walk on this long stone step, just like walking on a balance beam. At first, young Lin Xiaoyu couldn't even walk five meters along the stone step without falling off with her arms outstretched, but later on, Lin Xiaoyu could close her eyes and walk through the entire long stone step in one breath.

  Li Jingru looked at this familiar road and couldn't help but think of the time in elementary school when Lin Xiaoyu walked on the stone steps, while she walked on flat ground. The two were about the same height back then. At that time, the proud Lin Xiaoyu always said that he was taller than Li Jingru because he stood on the stone steps. Li Jingru never argued with Lin Xiaoyu, but just smiled slightly and looked at him.

  Now, Li Jingru really didn't know if she could be taller than Lin Xiaoyu even if she stood on the stone steps. Everyone had grown up, unknowingly, the little boy who was half a head shorter than her back then no longer needed to stand on the stone steps to be almost half a head taller than her.

  The innocent and carefree childhood of theirs was also gradually drifting further away from them... Li Jingru didn't know if growing up meant gaining more or losing more for them...

  The road that was once walked by two people, Li Jingru is now walking alone in solitude. The small path that seemed to be the same as before suddenly felt a bit long... It's been since Lin Xiaoyu failed her exam and got into Experimental Middle School that a feeling of loneliness has been lingering in Li Jingru's heart. She feels like Lin Xiaoyu has always been by her side since she was young, but now in this unfamiliar school without Lin Xiaoyu's presence, Li Jingru feels extremely lonely. Even though Li Jingru is very popular in this school and loved by many classmates and teachers.

  When the college entrance examination was over, Li Jingru specially found Lin Xiaoyu to ask about his answer situation. According to Li Jingru's analysis of Lin Xiaoyu's correct answer rate, Li Jingru felt that Lin Xiaoyu should have no problem attending Feicui City First Middle School. So Li Jingru and Lin Xiaoyu filled out the application for Feicui City First Middle School together. However, the results of the college entrance examination were not as expected by Li Jingru. Li Jingru was admitted to Feicui City First Middle School with the first place in the city, while Lin Xiaoyu missed the admission to the first middle school by 2 points. Li Jingru wanted to give some of her exam scores to Lin Xiaoyu, but this could only be Li Jingru's fantasy. In reality, Li Jingru went to attend the First Middle School, while Lin Xiaoyu attended the Experimental Middle School.

  It seems that heaven always likes to happen some things that make people's affairs go against their wishes, perhaps God is a guy who likes to watch suspense dramas, he seems to like making people's stories twisted and complicated to suit his own taste.

  "Woof woof woof......" A small yellow dog ran to Li Jingru's side, its little head shaking back and forth with two big ears flapping wildly, looking very cute. The dog ran in front of Li Jingru, wagging its short tail non-stop, sticking out its red tongue, looking like it was trying to please her.

  Li Jingru was awakened from her slightly disordered thoughts by the sudden barking of dogs. She saw the little dog circling around her and couldn't help but feel delighted: "Haha, it's Beibei! You've come to pick me up? So clever!" Li Jingru bent down and gently stroked the little guy's head.

  Bebi this little guy has also grown up, from the original body smaller than a football now grew almost twice as big, very healthy and sturdy. The obedient and clever Bebi has become a pet liked by both Lin Xiaoyu and Li Jingru's families.

  Li Jingru knew that Beibei wouldn't be running around unattended, so there must be someone nearby. Li Jingru looked up and gazed forward. She saw a familiar figure.

  He was still so familiar to her, even though he had grown from a little boy into a 1.8-meter-tall young man, but Li Jingru's feeling towards him remained unchanged. His hair had changed from the original short hair to long hair that almost covered his eyes, and he still had that casual, slightly messy hairstyle that looked like it was just casually combed. The childishness of the past had slowly faded away on his clear face, which always carried a somewhat carefree attitude towards everything. But when he saw himself, the bright smile on his face was as warm and gentle as the sun in April. Li Jingru felt that Xiao Yu was becoming more and more handsome every day, and she didn't know how many girls would fall in love with this tall, handsome, and sunny boy, but at least her heart had always been occupied by his shadow.

  He came here for his own. Li Jingru was very clear in her heart that the boy from the neighboring family who smiled at herself not far away. Li Jingru's heart suddenly felt a kind of unprecedented happiness.

  Lin Xiaoyu slowly walked closer to Li Jingru's side.

  Lin Xiaoyu felt that Li Jingru had lost weight, although she had become more beautiful and charming, with a radiant complexion, but Lin Xiaoyu still felt that her childhood friend had lost weight.

  "Are you back? Xiaoru. Was everything okay at school?" Lin Xiaoyu reached out and took the light yellow backpack that Li Jingru was carrying on her shoulder into her own hands.

  Li Jingru nodded: "Everything is still pretty good in school..." Li Jingru really wanted to add a sentence at the end of her own words, "It's just that you're not by my side," but no matter what, she couldn't say it. By the end, Li Jingru could only force out a sentence, "How about you? How's school going?"

  "It's still the same, I feel like high school is missing something compared to when we were in junior high, hehe, but there are many more things... for example, the number of textbooks to study has increased by who knows how many times, it makes my head spin." Lin Xiaoyu sighed slightly.

  Li Jingru looked up at Lin Xiaoyu, who was half a head taller than her, and said in surprise: "Xiaoyu, it seems like you've grown again? You're even taller than when I saw you last week."

  "Hehe, yeah. I measured myself on the doorframe at home today and I've grown another half centimeter. I'm almost 1.82 meters tall now." Lin Xiaoyu slung Li Jingru's backpack over her own right shoulder. The heavy backpack that had felt so weighty to Li Jingru seemed to have lost all its weight in Lin Xiaoyu's hands.

  Li Jingru of course knew the marks on the back of Xiaoyu's room door, which were Lin Xiaoyu's height records every time. Those lines became more and more, also becoming higher and higher.

  Li Jingru walked to the stone steps beside the small path, learning from Lin Xiaoyu's childhood appearance. Li Jingru stood on the stone steps and said to Lin Xiaoyu with a slightly mischievous tone: "Xiaoyu, look at you now, you're not taller than me."

  Lin Xiaoyu looked at Li Jingru standing on the stone steps, stretched out her small hand, and gently pushed her forehead towards herself, indicating that she was now taller than herself. This was something Lin Xiaoyu often did to Li Jingru when they were young, but now Li Jingru was doing it back to her. Lin Xiaoyu rarely saw Li Jingru looking so cute, and couldn't help but laugh happily.

  Li Jingru also felt that imitating Lin Xiaoyu's previous walk on the stone steps was a bit strange, and she couldn't help but laugh happily. Li Jingru didn't have much experience walking on these stone steps, unlike Lin Xiaoyu who had mastered the art of strolling leisurely. Moreover, at this moment, she was laughing happily, her attention was slightly distracted, and in an instant, she lost her balance on the narrow stone step that was only one foot wide.

  It was unclear whether it was the subconscious mind or Li Jingru's left foot that had lost balance, but she fell to her left side. Lin Xiaoyu, who was on Li Jingru's left, saw her fall and instinctively went to support her. However, Li Jingru's fall was a bit sudden, and before Lin Xiaoyu could stretch out her hand to catch her, Li Jingru had already tumbled into Lin Xiaoyu's arms...

  PS: Save it, brothers! Thank you!