our secret base

Chapter 91 The Taste of Growing Up

The 14-year-old summer is so long that there is no end in sight.

The sun hanging high above the dome is shining brightly, and the sun is so hot at noon that no one wants to go out at this time.

As a result, the village became quiet, and the empty asphalt road was scorched white, as if coated with a layer of silver frost, the air seemed to freeze, and the shadows cast by the shade of the trees swayed slightly.

This afternoon, Yan Jingxing was sitting at the desk in his bedroom doing homework.

The old electric fan on the window sill made a "thrilling" sound, and the fan blades turned wobbly.The bamboo curtain in front of the door swayed with the wind, a basin of cold water was placed on the ground, and there were signs of wetness on the cement floor next to it.

The courtyard is illuminated by the glare of the sun, and the heat accumulated on the ground feels hot even when you step on it while wearing shoes; but after the living room is separated, the temperature in the inner room has become quite cool.

There is a white ceramic bowl on the table, and in the bowl is a bowl of crystal clear magnolia jelly; beside it is a half-eaten watermelon with an iron spoon in it.

It's a good time to cool off the heat.

The boy at the desk was writing vigorously, and the friction between the pen tip and the paper made a slight sound.

In the first few days of the summer vacation, Yan Jingxing was led by the two girls all the time, so he had no time to concentrate on studying.

This is not okay, he thought, even if it is a holiday, it is still not time to relax.

So far, Yan Jingxing has not given up on his dream of being a good student.

He concentrated and dived into the sea of ​​topics... As a result, he didn't write a few lines when he heard the phone ring again.

Yan Jingxing put down his pen, which he was concentrating on solving problems, and stood up to answer the phone.

"Hello, I'm Xie Yuzhi. Is Jing Xing at home?"

"Well, I'm here."

"Is that so...you, what are you doing?"

There was a rare hesitation in the eldest lady's tone.

"I'm doing my homework."

Yan Jingxing couldn't help thinking, don't you need to study hard?The oldest person is arrogant.

"Then...are you free tomorrow?"

It's really one after another.

The young man sighed helplessly in his heart, but he would not show it on his lips, and he agreed fully.

"I'm free, of course I'm free."

"That's good."

"Do you want to call Chunzao?"

"...This matter has nothing to do with alien exploration. But if you want, you can call her."

Said the girl on the other side of the phone.

...What is "if I will"?
Yan Jingxing was a little confused, and Miss Xie's tone sounded weird.

After Xie Yuzhi hung up the phone, he touched his chin and thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea flashed across his face.

— By the way, did something happen yesterday?
He vaguely remembered that Chunzao had said that she was going to call Yuzhi, in other words, there must have been a conversation between the two of them...

Yan Jingxing's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that this dialogue has brought about some kind of change?

What exactly happened?

So much for the sudden flash of inspiration.

In order to get the answer, Yan Jingxing did not hesitate after that, directly pulled the dial and dialed Chunzao's number.

"who is it?"

The person who answered the phone was a middle-aged woman with vigilance in her voice.

"...Is that Chunzao's aunt? Excuse me, I'm Ji Chunzao's classmate, is she at home?"

"Classmate? Wait."

As he said that, the other party started shouting: "Chun Zao! Someone is looking for you!", followed by a burst of soft footsteps.

"Yes, is it Jing Xing?"

"Well, it's me." Yan Jingxing hesitated, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

The voice from the other end of the phone was still as lively and cheerful as usual, as if nothing had happened.

*
"Chun Zao! Someone is looking for you!"

She was lying on the sofa in a daze when she suddenly heard her aunt calling herself.

"I am coming."

Ji Chunzao responded, but the movement of climbing down from the sofa was a bit slow, showing reluctance.

She staggered toward the living room, her seaweed-like hair falling loosely behind her.

Girls' hair tends to be naturally curly. If you accidentally forget to comb it for a few days, it will soon become messy...

Exactly since yesterday, she has not been in the mood to take care of her appearance.

The lower body of the girl was wearing old trousers that just reached the knees, revealing two white and tender legs; the upper body was casually put on a wrinkled and baggy T-shirt, half of her thin shoulders were exposed, and the whole person looked listless , long and thick eyelashes curled low.

The aunt holding the microphone in the living room couldn't help frowning when she saw her sloppy appearance.

"You just woke up?"

"……No."

Ji Chunzao said in a low voice, reaching out to get the microphone in his aunt's hand.

My aunt's eyebrows were tightened, and she wanted to say something, but she still didn't open her mouth in the end.

Ever since Ji Chunzao came to this house, she has rarely communicated with the adults, and her relationship with each other is very weak. She usually only cares about this child when she hears that the child has caused trouble at school, or when she hears the neighbors talking about it. People called her to criticize, and because of this, Chunzao has always been a little afraid of her.

However, starting from a certain day recently, this child no longer has fear of herself, because she made friends, and they were friends from very unusual family backgrounds—thus, the quarrels and criticisms stopped under the fear of the adults .

However, their relationship has not improved because of this, and they are still unfamiliar with each other, just like strangers living under the same roof.

What the middle-aged woman thought in her heart was that even if something happened in the future, she would let it go; but she soon discovered that the child didn't need adults to take care of it.With Chunzao's character, although he can do decent things, he can't do bad things.In the past, I always picked faults on my children with raised eyebrows, it was more like finding faults myself...

While the man was thinking, the phone in his hand had been taken away.

……

Ji Chunzao took the microphone over.

She doesn't care about family affairs anymore.

Since the biological parents left, the relationship between the relatives who are related to the blood is illusory in the eyes of the girl. The real family has long since disappeared, and what is left now is nothing but a fake.

Therefore, for a long time, the girl only felt that she was like a kite without strings, floating in the sky, lacking a real connection with the real world, and preferring to indulge in fantasy.

But in the past month, things are gradually changing: since meeting Yan Jingxing, all the confusion and embarrassment that once oppressed her have been swept away——

Ji Chunzao finally understands: what is what she needs and what is the truly irreplaceable relationship.

The moment she touched the microphone, the girl's fingertips trembled slightly. The words Xie Yuzhi said to herself yesterday flashed and disappeared in her mind, short but vivid; and when the five fingers gripped the microphone tightly, Her mood calmed down miraculously.

When she heard the boy's voice, no matter how complicated her thoughts were, she would feel happy subconsciously, so even the lying and pretending that she was not good at became clear and natural.

--"Are you OK?"

--"I'm fine."

she says.

"What's the matter, did something happen?"

"Tomorrow I'm going to Yuzhi's house, and she said that she wants to ask me for help. Would you like to come over?"

... Is there "something" at Yuzhi's side?
Ji Chunzao raised his head while holding the microphone, staring at the ceiling silently.

——It must be the follow-up to that incident.

What Jing Xing didn't know was that Xie Yuzhi would not refuse her to come, but she couldn't take the initiative to invite her, because she knew that doing so would only make the atmosphere worse.

Just like that awkward phone call yesterday.

Until the end of the call, when Xie Yuzhi told her about her agreement with Jing Xing, she couldn't say a word, but just listened blankly, as if her brain stopped spinning.

In the end, Xie Yuzhi had no choice but to whisper to her, "We'll talk about this later," after repeated confirmations and no response, and then hung up the phone.

Even she herself didn't understand what the "proper body" of the emotions surging in her heart was. After carefully touching the indistinct chaos in her heart, all she could feel was the complex and incomprehensible taste on the back of her tongue.

But she was very clear about one thing: she shouldn't go with her, otherwise it would only destroy the atmosphere in which the two of them got along with each other.

Since we are friends, we shouldn't do... such deliberately annoying things.

"...Forget it." Ji Chunzao replied with a smile, "Something just happened to happen recently."

"Is something wrong?"

"Well. I want to... study hard."

"Eh? Really or not?"

"Of course it's true." She said, raising her small fist and shaking it like a demonstration against the boy on the other side of the phone, "I have the worst grades among us, so don't think I'll just let it go! Watch it when next term is over, it's sure to surprise you both."

"Haha, it's not like I won't study after the holidays. But, um, it's always a good thing to be ambitious. Find a time to start the study session, and Yuzhi and I can help you."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, and the other party bid farewell to themselves as usual.

"Goodbye."

"See you."

The moment she hung up the phone, the girl seemed to relax from a tense state, her back against the wall couldn't stick to it, so she slid down and sat on the floor like this.

"boom."

Ji Chunzao put the microphone back in place.

She wrapped her arms around her curled legs and rested her chin on her lap.After taking a deep breath, he began to stare at the empty corner in a daze, and remained motionless like a sculpture for a while.

Learning to lie, learn to lie, learn to tolerate emotions, and say "it's okay" to him with a smile is undoubtedly a kind of growth.

And the price of learning it is that sometimes people feel a little bit lonely——

A feeling she thought she was used to.

(End of this chapter)