I'm a senior in high school, and the system says I'm going on a blind date with my childho

Chapter 128 Memories of the Village

"Yang Yishui! You did this on purpose, didn't you?!"

"Hey, hey, hey! I was just saying, why are you so upset?"

Yang Yishui looked at Shen Yuan, whose face was full of shame and anger, and smiled happily.

"The little brat is getting impatient."

"you!"

Shen Yuan glared at his older cousin, but ultimately said nothing.

"Never mind, let's go to Grandpa and Grandma's."

As soon as Shen Yuan finished speaking, Li Zhi, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement.

"It's almost time, it's nearly 7:30. If we go early, we can also take a stroll around the village."

Yang Yishui looked at the two of them, chuckled inwardly, and then naturally nodded in agreement.

"Let's go then."

The moment Yang Yishui turned around, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi simultaneously lifted their legs to follow.

As Shen Yuan's shoe tip crunched over half a curled-up fallen leaf, he suddenly stopped and looked back, just as the morning breeze lifted a corner of the vine curtain.

Thousands of golden threads cascaded down from the dome of the flower stand, and pale purple petals unfurled in the beams of light, each delicate, cicada-wing-like texture bathed in a honey-colored halo.

The moment Shen Yuan looked up, a swaying flower shadow suddenly transformed into a girl's trembling eyelashes.

The dappled sunlight filtering through the vines burst gently in his pupils, and he vaguely saw those eyes that held a galaxy of stars again.

Shen Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously, and as the wind filled the neckline of his hoodie, it felt as if the sweet scent of ice cream still lingered in his breath.

"cough!"

The boy suddenly looked down as if he had choked, his heel crushing the light spots on the ground.

The moment Shen Yuan turned around, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

In the instant I subconsciously looked up, I met Li Zhi's gaze as he turned back from the morning light.

The girl was biting her lower lip and looking back, her wavering gaze like a spider's web disturbed by the wind, suddenly becoming entangled with his.

The panic that couldn't be concealed in her pupils sparked like wildfire.

Li Zhi suddenly turned her face to the side, her ponytail drawing an unfinished half-circle in the air.

"gone!"

Shen Yuan only had time to catch a glimpse of the flushed red tips of her ears before her figure disappeared into the shadows of the street.

"coming!"

The wind stirred up by the boy's steps startled the light mist that was perched on the trellis.

The swirling golden dust chased after his hurried figure, forever sealing the lingering blush on his earlobe deep within the flower stand in the still-dewy late September.

As Shen Yuan turned a corner, he saw his older cousin's teasing gaze fall on him.

"Walking so slowly?"

"My shoelaces are untied," Shen Yuan said instinctively.

The older cousin lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on Shen Yuan's running shoes.

There are indeed shoelaces.

Yang Yishui smiled slightly and turned to walk towards the parking lot.

Shen Yuan slowly let out a sigh of relief, and then he saw Li Zhi.

Li Shao glanced at him, then turned and left.

After getting back into the car, Yang Yishui didn't continue driving on the main road, but instead drove straight into the village road.

If you go this way, you can get directly to the ring road.

The couple's hometown, Yang Yishui's maternal grandmother's home, is right on the edge of the ring road.

There is an elevated road still under construction on this ring road, and Shen Yuan and Li Zhi's old house is located somewhere under the elevated road.

My grandparents are currently living at Uncle Shen Yuan's house.

My real hometown still exists, but it has been destroyed.

Even if it's demolished now, the reconstruction permits might not be approved, so it's better to just leave it there and let it be.

My uncle's family had already moved to the city long ago. The old man and woman didn't want to leave the place where they had lived their whole lives, so the family just went with them.

In Jiyang, the villages, especially those nestled against the mountains, have houses that are relatively close together.

Often, one side is residential and the other side is farmland, clearly separated.

This results in houses being relatively close together, with narrow lanes, each wide enough for two people, connecting in a cross shape throughout the village.

After getting off the bus, Li Zhi did not go with Shen Yuan, but went to her grandparents' house instead.

Anyway, it's close by; it's just a short walk, a few turns and a minute's walk.

Shen Yuan has a loud voice; even from this distance, Li Zhi could hear him if he called out.

As soon as Shen Yuan arrived at his doorstep, he saw the tightly closed gate.

The person is not at home.

Shen Yuan's lips twitched.

There's no need to even think about where the old folks went.

Knowing that her children were coming, she went to the field to pick vegetables.

Regardless, the old man simply believed that the vegetables he grew himself were the best.

When children return home, they pick vegetables they've grown themselves. Besides maintaining family ties, the deeper meaning behind this is that the elderly are seeking self-affirmation.

As people age, both their social and family roles rapidly weaken.

Growing vegetables is one of the few positive feedbacks that can strengthen their self-identity.

Growing vegetables is also a way for the elderly to cope with loneliness.

Shen Yuan placed the fruit at his doorstep and then squatted down on the cement ground in front of his house.

The only small bamboo chair was given to my older cousin.

After squatting for a while, Shen Yuan turned to look at his older cousin.

"Aren't we too early?"

"Nonsense, what are you squatting for? Look on the windowsill for the keys."

"Tsk, I forgot."

Shen Yuan immediately got up and went to the window, then began to feel around on the windowsill.

Soon, Shen Yuan's fingertips touched a small, hard object.

"Perfect!" Shen Yuan exclaimed excitedly, then quickly opened the door with the key.

The moment the door opened, a musty smell wafted out, a faint, lingering scent of decay, the scent left behind by the passage of time.

Before Shen Yuan's grandparents moved in, Shen Yuan's uncle's house had been empty for several years, with only people there during the Chinese New Year.

Shen Yuan poked his head out of the house.

"Sister, wanna go to the fields?"

Yang Yishui's lips twitched: "Fine, fine, anyway, there's nothing else to do."

The two then got up and walked towards the field.

There are actually quite a lot of fields in my hometown.

There are many mountains in the countryside, and the Shen family also has farmland on the mountains.

Although Grandpa and Grandma Shen are over 80 years old, the old man is in incredibly good health; he can still go up the mountain to cut bamboo even in his 80s.

However, they should have been in the fields at the foot of the mountain during this period.

Shen Yuan and his older cousin had just turned a corner when they saw Li Zhi's figure appear in the alley.

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Go to the fields?"

Li Zhi nodded helplessly.

Clearly, Li Zhi's grandparents were also busy.

The ridges between rice paddies are probably the most frequent thing in my childhood memories.

Everything changes in my memory, but the ridges between the fields remain the same, just as they were before. Except for the area where the elevated highway passes through.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi walked one after the other on the ridge of the field, appearing somewhat cautious.

Although Yang Yishui hadn't worked in the fields for a long time, his long legs still moved with great vigor as he walked through the fields.

They even walked very easily.

After all, she had walked these paths for many more years than Shen Yuan.

Yang Yishui quickly found two familiar voices in the field.

"Grandpa! Grandma!"

When Yang Yishui saw the elderly couple, he immediately strode over to them.

At this time, not only Shen Yuan's grandparents were working in the fields, but also other elderly people.

Upon hearing Yang Yishui's voice, the elderly people who were working diligently looked up and gazed around curiously.

When they saw the three people on the ridge of the field, their anticipation instantly turned into disappointment, and then they continued to work as if nothing had happened.

Shen Songde, an elderly man who is still in good health, recognized the woman who was walking swiftly on the ridge of the field at a glance.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a kind smile, and he called out loudly, "My little girl is here!"

Hearing her grandfather's call, Yang Yishui's smile grew even brighter.

Like a cheerful little bird, my older cousin crossed the ridges of the field and ran quickly into the field, heading straight for Shen Songde.

"Grandpa!" Yang Yishui called out affectionately and rushed into Shen Songde's arms.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan, who was standing on the edge of the field, was not to be outdone and shouted loudly, "Grandpa! What about me?"

Shen Songde was overjoyed by his granddaughter's arrival and was in an exceptionally good mood. When he saw Shen Yuanshi, he pretended to be serious and said, "You little rascal! I thought you hadn't come along since you didn't say a word!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan was not angry at all; instead, he looked at the old man with a smile.

At this moment, Li Zhi, who was next to Shen Yuan, caught Shen Songde's attention, and the old man's smile became even brighter.

"Is this Li Zhi?" Shen Songde asked kindly.

Li Zhi nodded politely and replied, "Hello, Grandpa!"

Shen Songde nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, Shen Yuan asked, "Grandpa! Where did Li Zhi's grandfather go?"

"Yutang? He should have gone up the mountain!"

The older generation usually addresses each other by their given names.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi pursed his lips.

We won't go up the mountain.

If Lao Li were here, he would most likely have gone looking for him.

Li Zhi is still a bit lazy.

"Grandpa, Grandma, don't prepare too much food. We'll bring some from home," Yang Yishui advised.

"Oh dear! These are all vegetables we grew ourselves, healthy and fresh!" Grandma said quickly, her face beaming with a kind smile.

"Just a little bit will do, I'd like to take some home too," Yang Yishui replied cleverly, knowing exactly how to make the elderly happy.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the two elderly people in the family immediately beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, we'll listen to our little girl!"

At this moment, Shen Songde raised his head, looked around, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Where's Shen Yuan? I don't see him."

Yang Yishui also searched around, but after not finding Shen Yuan, she shrugged helplessly: "He probably went out to play with Li Zhi."

"Hey, little girl, tell your grandpa, are Shen Yuan and Yu Tang's granddaughter dating?" Shen Songde suddenly leaned closer to Yang Yishui, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Yang Yishui couldn't help but chuckle. This octogenarian grandfather was actually quite interested in the love lives of young people.

She glanced at her grandfather and saw that the old man's eyes were full of curiosity and expectation.

Grandpa, are you also in the OCD fan club?

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Yishui took out her phone.

"I won't say much more, just look at this."

Shen Songde stared wide-eyed at the image of the boy and girl gazing at each other on his phone, and his face immediately broke into a wide smile.

"Old woman! Old woman, come quick!"

Shen Songde quickly called his wife, and the three of them watched the boy and girl gazing at each other under the flower vines in the field.

The three of them smiled happily.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was strolling around the village with Li Zhi.

The morning light at the end of September slanted through the eaves, casting long shadows of the two people on the bluestone alley.

Shen Yuan kicked away a pebble that hurt his foot, and caught a glimpse of Li Zhi's profile out of the corner of his eye.

The two maintained a tacit half-step distance, neither speaking, but the silence gave one an indescribable sense of comfort.

They walked quietly, traversing one stretch of road after another.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at the stream that passed through the village.

This stream, while not wide, is certainly not small either, about 1.5 meters wide, and the water depth is just up to the calves.

The stream is crystal clear, and you can see the sand and pebbles at the bottom and the small fish swimming around.

Shen Yuan walked to the stream, stopped, and his gaze fell on a cement slab on the bank. He pointed to the slab and said to Li Zhi, "Do you remember this place?"

Li Zhi looked in the direction he was pointing, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "Hmm, the place where some idiot used to catch fish when he was a kid."

“You’re mistaken,” Shen Yuan retorted.

Li Zhi looked at him with some curiosity and asked, "Oh? What are your memories of being here?"

Shen Yuan scratched his head and said softly, "You and I will float paper boats here."

The stream water shimmered like golden foil in the morning light. Li Zhi stared at the rippling waves on the water's surface, and her eyelashes suddenly trembled.

As Li Zhi turned his head, the ends of his hair brushed against him, and the citrus-scented wind swept past the boy's reddened earlobes.

The lingering bewilderment in Li Zhi's pupils was illuminated by the morning light, as if the lock on a memory box had been suddenly lifted, revealing a paper boat with a folded corner inside.

"I didn't expect you to still remember this." Li Zhi's voice carried a hint of pleasure.

Shen Yuan smiled and said, "After all, you ignore everything else and are happy to stay here with me and sail the boat."

Li Zhi nodded.

Just then, she heard Shen Yuan's voice in her ear: "The boat didn't drift as far as me, and you're still crying. Saying I'm bullying you."

Lili's pupils suddenly contracted, and a few stars of annoyance exploded in the morning light.

The babbling brook behind her couldn't drown out her sudden, rapid breathing: "You're the one crying!"

"It's obvious, it's obvious you're cheating!"

Seeing the stubbornness on the pretty girl's face, Shen Yuan tilted his head back and said in a cheeky tone, "I forgot."

"you!"

Li Zhi glared at Shen Yuan.

But before the two could say anything more, a voice suddenly came from the stream.

"Zhizhi?!"

Li Zhi heard the sound and looked up.

Upon seeing the old man standing by the stream, Li Zhi immediately smiled.

"Grandma! Grandpa!"

Shen Yuan looked up and saw Li Zhi's grandfather, Li Yutang.

The old man looked at Shen Yuan with a serious expression, even though Shen Yuan was smiling broadly.

Just then, Yang Yishui's distant call came from afar.

Shen Yuanfei quickly said, "My sister is looking for me, I have to go back now."

Li Zhi glanced at Shen Yuan and waved his hand: "Go on, go on."

After receiving Li Zhi's reply, Shen Yuan quickly darted out of Li Yutang's scrutiny.

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(End of this chapter)