My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 32 A Long Vacation, Reciprocity

early morning.

As October arrived, Jiangcheng seemed to cool down all of a sudden. Last night, the rain was light and the wind was strong. He slept soundly but the effects of the wine were still lingering. When Zhou Heming got up, he had just closed the window. The clanging of the train came from afar. Instead of being noisy, it had a sense of life.

He changed into a light gray shirt, dark trousers, and a school uniform tracksuit jacket.

Because he used to work at a funeral home, Zhou Heming had a lot of shirts to wear with his black suit.

At 7:30, I pushed open the door.

Click——

The neighbor lady also went out at the same time.

Good morning, Ahe! Have a happy day today!

A clear and cheerful voice, like the clear autumn sky, rang out.

Cheng Shuangjiang's hair was casually tied in a ponytail. She wore a retro-style brown long-sleeved shirt and a school uniform jacket similar to Zhou Heming's. Her lower body was covered by a beige skirt, which covered her black shoes. Only when she walked could you see her plain socks and the red rope wrapped around her left ankle.

His right hand was still in a cast, and the bandage on his left hand was hidden in his sleeve, barely visible.

Good morning, you look great today too.

Zhou Heming frankly expressed his thoughts.

"Hehe, it's getting cold, so you need to wear thicker clothes, otherwise catching a cold will be a real problem."

She naturally took Zhou Heming's hand.

“I slept with the window open last night. The weather was great, and I could even hear the trains from the other side of the railway.”

"Huh, I was sleeping soundly and didn't notice anything. It turns out to be a railway. I thought it was a subway."

"If you look east from the window, you can see the railway tracks. At night, freight trains will pass by, making a clanging sound that helps you fall asleep. Further away, there's a city square where you can sometimes see fireworks."

“When Ahe used to work in Ningjiang, he could hear the sound of trains from the room he rented.”

The two chatted as they walked toward the station. During the seven-day National Day holiday, schools would not hold classes, but classrooms would be open for senior high school students to study. They decided to go there to study.

On their way, they passed a bustling breakfast shop. Many nearby residents were squatting in front of the shop, mixing hot dry noodles in disposable paper bowls and eating with great relish.

"My allowance has arrived! It's my treat today!"

Cheng Shuangjiang solemnly showed Zhou Heming her balance: 1201.7 yuan.

They really did drain all their savings before.

Although Zhou Heming didn't have the habit of eating breakfast, he still accompanied Cheng Shuangjiang to eat the cheapest soy milk and fried dough sticks, and also bought bread sandwiches for lunch at the supermarket—the school was open, but the cafeteria was closed, so they had to find their own lunch.

1200 seems like a lot, but considering she still has to pay for utilities and public transportation, after deductions, it's barely enough.

"Where are Qiao Jinchen and Xu Youyou?"

As Cheng Shuangjiang walked into the somewhat quiet campus, she glanced at the third-year high school building. There were a few students in the corridor reciting their lessons, their clear voices filling the air.

“They should be studying at Qiao Jinchen’s house. They originally invited me too, but I thought I shouldn’t go and be a third wheel.”

Zhou Heming walked skillfully up the stairs of the main building.

Then, the sound of a piano began to play.

Zhou Heming immediately recognized it as the theme song from Interstellar, "Day One".

Ethereal, restrained, love and death that transcend time and space, an inescapable sense of destiny.

"Lu Bai is here today too, he's really working hard."

He sighed and went up to the seventh floor. The door to the multimedia classroom was ajar. He pushed it open gently and saw a girl wearing a beret, a camel-colored knitted cardigan and a striped skirt that revealed her knees and fair calves, who was focused on playing a piece.

The jade and beaded bracelet on her right wrist remained unchanged, seemingly a local custom.

"Good morning."

Noticing their arrival, Lu Bai stopped playing and greeted them with a slight smile.

Zhou Heming and Cheng Shuangjiang responded and sat in the outermost seats of the first row.

They took out their study guides and began to study seriously.

Zhou Heming had previously heard that during student days, intelligence and talent are not that useful in learning; focus is more important.

Thanks to his two years of working at the funeral home, he has developed a good level of concentration.

After all, if you get distracted at a funeral and make a mistake, being beaten by the family would be the least of your worries.

My uncle once jokingly said that in their line of work, it's best if their parents die young, so they can feel more comfortable and at ease when their ancestors are being questioned.

He was so engrossed in his studies that he completely ignored the occasional piano music playing.

He didn't look up until the sound of a packaging bag being put on the packaging rang out. He saw Lu Bai standing in front of them, holding a torn bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips, and speaking to them.

"Eat?"

She was holding a piece in her hand, putting it in her mouth, and making a crunching sound as she chewed.

"Thanks?"

Zhou Heming carefully took a piece and handed it to Cheng Shuangjiang beside him.

"Okay, thank you, Ahe~"

She took a bite of the potato chip that Zhou Heming offered her without hesitation.

Zhou Heming did not go to get the second piece.

"You two are really something. I'm playing the piano here, and you're flirting here. I treat you to potato chips, and you treat me to dog food. Is this how you repay each other?"

Lu Bai sighed helplessly and ate another piece.

"Oh, right, I saw it yesterday." "Saw what?"

Zhou Heming wanted to suck on his fingers, which were covered in potato chip crumbs, but he was too embarrassed to do so in front of the two girls, so he just pulled out a tissue and wiped them clean.

"I saw you fall flat on your face."

Lu Bai's gaze swept over the already congealed wound on Zhou Heming's arm.

"That's really a bit embarrassing."

He scratched his head.

"It's not shameful at all."

Lu Bai said in a very soft voice, then raised his voice.

"Thanks."

It seems she has a general understanding of what happened.

"Also, um, Cheng Shuangjiang, there's a piece of music I'm not quite sure how to handle. Do you have time?"

Lu Bai shifted his gaze to Cheng Shuangjiang and added another sentence.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk."

"Which one?"

Cheng Shuangjiang did not react negatively to Lu Bai's plea for help because of her own trauma. Instead, she got up with a gentle smile and went to the piano.

As Zhou Heming twirled the pen in his hand, he watched the two school beauties talking intently by the piano and suddenly had the illusion that he was the one who was superfluous.

However, Cheng Shuangjiang's expression when explaining piano playing techniques was so serious.

The boy looked at the girl, who was intently watching Lu Bai's finger techniques under the sunlight and occasionally offering reminders and guidance, and realized that he had never seen Cheng Shuangjiang like this before.

Unlike her usual sweetness, gentleness, and enthusiasm, she is also not as aloof, indifferent, or unapproachable as before.

It's more like, even if you're inside a nutshell, you still want to be the king of the universe, with absolute confidence, looking down on all living beings, like a lone king.

After all, this was once her pride.

For some reason, I feel a little regretful.

According to Cheng Shuangjiang, she never tried playing the piano again after that, and the bouquet of flowers she dreamed of receiving at the end of her performance was nowhere to be found.

In other words, it's unlikely we'll ever see a girl like that again.

perhaps
Zhou Heming felt that perhaps he could make up for this regret?

*
Lu Bai left in the afternoon.

According to her, she will practice piano and read scripts here until the end of December, then film in January and February next year, and return in March.

"So, we've successfully changed the future?"

Around 4 PM, the two packed up their things and left the multimedia classroom.

"That drama became very popular later. If Lu Bai had successfully played the role, he would have become famous much earlier and wouldn't still be an ordinary actor at the age of thirty."

Cheng Shuangjiang pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"She is very serious. Take this role for example. In fact, if it were someone else, they would not need to know how to play the piano or strive for perfection. But she believes that you have to experience and observe a real genius in order to understand what kind of blow the character suffered and what kind of expression he had when he regained his pride."

So, what kind of expression will the girl in front of us have when she regains her pride?

Zhou Heming couldn't help but be curious.

"Ah He, shall we go to the supermarket tonight?"

Seeing that the boy next to her seemed to be daydreaming habitually, the girl made a suggestion.

"Sure, but what do you want to buy?"

Zhou Heming is socially awkward; he can't do something like shopping in a supermarket alone.

"The National Day holiday is seven days long, so it's impossible to eat out every day. I usually cook for myself during holidays, and I just bought some groceries today."

She said it as a matter of course, and then added at the end.

"But my arm isn't very convenient right now, so I might need your help, Ah-He. Can you cook now?"

"Now?"

"Because I remember you invited me to your house for a meal when you were on a date, but I'm not sure if you did that in high school."

"I know some simple things, all of which I learned in the third year of junior high school. Later, I was all alone, and it was hard to cook, so I stopped cooking."

Zhou Heming shrugged and glanced at the girl beside him.

"Now that there are two of us, I can start my rehabilitation. Once you're better, we can have a cooking competition."

Is there a reward for winning?

"If we win, that person will be the one cooking from now on."

"after."

The girl paused, then murmured the word.

"Ah He, you really are the kind of person who can casually make very weighty statements."

She gently took the boy's hand and leaned closer with a smile.

"Then I'm really looking forward to it!"

*
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(End of this chapter)