Chapter 12 Section 1

With simple luggage, Shao Yimin braved the light snow and went home on the train with the crowds of the Spring Festival travel rush. After sitting down, she flipped through the novel "Out of Africa" ​​that Zhao Qizhi gave her in the morning, and he said casually: "I saw you liked this movie yesterday, so I should be interested in reading the novel. I bought this book a long time ago." Yes, take it and see it first." They watched the movie of the same name at the Academy of Fine Arts the day before, and accidentally ran into Luo Yin and the "fat guy with glasses" Han Weiguo.This "1986 Oscar-winning film left a deep impression on Shao Yimin.

From the very beginning of the film, the old heroine" Karen began to tell in a hoarse voice, recalling the man who listened to Mozart with a gramophone while hunting, she was deeply attracted. When the hero and heroine hold hands in the sky, the beautiful and lyrical The theme music came overwhelmingly, and Shao Yimin found that for the first time, he was deeply immersed in the story made up by others without any distance. Ten hours later, Shao Yimin arrived at her hometown, but she was used to no one picking her up at the station.I got on the bus and went back to the dormitory left by my grandparents. I opened the door and saw that the old two-bedroom apartment was neatly cleaned and the heater was turned on. It didn't look like no one lived in it for a long time.There was a note on the table, which was left by her father, to the effect that she tidied it up while she was resting, and asked her to put down her luggage and go to his house for dinner when she came back.

Of course she didn't want to run to either parent's house, but although it was clean here, it didn't have any necessities for life. She packed her luggage and went downstairs to the supermarket to buy things.The dormitory in the old factory area is in the center of the city, so life is convenient, and it also means that there are many acquaintances who look up.During this working time, the people I met head-on were basically grandparents and old ladies who were the same age as her grandparents. As soon as they recognized her, they would stop and ask questions.No matter how indifferent she was, after all, she was taught strictly since she was a child, and she didn't have the guts to openly sneer and say nothing, so she could only answer one by one: "Yes, it's a holiday, come back for the New Year." "Grandpa and grandma will be back in two days." "Yes." I don’t bother you anymore.” “Well, uncle will be back too.”

All the way to the supermarket outside the factory area, she didn't know whether she was smiling or her face was numb from the cold, so she could only rub it with her hands. Thinking that she might have to act like this when she went back, she lost her appetite at all. The local area is not a big industrial city, and the atmosphere has always been conservative. Shao Yimin's parents both had a semi-public affair, and they got into a divorce before they married and had children. It is more interesting to talk about than the scandals of irrelevant celebrities in the newspapers. With a deep memory and living in the dormitory all the time, almost everyone is familiar with the story of her family.Shao Yimin felt that her grandparents probably went to Canada to settle down largely because of this reason, and she also wanted to get rid of this place before applying for a university thousands of miles away.She could imagine that those old people must be talking behind her at this time: "Poor girl." "A person, parents don't care." "It's almost like an orphan."

For these discussions and unnecessary kindness, she has always been a little dumbfounded, but there is nothing she can do.In fact, she never felt how pitiful she was, at most she was not close enough to her parents, but she could only passively accept the pity of everyone.She went straight to the supermarket, bought small packages of rice, noodles, oil and other daily necessities, and walked home with two big bags full. "Shao Yimin." Suddenly a male voice called her with some hesitation and uncertainty. She turned her head and saw a tall boy standing in front of her with a bicycle on one foot. He looked familiar, but couldn't remember his name for a while:

"Uh, hello." "It's really you, Shao Yimin!" The boy smiled happily. He got down and put the car aside. It was obvious that she didn't remember him much, but he didn't mind, "I'm Liu Hongyu." "I'm sorry, Liu Hongyu, I just got stuck with my poor memory." Shao Yimin's memory is not bad, and he immediately remembered that it was the boy in front of him who said to her carelessly after a graduation dinner and drinking, "Actually, I like You've been around for a long time."His grades were very good, and he was admitted to a prestigious school in Beijing with a high score in electronic engineering.

"It's been a long time since I saw you. I was a little unsure when I saw you just now, but your walking posture has not changed. You are still walking like a meteor with so many things." Liu Hongyu smiled very brightly, "It is too late to meet you." All right." "Yes, long time no see." He didn't have the shy flashes of high school at all. He looked more confident and decisive. He reached out to take the bag in her hand and put it in the car basket: "It's too heavy, I'll send it back for you." The bag was indeed so heavy that her hands were marked red, and she welcomed the help.

He quickly returned to the dormitory area, and greeted him politely as usual.Without asking for her opinion, Liu Hongyu locked his bicycle, carried his bag and signaled her to lead him upstairs. Shao Yimin opened the door and asked Liu Hongyu to sit down casually, then took the bag and put it into the kitchen to start boiling water.Liu Hongyu looked at the small living room and found that the walls were barren and there was no TV.Like the other classmates, he knew a little about Shao Yimin's family affairs, and couldn't help but feel a little sad for her living here alone, but Shao Yimin's calm expression immediately made him feel that his little sadness was unnecessary.

He did secretly like this quiet and beautiful classmate, and he also confessed his love through alcohol, but he was young at the time, so he didn't have the courage to go see her again after talking.Afterwards, they went north one by one and went south to study separately. Shao Yimin did not keep in touch with any of his classmates by letter or address, and rarely came back to show up during holidays.With a rich life in Beijing and a broad horizon, he gradually looked down on this matter, but he was still happy to see the girl he had a crush on in his youth by chance. "I'm busy right now, can you leave me your phone number, I'll come to you some other day, there are old classmates planning to have a party during the holidays, and I haven't been able to contact you before."

Shao Yimin is not keen on parties, but she is not withdrawn to the point of rejecting them outright.Liu Hongyu took out a notebook from his backpack, wrote down his mobile phone and home phone numbers, tore them off and handed them to Yi Min, and asked her to leave the numbers.She could only write him the public phone number of the commissary downstairs: "The phone at home stopped early, if you want me, call this number and ask them to call me, as long as it's not too early or too late." After Liu Hongyu left, Shao Yimin cooked some noodles for himself for a meal.She has lived in the six-person dormitory for a long time, and she likes the feeling of being alone.She found out the small radio, installed the batteries she just bought, walked into her small room, tuned to the music station, half-lyed on the bed and continued to watch "Out of Africa". After reading dozens of pages, she fell asleep without knowing it. .When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark and the living room was lit. She got up and walked out, only to find her father, Shao Zhengsen, sitting on the sofa smoking a cigarette.

"Dad, when did you come?" Shao Zhengsen works as an engineer in a local factory. He is 47 years old this year. He said, "I came here after get off work, Xiao Min. Didn't I tell you to come back to my place? There's nothing here." "I bought something and came back, so I don't bother you." Shao Zhengsen sighed secretly, the face of the daughter in front of him looked like his ex-wife, but his eyebrows looked like his own, but it was hard to tell who she looked like with that indifference: "At least let's go to dinner today, your aunt has already made it." Shao Yimin was not stubborn, obediently put on his clothes and locked the door, and went to his house with his father.In the next few days, I went to eat with my parents a few times, and at the same time helped my younger siblings with their homework, so as to avoid them coming to the door.Fortunately, grandpa and grandma came back accompanied by her uncle Shao Zhenglei, and the small dormitory suddenly became lively and had a family atmosphere. Grandparents have always loved this granddaughter whom they brought up alone, and only in front of them, Shao Yimin would act coquettishly.After graduating from university, Shao Zhenglei went abroad to study, and now he has settled down in Canada with a family and works in financial management.My wife was just pregnant and not suitable for a long-distance trip, so I didn't come back.The time he had to see his niece was limited, but he loved her dearly. Grandpa and grandma told Yi Min that the air in Vancouver is good, the environment is pleasant and the climate is pleasant, they live very comfortably, and they plan to die in a foreign country, and this time they come back to complete the necessary procedures.Shao Yimin was a little melancholy, thinking that his connection with this place would probably be completely severed. "Anyway, you don't want to come back here after graduation. We discussed with your father and plan to sell the house and leave the money to you, Xiao Min." Grandma stroked her hair and said, "He has no objection." Yi Min has no idea about money or houses, so she hesitated: "Give it all to me, will Auntie have any objections?" She was referring, of course, to her stepmother. "This is an old dormitory, the area is not big, and the local housing prices are low, so you can't sell it for a lot of money. They haven't fulfilled their responsibilities to you, so what's your opinion?" Grandpa said calmly.He is a relatively old-fashioned intellectual. He has never forgiven the eldest son's turbulent extramarital affairs and marital changes. He has always refused to see his son's step-wife, and he has no good face when he sees his son until now. "You and your uncle have a good chat after graduation. plan." Shao Zhenglei is very kind and easy-going, without the feeling of unfamiliarity that he has not seen for a long time: "Xiao Min, it is good for a girl to be a teacher, but you might as well broaden your horizons. How is your English level now?" "I plan to take the sixth grade exam this year, so there shouldn't be any problem." "I had the same thoughts as you when I first came to Beijing to study at university, but after getting in touch with more people and things, I feel that the world is vast and I can give myself more opportunities to choose. Have you ever thought about going abroad for further study?" Although Normal University is also a famous school in central China, after all, most of the students come from underdeveloped areas, and there is no real craze for studying abroad. She has never thought about this problem, and honestly shook her head. "Your grandparents are most worried about you. You should have a good talent for reading. You can carefully plan your own path. If you intend to apply for a foreign school after graduation, uncle can also help you collect information." "But I majored in Mathematics in Normal University. What can I continue to study abroad? I'm not very interested in pure mathematics research." "Those who study mathematics turn to computers, accounting, and statistics have a good foundation, and the career prospects of these majors abroad are also very good. You can think about it carefully. If you think you have the ability to try, you have to pass the English test first. Of course, now It's a little late to start, so we have to hurry up." Shao Yimin nodded solemnly. She knew her uncle's kindness, and she suddenly felt as if a window had opened in front of her, with a sense of relief. The winter vacation passed quickly, during which Liu Hongyu also called to invite her to the class reunion.She went, but it was the old-fashioned meal and karaoke.The students who stayed in the inland areas had very different ideas from the students who were admitted to the big cities. Liu Hongyu bluntly said that he would fight for a scholarship to study Ph.D (doctoral degree) in the United States.Shao Yimin didn't talk much about his ideas with them, and only left his QQ number and email address, promising to keep in touch with them frequently in the future. On New Year's Eve, Shao Yimin also received a call from Zhao Qizhi.She leaned against the window of the canteen, looked at the heavy snow, and heard his "Happy New Year" on the receiver, and was also happy for no reason: "You are the same." "It's snowing on my side, a lot of snow." "Me too." The two fell silent at the same time, only the sound of firecrackers rang in their ears.Shao Yimin has never had an overly detailed imagination, but at this moment, he still thinks that it would be warm to have a greeting from afar, which is really nice.