Chapter 23 Chapter 22 Showdown

"Go for a walk!" Zhu Ertong pushed open the bedroom door and greeted Su Guanlan. The two came to the small lake.There is a forest here, very quiet.After sitting down on the long stone bench, Zhu Ertong glanced around and found a crumpled thing.Su Guanlan took it and opened it to see that it was a letter from Sister Qiong that had been torn apart!He was suddenly full of doubts, dumbfounded: "This, what's going on here?" "What's going on?" Zhu Ertong looked away. "Sister Qiong's letter, why was it torn down, and it became like this?" "This letter was given to me by Ye Yuhan."

"What did you say?" Su Guanlan was taken aback. "I'll say it again: Sister Qiong's letter was handed over to me by Ye Yuhan!" "This, this..." Su Guanlan suddenly broke out in sweat. "Oh," Zhu Ertong sighed, "there is a saying that 'people are not as good as heaven'!" Going to Mount Tai with the excursion group organized by the lecture aid association and the student union, both Su Guanlan and Zhu Ertong were "approved" by the principal's office the night before departure, and they were notified by Pastor Bromi.The money that Su Guanlan carried with her was also handed over by Bu Luomi at this time.It's too tight!

"I always feel," Zhu Ertong murmured, "that there is something strange about it." "What's strange?" Su Guanlan asked. "I have a premonition, an ominous premonition..." Zhu Ertong frowned, "I always feel that something is wrong, as if something is going to happen." "Then you mean..." "I think," Zhu Ertong hesitated, "are we not going to Mount Tai?" "You are so superstitious, thanks to the fact that you are still a college student!" Su Guanlan shook her head vigorously, "No, I must go. I will go, and you will go too."

Early the next morning, the hiking group set off.We will soon arrive at Mount Tai.The young lecturers, teaching assistants, and college students were delighted to "see all the mountains and small things at a glance", and Su Guanlan was especially happy.But just at this time, sister Qiong sent a letter and sent it to the Provincial First Division as usual.At this time Mr. Zhu Yutong had already become the dean of the school, and he was extremely busy.He estimated that the two young men and women were about to graduate and had some important business to discuss, and he was afraid of delays; he could not spare time, so he sent a student to deliver the letter to Qilu University as soon as possible.The normal student found the dormitory of Su Guanlan and Zhu Ertong, but saw a lock on the door; after asking, he learned that they had gone to Mount Tai.The normal students searched for a while, and found a kind-hearted monk, Kai Si, who claimed to be very familiar with Su and Zhu...

Su Guanlan listened and gasped. "My 'sixth sense' is right! But if you don't believe me, you still say I'm 'superstitious'." Zhu Ertong looked at Su Guanlan's terrified appearance, couldn't bear to go on, and sighed: "Let's read Joan quickly. Miss' letter, this is an unusual letter." Su Guanlan was in a daze, dazed for a while, and finally spread out the things in her hands.The envelopes of the letter paper were crumpled, and Sister Joan's beautiful and smooth handwriting became messy as a result.Now, they are scrambling to jump into Su Guanlan's eyes.He read two or three pages without knowing what he was reading.

"What did Sister Qiong say?" Zhu Ertong asked. "You didn't see it?" "Of course I didn't!" Zhu Ertong glared at Su Guanlan. "Oh, what I mean is, read it first, then tell me after you read it..." "Look at you, it's broken like this! Well, it's like this, it's useless to be anxious, let's wait patiently and see what's going on first. Maybe I can help out with some ideas." Su Guanlan buried her head in the letter paper again.After a while, he still couldn't speak clearly: "There is a passage, Miss Qiong seems to be saying that she wants me to go to Beiping, the Summer Palace, to meet, and to remit travel expenses..."

"Yes, the money has been wired to my elder brother." "At this point in the field, what is the use of money? Can I still go to Peiping?" "You are afraid, but I am not afraid anymore." "why?" "I have nothing to expose anymore, so I don't have to be afraid of anything happening." Zhu Ertong said, stood up, picked up a tile, and threw it vigorously.The tiles rotated rapidly at low altitude, and finally landed on the emerald green water, jumping forward continuously, causing a series of ripples, piercing the blue sky, white clouds, house spiers and whirling tree shadows reflected in the water...

"I did it to myself," Su Guanlan sighed, "I have hurt you!" "I did it myself, but I don't regret it." Zhu Ertong shook his head, "There won't be any bigger things, at most, I will be fired." "Expulsion, isn't expulsion a big deal?" "Your Bishop Valentine even risked his life." Su Guanlan was silent for a while, and then asked: "Also, Ye, Ye Yuhan, how did she give you the letter? How did the letter get into her hands?" "You asked about Ye Yuhan, it's worth talking about, it's overdue!" Zhu Ertong suddenly became excited, "You remember, I first met you five years ago, and then I met Ye Yuhan..."

Five years ago, Zhu Ertong had just been admitted to the English Department of Qi University, met Su Guanlan, and the two lived in the same room; then, when he read Ding Jieqiong's first letter to "dear brother", he was very moved and expressed his great gratitude. Happy to help.Afterwards, Zhu Ertong found out that Su Guanlan actually had a fiancée "arranged by the feudal system" and was specially arranged by old man Su in Qi University; Determined to help Su Guanlan.Bu Luomi asked him to monitor Su Guanlan, although he agreed, but did not implement it at all, and even did the opposite.

One day about two months after school started, Zhu Ertong went to the school library with his portfolio as usual.The library is open 16 hours a day, and there are people reading in every room—this provides conditions for him to practice sketching.He likes reading rooms No. 1 and No. 2, which are spacious and bright.He had just stepped into Room 2 when an explosion suddenly occurred somewhere!The loud noise shook the entire library, and the ceiling was crumbling; a flash of fire outside the window, followed by blazing flames and billowing smoke, made Zhu Ertong fall to the ground in fright, covering his head...

The dozen or so people sitting in Room No. 2 cried out in shock, rolled and crawled, and became a mess.Some students had experienced the flames of war the year before, and knew how to "save themselves". They tried their best to get under the table, and the tables, chairs and benches were overturned, and there was a lot of crackling.Zhu Ertong was originally obese, clumsy, and slow to react; when he woke up a little, got up, and planned to escape, the room was already empty.When one of his legs had already stepped out of the reading room, he accidentally glanced back, and couldn't help being stunned—— The northwest corner of the No. 2 reading room is the quietest and most remote corner: the windows are tall and narrow, and they face north.The only exception is a girl with short hair.Zhu Ertong noticed her the first time he came, because she remained motionless for a long time, like a wood carving and clay sculpture, so she was the best object for sketching; in addition, the window faces north, the light is soft, and the projection changes less, which is also conducive to a longer period of time. sketch.She is not tall and has a thin body, and she always sits on a chair at the end of the long table for a long time-it seems to be her special seat, and she has never seen anyone else sitting there.Now, she is still sitting there in the same fixed posture, with a glass of cold boiled water, a faded blue cloth schoolbag and a large pile of books and notebooks in front of her... Zhu Ertong stopped, turned around, and blinked vigorously, thinking that the girl was dead.After a few or ten seconds, the other party moved slightly, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, lightly dusted his head and face a few times, and blew on the dusty books and materials, Glancing out the window, there is still smoke billowing there, and the pungent smell rushes straight into the house... The female student seemed to wake up suddenly.She stood up, tidied up quickly, stacked the books and materials neatly on the table, stuffed a few things into the blue cloth schoolbag, and walked quickly to the door of the reading room, where she bumped into Zhu Ertong.The eyes of the two collided, and she hurried away.It was the first time for Zhu Ertong to see the other person's appearance clearly: pale complexion, regular facial features, and clear eyes... It was only later that I learned that during the war the year before last, Japanese artillery shells landed next to the library and were buried deep in the soil. Today, it suddenly exploded.It was only later that I found out that the girl's name was Ye Yuhan, and she was in the third year of medical school... Ye Yuhan?Zhu Er was taken aback: Isn't she Su Guanlan's "fiancée"? Zhu Ertong had a strong curiosity.Still in the No. 2 reading room, one day, he took the initiative to give the girl two sketches. Of course, the ones drawn were all Ye Yuhan. "Thank you," Ye Yuhan's voice was very soft, but she spoke clearly; she nodded and took the painting for a closer look. "Unfortunately, you can't be seen in the two paintings, because I haven't been able to see your face." Zhu Ertong said, "I didn't see you clearly until the explosion." Ye Yuhan smiled slightly as an answer. "I'm from the English Department, and I live in Zhilanpu." Zhu Ertong added deliberately, "I share the same dorm with Su Guanlan." "It's really not easy for someone who learns English to be able to draw so well." The female student kept her original smile and ignored the name "Su Guanlan". That's how the two got acquainted.After that, the most common place to meet is the library, sometimes nodding to each other, and sometimes talking a few words.Once, Juultong talked about the explosion, which was the event that made the strongest impression on him: "You are extraordinary, so calm and composed." "Where!" The female student was a little shy, "I didn't hear that time, really." "What's wrong with your ears?" "No, I'm hearing fine." "Then why didn't you hear it?" "I'm totally in the book." "You ran into me while running outside. If something happened, it would be too late to run!" "Oh, I'm running to the hospital." "Run to the hospital?" "I'm a medical student! Somebody might be hurt." "Ah!" Zhu Ertong's eyes widened. Four or five years passed in a flash. For a period of time, Zhu Ertong seldom practiced painting, and spent most of his time on English, French and several courses.His grades were not good, and he failed several required and elective courses. He was afraid that he would not be able to complete the degree if he did not earn enough credits at the end of the four-year period.Therefore, he has been studying hard for the past few months.One Sunday morning, he went to the library and saw Ye Yuhan again in the old place.He walked behind the female student and greeted her softly. "Ertong, are you here?" Ye Yuhan turned her head and smiled slightly, "Do you have any questions?" She asked questions in English or French.For a long time, she has become Zhu Ertong's compulsory foreign language teacher, and she speaks better than the professors. "Yuhan, how long have you been here?" "Thirty-four minutes." The female college student looked at her watch. "Hey, it's only been forty minutes since the museum opened, and you've been here for thirty-four minutes! Look at you, your face is so pale, your body is so thin, and the blood vessels on the back of your hands can be clearly counted... Cough, you need to rest more and move more Just one click." "Thank you, you care so much about me." "No, Yuhan, I should be the one thanking you!" Zhu Ertong shook his head again and again, showing shame, "If you hadn't asked Principal Zha Luther to speak nice words to me several times, he would have ordered me to drop out of school a long time ago. If it weren't for you If you often give me help and advice, I will fail in both foreign languages, and the performance evaluation will be even worse..." "Not necessarily, it depends mainly on yourself." "Yuhan, you have always been humble. I often think that I would be happy if I had a sister like you!" Zhu Ertong clasped his right hand to his chest, saying earnestly, "When I graduate, I must use some way to show respect to you." Express my gratitude and respect! Everyone at the school who knows you, from students, staff, staff to professors, dean and principal, no one does not praise you, everyone has nothing but praise for you." "'Sister', I am really ashamed to be that." Ye Yuhan still smiled, "Smart college students like you, why don't you find a better 'sister'!" "Yuhan, you..." Zhu Ertong heard a little overtone. "As for 'thank you' and 'respect', you have given me a lot in the past few years, but I know it too late." The female college student turned her face away, trying to prevent Zhu Ertong from seeing her moist eyes, but Couldn't hide the choking in his voice. "Honestly, I, I really don't know how to 'grate' you." "You, what do you mean, Yu, Yuhan?" Zhu Ertong was dumbfounded.After a minute or two, Ye Yuhan calmed down a bit, wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and turned around.She still used the faded blue cloth schoolbag, but the blue had faded to grayish white, and the corners were frayed and stitched.She took out a crumpled letter from it: "I got this from my little sister when I went to Xinghua Village to visit her." Ye Yuhan paused for a moment and added, "I don't know if they opened it or Shan Shan Taken apart." Zhu Ertong took a look and was shocked!His lips moved, but nothing came out. "Please bring this letter to Su Guanlan." Ye Yuhan looked down at the piles of books and materials on the table, and said softly, "It was originally his letter. Besides, you should have given it to him." "Yuhan!" Ye Yuhan glanced at him: "Is there anything else Zhu Ertong needs to do?" "I..." Zhu Ertong was covered in sweat and his throat was blocked. "Needless to say, I understand your mood at the moment." Ye Yuhan was silent for a moment, then smiled tenderly, "Go, do what you should do. If you have any problems with your homework, let's discuss it together." Zhu Ertong held the letter like holding a ball of fire, but he couldn't throw it away; he stuffed the letter randomly into his trouser pocket and stumbled away.When he arrived at the door of the reading room, he subconsciously glanced back and saw Ye Yuhan sitting still, silently watching his back. Zhu Ertong found a stone bench by the small lake and sat down, stunned, his thoughts were confused, and he was ashamed, as if he was caught on the spot when he was stealing... Zhu Ertong decided to go to Su Guanlan and have a "showdown" with him. Going back, you have to pass the library.The second reading room is on the first floor.Jules raised his feet and looked inside.Few people came to the library on Sunday, and Ye Yuhan was alone, making her look even more striking; instead of reading books and copying materials as usual, she was lying on the table with her face buried in her arms and piles of books, her shoulders twitching... … Zhu Ertong's mood was disturbed and heavy.He returned to the dormitory, called Su Guanlan out, and started this difficult conversation. "Don't think that I just said this because something happened this time." Zhu Ertong was agitated, and he continued, "No, that's not the case! In fact, it was almost from the very beginning—from the moment we first met Ye Yuhan made me feel uneasy from the beginning. She is a good person, a very nice person. Yes, she looks mediocre and not beautiful, but her conduct is outstanding. She is generous, kind, and helpful; she has perseverance, patience, Perseverance...It's a pity that I am not a writer or a poet, otherwise, I would write all the praises I know in novels and poems and dedicate them to her! She sincerely cared about me and asked the principal several times to intercede to keep me The two subjects with the best grades in my examination were, to put it bluntly, the result of her hard work and teaching. And what did I do to her? I was like a thief, like a pickpocket, I was secretly hurting her, destroying her, Destroy her last hope and hope for happiness, destroy her last spiritual pillar! Every time I see her, I always feel deeply ashamed and disturbed! I blame myself and curse myself a thousand times:' Zhu Ertong, who are you? You are a complete hypocrite!'” As Zhu Ertong said, he punched the thick tree trunk with his fist, and tears welled up in his eyes.Su Guanlan was so upset that she remained silent.After a long time, Zhu Ertong turned his head and stared into Su Guanlan's eyes, and asked word by word: "Didn't you swear at the beginning that you would marry Ye Yuhan twenty years later?" "That, that was forced..." Su Guanlan stammered. "Isn't being forced to swear an oath? Anyway, you used the oath to affirm the engagement, affirmed your fiancé relationship with Ye Yuhan, and set the date of marriage. But, let me ask you again—of course, you should also ask me, But the main thing I should ask you is: you are engaged to be a girl's fiancé, and then have a secret love affair with another girl—does that make sense?" "You know I didn't want to at that time," Su Guanlan hesitated, "so I set a period of twenty years..." "You don't think any woman would wait twenty years for such a dim hope—do you?" "Zhu Ertong..." Su Guanlan's voice trembled, as if she was begging. "Ye Yuhan has been waiting for five years." Zhu Ertong insisted, "Why do you think it is impossible for her to wait another three or five years?" Su Guanlan buried her pale face in her palms, tears leaked from between her fingers.The vast twilight enveloped the campus, quietly drowning everything...