Those things that happened in those years

Chapter 76 My Wish

Less than a month after entering the third year of junior high school, cracks appeared in the relationship between Fa Zi and Zhang Jiu'er. After more than a week of ups and downs, they finally broke up. The main reason was that Zhang Jiu'er disliked Fa Zi's family's poor financial situation and felt that being with Fa Zi could not give her the kind of life she wanted.

Fa Zi's family was indeed poor at the time. His parents were honest, hardworking farmers who toiled in the fields from dawn till dusk every day, earning a meager income. With many brothers, each of them needed money for marriage and childbirth. It was already quite an achievement that they were able to support him through his studies.

The breakup with Zhang Jiu'er was a devastating blow to Fa Zi, plunging him into deep despair. For a long time, he couldn't concentrate on his studies, constantly daydreaming in class. While the teacher lectured at the front, he would stare blankly out the window, his thoughts wandering far away. His grades plummeted like a slide.

Seeing Fa Zi's dejected state, Hong Liguo and his friends felt incredibly sorry for him. They tried everything to cheer him up, telling him jokes, but those jokes that usually made people laugh had no effect on him. They even tried to get him to play ball, but he was listless and would sit on the sidelines in a daze after only a few games. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get him to smile even a little.

"It's just a breakup, is it really that big of a deal? Wouldn't humanity continue to reproduce without Zhang Jiu'er? There are so many female classmates, if she doesn't want us, we can just pursue someone else." Hong Liguo tried to comfort him in a relaxed tone.

In fact, Fa Zi had his own thoughts. Because he had many brothers and sisters, he was the tenth and the youngest in the family. His parents were very worried about the marriages of his older brothers. He knew how difficult it would be for his family to find a partner.

Fa Zi rolled her eyes at Hong Liguo and said irritably, "You don't understand."

Hong Liguo scoffed and retorted, "You say I don't understand? What don't I understand? I've been through everything you've been through. What don't I understand?"

"What have you been through? You've been dating Wang Yuxin for over two years, and you didn't even dare to confess your feelings. You've been through so much? Don't brag."

Fa Zi's words were like a sharp sword, piercing straight to Hong Liguo's weak point, leaving him speechless for a moment.

Upon hearing Fa Zi's words, Jun Ge and the others burst into laughter. Their laughter made Hong Liguo blush deeply, and he was so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into the ground.

Hong Liguo knew that what they said was true. Although he and Wang Yuxin had maintained close contact, they had been exchanging letters through paper money. In the past two years, they had never actually talked about their relationship face-to-face.

Yanbin chimed in, stretching out his two-and-a-half-foot-long tongue, "You at least dated someone for so long before getting dumped. I was so badly hurt when I was dumped that I practically broke my bones! Look at me, I'm fine as if nothing happened. There's no need to take this kind of thing to heart."

Hongbo immediately exposed Yanbin's words: "Come on! Stop blabbing and bragging. After you were dumped, who was it that kept singing about how I was too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted?"

Upon hearing this, Yanbin gave an awkward laugh, his face instantly turning bright red.

"Damn, you little brat, you've really given me a straight-up punch. You've left me speechless."

Jun then turned the topic to Jie, saying, "Jie is awesome. Not only did he not get dumped, but he also got to eat and drink at other people's expense. He's lucky to have met such a good person."

Jay waved his hand innocently and said, "I didn't say anything, how did this get dragged into me?"

Hongbo continued to tease him: "Look at him, his face is glowing! Zhang Qiaoyun has been feeding him a lot of good food, hahaha! Don't you all agree?"

Yanbin smiled and replied, "That makes sense!"

Upon hearing this, Jie kicked Yanbin, causing him to stumble, and angrily said, "Neither of you are any good; you're just talking nonsense."

Hongbo then made another joke, which made everyone laugh so hard they almost fell over.

Everyone burst into laughter again, but Jay was a little angry. He frowned and said, "None of you are decent people, none of you are good people. I can't be bothered with you."

Fa Zi's words were like a fuse, completely igniting Hong Liguo's deepest longing for love.

He felt that his relationship with Wang Yuxin could no longer remain ambiguous; it was time for a clear resolution.

So, Hong Liguo began to repeatedly think about how to confess his feelings to her. He was very clear that, based on his understanding of Wang Yuxin, no matter how he confessed, she would most likely not reject him, and he was quite confident of that.

Even so, he remained hesitant and indecisive. After all, once love is spoken, there's no turning back.

It was a sunny afternoon break. Sunlight streamed through the old glass windows, casting a dazzling band of light on the classroom desks.

Hong Liguo and Fa Zi had finished lunch and were preparing to go out. As they passed Wang Yuxin's seat, she suddenly called out to him.

"Hong Liguo, wait a moment." Her voice was soft and melodious, as if carrying a hint of sweetness, which entered Hong Liguo's ears and made him feel his whole body go numb instantly.

Hong Liguo turned around and saw that Wang Yuxin's deskmate was not there, and the students nearby had all gone out to sunbathe, making the classroom unusually quiet.

"Did you call me for something?" Hong Liguo tried his best to make his voice sound calm, but his heart was beating faster involuntarily.

Wang Yuxin lowered her head slightly, a blush rising on her face, as beautiful and captivating as the sunset. Her fingers gently held a letter, which she slowly handed to Hong Liguo, her movements so tender as if afraid of disturbing something.

This was the first time Wang Yuxin had personally handed a letter to Hong Liguo after they had been dating for so long; previously, Fa Zi had always been the one to deliver it.

The moment Hong Liguo received the letter, his heart suddenly raced, as if it were about to leap out of his throat. He quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket, as if afraid that someone would see this treasure containing all his secrets.

Fa Zi looked at Hong Liguo and gave him a sly smile, a smile that seemed to hold countless little stories.

Upon returning home, Hong Liguo eagerly opened Wang Yuxin's letter.

In the letter, she praised Hong Liguo without reservation, saying that since he entered the third year of junior high school, he has become more mature and steady, and is no longer as naughty and troublesome as before.

She also earnestly advised Hong Liguo to study hard and get into a good school in the future, so that he could be assigned a good job and change his rural household registration to urban household registration.

Sigh! Every time she talks to Hong Liguo, it always comes down to topics like work and urban residency. In her heart, are these things really that important?

At that time, having an urban household registration was indeed not an easy thing. Having an urban household registration meant that you could eat grains with a fixed amount of rice and wheat flour; while those with rural household registration mainly ate coarse grains such as millet, corn grits, cornmeal, and buckwheat noodles, and rice and wheat flour could only be eaten once or twice during the New Year.

At the end of the letter, Wang Yuxin asked Hong Liguo if he had written any poems recently, saying that he hadn't seen any of his poems in a long time.

When Hong Liguo saw that she wanted to read his poems again, he felt his head was about to explode.

This is definitely one of the things that gives him the biggest headache.

He's not a great poet. Every time he writes a poem, it feels like he's racking his brains and exhausting his brainpower, like a machine is squeezing oil, almost draining his brain tissue.

To write good poetry, Hong Liguo often sat under a dim lamp late at night, biting his pen and staring blankly at the blank paper.

I desperately tried to recall the beautiful poems I had read, hoping to draw inspiration from them. But inspiration was like a mischievous little bird, always pecking at me at the most crucial moment before flying away.

But since she wanted to see it, what could Hong Liguo do? He could only grit his teeth and continue making things up!

Hong Liguo spent a whole week trying to write a poem that would satisfy Wang Yuxin.

During this week, I thought about writing poetry while eating, while walking, and even while sleeping and dreaming about verses.

Persistence pays off, and he actually managed to come up with a song, the contents of which he still remembers clearly to this day.

Palindrome Poem - A Beauty Admiring Peach Blossoms

Spring breeze reflects peach blossoms

The peach blossoms reflected on her face resembled the evening glow.

Like the blush on a beautiful woman's face at sunset,

A beautiful woman's face is flushed like a spring breeze.

These few lines of poetry almost made Hong Liguo's intestines dry out.

Only then did he truly realize how difficult it was to win a smile from a beautiful woman!

After writing the poem, Hong Liguo added a few lines at the end of the letter expressing his admiration for Wang Yuxin: "Xin, we've known each other since elementary school and met again in middle school, which shows that heaven has given us a great destiny. Every moment I spend with you is filled with immense joy and happiness. I long to be with you forever, until the end of time. Xin, I like you, and I want to formally pursue you. Will you walk hand in hand with me and spend your life together?" Finally, he solemnly wrote his name and the date.

Hong Liguo ultimately lacked the courage to hand the letter directly to Wang Yuxin. After much hesitation, he entrusted his messenger, Fa Zi, to complete this arduous and great task for him, just as he always did.

Although Hong Liguo knew in his heart that his confession would most likely not go unnoticed, he was still extremely uneasy and anxious while waiting for Wang Yuxin's reply.

After all, what he thought was just what he thought; who could predict the future? Although Wang Yuxin had always treated him better than other classmates, what if she only saw him as an ordinary classmate?

Fortunately, everything went as Hong Liguo wished. Wang Yuxin quickly replied with a very detailed letter. The author will only highlight the key points here.

"Xiaoguo, I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate that you took so long to confess to me. You've always been so nonchalant, I thought you didn't care about me at all, that you never valued me. Do you know how long I've waited for you to say those words? The flowers have almost withered! If you hadn't confessed, I was ready to never speak to you again. If you even have me in your heart, then all my devotion to you won't have been in vain..."

Upon seeing this letter, Hong Liguo finally felt relieved.

That's how things are, that's the situation.

Nourished by love, poetry seemed less important at that moment. Wang Yuxin didn't mention a single word of the work he had spent a week crafting.

Since they started dating, Hong Liguo and Wang Yuxin have been corresponding more frequently.

In their letters, they poured out their longing and love for each other, sharing their innermost feelings and becoming incredibly close.

They could be said to be able to talk about anything. However, in reality, they became even more reserved.

Wang Yuxin didn't dare to look at Hong Liguo, and Hong Liguo didn't dare to look at her either. They were like two cautious children, maintaining a certain distance from each other in a tacit way.

Every time we brushed past each other on campus, their eyes would unconsciously dart away, as if they were deliberately avoiding something.

But when I got home and saw those letters filled with love, I felt incredibly sweet.

This innocent yet beautiful love, like a flower bud about to bloom, slowly blossomed in the hearts of Hong Liguo and Wang Yuxin.

My life in the third year of junior high school became more colorful and full of sweet memories because of this love.