Chapter 380 Not Forgotten
Compared with his memories of elementary and junior high school, Xu Mingyuan’s high school memories are much more profound.

Having stayed in No. 3 Middle School for nearly a year, Xu Mingyuan now had some impressions of those memories that had long been forgotten.

Listening quietly to Xu Mingyuan’s introduction of the stories that happened inside and outside the No. 3 Middle School, Yang Zhi would say something from time to time, trying to make him feel that he did not speak to the air.

Xu Mingyuan didn’t care whether Xiao Yangzhi spoke or not, he just wanted to be a listener. Once he had a lot of memories, he would want to talk them out to relieve his boredom.

After all, Xiao Yangzhi really didn’t have anything worth remembering. When asked to tell a happy story about her time at school, she held it in for a long time before saying to Xu Mingyuan, “The fried cabbage in the cafeteria seemed to taste OK…”

Xu Mingyuan really had no choice but to speak for himself.

Yang Zhi’s memory of No. 3 Middle School is far less profound than that of junior high school.

The most common words he heard were probably about Xu Mingyuan. How could Yang Zhi possibly stay in No. 3 Middle School?
Every day is spent counting the days.

Of course, this was mainly because Yang Zhi subconsciously filtered out things that had nothing to do with Xu Mingyuan, and only listened carefully when she heard topics about him.

The rest of the time is either spent attending lectures or doing exercises, which is very boring.

Yang Zhi had even less idea about what was happening outside of school.

Only when the school organized a spring outing, Yang Zhi would sit on the riverbank of Pinghe River for a whole morning. Or during the autumn long-distance running activities, she would go to the riverbank of Pinghe River and listen to her classmates cheering for the classmates who were participating in the competition.

Last year, I hadn’t moved yet, so I would drive in the city and take a look at what the area around the school looked like.

Now, as soon as I leave the school gate, I take the outer ring road and drive all the way to my home near the suburbs on the other side of the city.

It was quite interesting to stroll outside the school with Xu Mingyuan. Listening to his stories, Yang Zhi could also imagine how he was enjoying his youth here.

The only bad thing is that there are a lot of people living near the school district. Passersby saw a little girl wearing the uniform of No. 3 Middle School who did not return to school before evening self-study class and was wandering around outside with a boy. Many people would look at her strangely, with confusion and surprise in their eyes.

There are many young people near the school, but during class time, they are definitely all adults.

Yang Zhi felt somewhat embarrassed, so she had to hold Xu Mingyuan tightly and tried her best not to care about other people’s eyes.

But doing so would attract even more attention, so Yang Zhi had no choice but to hug him tighter and tighter, hanging on Xu Mingyuan like a koala.

In fact, there weren’t so many eyes on her. Everyone was very busy. At most, they would just take a quick glance and leave. It was just that Yang Zhi was too sensitive.

Hearing Xu Mingyuan talking about skipping bedtime to go to the Internet cafe and game room on Saturdays and Sundays, Yang Zhi asked curiously, “Brother, do you also sneak out to surf the Internet?”

“Of course it is. Studying all day is so boring. It’s just like being locked in a cage. Teenagers aged fifteen, sixteen, seven or eight all have a heart that yearns for freedom.” Xu Mingyuan said as a matter of course.

“I don’t yearn for anything. I just like staying at home…”

Yang Zhi argued in a very cowardly manner, speaking in a soft tone, fearing that he would be criticized.

“This is also a kind of freedom for you. Not everyone can stay at home if they want to.”

“Oh.”

Yang Zhi nodded, not quite understanding.

“Look at how much you have accomplished. Girls should be more generous and stop keeping your head down all day.”

Xu Mingyuan smiled and reached out to pull her bun.

The arm that Yang Zhi was hugged with was hugged even tighter, intentionally preventing him from feeling comfortable so that he could only lean towards him.

I still remember that when we were studying at No. 9 Middle School, Yang Zhi had to be sneaky when pulling his sleeves.

It’s much easier now. It doesn’t matter how I hold him, I can even let him drag me away.

“No, this is the freedom I long for…” Yang Zhi said in a low voice with his head retracted.

“Haha, you have learned to draw inferences about other situations, right?” Xu Mingyuan said with a smile.

“hey-hey……”

This time Yang Zhi did not dodge, allowing him to gently pinch her face and pull it back and forth.

Xu Mingyuan’s stories outside of school are nothing more than where to go for fun and which nearby snack stand has the best food.

Xiao Yangzhi didn’t like fried or smoked food, so Xu Mingyuan bought her an egg pancake and ate the grilled squid himself until his mouth was full of oil.

Listening to Xu Mingyuan talking about a lot of things about how to play, Yang Zhi felt that the perfect image of him in her mind seemed to be a little loose.

How is this possible?
In order to maintain his brother’s image, Yang Zhi quietly defended him, “Brother must not be doing this just for fun, otherwise how could he make money?”

“The purpose of making money is to have fun. I don’t have much pocket money, so I have to rely on myself to earn it. Hey, you don’t know, when I was a kid and still lived in a factory compound, I would resell glass balls. I would even deliberately classify the glass balls into different grades so that my friends would rush to buy my high-priced glass balls.” Xu Mingyuan said with a smile.

“Yeah, brother is awesome.”

Yang Zhi nodded vigorously. Her brother was obviously a smart man. She herself had never thought about these things.

“What’s so great about it? I got beaten several times and I dare not sell it anymore.” Xu Mingyuan said helplessly and amusedly.

“Did your father hit you?” Yang Zhi asked, raising his head.

“How dare he hit me? He doesn’t care about me. It was my grandfather who beat me. He really hung me up and beat me. My dad has never been beaten like this, haha.” Xu Mingyuan laughed. “Oh, it’s grandpa…” Yang Zhi replied in a low voice.

“Well, a kid stole a gold bracelet from home and asked me to buy a glass ball. Even the parents came to my door. How could I not beat him? I would not feel relieved if I didn’t beat him and let him cry.” Xu Mingyuan said with a smile.

“What happened later? Well, even when you were in junior high school, I didn’t see your brother go home to ask for money many times.” Yang Zhi asked curiously.

“Later on, things became simple. I had my own ideas and my family couldn’t control me anymore. When we went to the game hall or the Internet cafe to play, we would go to the small market to buy a few bags of lunch boxes for two yuan, and then we would go around the Internet cafe and shout. People would fight for the five yuan boxes. I never lacked money to spend again.” Xu Mingyuan said.

“No wonder dad said that as long as you are here, I don’t have to worry about not having enough food to eat.” Yang Zhi said happily.

Now the image of my brother in my mind is perfect again.

“Ha, since you know that, I’ll order a plate of braised river fish. Why are you still crying?”

“I, I…” Yang Zhi hesitated for a long time, but couldn’t explain it clearly. Finally, he whispered, “Brother, please don’t mention it again. Let the past be the past. It’s not good to bring up the past…”

Of course it was impossible for Yang Zhi to admit that she didn’t believe her brother at that time, because it would be too embarrassing.

Not only was there a problem with eating, but Yang Zhi was also afraid that he would break into her room every night, and she even had to sneak around to go to the toilet.

Not to mention taking a shower, I didn’t dare to go for many days.

Alas, if it was really like that at the beginning, it would be fine. Now I wouldn’t have to spend so much effort…

“Haha, then I won’t turn it over.” Xu Mingyuan said with a smile.

“Ok!”

Yang Zhi quickly agreed, it was so embarrassing to discuss these things.

“Let’s go, it’s time to go home.”

I walked for more than an hour. It was not dark yet, but the street lights were already on, so there was no point in walking any further.

The two of them ate half full at the snack stand, which was enough to fill their stomachs when they got home.

“elder brother.”

“Ok?”

“You can… um, carry me…”

Yang Zhi hesitated for a long time, and seeing that the parking space was only one or two hundred meters away, he finally expressed his idea somewhat embarrassedly.

“You’re such a grown-up girl, why do you want someone to carry you on their back?” Xu Mingyuan asked with a smile.

“Because…my brother has never carried me on his back before, so I want to try…”

Since it had been brought up, Yang Zhi had no choice but to beg with a red face.

“Come.”

Xu Mingyuan half squatted down and let her come up.

Yang Zhi jumped shyly, but unfortunately she didn’t get up.

Seeing that Xu Mingyuan had no intention of lowering his body, he deliberately laughed at her. Yang Zhi felt a little discouraged.

Fortunately, Yang Zhi was very creative. If he couldn’t jump, could he crawl?
She pressed Xu Mingyuan’s shoulders and moved up with great effort, then put her arms around his neck and rested her face comfortably on his back.

Carrying the baby like this would not only make Xu Mingyuan tired, but also Xiao Yangzhi.

In the end, Xu Mingyuan held the little girl’s legs and lifted her up.

Now Yang Zhi was satisfied and no longer paid attention to the gazes of others. She rested her chin on his right shoulder, rubbed his hair, and gently shook her calves.

Neither of them spoke. The road here had not been repaired for a long time and was not difficult to walk on. Xu Mingyuan had to pay attention to the raised stone bricks under his feet. Carrying a little girl weighing over 100 pounds on his back, it was actually quite tiring.

Yang Zhi was savoring the feeling of being carried by Xu Mingyuan. The journey was short, but the future would be long.

After returning home, Xu Mingyuan thought that the little girl was fine.

However, before Xu Mingyuan could take a break, Xiao Yangzhi stood quietly behind him, with his hands behind his back, not saying a word, just looking at him quietly.

“What for?” Xu Mingyuan asked.

“Brother, you promised to give me a copy…”

Yang Zhi found an aromatherapy notebook from a long time ago. It was something in a large cardboard box that Xu Mingyuan gave her as a gift when they lived in the plastic-steel family building.

Yang Zhi has a very good memory. Not only did she not forget the gift he gave her, she also remembered his words.

Hoarding like a little hamster, waiting for the day when I can use it, like now…

(End of this chapter)