After hearing what the girl said, I dispelled the thoughts in my mind and gathered my thoughts back. Seeing that I looked absent-minded, the girl thought something had happened and a rare look of worry appeared on her face.

Although I wanted to play a little trick on her, but after thinking carefully about this little girl’s quirky personality, I gave up the idea that might end up getting burned.

I briefly explained the situation to her and then got on an online taxi back to school. However, compared to when we set out, the atmosphere on our return trip was a little depressing.

This atmosphere continued until we arrived at school. We walked on the deserted campus street, and the light from the street lamps cast a shadow on Liu Tongtong and me.

Our shadows are reflected on the ground, and they are constantly stretched, shortened, and then stretched again as we walk. At certain moments, my shadow will briefly intertwine, and then quickly separate, like a cycle repeating over and over again.

I took a deep breath of the cool air, trying to sober myself up. Sometimes… once you become close to someone and have a bond with them, it means that person has the right to hurt you, and that’s why I don’t want to ask too much about other people’s affairs.

But sometimes, the bond is not something I can control. It is formed silently and by the time I realize it, I have already fallen into it.

“I…….”

“Bro.”

Just when I was about to confront her, Liu Tongtong interrupted me, which was what I expected. She is a smart girl, how could she not know what I am thinking?

“Thank you for today. Although a lot of things happened, I am actually quite happy.”

She put her hands behind her back and followed me silently. I deliberately slowed down my pace and didn’t respond to her words because I knew she had something else to say to me.

“But the reason I’m happy… is because this is the first time I hang out with you alone.”

“What’s so fun about this.”

After hearing what she said, I asked her the question even though I knew the answer. I knew exactly what she meant, but the pent-up emotions in my heart still made me ask this question.

Maybe…I would rather hear her say it in person than guessing it myself.

“Of course I am happy, because…it makes me feel like I am not left behind.”

When she said this, she slowly raised her head, stretched out her slender fingers, and twirled the hair at her temples. Her tone revealed a little envy, a little resentment… but more of yearning.

“You’ve taken a car with Teacher Xiao to her home, filmed with Xia Xiaoyao, gone to your students’ homes for classes, and often been with Xiaoyun, but… this is the first time I’ve been alone with you.”

“…”

After hearing what Liu Tongtong said, I didn’t know what to say, but she seemed to be confiding in me, telling me what she was thinking. It was also the first time she revealed her inner thoughts to me.

“Sometimes, I also regret that I said I would help you pursue Xiaoyun. If I had changed my mind at that time, would everything be different?”

“Did you recognize me at that time?”

“Yeah, I recognized it.”

She nodded after hearing what I said, and I finally understood why this girl was so familiar with me when we first met in the cafeteria.

“Then why did you …”

“Because I wanted to help you.”

When she said this, she turned her head slightly and gave me a faint smile.

“Anyone with a discerning eye can see that you still have feelings for Xiaoyun, and Xiaoyun was being harassed by suitors at the time, so I thought of repaying you, so… I was thinking of bringing you and Xiaoyun together.”

“That’s it.”

“Yeah, I can’t possibly…let a stranger, who I don’t even know, go after Xiaoyun, right?”

There is no such thing as pie falling from the sky, and I am not the so-called protagonist in the story. There is no principle that one revolves around anyone else. All results are derived from the causes that were left behind inadvertently.

But if my meeting with Liu Tongtong and the agreement we reached with her were causes that I left inadvertently, then when did the emotional consequences between Liu Tongtong and I come about?

Just at this moment, a gust of wind came whistling, rolling up the fallen leaves on the ground around, and a purple petal floated into my hand. After seeing the petal in front of me, I subconsciously looked in the direction where the wind came from.

I saw over there…a small bed of gentian flowers.

A breeze blew up the gentian petals in my hand again, and they slowly floated towards Liu Tongtong who was standing next to me, and finally slowly fell on her brown hair.

Chapter 271 Platycodon Flowers Bloom

Before we knew it, we strolled to the flower field again. Looking at this familiar scenery, I inexplicably felt a sense of nostalgia in my heart.

I remember the last time, I went to a social gathering with this little girl Liu Tongtong, and she got drunk. After I sent her back to school, we also walked here.

But at that time, I never expected that I would come here again, but this time our mood was different, and even our identities to each other were different.

Looking at the familiar bench in the distance and the slightly dim street lamp next to it, I just felt that everything was so nostalgic that I couldn’t help but stop for a moment, but just when I was about to take a step.

Liu Tongtong grabbed the corner of my clothes, stretched out her slender white finger, pointed at the bench beside the path, and said to me slowly:

“Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while.”

I heard some confusion in her words, and my mind couldn’t help but organize my words. I didn’t know how to respond for a moment, but my body moved silently and nodded at her.

Time seemed to have returned to that day, but I also knew that it was just an illusion. The cool breeze blew by, blowing away some of my complicated thoughts.

I sat on the bench, my eyes fixed on the flower field of purple gentian flowers not far away. My thoughts drifted away. One hand rested on the armrest of the bench, and the other hand naturally rested on the wooden board of the bench.

But at this moment, I suddenly felt a slightly cool, soft and delicate touch on the palm of my hand. I was subconsciously stunned for a moment, but soon realized that this was Liu Tongtong’s hand.

I have to say, this girl’s hands are soft and cool, and feel very comfortable to touch.

Seeing this, I wanted to take my hand back, but then I thought there was no one around and it wouldn’t hurt to touch my hand, so I better not be so sensitive. Besides, this girl didn’t react at all, right?

Just as I was hesitating, I felt Liu Tongtong’s hand suddenly move, as if she was trying to pull my hand out. This made me feel a little embarrassed, and I couldn’t help but slowly raise my hand.

But at this moment, Liu Tongtong suddenly turned over her hand with the palm facing up, then grabbed my hand and slowly interlocked her fingers with mine.

At this moment, I felt my heart skip a beat, and then I subconsciously turned my head away. However, she seemed to avoid the question, stretched out her other hand, pointed to the flower field not far away, and said to me with a smile:

“Brother, do you still recognize this place?”

“remember.”

Looking at the gentian flowers swaying in the wind, I spoke to her slowly. After hearing what I said, she smiled mischievously and then asked me.

“So… do you know the meaning of the gentian flower now?”

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled, as if she was waiting for my answer. After hearing her words, I was slightly stunned. Apart from her breathing, the only sound I could hear was the rustling of the wind blowing through the flowers.

“Eternal and unchanging love.”

“The first half of Kikyo’s words is very romantic, right?”

As Liu Tongtong spoke, she followed the wind and grabbed the gentian petals floating in the air. However, even though she opened her hands carefully, she could not keep the petals in her hand in the whistling wind.

She stretched out her hand, trying to grab the petal, but the petal always slipped away through her fingers. Finally, she smiled and watched the petal float away with the breeze.

“…”

The flower language of gentian is beautiful and romantic, representing eternal and unchanging love. It represents loyalty and care for love, but while it represents no regrets, it also represents hopelessness.

There are always some people who are destined to have no chance of happiness, and cannot catch it or keep it. Perhaps for these people, the best expression to their loved ones is to bless and watch over them from afar, just like looking at gentian flowers from afar.

“In fact, sometimes I don’t know what to do. Seeing your relationship with Xiaoyun getting better and better, I was quite happy at first, but I don’t know when I started to become more and more weird.”

When she said this, she leaned slightly towards the bench, as if she was lost in memories, and even her voice became melodious.

“It’s like everything in my life has turned upside down. Things that used to make me happy now make me feel lost, and things that made me feel lost now make me feel happy, so I always do some inexplicable things.”

After hearing her words, I couldn’t help but recall the sudden phone call Liu Tongtong made to Bai Yun when Bai Yun and I were cleaning the office.

“The phone call in the office earlier–“

“Well, I hit him on purpose.”

Her frank admission took me a while to react, and it also shattered the glimmer of hope in my heart. Even though I guessed that the call was made at a wrong time, very sudden and strange, I still didn’t think about it in that direction.

“Because… I don’t know what else I can do for you, or what I can do with you, besides helping you pursue Xiaoyun. If you two are together, then maybe you won’t need me anymore.”

As she spoke, a hint of melancholy and sadness flashed across her eyes, but the emotion was fleeting and soon replaced by a calmness, so much so that I couldn’t even tell whether it was reality or my illusion.

“can you?”

“No way?”

We threw our own answers and questions to each other.

To be honest, I really wanted to refute her at this moment, but I had to admit that all this between her and me was built on her helping me pursue Bai Yun.

Whether it was the social gathering at that time or accompanying her shopping this time, it was actually the same.

“What is the relationship between us?”

The teacher said, I was not even shocked by my own words. Perhaps this confusion and doubt had been piling up in my heart for too long, or perhaps I had a brain cramp, so that when I came to my senses, what I had said was already irreversible.

After hearing what I said, Liu Tongtong couldn’t help but tighten her grip on my hand. She was stunned for a moment, and after a moment she lowered her head slightly. Her tone revealed confusion and puzzlement, as helpless as a lost cat.

“I do not know either.”

“Ok?”

After hearing her words, I was stunned… because I never expected that she would actually answer my question, and what I didn’t expect was that her answer would be “I don’t know.”

“I really… don’t know. I just know that I feel relaxed and comfortable when I’m with you.”

After hearing her words, I couldn’t help but feel a little amused and even didn’t know what expression to show at this moment. I took a deep breath and then said to her half-jokingly:

“Is this a compliment?”

“I……”

“You don’t have to comfort me. I know I don’t have any special advantages or disadvantages. I am just an ordinary person like most people.”

Liu Tongtong is a smart girl, and smart girls are often the “most difficult” to get along with. This does not mean that it will be uncomfortable to get along with her. On the contrary… It is so comfortable to get along with such a girl.

You will never feel awkward chatting with her, and the topics will always remain fresh and interesting. You will never have to worry about feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable in front of outsiders… because she will never make you lose face. You don’t have to worry about how to start or how to end the conversation, because she will always have a perfect solution.

When Liu Tongtong and I chat, we never have to deliberately find topics to talk about. Is this because we get along well and have similar interests? Not necessarily… because she may intentionally choose topics that interest me.

When people around me pointed fingers at me, was it because Liu Tongtong couldn’t stand the gossip around her? Not necessarily… but because she saw through my inner discomfort and helplessness.

Did Liu Tongtong happen to want to speak when I didn’t know how to start? Not necessarily… because she might understand what I was thinking and didn’t want me to be speechless.

When you think you get along well with her, it is just your own thought. Sometimes it is not about getting along well with each other, but one party is constantly giving.

It’s like she might not have really said what she really felt just now, but was just telling me a white lie to comfort me.

I am actually nothing special. If I were really that special, my love experience wouldn’t be so bleak, and I wouldn’t have been dumped so miserably and completely during my freshman year.

Mediocrity is sometimes not something difficult to talk about, but if a person is mediocre and has no self-awareness, it will only bring misfortune.

“If you comfort me like this, maybe I will really drift off.”

I made a self-deprecating joke, but actually I just wanted to change the subject. Since Liu Tongtong was already in a difficult situation, there was no need for me to continue forcing others to answer and make a choice.

“No…I’m not comforting, and I’m not lying.”

Just when I smiled and was about to let the matter go, Liu Tongtong suddenly spoke to me, her tone revealing seriousness and sincerity.

“Maybe you just haven’t noticed it, brother. You would buy me a bottle of yogurt when I was drunk. You would actually check the language of flowers because of a casual remark I made. You would do your homework in advance because I said I wanted to see Hanfu costumes.”

“He speaks wittily and humorously, but he always cares about other people’s feelings. He won’t impose his emotions on others, and he never wants to embarrass others. I can feel all of this.”

As she spoke, she tilted her head, gave me a meaningful look, and raised the corners of her mouth slightly…then she continued to speak to me.

“Perhaps this feeling is a sense of security… or it can make people feel at ease.”　

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PS: After thinking about it, I decided to combine the two chapters into one. This way it won’t be too short and the viewing experience will be better.

There will be another update later, I will try to update as early as possible.