The bright moon was hanging in the sky. Pei Chuan hugged her for a while, and Bei Yao spoke with a nasal voice, “Then, tomorrow we’ll go watch the Olympics together.”
The Olympics would be held for 16 days, but Bei Yao’s holiday days weren’t enough, and the prices in the capital were too high. Their family’s funds weren’t enough, so Zhao Zhilan was only planning to stay there for three days, and tomorrow would be the last day.
She wanted to stand on the field with Pei Chuan.
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze. Staring at her puffy eyes, he whispered, “Okay.”
She smiled, her tears changing into a smile.
Bei Yao’s almond eyes were brimming with tears. He reached out and brushed the hair sticking to her cheek and kept it to himself how her request was putting him in a difficult position.
This silly girl probably still didn’t know how much her family disliked him.
She didn’t want to accept his conditions. But he understood it in his heart, that if Aunt Zhao knew, she would blame Bei Yao. He wasn’t afraid of other people’s anger, but they were her parents.
One day, he wouldn’t be with her anymore, but her parents would always be there to look after her.
Pei Chuan couldn’t let them be at odds with each other.
So he couldn’t tell Bei Yao that her parents did not like him.
He said, “Don’t wander around at night, I’ll send you back.”
Bei Yao had gotten him to agree to all her demands, and now she could talk normally. She became embarrassed when she recalled how much she had cried. She looked at him quietly. Pei Chuan had actually agreed to everything.
Pei Chuan took her back. The moon was not as bright as the city lights, his shadow stretching out.
She walked two steps behind him, stepping on the shadow of his hand.
“Pei Chuan.” The girl’s voice was cracking, the winds rattling the bells. Did he want to lie to her again? Her whole family had been fooled by him several times already; was he really that good at talking?
People who were in love definitely wouldn’t be like this. Pei Chuan walked by himself, as if afraid to be infected if he touched even a strand of her hair.
Pei Chuan turned his head. “What’s wrong?”
She stood under the street lights, looking at him with bright eyes. “Hold my hand.”
Although her cheeks were slowly turning red, she still stood there and refused to move.
Pei Chuan’s eyes fell on her. The girl was exquisitely beautiful. He walked back in silence and firmly held her little hand.
The girl’s hand was soft like cotton and her fingertips were a little bit cold in the summer night.
She was blushing. She turned her head away and smiled secretly.
Pei Chuan turned his wrist and changed their hands’ positions. The next moment, her fingers were forced to separate, interlocked with his.
His palm was hot as if he was having a fever.
She blankly looked down at their hands and started to feel sheepish. Ah… he hadn’t lied to her.
Pei Chuan led her back to the hotel. He raised his head and glanced upstairs. The lights were out. Zhao Zhilan and Bei Licai were asleep.
Fortunately, they were asleep, otherwise, his heart would’ve been beaten to death.
Pei Chuan sighed softly and looked down at her.
She had been embarrassed just now, so she didn’t speak.
Pei Chuan said, “Okay, go back then. I won’t forget the things I promised you. We’ll watch the Olympics together tomorrow.”
She nodded and obediently took the elevator.
Pei Chuan watched her go upstairs before closing his eyes and leaning on the wall.
The cold slowly calmed his burning heart.
She was ignorant, but he couldn’t just ignore everything. Bei Yao needed a future. The only thing he couldn’t afford was to provide her that future.
~
When she was getting up the next day, Zhao Zhilan saw her daughter looking back repeatedly. “Yaoyao, what are you looking at?”
Bei Yao had only realized this problem now. No matter how open-minded Zhao Zhilan was, she would never agree with her dating early, so she could only say, “Nothing.”
Zhao Zhilan carried Bei Jun and said, "We'll go back tomorrow. This evening, we'll buy some specialties and then catch the train. We can’t have come here for nothing.”
Men were more enthusiastic about the Olympics and Bei Licai had been very happy these days. Even Xiao Bei Jun was very excited.
The game started when they came, Bei Yao still hadn’t seen Pei Chuan.
Pei Chuan you big liar! Would he leave her and disappear again?
The liar she was talking about was still outside the venue.
Pei Chuan had only had four tickets and he had given them all to Bei Yao. He hadn’t come to the capital to watch the Olympics, but because he had been worried about her. Hence, he hadn’t bought a fifth ticket when he had bought them.
He was afraid that she would prefer the bustling world outside, but was also worried that she would stubbornly keep thinking of him.
But the hug last night had shattered all of his plans. He would give her everything she wanted.
Pei Chuan was worried.
This year, he didn’t have the ability to enter the venue to watch the Olympics without a ticket.
He looked at his watch. It was already nine o'clock in the morning.
Zhao Zhilan should’ve already brought Bei Yao into the venue.
Pei Chuan raised his eyes and stopped a middle-aged woman. “Hello, can I buy your tickets? I’ll pay ten thousand yuan.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Dumbass.”
How could anyone come to the Olympics without a ticket? He must be a liar. Who would pay ten thousand yuan for a ticket! The highest price was only five thousand yuan.
Pei Chuan knew it was difficult, just like Zhao Zhilan's previous difficulties in selling tickets. If the price was too high people would think it's a fraud, but if the price wasn’t high… people had come to watch the Olympics because they loved it, so who would sell their tickets?
The big set of tickets was difficult to buy, the kind he had given Zhao Zhilan. The small set of tickets was easy to buy. But because the price was cheap, it had long been sold out.
Pei Chuan looked calm and went to ask the next person.
He didn’t know how much scolding he had received. Finally, an auntie could not stand it anymore. "Young man, you really want to go in ah?"
“Yes.”
“Tell me your reason.”
Pei Chuan lowered his eyes, “I promised… her, that we would watch the games together.”
The auntie smiled. “Is it your girlfriend?”
Pei Chuan’s gaze was gentle. “No, no. I just like her.”
The auntie knew that this young man was pitiful. With such a gentle gaze, how could he be a liar? “How about this then, I only have a small set of tickets for today’s and tomorrow’s match, don’t worry about your ten thousand yuan, don’t scare old people like me. Just give me eight hundred yuan, it’s not too much right?”
Pei Chuan nodded his head. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Who hasn’t ever experienced youth before? Go ahead, be braver. I hope you’ll be together in the future.”
Pei Chuan looked down and rubbed the tickets in his hand. He neither answered nor made any sound.
At 10:10 in B City, Bei Yao received a text message.
“Yaoyao, at six o’clock.”
She looked to the other side, where the sun rose.
Pei Chuan was across from her. It was obviously such a big venue, and it was bustling with a lot of people. Among the crowd, no matter how good one’s eyesight was, one couldn’t see who was who with just a glance.
However, it was magical. Just like how he had known where she was, Bei Yao knew his position at a glance.
Her phone rang, and Bei Yao looked down.
He said…
“Yaoyao, happy birthday.”
She couldn’t hold her smile. Standing up, she waved her hands vigorously.
Zhao Zhilan said, “This child, just how happy is she?”
She bit her lips, and her almond eyes were shining. Bei Yao could only say, “Mom, the national team will win.”
Zhao Zhilan stretched her neck to watch the game. “Yeah, yeah, they will definitely win.”
~
The 2008 Olympic Games was a world event that students were still talking about when school started.
They would discuss together how many gold, silver, and bronze medals the country had won, and which athletes had had a particularly hard year.
Before this excitement was over, autumn came.
Bei Yao and her classmates officially entered their third year.
Li Fangqun saw that the students were particularly restless because of the Olympic Games, so she held a special "meeting for the change of hearts".
Teacher Li said, “When I was your age, the world wasn’t so good. It wasn’t easy for those of us who wanted to study. If we were admitted to the university, ha! That would’ve been amazing. The spots in university were limited. Ah, it was like a golden rice bowl*, you could strive hard to reach for it and couldn’t lose it. You all will take the college entrance examination in less than a year. In June next year, you’ll sit in the examination room with your hands covered in sweat and you’ll understand the importance of what the teacher just said.”
*t/n: Golden opportunity.
“When you go to college, you’ll see a bigger world, and of course, go to the city you want to go to.” Teacher Li smiled. “You can also fall in love freely. At that time, neither the teacher nor your parents will interfere.”
There was an uproar in the class, and Teacher Li slapped the table. "What are you excited about? Excited about what! I didn’t say you could do it now. Whoever dares to fall in love early will stand on that platform on Monday. Anyway, this year you should study hard, good days are just ahead."
There was a regretful hush in the class.
In the new school term, their seats also changed. Bei Yao’s tablemate was Yang Jia. Yang Jia was one of Bei Yao’s roommates. It was just that she was a straightforward person and often had conflicts with others, so she wasn’t very popular in the class.
Bei Yao quite liked her character. Yang Jia wasn’t a petty person. Liking means liking, disliking means disliking.
Bei Yao and Yang Jia were stunned when they heard that they were not allowed to fall in love.
Yang Jia whispered, "Bei Yao, the rumor this year about you and Han Zhen isn’t true, right?"
Bei Yao insisted, “Not true.”
Yang Jia released a sigh of relief.
Bei Yao thought to herself, but the one about her and the other person couldn’t be more real.
Even though there was a statement of ‘stand on the platform on Monday’, the sweetness and joy in her heart defied all fears. Bei Yao lowered her head and started to study.
Bei Yao had become more diligent since the beginning of the third year.
She would come to the classroom after breakfast and only leave after the lights in the classroom were off.
Yang Jia said, “Seeing you work so hard is also making me nervous.”
After all, it scared her to see someone who was better than her in hard work. Yang Jia also began to focus more on her studies and they studied hard together.
Bei Yao and Pei Chuan weren’t in the same school and the third year’s study was particularly heavy. She thought she wouldn’t be able to see him for a long time.
But when she was on her monthly vacation in September, Bei Yao saw Pei Chuan and Chen Yingqi from the gate of her home.
Even after not seeing him for a month, Chen Yingqi still hadn’t changed much, while Pei Chuan looked haggard. The young man was tall, his hand inside his pockets. It wasn’t known what he said to Chen Yingqi, but Chen Yingqi nodded his head with a heavy expression.
When he saw Bei Yao, Pei Chuan patted Cheng Yingqi’s shoulder. Chen Yingqi also glanced at Bei Yao, then left.
“Pei Chuan.” She ran over and asked curiously, “What did you talk about with Chen Yingqi?”
His eyes were dark but turned gentle when he saw her. “Talked to him and asked about life over the years."
"Oh." Bei Yao was happy that he was finally trying to get along well with others.
She looked at him carefully. "Why have you lost weight?"
Pei Chuan said, "I'm a third grade student, I'm studying hard."
Bei Yao finally understood how Yang Jia felt when she saw herself. “I’m so nervous. You’re so amazing already but you still work hard. What will I do if I can’t go to the same university as you?”
She was thinking about this issue seriously, and the breeze of the end of September blew her hair.
Silly girl. Hearing that there was him in her future were the most beautiful words of love he had ever heard in his life.
He smiled. “No. You won’t fail the exam. Which university do you want to go to?”
Bei Yao said, “If it was me, I would go to the university in B City. I heard that there will be snow in the winter, but it won’t be too cold, just like C City.”
The Olympic Games had left different colors in her heart and made her acknowledge that city.
Pei Chuan said, "Then go to B University."
He was silent for a while. "This winter break, I'll take you to B University to see the snow, okay?"
Bei Yao nodded, her eyes sparkling, as she said, "I’ll definitely work hard and not be much worse than you."
He also smiled. "En, I believe in Yaoyao."
Accompanying her to university were his best thoughts and plans for the future.
Note: Remaining four advanced chapters for this month will be published on 15th June. Check out the Patreon link below.