After school, Lin Jinran bid farewell to everyone, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and rushed to the school gate right away. Aunt Ying was waiting for her there.
When her excellent results of ranking fourth in the grade and third in the class came out, Lin Jinran was the first to share the news with Aunt Ying.
Aunt Ying was overjoyed. She immediately sent a message to Lin Jinran: [You're truly Hua Zi's own daughter. You've got Hua Zi's former charm.]
Then she invited Lin Jinran out for a late - night snack.
"Auntie!" Lin Jinran had sharp eyes. As soon as she stepped out of the school gate, she spotted Aunt Ying, and her steps became lighter.
Aunt Ying lovingly stroked Lin Jinran's head and took her hand, walking forward. "Your Uncle Song is here too, and my son. His name is Song Langqing. Like you, he studies at No. 1 Middle School. He's a freshman this year."
It was Lin Jinran's first time meeting Aunt Ying's family.
She paused for a moment and asked shyly, turning her head, "Auntie, this is so sudden. I didn't even have time to tidy myself up properly."
She had last washed her hair three days ago.
"It's okay. Just treat us as your family. What do family members need to be particular about? Let's go."
Aunt Ying led her forward for a while and finally walked into a late - night snack restaurant.
Although it was deep autumn, the business of the snack restaurant was still booming.
They entered a private room. When they lifted the curtain, a handsome face came into view, followed by a rather serious one.
Lin Jinran folded her hands together. She tried her best to stay calm, bent slightly, and said, "Hello, Uncle Song. Hello, Langqing."
"Hello, sister." Song Langqing smiled extremely happily. On the way here, his parents had strictly warned him not to make trouble or talk nonsense.
But after seeing Lin Jinran's appearance clearly, he sincerely praised, "Sister, you're so beautiful."
"Can't you talk properly?" Uncle Song unceremoniously knocked on Song Langqing's head.
Song Langqing immediately had tears in his eyes and defended himself, "I'm just stating the truth. If I didn't know that Sister Lin is about my age, I'd think she's a TV star."
Uncle Song felt a bit embarrassed. He glared at Song Langqing and said, "Langqing is talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart."
"It's okay. Langqing is just straightforward. I like it." Lin Jinran smiled with pursed lips and sat down beside Aunt Ying.
They ordered some dishes and the four of them started chatting.
"Sister, what's your name?" Song Langqing asked.
"Lin Jinran. It's the Lin Jinran from 'Behold the mountains all in red, the woods dyed to the core'."
Song Langqing suddenly took a deep breath, widened his eyes, and murmured, "Lin Jinran? Could it be the Lin Jinran from Class 1, Senior 3?"
"Hmm? Have you heard of me?" Lin Jinran asked back, puzzled.
She thought that she had only given a speech at the end of August. It had been so long, yet there were still people who remembered.
Song Langqing was extremely excited at this moment. He danced with his hands and feet and said, "Yes, yes. You're the goddess of our freshmen in Senior 1. A super - duper goddess."
Lin Jinran raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
Aunt Ying and Uncle Song stared at their son curiously, wondering what would come out of his mouth.
Song Langqing made a long story short and briefly told the ins and outs of the matter. His eyes were shining with excitement, and he clenched his hands tightly, as if suppressing his inner excitement.
"Sister Lin, do you know? You're also my goddess!"
Chatting and talking with his goddess, Song Langqing had clearly turned into a little fanboy.
Lin Jinran felt embarrassed and didn't respond.
Aunt Ying patted his head, shook her head amusingly, and said, "You don't have to mind. This kid is just a bit crazy."
Song Langqing, who had been labeled as crazy: "?"
No, what about his image?
Coincidentally, the dishes arrived. Aunt Ying and Uncle Song greeted everyone to eat together. Uncle Song sympathized with Lin Jinran's experience and kept putting dishes on her plate. Aunt Ying did the same.
Although Song Langqing didn't know what had happened, the person sitting opposite him was his goddess! So he took the initiative to serve the dishes and pour the water.
In no time, Lin Jinran's bowl was filled with skewers.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. At the same time, a warm current welled up in her heart and gradually spread through her limbs, making the cold places no longer cold.
Every cause has its effect.
It was because Wei Liang and the others had made a big deal out of the matter that she had the chance to meet Aunt Ying's family.
Out of the affection for her mother, they were really nice to her.
Tears welled up in Lin Jinran's eyes. She quietly wiped away a tear that was about to fall, smiled happily, and ate the skewers with gusto.
She ate whatever they gave her.
She didn't waste anything at all.
This would have been unthinkable in the past.
For the first time in ten years, she felt the care like that from a family.
Not family, but more than family.
Finally, Aunt Ying was afraid that Lin Jinran would overeat at night, so she told Uncle Song and Song Langqing not to put any more skewers on her plate.
Aunt Ying lovingly looked at Lin Jinran. After hesitating for a while, she asked again, "Ranran, do you want to reconsider moving in with us? I'm not very reassured about you living alone."
"Thank you for your kindness, Aunt Ying, but I still prefer to live alone." Lin Jinran said softly. She didn't want to disturb Aunt Ying's family life.
"Don't worry. The community I'm living in now has a certain security guarantee. There won't be any problems. It's also close to the school, which saves me time on the way to and from school."
At that time, it was Su Qinian who had searched for a long time to find this community with a relatively high safety factor.
"Then you must be careful when you're alone. Don't be polite if you encounter anything. Just come to us." Uncle Song seriously admonished, "In Wannanshi, we're quite well - known."
Lin Jinran's eyelashes trembled. She nodded vigorously, "Okay."
Lin Jinran was extremely grateful for Aunt Ying's family's kindness, but she was just an outsider. It was not appropriate for her to disturb them.
Moreover, moving in with them was out of the question.
As time went by, it got late. Aunt Ying's family walked out of the snack restaurant. Uncle Song was going to drive the car, while Aunt Ying and Song Langqing stayed around Lin Jinran.
Especially Song Langqing. He was a chatterbox. He babbled on about the latest school gossips and never stopped talking.
Lin Jinran took out her phone, opened the camera, and took a photo of the three people's shadows.
Song Langqing was tall. Lin Jinran had to zoom in nearly twice to fit his shadow into the camera. With a "click", she captured this moment.
In the photo, Aunt Ying was on her left, and the chatty Song Langqing was on her right. She herself seemed to be surrounded by love and was no longer so lonely.
Lin Jinran smiled and logged into her QQ secondary account. Without adding any caption, she directly posted the photo.
On the other side, Su Qinian came out of the bathroom and casually wiped his wet short hair. He opened QQ and saw a red dot on the news feed. He clicked in and saw only a photo.
There were three shadows in the photo.
The one on the far right showed a small part of the school uniform pants.
The style looked familiar.
Su Qinian's pupils suddenly dilated.
Wasn't that school uniform pants the one from Wannanshi No. 1 Middle School?
He clicked on the chat box and sent a message: [Are you in Wannanshi?]