Time makes you fall

◎Promise (second update)◎

A door opened slowly, blurring the difference in identity and age between the two.

Qu Qingcheng followed Zhu Yao and said, "I've lived here since I was 17."

Standing at the door of the room, Zhu Yao was full of shock. Since then, Qu Qingcheng was no longer a flimsy Teacher Qu. With her youthful history, she has become an organic three-dimensional. The title of "favorite student".

Qu Qingcheng, what kind of person were you... before?

What kind of person were you...in your adolescence when you were about my age?

Zhu Yao can see with his own eyes those questions that cannot be asked due to his reticent habit and awkward personality.

For example, among ancient books such as "Three Words and Two Beats" and "Awakening the World and Constant Words", there are several comics similar to "Symphonic Lover's Dream".

For example, there is a cloth rabbit pillow on the bed, which seems to have become long and limp due to the age, and a corner of the ear is missing.

For example, there is a complete set of the Four Treasures of the Study on the desk, and Hui ink is not a waste for Qu Qingcheng, who was a teenager at the time, but there is a bottle of blue nail polish next to the inkstone.

Zhu Yao walked over, picked it up and shook it.

These unremarkable little objects made the aloof Qu Qingcheng kind and lovely.

Her goddess Qu Qingcheng was once a little girl.

Qu Qingcheng followed and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"No, I think the color is pretty nice."

Qu Qingcheng took the nail polish bottle from Zhu Yao's hand, unscrewed it, and looked surprised: "It hasn't been cleaned yet?"

She took out the brush and scraped the side of the bottle twice, and smiled mischievously at Zhu Yao: "Will you paint it?"

Zhu Yao has never worn nail polish.

Nail polish and all the skirts with frills, hair clips with ribbons, and well-fitting underwear, along with Zhu Yinglan's absence, are missing from Zhu Yao's youth.

Every time Zhu Yinglan scolded her: "You don't look like a girl!" Zhu Yao didn't refute, just lowered her head and looked down.

Those things, like a train with pink decorations, rumble and take girls like Shang Xiaoran forward.

Zhu Yao lost her ticket from the very beginning, as if she had missed the possibility of getting on the train forever. Seeing the train drive farther and farther, the dust and dust made her feel dusty.

Zhu Yao stared at the blue-dyed brush head in Qu Qingcheng's hand: "No, I'll be caught by Aunt Niu."

Aunt Niu is their teaching director.

"Uh..." Only after the words came out did Zhu Yao realize that it was not a good idea to call the dean the nickname in front of the teacher.

Unexpectedly, Qu Qingcheng smiled: "If you paint your feet, you won't be caught."

Zhu Yao was taken aback for a moment.

Qu Qingcheng: "Don't want to paint?"

"……no."

Just thinking about taking off her socks in front of Qu Qingcheng, she couldn't help but blush.

Qu Qingcheng sat on the bed and took two shots: "Sit here, Auntie cleans every day, not dirty."

"Uh...do you have dinner already?"

"No, I told my mother before that I would be late for something, and dinner will be late today."

Zhu Yao shyly walked to the edge of the bed and sat down.

She didn't know why she was wearing a pair of yellow socks today, with a cat with a silly expression on them, and maybe a little ball, not a well-behaved thumb, and the toe of the socks hadn't worn a hole yet.

Zhu Yao took off the socks at twice the speed, but found it even more embarrassing to suddenly show her toes.

Although she is thin, her toes are round and fleshy, round and round like pebbles, braving a childish and silly look.

Zhu Yao's chin rested on his knees, in an infinitely retracted posture, and he didn't dare to look at Qu Qingcheng at all.

If Qu Qingcheng touches her feet, she will just slap herself on the spot!

But Qu Qingcheng didn't, just asked with a smile: "Which toe should I paint?"

Zhu Yao remained silent, she asked herself and answered, "Big toe."

At this time, Mother Qu shouted from downstairs: "Qingqing, we are ready to eat soon."

Qu Qingcheng responded with a raised voice: "Okay."

But he didn't panic at all, he took the brush and slowly painted on the cover of Zhu Yao's big toe.

He didn't touch Zhu Yao's feet.

"Yeah, it's still dry and uneven."

Zhu Yao stared at his toes, three light blue marks, like oil paintings with uneven strokes.

"Then don't paint it."

While waiting for the nail polish to dry, Qu Qingcheng asked with a smile, "Do you want to see my old photo album?"

Zhu Yao's heart trembled.

Pretend to be calm and say: "Okay."

Qu Qingcheng stood up: "I'll look for..."

The back view in front of the bookshelf, the white skirt fluttering, Zhu Yao saw a guitar standing by the wall: "Can you play the guitar?"

A brief silence.

"I wanted to learn it." Qu Qingcheng smiled; "But I didn't learn it."

"Can I try?"

"...Well, okay."

Qu Qingcheng didn't turn around when he handed the guitar to Zhu Yao, and Zhu Yao couldn't see the expression on her face.

"It's been a long time since I tuned in."

"It's ok."

Zhu Yao tried to pluck the strings, but it was a little out of tune, but it was barely usable.

Zhu Yao played a popular Cantonese song in bits and pieces, but the lyrics were only sung in his heart: "Who did you spend your childhood with, the song sung in the choir, can you hum it again... At that time Who is sitting next to you, white shirt and gray trousers, can you wear it again... It's a pity that I was too old to hug you and admire you... (Remark 1)"

The more I played, the more I felt that the sound was out of tune, and I couldn't remember the score clearly, so that Qu Qingcheng couldn't catch it in a flurry of confusion: "What song is this?"

Zhu Yao gently put the guitar aside: "Playing randomly."

"Ah, here it is." Qu Qingcheng smiled and took out a photo album, and sat back on the bed.

"Look at me in school uniform, isn't it silly?"

"You were nearsighted then?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

Qu Qingcheng smiled and pursed his lips: "It's not that high."

Turned to the group photo of the third year of high school graduation: "Find out where I am."

Zhu Yao caught sight of that little snow-white face in the crowd: "Here."

"I have good eyesight."

"Who is this guy standing next to you?"

"Best friend in high school at the time."

"Is there still contact now?"

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "It's long gone."

"Your family moved to Beicheng when you were 17?"

"correct."

"I thought you came later...the southern accent is still very obvious."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "You have to study Chinese well, haven't you heard a line of poetry? The local accent has not changed, and the temples have faded."

"Pictures from before..." Zhu Yao found that there was not a single photo of Qu Qingcheng before the age of 17; "None of them?"

Qu Qingcheng nodded.

A photo flipped and suddenly floated to the floor.

At this time, Mother Qu shouted from downstairs again: "Qingqing, you can go downstairs."

Qu Qingcheng: "Okay——"

Quickly pick up the photo that fell with the back facing up, and put it in the album: "Go, go downstairs for dinner."

Zhu Yao couldn't hold back and asked, "What is that photo?"

Qu Qingcheng's action of picking up the photos was weird.

Qu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Ugly photos, you can't see them."

Until many years later, when Zhu Yao saw the photo hidden by Qu Qingcheng, his heart was no less shocked than when he saw Qu Qingcheng's tattoo on his back that night.

But at this time, the 17-year-old was urged to go downstairs by Qu Qingcheng: "Hurry up, hurry up, there are good dishes."

She was a little embarrassed when she quickly put on her socks, Qu Qingcheng looked at her socks and smiled: "What a child."

******

Qu's mother politely said "no food", Zhu Yao looked down, but saw four hot and four cool tables set up.

Qu Qingcheng asked: "Why is there no soup?"

"The mushrooms that Aunt Zhang bought today are not fresh enough, so I might as well stop drinking them."

Qu Qingcheng nodded: "That's true."

Mother Qu said with a smile: "Qingqing has never experienced hardship since she was a child, and her mouth has been spoiled."

Qu Qingcheng: "Mom, why are you saying this in front of my students?"

Zhu Yao was not as sweet-mouthed as Shang Xiaoran, who didn't know how to answer, so he held his chopsticks and smirked.

Qu Qingcheng asked her: "Is there any dish you like?"

Zhu Yao hurriedly said, "It's all."

Father Qu greeted: "Then let's move our chopsticks."

The meal was very silent, only the sound of chopsticks hitting the dishes was heard.

Fortunately, Zhu Yao’s left hand was injured, so it wasn’t very inconvenient to eat. She was biting a piece of bad fish and peeping at Qu Qingcheng. Gentle and elegant.

Qu Qingcheng had no intention of speaking, so Zhu Yao had no choice but to follow suit.

When the meal was finished, Zhu Yao put down his chopsticks and put them on the bowl, hesitating whether to say "thank you".

Qu Qingcheng helped her take off the chopsticks and put them on one side of the chopsticks: "Have you eaten?"

Only then did Zhu Yao seize the opportunity and said, "Thank you, uncle and aunt, for the hospitality. It's so delicious. Auntie has worked hard."

Mother Qu smiled and said, "The two special dishes of bad fish and sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice and lotus root are made by me, and the rest are made by my aunt. It's not hard."

"These two dishes, others say they don't taste like Qingqing."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "You are very proud?"

Mother Qu smiled even more happily.

Father Qu stood up and greeted: "Xiao Zhu, let's go sit on the sofa."

It is not so much a sofa as it is a Chinese-style slump, with soft cushions, which is very comfortable, but sitting on it is absolutely impossible like a potato sinking into the sofa.

Mother Qu brought jasmine tea, and Qu Qingcheng took a sip: "It's old."

"The fresh ones haven't been delivered yet." Father Qu said and praised Zhu Yao again: "Xiao Zhu has rules, he doesn't talk when he eats, and he doesn't talk when he sleeps."

"There aren't many children who are so well-behaved now, are they?"

Qu Qingcheng smiled.

Zhu Yao said honestly, "Thank you uncle."

When the four of them chatted, Zhu Yao discovered that Qu Qingcheng's parents were kind and well-respected people. A little southern accent and a gentle tone of voice all confirmed Qu Qingcheng's growth trajectory.

Qu Qingcheng sat on the side, holding a small white porcelain cup of jasmine tea in her hand, and the white mist wafted out from her equally white fingers.

Qu's mother liked Zhu Yao's appearance very much, and she held Zhu Yao's injured hand up while chatting: "Let me see."

Zhu Yao quickly said, "It's nothing serious."

After explaining some maintenance matters in detail, Mother Qu said, "Qingqing, would you like to play a guqin for Xiao Zhu?"

Father Qu, who was flipping through the copybooks, became interested: "It's just right, let me know if you gave birth."

Qu Qingcheng hesitated for a moment, then pursed his lips and said with a smile, "Okay."

******

While watching Qu Qingcheng bring out the Guqin, Zhu Yao was holding a loquat handed over by Qu's mother.

Are there still loquats this season?Zhu Yao didn't know it before.But now she has it in her hand. Mother Qu peeled the skin and handed it over. The yellow flesh is tender and tender, plump and lovely under the light of the incandescent lamp.

Zhu Yao was afraid that the too full juice would drip on the floor, so he should lower his head to eat in time, but he didn't want to miss every detail of Qu Qingcheng moving the guqin——

She moved lightly.

She flicked her fluttering white dress and sat down on the mahogany round stool.

She stretched out her white and slender fingers.

The fingers are very suitable for Fuxi's Guqin.Father Qu said softly at the side: "This qin is passable. It is made of wood from the bells hung in ancient temples."

Zhu Yao squeezed the loquat, staring at Qu Qingcheng without blinking his glasses——

She is tall and flowing.She longs for a bosom friend.She turned the years when the canteen was flooded due to lack of ventilation, the skirts that were quietly shortened by smug girls, and the night playground where she walked around with headphones, into flowing notes that leaked from her fingers.

From then on, the mediocre and trivial daily life has become moonlight, stardust, and pure beauty in the absolute sense.

Zhu Yao had never heard of a guqin before that, and she didn't even know that a guqin has seven strings.

Until tonight she was sitting here, watching Qu Qingcheng finished stroking each song, and raised her hand to push the glasses that had slipped off the bridge of her nose.

Father Qu smiled and asked Zhu Yao, "How is it?"

Zhu Yao said from the bottom of his heart, "Very good."

Good, good, great.Can't find more adjectives to describe how good it is.

Why is it that when people are shocked in their hearts, they are often in a state of aphasia?Where have all those gorgeous words that I desperately want to find in my heart and spit out on my tongue gone?

Is it because you don't do your homework seriously?Is it because I am always distracted when reciting ancient poems?

Qu Qingcheng said; "Where is it so good."

Father Qu said: "It's still possible, I can tell that the effort has not been delayed."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "Okay, okay, young people like Zhu Yao will be bored."

Zhu Yao: "I'm not bored."

Qu Qingcheng glanced at her, but still put away the guqin.

Mother Qu reminded: "Little Zhu, eat loquat."

Only then did Zhu Yao remember that she was still pinching the loquat in her hand, and quickly lowered her head to see if the clear juice had dripped on the ground. Fortunately, she kept holding it with her palm, and such a tragedy did not happen.

She lowered her head and took a bite, the sweet flesh melted in her mouth.

Off-season loquats.Guqin across time and space.The white skirt is fluttering and the song is clear.

Outlines a world that is completely different from the ordinary, like the Dragon Palace where Momotaro roams by chance, full of sparkling crystals.

A strange and dreamy world.

Because of the absolute silence at the dinner table just now, and thinking of the "thank you" that Qu Qingcheng had heard on the phone with Qu's mother before, Zhu Yao was still worried that Qu Qingcheng had a bad relationship with his parents.

Now it seems that I am thinking too much.The silence at the dining table was entirely due to the rule of "Don't talk when you eat and don't talk when you sleep". At this moment, Qu Qingcheng finished playing the guqin, leaning on Qu's mother's shoulder, with a rare little girl expression on his face.

Zhu Yao wanted to take another look, one more look, but it was too weird to keep staring at Qu Qingcheng's face.

Until Qu's mother brought the topic to Zhu Yao's side: "Xiao Zhu, what kind of teacher is Qingqing at school?"

Qu Qingcheng held Mother Qu's arm, and showed Zhu Yao a "be careful what you say" expression.

Zhu Yao smiled: "It's very popular."

Mother Qu smiled: "Really? Qingqing has never had a hard time since she was a child. I'm afraid she won't be able to adapt to school."

Qu Qingcheng said, "How is it possible?"

Qu's mother said: "Xiaozhu, if some students bully Qingqing..." She changed the address: "You have to protect your teacher Qu."

Qu Qingcheng was dying of laughter: "Mom, how old is Zhuyao and I? Who is protecting whom?"

Mother Qu smiled: "Oh, there are all kinds of strange things in the news now, you don't know about them."

Qu Qingcheng: "Why don't I know."

Zhu Yao was sitting on the side holding the loquat core, and suddenly said: "Okay."

Mother Qu and Qu Qingcheng looked at her together.

"That... I will protect Teacher Qu."

Qu Qingcheng was about to die laughing again: "You little kid."

She passed the trash can over, and Zhu Yao hurriedly lowered her head to throw the fruit core, feeling her face was burning.

Fortunately, the topic moved away from her again, Mother Qu was asking Qu Qingcheng: "How is that little Zheng whom I saw last time?"

Zhu Yao's heart skipped a beat.

Xiao Zheng.Mr Cheng.The person who was stuffed into the bright truth by Qu Qingcheng's "I'm sorry".

Qu's father stopped him from the side; "As soon as the child comes home, you can ask this."

Mother Qu: "I'm just asking."

Qu Qingcheng: "It's not suitable."

Mother Qu: "It's okay, you just need to see each other more to know who is suitable and who is not."

This topic was taken lightly like this.

After chatting for a while, before leaving, Qu's mother still had to take a thermos bucket and filled Zhu Yao with a bucket of Meiling porridge: "I'm so hurt, I'm sorry to die, eat something delicious."

Zhu Yao took it with trepidation: "Thank you, Auntie."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "Okay, okay, I really have to go, Zhu Yao still has class tomorrow."

******

Qu Qingcheng's light steps seemed to crush the moonlight.

In Mother Qu's small garden, tea plums bloom under the moonlight, giving off a faint fragrance.

Qu Qingcheng walked beside Zhu Yao: "Does the injury still hurt?"

"much better."

"Be careful when riding a bicycle in the future, and don't ride a bicycle in school."

"……understood."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "Even if you have to ride, don't get hurt. With such a big battle, who doesn't know that you violated the school rules?"

Zhu Yao scratched his head in embarrassment, forgetting the injury on his hand, grinning slightly in pain.

Qu Qingcheng was startled: "Don't move!"

"Teacher Qu."

"Ok?"

"You have such a good relationship with your parents."

"...Well, yes."

After a short silence, Qu Qingcheng suddenly said: "My mother said that I haven't suffered anything, so don't worry about it."

Zhu Yao said in his heart: I can rest assured.

Because that's who you are.

beautiful.Slim.fragile.Not even real.

Afterwards, Zhu Yao recalled that it was on that dreamlike night at Qu Qingcheng's parents' house that she covered Qu Qingcheng with a perfect shell, shining with a crystal-like dazzling light.

The shaking made Zhu Yao dizzy, so much so that she overlooked many details that she should have seen earlier.

Zhu Yao suddenly said inexplicably, "I want to be admitted to Tsinghua University."

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "What?"

Embarrassed, Zhu Yao switched to the uninjured hand and scratched his head: "...it's too late to say this now."

"Anyway... just... I still want to go to a better university."

Is it because I am better and more promising, so that I can have a little more possibility, and one day in the future, I will stand beside you who I yearn for and stand shoulder to shoulder with you.

Tsinghua University is also good.Bei Da is also good.Everything is fine.

Zhu Yao found out belatedly——I think, become better.

Qu Qingcheng smiled: "As long as you have a goal, nothing is impossible."

"I'll help you."

After walking two steps forward, he suddenly realized that Zhu Yao hadn't followed, and immediately turned around: "What's wrong?"

Walking back with concern: "Is the injury hurting again?"

Fortunately, I was wearing thick school uniform trousers in winter, and my legs were only scratched, but they still hurt after rubbing against the inside of the trousers.

Zhu Yao stood still: "It's a bit."

Qu Qingcheng: "Then..."

Zhu Yao: "It hurts a little bit, stand up and rest for a while, okay?"

Qu Qingcheng: "Okay, okay."

Zhu Yao stood where he was, with his head lowered, habitually wanting to put his hands into the pockets of his school uniform trousers.

Qu Qingcheng tugged on her sleeve.

It was only then that Zhu Yao remembered that his hands were hurt, so he smiled and put his hands behind his back.

Head still down.

Qu Qingcheng stood opposite her, as if wanting Zhu Yao to rest quietly, he didn't speak or move.

Zhu Yao was basking in the moonlight, with her ponytail hanging down to cover her eyes, she was secretly looking at her own shadow on the ground.

It overlaps with the curved and clear shadow on the opposite side.

like a hug.

Probably since then, Zhu Yao has never experienced such a pure "hug" in his life.All the yearning, admiration and lonely courage of a 17-year-old girl are entrusted.

Pure to the extreme, without a trace of delusion.

Mother Qu's words echoed in Zhu Yao's ears: "You have to protect your teacher Qu." It was exactly what Zhu Yao was thinking at that time.

Pure and fragile Qu Qingcheng.

Qu Qingcheng, who had never suffered before.

Qu Qingcheng was unaware of the danger around him.

I... will protect you.

******

When I got home at night, because I had injuries all over my body, I couldn't shower or take a bath. Zhu Yao could only fill the bathtub with water and wipe it slowly.

She sat on a ponytail by the tub and stared at her round pebbled toes.

On the top of the thumb, there are three inconspicuous brush marks, which are the marks of blue nail polish that Qu Qingcheng painted on her.

Zhu Yao moved his toes, feeling a little cute.

Fortunately, Qu Qingcheng didn't touch her feet.

But why did that bottle of blue nail polish dry up?

******

When going to school the next day, Zhu Yao picked out the most childish pair of socks. The white socks had a little rainbow on them, and they were only worn once, with no pilling at all.

Obviously there is no chance to take off his shoes and socks today, and Zhu Yao doesn't understand why he did it.

The students watched Zhu Yao walk into the classroom with gauze on the corners of his brows and gauze on his hands. His eyes were obviously inquiring, but no one came forward to ask.

She is still the taciturn, gloomy and difficult to deal with Zhu Yao.

He will not become the protagonist under the spotlight just because of an injury.

The turning point happened when doing exercises between classes.

Zhu Yao originally wanted to decide whether to stop doing exercises between classes, but when he thought of going to Lao Fang to ask for leave and explain a lot, he felt a headache.

Forget it, it's better to do exercises between classes.

In fact, the wounds on the corners of her eyebrows and hands were fine, and did not affect her walking. Instead, the scratches on her legs kept rubbing against her pants, slowing her down.

Soon one fell on the last of the stairs.

"Hello." A voice sounded.

The author says:

For the little angel who was the first to give me a long comment, and the little angels who have been giving me rockets and landmines, add a chapter, thank you very much.

Remark 1: From Eason Chan's "Twenty Years Back in Time".