Chapter 48

Just like no one could consult with before buying a house, the joy after buying a house was also something no one could share.

He could spend thousands on a meal for his classmates, 20,000 to help Chen Jian buy a laptop, and money to help Li Yu record a song. In everyone's impression, he was a person from a wealthy family who was willing to spend money for his friends. These expenses were not in vain; they all brought him some benefits. However, buying a house was different. From the elderly to the young, Chinese people place a great deal of importance on housing, generally considering real estate to be one of the most significant assets in a person's life. If news of his house purchase got out, no matter the relationship, people might feel jealous, envious, or curious, and even teachers might investigate where he got so much money. This was not what Bian Xuedao wanted to see, after all, his money was gray.

Better to have no one to share with than to be troubled. He decided to celebrate by himself.

Professor Shen and his wife moved out, leaving most of the furniture to Bian Xuedao, except for some items given to friends and family.

When seeing the old couple off, Bian Xuedao said that if they ever returned to Songjiang to visit friends or spend the summer, they could stay here, as the house was large and he lived alone.

The old lady smiled and said, "That's great."

Standing in the center of the living room, with all the doors open, Bian Xuedao felt a bit relieved about his decision to buy the house. The house had good lighting, a good layout, and nice装修. Most importantly, he was the owner here, and this was his home. Except for the demolition team, no one could shake his control over the house.

Because he liked to watch basketball courts and sports fields, Bian Xuedao still lived in the room he originally rented. Over a few days, he replaced the sofa set, a home theater system, and high-quality speakers, and bought a new set of kitchen utensils and a refrigerator.

Bian Xuedao made a few of his signature dishes, opened a bottle of wine, and turned on the stereo, eating alone in the dining room.

The alcohol was not strong, but the more he drank, the lonelier he felt, and the more he wished someone was there to keep him company.

Bian Xuedao thought of Xu Shangxiu, who was in the same campus, Dong Xue in Tianjin, and even Li Youcheng, who had confessed to him.

Snow began to fall outside, and the mischievous north wind swirled the snowflakes past the window. Bian Xuedao couldn't remember how many snowfalls there had been in 2002, but he knew that in a couple of years, there would be a song called "The First Snow of 2002." Bian Xuedao went into the room to find his guitar, wanting to play a song, but realized it was missing. He guessed Li Yu had taken it.

After dinner, without clearing the table, Bian Xuedao took a small stool and went to his usual spot.

Since he had figured things out last time, he hadn't been to the back door of 10A for a while. Today was special; the alcohol made him melancholic, and he particularly wanted to see Xu Shangxiu, even just a glimpse.

The snow was heavy, and the wind was strong.

Bian Xuedao got his wish and saw Xu Shangxiu, as well as Tao Qing.

Tao Qing walked backward in front of Xu Shangxiu, using his body to shield her from the wind and snow. He held an umbrella over her head, and Xu Shangxiu occasionally pushed his hand a bit closer to her. Tao Qing would immediately move his hand back.

Watching them enter 11A, watching them talk in the hall, and watching Tao Qing walk away with the umbrella, Bian Xuedao felt for the first time that he might have misunderstood something. However, one of Bian Xuedao's main characteristics was his perseverance. Once he made up his mind, he would stick to it no matter what.

He returned to his old habits.

The snow fell for four consecutive days, and each day, Bian Xuedao would sit for over an hour. Many people called to advise him, but he just smiled and didn't respond.

On Wednesday, the snow was particularly heavy, and most people stayed in their dorms. The campus was almost deserted. Bian Xuedao sat in the corner of the back door of 10A, watching large snowflakes fall from the sky, obstructing his view.

After less than 20 minutes, Bian Xuedao was already frozen through. He tried to huddle into the corner, occasionally rubbing his hands and face, or standing up to jump a few times.

Bian Xuedao persisted because his intuition told him that Xu Shangxiu had been watching him from upstairs these past few days. He had a feeling that she would come to see him.

The snow fell like a Zen meditation.

In the heavy snow, it seemed as if a silent melody was flowing through the sky and earth, stirring and singing, swirling and rising.

The door of 11A opened.

A person in a black long down jacket came out, stood at the door, and opened an umbrella. Through the snow, Bian Xuedao's heart beat faster. Although he couldn't see the person's face, he recognized the figure and posture.

The person in the black down jacket, holding the umbrella, walked through the layers of snow directly toward Bian Xuedao.

The person wore a cat ear cap and a dark red scarf, walking steadily. Bian Xuedao was certain it was Xu Shangxiu.

Sure enough, it was Xu Shangxiu!

Xu Shangxiu stood in front of Bian Xuedao, quietly looking at him, half of his clothes covered in snow. Her familiar eyes were like a still lake, calm but inscrutable.

Bian Xuedao smiled at Xu Shangxiu like a child, the most genuine smile he had since his rebirth. Xu Shangxiu looked at him smiling, said nothing, squatted down, placed the umbrella at Bian Xuedao's feet, and turned to leave.

"Wait," Bian Xuedao called out. Xu Shangxiu turned and looked at him with her eyes, asking what he wanted. Bian Xuedao unbuttoned his coat, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Xu Shangxiu.

The paper still carried Bian Xuedao's body heat.

Xu Shangxiu stared at the paper for a while, then looked up at Bian Xuedao, took the paper, put it in her coat pocket, and turned to walk back to 11A.

The wind was still the same, the snow was still the same, but in Bian Xuedao's eyes, everything was different. They seemed to have suddenly come to life, singing, dancing, and joyfully exploring the world.

The clever Xu Shangxiu was telling Bian Xuedao that she knew his feelings. Giving him the umbrella was not to let him continue waiting but to show that she was starting to care about him.

When Xu Shangxiu returned to the dorm, her roommates were surprised that she had come back so soon. The dorm leader asked why she didn't bring the umbrella back, and Xu Shangxiu said she had met a classmate at the building entrance and lent it to them.

After changing her clothes, Xu Shangxiu put the paper in a book and took the book to the study room in the dorm building. She had a fixed small table there, a good spot close to the radiator.

She absentmindedly flipped through the book for a while, noticing that there were few people around and no one was paying attention to her. Xu Shangxiu took out the paper from the book.

The paper was sturdy and plain, and the edges showed it had been in her pocket for a long time. Xu Shangxiu unfolded the paper and saw a beautiful handwriting:

"You say life is a dream,

I say life is a show,

What's the difference?

Isn't it all the same blur?

In the blur, there is you,

With you, it is enough.

You are in my world,

A rainbow rises.

Loving you simply,

The world becomes vast.

All flowers bloom for you,

All scenery is arranged for you.

We are so different,

But we must have loved deeply in a past life.

We agreed in this life,

To meet again."

Xu Shangxiu read it three times but didn't understand if it was a poem or something else, especially the parts about "blur," "past life," and "meeting again."

Xu Shangxiu was almost certain that this boy, Bian Xuedao, knew her QQ number, otherwise, he wouldn't have written "life is a dream" and "simple love." This wasn't unusual; after starting college, many new classmates had exchanged QQ numbers, and many people knew hers.

Actually, knowing that a boy liked her and pursued her so persistently made Xu Shangxiu quite happy. However, she already had a boyfriend. During her year of retaking the college entrance exam, if it weren't for Tao Qing's support, encouragement, and teaching her self-regulation and self-suggestion techniques, she might not have made it through, and even if she did, it would have been hard to get into a top university.

Xu Shangxiu knew that Tao Qing had poor psychological resilience, a short temper, and a bit of a jealous streak, but this boy had never said "no" to her. If she were to give up Tao Qing for someone else, she couldn't do it.

She folded the paper and put it in a book, then started studying.

A few days later, Xu Shangxiu thought of the paper again when a music program on TV broadcast the top songs of the week. When the third-place song was played, she realized the lyrics were the same as those on the paper.

After checking the paper again, Xu Shangxiu was certain that Bian Xuedao had copied the lyrics of this song. Copying lyrics was fine, but there were countless love songs, and he could have chosen one with a more sincere and fitting meaning. Was this the sincerity of someone pursuing her?

Life is like this. The most fitting thing for Bian Xuedao's heart was completely incomprehensible to Xu Shangxiu, as if they were talking about completely different things. After two months of waiting, Bian Xuedao had only managed to open a small crack in Xu Shangxiu's heart.

Bian Xuedao also saw the music chart that Xu Shangxiu had seen. The MV in the program was produced by Chang Faopiao and Tang Tao. Recently, Bian Xuedao had been busy with the house, so Li Yu had gone to oversee the production. Before Li Yu went, Bian Xuedao told him the bottom line: no showing faces and no political errors. Poor Li Yu didn't even know what a political error was.

This was the first time Bian Xuedao saw the MV of his song, which was similar to Zhou Hui's "Promise," and the story was told quite well.

Seeing "Meeting Again" on the chart, Li Yu jumped up, slapping Bian Xuedao and pointing at the TV, "Look, look, look..." too excited to say anything else.

Bian Xuedao was also happy, but not as excited as Li Yu. He had known the song's strength and expected this ranking. He was thinking about how Xu Shangxiu would be moved when she saw the MV.

People say that concern leads to confusion, and those involved are often blinded. Indeed, most of the time, Bian Xuedao was quite rational, but he repeatedly made mistakes with Xu Shangxiu. If he could guess Xu Shangxiu's thoughts after seeing the lyrics, he would have copied Wu Bai's "Love You for Ten Thousand Years" instead.