Chapter 48 Don’t look back
Bus No. 16 stops at the entrance of the town’s junior high school.
Xu Chen got out of the car, and the dull air felt suffocating.
He looked up at the leaden sky, with thick dark clouds hanging low above his head.
The wind has not yet risen, and the air seems thick and condensed.
Xu Chen walked quickly towards the deserted and dilapidated playground without stopping.
Push the iron door open with a "squeak" and step in sideways.
Looking up is an empty and dusty runway.
The football field surrounded by the track is covered with half-dry and jagged weeds.
No one was around.
After looking around, Xu Chen seemed to have something in mind and walked straight towards the tattered podium.
After walking around the concrete podium that was half a person tall, as expected, I found Xie Bingran who had disappeared.
She sat curled up in the corner on the side of the rostrum, her head buried in her knees.
She lowered her head, her short hair hanging down covering her face, and her expression could not be seen.
Her feet were bare.
Holding in her arms...the pair of red running shoes.
……
The low and heavy clouds in the sky seemed to be pressing down on her.
Xu Chen looked at Xie Bingran who was huddled in the corner from a distance.
At this moment, time seemed to flow backwards.
She is still the introverted, thin, silent, and poor deskmate she was a few years ago.
In the past few years, she has armed herself with "Brother Bing".
And under the dark clouds at this moment, in the empty and desolate playground...
Some kind of invisible, unprovoked, and unforgivable force finally knocked her back to her original shape.
Xu Chen walked slowly to Xie Bingran without saying a word.
Xie Bingran heard the noise and moved his head slightly, but did not raise it.
Xu Chen squatted down in front of Xie Bingran and reached out to stroke her head.
Just like when Xu Chen was young, after the boys in the same village laughed at him as a "motherless child," his father stretched out his big hand and caressed the top of his head.
It's like when I rescued a puppy with a broken leg when I was young, and reached out to touch its furry and dirty little head.
Xie Bingran raised her face, her eyes passed through the messy and wet hair, and saw the smiling Xu Chen.
Her arms were tucked into her knees, still holding the pair of red running shoes tightly.
"Are you hungry?" Xu Chen asked.
Xie Bingran was startled and said in a low voice:
"Hungry..."
"I still have biscuits in my bag." Xu Chen smiled.
Xie Bingran blinked his big wet eyes.
She is not Brother Bing from No. 1 High School, she is just a poor little girl who is starving.
Xu Chen took off his backpack from behind and was about to rummage around when big raindrops fell.
In an instant, it was pouring down.
But in this vast playground, there was no place to hide.
Xie Bingran shrank down and protected the pair of red running shoes in his arms.
Xu Chen raised his large backpack and covered the two people's heads.
Xie Bingran was speechless. He raised his head slightly and looked at the locker room in the corner of the playground.
Xu Chen got up and pulled Xie Bingran up.
With just this little effort, most of their bodies were already soaked.
"Let's go!"
Xu Chen shouted, grabbed Xie Bingran's arm, and rushed to the locker room next to the playground.
After running for two steps, he quickly grabbed her.
"Put on your shoes, your bare feet will get pricked!"
Xie Bingran still held the pair of red running shoes in her arms and shook her head at Xu Chen.
She ignored it and turned around, running barefoot into the heavy rain and towards the playground.
Xu Chen was a little annoyed again, and followed quickly with his schoolbag on his head.
……
In the northwest corner of the playground, there are two low-rise bungalows, which were originally the locker rooms for the athletes, but are now utility rooms.
The door is open.
The last time Xu Chen and Xie Bingran came, the locked door was kicked open by Xie Bingran. The two of them had already rushed into the dim room.
A few overturned iron cabinets and some dilapidated items were in a cramped and dark place, but it was protected from wind and rain.
Xu Chen was out of breath and turned to look at Xie Bingran.
She was almost soaked, but she still held the pair of running shoes.
Her feet were still bare, and she didn't know if the soles of her feet were scratched when she ran across the cinder-filled track.
Xie Bingran was stunned for a moment, then seemed to wake up. He bent down and put the shoes in his arms on a dry ground.
She shook the rain off her black jacket and smoothed her wet hair.
Xu Chen looked at Xie Bingran and thought that since she was holding those running shoes, she was originally planning to participate in the selection of the city sports meeting.
This morning's interview, punishment, and departure from school were naturally completely beyond "Brother Bing's" expectations.
"Where are your own shoes?" Xu Chen asked.
Xie Bingran raised his finger and pointed.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Only then did Xu Chen realize that behind the door in front of him was a worn-out backpack and a pair of dirty and old canvas shoes.
It turned out that Xie Bingran had been here before and put his bag and his shoes here.
As for why she was squatting on the edge of the playground with bare feet and running shoes, no one knew.
But Xu Chen seemed to understand.
It was a feeling of unwillingness and helplessness.
She was in a bad mood.
She didn't know what to do.
……
Xu Chen took off his backpack and dug out a pack of Oreos.
Wiping off the rainwater on his clothes, he handed it to Xie Bingran with a smile.
Xie Bingran reached out and took it, tearing open the package with a "chick" sound, revealing the neatly arranged biscuits, but reached out and handed them to Xu Chen first.
Xu Chen picked one up and threw it into his mouth, and then Xie Bingran took one and ate it.
It's raining heavily outside.
The deserted playground seemed to be completely submerged by the surging rain.
This small dressing room, which is cramped and has nowhere to stay, is like a safe and stable boat, standing still on the turbulent sea.
The wet two people squatted on the ground and shared a packet of biscuits in silence.
It happened to be noon now, and Xu Chen didn't have time to have lunch.
Xie Bingran probably didn’t have breakfast either...
The two of them finished eating the biscuits in silence, then squatted in the small dressing room and looked up at the pouring rain outside.
Xie Bingran shrank and shivered slightly.
"You're soaked all over. Do you have any other clothes?" Xu Chen asked.
Xie Bingran smoothed back her wet hair and looked at the backpack at the door.
"And the clothes you bought for me."
Xu Chen stood up, reached for the worn backpack on the ground, and handed it to Xie Bingran.
"Then change quickly, you can't get sick."
Xie Bingran took the backpack but didn't move it.
"You signed a contract of sale with me, and you are mine now.
You cannot let my property get cold, cold, or sick. ”
Xie Bingran frowned, showing a trace of "Brother Bing's" sullenness.
But she didn't say anything, silently opened her backpack and took out the black sportswear from inside.
"You are here, I can't change."
Brother Bing's tone was cold.
Xu Chen laughed and said: "It's okay, I'll go out."
With that said, he stood up and was about to go outside to soak in the rain.
"Hey!"
But he was caught by Xie Bingran.
"Just go to the door...and don't look back."
Xu Chen laughed evilly and walked to the door obediently, facing the empty playground where the rain was pouring outside.
"Don't look back, or you will die."
"Oh..."
Why do you suddenly want to die?
(End of chapter)