Song Yan's house is in an old alley, not far from the school. The buildings in this area look to be at least seventy or eighty years old. The telephone poles are all still made of wood. I don't know if they were hit or something.
Everything is tilted this way and that as if it might topple over at any moment.
The garbage everywhere in the corner, the wall covering that was about to fall off, and the narrow aisles made Li Boxong frown.
There was no way in this narrow aisle to pass two bicycles at the same time, let alone carrying people. Li Bosong was pushing the bicycle, and Song Yan was leading the way. She turned around inadvertently and saw Li Bosong's expression, and her heart sank again.
So there will be no exceptions at all. What else is she expecting?
Because of their mother's physical disability, they rented a house on the first floor. A small window was the only light spot in their house, and it was surrounded by iron railings as thick as a finger. It was rusty and looked very shabby.
Because it was winter, the window was only open a small crack, and the room was so dark that I couldn't see anything clearly.
"Mom, I'm back, this is my colleague..."
Song Yan locked the bicycle to the iron railing of the window frame, took out the key and opened the old, deformed wooden door.
"Yanyan is back, colleague? Why did you bring your colleague to your house again? Didn't I tell you..."
"Auntie, I wanted to come and see you, so I asked Song Yan to bring me here."
Song Yan turned on the light, and suddenly there was light in the room. What came into view was the bunk bed that almost blocked the door.
There are two such high and low beds in this room, and a one-meter small bed on the other side.
There are two curtains hanging on each bed. I don’t know how many years of use they have been, but they have turned white and have lost their original color. However, they look very clean.
Take a closer look. Although this room is small and crowded, it is neat and tidy in every corner.
Mother Song was leaning on the bed, her face was sallow, and her hands seemed to have used all their strength to straighten herself up a bit.
Seeing Li Bosong, Song's mother smiled sheepishly, and her face became a little more embarrassed.
"Yanyan... please close the curtain first."
Song Yan instantly understood what her mother meant, pointed to the only chair by the window and said, "Teacher Li, sit down first, wait for me for a while, I'll be fine soon."
Then Song Yan took out an enamel basin from under the bed, and a few pieces of clean clothes. She quickly walked to her mother, took out the spittoon from under her mother's bed, and pulled the curtain tightly.
Li Bosong looked at the things in his hands and didn't know where to put them, so he simply took two bags of things and sat down.
The chair shook as Li Bosong sat on it and made a creaking sound, as if it was about to fall apart. He was so frightened that he jumped up quickly.
He turned around and stared at the chair in a daze for a while. When he heard the mother and daughter seemed to be whispering something inside, he felt a little embarrassed.
He simply put the things at hand, picked up a hammer on the windowsill, and lifted the chair out.
By the time Song Yan had packed up her mother's clothes and opened the curtain with a spittoon in her hands, there was no one in the room. Her beautiful red phoenix eyes flickered for a moment, and she soon regained her composure.
"Why are people gone..."
After changing into clean clothes and combing her hair neatly, Mrs. Song's spirit was not as sluggish as before, but she still looked bad.
"I told you not to bring this person back. With our current conditions, it will only drag you down."
"Mom, how can you hide this kind of thing? You will know sooner or later if you should know. Isn't this good? If you can't accept it, you don't have to waste time on your own."
As soon as Song Yan said these words, Song's mother looked sad and said nothing.
"I'll go out and pour this. I'll heat up some food for you when I get back." Song Yan looked back at her silent mother and hurried out the door.
When she was washing the spittoon, Song Yan was still a little dazed and accidentally got her sleeves wet.
When I came back, I saw Li Bosong from a distance, holding a chair in one hand and a tool in the other, standing in front of the door talking and laughing with the neighbors.
Song Yan's eyes flashed with light and she quickly quickened her pace.
"Yanyan, you are a good boyfriend."
When someone saw Song Yan coming, they pointed at Li Bosong and praised her, making them want to abduct her back to their home.
Song Yan was stunned. She didn't know how to reply, nor did she know what Li Bosong had said to others.
Li Bosong smiled innocently and said a little embarrassedly: "Auntie, I'm not Song Yan's boyfriend yet, she hasn't agreed yet!"
"I won't disturb you anymore, thank you for the hammer."
"Aww~ Xiao Li is too polite. Auntie, I have to thank you for helping me repair the stool. Okay, I won't disturb you, go and get to work."
Song Yan stared at this scene with her mouth open. These neighbors who moved here from her family have never been so polite?
"I've fixed the chair for you. You try it. It's stable this time." Li Bosong put the chair back to its original position briskly.
Li Bosong soon noticed the inquiring eyes, and when he turned around, it was indeed Mrs. Song leaning on the bed looking at him.
"Hello, auntie, my name is Li Bosong, I am Song Yan's colleague, and we are also alumni."
He took two steps forward without getting too close and introduced himself very respectfully.
"You can call me Bo Song or Xiao Li."
"Okay, thank you Xiao Li."
Song's mother had a soft face and said thank you to him obviously because of repairing the chair.
"Don't dislike it if your home is simple."
The time at noon was quite tense, and before Song's mother had time to ask any more questions, Song Yan urged him to go back to school together.
"Mom, I'll wash the lunch box after I go back to school. If you feel uncomfortable at home, just call Sister Zhang next to you."
"I understand, you go to work quickly. Don't worry about me, don't be late."
When he walked out of the narrow alley, Li Bosong felt uneasy. From time to time he looked at Song Yan, who had her head hanging down, and her heartbeat was even more panicked.
"Well... you have seen the conditions of my family. If we are not suitable, don't..."
"I don't dislike these!" Li Bosong's brain was buzzing from her words, and his mouth refuted her words faster than his brain.
Song Yan raised her head in surprise, her eyes full of shock.
There are many people who say they like her, but no one has ever said such a thing to her.
She was staring at his face very seriously now, as if she wanted to find some clues from his expression.
But his face was full of seriousness, where did he look like he was lying?
"Song Yan, I have heard about your family's affairs before I came here. I sympathize deeply, but I don't dislike it."
"If I really dislike your family's situation, I will not come with you. On the contrary, I admire you very much. As a girl, you can take care of your seriously ill mother and live with your younger brothers and sisters. This is already better than many men.
Much better."
"Before... I just simply liked and admired you. Now I have a little more admiration for you. I, can you understand when I say this?"
"Li Bosong, haven't you understood the situation? My family is really burdened now. We used to have two houses, but in order to support my education, the house was sold. My mother also worked day and night to become what she is now.
so."
"I also have a younger sister and two younger brothers. The youngest is about to enter high school. Their studies are not bad, and they will all go to college in the future. I will need to support them in college in the future."
She didn't need to tell her how much it would cost to go to college. Li Bosong must also know it very well.
Like him, he was earning dead wages. How could it be so simple to support a family like hers?
Even if his family conditions are good, how could his family members agree?