Chapter 7, First Love_1

Meng Xiao unscrewed the lipstick, didn't swatch it for him to see, and directly asked Yang Yi.

"There are many colors I like there. I want to take up an extra job so that I can afford to buy a few more different shades," she said.

Just the sight of lipstick gave Yang Yi a headache. It had taken him a while to wash off the colors from his arm. He withdrew his arm, turned around, and headed back to school.

"I don't understand you girls' obsession with these things. To me, it's just red." Those multitude of colors made his head spin, unable to distinguish one from another. "Put the things back first. Tonight, I will accompany you to work, and tomorrow, you must make it clear to them that you are quitting."

"If there's something you like, buy it and I'll reimburse you."

Meng Xiao didn't respond, her heart was filled with bitterness.

Indeed, there was a difference. He could patiently test colors with the little princess, but with her, he didn't understand, and only offered to reimburse her.

Reimburse, she wanted to ask: what if she bought something that cost a hundred thousand? Would he reimburse that?

Meng Xiao didn't ask, that would insult her dignity.

...

Yang Yi was very good to Meng Xiao. He did everything that a boyfriend should do.

For example, now there was a customer in the convenience store, and Yang Yi was one at the cash register. Meng Xiao was arranged to rest on a chair nearby.

This convenience store witnessed how their story started.

Back then, she was a freshman in her first year of college. Her father and stepmother were originally able to support her, and even promised to fund her through college and onward to a master's and doctoral degree.

Unfortunately, her half-brother got into fights instead of focusing on his studies and was demanded by the school to transfer. The transfer fee, on top of the compensation for the fights, used up all the savings her father had earned from running cargo trucks these past few years, all invested in that unfilial son.

By the time they got to Meng Xiao, there was hardly anything left. Seeing her father's apologetic face, she had no choice. To lighten their burden, she looked around for jobs to earn living expenses.

Back then, this place was quite remote, and there were fields on both sides of the road. After she finished her night shift, she would wait inside the convenience store until dawn before walking back to school.

That day, a sharp impact sound pierced the quiet night. A private car crashed into the roadside protective wall. The wall crumbled, and the car was deformed.

When Meng Xiao rushed over, Yang Yi was covered in blood and had fainted.

She called an ambulance, but there were no witnesses around. She could only follow the ambulance to the hospital.

Yang Yi lingered in unconsciousness. His phone was shattered, and she couldn't unlock the screen. There was no identification information on him. The hospital only had her contact information for emergencies.

Later, Meng Xiao was called to the police station to cooperate with the investigation of the car accident. By the time she returned, she only knew that his surgery was very successful, that he woke up quickly, contacted his family, and was transferred to another hospital for treatment.

The police found no suspicious points related to the car accident, and Meng Xiao's life returned to normal, still working night shifts every day and walking back in the morning.

She saw Yang Yi again two months later. He had a clear new scar on his forehead, walking with crutches, and his left leg was still in plaster.

When she came out of the convenience store, he smiled and said, "Hello, my life-saving benefactor."

Later on, he gradually recovered, removed the cast, and regained mobility, often coming to keep her company during night shifts.

They both walked along that remote road, crossing the corner where the accident had occurred.

She gradually learnt that he was a local, both his parents were alive, and he had a younger sister at home. He was a student at the Business University, who, due to a severe injury, took a year off from school. He was bored at home, so he came to chat with her and escorted her back to the university, as a show of gratitude.

When she was working the night shift, he would keep her company, and after sending her back to school, he would go home.

Gradually, the two of them grew closer, an ambiguous halo enveloping them.

One early morning at that particular corner, Yang Yi stopped her and said that he could only offer himself as repayment for saving his life.

Meng Xiao remembered the fresh scent of the soil in the air. He pledged the rest of his life to her, and received her kiss, both of them so nervous they didn't know where to put their hands.

In the end, he courageously took her hand, fingers interlocking, and they walked silently to the school.

...

The most beautiful time for both of them was probably that period, Meng Xiao sighed.

After returning to his studies, he was busy with school. He would still occasionally accompany her to work the night shifts. Since he had suffered a serious injury and could not be fatigued over long periods of time, Meng Xiao resigned from this job and found a job at a milk tea shop near the school.

The salary wasn't high, but enough to support the both of them. After class, he would come to find her, and they would eat in the Art University cafeteria together.

Back then, all his money was used to pay back the medical expenses he had borrowed when he was injured. Due to this, he had been penniless for a long time, and so she "supported" him for two years like this.

It wasn't until this year, when his income from work increased, he said that he had paid off all his debts. She didn't have to work anymore, he asked her to rest, and this time he would support her.

Meng Xiao looked down, the grand theories of Marxism on the page couldn't enter into her mind at all. Her gaze stayed at the word "support"

Yang Yi stood behind the cash register, his past actions replaying in her mind.

He had grown from a naive young man to a mature and reserved gentleman. His actions carried an elegant demeanor, a simple dress couldn't hide his outstanding appearance, easily enchanting young girls.

He had become excellent, and she felt she no longer matched him.

Yang Yi saw off the guests, turned around and saw her in a daze. Assuming she was confused about the book, he squatted in front of Meng Xiao and asked, "What's wrong? Tell me what you don't understand."

His grades were very good. Sometimes, when Meng Xiao didn't understand Marxism, Yang Yi would help her straighten out the knowledge points.

Meng Xiao gradually came back to her senses, looking at the real face in front of her. The question in her mind almost slipped out, she hastily lowered her head, afraid that he might see her apprehension.

"Will we break up?" She wanted to ask who that girl was, but ended up asking this.

Deep down, she still held the last hope for him. That girl, what if she was his sister?

"Silly." Yang Yi rubbed her nose, teasing her for thinking too much, and leaned in closer holding her chin, lightly biting her lip. "Don't say things like that again, we will never separate."

Forever, Meng Xiao wanted to ask, what about that girl?

Perhaps, she was really just his sister.