Chapter 19.2 - The Girl's First Love (Part 2)
Zeng Li stood before everyone. Some were trying to mediate, and others were sizing her up. Their looks seemed to say: this child is really pitiful. As a result, Zeng Li often dreamed of walking in the streets or in a crowd, only to realize that she had forgotten to wear clothes when everyone started staring at her.
Then she saw Yu Yi sitting at the farthest edge.
Her little cousin, with a family completely different from hers.
He was the youngest son in his family, with an older sister who was ten years older than him and already married. Whether it was his siblings or his uncles and aunts, the entire family’s focus was on him—pampered and protected. He was also very capable, and whenever anyone mentioned him, they’d do so with joy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Uncle, who suddenly said to her, "Let Zeng Li decide who she wants to stay with."
Tears rolled down Zeng Li’s face as she said, "I… I want both."
Zeng’s mother gritted her teeth and said, "No! Either him or me, not both."
In the end, Zeng Li stayed with her mother.
One reason was that her mother insisted on custody, even willing to give up the house. The other reason was that she believed what Yu Yi had said—her mother couldn’t let go of her, and despite what she said, would still return to cook for her. So, Zeng Li felt that maybe it would be better to stay with her mother.
Zeng’s mother was a capable person. After the department store closed down, she studied accounting at night school and later worked as an accountant at a small factory. She was tall, fair-skinned, and youthful. Although her temper with Zeng’s father wasn’t great, she always smiled when dealing with others. So, less than a year after the divorce, she remarried. Her new husband, Deng Gang, worked at a bank and was much better off than Zeng’s father.
Finally, Zeng Li left the courtyard, left the small county, and moved to the city several dozen kilometers away.
Deng Gang was a good man. His wife had passed away, and he had no children, so he treated Zeng Li very well. But Zeng Li couldn’t quickly accept him psychologically and didn’t talk much to him, continuing to call him Uncle Deng.
When Zeng Li entered high school, she chose to live at school, and her mother didn’t object.
At fifteen, Zeng Li’s body was rapidly developing. Her chest started to show, she grew taller, and her lips became fuller. Occasionally, older boys would strike up conversations with her, but apart from joking around with her classmates and roommates, she became especially shy and careful around strangers, which gave off a cold impression.
After lights out in the dormitory, the girls would talk about personal matters.
The topics usually revolved around who was seeing who, who liked who, or how handsome a senior from the third year was, or how the basketball team’s captain had a new girlfriend.
As the conversation deepened, everyone started being more honest with each other.
When asked about her own relationships, Zeng Li answered, "None. My mom would kill me."
During the winter break, Grandma sent someone to invite Zeng Li back for a few days.
After the divorce, Zeng’s father resented Zeng Li for not choosing him in the end. In fact, he was the one who gave up custody, only to later blame Zeng Li for not being filial. Zeng’s mother forbade her from interacting with anyone from her father’s side. So, for half a year, Zeng Li hadn’t seen her grandmother, but with her mother’s permission, she was finally able to return to the small county.
During the reunion dinner, it was the same group of people, except her father barely spoke to her and didn’t even save her a seat, telling her to sit aside. Grandma’s side was already crowded with other grandchildren, leaving no space for her.
At that moment, Yu Yi walked over, holding her arm and leading her to his table, while holding a plastic stool in his other hand.
He signaled to her, "Sit here," and placed the stool beside the table before sitting down himself.
The table was filled with boys or young men around his age, and despite the difference in seniority, everyone got along well. When Zeng Li sat down, she was about to politely greet each person, but there were so many relatives, and she could barely remember their names. When she finally recognized one, the others insisted she greet them as well.
This made Zeng Li very embarrassed.
Yu Yi said, "Xiao Yu, why bother with them? Besides me, they’re all just older brothers. And why should they make you call them?" He then addressed the others, "It’s New Year’s, do they expect you to call them for nothing?"
Yu Yi was playful and eloquent, always the center of attention wherever he went. He could quickly draw people’s eyes and easily get them out of awkward situations.
One of the older cousins chimed in, "Yo, Yu Yi, you’re going to have to call me first, then I’ll have a drink with you."
Yu Yi replied, "You’re getting the best of both worlds. After they make an effort to call you, you’ll even get a drink."
"What do you want then?"
"Watch—" Yu Yi stood up, turned to Zeng Li with a smile, and asked, "What do you call me?"
Zeng Li didn’t understand why he suddenly asked that. In front of a whole table of relatives, she didn’t dare call him by his name and just obediently said, "Little cousin."
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Yu Yi responded, then took a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Zeng Li, "Here, little cousin, this is your New Year’s money."
When Zeng Li took the red envelope, everyone suddenly dropped their bowls and chopsticks and rushed toward Yu Yi, calling out "Little cousin" one after another. Zeng Li was amused by the scene.
Later, she found out that the red envelope came from Yu Yi’s saved-up scholarship.
After the new term began, Zeng Li saw a magazine on her desk, with a quote from the movie Days Above the Clouds that she had seen during the summer of her second year.
—"What would happen if I said I love you?"
—"It would be like lighting a candle in a bright room."
She didn’t even remember the story of the movie, but as soon as her eyes hit the words, she thought of Wen Yi, and thought of love.
Zeng Li felt her heart "thump" as if a small tender sprout had sprouted
