Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

With Lu Xingzhi’s company, Jiang Yao did not really step out of the house in the few days when her school had reopened. Both of them spent most of their time at home. During daytime, they would read some books, watch television, and chit-chat, whereas during the night, they would play cards with Mr. and Mrs. Lu. Four of them made for the perfect number of players for a trick-taking card game called ‘Sheng Ji’.

Time flew by, and her school term began in a blink of an eye.

Because of Lu Xingzhi’s company, Jiang Jie and Jiang Lei cancelled their train tickets, as Lu Xingzhi was able to accompany his wife to register at her school.

Early in the morning, Mrs. Lu started to nag a little, as she was worried about Jiang Yao because it was her first time travelling so far. One moment she was reminding Jiang Yao to bring all her stuff, the next she was advising Jiang Yao to study hard at school and not to cause trouble. But after she finished talking, in less than two seconds, she corrected herself by telling Jiang Yao not to be afraid of causing trouble and not to endure it if she was wronged outside as she could always tell them her problems.

“Okay, Mom, we should go.” This was not the first time Lu Xingzhi had seen his mother’s nagging ability. When he first went to university, he did not allow his family accompany him, and he had also been nagged by her for a few days.

“Jiang Yao is not a three-year-old kid anymore, don’t worry too much,” Mr. Lu advised her from the side.

“Mom, don’t worry, I know. Being outside, I’ll endure it if I can, and if I can’t, then I won’t. I won’t provoke anyone, but if others provoke me, I’ll definitely not endure it all by myself.” Of course, Jiang Yao knew that Mrs. Lu was concerned about her. From another perspective, if she was not Lu Xingzhi’s wife, would Mrs. Lu be so concerned about an outsider?

Upon hearing Jiang Yao’s reply, Mrs. Lu stopped worrying. “You’re so clever, you always understand what I say. Okay, quickly get into the car, don’t miss the train.”

Lu Xingzhi held Jiang Yao’s hand right after Mrs. Lu finished talking and they left. Their luggages were already on the car and the driver had already been waiting for a few minutes.

It did not take long for them to get to the county’s train station from the town. After they got out of the car, Lu Xingzhi held both their luggages, while Jiang Yao carried a small backpack on her shoulders.

“Give me your luggage, I’ll take the lighter one.” Jiang Yao wanted to lessen Lu Xingzhi’s burden. She would stay at her school for a long time, so she had brought quite a lot of clothes. She had numerous items which were heavy, while Lu Xingzhi’s luggage was not that heavy, so she was still capable of carrying it.

Lu Xingzhi dodged Jiang Yao’s hand which was reaching out to him. He shook his head. “The food on the train is not delicious, wait here for a while, I’ll go to the store to buy some food.”

They arrived early and the ticket checking had not started yet. After Lu Xingzhi instructed her, he placed the stuff on an empty space and let Jiang Yao look after them by the side, then turned around and went to the store beside the main entrance of the train station.

Jiang Yao sat there, looking at Lu Xingzhi stroding away, and smiled lightly in her heart. He really assumed that she was a three-year-old child. It was only a four-hour-journey on the train, and yet, he still wanted to buy her some snacks.

Lu Xingzhi had left the train station, Jiang Yao could no longer see him, so she looked around, feeling bored. This was the peak period for school terms to start, so there were a lot of new and young university students like her at the county’s train station. All of them had their company and had a smile on their faces.

At the ticket-checking gate, a man in rags was looking around in all directions, as if he was waiting for someone anxiously. However, when Jiang Yao looked at his untidy appearance, if it wasn’t for his clothes which were considered clean, she almost thought that he was a beggar at the train station all year long.