klisemfg Chapter 308 Letting Go of One's Inner Self
Chapter 308 Letting Go of One's Inner Self
Chapter 308 Letting Go of Oneself
Only four people returned to the compressor factory dormitory that night.
Two newlyweds and two "third wheels".
Knowing that Zhuang Xiaoting hadn't eaten well, Lin Dongzhe brought back some food from the restaurant.
Zhuang Xiaoting was really hungry, and she kept stuffing food into her mouth until her cheeks were bulging. Li Jia thoughtfully poured Zhuang Xiaoting a glass of water so she wouldn't choke.
The dormitory has two bedrooms, and Lin Wufeng installed doors in both rooms. The Zhuang Tunan couple especially needed these doors when they lived there before.
After settling Wu Shanshan and Li Jia in, Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Xiaoting returned to their own rooms.
The room was decorated festively, with colorful ribbons strung across the ceiling, adorned with red flowers. A large red "double happiness" sign hung above the bed. The windows were also decorated with red paper-cut patterns, depicting Guanyin delivering a child and a harmonious marriage—all auspicious symbols. On the bedside table were plates of peanuts and longans, which had originally been placed directly on the bed, but had been collected into plates when Zhuang Xiaoting entered.
Lin Dongzhe laid out a stool and asked Zhuang Xiaoting to sit down. "Here, I prepared some gifts, but there were too many people during the day, so I didn't take them out. Now I'll give them to you!"
Zhuang Xiaoting was very curious, "What gift?"
Lin Dongzhe didn't hesitate and opened the large cabinet.
“The first thing is this wooden basin.” Lin Dongzhe took out a large wooden basin from the cabinet. “Do you remember? That year, our yard and Wang Yong’s house next door were flooded because Wang Yong had secretly connected the sewer to our yard. My dad blocked all the sewers, and the yard became a vast expanse of water. This basin is the wooden basin we used to ‘row a boat’ back then.”
Zhuang Xiaoting was amused. "Back then, it seems like you rowed for a while before I rowed. I remember you were even outside helping me hold the boat."
Looking up at Lin Dongzhe from the wooden tub, Zhuang Xiaoting wondered if he had been taking care of her back then. A slight ripple stirred in her heart.
Lin Dongzhe gently put down the wooden basin. The old basin was already starting to rot and couldn't withstand any more rough treatment. He reached into the cabinet and carefully took out a sketchbook.
“When you were in elementary school, you saw that I was good at drawing and kept pestering me to learn to draw. These are some of your remaining sketches.”
Zhuang Xiaoting was a little embarrassed. "Back then, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't draw well. My drawings were so much worse than yours that I didn't want to learn anymore."
At that time, Zhuang Xiaoting was really hurt. She was just a child, and when Lin Dongzhe compared her to her, she almost became depressed!
"It's nothing, as long as you're happy!" Lin Dongzhe put down his sketchbook.
She bent down slightly, picked up a videotape, and put it into the player. Immediately, the choir appeared on the television screen. The picture quality wasn't very clear, but Zhuang Xiaoting immediately recognized two people: herself in the choir and Lin Dongzhe, who was accompanying her.
"The Children's Palace was filmed by the TV station, and this is a copy of the original I made at the TV station. Back then, we went to the Children's Palace together. You sang in the girls' choir, and I accompanied you on the instrument!"
Zhuang Xiaoting didn't speak, but tears were already streaming down her face.
The two were selected for the Children's Palace together. Lin Dongzhe was better at music, so he was chosen as a "personal disciple," a level "higher" than the choir. At that time, Zhuang Xiaoting envied Lin Dongzhe for being able to go there and learn to play the piano from a teacher.
Without turning off the TV, letting it continue playing the scene from that time, Lin Dongzhe took out another specimen. "This snake specimen is from the snake gourd we grew in our yard back then. You mistook this snake for a snake gourd and almost got bitten!"
Zhuang Xiaoting covered her face, too embarrassed to let Lin Dongzhe see again. She had initially thought it really was a snake gourd and suspected that Lin Dongzhe had secretly planted it. After all, Lin Dongzhe seemed to disregard everyone and do whatever he wanted!
The "Time" exhibition continues. "These two exam papers are the ones we took when we skipped grades together."
It was that time, if Lin Dongzhe hadn't brought it up himself, that she would have broken up with him, and there wouldn't have been so many years of "classmate" life afterward. Zhuang Xiaoting walked over, picked up the exam paper and looked at it, and found that Lin Dongzhe's handwriting seemed to have remained unchanged over the years.
Lin Dongzhe was unaware of Zhuang Xiaoting's surprise. He walked to the curtains, pulled them open, and revealed the sewing machine hidden behind them.
"That year, your brother was admitted to the No. 1 High School. Your mother felt sorry for your brother having to walk to school every day, so she sold the dowry that was originally meant for you and exchanged it for a bicycle ticket."
Lin Dongzhe stroked the wooden surface of the sewing machine. "I hesitated for a long time, but I still felt it was necessary to keep it, so I bought it from someone."
To be honest, Huang Ling didn't treat her son and daughter completely equally. This sewing machine is proof of that! In the original drama, her son got to ride a bicycle in junior high school, while Zhuang Xiaoting only got one because she was being followed by some thugs.
However, Zhuang Xiaoting did not feel any favoritism at this time; she only felt Lin Dongzhe's concern for her.
Back in front of the large cabinet, Lin Dongzhe took out two more admission notices. "These are our university admission notices. They were originally taken back by the school, but I thought they were meaningful so I went to the academic affairs office to get them back."
Lin Wufeng originally wanted Lin Dongzhe to go to university in the capital, but Lin Dongzhe wouldn't listen to anyone's opinion and insisted on going to university in Shanghai with him. That's Lin Dongzhe for you!
The last item was a bottle of little stars. "These are from the little girl we rescued at the ferry terminal in Shanghai. She folded a lot of little stars in her spare time and wanted to give them to us as a token of her gratitude!"
Lin Dongzhe opened the bottle, took out a small star, and handed it to Zhuang Xiaoting.
Zhuang Xiaoting took it and carefully placed it in her palm, as if she were looking at a rare treasure.
This isn't a little star; it's a spark that Lin Dongzhe protected back then!
After Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Xiaoting had looked at it enough, they put the little stars back into the bottle.
When Lin Dongzhe turned around again, he saw Zhuang Xiaoting standing in front of him, her face flushed.
"Xiaoting..."
Zhuang Xiaoting didn't let Lin Dongzhe continue; she couldn't hold back any longer! She pounced on Lin Dongzhe and pinned him down on the bed, then leaned over him, determined to teach him a lesson he would never forget!
You think you can make me cry whenever you want? Make me laugh whenever you want? Tears and smiles both come at a price!
…………
Zhuang Xiaoting is asleep!
Deep sleep helps the body recover.
Lin Dongzhe quietly got out of bed, gently opened the door, and went to the next room.
Wu Shanshan listened to the noise for half the night, feeling a surge of heat rising within her. Just when she heard the sounds gradually subside, the main character from the play suddenly appeared.
Li Jia wasn't asleep either. Hearing the door open, she immediately sat up. "Dongzhe? What brings you here?"
Lin Dongzhe quietly closed the door. "Today is a special day, so I wanted you all to share this joy!"
Tonight, everyone is a bride!