Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian squatted down, his eyes closely following the frog's movements. For some reason, he felt somewhat relaxed. His tense nerves seemed to be relieved for a short time at this moment. In the pond, the frogs' calls came one after another, and the ripples on the water surface also spread with their movements. Li Xiangqian stared at the frog, but he had an indescribable complex feeling in his heart.

He recalled that when he was a child, he used to catch frogs with his friends in the village. At that time, he always felt that frogs were so magical, and each frog seemed to have some mysterious power. Now, as he grew up, life became more and more complicated, and the daily troubles made him almost forget the simplicity and purity of the past. The calls of frogs and their leaping figures in the water seemed to bring him back to that carefree childhood.

"Maybe, this is what I need." Li Xiangqian whispered to himself, his eyes a little blurry. He suddenly realized that he hadn't been able to calm down and feel everything around him for a long time. The pressure of life had made him accustomed to the fast-paced rush. He spent every day in a busy life and had almost no time to stop and feel the tranquility from nature.

He sat on the stone steps beside the pond, his fingers gently stroking the stone surface, his eyes still following the frogs in the pond. Suddenly, a familiar face emerged in his mind - it was Cuilan. Li Xiangqian's mood suddenly sank again. Cuilan's attitude in the past few days made him upset. Her indifference and indifference were like a heavy stone, pressing him to the point of suffocation.

He wondered if he had done something wrong? Was there something wrong with him that made Cuilan so distant? However, he did not dare to ask, nor did he dare to face her cold eyes. Every time he saw Cuilan, the inexplicable anxiety in his heart would intensify, as if there was an invisible pressure that made him almost breathless.

"It would be nice if she could be as free as these frogs." Li Xiangqian smiled self-deprecatingly, his eyes still fixed on the water. The frogs' calls became louder and louder, as if responding to his inner struggles.

As the water in the pond rippled and the frogs croaked, Li Xiangqian's thoughts drifted away. He began to recall the days he spent with Cuilan, and the sweetness and warmth of the past seemed to be still before his eyes. However, as time went by, everything became more and more unfamiliar and cold. Cuilan's changes made him feel confused and uneasy. He didn't know what he had done wrong, nor did he know how to make up for it.

"Maybe I should try to change something." Li Xiangqian suddenly thought that he couldn't stay confused like this. No matter what, he couldn't give up Cuilan, nor could he let his life fall into such a vicious circle. He had to do something, even if it was just the simplest thing.

He stood up, took a deep breath, and felt the long-lost fresh air rushing into his lungs. The frogs by the pond were still croaking, and the ripples on the water surface were gradually dissipating. Li Xiangqian seemed to be a little calmer, but he knew that the predicament in front of him had not disappeared. Whether it was the pressure from his family or his relationship with Cuilan, he needed to face it.

"I can't go on like this," he said to himself, his voice low and firm. Lee turned forward, ready to go back to the house and continue to face the problems that could not be avoided.

Li Xiangqian walked back into the house, still carrying the peace he had just felt by the pond. He took off his coat, threw it on the sofa, and walked into the kitchen. His mood today was like a mess, and he couldn't handle too many complicated things. He could only do something simple. He stood in the kitchen, his eyes swept over the remaining food on the chopping board, and finally fixed on a bowl of cooled noodles. There were not many noodles left, probably only a small half. Originally, this bowl of noodles made by Cuilan was fragrant, and when it was just made, he even felt that the taste could make him forget the fatigue of the day. But now, the cold noodles made him feel a little disappointed.

He opened the refrigerator and took out some sauces and vegetables. He prepared to heat them up a little, even though he didn't have much of an appetite. The kitchen was still filled with a cold smell after the food had cooled down. Li Xiangqian couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness. He walked to the stove and looked down at the boiling water in the pot. The steam rising from the water made him forget those annoying trivial matters for a while. He put the noodles into the pot, and the boiling water bubbles made a brief noise, as if reminding him that life was still going on.

He stood in the kitchen, unconsciously lost in thought. The noodles were cooking in the pot, and the bubbles in the water seemed to have some kind of urgent rhythm. Li Xiangqian felt that his heart was also beginning to boil like the pot of water. Cuilan's indifference, Jia Zhang's reminder, and the incident of his wallet being stolen, these fragmented pressures hit his heart bit by bit like cold water drops. The trivialities of life piled up, and suddenly he felt a little overwhelmed.

"What should I do?" Li Xiangqian muttered to himself, his eyes empty, his fingers gently touching the edge of the pot. The taste of noodles no longer attracted him as much as it did at the beginning. He was silent for a moment, and suddenly wondered if he had forgotten the most important thing: life itself is not that complicated, maybe he just made simple things too complicated.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, breaking the brief silence in the kitchen. Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment and frowned. He did not expect someone to come at this time. Normally, at this time, everyone should be busy with their own things, especially people like him, who would not be disturbed by outsiders.

"Who is it?" Li Xiangqian was a little impatient, but he still kept his tone polite. He walked to the door and looked through the crack. He found that it was Xu Damao standing outside. This man was tall and usually had a serious expression, but now he seemed a little hesitant and hesitant, as if he had something to say that was difficult to say.

Li Xiangqian's heart moved, and he quickly opened the door: "Da Mao, what's wrong?"

Xu Damao looked at him with a complicated look in his eyes: "Xiang Qian, can I lend you something? Not money, but... I have something urgent." His voice was a little low and he seemed a little embarrassed.

Li Xiangqian was confused, but he let him in anyway: "Urgent? Tell me, what is it?"

Xu Damao entered the room and looked around, as if looking for a place to sit. Li Xiangqian pointed to the sofa and motioned him to sit down. He didn't understand why Xu Damao, who had always been a very independent person, suddenly asked him for help. Moreover, although their relationship was good, it was not to the extent that he could borrow things casually.