Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Cicadas hid in the dense shade of the trees, making trembling sounds. The wind blew through the intertwined branches and leaves, startling the swaying shadows of the trees. The water gently lapped against the stone bank, interweaving with the vague laughter and chatter of the crowd in the distance to form a hazy background.

The sounds of cicadas, wind, water, and people talking in the distance suddenly became extremely distant at this moment.

Lin Xi stood in the mottled shadows of the trees, holding a gardenia in her hand. Her fingertips were too tense due to excessive force, and were scratched by the rough branches, causing them to feel a little pain.

She stared blankly at Song Guanwen who was looking at her with his eyes downcast, as if she was so startled by his sudden change of topic that she couldn't recover for a moment.

It wasn't until a leaf blown down by the wind swirled and fell between the two of them that she finally found her own voice amidst the drum-like sound of her heartbeat.

"Cousin, what did you say?"

Song Guanwen stood quietly in front of Lin Xi, his expression calm and his breathing normal. He seemed no different from his usual cold appearance. Only his fingers, which were holding the handkerchief tighter and tighter, revealed his nervousness at the moment.

It was just a moment's hesitation for Lin Xi, but it felt as long as several years for him. It was not until Lin Xi's hesitant voice sounded that he breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned.

"I said, I like you. If you don't hate me, can you try to like me too?"

Song Guanwen lowered his eyes and stared at Lin Xi's face almost devoutly. The two of them were so close that he could smell the faint fragrance coming from Lin Xi's body, mixed with the rich scent of gardenia, which made him feel a little dizzy.

"Paul could smell the fragrance of her hair..."

Suddenly, for no reason, a sentence from the book "How the Steel Was Tempered" which he had flipped through the pages until the edges were frayed flashed through Song Guanwen's mind.

For the educated youth who spent all day in the fields and were covered in sweat, it was difficult for Song Guanwen to resonate with this sentence.

But at this moment, looking at Lin Xi, who was holding a branch of flowers in front of him with rosy cheeks, and smelling the faint fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose, these words seemed to have taken root in his mind and could not be shaken off.

"me……"

Looking at Song Guanwen with a serious expression in front of her, Lin Xi was finally sure that she was not hallucinating. Her eyelashes trembled and she turned red from head to toe.

"I know this is a bit sudden for you, and I thought it might take a long time before I could say it."

Song Guanwen tilted his head back, forcing himself to temporarily withdraw from the fragrance that made him want to indulge in it, and solemnly confessed his feelings to Lin Xi.

"I even selfishly thought about staying by your side forever, subtly letting you get used to my presence until you can no longer live without me."

"But just now, when I came in from outside, I heard someone diving into the water. From a distance, I saw that person was a young girl dressed the same as you. I thought... that was you."

Having said that, Song Guanwen seemed to recall the scene just now. His voice became a little difficult, his face turned slightly pale, and his Adam's apple rolled for a moment before he continued.

"You know what I was thinking at that moment?"

"What...are you thinking about?" Lin Xi clenched the flower branch in her hand and couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't think about anything." Noticing Lin Xi's little movement, Song Guanwen stretched out his hand and gently placed it on the back of her hand. Feeling Lin Xi's sudden tense body, he couldn't help but soften his voice.

"Don't be afraid, give me the flowers, and don't hurt your hands."

Lin Xi finally reacted and suddenly loosened her clenched palms. She spread out her hands and saw that there were indeed several blood-red marks from her palms to her fingertips, which were burning with pain.

Seeing this, Song Guanwen pursed his lips slightly, took the branch with one hand, and tentatively held Lin Xi's wrist with the other. Seeing that she just shrank slightly and did not resist fiercely, a faint smile flashed in his eyes. He took her hand and led her back to the bench.

"I didn't think anything at the time. When I reacted, I found myself in the water."

"After being soaked in the lake water, I finally came to my senses. The only thought in my mind was, you must be fine."

Hearing this, Lin Xi's heart suddenly tightened. She subconsciously curled her fingertips and looked up at Song Guanwen. She finally understood how he got into such a mess. She couldn't help but open her mouth, wanting to say something.

But as if he had noticed her emotions, Song Guanwen just chuckled and shook his head, saying softly, "I'm fine." He then added, "The girl is fine too, she's been sent to the hospital."

As he spoke, he pulled Lin Xi to sit on the bench, and while calmly recounting the rescue process that almost cost him half his life, he took out a clean handkerchief from the net bag beside him.

He gently wiped away the sweat from her palms and the dust that had been rubbed off by the branches, even cleaning the crevices between her nails that had been stained green-brown by the sap from the tree bark.

Lin Xi's gaze fell on the handkerchief, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, Song Guanwen had already taken out an exquisite tin box from the net bag - a box of "Libby" brand snow cream with a modern girl printed on it.

The rich aroma of jasmine penetrated Lin Xi's nostrils the moment the box was opened. Her eyes suddenly widened, and just before Song Guanwen scooped out a dollop of fine cream and was about to apply it to her palm, she anxiously held his hand.

"This is too expensive, keep it for yourself..."

"I know that you gave a gift to the captain." Song Guanwen grabbed her wrist with his backhand and said lightly, blocking Lin Xi's words in her throat.

"I, I didn't..." She opened her mouth, trying to deny it weakly, but Song Guanwen just continued to speak to himself.

"A can of malted milk, two packs of cigarettes, and a bag of brown sugar bought me a job that doesn't involve being exposed to the elements."

The delicate paste melted in his palm. Song Guanwen lowered his eyes, making it impossible to see the emotions in his eyes, but the obvious dull nasal tone in his voice made Lin Xi almost wonder if he was crying.

"This is the first time I've seen someone as unskilled at business as you are. I bought you that malted milk to nourish your body, but you gave it all away without even eating a single bite. And you even gave me rare things like cigarettes and candy, all in exchange for a job herding cattle?"

Song Guanwen felt his eyes were extremely sore. He blinked and awkwardly suppressed the moisture that was about to well up in his eyes, but his mind couldn't help but recall the conversation he had with Zhao Youde a few days ago.

"Captain, I want to ask you something?"

At dusk, the sun was setting and the cowbells were ringing. Song Guanwen was driving a few slow-moving yellow cattle and caught up with Zhao Youde who was walking home leisurely in front of him.