The day I returned to the town, the weather was exceptionally sunny and the people on the street were still familiar, as if I had never left.
My name is Liu Haojun, and I am a veteran who has just been discharged from the army, and after serving in the army for a full ten years, I decided to return to my hometown.
Before I was discharged from the army, my family ran a small grocery store, and now that my parents are older, they want me to continue the business, and they also hope that I can find a local girl and settle down as soon as possible.
01
I was walking around the market with a few old friends that day, when I suddenly had a stomachache and needed to find a place to solve it.
Maybe it was because I hadn't been back for a long time and I wasn't very familiar with the changes at home, so I broke into the women's bathroom.
As soon as I pushed the door, I saw Li Guiting standing there, and she was about to walk to the pool.
Her eyes widened instantly, shocked to almost a perfect circle, and her mouth opened slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't.
I could see the expression on her face change from surprise to fear, and she seemed to be frozen and motionless!
She is an elementary school teacher in our town, because we are the same age, we have known each other since childhood, and seeing her shocked expression, I felt so embarrassed in my heart, I really wanted to find a crack in the ground to get into.
I was stunned for a while, my heart was beating faster, my mouth was dry, I couldn't say a word, and the atmosphere fell into embarrassment and silence for a while.
Finally I squeezed out a few words: "Yes... I'm sorry, I... I'm in the wrong place!" My voice trembled, and I hurriedly backed away, almost stumbling towards the door.
Li Guiting came back to her senses at this time, her voice trembled, but she was unexpectedly calm: "Get out quickly!" Her voice was low, trying her best to hide her panic, but her hand still unconsciously grasped the corner of her clothes.
I nodded, and I felt a hot turn on my face and left, and I didn't know what to do at the moment.
The door slammed shut behind me, as if to cut off the awkwardness and misunderstanding between me and her.
02
After that awkward misunderstanding, Li Guiting and I occasionally met on the street, but each time we just nodded or smiled hurriedly, and did not talk further.
I always felt that the misunderstanding was like an invisible barrier that made it difficult for us to communicate naturally with each other as much as we used to.
But life is always full of accidents.
One afternoon a month later, when I was helping out at the grocery store, Li Guiting walked in and came to buy some stationery and school supplies to prepare the textbooks for the new semester for the school children.
There weren't many customers in the store that day, so I handed her the items she needed, and I was secretly nervous, for fear that there would be any more embarrassing scenes, and my mind was full of "let's leave after buying, don't be too embarrassed"!
Unexpectedly, when checking out, Li Guiting suddenly mentioned the events of that day.
Her tone was much softer than before, even with a hint of self-deprecation: "It was really embarrassing that day, but I know you didn't mean to." We're all old acquaintances, so don't be embarrassed about it. ”
Hearing her say this, the big stone in my heart finally landed, and the atmosphere between us relaxed.
However, this little episode soon spread in the town, after all, this kind of thing can make a lot of noise in this small place.
03
One afternoon, several elderly people in the village were enjoying the shade under the big banyan tree at the head of the village, bamboo chairs arranged in a circle, holding fans in their hands, and some were chewing melon seeds.
"You said that Liu Haojun has never been born since he came back from the army, why is he staring at Li Guiting with his eyes?"
Uncle Li next to him shook his head, squinted his eyes and said: "I think that girl is very good, teaching and educating people is innocent, but as soon as Liu Haojun came back, he caused so many rumors, and he didn't know whether it was true or not." ”
"Hey Lao Li~ You don't know, I heard that Liu Haojun broke into the women's toilet that day, what kind of good bird can this be?
Aunt Li answered, and said with a gossipy look on her face: "Everyone in our town knows about this, and this Li Guiting is still on good terms with him, so she must have taken a fancy to his military discharge fee." ”
Another uncle smacked his lips and said: "In these years, who doesn't want to find a guaranteed one? Li Guiting is also trying to be stable, although Liu Haojun is a soldier, this behavior is really suspicious, and he feels ashamed to go to the wrong toilet." ”
Aunt Zhao patted the fan in her hand and said categorically: "I think Li Guiting's family is in a hurry to marry their daughter, otherwise how could they not care about such a big scandal and still get so close to him......?
As soon as the words fell, a breeze blew, and everyone invariably lowered their voices and looked around with a little worry, for fear that others would hear these words.
In the weeks that followed, I could always hear the gossip of the villagers.
These words made me feel very unhappy, I knew that Li Guiting was not that kind of person, she was independent and self-respecting, and she would never approach me because of these vain interests.
This misunderstanding made me feel that something had to be done, not only because our relationship was gradually heating up, but mainly because at that time, Qingyu was the most important thing for a girl, or even a family.
04
One summer evening, while Li Guiting and I were walking by the river, I brought up these gossip.
Li Guiting looked very depressed after hearing this, she stopped and looked at the river in the distance, and said with some helplessness in her eyes: "I have never been close to you because you are a veteran, I don't understand why people can't simply look at a friendship." Her voice was filled with grievance.
Although I was angry in my heart, I couldn't help it, I clasped her hand and said solemnly: "Tingting, you know I don't care what they say, I care more about the feeling between us!"
Then I expressed to Li Guiting that the love that has slowly risen in my heart these days, and I believe that she also has other feelings for me besides friends.
Li Guiting nodded after listening, I saw a flash of determination in her eyes, she said: "Liu Haojun, it seems that we need to do something, we can't let these rumors continue." ”
So the two of us decided to open up about our relationship, especially our sincere feelings, to our family and friends.
We organized a small gathering with family members from both sides and some key villagers, the gossiping villagers.
At the meeting, I spoke first, telling about the acquaintance and getting along with each other, trying to show our innocence and sincerity.
However, things did not go as smoothly as expected, and our confession caused a violent reaction from some of the family.
My parents were particularly worried that I would be criticized by the villagers for this relationship, while Li Guiting's parents were worried that her reputation might be affected.
Li Guiting's father initially insisted that his daughter would be greatly affected by people like me.
But after listening to our explanations and seeing our sincerity, his attitude began to soften, and my parents also expressed their support for me, saying, "As long as it's someone I identify with, they'll accept it." ”
Although the people in the town still have some gossip, nothing can withstand time, and now some uncles and aunts who love to add fuel and vinegar to gossip have long been buried in the ground.
This old story will only be brought up when our children and grandchildren ask how we met!
Note: This story is purely fictional, the names and events in the story are fictional, and the purpose of using place names is only for the purpose of describing the plot and making it easy to read and understand
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