Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 70 A Life Without Childhood is Imperfect
Lin Xi’s mouth instantly fell open. "A Christmas tree for 0.5 yuan?!"
She felt as if her understanding of the world had just been shattered.
"Xue Yang, you’re not joking with me, are you? How could there possibly be a Christmas tree this cheap?"
The only time she’d ever seen a 0.5-yuan note was in a display case at home; it was supposedly from the Republican era.
"Yep, 0.5 yuan!"
Lin Xi took the bag and looked it over. The packaging was indeed labeled ’Christmas Tree,’ but...
"Can it really grow into a Christmas tree?"
How could this be real?
"When we get back, I’ll perform a magic trick for you."
"Okay, okay!" Lin Xi couldn’t wait to see what kind of Christmas tree could grow from such a tiny packet.
"Is there anything else you want to buy?"
Lin Xi pointed to the items in the snack shop and said uncertainly, "Don’t tell me everything in here is 0.5 yuan."
"Most of it is. Hmm, nothing is more than five yuan."
"Oh..."
With a strange sense of wonder, Lin Xi started picking out items in the shop.
"Xue Yang, what is this colorful thing?"
"That’s watermelon bubble gum. You can blow bubbles with it."
"Is this ’Tang Monk’s Flesh’ made from a real monk? Will eating it make me immortal?"
"Eating it will put you in a good mood, and a good mood naturally leads to a longer life."
Fair enough!
"Are these strange-looking sweets lollipops?"
"Yes, they’re lollipops. Two is enough, though. Any more and you’ll get cavities."
Lin Xi was speechless.
Like a curious child, she wanted to buy one of everything. But worried about spending too much, she only picked out a few colorful, cute-looking snacks and trinkets. A small bag’s worth ended up costing only about twenty yuan.
Walking out of the snack shop, Lin Xi still felt like she was in a daze.
"This whole big bag was only twenty yuan."
"When we were kids, we all loved buying things from the school’s snack shop. Have you never done that?"
"I went straight home from school when I was a child, so I never knew shops like this existed."
A private car picked her up and dropped her off every day. She barely had time for a social life, let alone time to browse the snack shops outside of school.
He could tell she’d been so sheltered at home that she’d missed out on the simple joys of childhood.
Xue Yang pulled two pieces of watermelon bubble gum from the bag. "Let me show you a little trick."
Lin Xi stood before him, her large, dewy eyes fixed on him, eager to see what magic he would perform.
She watched as Xue Yang popped the gum into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and then slowly began to blow a bubble. As the bubble grew larger, Lin Xi’s mouth gaped wider in response, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Wow, Xue Yang, you’re amazing! This stuff can actually blow such a huge bubble."
When it reached a certain size, a gust of wind popped the bubble, splattering it all over Xue Yang’s face. The sight sent Lin Xi into fits of laughter.
"This is bubble gum. When we were kids, we used to compete to see who could blow the biggest one," Xue Yang explained, slowly peeling the sticky gum off his face.
"Let me try!"
Copying Xue Yang, Lin Xi took two pieces of gum and put them in her mouth. "Oh, it’s sweet! And it’s strawberry-flavored."
"It’s sweet at first, but the flavor fades as you chew. Normally, you spit it out then, but when we were kids, we couldn’t bear to, so we’d chew on one piece for half the day."
"Doesn’t that get tiring?"
"Not at all, it’s fun."
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Xue Yang would have found it hard to believe someone had truly never had bubble gum before. Come to think of it, there were probably a lot of other things she had never tried.
Watching Xue Yang blow a bubble had seemed so simple and effortless, but when it was her turn, Lin Xi couldn’t manage it at all.
"Ugh, this is so hard."
"Don’t rush," he coached. "First, chew the gum until it’s soft. Then, flatten it against the roof of your mouth and slowly blow air through the middle. A bubble will come out."
Lin Xi tried again but nearly blew the whole wad of gum out, making her quickly clap a hand over her mouth.
"Ah, I can’t do it!"
"It’s okay. I didn’t learn right away, either. When I was little, I had to use my New Year’s red-envelope money to practice for a long time before I finally got the hang of it."
Lin Xi pictured a young Xue Yang secretly practicing how to blow bubbles in a corner and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "HAHAHA!"
Her bell-like laughter echoed down the street, drawing frequent glances from passersby. They say happiness is contagious, and thanks to them, the entire street seemed to grow a little more cheerful.
***
As soon as they got home, Lin Xi immediately started pestering Xue Yang to make the Christmas tree appear.
Xue Yang set down the snacks, took out the "tree," and started fiddling with it. Lin Xi still couldn’t imagine what kind of Christmas tree could possibly emerge from such a small thing.
After Xue Yang finished setting it up, all Lin Xi could see was a cardboard model and nothing else.
"Xue Yang, where’s the Christmas tree?"
"It’s late, let’s get some sleep. When you wake up, you’ll see the Christmas tree has grown."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"You better not be tricking me."
"I won’t."
Like most children waiting for a wonderful surprise, Lin Xi lay down to sleep, her heart filled with anticipation.
But with something on her mind, she couldn’t fall asleep. Less than two minutes after lying down, she sat up to glance at the tree on the table.
"Xue Yang, I think the Christmas tree has grown a little bit."
After a moment of silence, she tried again. "Xue Yang?"
Lin Xi nudged him, only to find he was already fast asleep. It had been less than three minutes since he lay down. It just went to show how tired he was.
Lin Xi didn’t bother him anymore. She quietly lay back down, used his arm as a pillow, and sweetly drifted off to sleep.
「The next morning.」
The first thing Lin Xi did when she woke up was check on the Christmas tree.
Xue Yang hadn’t lied. The tree had truly grown, covered in colorful, beautiful crystals.
It was just a little small.
"Xue Yang, the Christmas tree really grew!"
Xue Yang was already dressed and ready to leave. "When have I ever lied to you?"
Seeing that he was about to go, Lin Xi quickly jumped on him and clung tightly.
"After a whole night of cuddling, you still haven’t had enough?" he teased.
Lin Xi’s face flushed a faint red. "Not enough. I’ll never have enough. Xue Yang, why don’t you skip the photoshoot today? I can support you! Or we could finish writing this novel together. As soon as it’s done, we’ll have money."
She knew Xue Yang was working so hard to earn money to take care of her. If she could support him instead, he could stay with her all the time.
So far, the number of favorites for her novel was still dismal, but the editor said it was only because she wasn’t updating enough. As long as she posted more frequently, the numbers would gradually rise. But she was busy studying, and with the college entrance exams coming up, she didn’t have time to write more.
"Hmm, I trust that my beautiful and brilliant author is more than capable of supporting me," he said gently. "But, Lin Xi, have you ever thought about it? When you go back home, how will you introduce me to your family?"
