The sun is very pale, almost dull and dim, the wind is strong, withered grasses are blown about, and the air is sharp as a knife.

  It's very cold today.

  Li Qian didn't have a good rest for the past two days, staying in a simple small hotel in the county town. He had to get up at 4 or 5 am every day and start working until 2 or 3 pm before he could take a break. Although he only started learning a few days ago, his musical sense was quite good, especially with the suona. In just a short time, he became the chief suona player in Wang Huaiyu's small folk music band. Every day, while others could rest for a bit, he couldn't stop working.

  As soon as I move, I sweat all over my body. When I'm idle, the cold wind blows again, and even an immortal can't stand it! Li Qian's body is good, but he still caught a bit of a chill, and started sneezing yesterday. Fortunately, from the moment he realized something was wrong, he began taking medicine, and only had a runny nose that day, after which he felt fine again.

  After three o'clock in the afternoon, after finishing this session, Wang Huaiyu started his old van, and everyone huddled in the carriage discussing today's host's dishes, wine and cigarettes, rushing to the county town.

  Recently, as the year-end approached, the folk band's business was booming, with too many gigs to handle. Wang Hua Yu timely raised his price, but still had a full schedule until the end of the year. Li Qian arrived at the location after taking a one-day break following his final exams and joined up with Wang Hua Yu and others, but he only managed to work for two days before having to take leave again.

  Because, Wang Jinglu is coming back.

  Back in the county town, Wang Huaiyu dropped everyone off at the entrance of the small hotel and was about to send Li Qian back, but Li Qian politely declined, leaving his suona and other things behind, carrying only a small bag, and then took the bus back to Jinan.

  That night, he returned to Shengshi Garden for dinner and Li Qian went back to his own house to sleep soundly, but caught a bit of a cold, which made him feel like he had aged nine years - this made him sigh in admiration, youth is truly good.

  The next morning, he got up as usual and went for a run, exercised, had breakfast, and after breakfast, put on that clean down jacket and took a taxi to the train station.

  The Spring Festival is approaching. Schools are also on holiday, and tickets are not easy to buy. Although Wang Jinglu's side bought tickets in advance, they still got tickets for a little later at night, but it's just fine. After a nap, we'll arrive.

  At a little past nine in the morning, Li Qian stood at the exit of Jinan Station, occasionally staring at the arrival information on the large screen above his head, while also paying attention to the crowd rushing out.

  At 8:50, Wang Jinglu sent a message saying that the train was delayed for more than twenty minutes.

  At 9:15, she sent another message saying the car had just passed Yucheng.

  Li Qian had already been helpless in his previous life, so at this time he could only patiently wait.

  In a daze, he seemed to have caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, but it was just a flash, and when he came back to his senses and went to look for it again, he found that the figure couldn't be found anywhere.

  Then he sent a text message to Wang Jinglu: Just saw your mom just now?

  More than a minute later, Wang Jinglu finally replied: No wonder! My mom must have seen you too. She just called me and said there was something urgent to go home first and asked me to go home early tonight!

  It's still early in the morning, and she reminded me to come home early tonight... Okay. Li Qian finally felt Wang Jinglu's mother's openness for the first time.

  Then, at more than 10 o'clock in the morning, Wang Jinglu finally walked out of the exit.

  Standing in the surging crowd, she looked a bit petite. Even wearing thick down jacket, she still looked so delicate and slender. Still with that short hair to her ears, still with those fine-framed round glasses, she was dragging her luggage, and at the moment Li Qian's gaze locked onto hers, it also locked onto Li Qian.

  It's been a few months since they last met, and both of them are curiously staring at each other, sizing each other up.

  Li Qian stood still, gradually revealing a smile.

  Finally, Wang Jingluo finished checking his ticket and squeezed out of the crowd, standing obediently in front of Li Qian.

  A few months ago, she could reach Li Qian's mouth, but now she can only reach his chin.

  She slightly tilted her head, a bit shy and even a little awkward, but the excitement in her eyes was evident.

  Li Qian smiled and reached out to help her tidy up a strand of disheveled hair, asking: "Is it that you think I'm so handsome that you don't dare recognize me?"

  Wang Jinglu smiled slightly with a hint of shyness.

  Li Qian stretched out his hand to take the suitcase, and she handed it over obediently. Then the two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards the outside.

  "Hey, you just got back from the great capital, don't be so taciturn! You're not being high-profile enough. Do you have any instructions or spirit to convey? For example, is there some new trick for picking up chicks on the Shuntianfu side?"

  Wang Jinglu finally raised her hand and smiled as she tapped him lightly on the arm.

  Yeah, just like this, it seems like that familiar feeling has come back all at once.

  "After a moment, she said: 'You seem to have grown taller?'"

  Li Qian heard this and stood still, deliberately straightening his waist, with a dignified appearance, "One meter eighty-four!"

  Wang Jinglu smiled and said, "I haven't grown much, my sister is 1.71 meters tall, my mom said I eat a lot, so I'll definitely be taller than my sister in the future, but now I'm almost 18 years old and only 1.67 meters tall." She paused for a moment, then said regretfully, "I probably won't grow any more from now on!"

  Li Qian stared at her seriously, in the midst of the surging crowd, the two people stood still on the square outside the station exit, you staring at me, I staring at you.

  After a moment, Wang Jinglu felt a little shy, lowered her head and whispered: "What are you looking at? There are so many people!"

  Li Qian opened the suitcase, slowly stretched out his hand, gently pulled her into his arms, and hugged her tightly. After a deep breath, he said with great affection: "I just like girls who are 1 meter 67 centimeters tall, best if they're almost eighteen years old!"

  Pfft!

  Wang Jinglu thought that Li Qian, being so sentimental and affectionate, might want to kiss her or something, and she was feeling both excited and nervous at the same time. But then Li Qian suddenly came out with this sentence, and Wang Jinglu couldn't hold it in anymore, bursting into laughter.

  Li Qian let her go, feeling pleased with himself.

  Wang Jinglu raised her hand and slapped him, with a hint of a smile on her face, her cheeks flushing red.

  …………

  Having received Wang Jinglu's mother's edict, Li Qian and Wang Jinglu simply took a taxi back to Li Qian's house.

  In the taxi, she was still a calm and quiet little home jade, but as soon as she entered Li Qian's house, she quickly turned into a chattering little magpie.

  "The students from the other side of Shuntian Prefecture don't take their studies as seriously as we do here. They prefer to have fun and are better at it too. Over there, scoring over 500 points is enough to easily get into the top ten in class. During my first exam, I didn't know any better and scored over 700 points, which shocked them all. For subsequent exams, I intentionally made a few mistakes on purpose, like last time when I only scored 635 points, which was more acceptable, at least it wasn't as shocking."

  "Right, right! If you were to transfer there too, you'd definitely make it into the top ten!"

  "Huh, is this a VCD player? When did you buy it? Ahhh...you actually have so many TV dramas. And movies too, ahhh, I want to watch, I want to watch! At home, my mom never lets me watch! In Shuntianfu, my sister doesn't have time to take care of me, but we don't even have a VCD player at home!"

  "Hey, this speaker doesn't sound too good. My sister bought a set of speakers that are really worth listening to. The sound quality is especially great, my sister said they were quite expensive, but it's just like that. It's only just the beginning!"

  "Hmm... I smell the flavor of wonton soup! Did you have wonton soup this morning? Our school cafeteria only serves buns, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, soy milk, and millet porridge for breakfast. It's been half a year since I last had wonton soup!"

  Then, at the breakfast stall at the entrance of the residential area, she surprisingly ate three buns in one breath and drank a bowl of hot and sour soup. Only then did she reveal a beautiful appearance and let out a yawn.

  But what's amazing is that Li Qian watched her eat from start to finish, and once again discovered that her eating movements were truly incredible. She could swallow so many things in one go, without leaving any trace on her mouth.

  She said with embarrassment, "My mom said so. She has always required my sister and me to not talk during meals, eat slowly, and not leave any oil on our lips after finishing eating. Otherwise, people will laugh at us."

  Li Qian stared at her with a dull expression, slowly shaking his head and saying: "You guys are really pitiful!"

  Wang Jinglu glanced at him disdainfully, thinking she wasn't pitiful at all.

  On the contrary, this unique skill she had cultivated since childhood made her quickly noticed by her classmates wherever she went, and soon became familiar with the curious students who came to ask questions.

  After finishing breakfast and returning home, she was obviously not as excited as before. I guess she didn't rest well on the train last night either. Anyway, the whole person looked a bit limp.

  It wasn't until she was asked about Li Qian's suona playing that her spirit was lifted again.

  "Did you really follow them out to blow the suona for people?" she asked.

  Li Qian smiled, "Yes, we have to get up at 4:00 in the morning and arrive at the bride's home by 5:00. By that time, they've already started preparing. We have to follow the groom around the village, bowing our heads to the elderly villagers... wherever I blow my suona, the groom has to kneel! When we get back, we still have to bow to our own family's elders... Ah, I'm telling you, while blowing the suona, I was also frowning on behalf of others. This morning alone, there were over a hundred! Many times, after finishing one round of bows, that young man was so exhausted he couldn't even straighten his waist!"

  "Of course, don't look at me, I've only learned for a few months, Teacher Wang wants to play the sheng, so now I'm already the number one suona player in our band, that level, it's perfect!"

  "Hmm, this isn't a joke, you have to get up at over 4 o'clock, can you take it? ...Alright alright, if you really think it's fun, I'll take you to participate in one someday. Let me tell you, that big wind blows, the north wind sweeps and the white grass freezes, remember? It's just like that! And you have to follow us, running around outside for a whole day, by then you'll be frozen to death!"

  …………

  Two people chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, Wang Jinglu's eyelids had become a bit heavy.

  Then, when Li Qian unconsciously lowered his voice, as he spoke, Wang Jinglu had already slowly closed her eyes. At first, Li Qian reached out to touch her, and she still responded with a few "hmm"s, but her eyelids were too heavy to open. However, soon she leaned on the sofa and fell fast asleep.

  She woke up after a nap and it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

  Originally they had planned to go eat rice noodles together, but that was no longer possible, so Li Qian rode his bicycle to send her back home.

  Xu had been paying attention to the movement downstairs, Li Qian was originally just going to help Wang Jinglu carry her luggage upstairs and leave, but when she arrived at the third floor, she found that Wang Jinglu's mother Tao Huijun was already waiting at the door.

  So, after being repeatedly invited by the other party, Li Qian stepped into the Wang family's home again after many years.

  Of course, Li Qian was tactful. At this time, it was not clear what kind of attitude Tao Huijun had, so he just sat for a while and then bid farewell. In fact, Tao Huijun did not retain him much, at least not sincerely enough.

  As soon as he went out the door, Li Qian couldn't help but purse his lips and think: The task is heavy and the road is long!

  …………

  Three days later, December 25th.

  A small village under Yucheng County, Jinan Prefecture.

  In recent years, a famous folk music band that has been performing in rural areas around Jinan Prefecture has added a new face.

  A pretty and lively little girl, wearing a pale pink down jacket, with neatly combed ear-length student hair, not holding any instrument, just following behind the band to help carry the canvas bag for instruments.

  She is a head-turner wherever she goes.

  In the village, most of those who get married are young men around twenty years old. Their peers come to help, and naturally, they are also mostly in this age group. As soon as these people see this little girl, they immediately become unable to walk on the road.

  During the break in the music performance, when members of the folk band were drinking water and resting or eating, a 45-year-old aunt would often come over to chat with Wang Huaiyu, beating around the bush to ask if the young girl was his daughter.

  Of course, there are some who dare to run over and ask Wang Jingluo what her name is, but often when Wang Jingluo looks at them, the other person blushes even more than Wang Jingluo. Wang Huaiyu comes out to block their way, and they can only retreat in frustration.

  Well, in short, her appearance perfectly interpreted what is meant by "a beauty who brings disaster"!

  It took just one morning for everyone to start teasing Li Qian, saying he brought a big troublemaker!

  From head to toe, Wang Jinglu was flushed with embarrassment.

  However, looking at her eyes that couldn't help but glance around curiously, with a curious baby-like expression, Li Qian knew that although she would also find some of it annoying, the novelty of these things in front of her was still enough to fill her with interest.

  However, it's not over yet. When they follow the master's wedding car to bring the new bride back home, it's time to block the sedan chair. At this moment, according to the old rules, Wang Huaiyu should be the one to shout loudly.

  But today was special, he finished singing on his side, and a high-pitched voice indeed sang with a thunderous sound, but before he could withdraw, someone shouted loudly: "Let that little girl come up too, she has to sing to get the red envelope!"