Those things that happened in those years

Chapter 75 Both Failed

Jun suggested that they find a girl for Hongbo and Yanbin so that they could both have a girlfriend, which would make them feel more balanced.

Fa Zi's eyes lit up, seemingly agreeing with Jun Ge's words. He excitedly said, "That's right, that's a good idea! Hey, Da Jun, your cousin is pretty and has a great personality, I think she's perfect. Why don't you introduce her to Hong Bo or Yan Bin? Maybe it'll work out!"

Jun shook his head with a wry smile and said helplessly, "Forget it, my cousin already has a boyfriend. We can't count on her for this. Let's think about other people and see if we can find someone suitable for them."

In fact, Hongbo had also had his eye on several girls in his class. Although he was fairly good-looking, with striking features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and slightly upturned lips with a natural smile, it was a pity that he was a bit short. This became a stumbling block on his path to pursuing girls, making him lack the courage to confess to the girls he liked.

He could also see the disdain in the girls' eyes, and those looks deeply pierced Hongbo's heart.

Now that he sees that Brother Jun has found his own girl, he naturally feels even worse, which is why he said so many hurtful things today. In fact, this is just a way for him to hide his inner disappointment and pain.

Yanbin, on the other hand, is too honest and simple. He is not good at speaking and has a slight lisp, so his speech is not very clear. This makes him unattractive to girls and he has never been chosen by any girl.

As Yanbin's friends, they saw his plight and were anxious, but they were powerless to help him. They could only stand by and watch helplessly, not knowing how to help him get out of this predicament of being single.

Seeing Hongbo and Yanbin's situation, Jun was very worried. He was a loyal and affectionate person and couldn't bear to see his brothers so distressed because of relationship problems. So, he went to his cousin and told her everything about Hongbo and Yanbin, earnestly asking her to help introduce them to suitable girls so they could experience the sweetness of campus romance.

After hearing this, my cousin looked troubled. She knew Hongbo and Yanbin's shortcomings, and after carefully searching around her, she couldn't find a suitable candidate. This left her feeling helpless and unsure of what to do.

However, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. During a casual chat with Xiaojie, my cousin mentioned this matter. Unexpectedly, Xiaojie turned out to be a kind-hearted girl, and without hesitation, she offered to help find a suitable candidate.

Persistence pays off. Before long, Xiaojie found a girl who she felt was a perfect match for Hongbo.

This girl comes from the same village as Xiaojie, but is a year below them and is currently in the first year of junior high school.

She was not tall, and her petite figure exuded a cute charm. Her round face was adorned with a pair of large, watery eyes, and she had two deep dimples when she smiled, giving her a friendly, girl-next-door vibe.

Moreover, she has a gentle and kind personality, and treats people with sincerity and warmth; she is a very good girl.

Xiao Jie approached the girl, briefly explained Hong Bo's situation, and asked if she would like to give it a try. The girl blushed slightly, nodded gently, and indicated she was willing to give it a shot.

And so, with Xiaojie and Jun's careful arrangements, Hongbo met the girl.

The two were a little reserved when they first met, but they soon discovered that they were a good match in height and appearance, and they got along very well when they chatted, as if they had endless things to talk about.

From then on, Hongbo's face was often filled with a happy smile. He no longer made sarcastic jokes at them like before, but instead immersed himself in his sweet romance. When he was with them, he would share the little things between him and his girlfriend, making them feel his joy and satisfaction.

However, Yanbin was still alone. Watching them all in pairs, his loneliness grew stronger.

He became more taciturn, always walking silently behind or in front of others on his way to and from school each day, his eyes revealing a hint of loneliness and helplessness.

Seeing Yanbin like this, the others felt bad for him, so they discussed finding him a suitable partner as soon as possible so that he could also experience the beauty of love and taste the sweetness of romance.

Here, it's necessary to explain a few points. At the time, although they were all in the throes of youthful infatuation and had relationships with girls they liked, only the others were dating in the name of romance. Hong Liguo and Wang Yuxin, however, maintained a subtle and reserved relationship. That thin veil between them was as delicate as a cicada's wing, but neither of them had the courage to break through it.

Although their correspondence was frequent and close, and their words were full of care and concern for each other, they never mentioned the sensitive and heart-pounding topic of romantic love.

Hong Liguo's love for Wang Yuxin was like a seedling growing vigorously in spring, becoming more and more abundant, yet she could never bring herself to express it; Wang Yuxin was the same, her reserve and modesty keeping her feelings buried deep in her heart.

Even so, they still got along very well. Every meeting and every glance stirred sweet ripples in their hearts. This feeling was like a gentle breeze under the warm spring sun, soft and warm, caressing their hearts and making them intoxicated, unwilling to wake up.

Just as they were doing everything they could to help Yanbin, an accident occurred.

The girl who was dating Hongbo had a boyfriend before. He was dark-skinned, somewhat lacking in intelligence, and a bit stubborn.

The girl wasn't happy with him to begin with, which is why she started dating Hongbo.

The boy couldn't possibly accept it when he found out, so he asked two of his friends from the same village to surround Hongbo and the girl when they sneaked out of school.

Hongbo might not necessarily lose in a one-on-one fight, but unfortunately, his opponents had three people, all of whom were taller and heavier than him. Hongbo suffered a loss after only a short time.

No matter how the girl tried to persuade him, it had no effect. In fact, the big, dark-skinned guy scolded her for being ungrateful and two-timing him, which made the girl so angry that she could only cry on the side.

Hongbo was beaten badly by the three of them, but he refused to admit his mistake or beg for mercy.

Later, seeing that Hongbo was too stubborn and that no amount of beating could convince him, the group had no choice but to give up. They warned him to stay away from that girl and that if he dared to associate with her again, they would beat him to death. Then they dragged the girl away.

Hongbo staggered back to the school and found the group of them.

His face was covered in bruises, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his clothes were torn to shreds. His disheveled appearance broke their hearts, and at the same time, a surge of anger ignited within them.

Seeing Hongbo beaten so badly, the group couldn't stand it any longer and quickly chased after the three arrogant fools in the direction Hongbo had indicated.

Hong Liguo was certain that they hadn't gone back to school; they must have gone to the supply and marketing cooperative to celebrate, or perhaps to the billiards hall.

Sure enough, the three of them, along with that girl, were eating delicious food, drinking wine, and bragging outside the supply and marketing cooperative.

Hongbo recognized the three of them from afar and said, "It's those three."

When Jun heard from Hongbo that it was the three of them, he roared and rushed out. When he got close, he didn't say a word and started hitting them.

Hong Liguo and Fa Zi arrived shortly after and stopped the two accomplices who were trying to escape, giving them a beating as well. Jie and Yanbin also joined the fray.

The three men were pinned to the ground and rubbed against each other, crying and begging for mercy.

At this moment, Hongbo stepped forward, enduring his own injuries, and beat them until he could no longer continue.

Jun grabbed the boy's chin and said viciously, "Damn it... don't you even know if we Six Swordsmen are easy to bully?"

The boy was so terrified he wet himself. His voice trembled as he pleaded, "Big brother, big brother, I didn't know he was one of your six swordsmen! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on him even if you gave me ten lives! Big brother, I admit it, I was wrong, big brother, please forgive us!"

Jun said, "Whether I spare you or not is not up to me. You have to beg whoever you hit. If he spares you, we have nothing to say. If he doesn't, then you can't blame us. You can only blame yourselves for being blind."

The burly, dark-skinned boy had no choice but to kneel and beg Hongbo for mercy, saying that the girl belonged to Hongbo from now on and he would never dare to associate with her again. Hongbo, still not satisfied, went over and kicked him several more times before finally saying, "Alright, get lost!"

At this moment, someone watching the commotion said, "Why aren't you running? Someone has gone to report to the police station, and they'll be here soon."

Someone else said, "What's the big deal? Isn't that Wang Dabazhang coming from over there?"

Upon hearing this, they quickly grabbed the girl and ran away. The three who had been beaten also scrambled to their feet and fled.

In their day, when people fought, no matter who won or lost, they wouldn't ask the authorities to intervene. Sometimes, even if they were caught by the police, they wouldn't admit to fighting. Unlike now, if someone touches another person, they'll go to the hospital for a checkup, and if they don't pay the medical bills, the police will be called and the case will be taken to court.

Back then, the police station wasn't as responsible as it is now. Fights were so common and frequent that they couldn't keep up with the situation. Unless the fights were particularly serious, the police wouldn't interfere. At most, they would just bluff and scare the comrades away, and that would be the end of it.

The girl's parents soon found out about this and scolded her, saying that she was not studying properly and was messing around with her boyfriend. Now the whole village knew about it, and she wasn't ashamed at all. They even said, "Stop studying and come down to work!" And so, the girl never came to school again, and Hongbo lost contact with her.

In that era filled with youthful restlessness and naivety, no one could have predicted that Hongbo's romance would be as fleeting as a flash in the pan.

Not only that, he also suffered a beating for it.

As they gathered around Hongbo, ready with a basketful of words of comfort, Hongbo adopted a nonchalant expression, a smile playing on his lips as he reassured them, "It's alright, don't worry about me unnecessarily, it's nothing! Hahaha! Even though this relationship ended, at least we experienced it, it's not a big deal."

Looking at Hongbo's feigned strength and nonchalance, everyone felt a mix of relief and sadness at his magnanimity.

After all, everyone knows that he couldn't possibly be completely unmoved; he just didn't want to show it in front of others.

Not long after Hongbo's incident, a new piece of news quietly spread within their small circle—Yanbin also had a girl he liked. The girl was Yanbin's classmate, surnamed Liang, and everyone affectionately called her Yan'er.

Speaking of Yan'er, they all remembered her. Years ago, when they were in the same elementary school, although they weren't in the same class and didn't have much direct contact, they were still familiar with each other's faces, but they weren't close friends.

The whole thing started with Yanbin's little secret. Seeing that all his friends had girlfriends, and even Hongbo had gone through a relationship, Yanbin's heart began to stir restlessly, like a small flame that had been ignited, eagerly seeking his own emotional refuge.

By chance, Yanbin's gaze fell on Yan'er. At that moment, he felt his heart pounding as if it were about to burst out of his chest.

He instantly realized that he was deeply attracted to this girl, and a feeling of admiration arose spontaneously.

Since then, Yanbin has often paid attention to Yan'er's every move, intentionally or unintentionally, and his eyes always unconsciously follow her figure.

When they learned that Yanbin had fallen for Yan'er, they were genuinely happy for him and eager to offer advice so that he could successfully win Yan'er's heart.

After all, if Yanbin can also find a partner, then all six of them will be able to say goodbye to their single lives, which is something to look forward to.

However, Yanbin confidently rejected their offer, saying, "No need. I don't care about those old tricks like writing love letters and slipping notes. I'm going to just tell her directly that I want to date her. If it works out, great; if not, forget it. There's no need for all those roundabout ways. It's too much trouble."

Upon hearing this, Fa Zi frowned, his face showing worry, and asked, "Will this work? Don't mess things up."

Hong Liguo chimed in, "These things can't be rushed; we have to proceed step by step, otherwise we might scare people away."

Yanbin glanced at Hong Liguo with disdain, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "You're quite patient, taking things step by step, huh? Look at you, you've had a good relationship with her since elementary school, and so many years have passed, yet things are still lukewarm. I'm getting anxious for you. Dating is just a matter of a few words, why waste so much time and energy, and being so reserved? Aren't you tired of all that poetry and lyrics?"

Hearing him say that, Hong Liguo suddenly felt a little embarrassed, as if he was really much worse than Yanbin when it came to matters of the heart.

Yanbin had made up his mind. He refused their help and was determined to confess his feelings in person.

To be honest, Hong Liguo was quite puzzled, wondering where Yanbin's courage came from. He was also worried for him, since it was better to be more subtle about these things. If they were to confront each other directly, and the other party disagreed, it would be embarrassing for both sides.

Finally, the opportunity that Yanbin had been waiting for arrived. He had finally gotten a chance to be alone with Yan'er, so he quickly walked up to her and called out to her.

Yan'er stopped when she heard someone call her. She turned around and saw Yanbin. A look of confusion appeared on her face as she asked, "Is there something you need?"

Yanbin was clearly nervous at this moment. His already not-so-fluent lisp was now completely out of control, and he stammered, "There...there...something."

Although he had imagined the confession scene countless times in his mind beforehand and prepared a lot of words, when the moment actually came, he was still so nervous that his palms were sweating and his heart started to beat wildly, as if it wanted to break free from the restraints of his body. Those words he had prepared in advance seemed to have grown legs and ran away without a trace.

As Yan'er saw him approach, she asked again, "What is it? Tell me!"

Yanbin grew increasingly nervous, his face alternating between pale and flushed. The courage he had finally mustered seemed to vanish in an instant, and he stammered out, "I...I want to ask you, who are you with now? If there's no one else, you...you can be with me!"

The moment those words left her lips, Yan'er's face changed instantly, like a powder keg that had been ignited. Her eyes widened in anger, and she shouted, "Can't you speak properly? If you can't speak properly, then learn how before you come to me. What do you mean, 'who am I on'? Are you spreading rumors? I think you're just looking for trouble, purely here to stir up trouble. You're so bored..."

Yan'er's merciless rebuke left Yanbin completely dumbfounded. Before he could react, Yan'er had already turned and walked away quickly, leaving Yanbin alone, bewildered in the wind.

In their region, the phrase "with whom" is not a compliment; it is usually used to imply that a woman and a man have an improper relationship.

In his nervousness, Yanbin blurted out, "Who are you dating now?" instead of "Who are you dating?" This was a huge blunder, and it's no wonder Yan'er was furious. It's probably lucky Yanbin didn't scratch him on the spot.

In fact, Yanbin knew very well that what he wanted to express was not the terrible meaning at all. It was just that he was too nervous and his tongue was not very fluent. He was not good at speaking to begin with, so he said the wrong thing and it backfired.

Not only did his confession end in failure, but he was also severely scolded by Yan'er. In the end, he slunk back to the classroom and kept his head down all day, not even daring to look at anyone, for fear that someone would ask about this embarrassing matter.

And so, Yanbin's first love ended abruptly before it even began, drawing a regrettable conclusion.

The group of friends all tacitly agreed that no one dared to bring up Yanbin's matter as a topic of casual conversation. After all, they all understood that if this matter were to be teased, it would definitely deeply hurt Yanbin's self-esteem.

In the prime of youth, everyone has experienced naive impulses and embarrassing moments. Why should they reopen old wounds?

Time flows by silently, like water. Before you know it, the final exams are just around the corner…