Unlike Zhao Pianpian, Jiang Sihan has always believed that there are not more good people or more bad people in this world. In fact, whether it’s good or bad, the proportion of people is not high. The world is mostly filled with indifferent people who walk in the gray area. They are neither good nor bad, and they are stingy when it comes to showing kindness to others. Or when someone touches their interests, they can be worse than bad people.
However, Grandma landlady and her granddaughter he encountered were exceptions.
They were truly good people.
Jiang Sihan believed that their lives were not easy, but whether it was Grandma Luo or the current Luo Bei, they both had a soft heart. Just like the dumplings he held in his hand on this late autumn night, he could feel the weighty warmth.
Of course, he also had his pride. This pride made it difficult for him to ask his parents for money to get through tough times, and he could not accept his friend’s invitation to stay at their home for a while. However, strangely enough, Grandma landlady and her granddaughter would sometimes bring him food. While he felt embarrassed, he didn’t feel like it was too much.
“Do you want to come in and sit for a while?”
Jiang Sihan regretted saying these words as soon as they left his mouth
He is not good at dealing with interpersonal relationships, nor is he smooth in social situations, but he knows the difference between men and women. He can’t even count himself as a friend of Luo Bei, so it is really inappropriate to invite a girl to a bachelor’s rental house on such a night.
Luo Bei nodded generously, “Okay.”
She is an ordinary person. If she didn’t know that Jiang Sihan’s future is bright, and if she didn’t know that this young man has no other thoughts in his heart except for his dreams, she would never have agreed.
When she was in her early teens, her parents ran away, leaving only her and her Grandma. Although she had Uncle Cheng’s protection and neighbors taking care of her, accidents still happened from time to time.
Luo Bei had to learn to protect herself and her Grandma. Now, on the surface, her Grandma is the landlady, but in reality, she manages the entire building.
In order to make this building safe and harmonious, besides Uncle Cheng’s protection, it also relies on Luo Bei’s own abilities.
The basement is actually a single room. The furnishings were very simple, there were a bed and a table, and a wardrobe that Grandma Luo had given away for free. Other than that, there was nothing else.
Luo Bei originally thought that boys like Jiang Sihan would definitely not keep the room clean, but now she was proven wrong. The floor was mopped very clean and almost shining under the light, and the bedding was simple but tidy, with white sheets washed until they were bright, and a blanket neatly arranged.
In the stainless steel bowl was steaming instant noodles, emitting a delicious aroma.
Luo Bei guessed that Jiang Sihan must be sick of instant noodles.
Sure enough, as soon as he came in, he picked up the stainless steel bowl and headed to the kitchen.
Since there were no chairs in the room, Luo Bei simply sat on his bed. Jiang Sihan came out of the kitchen with a bottle of mineral water in his hand and handed it to her.
“I don’t have any other drinks here,” Jiang Sihan said, looking a little embarrassed.
“It’s okay,” Luo Bei replied as she took it. “I haven’t been drinking drinks since I was eighteen. They make me gain weight.”
Jiang Sihan didn’t sit on the bed with Luo Bei, but crouched on the side, opened the lunchbox lid, and smelled the aroma of the dumplings. He swallowed his saliva.
He really likes to eat dumplings, but the frozen ones in the supermarket are not cheap. He can eat more than 20 at a time.
Grandma Luo’s dumplings were made with dough she rolled herself, and they looked different from the ones outside.
“This medicine is a powder. Mix it with water before going to bed at night, and you should feel better in a few days,” Luo Bei thought for a moment and added, “Actually, for a cold, whether you take medicine or not, it usually takes a week to recover. But the situation is different now. I heard that there’s flu going around, so it’s better to take medicine first.”
After eating a dumpling, Jiang Sihan’s stomach felt much better. “Thank you…” He added, “These dumplings taste really good.”
“My Grandma’s dumplings are the best. Even as someone who’s trying to lose weight, I can eat ten at a time.”
Jiang Sihan glanced at her. “You’re still trying to lose weight?”
Luo Bei was not particularly thin, but she had a slender figure and could be considered among the skinny group. Jiang Sihan didn’t quite understand girls’ logic when they said they were trying to lose weight.
Shouldn’t it be only overweight people who need to lose weight?
How come even skinny people are on a diet?
Luo Bei said casually: “Of course, you are even skinnier than me.”
After the words came out, Luo Bei fell silent.
She felt that her words might make Jiang Sihan uncomfortable. After all, he was not thin because of dieting, but probably because he was hungry.
Just as Luo Bei was thinking of finding an excuse to leave, Jiang Sihan laughed and said, “I wasn’t thin before. I lost 20-30 pounds in just half a year after leaving home. I don’t know what crime I did that made me suffer so much.”
“What do you do for a living?” Luo Bei asked, “I’m just curious. If it’s inconvenient to say, you don’t have to.”
In fact, Jiang Sihan was not as fragile as Luo Bei imagined, nor did he have a strong self-esteem. Moreover, he had self-awareness. He couldn’t get angry just because someone asked out of curiosity. His temper was not so violent, nor was his heart so fragile.
“Sometimes I help people distribute flyers, and sometimes I sing for someone else at a bar for a whole night…” Jiang Sihan hesitated for a moment and said, “Actually, I don’t know if I’m on the right path. My classmates and friends advised me to give up. I have no background, no connections, and no money. It’s really difficult to make a name for myself. Being idle like this every day and having food as a problem may be because I am too stubborn.”
Perhaps before, he wanted to disguise himself, but at the moment when the words came out, he seemed to have finally found someone to talk to, and those difficult hesitations and dilemmas that made him unable to lift his head could be spoken out.
Luo Bei thought that Jiang Sihan was pretty cool. There aren’t many people these days who persist in their dreams. Of course, not everyone can face their own difficulties and failures frankly and speak them out.
However, Luo Bei didn’t know how to advise or comfort him.
She couldn’t tell him that someone would come to him soon, and she couldn’t tell him that he would definitely succeed in the future.
Any successful person, especially someone who stands up from such difficulties, will inevitably go through a period of struggle and self-doubt. Only after this process can they truly understand and undergo a transformation in their thinking. And this process cannot be omitted by her on his behalf.
Just like Zhao Pianpian, who also has moments of pain and loneliness, she will not tell her that she will become a CEO’s wife in the future, have a happy family and be happy.
Because only through this process can Zhao Pianpian become more independent and stronger in personality. She knows their future, but she is not the protagonist, changing the plot may change a person’s life, she can’t do that.
So, she can only play the role of an ordinary passerby, because in other people’s lives, everyone may be just a passerby except for themselves.
Looking at Jiang Sihan’s confused expression, Luo Bei could only say, “Don’t think too much about it. Just eat your fill, take your medicine, and get some sleep. Isn’t that better?”
Jiang Sihan was surprised. Even his own parents would only tell him to give up on unrealistic dreams, while some friends would encourage him to persist and say that maybe his dream would come true.
In fact, Jiang Sihan had already reached his limit. When he spoke up, he was still thinking that if this girl who wasn’t even that familiar with him advised him to give up, he would definitely give up.
He didn’t expect her to say nothing, neither encouraging him to persevere nor subtly urging him to be more realistic.
Jiang Sihan ate the dumplings while thinking that, yes, this was his own business. What did other people’s opinions matter? Ultimately, he was the one who made the decision.
No matter how difficult it was, he had persisted for so long. So, he would continue to persevere a little longer.
Jiang Sihan finished all the dumplings in his lunchbox and felt satisfied both physically and mentally, albeit briefly.
Luo Bei said goodbye to him with her lunchbox in hand, ready to leave.
“Miss Luo, if you need any help in your life, you can always come to me,” Jiang Sihan said with a self-deprecating smile. “I may not be able to help much, but I’m grateful to you and Grandma Luo.”
Because of this bowl of dumplings, he could persevere for a little longer.
Luo Bei smiled and said, “Don’t be so polite, just call me by my name. Actually, we are all neighbors, living in the same building. If you have any difficulties, you can also come to us. Everyone has difficulties sometimes, and it’s not easy for anyone.”
“Okay.”
Back in her house, after Luo Bei washed the lunch box, she saw her Grandma come in and said to her, “Bring out the contract of the tenant next door. They want to move out.”
Luo Bei recalled, “The contract still has half a year to go.”
“That can’t be helped. The elder in that family seems to have cancer. They plan to go back and take care of him. Don’t charge them the penalty for breaking the contract, and return their deposit to them. They will move out next week. Print out the information tomorrow, and I’ll go and post it around here. There are quite a few people looking for a place to rent lately.”
Luo Bei nodded, “Maybe they are lying to you, just to avoid paying the penalty.”
Over the years, she has seen so many tenants like this, with all sorts of reasons. Most of them say that something happened to someone in their family. There are definitely tenants who tell the truth, but there are also tenants who lie to avoid paying the penalty by using Grandma’s kindness as an excuse. She’s used to it.”
Grandma said calmly, “What’s there to fear about them lying to me? But using their own elderly family members as an excuse, and even saying that they have cancer, if it’s not true, it’s a curse. If heaven were to take account of things, those who deserve retribution will be the ones to suffer.”
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