Wen Jianning ran all the way to the back of the car in the rain, and the people inside immediately opened the car door and let her in.

Without waiting for her to speak, Zhong Hui, who had been waiting for a long time next to her, took out a snow-white towel and handed it over: "You wipe it well, see that you are soaked all over, it's still early, go to my house first and change clothes later, and then we will go to the dock." ”

Fang just ran wildly in the rain, Wen Jianning's clothes were wet, and his hair was still dripping down.

She took the towel and hesitated while wiping it: "You come out so late, if the family knows, they will definitely have opinions, and it's not good for us to disturb them like this again." ”

Zhong Hui shouted directly to the driver who was driving in front of him, "Dad." ”

Wen Jianning suddenly became nervous.

Only then did she notice that the middle-aged man driving in front of her was wearing a tweed suit and a pair of rimless round-rimmed glasses, although he couldn't see his face, but the other party's clothing and temperament were obviously not an ordinary driver.

As if sensing her gaze, the other party smiled and said, "Hello classmate Wen, I am Zhong Hui's father." ”

Hearing him admit his identity in person, Wen Jianning was stunned.

Although she guessed that Zhong Hui's family might know about this, she didn't expect Zhong Hui's father to come in person, and suddenly felt a sense of guilt that she had been caught red-handed for doing bad things, and said uneasily: "Hello Mr. Zhong, I'm really sorry to involve you and Zhong Hui in my affairs, and bring so much trouble to your family." ”

It was only a trivial matter for her to ask Zhong Hui to buy a ferry ticket on her behalf, but the key was that she also asked Zhong Hui to personally come in the middle of the night to assist her in escaping.

When the morning dawns, Wen Jingshu will definitely be furious when she finds out that she has escaped from the villa. Seeing that they embroidered them, they didn't know how long they could last, in case they couldn't withstand the pressure and confessed to Zhong Hui's existence, it would only bring trouble to the Zhong family. But if she had other choices, Wen Jianning didn't want to involve her friends.

Father Zhong smiled: "You're welcome, Zhong Hui often mentions you as a good friend at home." She's happy to be able to help you. ”

Zhong Hui explained to Wen Jianning in a whisper on the side: "Actually, I didn't mean to tell them, it's just that my mother was accidentally discovered after I bought the ticket, so I just-"

Jianning's second sister came to her for help, and she didn't hesitate after hearing it, and immediately helped buy a ferry ticket.

But before she could discuss with her driver how to sneak out in the middle of the night, her family found out the clue. In the end, Zhong Hui still couldn't resist the pressure and told his parents what happened. Fortunately, Zhong Hui's parents were not so stubborn, and after asking about the situation, they agreed to let Zhong Hui help.

Otherwise, Wen Jianning would not only not be able to escape from Hong Kong with his strength, but would have been locked up more tightly by Wen Jingshu because of the revelation of the plan.

"Don't blame us adults for being nosy, it's really unreassuring for you children to do things," Zhong's father teased his daughter while driving in front, "After all, our family Zhong Hui said that he wanted to rebel against the feudal parents and run away from home to work as a war correspondent on the front line, and her mother will inevitably have to pay more attention." ”

Zhong Hui retorted dissatisfiedly.

In the ridicule of the father and daughter, Wen Jianning's originally tense nerves gradually relaxed.

Although she has not yet been able to escape completely, at least she has seen hope for now. The only thing that made her a little uneasy was that she was in too much of a hurry, and she forgot to tell them a few more words, and she must find a way to clean up and hide Wen Jingshu's eyes as much as possible. and Mei Shan's side, I don't know if she will regret it afterwards and report them to them.

She looked out the window, and the night was still dark.

The black car broke through the lock of the heavy rain curtain, leaving the Mid-Levels Villa far behind.

Zhong Hui's father drove them to Zhong's house first, asked Wen Jianning to change into clean clothes, and then drove to the port. The night was chaotic and hurried, and by the time they reached the docks, it was already dark.

The two good friends sat in the car and talked, and it was time to start the boat.

Zhong Hui took Wen Jianning's hand and instructed repeatedly: "When you arrive in Shanghai, remember to send us a message, if your teacher is unreliable, go to my uncle's house in Shanghai, and you must protect yourself." She was worried that her friend had gone to Shanghai alone and had no suitable place to stay, so she had already given her uncle's contact information to Wen Jianning halfway through.

Wen Jianning nodded, and got out of the car with his suitcase. She fled in a hurry, leaving with little with her except a few savings. Fortunately, the Zhong family was careful and specially helped prepare the luggage.

The two friends reluctantly said goodbye.

Wen Jianning was holding the gangway and following the flow of people to get on the boat, when he suddenly heard Zhong Hui shouting loudly behind him: "Jianning." ”

She turned around and saw Zhong Hui not far away waving at her: "We'll see you in Peking next year." ”

Wen saw Ning Wan'er smile, and also shouted to his friend: "Okay, we'll see you in Beiping next year-"

......

The ticket Zhong Hui bought on behalf of her was in the third-class cabin, which was not because she was stingy with the ticket money, but Wen Jianning had specially requested it in advance.

After all, she is too dazzling for a girl to sit alone in the first class, and if Wen Jingshu's people go to the dock to check it afterwards, it will be easy to be caught. Although it is possible to be exposed in a normal cabin, at least it can make the other party spend more time.

The first feeling of the ordinary cabin is that it is crowded, the seats are crowded, the aisle is full of suitcases, and the smell is not good. The middle-aged woman in the next seat was holding the child and shouting, Wen Jianning had no choice but to plug her ears, cover her head with a hat, and stay in the cabin honestly, not daring to move around.

Fortunately, there were no accidents along the way, and the ship finally arrived at the port of Shanghai.

The wharves here are as bustling as they were three years ago, and the Huangpu River is full of foreign ships of all sizes, including a large number of Japanese warships. There were people on the dock, but this time no one came to pick up Wen Jianning.

Fortunately, it was not the first time she had been to Shanghai, so she inquired about the way and went all the way to Mr. Qi's residence.

After arriving at the place, Wen Jianning realized that he only knew the approximate location, and he did not know which house Mr. Qi lived in. She saw that it was getting late, and then went to the magazine where Mr. Qi worked to find someone, and the two of them might stagger away, so they simply stayed in the alley, walking back and forth and waiting for Mr. Qi to come back.

Most of the people in the alley had gone out to work, except for the women and the elderly who stayed at home, only a few children with patches on their clothes were tired of playing marbles, sucking their fingers, poking their heads from behind the door and looking curiously at this strange schoolgirl.

It wasn't until evening, when the twilight was shining, and people who had been running around and working all day returned one after another, and the alley became lively.

The smell of food wafted out from the small windows open overhead, and the hawkers pushing carts selling night snacks were also selling everywhere, and the aroma of eight-treasure rice, ham dumplings, and crepe wontons got into the alleys, making people feel hungry.

Wen Jianning sniffed, she was really a little hungry and couldn't stand it.

She used to be afraid of being noticed on the boat and didn't dare to get up and walk around to eat at the restaurant, but the food delivered by the food truck was so coarse that it was hard to swallow that she was still hungry. She was about to go to the other end of the alley to find a vendor to buy some food to pad her stomach, when she suddenly heard Mr. Qi's surprised voice behind her: "Jianning, why are you here?"

When I turned my head, it was really Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi had been working all day today, but when he came back, he saw the students who were supposed to be in Hong Kong standing downstairs in his house, and he suddenly had a number in his heart, and he didn't turn around on this issue: "Okay, let's go upstairs first and talk about it." ”

The two came upstairs one after the other, opened the door with the key, and sat down on the small sofa in the living room.

Wen Jianning sat in the corner of the sofa quite reservedly, and told Mr. Qi everything that had happened during this period of time. After finishing the process of escaping, she added nervously, "Sir, I won't stay with you for long. I still have some money, and I'll move out soon when I find a place to live. ”

Although Mr. Qi is her teacher, he does not have the reason for students to rely on the teacher's home.

Wen Jianning had already planned on the way here, at most a month or two, and when she found a suitable house in Shanghai, she would move out and live alone, and then find a job or write manuscripts to support herself, and try not to cause trouble to Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi shook his head in disagreement and said, "Since you have come to Shanghai, stay with me, and don't say anything about moving out." You are a little girl, and it is not safe to live alone outside, so you might as well stay here and be with me. ”

Wen Jianning couldn't refuse, so he could only nod and agree.

After saying that, Mr. Qi looked at the sky outside the window and said, "You haven't had dinner yet, I'll cook first." ”

Wen Jianning wanted to go with her to help, but Mr. Qi didn't let her interfere, so she could only sit on the sofa and wait.

After a while, the meal was on the table.

Under the dim warm yellow electric light in the room, the teacher and student sat opposite each other.

Mr. Qi's cooking skills are not good, and the food is just barely edible.

Wen Jianning lowered his head and only took a few mouthfuls of rice, and for some reason his eyes were silently red.

Mr. Qi looked at her and shook his head: "What's the matter, even if my craftsmanship is not good, at least I have to give the teacher a little face." ”

Wen Jianning hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve: "I'm fine, it's just that Mr.'s food is delicious, I'm very happy." She gulped down her meal and bulged her cheeks.

Mr. Qi looked at her and sighed slightly, and stopped talking.

After dinner, the teacher and student began to clean up the room.

The bedroom in the house where Mr. Qi lives is not big, and there is only one bed in it, so the two of them can only make do with this night for the time being.

Wen Jianning put the suitcase on the table and opened it, only to see that there were several sets of brand new and clean clothes inside, which Zhong Hui's family had prepared for her. She took out her clothes one by one and put them on the bed, intending to fold them again, when she removed the top silk shirt and saw the envelope placed underneath. When I opened it, I saw that in addition to the letter, there was also a neat stack of banknotes inside.

Wen Jianning only looked at a few lines, and the tears suddenly fell down again, dazing the handwriting on his head.

Zhong Hui and the others were still not worried about her, and repeatedly asked her in the letter to go to her uncle when she arrived in Shanghai and had time. Because he was afraid that she would not have enough money, he deliberately gave her all the pocket money he had saved.

Mr. Qi watched quietly from the side, waiting for her emotions to calm down, and then urged her to take a shower.

Although it is still early autumn, the heat in Shanghai has not completely faded.

Wen Jianning squeezed with a group of people on the boat for a few days, and the smell on his body was really not good. In addition, I also sweated when I waited for people in the alley in the afternoon, and it was uncomfortable to stick to my back.

She unscrewed the tube of the hot water tin, and the rushing water took away the dirt from her body. The gradual evaporation of white water in the bathroom blurred Wen Jianning's vision, and also made her mind empty.

When she came back to her senses, she only felt that her face was hot, and her touch was full of water.

After taking a shower, Wen Jianning returned to his room.

Mr. Qi recently had to translate a foreign book, and he had to bury his head in front of the desk at night, and Wen Jianning didn't want to disturb her, so he sat quietly on the edge of the bed and read a book of Shelley's poems.

It wasn't until late at night that Mr. Qi stopped writing and said, "Sleep." ”

The two turned off the lights and shared the same bed. Although the nights are not as hot as in summer, it is still crowded for two people to sleep in the same bed. Wen Jianning curled up very carefully, trying to avoid hitting Mr. Qi next to him. She quietly propped up one leg when she heard Mr. Qi say, "It's okay, I'm not hot." ”

Only then did she silently spread out and lay down beside Mr. Qi.

The pillow towels and bedding are all specially changed by Mr. Qi, and there is a good smell of soap horn powder on them, which is clean and warm, which makes her heart settle down a little bit. Due to the fear for several days, Wen Jianning had not slept well for a long time.

In a few moments, she fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Wen Jianning was still asleep in a daze, and smelled the fragrance of breakfast in his dream. She slowly opened her eyes and saw pale golden daylight shining through the gaps in the curtains.

Wen Jianning slowly sat up from the bed, hugged his knees and sat on the bed, looking around blankly.

All the furnishings in the room were unfamiliar, but it gave her a sense of familiarity that she hadn't seen for a long time.

It seems that overnight, she has returned to the days when she was a child, and as soon as she woke up every morning, she and Husheng smelled the smell of food and went to the stove to find her aunt.

For a moment, she wanted to just nest under the covers, never get up.

(End of chapter)