They're just a bunch of kids. They don't understand anything, but they understand everything.

Lan Li looked down at his palm, there was a small doll of Captain America in it, the size of a finger, this was given to him by Alex just before he left the ward, those bright eyes were faintly covered with a layer of tears, and his face was full of smiles, "Lan Li, you say, will I become as strong as Captain America?"

The little hand that trembled slightly, tightly grasping Lan Li's palm, revealed the fear in his heart, but he was stubbornly reluctant to say it, just because he didn't want his parents to worry.

"No, it won't. "Because Alex is much stronger than Captain America." Really strong, not here. His finger pointed to his heart, then to his brain, "And here." So, Alex is the strongest kid I've ever known. ”

He gently gathered his palm, the plastic doll was angular and angular, making the tender flesh of his palm faintly painful, but it was so real.

There was the trivial sound of footsteps rubbing against the ground, and a figure on the right side of the bench sat down. It's Heather. However, she did not speak, but quietly looked at the scenery before her, which was neither wonderful nor magnificent, and allowed the silence to spread, and after a short moment, said abruptly, "Alex has entered." Then there was silence again, and the sound was drowned out in the gusting winds of the New York afternoon.

"That's a good thing. Lan Li said.

This is indeed a good thing, after waiting for three years, I finally found a matching heart, finally won the opportunity to get rid of congenital heart disease, and finally gained the possibility of officially starting my life. As long as the heart transplant is successful, the body will not reject it.

Heather nodded and repeated, "That's a good thing. ”

It's obviously a good thing, but his voice is trembling slightly. Any operation, even with a 99 percent success rate, still has a 1 percent chance of failure, and the unlucky person may stay in that operating room forever even with appendicitis.

Optimistic people see 99 percent, and pessimistic people see 1 percent. But in Lan Li's view, people with crystal clear minds see 99 percent, and people who have experienced vicissitudes of life see 1 percent. And those who look down on life and death see a turning point in life, but it doesn't matter what the scenery is ahead.

Reliving a lifetime, Lan Li still hasn't been able to see through it after all.

"That's a good thing. Heather repeated a second time, and the smile on his lips went up, "At least he's got a chance to give it a go." ”

Lan Li looked up at Heather. He had forgotten that for Heather, she didn't even have a chance to give it a go. However, there was no resentment or cynicism between Heather's eyebrows, but a sparse calmness and clarity, like the morning light illuminating the tender green of the treetops in early spring.

Heather turned her head to meet Lan Li's gaze and showed a big smile, "The schedule is out." Lan Li didn't know why, Heather then explained, "The audition schedule for 'American Idol' has officially come out. ”

Lan Li's eyebrows couldn't help but be lightly raised, and joy was like ripples, gently rippling under his eyes.

"The first one was on the last Friday of September, in Minnesota, and I really wanted to go there. Heather crossed her hands and stretched her waist, such a simple action, she had some difficulty doing it, her fingers were slightly twisted, and her arms were stretched out and couldn't be straightened, but she still did it, "If I told my mother that I wanted to go to Minnesota to participate in the first audition, would she nod her head and say yes?"

Looking at Heather's bright and brisk smile, the corners of Lan Li's mouth couldn't help but rise, "You already have the answer, why are you still asking me?" Elle would agree, but only if the doctor nodded.

Both Elle and Derek love Heather very much, but they have not lost their principles, they will not let Heather do whatever she wants because of her illness, but they will not confine her in a cage because of Heather's illness. What Heather needs is not special treatment, but equal treatment. It's hard, incredibly difficult, but Ellie and Derek are working on it.

Heather rolled her eyes and spat mercilessly, "It's boring. Lan Li didn't refute, just chuckled, and Heather raised her chin, "However, I'm in a good mood today, so I won't bother with you." I'm going to audition in New Jersey. This year, there was no audition in New York, but East-Rutherford in New Jersey. ”

"Oh, home of the New York Giants. The New York Giants, a team in the NFL that has won the Super Bowl twice, the league's highest honor, "The stadium can hold more than 50,000 people, nearly 60,000 people." Whew, I can already foresee that the competition is going to be fierce. ”

After getting further detailed information about the audition, Heather's expression became excited, "Really? Do you think the scene will be crowded? And then the queue will be for hours? Maybe, the audition will take three days!" Heather couldn't help but dance with her hands excited, "The audition is on February 13, and it is the penultimate stop of the entire audition. Is that why you say?"

Each audition can take three to five days because of the large number of participants. Therefore, the auditions began in the last week of September and continued until January of the following year.

"Maybe. Lan Li shrugged his shoulders and was noncommittal, "February 13th, which means that you only have four months left to practice. Are you sure you want to play and sing to yourself?"

"If I don't play and sing by myself, and I don't have an accompaniment tape, what should I do?" Heather looked at Lan Li with a resentful expression, condemning Lan Li's "irresponsibility" in and out of her words.

Heather had previously told Lan Li that she had decided to sing the song "The Beast" and participate in the audition for "American Idol". To this end, she has been practicing the guitar for a long time, also as part of her rehabilitation life. However, time is passing, and for four months, no one knows whether Heather's condition will deteriorate in early February and whether she will be able to play the guitar in its entirety.

Heather wanted to participate in the first audition in September, and in addition to the unbearable excitement and excitement, she was not without such worries in her heart.

"Are you sure? 'The Beast' is not a song for a singing competition. Lan Li expressed his concern in a friendly manner, but saw Heather tugging the corners of her mouth, revealing a speechless expression of "I'm not worried, what are you worried about", which made the smile on the corner of Lan Li's mouth bloom and slowly fall into the depths of his eyes, "Then, this gift has come just right." ”

Lan Li took the satchel off his shoulder, took out the album inside, and handed it to Heather.

Heather took it in bewilderment and took it seriously. Before he reacted at first, he turned over and looked at the back cover, his eyes couldn't help but widen, he raised his head to look at Lan Li with a surprised face, looked at the expression on that face in ecstasy, and then found his answer in the clear eyebrows, and the scream couldn't help but overflow from the corners of his mouth, "Ah!"

Immediately afterward, she bit her lower lip to prevent her emotions from completely losing control, but her hands and feet couldn't help but start to tremble, and she used all her strength to express her inner happiness. Flipping back to the cover, I looked at it seriously, "Don Quixote." Fingertips whispered on the cover, whispering this familiar and unfamiliar name, as if chewing on the deep meaning behind the word, and suddenly, tears burst the embankment.

Lan Li really didn't expect such a reaction, and hurriedly searched for something to wipe away her tears, but found nothing.

Heather then burst out laughing, crying and laughing as if she was embarrassed, raising her energetic face, not hiding her tears, not caring about her embarrassment, "Can you sign for me?"

Looking at Heather's tearful but proudly blooming expression, Lan Li chuckled and nodded, "Of course." ”

Heather immediately tried to tear open the album's outer packaging, but her fingers didn't listen to her and didn't tear it open for a while. She was a little anxious, but she didn't ask Lan Li for help, but found the glue with concentration, seriousness, and dedication, and then pulled it open, and the smile from the bottom of her heart rose.

Lan Li took the album and opened the inside page. A sentence was written in the blank space, and then the name was signed. After writing it, he handed it to Heather again.

Heather watched intently, reluctant to take off the album, as if it were the most precious gift in the world, until she took the album, looked at the line of chic font, and read it softly.

"To Heather Cross,

A tribute to those things that darkness can never take away from us, to those dreams that set sail. A warrior, a warrior, a dreamer, a loner of Don Quixote.

Forever Blue Rite-Hall, your companion. ”

Heather smiled, laughing wantonly, but the tears couldn't help but slide down, these were tears of happiness, beautiful and sweet. She raised her head and glanced at Lan Li, and through that hazy gaze, the smile remained deep in the depths of those smart eyes. Such a Heather, too beautiful to say, the sixteen-year-old flower season, is in full bloom.

Then, Heather lowered her head again and began to turn the inside pages, and couldn't help but complain, "God, you're really low-key." Lest anyone know, is this your album?" There are no photos of people on the inside page, all of them are photos of Bulgari, a guitar left alone on the ground in a rental house, a sea of people blurred in the light and shadow of the subway, and a drunkard singing in the streets at midnight...... But there wasn't a single positive face, let alone Lan Li.

"Secrets are reserved for the attentive. Lan Li said with a smile.

Then Heather turned to the last page of the inner page.

A man sits cross-legged on the side of the street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, with a dilapidated and mottled stone-walled bar behind him, next to a garbage truck, and two homeless men lying in the corner, looking like a mess, dark gray walls, brick-red roofs, ocean-blue gates, burgundy window lattices, and stone-gray floors.

The man sat on the side of the street like this, white T-shirt and black jeans, without any extra clothes on his body, simple and generous, handsome and timeless, as if he had just raised his head, the camera captured that moment, and those bright and bright eyes left an imprint in an instant.

That's Ranley Hall.