After the exhibition, Chu Xiangfu left Qiao Shu alone.

"Thank you, Mr. Chu, for your appreciation." Qiao Shu was full of joy, he didn't expect it to go so smoothly.

Chu Xiangfu waved his hand. "How is Hee-yong doing? I haven't seen you in over twenty years. ”

Qiao Shu was a little puzzled, "How do you know it's her?" "Still bowing his head." Teacher, she is very good. And just now I felt like you all knew her. ”

Twenty years ago, Jiang Xirong was not much younger than Qiao Shu now. Young people's enthusiasm, for the sake of university work, temporarily went to study painting, once successful, she also completely fell in love with painting. Jiang Xirong was commended for all kinds of high-quality course evaluations, and she participated in additional competitions. That summer, with Lin Yi's encouragement and companionship, she came to Shangjiang and came to this exhibition hall. She didn't have an invitation either, and begged the security guards to let her in, but in exchange for indifference. Chu Xiangfu was already famous back then, although he was not the person in charge of the exhibition at that time, but when he saw Jiang Xirong's appearance, he couldn't help but come forward to ask, and after seeing her works, he led her into the exhibition hall without saying a word.

It was the first time that Chu Xiangfu brought people to participate in the exhibition, and he was arrogant and never attended the exhibition with others. This time it was an exception, and it was a person they had never heard of or met. If it weren't for the fact that he was already married back then, I'm afraid Jiang Xirong would have become his rumored girlfriend.

He clearly remembered that Jiang Xirong painted a picture of snow at that time, which was obviously a white patch, but it was so real that Jiang Xirong painted it. The flying snowflakes and the reflection of the snow on the ground are outlined by her, coupled with the embellishment of red plums, the thickness of the pen is amazing. Especially when they knew that Jiang Xirong had only studied for three or four years, they were all amazed. Chu Xiangfu also painted 100,000 yuan to buy that painting.

Afterwards, the two had a meal together. Chu Xiangfu hoped that Jiang Xirong would officially enter the art world, give full play to his heart, and fulfill his dream. But Jiang Xirong politely refused, she said that she would inevitably be crowned with the title of "artist" and "painter", she didn't like it, she still liked the plain and simple life. She also begged Chu Xiangfu to cover up this matter, she didn't want anyone to disturb her life because of painting. replaced her title with Jian Rong, and her true identity was only known to Chu Xiangfu.

Since then, few people know Jiang Xirong's name.

"You have the style she had back then." Chu Xiangfu patted Qiao Shu's shoulder.

Qiao Shu looked at the person in front of him, Chu Xiangfu, a famous Chinese painter in Shangjiang, and also a high-minded and arrogant teenager, who met the most beautiful Jiang Xirong at a passionate age. What I have not forgotten for 20 years is the painting or the person.

After Qiao Shu left, Chu Xiangfu dialed the phone number of the person who sent him the photo just now.

"Zhibai, why didn't you tell me that she was Jian Rong's student?"

"Jane? You're talking about Jiang Xirong. Song Zhibai said with a smile.

"You know who she is, too?" Chu Xiangfu sat on the sofa with a cup of tea, full of interest.

Song Zhibai lowered his head and tasted the painting he enjoyed with Qiao Shu that day. "It's all in Shangjiang, how could I not know. If I told you in advance, I'm afraid you'll show your stuff. ”

"I'm still wondering who is the person who can let you come through the back door. It turns out that the identity is not simple. ”

"Future daughter-in-law, I don't want my old Song family's daughter-in-law to run into walls everywhere outside."

Chu Xiangfu was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile. "Then I wish your son to marry this painter home as soon as possible."

A month has passed, and the day before the Ma Rong flash competition, both amateur and professional athletes checked into the hotel and set off on time the next day.

Qiao Shu dialed Lin Yi's phone. "Mr. Lin, I'm going to participate in the competition tomorrow."

Lin Yi was here while looking for the phone number of his old friend and encouraging Qiao Shu. "Come on! The teacher believes in you. ”

Qiao Shu suddenly lowered his head. "I'm afraid...... I will lose. If people know I'm your student, and I lose badly......"

Lin Yi put down the phone book in his hand and smiled lightly. "Don't be afraid, I told you, do anything, be afraid, you will lose for a lifetime. It doesn't matter if you lose, you have to win. I remember, when you took the high school entrance examination, you were also afraid, your writing speed was much slower than others, and your physical education was more than ten points less than others, and you may not get quota students, but it is your dream to get into a school of your choice, and I told you the same thing at that time, and you finally succeeded. Today, it's the same. ”

"Yes, I have too many dreams, and I have dreams of drawing, writing, and running when I go to the school of my choice. So much, I hope it's not a big dream of mine, I hope they can all come true. I can't be afraid! Qiao Shu immediately gained confidence, she didn't understand why it was Lin Yi who gave her encouragement and confidence every time, but after listening to his words, she felt full.

Then Lin Yi picked up the phone book again, looking for it line by line, as if he had found the number he wanted, with a smile on his face. "Tomorrow all of us will be watching you in front of the TV, and we all believe in you."

"Good. I won't let you down. Qiao Shu looked confident.

After talking to Qiao Shu on the phone, Lin Yi immediately dialed the number he had just found.

The next day, the sun was very face-saving and shone on the people. Qiao Shu got up at the same time as it, freshened up, changed into the clothes prepared by the organizing committee in advance, and tied his hair into a ball. I was going downstairs to have some breakfast, and as soon as I opened the door, I saw the waiter pushing the breakfast cart at the door.

"Good morning, Miss Joe, this is a breakfast carefully prepared for you, please use it slowly." The waiter respectfully handed the breakfast to Qiao Shu.

Qiao Shu was stunned for a moment. "Huh? Isn't this breakfast just for professional athletes? How could I have it? ”

The waiter was speechless for a moment, and took out the list under the dining car. "I don't know, you're on the delivery list."

Qiao Shu glanced at the list, and indeed had his own name, so he had to take the breakfast. "Thank you."

Turning back to the room, looking at the breakfast in his hand, the standard meal is what he likes to eat, bread, fruit, glucose water, vitamin C supplementation is easy to digest, and other amateur athletes have to prepare their own, in case which one is not suitable will affect the performance of long-distance running, Qiao Shu feels that he has picked up a bargain.

After eating six or seven minutes full, Qiao Shu stopped eating, usually the amount of food is small, and she feels that eating less has little effect. It was seven o'clock when he packed up, and the game started at half past eight, and Qiao Shu went to the arena with the big team.

"The 30th Shangjiang City Ma Rong Flash Competition kicked off today, and it is reported that there are 1,200 professional athletes and 10,000 amateur players, which is comparable to the number of previous years."

Jiang Hong's side and everyone waited in front of the TV, even if his grandfather was in the hospital, Qiao Shu had wanted to participate in the competition since he was a child, and today he finally got his wish. The camera swept over, but they didn't see Qiao Shu, it was really difficult for thousands of people to find one.

Qiao Shibin sat in front of the hospital bed, looking at his father with a haggard face, it was rare to have some energy today, but his heart was always uneasy. "Dad, why don't you wait for Xiao Shu to finish this competition, and let her come back to accompany you?"

Grandpa shook his head, he stared at the screen, but he didn't see Qiao Shu's figure, a little disappointed. "Don't take me, an old man, to drag young people back."

Qiao Shibin wanted to speak again, but the game had already started on TV, and his grandfather waved his hand to signal that he would not speak again.

"The game is officially on. The race is 43 kilometers long, passing through 28 scenic spots in Shangjiang City along the way. ”

Lin Yi stared intently at the TV, and when the camera turned to the amateur group, there was no Qiao Shu in the mighty team in front of him.

Qiao Shu set off with everyone, at first she kept up with everyone's rhythm, and gradually she fell to the end, her breathing was a little short. There are still forty kilometers left, she has to adjust her breathing, and someone next to her actually handed her water, although she took it to drink, but this is obviously an amateur group, how can there be such treatment, let alone be mistaken. What's going on?

The camera finally swept to Qiao Shu's body, and in just a few seconds, it was enough to make the person in front of the TV excited. As a professional athlete, Lin Yi saw Qiao Shu's discomfort, and his breathing was uneven in the early stage, so what should be done with such a long distance left. With Qiao Shu's current physical condition, he is not suitable for participating in long-distance running, but he can't stop it, and he doesn't want to stop it, Qiao Shu finally took the first step with Song Mingsu, saying that he would turn back, if he stopped Qiao Shu from participating in the race, maybe her pain would be worse than physical discomfort.

"Xiao Hao, call Xiao Song quickly and ask him if he has reached the end." Lin Yi was quite anxious. He crossed his hands in front of his lips, and even though the camera was almost on the top three in the professional group, his eyes never took off half a minute.

After Lin Hao agreed, he immediately called Song Mingsu.

"Brother Hao, don't worry, I've been waiting at the finish line for a long time. I will receive Shu'er, and I will explain things clearly to her. Song Mingsu stretched out his head to look outside, for fear of missing Qiao Shu.

The camera still occasionally swept over Qiao Shu, her face was flushed, maybe others wouldn't feel anything unusual, thinking that this was a normal reaction to strenuous exercise, but Lin Yi knew very well that Qiao Shu had become more and more uncomfortable.

"Xiao Shu, hold on." Lin Yi meditated in his heart.

Qiao Shu was always followed by someone, she was confused, out of breath, and kept running, even if she was left behind, she never stopped for half a minute.

At the end of the line, in addition to Song Mingsu waiting for Qiao Shu, there was also Ye Chenyu, who was also waiting for her. The two of them should have known each other, both high school classmates, but they never saw each other.

The finish line ushered in athletes one after another, and the top three thrones were taken away, even the top ten and top twenty, but they never saw Qiao Shu's figure. The TV station has stopped broadcasting, and Lin Yi is still not at ease.

Almost at the end, most of the contestants had already passed the finish line, and then they saw Qiao Shu's figure. She was almost physically exhausted, and she couldn't run, but she was still persevering. One hundred meters, fifty meters, thirty meters, ten meters, five meters, one meter, Qiao Shu finally crossed the finish line, Ye Chenyu immediately caught up with Qiao Shu, she collapsed in Ye Chenyu's arms. Extremely weakly said thank you.

The moment Song Mingsu saw Ye Chenyu, Qiao Shu was lying in Ye Chenyu's arms, and he felt that the sky had fallen. Running in front of the two of them, he pushed Ye Chenyu away and hugged Qiao Shu into his arms. "Shu'er, I'm sorry, I'm late."

Qiao Shu forced himself to stand up independently, pushed Song Mingsu away, and left straight away regardless of Ye Chenyu behind him. Song Mingsu and Ye Chenyu chased after him.

"What else are you doing here? Didn't I say that clearly enough that day? Qiao Shu was a little impatient with Song Mingsu's relentless pursuit, and she, who was originally weak, yelled hard.

Song Mingsu shook his head again and again. "No, I believe that if you are willing to promise me, you will not give up easily. You're not half-, are you? ”

Qiao Shu's eyes were filled with tears, and he choked up. "Yes, it was. If you didn't go to the army at the beginning, but promised Brother Hao to go to Company H to help Uncle Song through the crisis, maybe I would always be with you. ”

"I joined the army for you! You like ...... so much."

Song Mingsu's words were interrupted by Qiao Shu. "Don't do it for me anymore! You've done so much for me, live for yourself once, okay? Find someone better than me and let someone else live for you once. ”

"No, no, you can't be left unattended." Song Mingsu held Qiao Shu's hands tightly and stared at her closely, eager to start again.

Qiao Shu ruthlessly let go of Song Mingsu's hand and pulled the silent Ye Chenyu on the side. "Yes, someone took care of me. Ye Chenyu, I also like him to take care of me, yes, I just like him. Are you satisfied? And the 50,000 yuan, I will transfer it to you as soon as possible. After speaking, she took off the bracelet in her hand, threw it at Song Mingsu, and pulled Ye Chenyu away.

Song Mingsu picked up the bracelet and held it tightly in his hand. "Qiao Shu!" Song Mingsu shouted her name loudly in the back, again and again, but she didn't look back, and walked farther and farther, farther and farther.

Ye Chenyu let Qiao Shu pull and didn't make a sound until he walked to a lawn, Qiao Shu spread his hand, squatted next to the lawn and kept crying. Ye Chenyu walked up to her and handed her a piece of paper.

"Don't cry."

He helped Qiao Shu up again and sat on the bench beside him.

"Why torture each other when they love each other?" Ye Chenyu's eyes were always on Qiao Shu, looking at her appearance, he only felt infinitely distressed.

Qiao Shu wiped away her tears, she was exhausted after running, she cried a lot just now, and now she only has a little strength. "I confess, I love him. But he did so much for me, gave up too much, even some meaningless things, and I didn't want to delay him any longer. ”

Ye Chenyu wanted to hug her, but when he saw Qiao Shu's appearance, he couldn't help it. "Because he loves you too, he is willing to do everything and sacrifice everything for you. You don't think too much about others, thinking too much is not good. ”

Qiao Shu stood up from the bench, and the smile on his face was long gone. "Thank you today, I invite you and Ling Ling out for dinner another day. I'll go back first. ”

Looking at Qiao Shu's back, he hated himself for being cowardly, if he was as bold as Song Mingsu, maybe he wouldn't let her get hurt.

Qiao Shu returned to the rental house, the TV was replaying today's game, and seeing her poor performance, she turned off the TV and didn't want to watch it again. At this time, Lin Yi called.

Qiao Shu spoke first. "Teacher Lin, I'm sorry to disappoint you." She lowered her head and looked at her feet, tears no longer flowing.

"You did a good job today, at least you finished the game. You didn't disappoint me, you didn't disappoint anyone. Little Joe, it doesn't matter if you lose the game, you lose to others, but you beat yourself. I told you last night. Lin Yi had a solemn expression on his face, he knew how difficult Qiao Shu was today, and hearing such a tone, Song Mingsu probably failed.

"There are many games in life, and defeat accounts for nine tenths, but we don't get that tenths of victory, because we don't get one-ten-thousandth of God's protection. But you can break God's destiny because you did. If you fail a hundred times, you will always win, and we believe in you. ”

Joe shook her head, and then she pondered. I thought about Lin Yi's words repeatedly all night.