Knowing the fragrance, I believe that the fate that God has given me has arrived.

Aroma isn't beautiful, but it's definitely not ugly. The twenty-four-year-old's face was filled with the charm and brilliance of my daughter's family, and although her charm and brilliance did not make my heart flutter at first sight, I was still conquered in the process of getting along. Before knocking on her door, I kept singing Zheng Jun's "Cinderella" to her from the bottom of my heart.

Although my desire to start a family is not strong, the slimness of my career still makes me uneasy.

This summer, I decided to give up my career as a teacher in a private school and go to another country to make a career and gain love. When my relatives and friends learned of my decision, they dissuaded me, saying that it would not be easy to make a career in another country. Still, I decided to go, so I called a few relatives and friends out of town, and I was at a loss for their responses. They said on the phone that it was already crowded outside and that it was quite difficult to find an errand. They told me to wait at home and call me as soon as there was a chance outside. I accepted the confessions of my relatives and friends, and I didn't dare to go out rashly, so I waited for their calls at home. However, the summer vacation was almost over, and none of the calls from relatives and friends came. I knew I couldn't afford to be idle at home, so the good horse went back to the school.

At that time, the school was busy recruiting new students, and the school president was so excited to see me come back that he was almost overjoyed, and he was reluctant to let me leave the school. To be honest, and not boasting, my language classes were okay, and I was able to cope with a lot of work in school for him. When I returned to this school, it was natural that the work of recruiting publicity fell on my shoulders at this time. Although I have never studied any art major, I can still afford to play piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and the degree of exquisiteness is naturally far away, but in this poor and remote place, I can be regarded as a "talent". Do your best, do your best, and since you are back in this school, you should do your best to serve this school.

That day, I was busy with the admissions slogan, and the school president called me to accompany the customer, saying that a friend of his had introduced the new teacher.

A friend of the school president introduced her to a female teacher, who was in her twenties, wearing a pair of glasses, and her appearance was not handsome. I heard that she studied in high school for two years, but due to her poor family background, she has not found a job after graduation.

Maybe it's because of the same fate, I have some sympathy for her. In the afternoon, she left school, and I was inexplicably concerned about her.

After the start of the new semester, the school implements competition for teachers. Although her education is a little higher than mine, I am still a little worried about her, after all, she has never been on the podium, after all, there are those competitors with college diplomas. In order to make it through the competition, I have always encouraged her to be confident. Then, I told her about my experience of teaching in the past two years. Even though I had to try it out through the competition, I was worried about her and not about myself. She decided to try to speak English, but she hadn't touched an English book for two years, and she didn't feel much sure about herself. With a solid foundation in English, I wrote a "Self-Introduction" for her before the trial lecture, and asked her to memorize it more proficiently, so that she would not be confused by panic when she went to the podium for the first time.

She passed the trial lecture very smoothly, the stone in my heart fell to the ground, naturally I was a lot easier, I competed with others to try the language with the psychology of winning the game, and the result was in my hands. Next, the school divided the curriculum, and Fang Xiang and I both worked part-time as the main subjects of the two grades, and there were more than 20 class hours per week. I am familiar with not speaking Chinese, but for me, because I have learned solidly when I am studying and I have been standing on the podium for two years, it is quite easy to teach. Aroma was different, and she looked a little nervous. Seeing her like this, I was also a little nervous. As a result, I often share with her experiences that are not experienced. At the same time, I found that she was getting more and more beautiful. I no longer doubt what others say - people are not cute because they are beautiful, but beautiful because they are cute. Needless to say, I have more than just sympathy for her.

After I found out that I had really fallen in love with Aroma, my extremely ambivalent psychology made me a little restless, after all, my education, my family background, and my age were so embarrassing, I always felt that I was not worthy of her inferiority. I'm not the kind of lewd man who doesn't dare to love or hate, but in front of Aroma, I cringe a little. I was tormented by an emotion, so I played my free time into the cheap electronic keyboard.

That night, I was playing the piano in my dorm room like a madman, and the fragrance came over. After I played a few songs, she asked me to teach her how to play the piano. I was a little flattered and excited, and told her all the pitiful music theory I knew. However, her fingers were still so stiff on the keys. I couldn't wait for her to play a tune right away, and I couldn't help but take her hand. The moment I took her hand, her hand stopped. She didn't pull her hand out, but looked at me quietly. I looked back at her face in silence. This silence between them made my long-stored mood boil, and I regained the courage to dare to love and hate. I told her what was on my mind.

Instead of refusing or accepting, Fang Xiang suddenly asked me why I still haven't started a family. I was very honest with her about my disgraceful past. Aroma didn't mind that, and in the future, our story slowly began.

Aroma told me that I was her first love. I told Fang Xiang that it didn't matter if I was her first love or not, the important thing was that the two of us would be able to get to know each other in the future. In our relationship, my thoughtfulness and concern for Aroma can be said to be meticulous, after all, I am much older than her, and I have a responsibility for her that cannot be neglected.

As the relationship deepened, Fang Xiang proposed to me that she would marry her in the future. Buying a house in the city is easy to say, but for me now, the amount of money needed to buy a house is definitely astronomical. Although I am not willing to stay in this barren land for the rest of my life, I still dare not hope to buy a house in the city. I understand Aroma, after all, she doesn't want to be poor, after all, she has to face her relatives and friends, but I can't meet her conditions right now.

When Fangxiang's family learned about what happened to Fangxiang and me, they strongly objected to her continuing to associate with me. I can also understand Xiangxiang's family, they want her to be rich, they want her to be happy. But I can't make her rich for the time being, although I can give her happiness. Aroma promised her family that she would no longer associate with me and that she would continue to develop our story with me. I knew I couldn't help myself, and so did the fragrance.

In the blink of an eye, it was the autumn vacation, and the intensive class I taught did not have an assumption, and I had to continue to take classes. Aroma could go home and help her family with some farm work, but she stayed.

"We're too busy on weekdays, so let me accompany you on holidays." Aroma's words are definitely not acting lines, between her family and me, I can see that she is more inclined to me.

I was very touched that even though Aroma was there to accompany me to take care of me, I still wouldn't let her do some tedious things for me, although these things were very slight and didn't require much effort, but I really felt sorry that she would be tired. In the few days we spent together, I really felt that it was good to have a "home", someone to confide in my tired heart, and someone to comfort my wounded feelings. I thought about getting married, although the house was still a barrier between us.

Halfway through the ten-day vacation, Aroma was going back, and I didn't stop it. Although I was reluctant to let her go, after all, her family still had a few acres of land to do, and she could help her family do something if she went back early. The moment she said goodbye to me, she gently told me that her person was gone and her heart was here. Actually, I'm the same, my people stay here, but my heart follows her.

For the next few days, I felt like I was living like a year.

The holiday is over, and the aroma is back as scheduled. But her face made me feel a little bad. Still, I happily asked her how she was feeling these days. She cried, hugged me and cried. She said she could no longer bear the pressure from her family, and her family knelt down for her. In fact, why am I not under the pressure of my family? Fang Xiang also knew that during this time, my father called me again and again to ask me to go back, and in the past few days after Fang Xiang left, the second brother gave up his farm work and drove dozens of miles in the rain to the school to urge me. After all, I am already a person in my thirties, and in the countryside, the children of my thirties should be in junior high school, and I am alone, and my father is naturally anxious. If I go back and nod my head at this time, Xiangfang will marry right away. And I haven't gone back, in fact, I also know that Xiangfang doesn't love me very much, but she admires me very much. I have been on a blind date with Xiangfang once before, and I have met a few times, and she should have been moved by me. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come to me again after all these years. With a blank face, I asked if the fragrance that was still crying was really over like this. Aroma nodded heavily. I turned around manly and left the aromatic room. But, back in my room, I couldn't get a man anymore, and I felt like I was just an empty shell.

On Sunday, my father arrived at school from dozens of miles away early in the morning. I knew my father's intentions, and after breakfast, I went home with my father. Xiangfang is waiting at home. In my conversation with Xiangfang, I really didn't know what to do with her.

When I rushed back to school from home, it was already late. As soon as a few colleagues saw me, they asked me to go see Aroma, saying that after I left in the morning, Aroma would be restless and wanted to cry. Suddenly, my heart ached, but I still showed a kind of pretended strength, and now that she had decided to put our story to an end, what else could I say? At this time, a female colleague came to me and told me that Fang Xiang was crying in the office alone, and she couldn't persuade her for a long time. I couldn't pretend to be strong anymore and sprinted into the office.

There were already a lot of tears in front of Fangxiang, and when she saw me come in, she rushed over and hugged me tightly, choked up and said, "I thought you wouldn't come back." After saying that, he cried bitterly.

It was at this moment that I decided that I still wanted to reject Xiangxiang. I gently cupped Aroma's face and told Aroma that I was still hers.

The fragrant tears flowed even faster.

I believe even more that there is such a fate between me and Aroma.

Since then, I have been more considerate and caring for the fragrance. The fragrance also soothes the tiredness and vicissitudes of my soul more gently. I still talked to Aroma about my desire to get married, and Aroma promised me that she would have a complete showdown with her family on Sunday.

That Sunday, I was happily and anxiously waiting at school for news of Aroma. However, what I was waiting for was a wound that I would never heal for the rest of my life. When Aroma arrives at school, the first thing she says is that it's really time for our business to be over. Hearing this, I froze all at once, and I only felt tears rolling in my eyes. In life, I was very strong, and emotionally, I turned out to be so fragile. Aroma wants to have a good talk with me, is there anything else to talk about? I have lived for thirty years, and I really feel what it is like to be deceived and fooled.

"I really can't resist the pressure of my family!" Aroma's statement may be true, but it sounds so hypocritical to me.

I went back to Xiangfang, but Xiangfang didn't ask me for anything because of my return, and she still didn't ask for anything, just that I could be good to her in the future. Can I?

Soon, I was about to have a wedding with Xiangfang, and my colleagues in the know reminded me that getting married is a great joy in life, even if I pretend, I must pretend to be smiling. On the day I got married, I had a happy smile on my face all the time. I don't know if there is a flaw in such a smile. When the guests were gone, Xiangxiang peeled a piece of candy for me, saying that this was our candy. I can't taste the sweetness of this sugar. Looking at the fragrance of happiness in front of me, I really can't tell whether the tears quietly dripping from the corners of my eyes are excitement, happiness, or disaster......

(This article won the third prize of the "National Youth Novel Competition" of the "Rural Youth" magazine of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League in 2002)