249 The Sweet Past
Dong Chang smiled and took her hand. The two of them walked slowly under the street lights. “Don’t worry. I won’t walk you to your door. I won’t let your mother see us.”
Zhao Wan lowered her eyes and nodded obediently. She did not refuse anymore.
The two teenagers were enjoying their first romance. Their hearts were full, but they did not know how to express their feelings. They just tried their best to spend as much time with each other as possible.
The village’s mud roads had just been converted to concrete roads and they were clean and pleasant to walk on.
Dong Chang walked with Zhao Wan until they were near her house, then he stopped. But when he raised his eyes, he saw Mother and Father Zhao, who were out looking for Zhao Wan.
Dong Chang subconsciously let go of Zhao Wan’s hand. He panicked when he saw the two adults. He quickly greeted them. “Uncle, Auntie.”
Mother and Father Zhao instantly saw what was going on between them. Mother Zhao coldly took Zhao Wan’s hand and pulled her daughter behind her. She took a deep breath and looked at Dong Chang. “You should go home. You have school tomorrow.”
Her tone was still fairly cordial and Dong Chang sighed with relief. But he was worried that Zhao Wan would be reprimanded when she got home, so he smiled submissively and said, “Uncle, Auntie, Wan Wan has been studying very hard lately. We were doing practice questions and exam papers together. I believe her grades will improve in the next exam.”
Dong Chang was well known in the school for his excellent grades. He was always the top student in the cohort. Although the Dong and Zhao families were not close, they lived in the same village and knew each other.
When she heard that, Mother Zhao forced a smile and said gently, “Thank you for helping our Wan Wan. It’s late. You should go back.”
“Okay.” Dong Chang nodded obediently. After one last look at Zhao Wan, he bade farewell to the Zhao parents and turned to run back to his house.
Mother Zhao dragged Zhao Wan home and closed the door without a word. She glared at her sternly and said, “Who said you could be in a relationship at such a young age? You should be focusing on your studies!”
Father Zhao had been suppressing his anger just now. Now that the family was talking in private, he exploded. “You’re so young, but you’re dating! You’re dragging each other down. Do you know that?”
Zhao Wan cowered in the corner, blinking pitifully.
Mother Zhao’s heart softened. She squatted down and sighed. She hugged her daughter and coaxed softly, “Wan Wan, listen to me, okay? Don’t date Dong Chang now. When you grow up, I won’t stop you.”
Father Zhao also loved his daughter dearly and was worried that she would be hurt at such a young age. Now that he heard Mother Zhao say this, he realized that his tone had been too harsh. He hurriedly lowered his head and apologized to his daughter. “I was too harsh just now, but you’re still too young and don’t know what true love is. When you’re an adult, I won’t interfere with you dating. Promise me that you’ll break up first and focus on your studies, okay?”
Zhao Wan blinked as tears fell from her eyes. She felt as if her heart was being roasted over a fire.
She and Dong Chang had been deskmates since elementary school and had been friends for a few years. Now that they had naturally gotten together, it would not be easy for them to be apart.
She could not bear to agree to such a thing. She could only run back to her room, her heart aching. It was not until the next morning when she went to school that she emerged from her bedroom with red eyes.
Father and Mother Zhao looked at each other and saw their concern for their daughter reflected in each other’s eyes.
They did not dare to push too hard. They could only use their usual restrictions to protect their daughter from doing something wrong and going astray.
Under their strict supervision, Zhao Wan spent less and less time with Dong Chang after school. Later on, in order to ensure that someone would keep an eye on their daughter in school, the parents even sent many gifts to the form teacher, begging him to keep an eye on Dong Chang and Zhao Wan and ensure that they did not interact much.
Naturally, the teacher disapproved of students dating at such a young age, and kept a close eye on them in school.
The two children who had just gotten together were forced to suppress the urge to talk to each other at all times. However, they were so closely scrutinized that they felt guilty just for looking at each other.
Dong Chang finally lost control of his emotions one night after school. At the risk of being discovered, he secretly climbed over the back wall in the dead of night and snuck into Zhao Wan’s house. He quietly knocked on the window of Zhao Wan’s room.
Zhao Wan was indoors, doing her homework. She jumped with fright when she heard a noise outside the window. She thought it was a rat and almost shouted for her mother.
Dong Chang was smart. He carefully peeked over the windowsill and waved at Zhao Wan with a silly smile.
Only then did Zhao Wan realize that it was Dong Chang. She got out of bed and locked the door. Then, she quietly opened the window and asked in a low voice, “Why are you here? It’s so late. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I miss you,” Dong Chang said bluntly. He had been thinking about her for the past few days. He could not sit still. His mind was filled with Zhao Wan’s every frown and smile. If he did not come and talk to her properly, he would probably go crazy.