“Is it Sister Chu and the others?”
“Yeah, let’s go over and see.”
“Okay.”
Xu Lin and Ji Yun took a few steps outside. Xu Lin turned back and noticed Bai Xiaoxiao hadn’t followed.
He waved at her.
“Come on, keep up.”
“Should I come too?” Bai Xiaoxiao pointed at herself.
“It’s your Sister Chu and the others, there are no outsiders.”
“Okay…”
Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at her dad, seeing no change in his expression. She nodded and hurried to catch up.“By the way, can we wear our school uniforms?”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to enter the villa area in our uniforms? Where did you hear that?”
Xu Lin looked at Bai Xiaoxiao’s nervous demeanor but didn’t mock her. He remembered feeling the same when he was young.
Back in elementary school, he went with his dad to a wealthy friend’s house. Feeling his clothes were dirty, he feared embarrassment.
Arriving at their home, he was awed by the luxurious decor and the boy dressed like a young master. He felt fear and unease.
The host invited him to sit on the sofa, but he didn’t dare to sit on such a beautiful couch.
The host brought over toys and video games, but he didn’t dare to play and didn’t know how.
He had only played with spinning tops and yo-yos, never encountering such exotic games.
The young boy said the gifts were from an uncle and not expensive, just 600 yuan, if he liked them, he could take them.
At that time, his father earned a monthly salary of only 1,000 yuan, and he seemed to understand something.
Later, he didn’t want to stay for another minute and begged his father to leave quickly.
That time, he first realized the difference between himself and others, the gap between wealth and poverty, and his self-respect.
Of course, he regretted later that he hadn’t worked harder to change himself and let his parents live a better life.
But he was reborn, and this time he would definitely not be like that. This was the meaning of his struggle, apart from his girls.
It was also the reason he had a special feeling for Bai Xiaoxiao the first time he saw her, but fortunately she wasn’t bullied and was even the class favorite.
They walked directly inside when they reached the east gate of the villa area. A security guard hurried over.
“Sorry, pets aren’t allowed in Jiuhua District.”
“Do the homeowners keep pets and not let them in?” Xu Lin looked at Chenpi in his arms.
“Xiao Wang, forget it, a few students, just let them in.” A security guard opposite shouted and waved his hand.
“Thank you.”
Xu Lin smiled at them and walked inside with Ji Yun and Bai Xiaoxiao.
When they walked away, the young security guard looked at the big brother, didn’t you say that we must strictly abide by the rules and regulations?
“Look at that kid’s spirit. Clearly he isn’t a sneaky rat. Besides, they are just a few students, there’s no need for so much trouble.”
“But…”
“You kid, being a security guard, if you want it to be comfortable and not so tiring, you have to manage the level of leniency.”
“Do we still have their information in the log?”
“Of course, when they come out, we’ll have them sign.”
“We were lenient when they entered, making it easy for them. When they leave, we can set some rules. They won’t be too unhappy, and we’ll be relaxed too.”
“Oh, I think I understand a bit now.” The young man nodded.
“Yeah, and maybe that kid meant the homeowner’s pets can’t be brought in? Maybe he’s friends with that animal-loving family. No need to cause trouble.”
“Our security here is different from other neighborhoods. To put it bluntly, we serve the homeowners like dogs. That’s why we get paid more.”
“True, bro. Let’s grab some barbecue tonight and teach this newbie?”
“Sure, we’ll switch shifts tonight and go eat barbecue.”
Xu Lin led the two girls into the villa area, but then he realized they hadn’t asked for directions and were unfamiliar with the neighborhood. How were they supposed to find their way?
“I’ll call Sister Chu to ask.”
Ji Yun took Bai Xiaoxiao’s phone and dialed Chu Qingchan’s number.
Xu Lin glanced at Bai Xiaoxiao, who was standing by the greenery not far away, looking around with a hint of timidity and nervousness on her face.
She turned in a circle, her expression changing from nervousness to seriousness, then furrowing her brow and clenching her fists.
“Phew… If I work hard enough, maybe my parents can live in a place like this too.”
“You definitely can.”
“Xu Lin?”
Bai Xiaoxiao was startled by Xu Lin suddenly appearing beside her. She stopped abruptly and scratched her head bashfully.
“I just feel like…”
“You’re right in thinking that way. Working hard is for yourself and also to give your parents something they couldn’t achieve through their own efforts.”
“I will work hard.”
“So, be confident. Blind confidence is meaningless, but with capability. Confidence coupled with effort can achieve many things you didn’t think possible.”
“Let me tell you a little story.” Xu Lin looked at Bai Xiaoxiao, reminded of something his mother had told him.
“We have a distant relative whose son didn’t perform well in middle school. He barely made it into a local ordinary high school, and even in the first year, his grades weren’t great overall. However, he loved biology and chemistry, consistently ranking at the top in those subjects.”
“One day, after his parents and teachers scolded him, saying, ‘Why are you doing so well in these subjects but not in others? It’s not that you can’t, but that you’re lazy,’ he didn’t think he was lazy, just not very good at languages and math. But with everyone saying so, he started putting in a bit more effort. With that, his grades improved significantly. He adjusted his mindset, improved gradually, and eventually worked hard enough to get into a prestigious university.”
“Afterward, he realized that although he wasn’t the top student academically from a young age, he wasn’t terrible either. He paid attention in class and did his homework, had a good foundation, but his attitude and lack of seriousness affected his grades.”
“With a bit more effort, he achieved results. With confidence next time, he could unleash everything, and admission to a good university naturally became attainable.”
“But you’re different, Bai Xiaoxiao. You’re already very capable and hardworking, which means you’re destined for success.”
“You’ll have everything in the future. Even if you don’t become as wealthy as those billionaires, isn’t improving your own and your parents’ lives a kind of success?”
After finishing his story, Xu Lin felt like he’d given a motivational speech. Bai Xiaoxiao, however, fell into deep thought.
“Thank you, Xu Lin.”
“Yeah, keep it up!”
“But Xu Lin, can I be as good as you just by working hard?”
Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly lifted her head and looked at him seriously, but before she could finish, Ji Yun approached with the phone, and Bai Xiaoxiao closed her lips.
“Did I disturb you two?”
“No, where did she say?”
“Follow this road inward, there’s a house number, 12.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The three walked inward along the left side of the road, and Xu Lin looked at the tall trees around him.
“Ji Yun, these white wax trees are quite beautiful. I remember there was one in the yard back home. But we sold it later. I hope to plant another white wax tree of my own someday.”
“You’ll need a place to plant it. Are you going to buy a villa too?”
“Haha, I have the money to buy one.”
Listening to Xu Lin, Ji Yun thought of the grapevine at her grandmother’s house.
Having your own yard did seem pretty nice.
But behind them, Bai Xiaoxiao, after hearing Xu Lin’s words, looked at the row of white wax trees beside her, thinking of the single white wax tree in her own home, and smiled softly.
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