"Qingqing, I have arranged a marriage for you."
The father's voice was low and calm on the other end of the phone, without a trace of emotional fluctuations, as if announcing something that was nothing more than ordinary.
Chu Qingqing was stunned, as if she had been hit by a slap in the face, and the whole person froze in place. The graduation design drawings in her hand slowly slipped, drifted on the stone steps in front of the library, and gently fluttered in the wind.
The spring wind should be as gentle as silk, but at this moment it seemed to be as cold as a knife, sticking to her face and cutting her heart. She stood there, like a puppet abandoned by the world.
She thought her father called her suddenly because he missed her and wanted her to go home. But who knew that what he was waiting for was this sentence - "Marriage"?
"Dad...what did you say?" Her voice trembled slightly, and she could hardly believe her ears. Her heartbeat seemed to stop at that moment.
"Let's talk about it when you get home." Her father left only four words and hung up the phone. Decisive, indifferent, without any room for explanation.
"Hello? Dad?" She hesitated and looked at the screen of her mobile phone again. The familiar number had returned to silence, with only the blind sound of "beep-beep-beep" in her ears, one by one, like a sharp needle piercing her heart.
She stood there for a long time, her eyes were empty, and her eyes gradually turned red. She couldn't figure out why her father, who had always been gentle, would suddenly make such a decision? She was only 21 years old, had not yet left the college, and her life had just begun. How could she just... marry someone?
What's more, it was an "arranged" marriage.
A strong sense of uneasiness surged into her heart like a tide, swallowing her whole body.
She tried to suppress her surging emotions and bent down to pick up the drawing on the ground, but found that her fingers were shaking slightly - she couldn't even hold the paper steadily. She hurriedly stuffed the drawing into her schoolbag and rushed down the steps of the library almost like she was escaping.
She had to go back and figure out what was going on immediately.
She walked quickly through the campus path and just turned the corner when she bumped into several classmates who were walking towards the library.
"Qingqing? Why are you in such a hurry?" Lin Wan reached out to support her, her face full of surprise, "Didn't you say that we would go to the library to review together in the afternoon?"
"I..." Chu Qingqing was speechless for a moment, and her footsteps involuntarily took a step back, her voice panicked, She had completely forgot about this promise, but it seems no longer important to her. "There is an emergency at home, I have to go back immediately!"
"What's wrong? Is your father sick again?"
Before Lin Wan could ask more questions, a familiar and deep male voice came from behind.
"Qingqing, what happened?"
Chu Qingqing's heart was shocked and she turned around subconsciously.
It was Lu Yan.
He stood not far away, wearing a familiar dark blue sweater, frowning, his expression full of worry. He was her inseparable friend since junior high school, the boy in her heart who silently accompanied her to grow up. He was also the one she had quietly promised the future to.
He walked a few steps closer to her, and said softly: "You look very wrong, what happened?"
Chu Qingqing looked up and looked at him, right into his clear eyes. Those eyes reflected her panic and struggle at the moment, like a mirror, reflecting the secrets and hesitations in her heart at the moment.
Her throat suddenly choked, and an inexplicable guilt and regret surged into her heart.
She once had decided that they would be together after graduation, And if he did not propose her, she would take the initiative. But now, she didn't even dare to think about this "future".
"Qingqing..." Lu Yan gently held her wrist, his voice low and firm, "Don't scare me, what happened?"
She pulled her hand back suddenly, whispering: "I'm really fine, it's just...something happened at home."
"I'll take you home." He said without hesitation.
"No need." She shook her head quickly, her eyes dodging, "I can go back by myself. And...Soon the class will start. Didn't you say that professional class is very important? Go and listen, help me take some notes...I'll make up for it later."
She spoke quickly, as if she was escaping, and as if she was begging, just asking him not to ask any more questions, not to get close again.
Lu Yan looked at her silently, with strong worry and confusion in his eyes. He seemed to see through her pretending to be calm, but he also knew that she didn't want to be questioned now.
After a long time, he finally nodded and smiled faintly: "Okay. Then you promise me that you will send me a message when you get home."
"Yeah." She responded softly, turned around and ran away.
He stood there, watching her thin back gradually disappear outside the school gate, frowning and feeling uneasy.
Behind him, Lin Wan whispered: "Don't chase her, Qingqing is not the kind of person who panics easily, it must be that something really happened at home... Give her some time?"
But Lu Yan just glanced at her indifferently and whispered: "How can I ignore her when she is in trouble?"
After that, he pushed through the crowd and chased in the direction she disappeared.
At this moment, Chu Qingqing had already sat in a taxi, holding her knees tightly with both hands, her fingertips white. She looked at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, her face as pale as paper, and her father's words echoed in her ears-
"I have arranged a marriage for you."