Forest Memories

Chapter 16. Slimming down

Anna went with the group to the temporary shed, and the two men were inside, but there was no sound. It was as quiet as if no one had been there.

Could it be that they had magic and taken it away from here? The crowd speculated. They looked carefully, but the shadows cast by the sun showed no movement.

"Walk away, they were magically taken away."

"Scattered, scattered."

After all, students who have not yet been involved in the world are not professional paparazzi who have been around for a long time. They have limited patience and do not care too much if they cannot see it. So they go away and scatter.

After waiting for a long time without results, Anna's curiosity was worn down to nothing, and she turned to leave. Just as she was about to go home, she caught a glimpse of the stars on the lakeside where there had been so many people.

The quality of the country's flowers needs to be improved. Anna shook her head and sighed, glancing at the entrance of the scenic spot. Most people were leaving, and few people came in again. She ran over and joined the sanitation team, volunteering again to protect the green water.

In the sunset, a girl in a middle school uniform was carefully cleaning up the garbage along the shore of the lake.

The girl was no longer as strong and powerful as she had been, and looked thin against the silence and emptiness.

The breeze blew over the lake, hitting her and lifting her thick bangs in front of her face, revealing a pair of delicate eyes that made the boy who was patrolling outside the shed stare.

It took Anna an hour and a half to pick up the trash around the lake. It was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and Anna estimated that it would take her at least an hour to get home at her current cycling skills and speed, by which time it would be dark.

In order to get home before dark, Anna returned the tools and prepared to ride her scooter.

At the parking shed, less than 100 meters from the scenic spot, Anna clearly saw Jack sitting on his motorized mount, puffing and blowing smoke.

He was smoking! Anna was disgusted by the fact that it was bad for her health and polluted the atmosphere. For some reason, she did not resent the boy in front of her, but felt a little sympathy for him.

For the eyes of the youth were always following me, cold and empty.

Why does he have this look in his eyes? He's living a better life than anyone else.

By a twist of fate, Anna turned around and rode over.

The two sat on their horses and looked at each other.

"You're thinner."

The teenager put out his cigarette and said this.

"Ha!"

In a serious situation, Anna was laughed by him. "Jack, do you often watch romantic dramas?"

"Hmm?"

"The first words of the male and female protagonists in a typical romance drama after they meet again after a long time are the three words you just said, hahaha."

"Bro doesn't look at that stuff, I mean it's true, you're really slim."

Anna glanced at her school uniform, which was a size smaller than she was, and smiled. "I know."

As for how thin, they understood each other.

Jack's heart ached, but he pretended to be playful. "I think it's cute to be fat. Get back to being fat."

"No, no, I don't want to go back to being fat. I feel so relaxed and comfortable." Anna said, spreading her arms and making a wing-like gesture.

Jack's eyes suddenly fell on the girl in front of him, who was like a bud about to bloom. Although it was a smaller model, it was more alluring and made him think again. The undercurrent of thoughts grew stronger and stronger until he could hardly control them.

When Anna noticed that Jack was not looking right, her face turned red. She immediately bowed her back and held her hands down to the handlebars of the bike.

"I'm in a hurry. I'll leave first."

As she spoke, Anna quickly got on her bike.

Jack：“……”

The desire was finally exposed! Jack slapped himself and cursed himself ten thousand times.

Anna wanted to concentrate on riding her bike, but Jack's eyes were constantly cycling through the way he looked at her chest. She had only seen that look in a TV show when a man was about to drive.

Too shameful, too terrible!

Anna pedaled all the way back home just in time for dark. Before she even entered the house, she heard voices coming from inside.

"This year, the drought has killed more than half of the fish in the pond, and only a few thousand pounds of oranges can be harvested from the orchard. Hongzhi's meager earnings from odd jobs have all been spent on daily expenses and Yi Yi's education. The New Year is coming, but how can we spend it?" Grandpa sighed as he spoke.

Anna's father was about to respond when his uncle beat him to it.

"Living expenses are not an issue; we can provide some assistance here. As for Yi Yi's studies, she can apply for a scholarship from the school. I heard from Chu' er and others that No.1 High School offers scholarships every semester. She should apply for it next semester. She can easily enter the special class as long as she explains her family situation clearly; there will definitely be no problem with the scholarship. If there really aren't any spots available, she can also explain the situation to the school and ask them to organize donations."

"That won't do," my aunt said.

Uncle: "What?"

Gugu: "Yi Yi has always had a strong sense of self-respect since she was little. She never easily tells others that she doesn't have a mother. It would be too much for her to explain her situation now. Besides, this child is in her adolescence, when vanity is at its peak. How could she bear it if you ask her to beg money from teachers and classmates?"

"Yes, no matter how difficult it is, we must not hurt the child's self-esteem. We can't rely on heaven. When I recover, I will do small things and have no difficulty in passing the New Year." Qing Hongzhi finally spoke up.

Qingya: "Don't try to be strong. Take good care of yourself first. If you really don't want to make things difficult for the child, you can try to take out the money, anyway it's for her."

Qing Hongzhi took a sip of wine and said, "Let's see."

"IyI is back," grandma said to Anna at the door.

Anna immediately squeezed out a smile, "Grandpa and grandma, aunt and uncle, dad, I'm back."

Everyone's attention was focused on Anna, watching her empty school uniform and turning to sniff.

"Iyiyi went to volunteer again, and she didn't provide food. Don't do it next time." Grandma said and took out the food she had helped her to leave in advance.

"Thank you grandma." Anna sat at the table and ate with her family.

"Iyah, eat more. Look at you. You've lost so much weight in just one month. Your father is upset!" Qing Hongzhi said with a sob as he covered his stomach wound.

Anna squeezed her eyes, swallowed the food in her mouth, wiped her mouth and smiled back: "Dad should be happy, it means I've reached the end of my smoking period, right, aunt."

"Yes, yes, yes." Qingya wrinkled her eyes. "Yi Yi is going to smoke a cigarette and become a beautiful woman!"

"Hahaha..." Grandma, who had been secretly wiping her tears, couldn't help but laugh. "It's good to be thinner. If we are thinner, Iyi will be the most beautiful girl in the village. But we can't be too thin. A girl who is too thin is not beautiful."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Anna smiled sweetly, but felt sour in her heart. She ate and chatted with her family.

The short holiday passed in Anna's sleep, perhaps because she had been too tired recently. She slept until noon the next day. Her father wanted to wake her up for breakfast, but her grandmother said that a good sleep was like taking a tonic, so she let her sleep until she woke up naturally.

Anna got up to tidy up after lunch and began to prepare to go back to school.

The conversation with her family yesterday left a deep impression on her. She could not change the weather, she could not ask for wind and rain, she could not help the family to earn money, all she could do was to save.

Anna did not take the bus, but chose to ride a bike. After all, it was just to catch up with the evening study, and an afternoon was enough for her to ride slowly.

Before going to school, Anna asked her grandmother to help her cut her hair. Her grandmother had been a barber when she was young, and she was good at fixing hair. She quickly cut Anna's short and short bob into a vibrant short haircut.