Chapter 50

Until that annoying dog barked at him.

“It’s not his; it was raised by my grandmother,” Jian said slowly.

Chen Zhou's mouth opened slightly, and he let out a sound of surprise.

"I see." He walked towards the wheat field, squatted down, and successfully caught it as it retreated.

"It's actually quite cute." He took back what he had just said about it being annoying.

Chen Zhoujing scratched its chin and stroked its thick fur: "Do you bring it down here every holiday?"

Jian shook her head: "No, I..."

"I got up early today." The truth is, I woke up in the middle of the night, my mind raced for a long time, and then I had that dream.

She cleared her throat: "My grandma usually takes care of me; I only do it occasionally."

Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise, and Jian Sheng could hear a hint of disappointment in his tone. She looked at him in confusion.

In the morning light, his hair was half-shining as he obediently squatted on the ground, gently kneading the wheat field.

On a peaceful morning, I feel much less energetic than usual.

Jian Sheng looked away, her ears turning red, and she thought of how he leaned against the wall last night, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at her.

Each frame and image flashed through her mind like a slideshow.

It stirred up her uncontrollable memories.

Chen Zhoujing, who was squatting on the ground, seemed to really like the wheat field and teased it for quite a while.

However, Wheat seemed uninterested in him and kept burrowing behind her. She had to lower her head and call out softly before it calmed down.

Chen Zhou chuckled and stood up: "I thought I'd see you taking it down for a walk every morning."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her against the light.

The thumping sound in Jian Sheng's ear began to become unstoppable.

She squinted in the golden light, her gaze fixed on his thin lips. After a moment, she said, "What? Do you want to see me get up early every day to walk the dog?"

Chen Zhou blinked in surprise: "Yes, I like it."

He pointed to the body dodging in the wheat field and said in a simple, indifferent voice, "Won't I be exhausted?"

"Huh?" Chen Zhoujing didn't realize the meaning of those words for a moment; he just wanted to bump into her.

After thinking for a moment, I realized I had forgotten about her schedule, and I was about to explain.

Jian Sheng said seriously, "Then I can come down to walk the dog every evening."

She shut up after she finished speaking, lowered her head and interacted with the wheat field, leaving Chen Zhoujing alone, bewildered in the early morning breeze.

His cheeks gradually flushed red, whether from the biting cold wind or something else, it was hard to tell.

However, he feels very hot now.

Jian Sheng, who hadn't received a response from him, looked up and asked, "Why are you acting so strangely today?"

Strange? Chen Zhou was amused by her use of reduplicated words.

He mimicked her and said, "What's so strange about it?"

Jian Sheng didn't say it out loud, but it was a feeling.

However, Chen Zhoujing already knew, and his heart warmed. He took a step forward and said, "I was just thinking about how to bring it up."

Jian Sheng frowned: "Why?"

He always talks nonsense without thinking, and some of the things he says make him laugh for a long time.

I always feel that Chen Zhoujing is different from his usual self at times; one is sunny, the other is gloomy.

Yangguang is a chatterbox who never stops talking and loves to tease her in all sorts of ways, but he's not shy at all.

The gloom is like it is now. Although there is a smile on the face, the person is not as active and enthusiastic as usual. Instead, they are very calm.

"Do you want to hear it?" He bent down and leaned closer.

The questions in Jian Sheng's mind vanished. The two were very close, close enough that she could see the shock reflected in his bright eyes.

She didn't speak, but he said, "I just wanted to run into you."

The moment those words were spoken, the gloom on Chen Zhoujing's body vanished instantly.

Jian Sheng already regretted asking the question.

She said "oh" and murmured, "Why did you have to run into me...?"

Chen Zhoujing walked around to her side and took the dog leash from her hand: "Come on, come on, how much longer? Let's go together."

Seeing his change in demeanor, that familiar feeling returned.

Jian Sheng fell silent. Chen Zhoujing, holding the dog, told her all the way about the dream he had last night.

It's a vast world where people, animals, and even everyday inanimate objects can express emotions, and some can even talk.

She listened quietly, without the slightest impatience.

But Wheatfield couldn't take it anymore. Under Chen Zhoujing's control, it became extremely agitated and ran around the two of them. The rope held it in place, successfully bringing the two of them closer and closer.

Jian exclaimed in surprise, "Wheatfield, what are you doing?"

Wheat Field seemed to find it very amusing and kept circling around the two of them, but unfortunately, the rope was too short.

Forced to stand close together, Jian Sheng felt half of his body go numb. Finally, Chen Zhoujing stepped out and shortened the rope, bringing Mai Tian closer to him.

He looked at Jian Sheng, who had been looking down, tilted his head, and looked at her lowered face.

Jian Sheng was startled by Chen Zhou's sudden intrusion, and he jerked his head up and straightened his back.

She made a big movement, stopped in her tracks, and stared at him blankly.

Chen Zhou froze, suppressing the words that were about to be amused, and instead asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

“His face looks so pale…” He subconsciously raised his hand, then lowered it again in mid-air.

Suddenly, something occurred to me: "Is it low blood sugar? Did you eat breakfast?"

Jian shook his head: "No."

"No?" Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that a coincidence?"

"Let's go, let's go, let's go." He pulled Maitian along, glanced at it, and said, "Send it up here?"

Jian Sheng pursed her lips and did not refuse: "Okay, let's go back first."

Seeing that she didn't refuse, Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked around to her apartment building, watched her go upstairs, and then took out his phone, which had been ringing several times.

The contact name on WeChat is Yuanshan, and the profile picture is a photo of a seven or eight-year-old boy.

Her message contained the following:

All that I said to you last night was for nothing, wasn't it?

You must come to my place to spend the New Year.

Don't think I don't know you're staying with that guy.

How disgusting are you, Chen Zhoujing!

He showed no expression as he shoved his phone back into his pocket, then rummaged around in his pocket, but couldn't pull out anything that could soothe his emotions.

So he pinched the back of his neck several times and walked back and forth a few steps, forcibly suppressing his agitated emotions.

This feeling was instantly replaced by a sense of surprise when Jian Sheng ran out.

He has already decided that he likes her.

However, that's impossible; she wouldn't do that.

As he thought about it, a complex emotion flashed across his eyes, but when he saw Jian Sheng walk up to him, her lips curving into a smile, his eyes crinkling, he returned to normal.

Jian Sheng didn't speak, but stretched out his clenched fists, backs up, towards him. After doing this, he said, "Guess where the thing is."

Chen Zhou was pleasantly surprised to find that this seemingly childish game, which only he could create, had appeared in her life.

He gave a puzzled "hmm," drawing out his words and deliberately softening his voice: "Let me guess."

Jian Sheng simply nodded and waited patiently.

She eagerly awaited to see his reaction when he guessed wrong. After a long while, he slowly reached out and pointed to her left.

Then she saw him squint at her, as if trying to confirm.

Jian Sheng chuckled softly, her facial expressions quite vivid. She shook her head mysteriously for a while, and finally said regretfully, "I almost guessed right!"

Chen Zhou exclaimed in shock: "Wrong?"

He focused intently: "That shouldn't be the case, my gaze was fixed on your left."

"Looks like my eyesight is bad!" he gritted his teeth.

"I'll give you one more chance," Jian said, hiding his hands behind his back, switching positions, and then extending them out in front of him again.

Chen Zhoujing didn't find it childish at all; in fact, he found it quite amusing. After a moment of contemplation, he squinted and observed Jian Sheng's eyes.

Under her pure gaze, he gradually gave in: "I really can't guess."

Jian Sheng sighed softly, "Then you're really stupid."

"Yes, yes, you're right. Then tell me, which one has something inside?" Chen Zhoujing said in a tone that was almost coaxing.

She didn't beat around the bush anymore, and opened her arms upwards.

There were things on it, one was milk-flavored candy, and the other was fruit-flavored. She said, "They're all for you."

Jian Sheng stretched out his hand towards him again.

Chen Zhou was startled when he saw the candy in her hand. His brow twitched, and his eyes darkened.

“No.” He frowned, and before Jian Sheng could think he had been rejected, Chen Zhoujing quickly added, “One for you, one for me.”

"Which one do you like to eat?" Jian Sheng guessed it was fruit-flavored.

Sure enough, the next second he took the fruit-flavored candy from her hand.

Jian Sheng happily unwrapped the milk candy, popped it into her mouth, and walked with him toward the old street.

She licked her lips; the candy tasted very sweet.

Even the wind that blew by carried a sweet scent, and unconsciously, she slowed her pace.

The two strolled leisurely out of the residential compound.

After passing two traffic lights, Chen Zhoujing talked to her about her final grades while keeping an eye on the cars.

As we crossed the pedestrian crossing, I deliberately tugged at her sleeve and gently pulled her to my side.

Along with his meticulous actions came his tender and gentle question: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Finally, the topic came up; neither of them spoke first while walking the dog.

As if they had reached an agreement, the excitement and heartbeats from last night were suppressed by the two of them.

At this moment, when Chen Zhou spoke in surprise, it surged up again in an instant.

Chen Zhoujing clenched his fist in his pocket, a surge of tension rising within him, while simultaneously raising his expectations to the maximum.

He longed to hear her answer, which was both affirmative and uncertain.

After only a few seconds, Jian Sheng responded, nodding: "It's alright."

"Oh." Chen Zhou observed her expression. "Isn't there anything else?"

"Huh?" He started saying strange, nonsensical things again, which Jian Sheng didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

Seeing the confusion on her face, Chen Zhou was too embarrassed to say anything.

"Ah, it's nothing..."

“I dreamt about you last night,” Jian Sheng interrupted him.

Chen Zhou's breath caught in his throat: "Really?"

It was as if a row of little dancing figures were standing in his heart, performing a symphony, and the accompaniment was playing in his mind as well.

This joy instantly filled him; wasn't this just like dreaming about something you think about during the day?

That's what he thought, and he asked out loud, "That means you're thinking of me!"

Jian Sheng's thoughts were thrown into disarray by his words, swirling rapidly in her mind.

After a long silence, she turned her head away: "No!"

"How could it not be!" Chen Zhou exclaimed, his voice quickening. "I even dreamed about you!"

"Oh," came the simple, somewhat indifferent reply.

"You just said 'oh'?" Chen Zhoujing asked, dissatisfied.

"So you're thinking of me too?" she asked uncertainly, though her tone remained relatively normal.

Chen Zhoujing suddenly realized something was wrong with him, and his words were tumbling out: "I..."

Jian Sheng was used to his occasional stuttering. She nudged his arm and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

After saying that, she took a few steps forward to create some distance.

"Yes," Chen Zhoujing followed, "Yes!"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!!" he admitted. "That's it!"

A large part of what he says is intentionally meant to tease her, and she thinks so too.

So he accepted it relatively easily: "Okay."

"What do you mean, 'okay'?" Chen Zhoujing was infuriated by her cold tone. "What do you mean by 'okay'?"

“It doesn’t mean anything.” Jian Sheng frowned, not understanding why he was angry.

"I know you miss me, okay?"

Chen Zhou was speechless, feeling sullen and somewhat depressed, as if he had been blocked by his own words.

After a long while, seeing that he remained silent, Jian Sheng turned her head and saw that he was deep in thought, looking very serious with a slightly solemn expression.

She thought for a moment: "I haven't told you yet."

Jian Sheng felt a little awkward, but still said, "Thank you so much for last night."

For the first time on her actual birthday, she received a birthday present, and... a birthday cake.

"I really like your gift, and the cake was delicious too." She hesitated for a moment, "Hmm... dreaming about it might have been something I was thinking about..."

Jian Sheng's tone was very sincere; she was genuinely responding to him carefully.

Seeing this, Chen Zhoujing couldn't even crack a genuine joke.

He was already quite satisfied: "Mmm."

Jian Sheng paused for a moment, then spoke again as the two entered the old street area: "The note..."

He'd barely uttered two words when Chen Zhou reacted with a startled, "Um, that..."

"Hmm?" Jian looked at him.

Chen Zhoujing twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "We've arrived."

He pointed to the breakfast shop with the sign hanging in front of him, and stopped speaking in a hushed tone.

Seeing that she had stopped talking, Chen Zhou let out a sigh of relief, then raised his eyebrows and began to introduce her.

During the meal, he realized she had probably forgotten, so he relaxed.

He believes that handwriting has always been a sincere yet awkward thing, but in this era of rampant emails, text messages, and chat software, it is extremely precious.

Chen Zhoujing sometimes felt it was pretentious, but she liked this slow approach, which allowed her to bury her feelings between the lines.

Because... in short, he said he talked nonsense, so... he would use nonsense to express some of his true thoughts, so she naturally thought his words were a joke.

The note then came in handy.