Chapter 72

"Time seems to fly by." He gripped the rope, looked up at the sky, and saw countless stars.

“I think so too.” Jian Sheng nodded. “I’ve been in Jiangzhou for almost a year now.”

"Never been here before?" He turned his head.

"I've been here before, once." Her maternal grandmother's family lived in Jiangzhou, and that time she came to see Zhou Yilian for the last time.

However, we only saw her after she had closed her eyes and died.

Zhou Yilian died on a day of torrential rain in Jiangzhou.

That day, everyone in the Jian family, except for Jian Zihua, came.

At that time, she didn't have a single thought, like an indifferent outsider, without any emotional fluctuation.

She knelt for three days straight until she looked at Zhou Yilian's portrait and turned to get on the car back to Jeju.

Suddenly, a strange emotion welled up in her heart, a mixture of hatred, heartache, anger, and sadness.

She hated Zhou Yilian for abandoning her and returning to Jiangzhou without a word, felt heartbroken that her white hair had turned white as she lay in a pool of blood with such a large gash on her hand, was angry at the cold and silent image she had in her heart, and was saddened that she left without saying a word to her.

These emotions would suddenly appear in her every time she thought of Zhou Yilian afterward.

However, there's nothing to hide about these things. She said, "My maternal grandmother's family is in Jiangzhou. I came here that time to attend my mother's funeral."

She never expected to end up studying here. Ironically, she used to inexplicably resist, reject, and even hate this city.

Now, she glanced at Chen Zhoujing's complicated gaze and realized that this city might not be so bad after all.

“It’s been a long time. Are you a local?” she changed the subject.

"Hmm... I guess so." Chen Zhoujing frowned. "I was born here, but my household registration is in Qinjin. I stayed at my maternal grandmother's house in Qinjin from when I was a little over one year old until I was six. After that, I've been living in Jiangzhou."

“I’m close to my maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother, but we don’t spend much time together.” Because the older generation has a slightly more conservative view, even if they are divorced, there is a fixed time each year when Li Xiangzhe and Xu Weining take him to see the four elders. I don’t know where this rule comes from, but even after such a big fight, they still have to meet.

Chen Zhoujing always wanted to find an excuse not to go, but she didn't want to offend the old man. However, Xu Weining didn't think much about it. She saw Li Xiangzhe in the first year after the divorce, but she never saw him again after that.

“Then they must all be proud of you.” Jian smiled.

Chen Zhou was taken aback; he hadn't thought of that before.

Jian Sheng continued, "You are so good, excellent, with good grades, a good personality, good communication skills, and always considerate of other people's feelings."

She had always thought that someone with his personality must have parents who loved him and protected him well, but she never expected that he would escape from that cage on his own.

This allowed her to see from another perspective that even though he had experienced the pain brought by his family, he had also been heartbroken.

But I still greet each bright and sunny tomorrow with a smile.

Jian Sheng's smile deepened: "Anyway, it's great."

Chen Zhou felt a tingling sensation in his chest, and a bitter taste spread in his mouth. He should be happy because she praised him.

"Oh, I see." He said casually, "Then someone as good as me, you..."

"...You...you are not...."

“What…is it?” Jian asked in a low voice.

Chen Zhou panicked when she saw her bright gaze.

After a long silence, he looked away and said, "It's nothing."

"Oh." Jian Sheng blinked and turned her head. "Really not?"

"Really not..." Chen Zhoujing twisted the rope in his hand into a pretzel shape, lowered his head, and his ear tips turned slightly red.

A warm breeze swirled between the two, brushing past Chen Zhoujing's earlobe, then circled back to Jian Sheng.

Her cheeks flushed as she looked at the children laughing and playing.

Suddenly, Chen Zhou leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and stared at her back.

After two minutes of silence, he reached out his left hand and tugged at her school uniform.

When she turned around, he smiled at her with his arched eyebrows.

Evening, warm wind, warm light, lawn.

She, Chen Zhoujing, and Maitian, in an inconspicuous little corner, did ordinary yet incredibly touching things.

Jian Sheng smiled, receiving his signal, and slowly lay down beside him.

“We’ll get into Huai’an University, go to a university, right, Jian Sheng?” After lying down for a while, Chen Zhoujing suddenly asked.

Jian Sheng didn't remain silent; instead, he quickly gave a positive answer: "Definitely."

"Then, can we chat idly on the sports field of Huainan University, just like we are now?"

"Yes, it's definitely possible."

“Then I’ll have to work hard,” Jian said.

Chen Zhou chuckled softly, the sound drifting gently into Jian Sheng's ears. She asked, "What are you laughing at?"

“No, I was just thinking about something,” he replied.

Jian Sheng: "What's up?"

“Even if we’re not in the same university, or even in the same city, I will still come to find you.”

He was certain, absolutely certain, that he would go to her and that they would continue to be together, just like they were now.

Whether it's friendship or someone he cares about.

After a long silence, Jian Sheng slowly said, "Mm."

She will go to him too.

He often told her not to underestimate herself. When she repeatedly denied herself, he repeatedly picked up the confidence and radiance that she should not have lost, and presented it to her frankly, so that she could hear it with her own ears and see it with her own eyes.

He said we can be grass and trees, or towering trees, or even eagles soaring in the boundless sky.

If we yearn for freedom, then we must create freedom.

If we want to succeed, we must create success.

She used to think what he said was unrealistic, but gradually, she seemed to find some truth in his words at certain moments.

"There are some fun places in Jiangzhou." The chirping of insects and his voice entered her ears together.

In short: "I've never played it before."

"I'll take you to play during the holidays. We've explored almost all the streets along the river. There's another one we'll take you to next time. There are also a few scenic spots, but the ones that are far away might really require a holiday. We can go to the closer ones on Saturday or Sunday."

"good."

That night, they talked a lot, more than they had ever talked before.

From mundane little things to the differences in their perspectives, and then to their future development.

Jian Sheng had never felt so comfortable chatting with someone, sharing all her thoughts.

She seemed to remember the future she had planned a long time ago. She used to think that when she grew up, she would become an art teacher, so that she could create her own works and teach other people who also dreamed of painting.

Many of her previously suppressed thoughts seemed to be uncontrollable at this moment, and she spoke them out one by one.

Chen Zhoujing listened and responded to her, memorizing her appearance at that moment.

It left a deep impression on me.

Sometimes he had to admit that he was attracted to her, subconsciously.

The matter of Qian Xiao is far from over.

After that incident, Qian Xiao and Yu Wang, as the ringleaders who created panic and threats, were detained for more than half a month.

The matter was eventually settled privately. Qian Xiao was suspended from school, and Chen Zhoujing was taken back to Qinjin by Xu Weining.

They locked him on the third floor, confiscated his phone, and restricted his freedom. No one was allowed to go upstairs except for the housekeeper who brought him food.

He stood by the window with the limit switch installed, watching people come and go below with no expression, from dawn to dusk, and then from dusk to dawn again.

When his body couldn't take it anymore, he would lie on the soft sofa in front of the bed for a whole day.

During this time, the aunt knocked on the door several times and even pried open the lock, but she couldn't wake him up.

He seemed to be immersed in his own world, unable to offer any emotion to anyone.

On the third day, his aunt brought him a pile of test papers, giving him something to do.

On the fourth day, he spent the whole day working on practice tests until dawn.

On the fifth day, he spent the whole day working on practice tests until dawn.

On the sixth day, he slept all day.

On the seventh day, he spent another day working on practice tests.

On the eighth day, she fainted in her room.

On the ninth day, he was on an IV drip for the entire day.

On the tenth day, Xu Mai returned.

She leaned against the door with her arms crossed, staring into the dark room. After a while, seeing no reaction from Chen Zhoujing, she went downstairs without saying a word.

She brought him dinner that evening, forced him to eat a few bites, and then ignored him.

On the eleventh day, after Xu Weining left, Xu Mai distracted the two older brothers at the stairwell and rushed into his room to tell him to leave.

After knocking on the door for a while without any response, she pushed open the unlocked door.

"Chen Zhou is shocked!" The curtains in the room were wide open, and the warm sunlight poured in, falling on the hair of his drooping head.

Golden light surrounded him, from his hair to his gaunt body, and to the pool of blood on the white blanket.

Xu Mai's voice was almost a scream: "Brother! What are you doing?"

She called 120 (emergency services), and thankfully the cut wasn't very deep.

When Chen Zhou woke up, Xu Mai, Auntie, and Li Jing were in the ward.

Xu Weining is not among them.

His lips curved slightly, and beneath his trembling eyelashes were a pair of eyes that were utterly sarcastic.

"Go back. I won't come to Qinjin again. This is the last time." After saying that, she pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes.

Xu Mai didn't say anything, and pulled the aunt, whose eyes were also red, out of the ward.

Xu Weining kept quiet for a while and didn't send him any messages for the time being.

Once he recovered, Li Jing drove him back to Jiangzhou.

"Aunt......"

"Don't mention her in front of me," Chen Zhou interrupted.

Li Jing tightened his grip on the steering wheel and changed the subject: "Final exams are the day after tomorrow, I'll help you ask for leave."

Chen Zhou shook his head in surprise: "No need."

"The blade isn't on my right hand."

Li Jing didn't say anything more and drove all the way to Jiangzhou, arriving at the apartment building.

He told Jian Sheng he was going to see his grandfather before he left, but he didn't expect Xu Weining to take his phone. So the moment he got the phone, he started thinking about sending her a message.

But she was supposed to be studying, so she waited until evening.

Wait until she gets out of school.

When Jian Sheng received the message, he was on his way to the bookstore with Lin You and He Shang.

She lagged a few steps behind, staring at Chen Zhoujing's information in her hand, momentarily stunned.

It took so long to get his message.

With trembling hands, she finally opened the WeChat chat window after a long while.

-: I'm back.

-: Something came up at home, so I was delayed for a bit.

- My mom said I was always on my phone and confiscated it. Sorry I haven't texted you in so long.

-: Are you out of school yet? I'll come pick you up.

-: The final exams are the day after tomorrow. How's your studying going?

-: How about I treat you to dinner?

-: Simplified pronunciation.

- Oh right, you don't bring your phone.

-: Hmm... I'll wait for you to come back then.

-: I said I'd treat you to sweet soup last time, but I've missed it again. My sister told me that the Qinjin chain store has a new product, so they should have it here too.

-: Let's wait until finals are over, then I'll take you to eat.

Jian Sheng tapped his fingers on the keyboard, making deletions and additions.

Finally, he put down his phone.

She slowly walked up to the group of people who were arguing heatedly in front of her and said, "Um..."

Lin You turned around: "What's wrong?"

The group looked at her, and Jian Sheng touched her nose with her index finger: "I have something to do, I'll head back now."

"You guys go and buy it."

"Oh, what's wrong? This is so sudden. Are you alright?" Xu Xiao asked.

"It's nothing, just some things at home." Jian Sheng looked away somewhat awkwardly.

"Why do you care so much!" He Shang slapped Xu Xiao on the shoulder and gestured with his chin toward Jian Sheng. "Go ahead."

"I'll take a picture and send it to you later. Which one do you want to buy? I'll bring it to you tomorrow," Lin You replied.

She said thank you a few times in a simple voice and then headed back the way she came.

Once out of their sight, her brisk walking motion turned into a run.

Chen Zhoujing, who was waiting downstairs at his house, rubbed the back of his neck and sent a bunch of messages but received no response.

He stood for a while, then squatted down.

He leaned against the wall again after a while.

Until a familiar voice reached his ears: "Chen Zhoujing!"

Chen Zhou looked up sharply and saw Jian Sheng running towards them. He quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Why are you running so fast?"