Chapter 20

Jiayi is finally back. She invited me to her house for a meal. Jiayi's cooking is really delicious, and she even taught me a couple of cooking tips.

I was so full that I got off the subway two stops early on my way back and strolled back slowly by myself. It was a bit hot.

In the evening, it's time to walk Jiang Jiang again. Recently, Jiang Jiang really enjoys playing with the Labrador across the street. The Labrador's family are all elderly people who come down to walk their dogs, so I sit with them and listen to their gossip. When it's time to say goodbye, the elderly couple holds my hand reluctantly, after all, I'm a very loyal listener.

When it got dark, everyone went home, leaving me to lead the exhausted Jiang Jiang back. The stars were very bright tonight.

I remember once when we were in college, we went hiking to see the stars and even spent the night in the mountains.

That was a very famous mountain in the neighboring city. We went there with the students from the school's mountain climbing club. They were professionals, while we were amateurs, so we couldn't compare at all.

When we reached the top of the mountain, I was so tired that I couldn't speak. You took a wet wipe and wiped my face, then fanned me. I thought to myself, "How embarrassing!"

Seeing that my expression had softened, you handed me a bottle of water and said, "Don't push yourself. If you're not feeling well, just say so."

"How embarrassing."

"It's not shameful, I'm here for you."

That night, everyone sat together on the mountain telling stories. I was really running out of energy, or maybe I was dozing off on your shoulder. You whispered that you were going to get something from the tent and got up. I was still dizzy and dozing off. I looked down and opened my eyes a crack. I saw a drop of red blood on my arm.

I snapped out of it and jumped up to find you. You were looking for something in the tent. I pounced on you and pulled you over, cupping your face in my hands. You're so healthy, how could you have a nosebleed?

"Jiang Jianian, are you bleeding from your nose, Jianian?"

You were startled, and only stopped punching me when you realized it was me.

"you…"

I guessed you wanted to yell at me because I was relieved to find out you weren't bleeding from your nose and wiped my face.

"Damn it!" You threw down what you were holding, grabbed my chin and lifted it up: "How can you be so amazing? Are you trying to drive me crazy? Who's the one with the nosebleed? Who's got all that blood on their face?! How could I have fallen for such an idiot like you!"

It turns out I had a nosebleed.

“Uh… Carnival… Carnival…”

"Shut up!"

The amount of exercise was a bit too much, which was unexpected.

You had to ask several mountaineering clubs to confirm that this is a normal phenomenon; just be aware of it.

The conditions were perfect that night; the sky was full of stars. I had a wad of paper stuffed in my nose, and we enjoyed the night view together for half the night.

...

When we got home, Jiang Jiang became quiet and fell asleep as soon as she got home, exhausted. I took a shower and put on the song "Tian Mi Mi" on the stereo.

So I went to the study and opened the bottle of Bordeaux red wine that your French friend sent as a gift.

As expected of one of the five great wineries, the taste is truly exquisite.

Now that you've finished drinking, are you going to yell at me?