Chapter 26

Jiang Wan had a hamster in elementary school. She had always been different from other children, lacking much patience or interest in small animals or plants. While she nominally owned the hamster, Jiang Huainan was the one who truly cared for it. Hamsters have a short lifespan, ranging from two or three years to a year or two, so Jiang Wan didn't intend to invest too much emotional energy in it.

The hamster lived until the spring of the following year, when Nanyuan City was hit by a cold wave not seen in a century. It couldn't survive the cold, and the veterinary medicine Jiang Huainan fed it was ineffective. Jiang Wan was at her grandmother's house in another city at the time. Jiang Huainan told her about it over the phone and asked her to come back as soon as possible, saying that the hamster was waiting to see her one last time.

Jiang Wan didn't quite believe it in her heart. After all, she didn't have many days to take care of the hamster. But she still went back to Nanyuan two days early. It was snowing heavily, and the cold wind was like a knife, making people want to cry. When Jiang Wan got home, the hamster was only breathing its last breath, its eyes were closed, and its fur, which used to be shiny and smooth, was wrinkled like a piece of rotten paper. She stretched out her hand carefully, but before she could touch it, it seemed to feel something, and it staggered its front legs, took a small step forward as if it was drunk, but before it could reach Jiang Wan's hand, it fell down silently again. The little mouth opened and closed, breathing with great difficulty, gasping for breath.

She and Jiang Huainan waited beside the cage for the entire afternoon, until it finally breathed its last. The hamster's body had become stiff, and it wasn't until the evening that it was completely frozen.

That day happened to be the Lantern Festival.

Jiang Huainan handled all the subsequent matters.

Jiang Wan's mood has always been indifferent.

That year's blizzard lasted until the day before school started. After a big argument, Jiang Huainan and Li Wan went to work with gloomy faces. Jiang Wan finished packing his schoolbag at home and watched the snow fall alone on the balcony.

Snow wasn't common in the south, but the little excitement and optimism she had felt had already vanished a few days before the blizzard began. Her heart was as calm as the snow, swaying leisurely. Her eyes followed the snowflakes as they slid down, from top to bottom. By the time she wanted to pretend not to see it, it was too late.

After Jiang Huainan cleaned the hamster's cage, he kept it on the balcony's iron frame. A thin layer of wood covered the cage, now covered with snow. The furnishings inside the cage were still the same as before: the running wheel, the wooden house, the food bowl, and the water bottle were all there, but the chubby butt and the smooth, delicate texture were missing.

That was the first time Jiang Wan knew what it felt like to have a part of his heart empty.

Snowflakes drifted in from the window and buried themselves in her neck, while Jiang Wan squatted on the ground, buried her head in her knees, and burst into tears in this empty moment.

Jiang Huainan and Li Wan's failed marriage was like a disaster that Jiang Wan realized belatedly. But the only thing to be thankful for is that they are both living a good life now.

Li Wan decided to have dinner at Fuguilou.

This is her habit.

When Jiang Wan arrived at the private room, Li Wan had already ordered the meal. She was on a work call with a serious expression on her face.

Hearing the noise at the door, Li Wan turned his head and his eyes fell on Jiang Wan. He then said a few harsh words to the person on the other end of the phone in an impatient tone before hanging up the phone.

The look and tone he used when scolding someone were almost identical to when he scolded Jiang Wan as a child. This was the legendary anger that never faded, only shifted.

The private room had a round table for eight people, and with only the two of them there, it looked a bit deserted. However, Jiang Wan thought about the lively dinner table where the three of them used to dine together, which was as lively as the main battlefield of World War III, and she felt that a quieter atmosphere was good.

Jiang Wan was still holding the cake she had just picked up downstairs: "Happy birthday, Mom."

She placed the cake on the table and sat down. Li Wan looked like she'd just arrived from work, dressed in a black business suit and with her hair neatly styled. She was a serious person, not a gentle mother. But just as girls are diverse, so are mothers.

The waiters came in one after another to serve the dishes.

The mother and daughter ate and chatted while eating the hot dishes on the table.

"Your father went on a trip and left the studio to you alone?" The waiter brought a new dish of Kung Pao Chicken. Li Wan pointed at the dish and motioned Jiang Wan to try it.

Jiang Wan tasted it and asked: "Has the chef been heartbroken?"

Li Wan was stunned.

"I felt like I was crying while cooking, and my tears were falling into the food."

"You've tasted it and realized that their new chef is really not that good." Li Wan picked up the wine on the table and took a sip, revealing his first smile of the night.

Jiang Wan took a sip of soup and said, "He's been stuck in Nanyuan all these years without moving. If he stays any longer, he'll probably grow mushrooms."

"And he always likes to stare at me at home."

Jiang Wan put down her chopsticks as she spoke. The milk tea she had shared with Lu Jiyu before coming here had made her even more full than she had expected. Now, after just a few bites, she felt slightly full.

Li Wan saw Jiang Wan put down his chopsticks and said nothing: "Your father has a bad temper. He is the only good guy in the world. The rest of them are trying to murder him."

"If you don't want to stay with him, I'll sign you up for a study tour this summer and send you on a trip around Europe."

Jiang Wan waved his hand, picked up his chopsticks again, and picked up a dish of cold cucumber shreds: "It's too far and I don't want to go. You should give me a discount."

Li Wan simply advised her: "How much money can Jiang Huainan make from running a shabby art studio? I think you should just move back home and live with me."

Jiang Wan wiped his mouth with a tissue: "How can that be? You know my dad has always wanted to find a second spring. If I don't keep a closer eye on him, those two houses under his name will be taken away by others."

At this point, the mother and daughter looked at each other and finally laughed. The awkwardness that had been there for so many days finally faded a lot. Li Wan saw that Jiang Wan had finished the cucumber shreds, so she picked up a dish of curry crab that had just been served and gave it to her. She was not relenting: "With your father's bad behavior, who would like him except--"

The words stopped abruptly. There were some people that no one wanted to mention in front of the other person.

Li Wan took a sip of wine and asked Jiang Wan, "Are you still in touch with that guy named Chen?"

"Chen Wulin? There's a connection. When we were little, didn't you always tell me to get closer to him and learn from him?"

Li Wan played dumb: "Is that true? I advise you to focus more on yourself."

Jiang Wan didn't comment, so Li Wan could only change the subject.

"You are going to college soon, do you have any plans?"

The crab shell was difficult to handle. Jiang Wan touched the crab shell with her chopsticks, but she hadn't really taken a bite. When Li Wan asked her this, she raised her head and honestly said, "I haven't thought about it."

Seeing that Li Wan frowned slightly at her answer, she made up a rare thoughtful remark: "I'll think about it when I'm a freshman."

But Li Wan seemed to be prepared: "Jiang Wan, have you ever considered going abroad?"

"Go abroad to study for a master's degree, and then come back to help me in my company."

A daughter inheriting her mother's business is the best arrangement.

Jiang Wan actually knew what Li Wan was thinking all along: "Mom, you just want me to separate from my dad, right?"

Li Wan was fed up: "What's so good about your father? You are the only one who tolerates him. He can't make money, and he's not a good person. He thinks about his brothers and sisters every day, and wants to give them all the benefits. It's only because your uncle is gone, otherwise--"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about my dad's birthday, let's talk about something happy." Jiang Wan picked up a piece of cake and sweetly handed it to Li Wan's mouth.

"What did you say?" Li Wan glared at her, not understanding why his own daughter was so disloyal.

"Of course." Jiang Wan blinked: "Your new boyfriend recently."

Li Wan: It really makes me blush.

After listening to Lu Jiyu's words, Jiang Wan really took the time to go back to school.

However, for fear of disturbing her classmates' studies, she did not go directly to the classroom, but went to the classroom office first.

Jiang Wan is quite a celebrity in Jiayuan. All the teachers in the grade know her, and everyone is surprised by her sudden return.

"Why did our little fairy come back?"

The person who was speaking was the head teacher, who was in his forties or fifties, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and had a fierce-looking face, but he was a nice person.

Jiang Wan raised the camera in his hand: "My teacher asked me to take some time to make a graduation video, so I came to the school to collect materials."

The director was excited when he heard this: "Then I have to be in the picture. I'm our school's mascot." He borrowed a mirror from a physics teacher sitting next to him and fixed his hair. While posing for Jiang Wan's camera, he turned back to chat with another older teacher: "How many students from Experimental School No. 3 were admitted to F University this time?"

"Thirteen or fourteen, maybe?"

"One of them is the boy who transferred from Dewen Middle School, right?" After taking the photos, the director wanted to take a video. Jiang Wan cooperated with him enthusiastically.

"Oh, that kid." Someone in the office echoed, "That kid is a talent. He was quite good in junior high school. I don't know what got into him and he did so badly on the high school entrance exam."

"I ran into Principal Devinde at a meeting the day before yesterday. He's all cocky now, spreading the word that this guy is a talent from their school."

Everyone in the office laughed: "That must have pissed off the principal of No. 3 Middle School. He did all the work, but he didn't expect that in the end, all the credit would go to someone else."

Jiang Wan listened to them chatting for a while, and seeing that there was still some time before the get out of class was over, he was really bored, so he planned to go to the Art Building to shoot some footage first.

The camera in her hand was lent to her by Lu Jiyu. She found him quite generous and easygoing. But she still didn't know how to use it. After the director finished taking a set of photos, he ran over excitedly to see the finished product. When Jiang Wan handed the camera over, she felt a rare embarrassment.

The director had a smile on his face, but it all turned cold after he saw the photos taken by Jiang Wan.

"Little fairy." When he called her that, Jiang Wan felt even more ashamed.

"Your boss really dares to give you any job."

Jiang Wan argued, "Maybe they're afraid I won't be able to sit still. Actually, there are a few photos worth looking at. Take a look."

The director spread his hands, frowned, and thought for a moment: "But then again, some of your photos make me look like a movie star."

"Who?" Jiang Wan himself didn't know that he had this skill.

The director smiled slightly: "——Isn't it that Voldemort?"

Jiang Wan: ...

Jiang Wan came out of the teaching building and was halfway down the hallway when she suddenly realized her camera wouldn't turn on. She searched online for instructions on how to use the camera, but she didn't find the correct method. However, she did find the camera's high price. She didn't dare to click on it blindly, so after thinking about it, she sent a message to Lu Jiyu.

Jiang Ziya: JPG appears.

Lu Jiyu replied very quickly.

Gazer: The camera is not working?

Could this person have some kind of mind-reading ability?

Jiang Ziya: What a miracle doctor! Great!

In the billiard room on the other side, Lu Jiyu handed the cue to Li Mu: "I'm going to make a phone call. You help me with this round."

"Huh?" Li Mu looked at the unfinished game on the field and said dissatisfiedly: "What's going on, young master? You've only been here for a few minutes and you've already made so many troubles. I asked you out this morning and you haven't even finished a single round. Just now you said it was your grandma who asked you out, so I let it go. After all, we should respect the elderly and love the young. So who is asking you out now?"

Lu Jiyu replied to the message while walking away without even turning his head. Halfway through, he even said shamelessly, "Is it my fault this time?"

Unaware that she had been supercharged, Jiang Wan found a seat in the gardening corridor, occasionally a passing student would glance at her. Lu Jiyu didn't let her wait too long, and within a few minutes, she called.

There was a bit of noise coming and going over there; it definitely didn't sound like school. As Jiang Wan sat down, she realized it wasn't the weekend, and Lu Jiyu didn't have to go to school. What was wrong with this guy? Was he really going to give up on himself? She considered herself a nosy person and always respected the fate of others, but when this happened to Lu Jiyu, she still felt a sense of inexplicable regret.

"Miss? Are you listening?" The call was connected. Lu Jiyu talked alone on the other end of the phone for a long time without receiving a response, which felt a bit strange.

"I'm listening." Jiang Wan was distracted, but she hadn't missed a single important thing. She turned on her camera as Lu Jiyu had instructed, and then, unprepared, she bumped headfirst into the director's photo, which looked like Voldemort. Now, looking at it more closely, she realized that the poor quality of the photo wasn't entirely the photographer's fault; the model probably had some responsibility.

"Do you think the model or the photographer is more important in taking a good photo?" She turned and asked Lu Jiyu the question.

This is not the first time Lu Jiyu has encountered this question. If someone else asked him, he would definitely talk nonsense and say that it must be a photographer. He, Lu Jiyu, is so great that there is nothing he can't take good pictures of. Anyway, bragging is not taxable.

However, Lu Jiyu was still very clear about his own strengths and weaknesses.

He thought for a moment and said, "Your question is a bit like asking which is better, rice or vegetables. They are obviously two complementary things. If you insist on comparing them, it will be meaningless."

Jiang Wan was dissatisfied. "You said we are all successors of socialism and will all build society when we grow up. Why does the school insist on ranking us and making me compete desperately? Shouldn't the relationship between students be the kind of mutually beneficial one you mentioned?"

Jiang Wan has had a sharp tongue and a lot of twisted logic since she was young. She has caused her teachers a lot of headaches since she grew up. Even Chen Meiyu said that it was a good thing that she had this face, otherwise she would definitely be beaten up.

Lu Jiyu was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone. He stood at the door of the billiard hall. Through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see inside and outside. Li Mu was standing at the second-to-last table against the wall, staring at him eagerly. Lu Jiyu turned around and pretended not to see him. A tattooed man came out of the door and saw him and offered Lu Jiyu a cigarette warmly. Lu Jiyu pointed at the phone and waved. The man took a look at the handsome face of the other party and did not force him. He smiled and said, "He's talking to his girlfriend on the phone."

Whether she has a girlfriend or not is another matter.

Lu Jiyu could tell that Jiang Wan seemed to be a little angry today.

"Photography is a gradual process. Photographing people is quite difficult. You can practice by taking some landscape photos first."

Jiang Wanting asked him in disbelief: "How do you know that I was disliked for taking photos for others? It's a pity for you not to go for fortune-telling, Lu Jiyu."

Lu Jiyu laughed: "No matter how good I am, I am not as good as you. Didn't you guess at once that Zhou Zifang and I are high school seniors?"

"You do look a lot like him, but to be honest, Zhou Zifang doesn't look a lot like him. He looks a bit like the junior." Jiang Wan added, rather cautiously, "Don't tell him."

"It depends on my mood." Lu Jiyu said in a pretentious tone. There were two knocks on the glass behind him. He knew it was Li Mu urging him without turning around. He thought about hanging up the phone. After all, he couldn't really treat his brothers as human beings. Just when he was thinking about how to end this call——

Jiang Wan said casually, "By the way, I just heard in the office that there's a boy from your school who went to No. 3 Middle School as a temporary student, and now he's been recommended to F University. Do you know of such a person?"

Lu Jiyu: ...