Chapter 97

He said something.

The sound was too soft; Guan Nan heard nothing clearly, as the sound seemed to disappear into the void.

She lived alone for many years, hearing countless hurtful words and seeing so many unpleasant faces that she couldn't remember them all. She endured it all, time and time again.

I thought I was used to it, but now it seems it's nothing special.

Guan Nan gave a mocking smirk.

After calming her down, Jiang Li took her home without lingering.

Guan Nan lay on the bed with the light on, the room brightly lit, staring at the white ceiling.

04:18.

She started having trouble sleeping again.

One dream after another, one awakening after another.

In my dreams, all I hear are insults and scorn. The scene of Ran Mingju jumping into the river, seemingly appearing and disappearing in my mind, gradually surfaces before my eyes, as if it were being etched into my very bones.

Guan Nan turned her head, grabbed the lop-eared rabbit, hugged it tightly in her arms, and tried to suck in the air.

After a while, Guan Nan got out of bed, lifted the covers, and quietly opened the door.

The door opened, the lobby lights were on, and Jiang Li, wearing glasses, held a coffee to his lips, his gaze shifting from the computer on the side table.

Jiang Li paused, then sat up: "Did I disturb you?"

"No." Guan Nan shook her head, feeling that she had disturbed him, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Aren't you asleep yet, it's so late?"

"Something came up," Jiang Li paused, his hand instinctively switching screens. He stopped drinking his coffee and didn't mention that the lights in her room hadn't been turned off all night. Instead, he got up and headed to the kitchen. "Want some noodles? There's some lobster in the fridge. Let's make noodles."

Guan Nan waved her hand and pointed to the bathroom: "I'm not hungry, I'm going to the restroom."

“You can choose the one closest to you,” Jiang Li turned his head and stared at her for a while. “The master and secondary bedrooms are connected, and the bathroom was originally designed to be shared for convenience, but I’ve moved out now.”

The implication is that I've moved out, so I don't have to worry about the same embarrassing situation happening again. I can use it with peace of mind and don't need to go through all that trouble to go to such lengths anymore.

After the words were spoken, Guan Nan stood there stunned for a moment before regaining her senses.

She said, "It doesn't need to be that complicated."

Jiang Li smiled and said in a low voice, "Go ahead and use it."

After saying that, he walked towards the kitchen, and Guan Nan quickly walked towards the bathroom.

She closed the door, stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and just as her hand touched the faucet handle, she quickly pulled it back. Leaning against the sink, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Actually, she didn't want to go to the restroom; she was just thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

It was quite late, so I didn't think much of it and quietly went out. I didn't expect to see Jiang Li sitting in the living room; he wasn't asleep either.

But then he thought about it again. His lawsuit wasn't over yet. With her around during the day, it wasn't very convenient to handle many things, and it always added a lot of trouble, forcing him to rush to deal with these things at night.

Guan Nan stared at herself in the mirror, took out her phone from her pocket, and scrolled through her contacts.

In desperation, they turned to Guo Yuhang for help.

She carefully considered her words, exchanging a few simple pleasantries, but the other person was already fast asleep and didn't reply. Finally, Guan Nan left a message: "If you have any, could you please leave a message for me? Thank you."

After sending the message, Guan Nan logged out of WeChat and leaned against the wall.

Realizing that it had been a while, Guan Nan stopped in her tracks as she was about to open the door, turned to the side, pressed the toilet button, and then pretended to wash and dry her hands.

When I finally went outside, I found that the cooked noodles were already being rinsed in cold water, and the vacuum-packed shrimp were almost ready to be served.

Hearing the voice, Jiang Li turned around and said, "Have something to eat."

Seeing this, Guan Nan didn't hesitate and nodded: "Okay."

Unable to enter the kitchen, Guan Nan sat by the island counter, watching as he skillfully prepared everything in a few quick movements, bringing over a bowl of shrimp noodles with side dishes that were colorful, fragrant, and delicious.

Just as Guan Nan was marveling at his cooking skills.

Jiang Li handed over the chopsticks and suddenly said, "Someone is sending crabs over tomorrow, would you like to receive them?"

"Tomorrow?" The noodles were already mixed; all that was needed was to add the side dishes. Guan Nan took the chopsticks and looked up at him.

"Hmm," Jiang Li said casually, adding some side dishes to his plate. "I have to go out tomorrow, which is a good time to eat crab."

Guan Nan was surprised by his words and looked somewhat astonished.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Li looked over and asked, "Don't you like noodles?"

Guan Nan took a bite of noodles and mumbled, "It's alright."

"I saw so many instant noodles at Hecangyuan, I thought you liked them." Jiang Li pushed the side dishes in front of her, his voice low and soft.

"..." Guan Nan lowered her eyes and slowly ate her noodles. "Convenient."

A person who doesn't distinguish between work and life, and is constantly busy, will always prepare enough food for themselves to meet unexpected needs, and over time this will develop into a habit of hoarding.

Not only instant noodles, but also a large number of ready-to-eat food products are stored in the refrigerator for immediate consumption.

However, Jiang Li couldn't see these things, and Guan Nan didn't intend to say anything.

Fortunately, Jiang Li nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

In the vast space, the aroma of noodles lingered and lingered, only the gentle slurping and chewing breaking the stillness of the night.

Guan Nan ate while thinking about how to talk to him.

But even after finishing the bowl of noodles, the lines he had mentally rehearsed remained unspoken.

She wanted to say—

Jiang Li.

I'm planning to move out.

You can handle your work with peace of mind.

No more staying up all night.

There's no need to worry about whether you'll disturb others.

However, the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he tried to speak several times, but each word seemed to be stuck in his throat, and he couldn't get them out.

After tidying up the desk, Guan Nan walked through the side hall and was about to head towards the bedroom.

Suddenly, she heard Jiang Li call her name.

Upon hearing this, Guan Nan subconsciously turned around and quietly looked at him.

As usual, he leaned on the edge of the island counter with one hand, smiling somewhat casually, "Have you ever thought about dating?"

"Huh?" Guan Nan's mind went blank.

Just a short sentence.

But at this moment, she felt as if she had fallen into a dream.

She closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again, wondering when the scene before her would disappear.

“Or rather,” Jiang Li coughed lightly and said slowly, “would you mind dating me?”

His words were soft and slow, and if you ignored his unwavering gaze, they sounded like a casual joke, yet his expression was incredibly serious.

Guan Nan almost couldn't speak: "I..."

These words seemed to travel through time, taking her back to a midsummer night.

The boy stood tall and slender under the banyan tree, his shadow stretching long and endlessly across the ground, drawing people into its depths.

He stood there, his eyebrows slightly raised, a nonchalant smile on his face.

Guan Nan felt somewhat dazed, her head heavy and her feet light, as if she were floating on clouds, feeling unreal, as if she were about to faint at any moment.

"Six years, sixteen years, sixty years, I can wait." Jiang Li lowered his head, his hands gripping the island counter tighter and tighter. Just then, a gentle breeze blew in from the open balcony, ruffling his hair and causing his clothes to flutter around him. "But now..."

The person before her was inexplicably entangled in a state of disarray and loneliness, and Guan Nan felt a surge of emotion welling up in her eyes.

She pursed her lips, repeatedly trying to reassure herself.

The next moment, Jiang Li said:

Call me treacherous and cunning, or hypocritical and shameless as you please.

"This time, I will take advantage of the situation."

It seemed like just another ordinary night.

The living room was bright and airy, with spotlights shining down from above, enveloping Jiang Li and making him appear tall and slender yet possessing a strength that was not weak.

His eyes were fixed on her face, and he rested one hand on the other side of the island counter, as if waiting for her answer.

Guan Nan pursed her lips and lowered her head.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Jiang Li's eyelids twitched slightly. After a pause, he asked in a low voice, "Give me a chance."

Guan Nan didn't reply, but instead called his name: "Jiang Li".

"Mm," Jiang Li replied.

Before he could even speak, he was a step too late.

He said, "If you're worried it's not a good fit, why don't you sign a trial period agreement first? If you're not satisfied—"

"Very satisfied." Guan Nan couldn't stand hearing him praise himself, even if it came from him, so she immediately replied.

Jiang Li paused, startled by the sudden response, and looked up at her.

In a flash, Guan Nan recalled the words she had heard on her first day here and asked slowly, "December 31, 2018."

Guan Nan blinked, her voice soft and low, "Where were you that night?"

Jiang Li didn't answer directly: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Not getting an answer, Guan Nan didn't press further. Instead, she slowly began to speak: "Jiang Li, do you know? Winter in Green Camphor Tree is really cold. The wind blowing at night feels like it's cruelly tearing off a layer of skin. That night was my last day of tutoring. I left the student's house with the money and waited at the bus stop for a long, long time, but no bus came. I didn't know if any more buses would come. I didn't wait and didn't dare to gamble. It was already very late, and it happened to be a holiday."

Hearing her words, Jiang Li remained silent, gazing at her quietly.

"I walked for a very long time, and I was terrified," Guan Nan said. "Because I realized that no matter how fast or slow I walked, there was always a figure behind me, following me, always following me. Until I got on the bus at the next stop, and then I saw that he had also gotten on and was sitting in the last row of the bus. I wanted to call my classmate several times, but I was afraid that I was just imagining things. But..."

At this point, Guan Nan blinked hard to keep her tears from falling.

If Kuroko hadn't said it that day, if it weren't for that discovery, how many times would the boy have gone there, how many times would he have followed her, how many times would he have watched her?

Guan Nan couldn't even imagine it.

He stood there in the deserted corner, walking silently by himself for a very long time.

"But what?" Jiang Li asked.

“But he was clearly standing at the same station as me, yet he got off the bus before me,” Guan Nan’s voice choked as she continued, “In that heavy snow, he walked for almost a kilometer in the snow. Do you know how I know? Because after I distributed the tutoring money to my senior, I saw him again as I walked through the library’s heated corridor.”

At this point, Guan Nan couldn't hold back, and a tear fell, landing perfectly on the sofa, blooming like a flower.

“He was downstairs, and someone seemed to be talking to him. He waved his hand indifferently and continued to stand on the opposite side of the road, dressed in thin clothes and with his head held high, as if he was looking for something.” Guan Nan said, her mind filled with memories of the scene. “I received a message from my roommate about checking the dorms, but I didn’t dare to look any longer and didn’t have time to look any longer. I left, and he was still standing there.”

After he finished speaking, no one responded.

The air seemed to freeze.

It wasn't until Jiang Li pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped her face that she said, "Isn't this stupid? In the middle of winter, doesn't she know to find a warm place?"

Guan Nan raised her head, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked straight at him.

“…Wait a minute,” Jiang Li paused, a casual smile playing on his lips, “You don’t actually think that person was me, do you?”

Guan Nan didn't speak, but stared at him stubbornly.

“It’s not that bad,” Jiang Li tossed the tissue aside, got up and got her some water. “I could never do something like that… a sentimental man would do. That kind of thing should be done by Yu Shu.”

"What about this one?"

"······"

“Jiang Li,” Guan Nan held up her phone, the photo coming into view, “What about this one? What do you say?”

Jiang Li: "I—"

“Jiang Li!” Guan Nan swiped through the black photo. The next one in the album was a blurry photo she had reconstructed, taken during her first semester of senior year in high school, taken in the stairwell of the bulletin board.

The girl in the photo seems to be separated from this place by centuries.

"You," Jiang Li choked, coughed lightly, and finally found his voice, "when did you find out?"

Guan Nan didn't answer him, but just stared at him for a long, long time before finally unable to hold back: "Jiang Li, the winter in Green Camphor Tree is so cold, how could you be so silly?"

Tears streamed down her face, surging and boiling as they hit the back of his hand, feeling as if they were burning his skin. Jiang Li didn't bother to get a tissue; he used his hand to wipe away her tears, knowing he couldn't hide it from her: "I'm wearing a lot of clothes, I'm not cold."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Guan Nan asked, her voice choked with sobs. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Thinking of the cold winters and countless days and nights, Guan Nan shook her head and tears streamed down her face.

At that time, she was so scared, and so desperately hoped that the person would be Jiang Li. But fear occupied her mind, and she dared not think of anything else.

She was worried that Jiang Li would blame her, and she was worried that Jiang Li would never talk to her again.

Jiang Li swallowed hard, and his smile became somewhat awkward.

To put it simply, on those nights when no one was around under the clock tower, even he himself felt that Guan Nan's departure to Green Camphor Tree and his abandonment of him in Beijing was to distance himself from him.

She can even be so perfunctory and charming when she doesn't want him.

And then I heard the saying that "a good ex should be like they're dead."

How could he dare to appear in front of her?

I'm afraid you don't want to see me.