Chapter 68 Old Love Letters "Can I add the teacher on WeChat?"

Chen Jingchi waited outside the door for a long time.

Wait for her to call, wait for her to allow me to appear before her.

The second it took to connect the call was stretched out infinitely.

He heard her voice.

Five years later, Chen Jingchi finally saw the person he had been longing for in person, no longer in a dream, a faded photograph, or a blurry memory, but standing right in front of him.

He took off his mask.

He seemed to have just finished work and rushed over. His hair was dyed light brown and styled into a curly hairstyle that Zhou Yu had never seen before, which made his eyebrows and eyes look even more gentle. His eyes, when looking at her, were like obsidian soaked in warm water, with a hint of a smile.

Zhou Yu imagined many scenarios of her reunion with him, but the imagination could not compare to the reality of this moment. Her breathing became erratic, and her heartbeat was like raindrops hitting the windowpane, heavy and rapid.

He still held the phone to his ear, as if afraid she wouldn't hear his reply: "We haven't known each other for long."

Then she watched him walk towards her step by step.

No one was the first to hang up the phone, which had already accomplished its mission.

Upon hearing this, Liang Shuchen was surprised that he had been betrayed so quickly, and immediately turned around to look behind the door. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened, and he dropped the act: "You...you are..."

Isn't that Chen Jingchi?

Why didn't his uncle mention that his friend was such a famous singer?!

Zhou Yu slowly lowered her phone, her eyes dry from staring at it for so long without blinking. Unlike watching him sing at the concert a couple of days ago, where it was just her looking at him, when he actually stood in front of her, she wasn't prepared at all and didn't know how to face him.

Chen Jingchi stopped behind Liang Shuchen, maintaining a polite distance. His gaze remained fixed on her, not wavering even slightly from her.

So many years have passed, and many things have changed, but the way he looks at her is still as direct and passionate as before, without any pretense.

"Zhou Yu." He called her name awkwardly, emphasizing each word, "Long time no see."

These words were like pebbles thrown into a lake, creating ripples in her heart that could never be calmed again. A long-lost feeling of bittersweetness welled up, assaulting her nose and eyes. Zhou Yu's throat was choked with sobs, and she could only manage to utter a few words with great difficulty: "...Long time no see."

It had been too long, so long that all the intimacy they once shared had vanished completely, turning them into the most familiar strangers. It had been so long that she had even forgotten the most normal way they could interact. It had been so long that she didn't even dare to utter his name.

Liang Shuchen glanced at his teacher, then at his newly acquainted "brother," and finally realized the atmosphere was a bit awkward; his presence seemed somewhat superfluous. He stood up from his stool, making a hasty retreat: "I suddenly feel my stomach pain has stopped, brother, my friend invited me to play soccer, I'm off!"

They didn't dare linger for even a second longer.

Seeing him deftly sling his backpack over his shoulder, Zhou Yu smiled awkwardly at him, and then ran out quickly, almost knocking over a vase by the door.

Only the two of them remained in the classroom.

Chen Jingchi didn't mind the little incident. He hung up the phone, put his hands in his pockets, and smiled, "Teacher Zhou, where do you live? Shall I give you a ride?"

Calling him Teacher Zhou is perfectly natural.

To make commuting easier, Zhou Yu rented an apartment near the school, just a five-minute walk away. She avoided his eyes, lowering her head as she said, "It's right next door."

The aisle between the desks was narrow. He stepped aside to let him pass. When Zhou Yu passed by him, his shoulder accidentally brushed against the fabric of his shirt on his chest. For no reason, he remembered the end of the concert a couple of days ago, when he tore open his shirt to reveal his tattoo.

He's dressed very similarly today to that day.

When she got closest, she smelled a very familiar scent on him, which momentarily distracted her.

This was the perfume she loved to have him wear when they were dating many years ago.

The bitter vetiver and tobacco base notes used to deeply intoxicate her every time she embraced him. This unique scent was already intertwined with those sweet memories, and the mere smell of it could instantly evoke every scene related to him.

During his first month in the UK during his junior year summer vacation, Zhou Yu went to a perfume brand's physical counter, only to be told that the fragrance had been discontinued six months prior, and even the thought of smelling his scent again had become a luxury.

Now, smelling that familiar scent again, she felt as if she had been transported to another world.

They came out of the classroom one after the other. The teaching building was already empty, and their footsteps echoed in the long corridor.

Chen Jingchi walked downstairs with her and initiated the conversation: "How long have you been back?"

What used to be a casual chat now requires careful consideration of the tone before uttering a question.

"Less than a month." Zhou Yu lowered his voice.

Chen Jingchi turned his head to look at her. She had hardly changed since she went to college. Her hair was long and black, her eyebrows and eyes were clean, and her temperament was aloof. She was still the same as before, except that she no longer focused her gaze on him.

Time has matured them both a lot. Even though their breakup was so messy back then, they can now chat calmly and maintain the dignity of adults without saying a word.

He slowed his pace as she did, his mind filled with so many questions he wanted to ask her, but he dared not voice them. After some deliberation, he chose the most appropriate one and asked in a low voice, "How have you been these past few years?"

The way he said those words clearly had two layers of meaning.

In matters of the heart, she was utterly defeated.

Academically, she maintained excellent grades while on exchange, successfully gained admission to a master's program, and found a well-paying job in the UK after graduating with her master's degree. She was even very satisfied with her current situation after returning to China.

If he asked the latter.

Zhou, wanting to downplay the issue, replied, "Okay."

This was the answer Chen Jingchi wanted to hear. He nodded, swallowing back the question he was about to ask.

Once outside the teaching building, Zhou Yu finally glanced at him and asked, "Aren't you afraid of being recognized?"

However, she quickly looked away, as if she didn't want to linger on his face for even half a second longer.

At her reminder, Chen Jingchi took out a mask and put it on, then walked with her along the tree-lined path on campus. It was not yet five o'clock, the sun had not yet set, and the air was incredibly stuffy. He wanted to take this opportunity to offer her something to drink, but just as he was about to speak, Zhou Yu's phone rang in her bag.

She took it out and saw that it was a voice call from Tan Bei.

Zhou Yu knew he had seen the nickname on the screen, so he answered the call without hesitation.

Chen Jingchi was walking on the outside of the road, and she deliberately held up her phone with the hand closest to him.

"Baby, are you home yet?" Tan Bei's voice sounded excited. "It's my boss's wedding anniversary today, so he let us leave work early!"

"That's great." She looked at her toes, her tone becoming more relaxed. "I'm not home yet."

"I'm coming to find you! How about we have sukiyaki today?" Tan Bei said. "I've already rushed downstairs to check in!"

Their workplaces were close by, and ever since she returned, Tan Bei would ask her out for meals and shopping whenever she had free time. Hearing this, Zhou Yu turned her head to meet his gaze and said to Tan Bei, and also to him, "Then I'll wait for you at the school gate."

"Okay, I'll call a taxi right away. I'll hang up now!"

Seeing the slightly regretful expression on his face, Zhou Yu said helplessly, "It seems I'm a step too late."

He clearly had the upper hand, but lost his chance because of a few seconds of hesitation.

Hearing this, Zhou Yu finally realized that he had been secretly planning something by remaining silent the whole way. She turned her head away, not letting him see the slight upturn of her lips.

When they arrived at the school gate, Chen Jingchi knew that Tan Bei would arrive soon, so he had no reason to linger and said, "Wait for me here for a moment."

After saying that, he walked straight towards the parking lot outside the school. Zhou Yu looked up a few seconds later, staring blankly at his back. He saw that the man had opened the trunk of his car and taken out a parasol.

He returned to her side, opened the umbrella, and shielded her from the scorching sun.

Britain has a temperate maritime climate, and it often drizzles in the summer. Locals rarely carry umbrellas. Zhou wanted to adapt to local customs, so when he returned to Jiangbei, he found it troublesome and didn't like to carry an umbrella in his bag.

Chen Jingchi looked at her and reminded her, "Your face is very red."

It was as if he had bullied her.

He didn't finish the second half of his sentence.

Zhou Yu herself couldn't see, but she reached out and took his umbrella. When she touched the handle, she accidentally touched his fingers. She flinched and felt her face spontaneously burning.

This time it wasn't from sunbathing.

They'd done everything intimately together, yet now they were feeling incredibly awkward over such a small amount of physical contact. Zhou Yu's mind was a complete mess.

Chen Jingchi noticed her subtle movements as she tried to dodge, so he let go of her hand and handed the umbrella over to her completely.

He abruptly asked something else: "Will there be a parent-teacher meeting when school starts?"

Zhou Yu was a beat slow to react, then replied, "Yes."

“I’ll most likely be participating then.” Chen Jingchi stood in front of her and asked casually, “Can I add you on WeChat?”

Zhou Yu had seen through his and Liang Shuchen's tricks long ago.

Instead of questioning her, she opened WeChat and said, "I'll scan your QR code."

Chen Jingchi showed his QR code, and with a beep, his account page popped up.

His nickname remains "Chen," and his profile picture has been changed back to pure white, replacing the white image with a line of letters.

In his signature section, Zhou Yu clearly remembers that when he deleted him, it read, "Only you and I remain in the world."

Taken from the last line of the song "Evening Stars Fall".

After the kiss, the world fell silent.

"Only you and I remain in the world"

Now one word is missing.

"Only I remain in this world."

Zhou Yu felt suffocated and had difficulty breathing.

Two seconds later, she clicked "Add to Contacts": "I've added you, will you accept..."

Before he could finish speaking, the screen automatically returned to his profile page, and the text below was not "Waiting for verification" but "Go say hello".

Zhou Yu stared blankly at those words. After realizing what they meant, she felt as if someone had struck her heart with a blunt object, and the pain was so intense that she felt like she was about to have a spasm.

"I didn't delete you." Chen Jingchi put his phone away and chuckled. "I couldn't bear to."

If he deletes her, their chat history of over a thousand days will disappear. Without that, he doesn't know how he'll get through the rest of his life.

He'd changed phones several times in five years, but his WeChat history always transferred perfectly. She was always pinned to his top of his chat list. In the immediate aftermath of their breakup, he didn't dare look at her profile picture. But as he gradually moved on, looking through the pictures he'd sent her after work before bed and reading her replies became a habit he'd maintained ever since.

Zhou Yu kept her head down the whole time, clutching the bag strap tightly, almost suffocating.

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Author's note: Thank you to all the readers for the landmines and nutrient solutions!

Yvonne :) threw a landmine

Hua Yan threw a grenade.

Reader "Xia Luo Yi De" irrigated with 10 nutrient solution.

Reader "Yvonne :)" irrigated with nutrient solution +20

Reader "", Irrigate with nutrient solution +2

Reader "Lily" watered with nutrient solution +9