·94｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·94

He chose to let go.

Having witnessed the professors' fight, Lai Chuan Huang Quan was assigned to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automation. The victorious professor stood proudly with his hands on his hips, looking so smug that he was practically ready to hang a banner at the department entrance to flaunt his victory.

As a key figure at the center of the vortex, Lai Chuan Huang Quan was completely dazed until she walked out of the University of Tokyo. When she came to her senses, she pursed her lips, curled the corners of her mouth into a high smile, and pulled open the car of a second-year graduate student parked by the roadside, practically wagging her tail in smugness: "Second-year graduate student, second-year graduate student, let me tell you something!"

She opened the car door, skillfully climbed into the back seat, and casually picked up a bag of bear-shaped cookies piled up in the back row, tearing it open: "Those professors almost got into a fight over me."

Kenji Hagiwara smiled, shifted gears, and started the car: "As expected of a soft bread van, it's great."

Matsuda Jinpei: "So many years have passed, and those old professors are still so naive." Back then, they fought quite a bit to get him and Hagiwara into their graduate programs. When they finally learned that they had both been accepted into the police academy, those old men almost cried in front of him.

Matsuda Jinpei turned to the person in the back row who was crunching on a cookie: "Give me a bag of cookies."

Yomi Lai stopped putting the biscuit in her mouth and stared at Jinpei Matsuda with wide, surprised eyes.

Matsuda Jinpei: "What's wrong?"

Lai Chuan Huang Quan narrowed his eyes, his face full of disgust: "You clearly said before that I was childish for liking to eat bear-shaped cookies, but now you actually want me to share the cookies with you, ugh—something's fishy."

Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue but didn't say anything. He didn't really like sweets, and if he suddenly felt like trying one, it was only because he saw Yomi Yorikawa eating it with great relish.

Kenji Hagiwara glanced meaningfully at the two of them through the rearview mirror. He smiled and turned his gaze back to the road ahead: "To celebrate, let's go out for a big meal, how about sushi?"

"Okay!"

Lai Chuan Huang Quan happily munched on her biscuits, glancing at Matsuda Jinpei who was still staring at her: "What, are you trying to steal my snacks again?"

Recalling the cotton candy that was stolen in Chinatown, Lai Chuan Huang Quan turned to the side and held the biscuit tightly in his arms.

Matsuda Jinpei chuckled, looked away, and said indifferently, "Childish."

But he was actually a little annoyed, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. The belated buds had barely sprouted when the birds he longed for had already settled and built nests in other large trees.

Sometimes Matsuda Jinpei would wonder why he did nothing at the time, even though he was the one who first sensed the strange familiarity and closeness emanating from Yomi Yorikawa, and was even praised by Hagi as having a beast-like keen intuition.

Past memories recede like the scenery outside a window. Matsuda Jinpei has countless moments of deep regret, but he is powerless to change them.

Matsuda Jinpei suddenly remembered a ridiculous water-related question that circulated widely online. Suppose he and Hagiwara Kenji fell into the water at the same time, Yomi would definitely jump in to save Hagiwara without hesitation.

But whether it's Matsuda Jinpei or Hagiwara Kenji, if they really fell into the water at the same time, they would both prefer that Yomi Yorikawa stay on the shore. They would swim back to her on their own.

Upon arriving at their destination, Lai Chuan Huang Quan excitedly jumped into Hagiwara Kenji's arms as soon as she got out of the car, clinging to his arm and acting all cute. She kept rubbing her face against Hagiwara Kenji's arm, just like a dog with skin hunger.

Kenji Hagiwara was already used to Yomi's coquettishness. He smiled and pulled Yomi into his arms, gently rubbing her soft cheeks with his palms: "You and Jinpei go to the sushi restaurant first, I'll go buy you ice cream. Chocolate flavor?"

"I want taro flavor this time."

"good."

After Kenji Hagiwara left, Jinpei Matsuda walked at the front of the group with his hands in his pockets: "Let's go, I'll take you to the sushi restaurant."

The two walked upstairs in the clean shopping mall. As they passed a barbecue restaurant, the enticing aroma of meat mixed with cumin wafted into Lai Chuan Huang Quan's nostrils. She sniffed and took two deep breaths, her eyes instantly lighting up: "So fragrant!"

She followed behind Matsuda Jinpei, turning back every few steps, gazing longingly at the barbecue restaurant next door. Through the clear glass window, she could see sizzling pork belly on a table near the window.

"Gulp." That was the sound of Yomi Lai Chuan swallowing.

Hearing the noise behind him, Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow: "Want to eat? Then I'll tell Hagi and we'll eat barbecue instead? But speaking of which, you really like barbecue, you've eaten it more than ten times in just two months."

Lai Chuan Huang Quan chuckled: "Because it's delicious. But let's go eat sushi instead, we haven't had salmon in a long time."

After walking a short distance, Lai Chuan Huang Quan seemed to remember something, tilted his head, and reached out to grab Matsuda Jinpei's sleeve: "Jinpei."

Matsuda Jinpei didn't stop walking, turning his head to look at Raikawa Yomi: "What?"

Lai Chuan Huang Quan blinked, his sky-blue eyes sparkling as if they held countless tiny stars: "Jin Ping, do you want to pinch my cheeks?"

Matsuda Jinpei: ...?

He stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed, and looked down at the woman in front of him who was tugging at his clothes and chuckling.

Yomi Lai looked completely innocent, her big, almond-shaped eyes shooting stars at Jinpei Matsuda: "Want to pinch my cheeks?"

"..."

Matsuda Jinpei remained silent. Based on past experience, when Yomi Raikawa suddenly acted coquettishly towards him, it meant either she wanted something from him or she was trying to trick him.

But Lai Chuan Huang Quan clearly didn't want to let him off so easily. She grabbed his shirt, blinked hard twice, her eyes full of hope. Then, tempted by the smell of barbecue, she swallowed another mouthful of saliva that had gathered at the back of her tongue: "Gulp."

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

He seemed to know what Yomi Laichuan was planning.

Matsuda Jinpei grabbed Raikawa Yomi's face and pinched her soft cheeks twice without any politeness: "Hmph, Yomi, don't think I don't know what you're up to."

Normally, Yomi Laichuan would have already exploded in anger, baring her teeth and lunging at Matsuda Jinpei. But she simply closed her eyes into crescent moons, looking completely submissive.

Matsuda Jinpei was both annoyed and amused: "Five meals of barbecue, right?"

Last time, when she pinched Lai Chuan You Quan's cheek, he was tricked into eating five meals of barbecue. But she was too greedy, and the ten meals of meat that Matsuda Jinpei owed her were all eaten a month ago. This time, she took the initiative to invite him to pinch her cheek, which must be for barbecue again.

Seeing that his intentions had been exposed, Yomi Laichuan chuckled: "As expected of Jinpei, you are indeed clever."

Matsuda Jinpei chuckled, pinched her twice more before letting go: "Five meals it is. Let's go to the sushi restaurant."

Upon receiving the promise, Yomi Yorikawa was so happy she almost jumped up and cheered, "I knew Jinpei was the second best in the world!"

Matsuda Jinpei smiled, not asking Yomi Yorikawa, "Who is the best in the world?" The answer to that question was so obvious that he didn't need to ask.

The two resumed their steps, moving towards the sushi restaurant. This time, Matsuda Jinpei walked at the back of the line, silently following Yomi Raikawa. Watching her vibrant and energetic demeanor, he unexpectedly recalled the intermittent dreams he'd had over the past three years. Yomi Raikawa should be vibrant, energetic, full of life, and… rightfully with Kenji Hagiwara.

Matsuda Jinpei lowered his gaze, deep in thought. His tongue felt dry, and his heart felt as if it had been battered by a tsunami, leaving it mottled and chaotic. He twitched his fingers in his pocket, then fumbled for a ring deep inside.

The ring, studded with small diamonds, is topped with a hexagonal carat diamond, and its size is just right for Lai Chuan Huang Quan's left ring finger.

Matsuda Jinpei himself couldn't explain why he bought the ring. He was just looking for a new pair of sunglasses on an ordinary day off when he subconsciously stopped in his tracks as he passed a jewelry store. After a moment's hesitation, he turned in without thinking.

In his dream, he visited this jewelry store shortly before his death. If you think about it carefully, the time he specifically went to this jewelry store to buy the diamond ring seems to be only a few days before now.

Even the ring that Matsuda Jinpei is holding in his hand now was the one he chose after spending half a day in his dream comparing different rings.

Everything was such a coincidence. At the exact same point in his dream, he passed by the jewelry store that had appeared in his dream. And inside the jewelry store, he found the wedding ring that he had carefully chosen in his dream to propose to Lai Chuan Huang Quan. It was as if everything was predestined, a trajectory he could not escape.

When asked about the woman's finger size by the shop assistant, Matsuda Jinpei immediately gave the number from his dream. If dreams are all real events that have happened, then there must be no mistake.

The diamonds sparkled brilliantly under the mall's bright lights, reflecting a translucent luster. Matsuda Jinpei stared intently at the ring clutched in his palm, his thoughts churning like turbulent waves. He must have been out of his mind to buy it, to buy something useless, something he could never give away.

"Zhen Ping?"

Matsuda Jinpei remained silent for too long. Noticing something was amiss, Yomi Yorikawa suddenly turned around and called out to him.

Matsuda Jinpei was startled, quickly curling his hand into a fist to hide the ring in his palm: "Hmm? What is it?"

Lai Chuan Huang Quan tilted his head: "What are you hiding?"

Matsuda Jinpei swallowed hard, his hand holding the ring tensing every muscle. For a fleeting moment, he had an impulse to "take this opportunity to confess my feelings and give her the ring openly and honestly."

Matsuda Jinpei swallowed hard, his fingers twitching almost imperceptibly. He raised an eyebrow and laughed arrogantly. "Just caught a bug that keeps flying around in front of me. Want to see it?" he said, making a gesture as if to open his palm.

"Eek—" Yomi Laichuan quickly jumped back a few steps. "I don't want to see! Jinpei, you actually caught the bug with your hands. Remember to wash your hands when you go to the sushi restaurant later."

"Okay."

Matsuda Jinpei smiled and put his hands back in his pockets.

The platinum ring, warmed by his palm, remained firmly in his grasp as Matsuda Jinpei held onto his wedding ring tightly. He suppressed his smile, staring intently at the woman before him, and finally couldn't help but speak: "Yomi."

"What?"

Matsuda Jinpei's Adam's apple bobbed repeatedly, and his breathing began to tremble slightly with nervousness: "I once..."

"Um?"

I had you briefly.

But Matsuda Jinpei ultimately just let out a sigh of relief: "...No, it's nothing."

The hand hidden in the pocket slowly unfolded, and the ring clenched in the palm fell back into the depths of the pocket.

Matsuda Jinpei chose to let go.

Whether it's for the ring or for her.

The wedding ring that could not be given away was hidden by Matsuda Jinpei in the drawer by his bedside.

[Author's Note]

-