Chapter 14 I want you, I admit it.

Boys eat very quickly. Jiang Meng felt that she hadn't even finished chewing two noodles when Chen Jizhou was already sitting there leisurely drinking water.

"If you're in a hurry, you can go now."

"No rush, take your time eating."

Jiang Meng thought Chen Jizhou must be quite busy. He had a lot of friends and a lot of things to do. If he didn't play basketball, he might go to a bowling club or something she wasn't interested in. At the very least, he could go online to relieve boredom. His life was so colorful and he had the ability to take control of his own life. He would never stop for anyone or anything.

Fearing she might disrupt Chen Jizhou's carefree and unrestrained lifestyle, she would often use this line: "You go first."

However, Chen Jizhou wouldn't leave. He would stay with her until she finished her meal in peace, and then see her off. With her, the flow of time seemed to slow down for him, and the vibrant colors in his life were suddenly compressed in saturation.

All the difficult and oppressive experiences and exhausting predicaments she faced were completely out of sync with him.

But he sat there, not even touching his phone, just waiting for her.

Jiang Meng would speak, and he would respond with a sentence or two.

He would stay quiet while Jiang Meng ate.

Someone appeared in my peripheral vision.

A girl entered the store, glanced at the backs of the boys inside, and looked as if she had discovered something terrible. Her eyes widened, and she rushed out. A while later, she pulled another girl who didn't seem to be there for noodles. The two of them looked inside through the curtain and whispered to each other for a while. The girl who was being pulled back became a little too coy and tried to leave. The other girl tugged at her, almost pulling her school uniform off, but in the end, she didn't come in.

Some entanglements and conflicts occurred behind him, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Jiang Meng had noticed many of the subtle thoughts around him and had become accustomed to it; it wasn't the first or second time.

Chen Jizhou leaned back against the edge of the table, his posture languid, completely unaware of the subtle commotion behind him. It wasn't until he noticed Jiang Meng staring intently at the door that he turned around to look, but there was nothing in his sight. He then looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Meng chewed her food slowly: "I'm wondering, how can so many people like you?"

He wasn't modest at all: "He's handsome."

"But there are quite a few guys who like you, of course, not the kind of liking that you'd kick away, but your good brothers."

Chen Jizhou was silent for a few seconds, then smiled like a rascal: "I don't care whether they like me or not, so naturally they will like me."

This is certainly not the standard answer, and it's not even very relevant to the topic.

Jiang Meng found these words puzzling, yet they seemed to contain some philosophical insight and value. Unable to grasp their meaning quickly, she simply lowered her head and continued eating her noodles.

I came out of the store.

Chen Jizhou asked her, "How are you going to get back?"

"Mom will come over at six o'clock after get off work."

"From the school?"

"right."

He checked the time: "There'll be a little while."

He glanced at Jiang Meng, then at the sky, and said, "I'll wait with you."

She nodded. "Okay."

They stood by the roadside, near the green belt.

“I haven’t seen Xie Zhuo lately.” Jiang Meng walked down and up the curb, occasionally putting her arm around his shoulder. “He’s always disappearing without a trace. If he doesn’t come to school, I can’t get a ride anymore.”

Chen Jizhou stood on the ground with his hands in his pockets, not moving. "Weren't you studying his robot?"

Speaking of robots, Jiang Meng suddenly thought of something, her eyes flickered, and she glanced at the calm Chen Jizhou. She quickly stopped thinking about it and nodded in agreement: "They're almost turning themselves into robots."

Chen Jizhou followed her words and said, "They do look quite alike; neither of them has any expression."

She laughed and said, "You think so too? He's too aloof. Yuan Ting can't even add him on WeChat, and I have to relay her messages. I'm the progress bar in your encrypted file transfers with the girls."

As Jiang Meng spoke, she made a motion as if she were dragging a progress bar.

“Being aloof isn’t a problem.” He thought for a moment and then slowly analyzed, “Xie Zhuo’s biggest problem is that he’s dull and not very bright. He uses all his intelligence on math and physics, and he can’t understand anything outside of exam papers.”

Jiang Meng was stunned: "You actually said Xie Zhuo was dull? How dare you criticize him, Chen Jizhou! He's a top student!"

Chen Jizhou nodded nonchalantly: "I'll say the same thing to his face. Go ahead and complain."

What did he say to you?

"He told me to die."

Hahahaha!

Jiang Meng slid down the curb and quickly grabbed his arm; Chen Jizhou also helped her up.

She laughed and raised her chin, looking at the gray clouds in the sky. After a while, Jiang Meng turned her head and said softly, "I've found that I'm happier when I'm with you."

He was quite perceptive; he looked at her and asked, "Who are you unhappy with?"

Jiang Meng feigned indifference: "I'm not happy with anyone but you."

Chen Jizhou laughed and flicked her forehead, "Speak human language to everyone, did you learn that from me?"

A familiar car was parked across the street.

Chen Jizhou gently patted her back and reminded her, "Auntie is here, go on."

Jiang Meng tightened the straps of her schoolbag.

He then jokingly added, "Explain it to her, so she doesn't misunderstand us."

Jiang Meng skipped away, saying, "No, I told Mom that you have to believe that Chen Jizhou and I are absolutely best friends. You can doubt me with anyone but me with him, so you already have the right to absolve yourself. It's okay for us to walk together."

She thought to herself in a good mood that everyone should have good friends, and being with good friends would make her super happy.

-

Before the end of the semester, Jiang Meng had an important thing to do.

She knew a senior high school student who had experience attending concerts and buying tickets. The group of about six or seven people went to the concert together. They agreed to meet on Wednesday noon to pay the senior student. She had already finished her college entrance exams and would buy the tickets for them.

With a small thing on her mind, Jiang Meng was in a good mood for several days in a row. That morning, when she entered the classroom, she noticed Lin Fei and a girl from her class standing in the corridor. Lin Fei had his hands on his hips and looked unhappy, while the girl had her head down, as if she had been criticized.

Early in the morning, the air pressure was very low.

When Jiang Meng entered the classroom, she found that many people were not sitting still in their seats. They were huddled together in groups, whispering to each other, and the atmosphere was not normal.

After sitting down, Jiang Meng nudged the boy in front of her and quietly asked, "Why was Li Qianyi being scolded?"

The boy turned to her and whispered, "Our class has been robbed, and many boarding students have had money stolen."

Jiang Meng was shocked: "What? Could it be that thief who stole from the art studio last time??"

"It should be. Director Tao just came over to ask about the situation and is now checking the surveillance footage."

"How did you get in? Weren't the doors and windows locked from the inside?"

“After evening self-study, there was an unlocked window. Li Qianyi was the last one to leave after finishing her cleaning duty yesterday, so she got scolded.”

Jiang Meng gasped.

She remembered that she seemed to have five hundred yuan in the table.

Jiang Meng didn't bother asking any more questions; she quickly found her math textbook (model 53) on her desk and started frantically flipping through it.

There was nothing there.

He's not inside?

impossible……

Maybe it's the English one.

She found the English textbook "53", but still couldn't find it.

No, for Chinese language.

Physical chemistry, none of them.

Jiang Meng was a little dazed, her head spinning.

The boy in front of her noticed her expression was off and asked, "Did you put the money in the book?"

"Is it that rare? I use it every day."

Jiang Meng doesn't have the habit of using a wallet. She finds it cumbersome to carry around, and losing a wallet would be a huge loss. So she usually keeps her money in small, scattered places, stuffing a little here and a little there. This 500 yuan was something she "saved" in this book specifically for the concert, in case she didn't know how to count it and spent it recklessly. Jiang Meng recalled her thoughts when she put the money in the book. She thought: This workbook is the thickest, so it's secure and won't fall out easily.

But what if I remember it wrong?

What if?

Although it was unlikely, she still read through all the other books.

Finally, Jiang Meng resignedly plopped down on her seat.

She probably really lost her five hundred yuan.

Die! You thief!

Jiang Meng leaned on the table, her nose stinging with tears.

During break, class monitor Song Zixuan was doing his job as instructed by the teacher, recording the amount of money lost by the students. He walked around the classroom with his notebook, and when he came to Jiang Meng, he saw that she had tears in her eyes. He lingered for a while until Jiang Meng looked up at him, and then Song Zixuan said, "How much did you lose? I'll make a record."

Jiang Meng was furious: "Five hundred? Is that damn thief even human?"

Song Zixuan silently made a note: "That bastard, calm down, I lost a thousand."

Jiang Meng calmed down a bit, and her gaze towards him changed: "How pitiful, class monitor."

Actually, Song Zixuan didn't lose any money. According to the statistics, Jiang Meng had the most thefts in the class. After all, not many people are foolish enough to leave their money in the classroom overnight. Most people just lost some small amounts of money.

He said this in the hope that it would make her feel a little better.

Xie Zhuo and Su Yu entered through the front door one after the other, about two meters apart.

Su Yu was clearly there for Jiang Meng, but when she saw Xie Zhuo stop in front of Jiang Meng's table, she turned back in a flash and then teleported ten meters away.

Jiang Meng looked up at Xie Zhuo.

He asked, "You lost money too?"

Jiang Meng felt utterly hopeless: "Is that damned thief even human?"

"How much did you lose?" Xie Zhuo took out his wallet. "Is this little thing worth crying like this for?"

"Is hard-earned money good? Five hundred!"

Xie Zhuo gave her eight hundred: "You have an exam this afternoon, don't get distracted."

Jiang Meng's expression brightened, and she accepted the money with both hands, saying with tears of gratitude, "I'm a little short of money lately, but I'll definitely pay you back when I have the money."

"No need, just keep it."

Xie Zhuo walked to his seat, exuding the handsome air of a rich young master.

A moment later, Su Yu came over, sat in front of her, and whispered, "Jiang Meng, are you alright?"

Jiang Meng wiped her face, pouted, and asked her sadly, "Is that damn thief even human?"

Su Yu said, "I've scraped together a little money, I don't know if it's enough, but if you're in a hurry to see the concert, you can use it first."

Not many people knew she was going to the concert. Jiang Meng watched as Su Yu neatly arranged some loose change, which probably amounted to four or five hundred yuan.

Jiang Meng asked her in surprise, "How did you manage to put together that?"

Su Yu lowered her voice even further: "Actually, I saved this up myself."

Jiang Meng smiled through her tears: "Thank you, Xie Zhuo has already given me some. Keep saving, and treat me to ice cream when you save up a thousand."

Su Yu gave a blank "oh," quietly put her money back, and then, seemingly lost in thought, said "oh" again: "He's such a nice person."

"You're great too, baby."

“Yes, money, paper, it will always come back.” Su Yu laughed, revealing her cute rabbit teeth. She stretched out five fingers and held them up at Jiang Meng. “The most important thing in life is to be happy. Happiness is something that five hundred-yuan bills can’t buy.”

Jiang Meng stared at her: "Something's not right. Why are you talking like Chen Jizhou lately?"

Su Yu nodded solemnly: "Yes, I'm learning from him, so I don't work too hard."

Jiang Meng was taken aback: "What, you're learning from him?"

Xie Zhuo appeared quietly from behind.

Su Yu teleported ten meters away with her words in hand.

He handed over the physics notes that Jiang Meng had borrowed from him.

By lunchtime in the cafeteria, while Zhao Yuanting was angrily standing with her hands on her hips, saying, "What the hell? How could she steal your money? Is this thief even human?!" Jiang Meng was already able to calmly enjoy her delicious lunch.

Because of Mr. Xie's generosity, she even had an extra meal.

She had just stuffed the braised pork into her mouth when she heard someone call out to her: "Jiang Meng".

"Hmm." She looked up and saw Li Shuheng.

"Can I sit down?" Li Shuheng asked, holding his bowl and looking around. It was clear that there were no seats left in the cafeteria.

Jiang Meng moved a little closer to the other end of the bench: "You can sit here."

Li Shuheng sat down and asked, "Did your class get burgled too?"

Jiang Meng pointed to herself, her face contorted with pain: "The victim is here."

Zhao Yuanting said, "Old Tao said he watched the surveillance footage. Those two thieves were particularly cunning. They covered their faces when facing the camera, but they weren't wearing school uniforms, so they were probably not students. Plus, they walked in a very sleazy way. Why did they have to do something so stupid? Even in this day and age, there are still slackers. Stealing money from students is truly a sin!"

Li Shuheng pondered for a moment and said, "They went to our studio last week and weren't caught. It seems they've gotten even more brazen."

Zhao Yuanting asked, "How are your surveillance cameras? Haven't they provided any clues at all?"

Li Shuheng said, "The art studio is in the westernmost teaching building, next to a wall. We all guessed that they must have climbed over the wall to get in. Opposite is a driving school practice area, which has no access control. All sorts of people come here."

While Li Shuheng was analyzing the matter, Jiang Meng felt uneasy. The day's ups and downs had made her overlook something important. When she remembered it again, the braised pork fell out of her mouth: "Oh no!"

After quickly finishing her rice, Jiang Meng took the money Xie Zhuo had given her and ran to the square below the senior high school building.

At this moment, the square was empty. When she opened the QQ group again, she found that people in the group had urged her several times.

Jiang Meng had been preoccupied with losing money all morning and hadn't checked her phone. Only now did she remember she still needed to buy concert tickets; she'd been so careless.

The senior student's last message in the group chat was: "Jiang Meng, aren't you going? Then I won't buy from you."

In the end, Xie Zhuo returned the money to Xie Zhuo.

Jiang Meng no longer needs it.

If I wait until school is over to buy tickets, they will definitely be sold out, and I'll have wasted my time.

Because of the money that went missing in the class, everyone in the classroom was in a state of panic all day. The police even came in the afternoon, but there are no clues yet. The surveillance footage is very blurry. It was two men who committed the crime, and they have a strong ability to evade investigation.

This was the first time Jiang Meng had ever had something stolen from her in her life. She couldn't say how she felt after finishing her afternoon chemistry exam. The saying "misfortunes never come singly" was really true. As she left the campus listlessly, she even wondered if she should buy something to ward off bad luck.

This was her first pot of gold.

Jiang Meng felt depressed and wanted to talk to someone, so she sent a message to A that night: "I've been having such bad luck lately. My money was stolen, and because of it, I haven't been able to buy concert tickets yet."

A: "A concert?"

A: "Did you leave the money in the classroom?"

Jiang Meng was about to reply to his first question, but her attention was drawn to the next one: "How did you know I lost it in the classroom?"

After a long pause, A replied simply: "Just guessing."

Jiang Meng looked at the two words with a mixture of belief and disbelief.

Another message popped up from A: "Who are you going to the concert with?"

Jiang Meng: "Share the burden"

Jiang Meng, worried that he wouldn't understand, explained further: "It means, someone who's a senior in high school at our school, someone who's a fan of the same celebrity as me."

A: "Two tickets?"

Jiang Meng: "Not just any group, there are so many of us, they've all bought everything."

A: "Are you still planning to go?"

Jiang Meng: "Others charge extra for reselling tickets, but I'm super poor! [crying][crying] Still considering it [crying][crying]"

A: "Losing money is a good thing, don't cry."

After he finished speaking, he sent a pat-on-the-head emoji.

She is truly easy to calm down with gentle comfort.

In fact, Jiang Meng, who was watching from outside the screen, didn't cry; instead, she smiled.

Five hundred yuan is definitely not worth her going through a life-or-death struggle.

The next day, Jiang Meng returned to normal.

The long rainy season often brings overcast skies, making it hard to sleep. In June, a rare sunny day arrived. After her afternoon practice, Jiang Meng was taking a nap at her desk when she fell into a deep sleep. She felt that the wind blowing outside had the scent of summer—lush and gentle. The shadows of camphor trees swayed on her eyelids, and then fresh leaves drifted down, brushing against her eyelashes and pressing against the bridge of her nose.

wrong.

It doesn't smell like leaves, it smells like ink from paper.

In the extremely quiet classroom, a long ticket that was originally placed on her pile of books was blown onto her face by the wind.

Three minutes before the lunch break bell rang, Jiang Meng opened her eyes and wrinkled her itchy nose.

Because of her looking up, the ticket landed steadily on the table.

The words on the ticket came into view.

Jiang Meng's gaze lingered on the information on the front of the concert ticket for a moment. Her heart suddenly began to clench and pound. She stood up abruptly and looked around.

Everyone in the classroom was resting.

Lin Fei didn't allow them to secretly do their homework during lunch break, so he would come over to monitor them from time to time. The students in the class couldn't do anything except sleep.

Jiang Meng stood at her seat, her gaze fixed on the highest point of the classroom. She scanned each figure hunched over their seat, then glanced at the open front and back doors of the classroom.

Who gave it to her?

Are they classmates?

Or was it someone who came in from outside?

Jiang Meng fumbled for her phone, instinctively searching for A: "Did you buy me the ticket?"

A: "Go watch it, don't fall behind."

It really was him.

Jiang Meng was so nervous that her fingertips trembled as they hovered over her phone screen, making it difficult for her to type: "How did you know which game I was watching?"

A: "The invoice was issued yesterday, is it difficult to check?"

That's true.

But she still has many, many problems.

Jiang Meng: "Are you beside me?"

Jiang Meng: "How can I pay you?"

Jiang Meng: "Did you buy scalped tickets?"

Jiang Meng: "No, then how do you know who my idol is?"

A string of question marks, A only picked the last one to answer: "You said that."

Did she... tell him?

She doesn't remember, or maybe she does.

Jiang Meng: "Are you in our class? Or in our school?"

Jiang Meng glanced at the front and back doors again. Had he been in this classroom?

Perhaps he came in quietly and left quietly.

Or perhaps he had someone else buy it and bring it to her. But that would only be possible if he knew people around her.

Jiang Meng held the ticket, examining it from all angles, considering many possibilities, and asked again, "How can I pay you?"

A: "I'll owe you that. I'll ask you for money whenever I need it. I'll wait for you to help me out."

Jiang Meng smiled: "Are you always this generous?"

A: "...I'm not a sucker."

A: "Is your girlfriend well-treated?"

His words were quite ambiguous, with the emphasis naturally on the word "treatment," which was close to the treatment a girlfriend would receive. However, amidst Jiang Meng's surprise, a sudden sense of shyness arose within her.

The bell rang, and some people got up to wash their faces. More and more people moved around in the classroom. Jiang Meng, her face burning, hid her phone inside her book.

Jiang Meng asked him, "You know me?"

A: "I have admired my name for a long time"

She remembered that when they first added each other as friends, she did talk to him about her school and name, but A didn't exchange information with her. However, Jiang Meng was always easygoing and forgiving, so she didn't hold it against him.

Jiang Meng: "No matter what, things are different when money is involved."

Jiang Meng: "I'll give it to you once I find the money."

A didn't say whether it was good or bad: "Class has started."

They really are students?

Jiang Meng: "Are you a second-year high school student?"

Jiang Meng emphasized: "Relationships between older women and younger men are not allowed, especially between first-year high school students."

A: "Don't worry, I'm older than you."

Jiang Meng: "That's good."

A: "What's so good about it?"

"..."

Jiang Meng was stunned.

Yeah, he didn't say he wanted to date her.

Jiang Meng retorted, "Then explain yourself first. What makes you think I should be at ease?"

A: "Don't worry, you can't have a relationship with me that's older woman than younger man."

A: "Is that hard to understand?"

That's what he said, but Jiang Meng was confused and felt something was off. She found it hard to resist his roundabout tactics: "I've discovered that you're a really bad person."

A: "Every word is true, what's wrong with it?"

Jiang Meng: "I don't know, I hate you."

A: "Don't hate me, I'm still quite happy."

Jiang Meng: "What's making you happy?"

A: "As long as you don't hit it, it's absolutely impossible; there's still a chance of winning."

Jiang Meng: "Who do you want to beat?"

A: You're better at playing dumb.

Jiang Meng: "I'm not pretending to be stupid."

A: "Are you really stupid?"

Jiang Meng: "!!"

Jiang Meng: "Ugh, I hate beating around the bush!"

A: "Then I won't cover it."

She stared intently at the screen, waiting to see what he would say.

A few seconds later, a line of text slid neatly out from the bottom of the chat interface.

A: "I want you, I admit it."

Ughhhhh, you bastard!

Jiang Meng tossed her phone out of her hot palm.

Her cheek was pressed against the table, but the bastard made her face feel so hot.

In the last minute before the preparatory bell rang, Jiang Meng composed herself and mustered the courage to open his chat window. The screen remained blank for a while. Seeing that she didn't say anything, A said, "See, you're unhappy again."