Chapter 75: Everlasting Time

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the Chen and Jiang families had a meal together and sincerely discussed some matters related to the wedding. Chen Jizhou's mother even spoke up for him for once, refraining from ridiculing him and saying many good things about him in front of others. Chen Jizhou, who had never received such encouragement in his life, felt a little embarrassed. His maternal grandparents, needless to say, gave him plenty of face.

Before returning to Yunzhou, Chen Jizhou arranged a reunion with some former classmates. Besides Xie Zhuo and Su Yu, the class monitor Song Zixuan was also there. Since Song Zixuan was already married and brought his wife along, Chen Jizhou would never be able to watch the academic competition he loved to watch again, which he found a little regrettable.

The door to the private room was knocked on again.

Chen Jizhou saw a tall, short-haired girl standing at the door. The girl was heavily made up. After a moment of confusion, he looked at the man behind her, thought for a long time, and finally called out her name: "Zhao Yuanting".

He opened the door wide and let her in, jokingly saying, "Can you please stop growing? You're almost taller than me now."

Zhao Yuanting: "I'm wearing high heels, okay!"

Upon hearing Zhao Yuanting's voice, Jiang Meng rushed over, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, and pressed her for an answer: "Did you miss me?"

Zhao Yuanting raised an eyebrow and said, "It's so-so."

Jiang Meng grabbed her by the neck, and Zhao Yuanting immediately smiled and begged for mercy.

Zhao Yuanting stayed in Guangdong to work and got a promotion last year; she's a very good earner. The man next to her is probably her new boyfriend, a younger man who's incredibly obedient and well-behaved. If you ask him to call her "sister," he'll call her "sister." If you ask him to call her "brother-in-law," he'll call her "brother-in-law."

This made Zhao Yuanting seem even more like a wealthy woman.

Chen Jizhou also benefited from this, becoming someone's brother-in-law, although it's unclear how this generational ranking is calculated.

Last year, Zhao Yuanting's first words after learning that Jiang Meng and Chen Jizhou were together were: "Unexpected."

But after a moment of silence, he said, "That makes sense."

Jiang Meng immediately asked her, "What do you mean by 'within reason'?"

Zhao Yuanting said, "It means that there is a feeling that when you get old and there is no suitable match, you just make do with your old acquaintances."

Jiang Meng quickly retorted, "It's not a compromise, we're truly in love."

Zhao Yuanting: "I didn't truly love you before, but I truly love you now."

Jiang Meng could only exclaim, "That's great! It turns out I'm not the only one who's oblivious; you didn't notice either."

After learning the truth, Zhao Yuanting said, "I'm sorry, I've never had a crush, nor do I understand crushes. I'm a straightforward person. The worst outcome is like when I was rejected by Xie Zhuo back then, leaving me completely devastated. It doesn't matter, I won't have any regrets."

Jiang Meng agreed wholeheartedly and nodded quickly, reaching a consensus with her.

The last one to come in was Xu Yichen, Xie Zhuo's deskmate, who is currently serving in the military.

Chen Jizhou went over to him, opened the door, and then familiarly put his arm around his shoulder, saying, "Old Xu, I've missed you so much."

He nudged the other man's firm chest with his fist, smiled, and said, "You're even more muscular than me."

Xu Yichen walked inside, smiling shyly as always: "Oh dear, why are you all in pairs?"

Zhao Yuanting said, "Yes, you're the only one missing. Hurry up and find a girlfriend."

Jiang Meng looked at her and said, "Zhao Yuanting, your words sound too much like a mother's. It seems you haven't been pressured enough to get married and have children during the New Year."

Zhao Yuanting: "The nature of the situation is different, okay? I'm just worried he'll get bored. I don't have a motherly feel, I have an older sister feel."

Xu Yichen: "Not boring at all. Being alone is quite free. It's a bit troublesome to date in the army now."

After he finished speaking, he smiled at Su Yu across the table.

When Su Yu saw him looking at her, she raised her hand and said "Hi" to him.

Xu Yichen then glanced at Xie Zhuo next to her, and Xie Zhuo nodded slightly to him.

Jiang Meng realized something and said to Chen Jizhou, "That's strange. Why did you only invite students from Class 14? Where are your classmates?"

"Let's do it another day."

After Chen Jizhou sat down, he smiled arrogantly and said, "I'm here today mainly to tell everyone that I'm sorry, I've married the class beauty."

The crowd cheered: Ugh~~~

Xie Zhuo casually teased, "Sorry, or are you still beaming with pride? Your mouth is practically stretched to your back teeth."

Chen Jizhou clinked glasses with him and said frankly, "I feel less sorry and more grateful."

He smiled and said, "Thank you, Lao Xie, for making me look so handsome all these years."

Xie Zhuo replied without hesitation, "You're welcome. You've always made me look very smart."

They fell silent, each taking a sip without giving an inch.

Chen Jizhou: "Old Xu, although your idea wasn't very effective and didn't play a supporting role, I was very touched that you ran the 800 meters with her when she was feeling unwell in PE class."

"Oh, really?" Xu Yichen genuinely couldn't remember, scratching his head as he said, "But I'm the sports committee member, so it's only right."

Actually, Jiang Meng didn't remember either, but when Chen Jizhou mentioned it, she had a little impression and was surprised. The memories he kept of her were these fragments, which contained her regrets and pain, and the parts that made her heart ache. He remembered them all, as if he was always empathizing with her rainy season and persistently holding up an umbrella to shelter her from the wind and rain.

"Song Zixuan, I should thank you the most for helping her with the questions."

Song Zixuan adjusted his glasses: "It was actually because of selfish motives—but how come you two started falling in love so early? I was completely kept in the dark."

Su Yu nodded and said, "It's alright, you're not the only one who's kept in the dark."

The class reunion turned into an "awards ceremony," and Chen Jizhou seemed quite proud of himself. But more importantly, he wanted to see happiness and also wanted to spread it.

Jiang Meng recalled a film director saying that the most turbulent period in a person's life is adolescence. After that period, everything will return to the mundane world and the normal order of life.

But she doesn't particularly like the term "mediocre," nor does she like to overemphasize the passion of youth. Growing up is turbulent, like weathering storms at sea; eventually, one will come to rest. When the turmoil subsides, the searching ceases, and the lack is gone, one settles into a peaceful evening as the waves recede, ready to embrace the infinitely tranquil path ahead. The complete form of growth is not a mediocre life, but a fulfilling happiness.

The renovation of the new house took more than half a year, and we moved in after the beginning of autumn.

Chen Jizhou really turned his home terrace into a large garden. He needed colorful flowers to embellish his life, and ideally, he could see fresh, vibrant flowers every day when he opened his eyes.

They got their marriage certificate on August 31st, which was an auspicious date chosen by Wang Qi.

I got my marriage certificate this morning.

In the afternoon, on the last day of the holiday, Jiang Meng finally got her wish and lay on her hammock basking in the sun. She swayed her body, tilted her head back, held up her marriage certificate to the sky, looked at it again and again. She wasn't particularly satisfied, but she felt it was quite magical.

Marriage is such a profound yet light thing.

It was so profound that it permeated my entire life.

It is as light as the weight of this booklet.

Chen Jizhou played with Xiao Jin on the side.

When the first autumn breeze blew by, he smelled the scent of the start of the school year and remarked with emotion, "After all these years, I still have this fear of being controlled by the start of the school year. I always dream that I'm doing homework. But then I think, 'I don't have to go to school anymore,' and it feels pretty good."

Jiang Meng looked at him coldly: "Don't be so immoral, I still have to go to school."

Chen Jizhou had almost forgotten about this, so he quickly smiled and asked Jiang Meng, "Shall we try on wedding dresses tomorrow?"

"OK."

After Jiang Meng finished speaking, she closed her eyes in the hammock, covered her face with the marriage certificate, and lay among the flowers without a care in the world, having a long dream.

...

The sunlight danced on my eyelids day after day, just like it had for ten years.

She was awakened by knocking on the bedroom door.

Thump thump thump—

"It's been reported today! Still not paid up?" It was Ye Zhaoxu's voice.

Jiang Meng suddenly opened her eyes. She quickly got out of bed, gathered up the summer homework she had just finished yesterday, and stuffed it all into her schoolbag. Her school uniform, which she hadn't worn all summer, was neatly folded and smelled of laundry detergent. She took off her pajamas and put on the school uniform. When she picked up her phone, Jiang Meng was in a daze for a second.

August 31st.

go to school?

Going to school??

How many years has it been since she graduated?

Upon closer inspection of the year, it turned out to be ten years ago.

Jiang Meng immediately opened her phone's chat history, scrolled to Friend A's account, and found that their chat history ended last night.

Jiang Meng: "Ugh, this is so annoying! I'm still doing my summer homework at this hour. I'm about to lose it! [crying]"

A: "Summer homework? I've never done any."

Jiang Meng: "Aren't you afraid of getting scolded?"

A: "I'm thick-skinned, don't follow my example."

Jiang Meng: "Then you write it for me, I'm so sleepy."

A: "I can't write it for you, but I'll find you an answer key. Wait here."

Within half an hour, he actually sent her several pictures of the reference answers.

Jiang Meng was extremely grateful, saying she didn't need to stay up all night anymore, since he was always incredibly resourceful.

At that moment, Jiang Meng excitedly sent him a message: "Are you up? Are you home?"

A: "Yes, of course I'm here."

Jiang Meng didn't reply. She put her phone in her pocket, grabbed her schoolbag, and ran away.

Her mother called her from behind to eat breakfast, but Jiang Meng ignored her and rushed out of the house, heading straight for the Chen family.

Her hand trembled slightly as she pressed the elevator button on the stairs. When she got to the door, she started knocking: "Chen Jizhou, Chen Jizhou, are you there?!"

After a while, Wang Qi, who was busy in the kitchen, came over and opened the door for her, and the aroma of smoky fried eggs wafted out.

"Mengmeng, aren't you going to school?" Wang Qi noticed her haste and was surprised, wondering if something had happened. The elders all looked very young, and in their eyes, Jiang Meng exuded a naive and innocent girlish charm.

Jiang Meng took a deep breath and said, "Hello, Auntie."

The boy strolled out of the restaurant, slung his backpack over his shoulder, smoothed down his sleep-grown hair, glanced at Jiang Meng with a puzzled look, and asked in a low voice, "Looking for me?"

She avoided Aunt Wang, lowered her voice, and said to Chen Jizhou, "—Did you hear me calling you?"

"Is it deafening?"

He looked like he hadn't woken up yet, his eyelids drooping, and he rubbed his ears, which had almost gone deaf from her stimulation.

Chen Jizhou came out after changing his shoes, glanced at her, and asked, "What are you doing here so early? Something wrong?"

Jiang Meng said, "I'll go to school with you."

Chen Jizhou smiled and said, "You seem to really enjoy going to school? You look very excited."

"I..." Jiang Meng hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

He closed the door, and she followed behind him. After making sure no one was eavesdropping, Jiang Meng solemnly told him, "I came here ten years ago."

Chen Jizhou gave a perfectly calm "hmm".

"Just...?"

He glanced casually at the elevator floor display, and only after the elevator descended to the first floor and he stepped out did he say, "Are you sleepwalking or did you take the wrong medicine?"

"It's true! I rushed to tell you, we're getting married."

Chen Jizhou glanced at her, puzzled. "Married? With whom?"

Jiang Meng: "Me and you."

He slowly lowered his head: "...Hmm."

Hmm again!

What are you thinking about?

Jiang Meng stared at his profile, unable to discern his thoughts, and simply gazed at him for a long time.

Finally, Chen Jizhou spoke up and asked, "Will I be handsome ten years from now?"

Jiang Meng chuckled: "He's especially handsome, even more handsome than he is now."

He laughed too: "More handsome than now? You've managed to snag him?"

"..."

Jiang Meng was a little annoyed by his frivolous manner, and put her hands on her hips indignantly: "Can you stop being so provocative?"

She stood still, not moving an inch, and watched him walk forward with a resentful expression.

Chen Jizhou walked slowly for a few steps, then gradually stopped. He stood at the entrance of the apartment building, at the boundary between light and darkness.

"Then you..."

He turned around, his handsome brows relaxed, and suddenly smiled slightly, saying to her, "Be happy for me."

Jiang Meng watched him turn and walk into the sunlight.

The scene was beautiful, like a dream.

That is indeed the case.

On the day she tried on her wedding dress, Jiang Meng suddenly thought of this dream and couldn't help but drift off into thought for a moment.

The necklace was hung around her snow-white neck, and she looked at her most mature and perfect self in the mirror.

It rained in Yunzhou on September 1st.

It was drizzling outside.

"Is it ready? I'll lift the curtain so your husband can take a look?" Jiang Meng was pulled back to reality by the voice of the bridal shop assistant and smiled as she said okay.

She turned around, holding her skirt, and saw him and the rain outside the window.

The September rain will no longer dampen the youthful heart; from now on, life will be evergreen.

The scene of him reaching out his hand to her from behind became the greatest ending to this youthful moment.

-The End-

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This last part is an "what if" scenario, where Mengmeng returns to high school with her memories. I won't go into detail, as I really have limited energy. If there's any additional content to the book later, I'll add a bonus chapter. The bonus chapter is free, and I'll send out the long review reward later.

The story of Pingjiang No.1 Middle School ends here. See you in person!

Lastly, thank you everyone for your support over the past three months. Please give me a five-star review! [Please][Please]