Chapter 8. He's here to back up his little henchman...

Jiang Su really rummaged through his house and found the photo that evoked his memories.

Finally, he stacked the two photos together and showed them to Jiang Meng.

Jiang Meng is looking at the camera from the side in both photos, with a slight smile, which is why he thought they looked similar.

The difference is that in this childhood photo, she was being held by her father while her mother stood beside her, and the photo was taken in a garden.

The young parents are both exceptionally good-looking. In their twenties, they didn't seem to have the serious demeanor they have now. The lush greenery in the background made her feel as if she could feel the warm breeze of her childhood.

Jiang Meng flipped the page to the back, where her father's handwriting from over a decade ago read: "My baby's fifth birthday."

Jiang Su asked, "Is it exactly the same?"

Jiang Meng held the photo, feeling a deep tremor within her. Afraid that her voice would tremble when she spoke, she could only clench her teeth and simply reply, "Mm."

Strangely enough, Jiang Meng had almost gotten used to him being so stiff all the time.

The slightest kindness she receives will trigger her endless, confused thoughts, leaving her feeling bitter.

Jiang Meng's fingertips touched the line of words.

She hadn't experienced such straightforward and honest love in a long time.

But from what day did we have to become so cautious?

The cruelest thing in a relationship is being hot and cold. When you're hurt by someone, it's because you still have expectations. Because you once had them, you yearn to get them back.

A book lies beneath the photograph, containing the poem: "Everything has a beginning, but few things have an end."

The longing for love during adolescence was met with the cruelest answer.

At night, Jiang Meng watched a tearjerker movie, and two hours later, her pillow was soaked with tears.

She then remembered that she hadn't finished one of the test papers. Wiping away her tears, she sat up and wanted to ask Chen Jizhou if his class had finished it in advance, so she called him.

It took a while before the other party answered.

Jiang Meng called out to him: "Chen Jizhou".

His voice was low and very muffled, as if he were speaking with his face buried in the blankets or pillow: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Meng was startled: "You're asleep?"

She then checked the time; it was almost one o'clock. She had assumed he would stay up all night playing games.

After a few seconds of silence, the next reply, no longer from under the pillow, was much clearer, perhaps because he had pulled back the covers: "No."

Jiang Meng originally wanted to say, "I won't bother you once I'm asleep."

But he insisted that he hadn't slept.

She suddenly forgot her original intention of turning on the electricity, paused for a moment, and softly called his name: "Chen Jizhou".

"Um."

"Chen Jizhou".

"Jiang Meng".

"Chen Jizhou".

He smiled, his soft, clear, youthful voice quite charming: "Is my name that beautiful?"

The voice at this point clearly indicated that the person had woken up.

Jiang Meng seemed to be taking a test.

She desperately wanted to prove that there were people in this world who wouldn't give her the silent treatment, who would respond to every word she spoke, and who wouldn't let her worry about an awkward silence after she finished speaking.

Even if she just annoyingly repeats his name.

Because of the existence of such people, she always felt aggrieved, believing that she shouldn't have suffered that neglect.

"Chen Jizhou".

"If you don't get to the point, I'm hanging up."

She heard him get up and walk around.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Looking for water to drink."

She listened to the sounds on the other end.

He pushed open the kitchen sliding door, opened the refrigerator, and took out a bottle of mineral water.

Once things quieted down on his end, Jiang Meng asked, "Why didn't you hang up?"

Chen Jizhou: "I'm waiting for you to speak."

“I’m fine,” Jiang Meng said apologetically. “I’m sorry for waking you up.”

"Didn't I tell you I'm still awake?" He finished his water, closed the refrigerator door, and walked back, lazily urging, "Hurry up and tell me, what is it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Meng said hesitantly, "It's really nothing."

Chen Jizhou was also quiet.

He didn't criticize her, nor did he show any impatience; he simply waited silently for her to speak.

Her mind was slow at the moment. After a long while, when there was no sound from the other end, she cautiously called out to him again: "Chen Jizhou".

"It's still there."

His deep voice still felt close to her ears and heart, putting her at ease.

Finally, Jiang Meng let him go: "I'm going to sleep. You should get some rest too. Goodnight."

Chen Jizhou paused for a moment, then said in a cool voice, "You'd better really be alright."

Then he said, "Good night."

Jiang Meng finished the test paper herself. She wasn't sleepy at all, probably because the movie was still going strong. She opened QQ and found A again: "Are you still there?"

A: "Yeah"

Jiang Meng: "So late."

A: "Work"

Jiang Meng: "What are you doing?"

After typing for a long time, A sent a message: "Art only inspires at night."

Jiang Meng: "Oh, what time do you go to sleep?"

A: "Let's see how late I get inspired."

Jiang Meng: "Then you go ahead and work on your writing. Let me tell you a story; it's a bit long, I'll type it out slowly. If you're going to sleep, you can read it tomorrow."

A: "Okay"

The story Jiang Meng told him was from Jimmy Liao's "Starry Night".

A withdrawn girl and a withdrawn boy, struggling to fit into the world, agree to escape the city and wander into the mountains to gaze at the stars. After sending several long paragraphs, Jiang Meng explained in great detail, saying, "This is a picture book my parents took me to read at Xinhua Bookstore when I was little."

A read it very carefully: "It's very insightful and suitable for adults as well."

Jiang Meng: "That's what my mom said too, but now that I'm older, they don't watch it with me anymore."

A: "You can try to experience it in a different way. If I were you, I would probably try to become a person in the story."

Jiang Meng: "How do we try it?"

A: "For example, stargazing, exploration, eloping—any angle is fine."

elopement?

Words that were somewhat offensive to her.

Who did she elope with?

Jiang Meng: "How absurd!"

A: "You should say, 'How romantic!'"

Jiang Meng: "...I just feel it's very dangerous."

A: "Bookworm"

Jiang Meng stopped arguing with him.

She really enjoyed having someone keep her company while she stayed up late, but not wanting to disturb his work, she quickly said goodnight.

Both ends of the phone were soberly enduring the long night.

Jiang Meng wasn't always obedient.

As she lay in bed looking at the ceiling, she thought of the past.

When she was in first or second grade, she was once criticized by her mother and threw a particularly bad tantrum, crying loudly. Jiang Su, who was working in the study, couldn't stand it anymore. Ignoring that the child was only wearing a sweater in the dead of winter, he dragged her outside and said, "Come back in after you've finished crying."

Through the door, Jiang Meng heard Ye Zhaoxu scolding him: "Why did you lock her outside?"

Jiang Su coldly replied, "Since you can't teach it well, then I'll solve it for you."

Jiang Meng sometimes felt that she was just a tool for her parents to compete with each other.

It was dark and gloomy in front of her house. She was scared and sat there for a while. After a while, she walked downstairs to the exercise equipment area and sat down on the seesaw.

Chen Jizhou came home very late that day, carrying his newly bought mecha toy in high spirits. He passed by the community's equipment area and found that there were still people there late at night.

He was shocked to find that she was only wearing a thin sweater and long underwear: "You've been kicked out of the house?"

Jiang Meng looked at him, her red nose twitched twice, and she almost cried again.

Chen Jizhou quickly went over, grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her away: "Don't cry, don't freeze here, let's go to my house."

Jiang Meng pulled her hand away, insisting, "I won't go. Mom and Dad will open the door for me."

Chen Jizhou pulled her along again, then immediately changed course: "Okay, let's go back to your place. I'll knock on the door for you."

Jiang Meng remained rooted to the spot, as if she had been struck on an acupoint, refusing to follow him. She pouted and said, "No, they'll come looking for me if they find I'm not here."

Chen Jizhou was extremely surprised and wanted to ask her if she was missing a screw in her head.

Some people seem to particularly enjoy using self-harm to gain attention and pity from others, but those who truly pity you will never give you the opportunity to self-harm!

He nodded and carefully studied Jiang Meng.

Gradually, Chen Jizhou's gaze towards her became filled with sympathy. He had heard that children with intellectual disabilities did not easily advance to junior high school, and he was a little worried that she would not be able to finish elementary school.

That's really a bit too pitiful.

He couldn't bear to say anything, and quickly took off his cotton-padded coat and gave it to her: "Wait for me."

He ran off quickly, then ran back just as fast as he could, carrying a military overcoat in his arms.

As he spoke, he helped Jiang Meng put on her thick coat.

Actually, she wasn't dressed properly. He tried to tuck her arm into the sleeve, but after trying for a long time, he couldn't get it in. One of her arms ended up folded under the armpit of her clothes.

But he didn't know, and rubbed his palms with satisfaction: Mission accomplished!

There was only one spot on one end of the seesaw. Chen Jizhou looked around and sat down at her feet.

A few seconds later, Jiang Meng quietly slipped her arm inside.

Neither of them spoke.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly became excited and said, "Let me let you play with my race car. It's brand new, isn't it cool?"

"No." Jiang Meng heard a mechanical clicking sound in her ears, which made her head spin. She pushed his hand away and covered her ears. "It's so noisy."

Having been returned, Chen Jizhou scratched his head sheepishly, saying, "Oh."

Chen Jizhou looked her up and down, her face still chubby from being a baby, and then said, "When you cry, your face is round and puffed up, just like that little pig bear, who only has two front teeth."

Jiang Meng wanted to say, "My teeth will grow back."

But she didn't scold him. Instead, she asked softly, "I'm Little Pig Bear, so are you Nezha?"

Chen Jizhou propped his chin up and looked at her, grinning like a miniature rascal: "Yeah, from now on I'll take you wherever I go, so you can fight alongside me, little bear."

As he spoke, he really wanted to reach out and pinch her chubby cheeks, and he actually did.

After pinching her, Chen Jizhou quickly turned his face away, cupped his cheeks, and turned his ears red, as if he was afraid that he would be beaten to the ground for taking advantage of a girl in the next second, so he pretended to be well for a short time.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then glanced at her again and realized that Jiang Meng had no intention of hitting him at all. So he smiled wickedly and reached out to pinch her other cheek even more forcefully.

After making this gesture, Chen Jizhou mumbled something vaguely, "You're so beautiful," then stood up with a flushed face, as if he had done something wrong and was about to run away.

Ignoring his rapidly changing emotions, Jiang Meng anxiously asked, "Are you leaving?"

"I'm not leaving. I'll go find a cushion for you to sit on."

After he finished speaking, he stepped back, rested two fingers on his chin, looked at her, and pondered carefully: "I'll find you another scarf to wrap around your neck."

"..."

He took a few steps, then came back, looked at her head, and a brilliant idea struck him: "I'll find you another hat to wear!"

"..."

Jiang Meng stared at the corner where he left, and soon saw him turn back from there.

Chen Jizhou would never disappear from her world.

He won't leave; she didn't even need to ask.

They sat on the seesaw and looked at the stars in the sky.

Jiang Meng told him the story of "Starry Night".

Chen Jizhou listened with great interest, his elbows resting on the equipment next to him, his palms supporting his head. As a child, he would strike a dashing pose, like a carefree little fairy, and would smile slightly as he echoed her: "Great, stargazing is nice too, it's just a bit cold."

"Run away from home? That's great! I've been wanting to do that for a long time. Let's teach them a lesson!"

But after a while, he tilted his head and his eyelids drooped.

Jiang Meng asked, "Do you want to sleep?"

If he says he wants to sleep, she will definitely say, "Go back."

However, she was also afraid that if he really went back to sleep, she would feel a little disappointed.

Well... actually, it's more than just a little bit. If she stays here alone, she'll really be very sad.

Chen Jizhou opened his eyes abruptly. Hearing her question, he shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "No, not at all."

Jiang Meng's heart has an on/off switch, like the lights in the city; if there's even the slightest sign of them going out, he'll snap them back on.

Chen Jizhou said he didn't want to, his voice gradually weakening: "I don't want to sleep at all, I don't want to sleep at all..."

Jiang Meng: "Are you sleepy, Chen Jizhou?"

Immediately afterward, a head landed on her, instantly waking him up. He immediately straightened up, his eyes resolute and bright, and within three seconds stammered, "I'm not sleepy, I'm not sleepy, I %@#, I...&$%..."

Chen Jizhou sat on the ground, lowered his head, and rested it on her knees.

Jiang Meng didn't wake him up. She shared a bit of her large cotton-padded coat with him, covering his other small body, and held him in her arms.

Chen Jizhou was still chanting scriptures in his dream, his small fists resting relaxed on her legs. This time, his words were clear, and she could understand them.

He said, "Don't be sad, I'll be with you."

That day, after Jiang Su finished work, his wife was asleep on the sofa, and the children were unattended. When he opened the door, he found that Jiang Meng was not at the door. He anxiously went out to look for her and finally found the two children sleeping next to the seesaw. He couldn't bear it and went over to pick up the sleeping Jiang Meng. He wiped away her tears with his dry palms. Jiang Meng opened her blurry eyes and heard the man's apology.

He would reflect on his irresponsible parenting methods and whisper, "Don't cry, it's Dad's fault."

There was another person sleeping haphazardly next to them.

"Zhouzhou."

Jiang Su woke Chen Jizhou up again: "Don't sleep here, I'll take you home."

Chen Jizhou stretched and perked up. He stood up nimbly and said, "I don't need you to take me home. I'll go back by myself."

He looked at Jiang Meng in Jiang Su's arms again, and then said to him in a clear and distinct voice, "Uncle, she is very afraid of the cold and also afraid of being alone. Please don't do this anymore."

Chen Jizhou knew very well that his words had no effect on the adults. No matter how serious his tone was, he was still just a seven-year-old child.

Chen Jizhou never expects anything from parents—not the possibility of being treated as an equal, or a respectful response after careful consideration.

He also hates any half-hearted promises.

At the age of seven, he already understood to let go of all expectations of people and things.

After saying what he wanted to say, Chen Jizhou turned and ran away.

-

Chen Jizhou woke up and glanced at the time; it was already nine o'clock. He got out of bed and quickly checked his two phones while washing up, but there were no messages.

Chen Jizhou thought no one was home. He grabbed his hair, opened the door, and saw his mother leisurely mopping the floor.

Chen Jizhou paused in his work, looking at her in disbelief: "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Huh?" Wang Qi waved the mop, not even looking at him, and said sarcastically, "I thought you dropped out of school and were going to hang around the streets—foot! Lift it up!"

"..."

The mop came swinging over.

Chen Jizhou grabbed his schoolbag and ran.

Behind her, Ms. Wang, hands on her hips, shouted, "Have you changed your ways? When have you ever been so enthusiastic about going to school!"

Chen Jizhou's motivation for going to school was certainly not due to his enthusiasm.

He arrived at school during the long break between classes.

Chen Jizhou was a step too slow; by the time he arrived at the playground, recess had already ended.

He did not go to his class.

After the event, people walked west, and Class 14 was on the far east side.

He carried his schoolbag and ran against the flow of people, heading straight inside.

Countless people greeted him on the street.

A: "Good morning, Mr. Chen."

B: "Chen Jizhou, where are you going!"

C: "Hey, are you late? Why are you only coming to school at this hour?"

Ding: "Holy crap, it's my crush! Look at him, he's so handsome!!"

Chen Jizhou didn't even have time to identify who the other person was, and vaguely replied with "Good morning," "Excuse me," "Excuse me," etc.

They were like scenery rushing past the car window, and he was heading to his destination, with no time to stop and deal with everyone's enthusiasm.

Chen Jizhou was somewhat flustered and confused.

From getting up, quickly washing and dressing, hailing a taxi, rushing to the playground, and navigating through the crowded streets at top speed, every moment that rushed by in the morning served as a prelude to the moment he stopped.

Upon seeing Jiang Meng, his time was finally put back on track and began to tick away.

Jiang Meng stood quietly outside the crowd, expressionless, waiting with her classmates for the crowded line to move forward.

She looked around, and soon her gaze fell in surprise on the boy walking in the opposite direction.

Chen Jizhou pushed through the last of the crowd, bent over, and panted a few times while holding his knees. Then, with his long, loose legs, he walked up to Jiang Meng. The few clumps of unruly hair on his head were still sticking up messily. He let out a soft breath, and the heavy worries that had been weighing on his body and mind all came to an end at that moment. He walked over, looked at her downcast eyes, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Seeing him carrying a schoolbag, Jiang Meng was filled with questions and asked in a confused manner, "What's wrong? Did you just arrive at school? Did you come to see me?"

After Chen Jizhou recovered, he could vaguely see that her cheeks were a little swollen, and her double eyelids were stretched so full that the pretty creases were gone.

He sensed something was off about her voice last night, and he was right.

"yes."

Chen Jizhou was tilting his head to look at her, his handsome face just awakening in the morning light. His roguish and carefree demeanor was reminiscent of the chivalrous heroes in heroic movies, there to support his little follower or offer him warmth.

Seventeen-year-old best friends cannot hold hands.

Even a seventeen-year-old best friend can't just pinch your cheeks.

So he reached out and gently touched the top of her head, his voice soft: "Come and see my little pig bear, why did you cry last night?"