24. Both of them are sick.

Chu Bike looked at him and heard him say, "That's because I thought it was a pity that Lao Chu and Jiajia liked each other before. But today Jiajia clearly told me that she has no feelings for Lao Chu anymore."

Upon hearing this, Chu Bike slowed her pace: "I know Jiajia was interested in Chiyi before. But did Chiyi also like Jiajia? Did he tell you himself?"

Lu Siming didn't answer directly, but instead asked her, "Ke'er, do you remember when Old Chu asked you to pass on a notebook to Jiajia?"

Seeing Chu Bi hesitate, he reminded him again: "The specific time is when we are in our second year of high school, which is when Mu Jia is in her first year of high school."

Chu Bike opened her eyes wide and looked at him with some surprise: "How did you know? How do you remember so clearly?"

Lu Siming remembered it very clearly. Not only that, he even remembered that it was at the beginning of the second semester of his junior year of high school, on a weekend.

That day, he and Mu Jia were doing their homework together at home.

As Lu Siming was writing, he suddenly noticed that the notebook she was using as a cushion under her exam paper looked familiar. He reached out and flipped through it.

"What are you doing?" Mu Jia was writing with her head down when he suddenly interrupted her, and she couldn't help but protest.

But then she suddenly saw the other person staring wide-eyed, looking like they'd seen a ghost. "Jiajia, this notebook... who gave it to you?"

"Sister Ke'er," Mu Jia looked at him with a puzzled expression, "wasn't it because you told her last time that you wanted to borrow her political notes?"

"Me?" Where did he tell Chu Bi Ke?

"Ke'er told you that these are her old notes, and she wanted to lend them to you?"

"Yes."

Nonsense!

Putting everything else aside, how could he not distinguish the handwriting of those two people?

He suddenly stood up abruptly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Mu Jia's face and the black-covered notebook.

Mu Jia was startled at first, and then, seeing his complexion and the fact that it had lasted for far longer than normal, she couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this notebook?"

What did you do to him?

"He...he hasn't done anything to you yet, has he?"

"What's wrong with you two?!"

But through the half-open door, he peeked at Mu Meixi sitting in the outer living room. After a fierce internal struggle, he held back, neither exposing her outright nor uttering those fatal "three soul-searching questions."

He glanced at his cousin again, his expression complex, and said, "It's nothing..."

Mu Jia responded with a nonsensical remark: "Strange, inexplicable."

Lu Siming stopped looking at her, sat down again, and lowered his head to do his homework.

Staring at the exam paper, its words printed in black and white, he looked utterly defeated. He had a vague feeling that things were spiraling out of control in a direction he hadn't anticipated…

After listening to Lu Siming's recollection, Chu Bi was a little dazed, as if she had also fallen into some memories. After a while, she said, "Now that you mention it, I do seem to remember that incident. He did ask me to say that I gave it to him, but I thought you asked him to, so I didn't think much of it."

“No.” Lu Siming shook his head. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

"No way." Lu Siming shook his head again with great certainty. "I know Chu Chiyi too well. He is the least likely person in the world to be so idle as to meddle in other people's business."

Unless that person is no longer his "other person".

“Moreover,” Lu Siming continued, “he never used to take notes at all, and besides, we were already out of school for science and humanities in our second year of high school, so we stopped studying politics. The notebook he gave her was something he wrote on the spot when he had some free time.”

"What? But I remember those were my notes for the entire first year of high school!"

Once, when they were in training camp together, Lu Siming saw Chu Chiyi writing in the same notebook. It was densely filled with writing, but there were no numbers in it. It looked like a humanities subject's notes.

They were science students, so he naturally found it strange. But before he could even crane his neck to see which subject it was, Chu Chiyi's blatant act of doing B's work in A's class and putting on a show was caught red-handed by Old Zhang, who taught them the Math Olympiad.

"That time, our math teacher even teased him in front of everyone, saying that he couldn't handle science and was going to switch to the humanities class." Lu Siming recalled, unable to suppress a laugh. "What's even more amazing is that after being scolded, this guy, relying on the old man's fondness for him and his reluctance to kick him out, dared to stubbornly continue writing there..."

Chu Bike couldn't help but laugh: "And then?"

"Then the old man really 'invited' him out. He didn't say anything, just took his notebook and left, probably to continue writing..."

"At the time, I thought he was doing it for the comprehensive exam at the end of his second year of high school, but I never expected it was for Jiajia..."

After Lu Siming finished speaking, both amused and annoyed, he looked at Chu Bike and saw that she indeed opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Why was there no 'later'?" Lu Siming pondered for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "I don't know either, but I guess it might still be because of Jiajia."

"Because of Jiajia?"

"Yeah." He nodded a little helplessly. "You know her, she's always been like that since she was little. When we were kids, the security guard at the entrance of our community would always greet her first, even though I'm the resident. How many times has she ever gone there? But there's nothing I can do about it."

I don't deny that she is indeed clever, beautiful, and polite, but these qualities are mostly innate; people are naturally more likely to be liked and favored than others. Plus, our family spoils her a lot, so she might have become a bit spoiled, which is why she only has a short attention span for many things. Maybe it was like that with him back then; once the novelty wore off, it was just like that.”

"..." Chu Bi Ke hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Lu Siming with some dissatisfaction. How could he be like this? With just a few words, he described his sister as a fickle and unreliable "scumbag woman".

She couldn't help but feel indignant for Mu Jia, "But according to you, that's not right either! If he really liked Jia Jia back then, why didn't he try harder to win her over?"

"Tch," Lu Siming scoffed, "That's because he's not that kind of person!"

"Hey, alright!" Seeing that they were almost at the entrance of Chu Bike's residential area, Lu Siming slowed down the car. "Ke'er, let's not dwell on this anymore. They're not close anymore, and besides, the person in question has already stated that there's absolutely no chance. From now on, let's put aside all that old, unresolved stuff, and go our separate ways!"

"Besides, if we really got together, it might not be good. What if we accidentally made a wrong step and not only did we not end up together, but we also became enemies who couldn't stand each other when we met? Wouldn't it be better to keep her in our hearts as an unattainable white moonlight? Don't you think so?"

"..."

Chu Bike was taken aback for a moment, then glared at him, "Watch where you're going!"

"Chu Chiyi, why are you looking at me like that?"

Actually, as soon as the question left her mouth, Mu Jia regretted it a little.

They've been secretly at odds for so many years, and no matter how much they hurt each other before, they rarely bring this up.

After so many years without mentioning it, she thought that this matter, which should only be known to the two of them, had almost rotted away in her heart.

Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned.

Perhaps it can't be entirely blamed on her. After all, it was Chu Chiyi himself who took the initiative to awaken her memory in front of Lu Siming this morning, wasn't it?

Seeing that the other person still didn't speak, she could only stubbornly continue, "Didn't you tell me yourself back then? That you liked Sister Ke'er?"

It was during the first time she seriously expressed her feelings to him.

The other side remained silent, or rather, there was nothing more to say, nothing more to argue with...

Normally, whether they were arguing or just at other times, she rarely saw such an expression on Chu Chiyi's face.

So she should have felt relieved and satisfied.

But for some reason, her heart felt as if it had been suddenly squeezed, and then, with its throbbing and twitching, it began to secrete a certain sluggish black liquid, which flowed with her blood to her limbs and bones.

Even though she couldn't see it, she seemed to be able to feel the color, smell, and temperature of the liquid, and feel it mixing and blending with her blood little by little with her breath and heartbeat.

Inseparable, inseparable.

To get rid of it, it seems the only way is to completely replace every bone and blood in one's body.

She looked at the man opposite her and said, "No matter how good or right a person is, sometimes they can't compete with the timing and order of appearance."

"Is that so?" The man suddenly raised his head, his dark pupils staring directly at Mu Jia, causing her to feel a moment of bewilderment. "Then, if the person and the timing are right, will it work?"

Mu Jia didn't know why he would suddenly ask that question, and after a moment of hesitation, she replied, "I guess so."

“Even if the person and the timing are right, it still doesn’t end well.” Chu Chiyi’s lips suddenly curled up, but there was no smile in his eyes. He continued to stare at her without any attempt to hide his feelings. “What do you think the reason would be?”

Mu Jia was a little confused at first. Why did the two of them suddenly start having a "friendly discussion" about the philosophy of love?

She felt a strange chill run down her spine as he stared at her. She wanted to look away, but she didn't want to appear timid in front of him.

In the end, I couldn't help but start thinking about it.

The reason Chu Chiyi and she didn't work out was because they weren't right for each other; Chu Chiyi didn't like her. But because she insisted on forcing things from the beginning, they could only torment each other now.

But he and Chu Bi couldn't do that because the timing wasn't right. Even the most capable people sometimes have to consider the order of arrival. Plus, he was so proud, so he could only keep it buried in his heart forever.

But if the person and the timing are right, what could possibly be wrong?

She couldn't give an answer right away, so she could only bite the bullet and say, "What else could it be? Maybe it's because they both have some kind of illness."

“Both of them are sick.” Chu Chiyi repeated her answer, then suddenly laughed.

After that "friendly discussion," Chu Chiyi went on a business trip to a neighboring city.

He didn't say how long he would be gone or when he would return, and Mu Jia naturally wouldn't ask.

When I want to be lively, I go out with Xiao Yu or other friends; when I want peace and quiet, I stay at home alone, watching TV series, reading comics, listening to records, and occasionally going downstairs to chat with Grandma Chang, having meals with her, and helping her take care of the flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables on her balcony...

That day, she was snorkeling with Xiao Yu and a few friends at a private resort by the sea.

Yuan Mei called again, asking what she'd been busy with lately and why she hadn't come home.

Has Xiao Xiao not returned to Pinghai yet? When will we have time to meet? If we don't see her this time, who knows when we'll see her again after she goes abroad again...

Mu Jia felt guilty, whether it was because of the nature of her job, which required her to travel all over the world and was often thousands of miles away from home, or because she had colluded with Xiao Yu to commit fraud...

Therefore, when faced with his mother's scolding and questioning, he could only stand at attention and endure the beating while patiently comforting her, and finally use kind words to evade responsibility. The whole process was based on the principle of "getting by one day and earning one day's reward."

She turned around and saw that Xiao Yu had changed his equipment at some point and was standing behind her, smiling at her.

She opened her mouth a little awkwardly.

Suddenly, Xiao Yu reached out and the phone inexplicably ended up in his hand.

Before Mu Jia could react, she heard the man answer obediently on the other end of the phone: "Auntie, I'm back now, and I'm with Jiajia."

Water droplets dripped down his hair, but he seemed oblivious, continuing to explain intently into the phone.

"It's not Jiajia's fault. I was just a bit too busy before. Please forgive me. If you really have to blame someone, blame me."

"I'll be available from now on. Just let me know whenever you and your uncle are free."

...

The next day, after the two had dinner at Mu Jia's house, on their way back, Mu Jia noticed that Xiao Yu was driving very seriously, which was unusual for him, and she was speechless for a moment.

She was a little surprised and couldn't help but ask him, "What's wrong with you?"

He shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing."

Mu Jia teased, "What's wrong? Did you get infected by my family atmosphere?"

Unexpectedly, he nodded very seriously.

Mu Jia was taken aback again. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Are you envious?" She turned her face towards him and smiled.

"Yes, that's right." He was quite frank about it.

“Then I envy you,” Mu Jia said with a smile. “You were born into a wealthy family. Your experiences and knowledge are beyond what ordinary people like us can have.”

“Manager Mu,” he laughed, teasing her mischievously, “this isn’t business, nor is it a social gathering, so there’s no need for this back-and-forth.”

Seeing Xiao Yu looking at her with some surprise, she smiled and changed the subject back to their usual conversation, "Actually, you and my dad look a bit alike. No wonder my mom liked you so much when we were eating just now."

"Yeah?"

"Do you look like your aunt?" Unexpectedly, the man suddenly turned his head, his peach blossom eyes curving into his gaze.

"Jiajia, Auntie likes this, do you like it too?"

It's so beautiful, keep voting!

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