Chapter 38. His heart was a bloody mess, yet he stubbornly persisted…

In Wei Manman's words, encountering a refined and noble person like Jiang Muzhou during the turbulent student days was like finding an oasis in the desert; anyone would be tempted to cup a handful of hope in their hands.

The word "chase" is not quite appropriate.

I wouldn't say I had a deep, unforgettable crush on him, but I just felt that if any girl had Jiang Muzhou in her contacts, it would be something to be incredibly proud of.

Just like winning a rare stamp in a stamp collecting game, you can brag about it for days just by posting it on social media.

Unfortunately, despite trying to add Jiang Muzhou as a friend many times, each request seemed to sink without a trace.

When Su Cheng said this, there was a hint of sympathy for those of the same kind.

In high school, she had secretly considered adding Jiang Muzhou as a friend, but he never accepted other girls' friend requests except for those he needed to contact for group projects or competitions. So she simply didn't even try, to avoid making a fool of herself.

Some girls pretend to ask questions to get closer to him. At first, he will answer patiently, but later he will realize that she has ulterior motives and will only give him the solution, without saying anything else.

Su Cheng felt a pang of emotion. Back then, it was difficult to even become ordinary friends, but in just one month, so many entanglements had suddenly appeared between them.

After becoming neighbors, we took care of Yuanbao together, had dinner together, went grocery shopping together, filmed a documentary together, made videos for our video channel together, and spent Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day) together...

What were originally ordinary little things become exceptionally precious because of the prefix "together".

After much deliberation, Jiang Muzhou finally came up with a satisfactory answer and responded to Su Cheng's accusation with a long delay: "I have a bad memory and can't hold too many people and things in my mind."

Then, he stretched out his thumb and forefinger, grabbed at the empty space outside the temple, and pretended to throw it outwards.

The memories that had been temporarily erased returned immediately.

As the sun set, its rays shone on Su Cheng's face, casting a shy blush.

Her gaze drifted to an unknown spot at her feet, and she muttered to herself, "After all, the number of people chasing after you could stretch from the podium to the teaching building, so it's normal that I can't remember them all."

Jiang Muzhou let out a half-smile, "You remember my affairs quite well."

Su Cheng shrugged noncommittally. Did she really need to remember this?

He probably didn't even realize what a special place he held in other people's memories.

Yang Shi commented that after seeing so many people who are ugly in different ways, and especially after the male celebrity she was chasing was exposed for being secretly married, having children, and having illicit relationships, the quality of Jiang Muzhou's self-disciplined creation as a masterpiece of Nuwa's skill is still rising.

"And what about you?" Su Cheng suddenly became curious. What would someone who is always remembered remember?

She tilted her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling like stars. "What do you remember about high school?"

Secretly calculating in my mind, my heart pounded harder and harder, I felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

Jiang Muzhou stared ahead, seemingly deep in thought.

He lifted his eyelids, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips. "I remember someone thanking me with a leaf."

Su Cheng's pupils widened in surprise, revealing a hint of undisguised joy.

She didn't have time to discern whether the other person was acting out of high emotional intelligence or genuinely meant it; she only felt that if she were a kitten, her tail would already be held high in the sky.

As the streetlights on both sides gradually lit up, a smile played on her lips as she retorted with the words he had just spoken, "So you remember my affairs quite well too."

The car moved slowly through the evening rush hour traffic, the neon signs constantly receding leaving long streaks of light on the glass.

The sharply defined profile was clearly outlined by the lights outside the car window.

In the reflection of the glass, there seemed to be a similar smile on his lips.

The studio isn't far from that wedding dress shop; it's just two intersections away.

The heels clicked crisply on the cement ground as Su Cheng stopped, her calves and insteps forming a beautiful arc.

Upon learning that Jiang Muzhou was coming to pick her up, Su Cheng still took off her white socks. She really couldn't pull off the fashionable look of wearing high heels with cotton socks, let alone show it off in front of Jiang Muzhou.

With her bare heels exposed and directly touching the back of her foot, she was afraid of repeating Xu Zhisui's mistake, so she involuntarily tensed her toes and put all her weight on the balls of her feet.

But stilettos are really hard to handle, and she waddled around when she walked. She carefully controlled her steps, trying her best not to look like a clumsy penguin.

Jiang Muzhou then noticed that she was wearing a pair of stiletto heels today, with silver straps studded with rhinestones wrapped around her slender ankles, making her already excellent figure proportions even more sleek.

She doesn't usually wear high heels.

Last time I changed my shoes in the entryway, I couldn't find a single pair in the entire shoe cabinet that was more than five centimeters high.

But the pair of silver stilettos in front of me must be at least ten centimeters high.

Judging from how she kept adjusting her posture, it was clear that the shoes were uncomfortable for her, but even so, she insisted on wearing them.

Perhaps she needed this height to support the skirt when trying on a dress, or perhaps she dressed up specifically to meet friends.

I don’t know if anyone noticed her unusual idea today, but since he saw it, he didn’t want her serious preparation to be overlooked.

He looked up at her, a gentle smile playing on his lips, and offered a sincere compliment without reservation, "Very beautiful."

Su Cheng's breathing became slightly sluggish.

She finally understood why many girls would still wear high heels even knowing they would blister their feet.

Trading a little pain for such joy is totally worth it.

The twilight, like ink spreading in water, diffused a hazy gray-blue across the horizon.

The originally clear boundary line gradually became blurred.

Jiang Muzhou did not lead the way, but walked side by side with Su Cheng.

Seeing that she was having some difficulty walking, he kept a half-step distance so that he could reach out and support her if she tripped.

The studio is located on the top floor of an office building. The right side is the office area, while the left side is divided into several set rooms with different styles.

In the foreground are small-scale scenes: a desk, sofa, fireplace, office desk, and gaming room.

Su Cheng stopped in front of a cream-colored desk, her gaze drawn to the arrangement before her.

The pristine white pegboard is adorned with fluffy ornaments and handwritten cards, creating a warm and sophisticated atmosphere. On the left side of the desk, a three-tiered shelf is neatly arranged with various card albums and notepads. On the desktop, acrylic extenders are stacked in a staggered manner, complete with pen holders, bookshelves, and storage boxes.

She was very familiar with this setup; it was exactly the same as the one in the desktop blogger's video she'd seen a few days ago.

At the time, she naively fantasized that if she went back to high school, she would arrange her desk like this.

The reality is that her desk can't last more than three days after she tidies it up before it's overwhelmed by piles of test papers and exercise books, sticky notes of all colors are stuck here and there on the corners of the desk, and the caps on her ballpoint pens are always missing.

Looking at this meticulously arranged yet completely unused desk, she suddenly realized that the tidy desks that bloggers showed off were actually sets specially built for their photoshoots.

Further inside, there is an even larger setting, complete with dormitories, classrooms, coffee shops, and general stores.

"I knew it! How can someone study at university their whole life and never graduate?" Noticing that there were still people filming not far away, she moved closer to Jiang Muzhou and whispered.

The man's refreshing vetiver scent wafted over, entering her nostrils and reminding her of that unexpected kiss from before.

Su Cheng's ears burned, and she quickly moved two steps to the side.

Jiang Muzhou noticed her subtle movements and raised the corners of his lips slightly. "At first, it might have really been real dormitory footage. But once the account got going, you can't just stay at school after graduation, so you'll have to set up a dormitory scene in a studio."

“Moreover, when shooting short videos, the camera angle is basically fixed at one point,” Jiang Muzhou explained. “Building a set in a studio is much cheaper than renting a real shop.”

The two had just turned the corner of the corridor and hadn't even reached the office area when they saw a slightly chubby boy standing behind the glass door.

When the boy saw Jiang Muzhou from afar, he immediately jogged over to meet him, panting as he ran, his face so chubby it was almost touching his eyes.

"I've been waiting for you." He looked disgusted. "This time you'll have to pay me overtime."

After criticizing the capitalists, he noticed that there was a girl standing next to Jiang Muzhou.

The girl had fair skin, a beautiful face, a slender waist, and long legs. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she looked at me with a smile.

His eyes, which had just closed, widened instantly, like saucers. After a moment of hesitation, he stammered, "This is... my sister-in-law?"

Jiang Muzhou frowned and gave him a warning look, "What are you shouting about?"

“This is my friend, Su Cheng.” He paused. “You should have seen her account, right?”

"Oh, it's Su Cheng!" The slightly chubby boy's eyes lit up, and he eagerly tried to shake hands.

Just as he reached halfway out, he suddenly felt a chill coming from Jiang Muzhou's direction.

He shrank his neck and performed an exaggerated air shot on the spot to cover his embarrassment. "Who filmed that live video? It's like the quality of a landline phone. You're much better looking in person than in the video!"

The slightly chubby young man held up his employee badge and lightly touched it in the access control sensor area. After a "beep" sounded, the glass door slowly opened.

She maintained a smile, but felt a tightness in her throat, as if a wad of cotton was stuck there.

At this moment, she finally understood why Jiang Muzhou had immediately distanced himself from someone who had designs on him.

It's not that he's heartless; quite the opposite, he's very soft-hearted.

Just like when an adult sees a child standing on tiptoe to reach for candy in a shop window, they will simply pick the child up and take them away. Knowing that something is unattainable, the sooner you give up on it, the better.

Rather than letting unrealistic expectations fester, it's better to draw a clear line from the start.

After all, becoming friends with someone you like is a sweet kind of torture.

She craved this faint sweetness, yet she knew clearly that she would never taste the completeness that belonged to him.

It's like eating a piece of candy that never melts; before the sweetness has faded, a faint bitterness is already on your tongue.

Rationally, she knew very well that this relationship would ultimately come to nothing, but in her heart, she always hoped for that one in ten thousand chance.

Whenever I get close to him, those repressed desires grow wildly like vines, wrapping around my heart and pulling it into the darker place.

It wasn't until he uttered the word "friend" that her world instantly fell silent.

It was like a red-hot iron pressed directly onto her soft heart, leaving it a bloody mess, yet it still stubbornly beat for him.

Always just one step away, so close yet so far.