69 Chapter 69
◎Is Love◎
The year they graduated from university, Zhan Xinyue and Xu Shen got their marriage certificate shortly after receiving their diplomas, and then held their wedding.
At that time, Zhan Xinyue was quite troubled about sending out wedding invitations. It was easy to send invitations to familiar relatives and friends, but it was a bit tricky to send invitations to some classmates and friends who were not so close.
Take the classmates from Class 10 of high school as an example. Although most of them still keep in touch, they occasionally chat in the class group. Every year, someone will organize a class reunion so that everyone can eat, chat, reminisce about the past, and exchange information about the present.
However, only a minority of people are active in the group. Many classmates, although in the group, have never spoken or attended any gatherings, perhaps because they have muted the group long ago. As a result, Zhan Xinyue has actually lost contact with many of her classmates long ago.
Now, sending out wedding invitations has become a bit awkward. If she only invites her closest classmates, she worries that the others will think she's treating them differently. But if she invites everyone indiscriminately, it might seem like she's after their wedding gifts, since they haven't been in touch for a long time, and suddenly sending messages would be too abrupt.
After much thought, she decided not to invite any classmates individually, but simply to send an invitation to the class group chat. Everyone was welcome to come; she didn't want to make things difficult for anyone.
It's unclear whether it was because she and Xu Shen got married early, making them one of the earliest couples to get married among their classmates, but everyone found it quite novel. Plus, Xu Shen was very popular, so on their wedding day, quite a few of their high school classmates came, and they almost didn't have enough seats.
On their wedding day, Zhan Xinyue and Xu Shen were so busy they didn't have time to pay attention to many people. It wasn't until after the ceremony, when they were toasting, that they went to their classmates' table to say hello. After everyone congratulated them, someone casually asked, "Xinyue, did you invite Shi Ziqian?"
Zhan Xinyue was pouring wine with her head down when she heard this and reacted for a moment: "I only sent an invitation in the group chat, I didn't invite any classmates individually, what's wrong?"
Come to think of it, she didn't even seem to know whether Shi Ziqian was in the class group chat.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just saw someone who looked a bit like Shi Ziqian when I came here." The person said, looking around. All the high school students were seated at adjacent tables, so it was easy to see who was sitting there. Naturally, there was no sign of Shi Ziqian at all. "I guess you must have mistaken him. I didn't see him very clearly either, I just saw his back."
Zhan Xinyue didn't take it seriously and continued toasting while saying, "You must have mistaken me for someone else. Where did you see me?"
"Right at the hotel entrance, there's a poster of your wedding photos outside. When I arrived, I saw a young man standing in front of the poster, staring at it. He was tall and thin, and he stood there for quite a while. Because he looked a bit strange, staring intently without moving, I glanced at him a few more times. When I entered, I caught a glimpse of his profile from afar, and suddenly I felt that he looked a bit like Shi Ziqian."
Before Zhan Xinyue could speak, another person at the table said, "I saw a Bentley parked outside the hotel, maybe it really is him." But as soon as he finished speaking, he denied it, "But it's not necessarily true, it was parked quite far away."
Zhan Xinyue smiled and said, "If it were really him, why wouldn't he come in? That shouldn't be the case."
Everyone agreed, nodding in agreement: "That's right, if it really is Shi Ziqian, he couldn't possibly be here just to give a wedding gift, could he? He comes all this way, but doesn't even participate in the ceremony before leaving. Besides, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would attend the wedding of our old classmates."
"Isn't he in America? You must have mistaken him for someone else."
As for the Bentley, that's even more far-fetched. Let's not even talk about whether the Bentley's owner is attending the wedding. Even if he is, there are many of Zhan Wei's business partners at the wedding today, many of whom have bigger businesses than Zhan Wei. Although their assets certainly can't compare to Shi Ziqian's family, there are still quite a few of them driving luxury cars. There's nothing to be surprised about.
This little incident passed quickly, everyone changed the subject, and Zhan Xinyue didn't take it to heart at all, soon forgetting about it.
Surprisingly, when Zhan Xinyue later flipped through the gift book, she actually saw Shi Ziqian's name on it.
His name was hidden among a dense list of names, and the amount of his gift was nothing special, exactly the same as the numbers of the people before him, so ordinary that she didn't even notice it when she first saw it.
Perhaps the figure that person saw today really was Shi Ziqian? She shook her head, still not quite believing it. The two characters preceding Shi Ziqian's name happened to be two classmates; perhaps he simply saw the message in the group chat and politely asked someone to deliver the gift money for him?
Zhan Xinyue originally wanted to send a message to ask those two classmates, but then felt that asking would seem a bit deliberate, so she hesitated for a while and decided against it.
As everyone gradually left campus to pursue their own careers and families, the former classmates gathered less often, and she rarely heard any more news about Shi Ziqian. On the other hand, his father, Shi Yuesheng, remained vigorous in his old age, and his group expanded further, reaching an astonishing scale, and he was even more successful than when he was young.
Shi Ziqian's name never appeared at the same time as his, which suggests that he abandoned everything here after going abroad and rarely returned. As for what kind of life he led afterward, whether he met someone he liked, whether he got married, or whether he had children, Zhan Xinyue had absolutely no idea.
Even now, when Zhan Xinyue recalls this past event, she still can't get a definite answer, but a thought lingers in her mind: Shi Ziqian might really have attended her wedding.
But so what? Even if Shi Ziqian still remembered her back then, she already had a lover by her side, and later he also had his own life, a life completely different from hers, far across the ocean.
Since missing each other, the two have drifted apart like two diverging straight lines, each going their own way and never intersecting again. Just like that budding, innocent love, it grew secretly and died without anyone noticing, until finally, no trace of its existence could be found.
Shi Ziqian returned before evening class. Zhan Xinyue glanced at him quietly, and seeing that he looked calm, she lowered her head again.
Today is Monday, and as usual, the first period of evening classes involves a class meeting. Old Zhou, I don't know where he drank some inspirational platitudes, came up here enthusiastically and said he wanted to play a game with everyone.
Knowing what Old Zhou was like, everyone knew he couldn't come up with anything particularly interesting, so no one was really interested, but they could only go along with it.
Sure enough, he said that in order to give everyone more goals and motivation, everyone should write down one thing they want most on a piece of paper.
This is really boring...
As Zhan Xinyue pondered this, she obediently tore off a sticky note, but hesitated when she picked up the pen.
What does she want most...? If you think about it carefully, this question is actually quite difficult to answer.
After hesitating for a long time, she wrote down a conventional answer: "Making progress in studies".
After she finished writing, she noticed that Shi Ziqian was also holding a pen, staring blankly at the sticky note on the table. After a long while, he suddenly put down his pen and wrote an answer in a few strokes. After finishing, he reached out and flipped the sticky note over, covering his answer.
Someone like Shi Ziqian, who excels in every aspect—family background, appearance, and academic performance—would have something he desperately want? Zhan Xinyue was curious for a few seconds before looking away.
Most of the students in the classroom had finished writing by now, and a few of the more active ones were already craning their necks to see what others had written. Old Zhou clapped his hands to stop them and said, "Okay, everyone should be finished. Now, everyone hand in your slips of paper, and I'll randomly pick a few to look at. I also want to get a good feel for everyone's thoughts today. Don't feel guilty, it's all anonymous anyway."
He gestured for Dai Yun to collect it. Zhan Xinyue had anticipated this, so she wasn't too surprised. She folded the sticky notes and placed them on the corner of the table.
Shi Ziqian casually crumpled the note into a ball, raised his hand slightly, and ruthlessly tossed it into the trash can behind him.
When Dai Yun came over and took Zhan Xinyue's note, she saw that Shi Ziqian was unmoved and said nothing, and then went to collect other people's notes.
After collecting the notes, Lao Zhou casually picked out a few and glanced at them. Suddenly, he stood aside with his hands behind his back and said to Dai Yun, "How about this, class monitor, you read them aloud."
Dai Yun walked up, drew a card, unfolded it, and read aloud: "What I want most on this card is to wake up naturally every day."
At this age, the biggest lack for everyone is sleep, and with the weather getting colder, getting up becomes increasingly difficult, often resulting in many falling asleep before morning classes. When this wish was spoken, everyone immediately agreed, nodding vigorously in agreement.
Old Zhou seemed dissatisfied with everyone's attitude: "It's not the right time for this wish yet. You should study hard now, and you'll have plenty of time to sleep after the college entrance exam. If you sleep well now, let's see if you can sleep after the exam!"
Dai Yun quickly drew another card, interrupting his lingering murmur: "Hmm... this one says my parents are in good health."
Old Zhou nodded, offering no comment, but simply gesturing for her to continue reading.
"The one below says, 'I hope to be in the top ten of my class.'"
"That's good, that shows ambition. Everyone should have that drive." This time, Old Zhou finally expressed his satisfaction. "Although I don't know who wrote it, I want to commend him. If every student in our class is thinking about how to improve and raise their grades even at night, then I can confidently tell you that you've already succeeded halfway!"
It was an educational activity that prioritized form over content. The answers read out were all conventional and formulaic. At this age, what everyone wants most is either to improve their grades or to have fun and finish the college entrance exam as soon as possible to gain freedom. But those things were things we dared not write down.
Zhan Xinyue listened for a while, but got bored, so she lowered her head and secretly went to do her homework.
Before the last evening class, she went to the restroom and when she came back, she suddenly saw a blue crumpled piece of paper on her desk. She subconsciously turned her head to look, but Shi Ziqian wasn't there, and she didn't know when he had put it on her desk.
This crumpled paper reminded her of the one Xie Wanzhi had crumpled up last time. After hesitating for a long time, she finally unfolded it and took a careful look.
The crumpled sticky note contained only one word, written in a very messy, illegible hand. It took her a while to decipher it.
like.
Zhan Xinyue was stunned for a few seconds, then a thought flashed through her mind, and the note in her hand suddenly felt hot to the touch.
The familiar handwriting was indeed Shi Ziqian's, but it was clear that he hadn't placed the note on her desk.
And it seems she inadvertently stumbled upon his secret.
That was his answer to Lao Zhou's question.
A classmate standing by the aisle saw her staring blankly at the note and kindly said, "Isn't this yours? I just saw it rolling under your desk, so I picked it up and put it on your desk."
Zhan Xinyue glanced at the trash can behind her that had been kicked over by the students playing around during break. Not knowing what to say, she could only nod haphazardly and hastily crumple the paper into a ball again and put it in her palm.
She hadn't expected his answer to be like this—such a simple word, yet it was an answer that almost no high school student of that age would give.
The light note in her palm felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, pressing down on her heart.
Zhan Xinyue raised her hand, wanting to throw it back into the trash can, but hesitated for a long time and couldn't bring herself to do it.
Because of this note, she began to realize that what Shi Ziqian said today was serious; he valued feelings very, very much, more than anything else.
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