Chapter 21 Do you miss him that much?
After Wen Zhi finished speaking, there was no sound from behind her for a long time.
He pulled his loose T-shirt down a bit, turned around, and saw Song Juelan standing motionless, staring intently at a point on the wall, his ears turning a suspicious red.
"Never mind if you don't have one." Wen Zhi looked down at herself. This T-shirt could cover her thighs, so it would be fine to make do with it.
Although it's a bit uncomfortable, it's not unbearable.
“…I’ll get it for you.” Song Juelan finally responded, walking stiffly to the wardrobe and taking out a brand new, clean pair of boxer shorts.
Wen Zhi took the pair of boxer shorts and quickly put them on, finally feeling much drier.
Outside the window, the downpour showed no signs of stopping; raindrops pounded rapidly against the glass, occasionally punctuated by flashes of lightning.
Xiao Tang was still sleeping soundly on the bed, her face rosy, her mouth slightly open, and she was even snoring softly.
Wen Zhi felt a pang of envy. She also wanted to get a good night's sleep in the pouring rain, but this was someone else's lounge, and Song Juelan was standing right next to her.
He tugged at his collar, which was slipping down, walked to his desk, sat down, rested his chin on his hand, and gazed at the heavy rain outside the window.
"I wonder when this rain will stop."
Song Juelan was standing by the window, and her beautiful, watery eyes seemed to be looking at him, making his heart tighten for no reason.
His black T-shirt was way too big for Wen Zhi, hanging loosely on her slender body, with the neckline almost slipping down to her shoulders, revealing her beautiful shoulder and neck lines and a large expanse of delicate collarbone.
Although Wen Zhi wore the boxer shorts he gave her, they were completely covered by the wide hem of the shirt, making it seem as if she was wearing nothing but the T-shirt.
At this moment, her two straight, long legs were naturally crossed, and her snow-white, delicate skin shone with a lustrous glow under the light.
The hem of her dress was also lifted up slightly by this posture, almost revealing more of what was underneath...
Song Juelan forced herself to look away from the rain outside the window, and replied to Wen Zhi in a low, hoarse voice, "It should stop soon."
“That’s true, the weather in City A is like this. Maybe the sun will come out later.” Wen Zhi rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head, and tapped her face lightly with her fair fingers.
Song Juelan continued to gaze out the window, as if there was something extremely attractive outside, and nodded stiffly, "Mm."
"By the way," Wen Zhi suddenly remembered something when they talked about this, and looked at Song Juelan with a curious gaze, "Juelan, have you decided which city you want to study in?"
Song Juelan seemed surprised that he would suddenly bring up this topic. He paused for a moment before answering, "The school has already made up its mind, but hasn't decided which city to go to."
For him, all cities are the same, so he prioritizes which school is more suitable for him.
Wen Zhi hadn't expected Song Juelan's plan to be so clear.
He chose S University because he liked the climate and scenery of S City, but now he regrets it deeply.
While the school's faculty and academic standards are beyond question, its infrastructure is simply inadequate.
Out of a desire to save as many people as possible, Wen Zhi kindly reminded her, "Just don't go to S University."
Song Juelan turned her gaze from the window to him and asked, "Why?"
Although S University is a prestigious university, it was not within his consideration. Hearing Wen Zhi mention it specifically, he became a little curious.
Wen Zhi wrinkled her pert nose and listed the problems one by one on her fingers: "The food in the cafeteria often causes food poisoning, the water heaters often don't have hot water, and the campus network often has no signal..."
Song Juelan rarely saw Wen Zhi show this childlike side, and felt a tickle in his heart: "You're a student at S University?"
Wen Zhi nodded subconsciously and said "Mmm," but then suddenly realized her own persona and quickly added, "It used to be."
Song Juelan lowered his eyes and suddenly wanted to see what Wen Zhi looked like on the university campus. He must be carefree and lively.
But for Wen Zhi, that was all in the past.
The two chatted casually for a while, but Wen Zhi's voice gradually faded and eventually fell silent.
Song Juelan looked up and saw that Wen Zhi had fallen asleep on the table.
He stood there for a while before walking over quietly, gazing down at that peaceful and obedient sleeping face.
Wen Zhi looked very well-behaved while sleeping. Her long, thick eyelashes hung quietly, and because of her lying position, her soft, white cheeks were slightly distorted, and her lips were slightly parted.
The neckline of his T-shirt had slipped down to below his shoulders, revealing his fair and delicate neck and shoulders, and a large expanse of his fair back and the prominent shoulder blades beneath his thin skin.
Song Juelan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he felt his throat was a little dry.
He started swimming training at a very young age and often shared a locker room with a dozen teammates to change clothes, so he was already used to seeing bodies of the same sex.
But at this moment, facing Wen Zhi, who is also of the same sex, the feeling is completely different. Just seeing a few pieces of exposed skin is like a fire burning deep inside the body.
Song Juelan exhaled silently, turned around and walked to the bedside, took a blanket and gently covered Wen Zhi with it.
Looking at the young man still fast asleep in front of me, I couldn't help but think.
Wen Zhi should be more wary of others.
It wasn't until it was completely dark that Wen Zhi, who was lying on the table, slowly opened her eyes, looking bewildered for a moment.
When did he fall asleep?
The lounge was quiet, as if he were the only one left.
He sat up, rubbed his sore arms, and turned his head to see two figures, one tall and one short, sitting by the bed.
Xiao Tang woke up sometime earlier and was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, her big eyes wide open, intently watching the silent cartoon.
Song Juelan sat next to her, holding up her phone which was playing an animated cartoon, remaining motionless in that position.
The two of them remained silent, as if afraid of waking him.
Noticing his gaze, Song Juelan looked up and slightly curved her lips into a smile.
Wen Zhi felt her face inexplicably flush.
You can't blame him for sleeping so late; rainy days are just too good for sleeping.
Having slumped over the table for too long, Wen Zhi's whole body ached. She sat for a while to recover before supporting herself on the table to stand up.
In order not to waste any more of Song Juelan's time, he quickly changed back into his already dried clothes, took Xiaotang's hand, and prepared to go home.
Xiao Tang's eyes were still reluctantly glued to the cartoon as he led her away, turning back every few steps.
*
A week later, the parent-child water fun day that Xiaotang had been looking forward to finally arrived.
Several days ago, Wenzhi took Xiaotang to the supermarket to shop, filling a large backpack with all kinds of snacks, such as potato chips, jelly, and chocolate.
The night before departure, Wenzhi checked the contents of her backpack. All the snacks were there, so she zipped it up with peace of mind.
"Zhizhi, here are these too." Xiaotang hugged her swimsuit and change of clothes, and seeing that he had already zipped up his jacket, her little face was full of worry.
Wen Zhi then realized that she had forgotten something more important. She looked down at her backpack, which was stuffed full of snacks, and fell silent for a moment.
Finally, he could only take out another canvas bag and put their changes of clothes inside.
On the day of departure, the weather was exceptionally clear and sunny.
Wen Zhi left home very early, holding a parasol, and led Xiao Tang to the meeting point—the entrance of the swimming pool.
From afar, they could see a figure standing out from the crowd, standing beside the gate, looking in their direction.
As soon as Wen Zhi reached the door, a large hand took her canvas bag and backpack, carrying them naturally in its grasp.
He looked up, met Song Juelan's gaze, and smiled: "You all arrived so early."
After saying that, he remembered that Song Juelan was a staff member of the swimming pool, so of course he had to arrive earlier than them.
The bright sunlight was blazing down, almost scorching. Wen Zhi tiptoed slightly and raised the umbrella a little higher, wanting to shield Song Juelan from the sun as well.
The next moment, the umbrella in his hand was taken away and held steadily over their heads.
Xiao Tang immediately squeezed into the gap between the two, and a small umbrella just covered all three of them.
Zhu Zhenghao, who was checking off the sign-in sheet next to him, watched this scene with some unease in his heart.
Why did he feel that these three people were more like a family than any other family of three?
The bus that was supposed to take them to the water park arrived quickly. The doors opened, and the other families eagerly lined up to get on.
Wen Zhi disliked taking buses, so she slowly followed the crowd and boarded last.
The bus seats were arranged in rows of three. Xiao Tang walked ahead and climbed into the window seat first.
Wen Zhi sat down in the middle seat, while Song Juelan sat in the outermost aisle seat.
Once everyone had arrived, the bus started moving, wobbling precariously.
The two brothers, Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang, both dislike taking buses. However, Xiao Tang can fall asleep immediately after getting on the bus, while Wen Zhi can sleep anywhere except on a swaying bus, where he can only force himself to stay awake.
The atmosphere on the bus was very lively, with children sharing snacks and adults chatting about everyday life and gossip.
Their row was unusually quiet; Xiao Tang was fast asleep, while Wen Zhi frowned and looked out the car window.
Many people on the bus recognized Song Juelan, knowing he was a swimming coach. Seeing him sitting with Wen Zhi, they couldn't help but cast curious glances at him.
Everyone quickly noticed that the little boy's eyebrows and eyes were very similar to those of the handsome young man, but he didn't look like Song Juelan at all.
Clearly, the handsome young man had brought his child alone, while Song Juelan was just there as a swimming coach to help them make up the numbers.
A young, single man raising a child is enough to ignite the gossip-loving hearts of most people.
The round-faced aunt sitting in front of them couldn't contain her curiosity, turned around, and started talking to Wen Zhi.
"Young man, is this your child? He's so pretty, he looks just like you."
The young man withdrew his gaze from the car window, seemingly lost in thought. He looked over a beat later, his long eyelashes casting faint shadows in his beautiful eyes, and his voice was clear and crisp: "Hmm."
The round-faced aunt was momentarily stunned by the beautiful face, then unconsciously smiled kindly: "Why did you come alone? Is your husband busy today?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Zhi was clearly taken aback.
Song Juelan, who was standing next to him, was also stunned. His thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his hands on his lap slowly clenched into fists.
Wen Zhi was taken aback by the question and hesitated for a moment. Then, remembering that Song Juelan was still beside her, she lowered her gaze awkwardly and said, "He... has something to do and can't come."
"Oh, I see." The round-faced aunt noticed something was wrong with his expression, and understandingly stopped asking questions. She then gave him a handful of candy from the children's snacks and turned back.
The row of seats fell silent again.
Song Juelan turned his head slightly and saw Wen Zhi's long eyelashes tremble slightly, her lips were pale, and her fair fingers unconsciously curled up.
His heart tightened, knowing that Wen Zhi's previous question had stirred up painful memories.
Even though Wen Zhi has never mentioned her deceased partner, and there is no trace of him in her home, it doesn't mean that Wen Zhi has completely let go of him.
Song Juelan clenched his fist slightly, his knuckles turning white, and a strange sense of annoyance swept through his heart.
Wen Zhi had no idea what the person next to her was thinking.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, but it did nothing to alleviate his discomfort. He could only turn his head towards the window to look at the scenery outside for a while.
A slight stinging sensation suddenly came from the corner of my eye, as if an eyelash had fallen in.
He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. A few drops of physiological tears squeezed out of his eyes, and the corners of his eyes were also red. He finally managed to rub out that eyelash.
The tears still clinging to her eyelashes were suddenly wiped away by a large, well-defined hand.
Her warm fingertips accidentally touched the corner of his reddened eyes, paused slightly, and then quickly withdrew.
Wen Zhi was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.
Song Juelan's thin lips pressed into a line. He looked at him silently for a moment before asking in a low voice:
"You miss him that much?"
A note from the author:
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Thanks to Zhuozhuo Tangfeng for the grenades and landmines!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
Zhuozhuo Tangfeng 40 bottles; Youxia 20 bottles; Wenrou Jiliang, 57252013, tea, Mr. Wenren 10 bottles; Jieqiuse 5 bottles; Qiuzhi 3 bottles; Akaiyama, Baofu Baofu 2 bottles; Wen Weiyan, Tantou, Dada Jiagengya, Qi Sili's Little Dog, Xiao Yu, 1 bottle;
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