Chapter 18 You brought me here before...
Luo Xincheng was puzzled. This was her pet's graveyard, so why would there be an 'insignificant' person here?
To be honest, even her parents might not remember that she had a pet buried here.
How did Fu Zhiheng find this place so accurately?
Faced with her surprised and uncertain scrutiny, he lowered his head, propped himself up on his knees, and slowly stood up.
“You brought me here before.”
As he stood up, Luo Xincheng's gaze toward him rose higher and higher, and the hand holding the umbrella also rose higher and higher.
Fu Zhiheng touched the ribs of the umbrella with the top of his head, and bent slightly to extend his hand to her.
"Shall I hold the umbrella?"
Luo Xincheng was slightly taken aback, still replaying his words in her mind, and didn't even realize when he had taken the umbrella from her hand.
Has she brought him here before?
When...right.
A thought suddenly struck her, and she remembered that she had indeed brought him here back in her second year of high school.
It was close to the monthly exam, and Fu Zhiheng was worried about her grades, so he would take time every day to explain the questions to her.
After learning that she had taken half a day off the following day, I was quite puzzled, because the National Day holiday was just two days away, so why couldn't she do something then?
Then Luo Xincheng told me that it was the anniversary of her pet's death, and she was going to pay her respects.
He probably hadn't heard of anyone visiting their pet's grave every year after it died. His stunned and deeply shocked expression made Luo Xincheng laugh for a long time.
But later, his constant questioning annoyed her, so she simply asked him if he wanted to come along.
When I asked, I was prepared to be rejected.
After all, he was a good student who would insist on going to school even when he was sick, unless he was terminally ill. It was simply impossible for him to ask for leave for something like this.
To everyone's surprise, he actually agreed and took leave without saying a word.
But she only brought him here once. Unexpectedly, several years later, he still remembered Bossy's death anniversary and the exact location of the grave.
Her doubts temporarily vanished, replaced by an indescribable feeling.
At this point, she began to regret her act of feigning amnesia when they first met. She wanted to ask some questions, but she had to swallow them to cover up the lie she had told back then.
She pursed her lips and finally said only, "I don't remember."
He smiled and said, "I know."
He turned to the tombstone, looking at the grinning pony in the photo, his voice as gentle and calm as ever, "Even if you hadn't lost your memory, you probably wouldn't remember."
After all, to her, it was just a trivial matter.
Even if he was the first boy she brought here, it doesn't prove how much he means to her. She just brought him here because she found his constant questioning annoying.
These are all her original words.
At that time, he was feeling smug about receiving this honor and thought he could get closer to her heart. But when he heard these casual words, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.
But Luo Xincheng had long forgotten these details. When she heard Fu Zhiheng say those words, she only felt that he really understood her.
She looked at his damp profile and deliberately asked, "When did I bring you here?"
He immediately replied, "Grade 11."
She feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Ah! It's been so long, and you still remember?"
He smiled and looked at her, his tone wistful but without a trace of resentment, “You said you would bring me here every year, but the second year you didn’t want me to come along.”
Luo Xincheng: "..."
I'm drenched in sweat.
No, was she out of her mind back then? Can you just casually make such a pretentious promise?
What's with such a good memory? How can you remember so clearly even after so much time has passed?
And what do you mean by bringing this up suddenly at this time?
Everyone says I have amnesia, and they're deliberately saying these ambiguous things. Doesn't it make it obvious that our relationship used to be special?
What should she do in this situation?
Pretend you didn't understand; it would make her seem completely clueless and like a fool.
But I pretended I understood...
She really didn't want to have any further emotional entanglements with him.
It's so annoying.
After thinking it over and over for a long time, she finally managed to stammer out, "I...I forgot..."
One trick is all you need to succeed.
Fortunately, Fu Zhiheng didn't seem inclined to delve deeper into the matter. "I know."
Only then did he notice that she was carrying a bag in her other hand, and he reached out his hand again, "Shall I help you carry that?"
She shook her head, bent down slightly, and placed the paper bag in front of the tombstone.
Fu Zhiheng held the umbrella and moved with her, never letting the rain get close to her.
She lowered her eyes, watching the transparent fireworks splash as the rain hit the ground, hesitant to speak, but still unable to help reveal some of her feelings to him.
"But it's been so long, and you still remember. It's amazing to me. You have such a good memory."
Though she said that, her expression didn't seem like praise. Her gaze towards him held not only confusion but also a hint of wariness.
“But no matter what, this place,” she emphasized, “is the graveyard of ‘my’ pet. Logically and emotionally, you shouldn’t be here, should you?”
The smile on Fu Zhiheng's lips gradually faded.
He lowered his eyes, the tips of his wet eyelashes glistening with tiny drops of water.
“Because I wanted to see if I could meet you here,” he said.
The unexpected candor caught Luo Xincheng completely off guard.
What he didn't say was that this wasn't actually the first time he had come uninvited.
At first, he didn't feel too bad. After all, he was the one who was dumped and had suffered verbal humiliation from her. No matter how tolerant he was, he couldn't possibly be completely without resentment towards her.
But to some extent, he was also a very forgetful person, so the unpleasant things that happened when he was dating Luo Xincheng were quickly forgotten by him over time.
So he couldn't help but miss her, miss her laughter and scolding, miss her voice and body temperature, miss the companionship she gave him.
I really, really want to.
But he really couldn't get in touch with her.
So in the years since the breakup, he has come here every year on the anniversary of Bossy's death, clinging to that tiny hope that he can see her again.
He was just unlucky; every year he returned empty-handed. Once, he waited from dawn till dusk, and when he finally saw someone, it turned out to be just the staff hired by her family to clean the tombstone.
He didn't want to attribute it all to their lack of fate. He guessed that she might have been too busy, which was why she came and went in such a hurry, and he never managed to bump into her. Or perhaps, she was held back by her heavy studies and didn't return to China at all during those years.
But this year, Lady Luck finally deigned to look at him.
When he first heard the approaching footsteps, he could hardly believe it until she stopped beside him. He turned his head and saw a section of pale ankle beneath her flowing skirt.
She has a small, red mole on the ankle bone of her left foot.
Thanks to the high heels she was wearing that exposed her instep, he spotted her immediately.
In the gray-white cemetery, amidst the misty rain, that single red dot stood out vividly.
The moment it came into view, all was silent except for the deafening pounding of his own heart.
Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and the drizzling rain ruined his hairstyle that he had done this morning.
He must look terrible right now, like a drenched, disheveled chicken.
Thinking of this, he casually took out a handkerchief from his pocket.
The handkerchief in my pocket also suffered, soaked by the rain and half-dry, but at least I could wipe the water stains off my face and make myself look more presentable.
Luo Xincheng didn't notice his very casual little gesture; her thoughts were still immersed in his straightforward words.
It feels like there are two little people fighting in my head.
The woman in white was admiring herself in the mirror, touching her face with self-admiration and marveling at how charming she was that her ex-boyfriend, whom she had broken up with four years ago, still couldn't forget her.
The one in black stomped his feet in frustration, darkly speculating that this guy must still hold a grudge against her for bossing him around back then, and now that he's successful, he wants to win her back, play with her, and then kick her out like she did back then.
Two completely contradictory thoughts intertwined and tugged in her mind, but in the end, the more rational one prevailed.
"Is there something important you need to discuss with me?" she asked, her expression serious, polite yet distant. "But I'm not familiar with Mr. Fu, so there shouldn't be anything so important that we need to talk in person, right?"
He seemed struck by the unfamiliar voice, and as he gazed deeply at her, the misty rain added a touch of melancholy to his eyes.
“After we parted that day, I kept checking WeChat, afraid of missing your friend request.” He smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, and said, “I was so narcissistic to actually think you would add me first.”
He hung his head, and round raindrops dripping from the ends of his hair trickled down the lenses of his glasses like faint tear stains.
He was wearing a pair of silver frameless glasses today. The lenses softened his sharp features, making his eyebrows and eyes appear even more deep and beautiful. With such a wronged expression, he looked even more pitiful.
Luo Xincheng looked away, slightly annoyed.
Why make it look like this?
It's as if she did something heinous.
So what if I didn't add him on WeChat?
What's even more frustrating is that she finds herself actually being a little soft-hearted, thinking that it's just adding each other on WeChat, it's not a big deal.
At worst, I'll just add him and then ignore him!
But how can that be allowed?
Her reason was frantically pulling her wavering thoughts back.
In interpersonal relationships, it is a big taboo to cross someone's bottom line. If you take a step back, you will take a step back. If she gives in this time, it will be even harder for her to refuse in the future.
Therefore, we must adhere to the bottom line!
She repeatedly told herself to prepare to ruthlessly shatter his delusions.
But when she turned to him with a cold expression, what first caught her eye was his hand gripping the umbrella. His slender fingers had distinct knuckles, and the tips of his fingers were white from the force he was using. The veins on the back of his hand were glistening with moisture.
Although it looked somewhat sexy, Luo Xincheng couldn't control her inappropriate urge to make sarcastic remarks.
Don't crush my umbrella handle!
"...?"
He paused slightly, glanced at the umbrella handle, and then looked at her.
Seeing her serious expression, as if she were genuinely worried about the safety of the umbrella, his eyes gradually curved into smiles, and the hazy mist in his eyes suddenly dissipated, revealing a dazzling and captivating brilliance once more.
Seduction, seduction again.
Luo Xincheng remained unmoved, her heart as firm as a rock, and resolutely looked away from him.
"I don't have that much strength."
His voice pierced through the hazy rain, light and joyful, like ice cubes made from mint syrup being poured into a shaker, creating a refreshing and crisp sweetness.
Ha, you're not very strong?
She sneered inwardly.
Why are you trying to act like a refined and gentle scholar at a time like this?
The first time I hugged her and gave her a wet kiss, the hands around her waist felt like they were made of iron.
I don't know where that stubbornness came from, you can't push it away.
I almost strangled her.
Author's Note: I'm struggling to come up with a title for each chapter. [Sigh]
Future updates will be posted at 6 PM. [kissing emoji]
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