Chapter 24: Coca-Cola
Jiang Song subconsciously took a step back when she walked in, and then realized that he was wearing a loose bathrobe.
Without waiting for her to speak or take any other action, he began to speak with a stutter: "Chio, ちょっと (wait)..."
Before he could finish the rest of his words, he had already turned around and walked to the wardrobe, picked out some clean clothes as quickly as possible and went to the bathroom. After hesitating for a while, he reopened the bathroom door.
The room was well-cooled. The boy paused outside the door for a moment, then, as if deciding to take his right foot first, he began to walk towards it. But as soon as he rounded the partition, his steps froze, and his expression became blank.
What time was it? Was he back in his dream to that boring afternoon? That was why the jellyfish-like girl had become transparent and disappeared.
He scratched his hair in his dream, and his fingers felt a little cool and wet, which felt so real.
He turned around feeling lost in his dream, and then his feet seemed to stick to the spot - in front of the bright floor-to-ceiling window, the girl was standing there looking out.
How to judge what is real and what is unreal?
Maybe you'll know if you go over there.
He was lost in thought, and Xia Cun had simply walked into his room without permission.
Outside the French window was a flowerbed, and beyond it, the end of the swimming pool could be seen. She had been crouching there, gazing at the pool the night she first arrived, and that was how he had spotted her.
My hair was suddenly touched by someone, and it felt itchy and numb, as if it was really going to grow wings.
Xia Cun tilted his head and saw Jiang Song's expression suddenly became a little strange.
Like a vibrating string, or like fermenting cider, he turned his head and looked out the window.
"い、いい天気だね..." (The weather is so nice.)
“…”
“…”
Jiang Song scratched his hair in frustration again.
It's so hot. Am I dreaming? Is the AC broken again? Her hair is so funny.
"I like how you just dressed."
The girl's voice sounded in his ears, and he suddenly turned back to look at her.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Jiang Song finally no longer felt that he was dreaming, because if he was in a dream, he would not be able to bear it and continue to sleep after saying "The weather is so nice", and he would want to escape from the dream after she stared at him for so long, but now he seemed unable to escape as he wished.
"Nana?"
He looks really hot in this outfit now, but it's a pity that he doesn't have time to find a matching necklace to wear.
Xia Cun's gaze stopped above his collarbone, he thought carefully, and then said bluntly: "Because you look very beautiful in that yukata just now."
Because of his thin frame, the loose navy blue yukata didn't feel heavy on him at all, but rather made him look empty. It was as if he were a pencil sketch, thin and light, and could be erased at any moment.
She thought of Miao Wen's evaluation that Jiang Song was a beautiful boy with a Japanese-style broken feeling.
Only, he now seemed to have turned the color of an apple once again.
"It's so hot..." He suddenly complained, then turned and walked to the corner of the room, took out a can of Coke from the mini fridge and turned back to ask her, "Drink?"
Xia Cun nodded.
…
On the carpet, two teenagers sat cross-legged, leaning against the edge of the sofa and sipping Coke.
Bubbles exploded in their throats, and finally a string of words burst out, which was Jiang Song's belated question: "You...what do you want from me?"
"Yeah." The girl swallowed the Coke and nodded, "Mr. Mizuno said I should do something."
"Mizuno-san?" He really twisted the focus of the sentence to Mr. Mizuno and whispered, "I always feel like you like him so much."
"Don't you like him?" She didn't answer her directly, but asked back.
"Like Spy." He didn't respond to her directly, but just said that he looked like Spy.
Xia Cun blinked after hearing this, as if he was surprised by his answer——
She had just thought that Mr. Mizuno looked like an agent, and then she heard the same thing from Jiang Song.
Jiang Song was quiet for a while, then couldn't help asking her, "Why do you like him?"
"Because I also want to be a spy."
Or maybe she is already a spy, because she has been secretly monitoring him for a long time.
“…”
Jiang Song couldn't tell whether she was telling the truth or not. He was still silent when he heard the girl ask him, "Jiang Song, is there anything you want to do?"
Want to do something?
Jiang Song put down the cola that was about to reach his mouth, thought for a moment, and announced with regret: "なんも浮かばねー."
"Nanmo ukabanee?"
The girl repeated his words, even mimicking the casual tone, clearly not understanding. Jiang Song probably found it amusing, and with a smile, he said the sentence in a more complete tone: "何も浮かばない. I can't think of anything."
Jiang Song has nothing he wants to do. He has everything and can't find anything interesting to do, so he is always bored.
"So what were you doing just now?" she asked again.
"bath."
"What are you doing in the shower?"
Jiang Song's face suddenly flushed with heat, and he turned to look at her: "Of course I just took a shower, nothing else!"
Xia Cun was puzzled by his appearance as if someone had stepped on his tail, but he didn't say anything.
She was always distracted, not even fully focused when showering. She would write on the misty mirror, suddenly close her eyes and raise her arms, imagining she was stretching them, watching the foam on the ground float along with the water until it hit the wall and shattered or was swept into the sewer...
She would do a lot of meaningless things, like now, she was controlling the flow of the Coke in the straw, the air retreating little by little, the Coke moving up little by little, finally reaching the tip of her tongue. She let go of the straw and turned to look at Jiang Song.
He was looking at her too.
After being looked at by her, Jiang Song subconsciously pursed his lips, straightened his back and looked forward. Then he slowly recalled her first answer and asked her, "So what do you want to do?"
"I want to talk to you first, and then do other things, like talk to my friends."
"Your friend?"
"Yeah, but I haven't figured out what to say to her yet." She said this and suddenly asked, "What about you, Jiang Song? You still don't want to talk to me?"
Jiang Song suddenly squeezed the can tightly, as if to crush it. However, he did not deny her words like he did yesterday, nor did he quibble. Instead, he stared at the red can and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Because you saw me but didn't speak to me."
Xia Cun was startled after she finished speaking, because she suddenly thought of He Shizhao. Did he think the same way as her? Was that why he thought she didn't want to talk to him first?
How strange.
Strange and confusing thoughts suddenly hit Xia Cun. Was she really not interested in talking to him, as He Shizhao said, or was it just a misunderstanding between them? He misunderstood her silence, and she misunderstood his expression and attitude. So what was the reason for the silence between her and Jiang Song?
She stared at the beautiful hand with bulging veins, the hand that was about to crush the Coke can, and thought again: Jiang Song is such a dishonest person.
And the moment this thought flashed through her mind again, her eyes flashed as if she had realized something.
At this moment, she seemed to understand one thing, or two things.
One of the things was that she seemed to understand where his unpredictability came from, perhaps it was precisely because of his dishonesty—
He didn't want to tell others what he was thinking. He was always avoiding something. The silence between her and Jiang Song was a form of "concealment." It wasn't just Jiang Song's concealment, it was hers as well, theirs from each other. She didn't want him to know her secrets, and he didn't want to tell her his thoughts.
The straw made a hollow sound at the bottom of the can, and she had emptied the entire bottle of Coke without realizing it. Her stomach was bloated. Did the medicine she just took dissolve in the Coke?
In her chaotic thoughts, she said to him, "I have other things to do. If you still don't want to talk to me, I'm leaving."
"Wait for it!"
Jiang Song called her without thinking.
In fact, she didn't move, but just sat there and looked at him quietly, as if waiting for him to speak.
Finally, he asked, "Whatever you want to do...can you take me with you?"
Will she bring Jiang Song with her?
This is a very unfamiliar sentence.
Isn't Jiang Song the most important person? Shouldn't he make all the decisions, with everyone else's choices merely potential consequences?
Can she take Jiang Song with her to do what she wants?
"I want to go to the projection room and watch cartoons."
"Then I want one too."
Xia Cun tilted his head and said, "I want to go to the beach to pick up shells."
"Then I want one too."
Is it really possible to do anything?
Xia Cun said something else he wanted to do: "I want to go to the piano room."
"Then I want one too."
"I want to listen to Jiang Song play the piano."
"..." Jiang Song stopped repeating himself and paused, complaining dissatisfiedly, "That's too much."
This wasn't what she wanted to do at all; it was what she wanted him to do.
However, he still put the unfinished Coke on the small coffee table in front of him and stood up. Xia Cun stood up as well, but the boy blocked her way and turned around to ask her, "So, what are we going to do?"
"Go to the piano room."
She spoke crisply, as if giving orders.
"I understand, I understand."
He said he obeyed, but he didn't move. Instead, he asked her, "Can you tell me why?"
As if this was an additional condition for him handing over the decision-making power, Xia Cun had no choice but to answer, "Because Miao Wen looks so cute when she plays the piano."
So Jiang Song must be no less capable than me.
Jiang Song seemed a little puzzled by this answer, but he still turned around and walked slowly towards the door.
No one saw them. They seemed to be sneaking through space, passing through the quiet corridors and stairs, and silently arrived at the piano room on the first floor.
The empty piano room was only lit by the central air conditioning, and the curtains were open, letting in plenty of natural light. Jiang Song entered and locked the door from the inside. The sound of the lock was so noticeable that Xia Cun couldn't help but look back at him.
He quickly said confidently, "I don't want anyone else to disturb me."
Xia Cun didn't say anything.
So he asked her, "What do you want to hear?"
"I have no idea."
"You said you wanted to hear it."
"I don't know that either."
Because she knows nothing about music.
Seeing that she was silent and even her hair was stubborn, the boy had no choice but to say, "Okay, it doesn't matter if you don't know."
Because he thought of it.
Jiang Song sat down in front of the grand piano, adjusted the piano stool, and casually tapped a few keys. After confirming that everything was fine, he turned around and smiled at her: "じゃあ、始めるよ." (Then I'll start.)
Xia Cun nodded, then sat down in the chair seemingly concentrating.
The boy's eyes were lowered, his expression was focused and calm, his shoulders were long and his arms were slender. His fingertips fell on the keys like feathers falling on the water, and he struck out the first string of soothing notes.
There was no sheet music, but everything happened naturally, as if his fingers were born to do this.
The sound of the piano flows, sometimes smoothly, sometimes swaying, soft and jumping, as if a series of colors are floating before my eyes, erratic, light, and then ethereal and dreamy...
Does she really know nothing about music? Why does she seem to feel everything?
How long has it been?
Ten minutes, or twenty minutes?
After the soothing melody, a somewhat naughty and weird melody suddenly sounded. There seemed to be some gaps or breaks between the notes, like a leaping lamb or elk, like leaves swaying in the sun, like the shiny surface of the leaves shimmering.
It’s really cute.
Wouldn't he be even cuter if he was still wearing that beautiful yukata?
Is it almost over?
Is this afternoon almost over?
At this moment, Xia Cun found that she seemed to have some expectations.
She really wanted to do some more dreamy things, otherwise this summer would be over.
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The author has something to say: There is a lot to say today, please pay attention!
1. I'll write about this later, but I'll say it now: Xiao Jiang played Debussy's suite "Children's Corner." It was so playful and dreamy, perfect for two little ones! The last piece was Golliwogg's "Cakewalk," which was so summery! It was so bouncy, like swaying leaves or something [pats my head]
2. As expected, I am very good at writing strange plots! Xia Cun seems to like seeing Jiang Song wearing a yukata, a broken and beautiful boy that can be erased by an eraser, etc.
3. Then there is the myth of volume division: I suddenly changed the volume name when writing this chapter, and re-divided the volume ing... Although my friends don’t understand why I am obsessed with volume division, I always feel it is necessary (>_<)
4. Finally, the sad news: As expected, there will be no rankings after becoming a V, damn it! I am useless! But I will still try my best to update daily. If I really can't write well one day, I will update half a day or a day later (.
5. I admit they drank Coca-Cola, so it doesn’t matter if Xiaolan likes blue this time [sunglasses]
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