19 Chapter 19
It was just dawn when the alarm clock rang. Chen Ying got up on time and fed the fish as usual. She opened her WeChat Moments and saw more than fifty likes and comments.
Friend A: Sister Ying posted on WeChat Moments~ [Rose Rose]
Friend B: Oh no, the college entrance exam, these terrible memories from so many years ago [burst into tears]
Mutual friend C replied to friend B: That’s not an exaggeration at all. You were so confident back then. Every time the results came out, you blew away everyone’s hearts. Show that attitude that made you look down on all the other candidates back then!
Colleague A: Hahaha, the fish looks pretty good.
Old classmate A: It's rare that Chen Ying still likes goldfish. She hasn't changed after all these years. Hahahahahaha
Ye Jinyi: [Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose +]
Song Xia: So cute! [Kiss]
…
Her only close friends from high school were the class monitor, the student council member, and the league secretary. They rarely chatted, and Chen Ying had almost forgotten their WeChat accounts. The others were mostly college friends, a few from Ye Jinyi's major, and the rest were colleagues. Chen Ying noticed that many people she didn't even know well had also liked her post.
Normally, she rarely interacted with other people's Moments, usually just liking a post and leaving. The reason her Moments were so lively was entirely because the Gaokao had such a strong aftereffect. When a lot of adults saw the word "Gaokao", they couldn't help but recall the past and feel sad. Chen Ying took advantage of her breakfast time to reply to these comments one by one, then looked through her Moments today and saw that Zhou Baixi had also posted a message, which was posted last night.
I don't know when he took the photo, but the angle is great and it just happens to block her face, so I can only see her roughly.
She has no mutual friends with him, so she can't see any comments under Zhou Baixi's comment section.
She continued to flip through the pages, turned a page, then returned, stared at his circle of friends for a long time, and then continued to flip through the pages.
After turning two pages, she couldn't help but turn back and jokingly said: So your youth is the fish, or the fish tank?
She waited patiently for a while, but received no reply.
Ye Jinyi smiled obscenely across the table, "Oh, you're in love for the first time, you're already falling in love."
Chen Ying snorted twice, then smiled and said, "It's already been stuck in there, and there's no way out."
She finished the remaining porridge in the bowl and cleaned up the kitchen. Ye Jinyi had just finished eating, so she cleaned up the remaining dishes.
The days when she didn't have to work were incredibly free. Chen Ying would usually do some housework, carrying their quilts to the balcony railing to dry, mopping the floor, and tidying up the bathroom. Occasionally, hair would fall to the floor, and she would pick it up one by one, wrap it in toilet paper, and throw it in the trash can. Then, she would throw their clothes from yesterday into the washing machine...
Around noon, when everything was tidied up, she took out her mobile phone and saw that Zhou Baixi had replied to her comment.
Zhou Baixi replied: It’s the fish, the fish tank, and the owner of the fish and the fish tank.
The owner of the fish and the fish tank... If I understood correctly, she is now the owner of the fish and the fish tank.
Chen Ying was suddenly startled. In that instant, something rushed straight to the top of his head. His brain went blank for a moment and he didn't react for a long time.
She clicked on the picture with a trembling hand. The atmosphere was incredibly beautiful. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed... pleasing to the eye?
Suddenly, I felt guilty for no reason and didn't dare to look at the picture again.
Chen Ying stared at Zhou Baixi's profile picture in a daze.
The stars in the sky twinkle, and in the dark night, the three points of light have an inexplicable beauty.
She suddenly felt that something was wrong... Was the light emitted by the stars a cold yellow-green color?
This was the first time she clicked on his profile picture. She was three parts excited, three parts guilty, and four parts unbelievable. His profile picture was not three stars, but three fireflies.
Chen Ying attributed this surprising discovery to coincidence. One shouldn't overthink things, or else they'll only cause more trouble. It's really hard to figure things out.
She didn't know the meaning of this avatar, or maybe Zhou Baixi just thought it was pretty and unique. After all, among a list of successful people's avatars, there was such a unique one, which would definitely make people take a second look.
This is a strategy.
Yes, that's right. Zhou Baixi likes this unique existence. No matter where he is or what position he is in, he is always excellent.
After comforting herself, Chen Ying didn't feel like cooking anymore. She ordered some takeout and had a casual meal. Then she planned to go to the supermarket to buy some tripe and beef or something to have hot pot tonight. Ye Jinyi had started to crave it a few days ago, but he had no time to go because of his busy work. Chen Ying had to take advantage of the free time today to go to the supermarket to buy some food and fulfill Ye Jinyi's hot pot dream as soon as possible.
There was a large vegetable market near the apartment, making it convenient for parents who cared for their children to buy groceries. It wasn't far, only about ten minutes away, so Chen Ying planned to walk there.
I also browsed Weibo for a while on the way. There were people asking me to update more and private messages. I treated this account as an emotional trash can and complained about it every day. Chen Ying would occasionally reply a few words, but ignored it when she was busy.
I haven't updated for several days. Recently, I recalled a lot of sweet memories related to Ye Jinyi. She appears to be a funny girl, but in fact, she is very thoughtful in private. Many of her unintentional actions will bring warmth to others, but she herself does not realize it.
Chen Ying narrowed her eyes, put away her phone and crossed the intersection, a smile on her face the whole time. She was indescribably happy today.
As soon as Ye Jin opened the door, he smelled the strong aroma of hot pot. He hurriedly changed his shoes, threw down his bag, and rushed straight to the hot pot.
Chen Ying had heard the noise when she opened the door just now. Suddenly, someone rushed over and hugged her, making it difficult for her to breathe. She flailed around with her hands and knocked away Ye Jinyi's tightly held hands.
"I love you so much, what would I do without you?"
Chen Ying laughed and said, "Don't try that on me. You already have Mr. Xiao."
Ye Jin pouted and yelled, "Then I can't live without you. Even if you get married, I will move in and be your neighbor. I will go to your house for meals every day."
The pot was already bubbling. Chen Ying threw in a few slices of tripe, then scooped them out and gave them to Ye Jinyi. "Who knows what will happen in the future. Maybe one day I'll marry far away, and you'll have to follow me."
"Then don't marry far away. Master Zhou is so nice." Ye Jin was in a good mood when he ate the tripe he had been longing for, and he laughed.
Chen Ying paused, her hands catching the food, and a blush spread across her face. She bit her lip and said awkwardly, "I replied to his WeChat Moments today, and he replied back."
Chen Ying showed the content to Ye Jinyi. The latter widened his eyes after reading it, and the shrimp paste he had just fished out fell back into the pot with a gurgle.
Chen Ying calmly scooped up the shrimp paste for her and put it back into the bowl.
Ye Jinyi grabbed the phone and flipped through it herself, and found that he only had that one circle of friends. Suddenly, as if she discovered something else, she clicked on Zhou Baixi's profile picture, and then her mouth opened even wider.
"Is it that exaggerated?" Chen Ying was eager to know Ye Jinyi's opinion, but felt embarrassed.
Ye Jinyi returned the phone and said in surprise: "Baby, why don't you rush now?!"
Now it was Chen Ying's turn to widen her eyes. She asked unsurely, "Do you want to charge?"
Ye Jin slammed his chopsticks on the table, "Go! Look, I went ahead and got together with Mr. Xiao, Song Xia went ahead and got together with Li Hao, Zhou Baixi has put his intentions right in front of you, why don't you go ahead?"
Chen Ying ate a piece of bean curd and hesitated for a moment.
Ye Jinyi seemed even more excited than her. He went to the refrigerator, took out two bottles of beer, opened the lids, and placed one of them in front of Chen Ying.
Neither of them could hold their alcohol well, the kind that could get them drunk with just one bottle of beer. Ye Jinyi didn't care, she wanted to drink with Chen Ying to give herself courage. She felt that Zhou Baixi had that intention, but for some reason she just didn't say it.
If two people are interested in each other but keep it to themselves, that would be such a pity. Ye Jinyi felt uncomfortable as a bystander.
Chen Ying drank most of the wine, and her cheeks were slightly red, but she was still sober, as if she had a premonition of what was going to happen and did not dare to get drunk.
She looked into Ye Jinyi's eyes and prepared herself mentally for a while before speaking: "I want to make it clear to him. I will accept any outcome. It's better than dying of regret."
Ye Jinyi looked at her excitedly and put all the cooked beef into Chen Ying's bowl. When the seasoning in Chen Ying's bowl was gone, she even jumped up and down to add more seasoning.
After finishing a bottle of beer, both of them were a little drunk. Ye Jin pushed Chen Ying into the room and told her to get her words together. Don't worry about the hot pot mess, she could handle it alone.
Chen Ying felt her hand holding the phone was shaking.
She didn't dare call, so she carefully considered her words, wanting to express all the secret love she had suppressed over the years. However, she was worried that her hands were shaking and she might send something unnecessary, which would be embarrassing. She opened her notes and began to confess her first sentence.
Good evening, Zhou Baixi. I'm Chen Ying. After much thought, I'd like to explain my feelings to you.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm still quite withdrawn and don't have any other male friends around me. It's not that I don't want to make friends, but I just don't see the need. At first, I added one guy, but after a few chats, things started to get awkward. I didn't have those feelings for him, but he clearly misunderstood, thinking I was replying because I wanted a relationship... There's no room for anyone else in my heart anymore. Every guy I see can't help but compare you to them. If you meet someone too dazzling early on, everyone else will seem so-so, nowhere near as good as that guy named Zhou Baixi.
You probably forgot, during the first semester of my senior year, every time you explained a problem to me, I would cover my face with a scarf or sleeve. You laughed and said I was useless. I'd only just gotten started, and if I started covering myself up now, what would I do when winter arrived? I'd definitely get frostbite. I didn't reply, because I knew it wasn't the cold that was making me feel hot, but rather that it was unnaturally hot. I was afraid you'd know, so I covered my face carefully.
You fool, you always believed that I was just cold. The next day, you sent me a fluffy scarf, saying that your mother bought it for me on a whim while shopping. I put on the new scarf and it was so hot...
Yes, that's right. I knew something was wrong back then. Like any other girl, I didn't dare look at you, afraid to let my emotions slip. I didn't dare show any enthusiasm, but I also wanted you to stay with me longer. I was so conflicted.
If I hadn't seen you this time, and never would again, I would have slowly let it go. But now you've appeared before me. Who can say this isn't fate? I hope this secret love has an ending. I should be brave for once. I don't care what the ending is. I'm afraid if I don't say it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.
Zhou Baixi, I like you so much that I want to go crazy.
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