Chapter 16
Jian Sheng walked home quickly, as if hurrying would prevent those strange emotions from catching up with her, but in fact, the strange feeling in her chest filled her mind.
Chen Zhoujing seems to have a problem; he always likes to hang around in front of her with a smile on his face, and he talks non-stop every day, so you can't ignore him.
I don't understand what she did to offend him.
As the sky gradually darkened and the city lights began to come on.
Jian Sheng walked alone through the path in the neighborhood on her way back to her grandmother's house. Her body felt inexplicably light, and the warm breeze by her ears brushed against her cheeks, giving her a comfortable and pleasant feeling.
She opened the glass door downstairs and was about to step towards the elevator around the corner when two arguing voices reached her ears.
A hurried voice said, "I want your response. I've explained so much to you, did you listen?"
"I've said so much, and you fucking thought I was joking? I even came to find you in person!" He gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to crush the listener.
Jian Sheng tried to walk along the wall, but as soon as he took a step, he heard a familiar voice again.
It was Jian Qingyao's. He said, "Go back now."
"You're always like this, you can't even utter a single damn word, you piece of shit." After saying this angry sentence, Jian Sheng heard a heavy sound of a fist hitting the wall. Then, a fair-skinned boy ran out from around the corner, brushed past her, and quickly walked out of the glass door.
As the brush touched her shoulder, Jian Sheng heard an apology in her ear, along with the smell of blood.
It was so familiar; the smell made her want to vomit.
Jian Sheng took a step and slowly walked towards the corner, soon seeing Jian Qingyao's familiar tall figure.
She saw that he had blood on the corner of his mouth, leaning against the wall with his head down. His usual prickly spirit was completely replaced by his disheveled and dejected appearance.
He didn't seem to notice her, so Jian Sheng tried to stay as close to the wall as possible, keeping a distance from him.
Just as she pressed the elevator up button, Jian Qingyao suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He saw Jian Sheng and rushed over like a madman, grabbing her arm. He uttered a few words that sounded like they were pieced together: "What did you hear?"
Jian Sheng was taken aback. She looked up in confusion and said, "I didn't hear that."
"You fucking bastard, you must have heard that." Jian Qingyao wouldn't let go of her, his grip tightening even more.
"Are you crazy?" Jian Sheng struggled free. "Let me go."
"I just got here. I didn't even know I heard it. You know about it and you still do?" The grip on his hand was too tight. Jian Sheng endured the pain and the nausea rising in her stomach, glaring at him.
Jian Qingyao snapped, "I'm warning you, whether you hear me or not, don't tell Grandma in the end."
"Are you that important?" Jian Sheng felt the pressure on her loosen, she shook it off and pulled her hand back. "Don't take yourself too seriously, nobody cares."
After she finished speaking, Jian Qingyao seemed to regain his senses. The ruthlessness in his eyes was gradually replaced by her anger. He had always thought she was timid, quiet, and unsociable, wearing only her school uniform and those ugly gray-black clothes, and always looking gloomy. He never expected her to have such a violent temper.
He looked away and glanced at her arm: "I'm sorry."
He was at least two years older than her and had repeated a grade, so he couldn't be too much of a jerk: "Go on upstairs, I'm going out for a smoke. I'll tell Grandma I'm studying at the library, so don't let it slip."
"Oh." After he left, Jian Sheng moved to the elevator entrance, leaned against the wall, and breathed heavily before pressing the elevator button again.
Ever since that incident, Jian Qingyao has been like a gloomy ghost, constantly staring at her. Sometimes his gaze is gloomy, and sometimes it softens. I don't know what kind of internal struggle he's going through. He's stopped going to the library, stopped playing ball, and even stopped playing games. He just observes what Jian Sheng is doing. Especially when she goes out, before the door is even open, he stands by the door frame, staring at her gloomily.
The whole weekend was like that. On Sunday night, she took her clothes to wash, and when she opened the door, she was met with Jian Qingyao's dark eyes. He was dressed in all black and stood in front of her door. He already looked quite fierce, and he had a haircut that made him look even fiercer, which startled Jian Sheng.
She was speechless: "What are you doing?"
Jian Qingyao glanced at her and said, "I'll just browse around."
“This is my doorway,” Jian Sheng said, sounding somewhat angry.
“I’m telling you, big sister, this is my home.” Jian Qingyao crossed her arms and looked at her with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. “This is my home, I can do whatever I want.”
"You should figure out your place, okay?" His tone was so flat that it sounded like a hint of mockery and sarcasm to Jian Sheng.
Jian Sheng didn't want to talk to him, so she hugged her clothes, walked around him, and went into the bathroom behind him.
"You're staying at my house and you're still angry?" Jian Qingyao sneered. "If you're so capable of throwing a tantrum, then go back and live with Jian Zihua, collecting bottles and relying on each other for survival."
"Jian Qingyao," Ye Hua's voice came from the kitchen, "come and take the plates."
"You're here, Grandma."
His voice faded into the distance. Jian Sheng stood behind the door, clutching his clothes, his fingers gripping his arm so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
The pain in her chest seemed to have eased considerably.
When they came out, the two were sitting at the table waiting for her to start the meal. Jian Qingyao glanced at her and sneered, "I really don't know what you're thinking. What's the use of getting her here..."
Jian Sheng lowered his head and ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice.
Ye Hua didn't say anything, but Jian Qingyao continued enthusiastically: "Instead of having a pension, you might as well go out and have fun with your old girlfriends, sign up for a class to learn Huangmei Opera, instead of bringing this burden along..."
His voice trailed off as no one at the table paid him any attention.
After a short while, he realized he was getting bored and tried to change the subject.
"You should rest now, my dear grandson." Ye Hua put a piece of pig liver into his bowl.
Jian Qingyao curled her lip, glanced at the dishes on the table, and complained, "What kind of dishes are these? Two days in a row it's... spinach stir-fried with pork liver, wood ear mushrooms and sliced pork, carrot stew with pork, and stewed ribs?"
"There's not a single thing I like to eat, Grandma. Don't you love your eldest grandson anymore?" Jian Qingyao wiped away his tears. "Have you forgotten what I like to eat?"
Ye Hua chuckled, "I know, I know, I like to eat these."
"Okay then." Jian Qingyao thought for a moment, "Then I want to eat braised fish tomorrow."
"Alright, alright." Ye Hua put another piece of pork rib in his bowl. "Eat more to nourish yourself. You study at the library during the day, so eat more. You're still growing."
Upon hearing the word "library," Jian Qingyao instinctively glanced at Jian Sheng and found the latter engrossed in eating with her head down. Relieved, she coaxed Ye Hua and then reluctantly chewed the ribs herself.
Unlike him, Jian Sheng found the food tasteless, but Jian Qingyao's words truly resonated with her.
Living at my grandmother's house was like being a guest in someone else's home; if I resisted an attack, I was labeled as having a bad temper.
All her actions seemed wrong in their eyes; they were her benefactors, and she was a clown beggar who could only silently cater to them and become the person they imagined her to be.
After finishing her meal, she washed the dishes and tidied up the room before returning to her small study to work on her homework under the small desk lamp.
The entire room was plunged into darkness, and her body seemed to be embedded in this darkness as well. In the dim light, besides the exam paper illuminated by the lamp, there were also the scattered halos of light from the office buildings outside the window reflected on the glass.
Jian Sheng completely immersed himself in a sea of practice questions.
After another all-nighter, Jian Sheng, carrying her schoolbag, set off early and waited at the traffic light at the intersection. The temperature in the morning was not very hot; after a night of rain, a comfortable cool breeze was blowing.
When the green light came on, she gripped the strap of her small white backpack and slowly followed the crowd across the white zebra crossing.
When Chen Zhou came out, he felt a bit chilly, so he went back into his room to get a white coat. He had plenty of time, so he stood at a breakfast shop two blocks away from the school to buy breakfast. It was peak time and there were many people. He waited while looking at his phone. After the person in front of him finished buying, he looked up and suddenly saw a familiar figure walking past the shop entrance.
"Young man, are you still going to buy it or not?" the shop owner, wearing a mask, called out to him.
Chen Zhou suddenly realized: "One egg, two steamed buns, and a glass of milk."
"Same old combination," the proprietress smiled and skillfully packaged it for him.
Chen Zhou chuckled, but his thoughts drifted away. He suddenly thought of something: "Boss, two glasses of milk, the canned kind, fresh...hot."
"Okay." The proprietress then took a cup of milk from the white styrofoam box, packaged it, and handed it to him.
"Aren't you hot, boss?" Chen Zhoujing took the bag, opened it, and touched the milk bottle.
"They're fresh out of the box, they're all piping hot, don't worry. Don't you usually drink them cold?" the shopkeeper said.
"No, no, I just caught a chill these past few days. Bye, boss." Chen Zhou pulled back his hand, which had just been burned by the milk bottle, and smiled.
Chen Zhou hurriedly paid the bill and jogged towards the figure waiting at the red light.
With nine seconds left, he rushed over in a few strides.
Jian Sheng walked over, dodging a speeding electric scooter and a tricycle carrying children, and then heard a familiar catchphrase ring in her ears.
"Holy crap, you're going the wrong way, bro." The voice quickly approached her. "Be careful, take responsibility for yourself."
"Understood, young man." The older brother's voice faded into the distance.
Jian Sheng's brow twitched suddenly. Before she could turn around, the figure appeared beside her. She turned her head and saw Chen Zhoujing carrying a bag in his left hand and a schoolbag in his right, smiling at her. The schoolbag, which was as heavy as a lead weight on her back, seemed as light as cotton wool in his hands.
"Hi." Chen Zhou wanted to greet her, but both his hands were occupied with their own work, so he could only grin even wider.
Jian Sheng nodded, turned around, and walked forward.
He's not saying a word, so aloof!
Chen Zhou was taken aback. He tossed his backpack aside, glanced at her suddenly, and said, "Can you do me a favor?"
Jian Sheng turned his head back to him: "What did you say?"
Chen Zhoujing had quietly put the schoolbag back in his hand and took out a bottle of milk from the bag.
He handed her the breakfast he was holding: "Hold this for me, I need to carry my backpack. I was in a rush this morning, so I just grabbed it."
Jian nodded in a simple voice: "Okay."
She took the kraft paper bag and the bottle of milk, held them in her arms, and stood there waiting for him to put the backpack on his back.
He quickly slung his backpack over his shoulder and reached out his hand to her.
Jian Sheng handed him the two items in her hand. Chen Zhoujing took the brown paper bag from her left hand. The milk was still a little hot in her hand.
"?" Jian Sheng handed it over again, "Don't you want the milk anymore?"
"I brought this for you." Chen Zhoujing didn't look at her as he spoke, tearing open the brown paper bag and taking out the steamed buns inside.
Okay, now both of his hands are full of things, so Jian Sheng can't give them to him, so she has to hold them in her own hands.
Chen Zhou was surprised to see that she didn't speak. He glanced at her face and asked, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
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