Chapter 51
This was a secret he kept deep in his heart, and also his own unauthorized decision.
Jian Sheng had no idea that every note he left under his excuses was done intentionally.
During the breakfast break, which was quite long, he slowly finished his meal and started thinking about what reason he could give for their next meeting.
When he's thinking, he always makes unexpected interjections.
Jian Sheng thought he was dissatisfied, so she put down her spoon and looked at him.
Amidst the commotion and the flow of the crowd behind him, she heard his faint, melancholy sigh.
Before long, she discerned his thoughts from his deep eyes.
Because she was thinking about the same thing.
He coughed lightly before slowly raising his eyes to meet her gaze. Chen Zhou was always quick to raise her eyes and lips in surprise.
He spoke first, asking, "What are you thinking about?"
Jian Sheng shook his head and asked in return, "What are you thinking about?"
The two hesitated for a long time, unable to come up with a way to start the conversation.
Golden light shone in from outside the window and shone on the center of the table.
After a moment, he took a step back, avoiding the sunlight, and parted his lips slightly: "Next time..."
"When can we meet again?" He thought for a moment before finally asking the question that had been troubling him for so long.
Jian Sheng didn't respond quickly. She looked away and scratched her right cheek with her index finger.
Not receiving a timely response from her, a look of disappointment flashed across Chen Zhoujing's slightly bright eyes.
Just when he thought he wouldn't get her confirmation, Jian Sheng slowly said, "Hmm... in a couple of days."
Her voice was so soft that he could barely hear it.
Fortunately, he heard everything except for that "um," and Chen Zhoujing's brow relaxed: "A couple of days? When is a couple of days?"
He asked anxiously.
Jian Sheng didn't look at him, but tilted her head and stared at the grain of the wood on the corner of the wooden table.
Until her face burned from his warm gaze, she frowned and deliberately turned her head away fiercely: "Just two days."
After saying that, Jian Sheng saw his slightly startled eyes, then his eyebrows relaxed, and he awkwardly asked, "What's the point of meeting..."
Chen Zhou was surprised to see her like this, so he leaned back in his chair and casually made up an excuse: "Of course I'm studying!"
"As a member of the study group, I have a duty to help another member and work together!"
"Don't you think so?" he suddenly said passionately.
Jian Sheng's tension vanished instantly at his actions, and she looked at him expressionlessly.
And so it happened again...
Chen Zhou noticed her gaze, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly, "Really? We can go to the library to learn."
He regretted it almost as soon as he finished speaking.
Who gets a holiday to study?!
He hissed, "Actually, that wasn't my main point..."
"No, not really." Sigh, never mind, he came clean. "I just wanted to find an excuse to meet up with my best friend."
"Occasionally, occasionally."
Jian Sheng watched him talk for a long time, and it took her a long time to accept his reason.
However, she wanted to study, so the library became their agreed destination.
During the winter break, Jian Qingyao had returned from his vacation, and Jian Sheng could see him with a sour face every day, as if someone owed him something.
The only saving grace is that he almost never picks on Jian Sheng.
During her time at her grandmother's house, besides the tedium of studying, she also experienced moments of fluttering emotions.
With only one night left until the day she was supposed to meet Chen Zhoujing, she could barely sleep.
I started to care inexplicably about my image and behavior.
What saddened her even more was that she harbored a seed in her heart that she wanted to acknowledge yet did not want to.
It is poised to launch.
The next morning, as dawn was breaking.
As the alarm clock rang shrilly, Jian Sheng, who was leaning against the wall, began to move slowly.
I spent another night in a half-awake, half-asleep state.
After she finished washing up, she prepared to take Maitian downstairs first. As she passed the dining table, she saw a steaming breakfast on the table, and her right eyebrow twitched slightly.
As Jian Sheng walked towards the dining table, his steps were stiff, like a marionette.
She sat at the dining table, staring blankly at her breakfast for a while before slowly eating the noodles in her bowl.
When the noodles were empty, she added two more eggs.
Only when her stomach couldn't take it anymore did Jian Sheng take Maitian downstairs to walk the dog, and then wait for her appointment with Chen Zhoujing.
The library is located in a neighborhood along the Yanjiang River. Early in the morning, there were already very few empty seats.
The two finally managed to find two empty seats in a corner.
After studying quietly for two hours, Chen Zhoujing pulled his thoughts away from the sea of ​​questions and glanced casually at the person next to him who was engrossed in doing problems.
The surrounding area was filled with the sound of exam papers being turned over, interspersed with occasional coughs.
Chen Zhou looked around a few times, his gaze lingering on the bookshelves beside him. He got up and took two books back.
I flipped through a page in half a day, but I couldn't concentrate on reading it. So I couldn't help but watch Jian Sheng doing his homework.
They are very serious, whether it's about studying or any task.
Unable to suppress the pounding in his chest, he simply stopped trying to control it, then lay down on the table and buried his head in his arms.
His gaze fell on Jian Sheng's furrowed brow as he pondered.
He couldn't talk in the library, so he could only watch her quietly.
But she didn't seem to like him looking at her, so after a while, he turned his head away.
The watch on his wrist made the sound of gears turning as he scribbled circles on a piece of paper with a pen.
Then he looked at the test paper on the table, which was full of problem-solving ideas.
Suddenly, something came to mind.
Chen Zhoujing turned his head to look at her again, a faint hope in his eyes.
Jian Sheng, who was stuck on the problem, was about to ask him a question when she looked up and met his gaze.
Chen Zhou's gaze was so intense it made Jian Sheng's mind go blank for a moment.
She opened her mouth, then remembered that she couldn't chat, so she looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Chen Zhou smiled slightly, raised his hand to his mouth in a shushing gesture, then picked up his pen again and flipped the draft paper over.
In the clean area, he wrote: What university do you want to apply to?
He then placed the notebook in front of her, glanced at the distance between them, and gently lifted the stool, moving himself and the chair closer to her.
Jian Sheng sensed a faint movement on her left. She turned her head, just as Chen Zhoujing's eyebrows curved into a smile.
He was smiling at her, his smile filled with apology and gentleness.
Jian Sheng looked away and saw the following line in his unruly handwriting: "Don't know yet."
I really don't know. In the past, her only attitude towards studying was to keep striving to get ahead, just like everyone around her said: get into a good school and get first place.
So she came to Jiangzhou, and even though her grades were far behind, she kept trying to learn.
But no one told her why she had to be number one.
For her, the future was just a pipe dream; she never dared to even imagine what kind of future she could have.
But once you actually put pen to paper and take each exam seriously and work hard, even the smallest achievement still makes you happy.
This kind of happiness seems to have formed an invisible or even grand goal in the dark.
It's hidden in her subconscious.
Let her figure it out herself.
But Jian Sheng still doesn't know what the ultimate goal of learning is; he just wants to study well, get first place in exams, and get into a good university.
After the exam, she had no ideas about the future, and even her current experience was something she had never imagined.
It's not perfect, but I'm very happy.
Chen Zhoujing eagerly awaited her to begin writing, but after a long time, she didn't move, seemingly lost in thought.
He was very patient, observing her movements as she began to write.
Her handwriting is unusually neat and beautiful, with subtle brushstrokes.
I am always very serious and careful when I write.
I watched until she finished writing and handed it to him.
Chen Zhoujing held the draft paper with both hands. Even though he didn't see any specific target, he was still very happy.
He thought for a moment and wrote again: Is it because I'm not sure where I can get into university?
This time, I received a definite reply.
The brief text reads: Yes.
She had no goals at all; like most people, she studied, took exams, went to university, and worked part-time...
This seems to have become a fixed pattern, or even a social trend, affecting most people's lives.
Things outside of the plan are like taking a single step that will result in a bloody head injury.
As a result, everyone automatically forms a wall in their minds, a comfort zone that they have chosen and defined from the beginning.
After writing those two words, she didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
However, Chen Zhoujing wrote a lot on the paper after reading it.
When she received it, she felt a sharp burn on her hand.
The paper reads:
Don't decide anything in advance. Just take the exams first. The higher your score, the more choices you'll have. When the time comes, it's your turn to choose. There will always be a major you want to try.
The wider the selection range, the less you need to choose what you don't want to learn, and the more you can choose what you do want to learn...
She had just finished reading and was about to pick up her pen when he took the notebook back.
He quickly handed it back, with a rather formal note on it: "Want to rinse it together?"
Is it because we're aiming for the same university she's thinking of?
Jian looked at him, and he leaned closer, propping his head up and mouthing a shape.
good friend?
Jian Sheng ignored his tedious behavior and started writing on the paper.
She wrote: What?
Soon after, when she received the note, her vague expectation became a definite fact.
He said yes.
With the promise made, she seemed to have an excuse, or to put it more nicely, a goal.
She will definitely work hard towards this goal.
When they parted, Jian Sheng felt for the first time how quickly time had passed during their studies.
Unfortunately, evening is approaching.
She and he were chatting about something random downstairs in the apartment complex. She couldn't remember a word of it, but they seemed to be having a great time.
"Then I'm leaving?" Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Mmm." Jian nodded. He hesitated, so she continued to wait with him.
After a long while, he took out a box of chocolates from his pocket, a very large box, and said, "Have a good day?"
Jian Sheng took the chocolate, puzzled, "What for?"
"Tell me first if you had a good day?" he said with a smile.
Jian Sheng hummed in agreement.
Chen Zhoujing's smile was one of satisfaction. He sang a song, the last syllable rising in a tone: "As long as you're happy."
"Happy birthday today too, I'm off!!" With that, he ran off.
"Sigh..." How does he know both of my birthdays...?
Jian Sheng blinked, hugged the chocolate, and felt happy all the way upstairs until she returned to her small room.
She sat in the chair and read for a while when she heard intermittent sounds outside.
Lost in her memories, Jian Qingyao's knock on the door pulled her back to reality.
When the door opened, she smelled a rich aroma. When she walked into the dining room and saw the table full of dishes, she remembered the noodles and eggs she had eaten that morning.
Jian Sheng's footsteps started to become uncontrollable again.
"What are you doing?" Jian Qingyao urged. "Hurry up, I've been waiting for you for ages."
Although his words were accusatory, his voice was much gentler than before. Jian hummed in response, walked to the dining table, and slowly sat down, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
She looked at the dishes on the table and her breath caught in her throat.
In Jeju, lavish feasts are served to celebrate big days or special occasions.
She never expected that her birthday would be taken so seriously.
It starts with noodles and eggs in the morning and continues with a table full of dishes in the evening.
The meal lasted a long time, with Jian Qingyao doing most of the talking, discussing people around them, as if they had grown up with him.
There were also some funny gossip stories, which made Jian Sheng laugh from before the meal started until the end. I don't know if they were made up or not.
"Alright, go back to your room now, don't bother tidying up." As the meal was ending, Ye Hua stood up to pack her things. Jian Sheng got up to help, but Jian Qingyao pushed her back down with one hand.
Afterwards, Jian Qingyao began to busy himself with various tasks.
Jian Sheng stood beside the table, watching the two busy figures, and a lump rose in her throat.
Several times she tried to step forward to help, but Jian Qingyao pushed her back into the house.
She sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, preparing to go out to wash up. The moment she opened the cabinet, two boxes came into her view in horror.
One was a large metal box, and the other was a smaller white bag.
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