Chapter 73
Jian Sheng stopped and ruffled her bangs a couple of times: "You...why did you suddenly come back?"
He steadied her shoulders with both hands: "Isn't the final exam the day after tomorrow? We can't let it be delayed."
"Mmm." Jian Sheng looked up, her gaze lingering on his cheek.
"Why are you looking at me?" Chen Zhoujing felt a little uncomfortable being stared at.
He lowered his hand and glanced at his watch: "Haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"Not yet," Jian Sheng shook his head.
"Go upstairs to deliver a schoolbag, while I wait for you?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Wait for me!" With that, Jian Sheng ran up.
The sky, washed clean by the rain, was clear and serene, with the glow of dawn shining through the thick clouds as it looked down upon the earth.
The streets were bustling with people. The two crossed several traffic lights and arrived at the nearest shopping mall.
During this time, Jian Sheng's gaze kept glancing at his face, intentionally or unintentionally. After they finished ordering, Chen Zhoujing couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Jian Sheng bit her lip and finally spoke the words she had been hesitating to say for a long time: "Have you lost weight?"
Chen Zhou's brow twitched, his eyes darkening, and he subconsciously touched his face: "No, I don't think so."
"I eat meat and fish every day, how can I lose weight?"
“Every time I go back to Qinjin, my grandfather cooks for me himself. His cooking is so delicious…”
"Oh, I see. Well, your grandfather is doing quite well then," she said absentmindedly, her hands resting on her lap.
Chen Zhoujing was also a little at a loss and leaned back.
The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, then he got up and walked to the counter not far away.
A moment later, he returned with two bottles of milk and sat down next to her, saying, "Here you go."
Jian Sheng took the milk and looked at the distance between them: "Why did you suddenly sit over here?"
"Is that not allowed?" Chen Zhou coughed. "I want to sit here."
"If you don't like it, I'll just sit back down." He glanced at her, and seeing that she didn't say anything, he sat down with a clear conscience.
Chen Zhou was really talkative, chattering away in her ear as if he could talk the whole world upside down.
Before long, Jian Sheng's vague suspicions were dispelled by his few words.
At this moment, at the entrance of the convenience store across the street.
He Shang, holding two books and with a lollipop he'd snatched from Xu Xiaxia dangling from his mouth, said, "Chen Zhoujing is so elusive, appearing and disappearing without a trace."
Xu Xiaxia glanced at him: "Jian Sheng said he had something to do, so he went to see him."
"Didn't she say she had family matters to attend to?" Xu Yanghe asked, taking a bite of her popsicle.
"Isn't this just a family matter?" A voice suddenly rang in his ears. He turned his head and saw Shen Xuzheng coming down the stairs next door, carrying a somewhat familiar pink backpack.
"Holy crap, what are you doing here?" Xu Yanghe jumped to the side in fright.
Shen Xuzheng stopped and waited for a while before someone slowly walked out from behind him.
Qi Jing walked to his side and waved to the others: "I sent him."
She smiled shyly.
Xu Yanghe glanced at the four people, his face darkening as he silently walked to Lin You's side, his tone accusing: "These two couples are really..."
"Who's a pair!"
"Who's a pair!"
"..." Xu Yanghe pursed his lips speechlessly and shrugged: "Who knows, who's saying who's who."
Xu Xiaxia angrily shoved He Shang and walked towards Lin You's side, pushing Xu Yanghe aside in the process.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Xu Yanghe said angrily, and tried to step forward.
A hand reached out from the side and covered his mouth. He turned his head and saw He Shang staring at him intently.
"Waaaaah... You son of a bitch!"
"Stop fooling around, you two." Shen Xuzheng clicked his tongue. After the two quieted down, he looked at the two people by the window across the street.
He stared at Chen Zhoujing for a long time, then lowered his gaze and looked at Qi Jing, who was also looking in that direction: "Are you hungry too?"
Qi Jing shook her head and looked at him: "I'm not hungry."
Her hair had grown quite a bit, and it seemed she had learned to wear contact lenses recently. The heavy black-framed glasses were gone, completely revealing her bright and large eyes.
Shen Xuzheng looked away and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder.
Qi Jing tugged at his sleeve, about to let go, when her hand was grabbed by a force. She looked down at the hand that was grasping hers, said nothing, and moved closer to him.
They had already started eating, so the group stood in front of the convenience store for a while without disturbing them, and then went home.
After sending Qi Jing back, Shen Xuzheng received an unexpected phone call downstairs.
After hanging up, he hesitated whether to notify Yu Chao, but after thinking for a moment, he went alone to the place he had agreed to with the person on the phone.
In a rather secluded coffee shop.
As soon as Shen Xuzheng entered, he noticed Li Jing's eye-catching attire. Li Jing never wore formal wear except for very important occasions.
Yu Chao once complained that this person was pretentious.
However, it cannot be denied that Li Jing is a principled and disciplined person who is meticulous in his work.
He walked towards his retreating figure, and as he turned around, he curled his lips into a smile: "Brother Jing, long time no see."
Li Jing stood up and gestured for him to sit down. Shen Xuzheng hesitated for a moment, then quickly recovered and sat down in front of him.
"Why did you suddenly want to see me?" he said half-jokingly. "Brother Jing, did you suddenly miss me?"
Li Jing smiled slightly, leaned back, and tapped his long fingers on the armrest of the chair a few times, without responding to the question.
After a pause, he got straight to the point: "I will stop doing my school work at the end of this semester."
"Could you please keep an eye on Chen Zhoujing for me?"
Shen Xuzheng crossed his arms in front of his legs. As he finished speaking, he leaned back and frowned: "You want to resign? Why?"
He followed Chen Zhoujing wherever he went.
"Going north to do some business." His tone was gentle, but Shen Xuzheng could hear a hint of heaviness in his voice.
He nodded: "Don't worry, we're all good brothers."
"But...he's a living person, he can't live without you..."
“He didn’t know I was leaving,” Li Jing said.
"Huh?" Shen Xuzheng was somewhat surprised. "He didn't know you were leaving? If you don't tell him now, won't he be angry with you if you suddenly leave later?"
“It doesn’t matter to him whether I leave or not. The only thing I’m relieved about is that with that girl around, he won’t do anything to me.” Li Jing’s eyes held a sense of relief, but also a hint of unfathomable complexity.
"What do you mean by 'not doing anything to me'?" Shen Xuzheng froze, suddenly remembering that he often took leave, and Yu Chaolao would whisper about Chen Zhoujing in his ear, but he had never really said anything harsh to him, at most he would say a few words about Li Jing and Li Xiangzhe.
"You two grew up together, and I trust your composure. I hope you can be more understanding and tolerant."
Li Jing didn't explain much. Not long after he finished speaking, the two chatted for a few more minutes. Finally, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply to him before turning around.
Shen Xuzheng was startled and jumped up to pull him away, saying, "Brother Jing, this won't do! Don't worry, nothing will happen."
After he left, Shen Xuzheng sat in his chair, lost in thought for a long time. He picked up his phone and deleted the text that he had typed out but hadn't sent in the chat with Yu Chao.
Li Jing left a week after the final exams.
Chen Zhoujing knew he was leaving, so she didn't say anything. She just packed his things with a dark face, threw them in the living room, and went back to her room.
She didn't say a word to him during that time, until he came to knock on the door.
Just like he always did when he knocked on the door, Chen Zhoujing grabbed a pillow, threw it against the door, and said his last words: "Get out!"
Li Jing stood at the door, pursed his lips, turned around, picked up the things on the sofa, and left.
After he left, Chen Zhoujing glanced at the empty room, which remained as cold as ever, as if no one had ever lived there.
Suddenly, he remembered that Li Jing always acted like he was invisible in front of him, remaining silent unless absolutely necessary.
He lived a very casual life, wearing only black clothes and at most two or three sets of clothes to change into. Apart from his small room, his things were rarely seen elsewhere.
There was very little about him in this room, so much so that after he left, Chen Zhoujing was still somewhat dazed, as if he were still there.
Every time I go home, the house is empty.
He had gotten used to having Li Jing in his life, and now that he was gone, he had to get used to being alone again.
But he knew from the time his parents divorced that no one would stay with him for long, and not every relationship would have a good ending.
In matters of friendship, he does not try to control or overstep boundaries.
But with Jian Sheng, he was afraid of these so-called estrangements.
So he tried his best to maintain and preserve the relationship.
*
Jian Sheng had a wonderful summer vacation, a summer without filth and animal excrement, a summer without being beaten and scolded, and a summer without having to be constantly on guard against the door being opened.
During this summer vacation, Chen Zhoujing took her to visit all the famous places in Huai'an. During that time, she also went shopping with Lin You and the others a few times.
At the same time, Jian Qingyao was admitted to a very good university in Qibei Province, north of Huai'an.
Jian Guangyao and Gu Shu threw him a grand graduation banquet, inviting almost all the relatives and friends they could.
There were two people on the stage that day, holding microphones and grinning. Yang Shao had also been admitted to Qibei University, and Gu Shu said that Jian Qingyao insisted on taking him along.
No one could persuade him otherwise. Jian Guangyao went along with him, and Gu Shu, aside from a dark expression, didn't say anything. She was mostly happy that Jian Qingyao had been admitted to university.
The celebration for the college admission was filled with toasts, laughter, and loud cheers.
Jian Sheng was a little embarrassed when he first met Jian Qingyao.
However, on that day, she also smiled and put her hands together with the audience below the stage, and blessed the two prospective college students who were admitted to university amidst rounds of applause.
After the graduation banquet, I heard that Jian Qingyao and Yang Shao went on a trip, leaving only Jian Sheng and Ye Hua at home.
On days when there are no travel plans, she usually gets up in the morning and first boils two eggs in a pot, heats two bags of milk, and after the eggs have cooled down, she pours out the water, fills a new pot with cold water, and makes noodles for Ye Hua. While waiting for the noodles, she finishes the eggs and cleans the table.
After finishing all that, she carried two bags of milk and took Maitian downstairs to walk the dog. She always bumped into Chen Zhoujing at the familiar gray wall, where he smiled at her.
Like being enveloped in a warm breeze, gentle yet intriguing.
There was something surprising: Wheat Field no longer rejected him. In fact, it didn't even need to wait until the corner; as soon as the elevator doors opened, it broke free from Jian Sheng and rushed out.
Every time, she would pounce on him and rub against him.
Jian Sheng was helpless; the wheat field was a traitor.
However, sometimes she really enjoys this feeling.
This continued until the start of the new school term.
The start of the school year coincided with the passage of a typhoon, which brought a week of wind and rain.
The opening ceremony was also forced to be held in the classroom.
The principal's passionate and inspiring voice was playing over the loudspeaker, deep and serious: "I hope that every senior high school student will take the college entrance examination seriously and treat it as a long-term battle. This long-term battle is nearing its end. All we need to do is work hard, persevere for another year, and sprint for another year to give everyone a perfect ending to their youth."
"I hope that while everyone is giving it their all and striving forward, they will also maintain their original aspirations. I hope that by this time next year, everyone will be studying on the university campus of their dreams..."
"Damn, there's only one year left. How did time fly by? It feels like I'm just starting high school!" Xu Xiao slumped on the table, looking dejected. He wasn't motivated at all by the announcement. His eyelids trembled, and his words were mumbled.
As Zhong Mei came down, He Shang nudged him from the side: "The teacher's here. Who told you to stay up all night playing games?"
Xu Xiao jolted awake, sat up straight, and as Zhong Mei swayed over to his side, he picked up a pen and began scribbling on a draft paper.
Jian Sheng glanced sideways; time had indeed passed quickly.
At this time last year, she was still troubled by interpersonal relationships in her new environment, but today, she is already worried about the university she wants to attend.
Behind her, Chen Zhoujing, who was also pondering the same question, was propping his head up with one hand, leaning against the table, and gazing at her slightly longer hair.
I suddenly wondered what she would look like with long hair, and whether she would be just as cute as she is with short hair.
He was lost in thought for a moment, the encouraging words in his ears became a blurry background noise, and all he could see was Jian Sheng's thin back.
At 7:35 a.m., a warm breeze blew in from one side of the window, causing the strands of her hair on the left side to move gently.
He watched the seemingly rhythmic dance, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Until the background noise in my ears turned into the school bell.
The sounds transformed into pulling out stools, flipping through papers, and laughing as they chased each other.
Jian Sheng turned his head.
The two looked at each other quietly in the noisy and chaotic classroom.
For a long time, no one looked away first.
Chen Zhou sat up straight, looking her in the eye, and smiled as she looked away, saying, "Let's take the entrance exam for Huai'an University together."
"No taking it back!"
Jian Sheng gave a soft "Mmm": "No regrets!"
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