Chapter 49
Neither of them spoke, and the overhead light went out silently.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve, the only sounds around me were heavy breathing.
In the sound of his breathing, Jian Sheng seemed to hear his own heartbeat and his own heartbeat.
The rhythm was irregular, sometimes fast, sometimes even faster.
She felt a tingling sensation on her scalp and was uneasy. After a long while, she finally spoke first: "What's wrong?"
The voice-activated light on top lit up instantly, just as Jian Sheng looked up.
She saw the lingering smile on his face and the tenderness in his eyes.
Beneath its softness lies a subtle unease.
Jian pursed her lips, subconsciously raised her hand and stroked her cheek, pretending to be angry: "If you don't tell me, I'll go upstairs."
After saying that, he turned and walked upstairs.
This action instantly pulled Chen Zhoujing back from his daze, and he reached out and took her arm: "Hey."
She paused, turned around, and looked at his hand.
Chen Zhou suddenly realized what was happening and abruptly let go: "Um... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't touch you."
Jian Sheng blinked and looked at him. He felt his throat was dry, swallowed, and then, for some reason, blurted out, "Now I'm really a dog."
His nervousness was palpable in his slightly trembling voice.
Jian Sheng's lips curved into a smile. He inexplicably brought up the promise he made during their argument again. She said, "How do you still remember?"
Chen Zhou blurted out, "I remember everything that's related to you."
After he finished speaking, no one said anything, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Seeing his rarely serious demeanor, Jian Sheng spoke first, saying "Oh," and asked with bright eyes, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Chen Zhoujing stared into her eyes, his mind a complete blank. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly took his hand out from behind his back.
When Jian Sheng saw what was in his hand, his smile froze, replaced by surprise.
An unspeakable emotion left her bewildered: "How...how did you know?"
"Happy birthday." After taking it out, Chen Zhoujing breathed a sigh of relief. He tilted his head and said indifferently, "It's not important."
He held up the small square box of cake and handed it to her: "Here you go. I originally wanted to order it for 10 o'clock, but I was afraid it would be too late, so I ordered it a little earlier."
"Um... I was wrong about what happened last time, can you... forgive me?" he asked cautiously.
Jian Sheng took the cake; it was exquisite and just enough for her to eat alone.
She looked down at the cake and replied, "What is it?"
After a long pause, before he could speak, Jian Sheng looked up again: "Yu Chao?"
"There's no such thing as forgiveness or not forgiveness." She was just arguing with herself. She frowned. "Why get angry with someone else?"
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and refused to look at him after he exclaimed "Ah!"
The knot in my chest suddenly loosened, and the throbbing in my chest rushed to the forefront.
But it's not just her.
Aside from the palpitations, Chen Zhou felt a sense of relief and his heart softened terribly.
His Adam's apple bobbed: "Yes...we're good friends."
"Who is he?" Chen Zhou's speech quickened, his words sounding like they were pieced together. "I... well, we never had any conflict. I... yes, Yu Chao is an outsider."
Jian Sheng laughed at his stuttering. She held the cake in her arms and said in a rising tone, "Yeah."
I saw him raise his hand and pinch the back of his neck. The tall man stood under the light, his expression a mixture of joy and unease.
She found it interesting and softened her voice, saying, "Thank you, Chen Zhoujing."
Chen Zhou looked up in surprise, and Jian added in a very soft voice, "I like it very much."
In the minute after she finished speaking, he felt blood rush to his brain, and all his thoughts were squeezed into a blank ball, tightly sealed, with no room to squeeze in.
They are simply incapable of thinking.
His gaze was intense, fixed on her cheek, and a minute later, he broke the ice with a cough.
The warm yellow light concealed his flushed cheeks well, but it couldn't hide his barely suppressed joy.
Chen Zhoujing's expression softened: "I'm glad you like it."
He glanced at his phone: "It's too late, let's go upstairs and go to sleep, okay?"
At this moment, Chen Zhoujing spoke more slowly than usual, and became more serious than childish.
Jian Sheng felt like she was being coaxed, and she said, "Okay, I'm leaving now?"
Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and then wavered.
Jian Sheng asked helplessly, "So, should I go to sleep or not?"
He hummed in agreement: "Sleeping, sleeping."
"Go on up." Chen Zhoujing gestured with his chin toward the glass door. "Go in, I'll watch you go in."
Jian nodded, turned and took two steps, then turned back and found him smiling and still looking at her. When she looked over, he winked at her.
She glanced away, stepped through the glass door, and headed towards the elevator.
Turning the corner, she looked back again, and Chen Zhoujing was still leaning there. She quickly turned her head and approached the elevator.
The bright incandescent light overhead made the blush on Jian Sheng's face even more noticeable.
The elevator hadn't arrived yet, so she hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked towards the corner.
Just then, the glass door slammed shut, and the two nearly bumped into each other at the corner.
Chen Zhou raised his hand to steady her shoulder, but only for a few seconds before letting go.
Jian Sheng's voice trembled slightly: "Wh...what's wrong?"
Chen Zhou scratched his brow: "I suddenly remembered something I want to give you."
After saying that, he took a box out of the pocket of his oversized down jacket and handed it to her.
"What is this?" Jian exclaimed in surprise.
Chen Zhoujing stretched out his hand towards her: "A birthday can't be without a cake and a present."
Seeing the hesitation on her surprised face, Chen Zhou panicked a little and put the box on top of the cake in her arms: "I'm leaving now."
"Bye-bye, bye-bye." He quickly backed away, adding, "Eating too late can upset your stomach. You can put the cake in the freezer..."
"Ouch." Before he could finish speaking, his body slammed into the glass door, making it shake a few times.
"Are you alright?" Jian Sheng was startled and wanted to go forward.
The moment I lifted my foot to step out, he had already opened the glass door: "You can put it in the fridge, eat it tomorrow! I'm leaving!!"
Jian Sheng stopped walking; Chen Zhoujing's figure had already disappeared...
They run really fast.
She looked down at the box on the cake, on which was a string of English characters, written horizontally. Jian Sheng tilted her head slightly.
It seems to be a famous quote, but I don't understand it.
She picked up the cake with one hand and opened the lid with the other.
The elevator doors closed and opened twice, before finally closing completely after she opened the cover.
The first thing I saw was a white slip of paper.
Jian Sheng picked up the note. It had several lines of writing on it, and compared to his usual handwriting, it was much neater and cleaner. You could see the care in every stroke.
It says above:
Never be confused by a blank sheet of paper; even without ink, one can paint mountains and seas.
May Jian Sheng be happy every day, and may every wish she writes down come true.
That doesn't count, I'll build it for you!!!
Happy birthday!!! And not only that, may you be happy every day!!!
The first two sentences are very formal, like famous quotes, while the last two sentences are more like Chen Zhoujing's usual style.
She stared at the words on the note for a long time, and the smile on her lips lingered for just as long.
Only when the glass door opened did she carefully put the note away, press the elevator button, and go upstairs.
She placed this note together with the notes he used to leave her, neatly in the small drawer.
After rushing out of the glass door, Chen Zhou ran a few steps, then stopped at the corner and slowly walked back along the main road of the community.
He moved very slowly, glancing back every now and then.
The scene from just now kept replaying in his mind. After a while, he suddenly slapped himself: "Too dramatic."
Chen Zhou gritted his teeth: "Holy crap! Why did I write a note?!"
"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." He raised his right hand, his long fingers covering half of his gloomy face.
She exclaimed again, "That's a blessing!! She should be happy."
He thought to himself that her blushing face was rather cute.
A blank, dazed feeling...
"Holy crap! It seems like she called my name, and she thanked me!"
"Oh no! I can't sleep."
He clicked his tongue several times, stopping and starting, before actually walking a few steps.
"Damn it!" he exclaimed, his voice rising slightly as he realized something. "What about winter break?!"
"They didn't say when we'd meet next." He hissed again, kicking his foot in regret.
I wonder if Jian Sheng usually goes out, and what time he goes out...
The thought of not seeing her for a whole winter break makes me sad.
His nervousness, embarrassment, and panic turned into melancholy.
An unprecedented sense of loss weighed heavily on his heart.
Unlike his worries, Jian Sheng had already packed his things and was lying in bed before midnight.
The blanket was cold, but the hand warmer in her hands was burning hot, and that warmth went straight to her heart.
It exudes warmth.
Jian Sheng thought about the note Chen Zhoujing had given her and the way he spoke, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The quiet little room was filled with her joyful, crisp voice.
She laughed for a long time before realizing that something was wrong, and then she pulled the blanket over her head.
With her head buried in the dark, warm little space, she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
On the first day of winter vacation, she got up very early and was woken up by Jian Qingyao's loud chatter.
When she got up and walked out, he had already disappeared.
Jian Sheng, with dark circles under her eyes, looked at the approaching wheat field. After washing up, she took the collar and went for a walk with it.
Wheat Field walked ahead, while she wandered off behind, lost in thought.
The vivid memories of the experience feel like a dream.
The amazing thing is that she actually saw him in her dream, and it was even a TV series.
She dreamt that he came to her building every day, walking around aimlessly, until the surroundings became a vast, boundless darkness, with only a glimmer of white light shining in one direction.
The two followed the white light and didn't find it strange at all. As usual, he talked on and on, and she listened quietly, occasionally responding and sometimes pretending to be impatient.
Jian Sheng frowned habitually and muttered under his breath, "Strange."
Wheatfield seemed to understand her, wagging its tail and rubbing against her leg.
Jian Sheng crouched down and moved a few feet over its golden fur.
"Don't you also find it strange?" She continued moving, but her eyes were vacant.
"What kind of feeling is this?" She couldn't understand it either.
While talking to herself, Maitian became annoyed by her rubbing hands, shook her head, and stepped back, refusing to let her get closer.
Jian Sheng let out a soft "Ah!" and was about to get up and go forward to pull its chain.
Wheatfield suddenly barked.
"Wheat field!" Jian Sheng took a step forward and called out again.
Just as she was wondering what was going on, Wheatfield rushed up.
Jian Sheng thought it was going to pounce on her and was ready to catch it, but when it ran over, it brushed past her legs and ran behind her.
"Hey." She quickly grabbed the leash, got up, and followed the dog a couple of steps.
Jian Sheng was stunned when he looked up.
Chen Zhoujing arrived at some unknown time. She pulled the barking wheat field back by calling its name softly.
A man and a dog stood two meters away from him, watching him quietly.
Jian Sheng smiled at him, and only then did he move, taking a few steps forward: "Good morning."
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow in surprise, paused, and softened his voice: "Is this Jian Qingyao's dog?"
I couldn't sleep all night after I got home last night. I was thinking of going downstairs to buy breakfast, and I ended up walking downstairs to her building. I didn't expect to run into her walking her dog in that small area.
He saw her bending over and squatting on the ground, muttering something to herself, her movements very gentle.
Chen Zhou's heart softened, and he followed her for a while.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com