Chapter 71. A Declaration: The Moon I Wanted When I Was Seventeen...
The sunken boat staggered back several steps, the taste of rust filling his mouth.
His lip was cut by a tooth, and a sharp pain quickly followed. He reached out and gently touched the corner of his lip, then looked at Guan Bohan with a complicated expression.
"Can you calm down?"
"Calm down my ass!" Guan Bohan was furious. He ripped off his hat and mask and grabbed his collar. "If your brother steals the woman you like, see if you can stay calm! Come on, good brother, tell me what happened!"
Before he could close the door, Jing Zixi rushed over after him, quickly closed the door, and pulled them apart. "Bo Han! Let go... let go! Can you at least listen to what Zhou Du has to say?"
"What can he say! He just makes up stories for me!" Guan Bohan was pulled away, pointing at him with furious eyes.
"Zixi, you saw it too! This is our good friend, our brother... the good kid we've always looked up to since we were kids, our best friend, Chen Zhoudu! But behind our backs, he's poaching our brother like this! Chen Zhoudu, what kind of brother are you? What are you!"
“I’ve already explained everything to you, but you didn’t believe me.” Shen Zhoudu stood two steps away, looking at him with a completely emotionless expression.
When Guan Bohan called this afternoon, Shen Zhoudu had already briefly told him about what happened between him and Xia Chan, but Guan Bohan refused to believe it no matter what.
He simply told him to wait for him and then angrily hung up the phone. Shen Zhoudu had guessed that he would probably fly back to Shanghai urgently to find him, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
"How can you expect me to believe that! Didn't your dad say you went abroad to recuperate that year because you weren't feeling well?!" Guang Bohan roared.
"I asked you later where you went and what you were doing during those six months, but you wouldn't say anything. Now you're telling me that you didn't actually go abroad that year, but went to Qingshui and met Xia Chan? How could it be such a coincidence? Who would believe that! And even if it were true, you and Xia Chan have been reunited for so long, and I've been pursuing her for so long. Why didn't you say anything during all this time?"
Shen Zhoudu lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment, knowing that he was indeed in the wrong. After a while, he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."
"Who wants your apology!" Guan Bohan's eyes were bloodshot with anger. She said she was going to fight him at least once today, and she rushed forward again to grapple with him.
Jing Zixi cried out and tried to break up the fight, but Xia Chan suddenly appeared out of nowhere and separated them, scolding them.
"Have you made enough of a scene?!"
She stood upright in front of Shen Zhoudu, facing Guan Bohan, her taut face seemingly harboring a hint of anger.
Guan Bohan was even more stunned when he saw her, and angrily asked Chenzhoudu.
"So...you two have already gone so far as to bring each other home behind my back, haven't you!"
“Guan Bohan.” Xia Chan first briefly observed Shen Zhoudu to make sure he was alright, and then said, “I met Shen Zhoudu in 2016. Nine years ago, he didn’t lie, and he didn’t lie to you either.”
Guan Bohan stared at her in disbelief, his expression even more stunned.
Xia Chan: "If you have any questions, ask me, and I'll answer them for you. But don't mess around here or resort to violence. If it really comes to it, I'll fight you!"
Chen Zhoudu was slightly surprised and turned his head to look at her profile. Guan Bohan was still incredulous, gritting her teeth in resentment, "Nine years ago... how did you two meet?"
"Nine years ago, his father sent him to Qingshui. He had nowhere to live, so he stayed at my house. That's how we met. We were even classmates."
She recounted most of what happened nine years ago to him, from Shanfeng Lane to "Crossing," the Light Water Experiment...
Jing Zixi mouthed a soft "Wow" and started gossiping online.
Guan Bohan became increasingly stunned and less willing to believe it as he listened. He then glared angrily at Chen Zhoudu, "Then why did you say you went abroad at that time!"
"Go ask his father!" Xia Chan said. "His father did such a thing, and he's making up lies to save face. Go ask him yourself!"
The fact that she could say such a thing shows that their relationship is indeed very close, at least to the point of being considered as a family.
Guan Bohan's eyes were hurt, and his initial disbelief began to crack little by little. He was extremely unwilling to accept it. "Then why didn't you tell me before?!"
Shen Zhoudu looked guilty and was about to say something when Xia Chan interrupted him, "Because I won't let him say it!"
She said, "We had a bit of an unpleasant breakup, so when we met again, I didn't want to have any contact with him, nor did I want to have any entanglements with big stars and rich kids like you. So I didn't want anyone to know that I knew him. If he dared to tell others that he knew me, I would never speak to him again for the rest of my life. He wouldn't dare."
Chen Zhoudu was genuinely shocked and looked at her with complicated emotions. Guan Bohan was still disgruntled, "Then why did you end up with him?"
"Because he pursued me so relentlessly, I couldn't shake him off," Xia Chan said.
"Then I'll pursue you!"
Guan Bohan was even more indignant. Xia Chan, however, remained calm and composed.
"Because I like him, not you."
"..."
As Chen Zhoudu breathed slightly, a warm current seemed to flow slowly through his chest. At this moment, his mind calmed down, and he even felt a slight warmth.
The skin and helplessness felt from all those trivial matters seemed to be soothed at that moment, and my mood became light.
Guan Bohan, however, remained frozen in place, staring at her intently as if he hadn't recovered for a long time.
“Guan Bohan.” Xia Chan sighed softly as she looked at his expression. “I admit that it was our fault for not telling you about this in time. But we also ask ourselves, apart from this matter, we have done nothing else to wrong you.”
“From the very beginning, I made it clear to you that I don’t like you and that it’s impossible for us to be together. Your pursuit of me only caused me trouble. Who I choose to be with or who I know is none of your business.”
“We sincerely apologize for not telling you the truth about this matter. As for how you and Zhou Du should resolve this, that is a matter between the two brothers. I have no right to interfere. You can handle it privately. But don’t even think about touching Chen Zhou Du in front of me! If you have any problems, come at me.”
Chen Zhoudu's eyes deepened, fixing fixedly on her. Guan Bohan was also stunned, her initial anger turning into an unbearable tearful red. Her initial disbelief gradually turned into disappointment, and finally into self-mockery.
He suddenly lowered his head as if a tear had fallen, which he hastily wiped away. A self-deprecating laugh lingered on his lips as he murmured, "So it was I who disturbed you... I..."
Seemingly embarrassed, he clenched his fists, quickly put on his mask, turned around, and ran out the door.
Only after Guan Bohan ran away did Xia Chan face Jing Zixi with some remorse, "I'm sorry, Zixi, I..."
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Jing Zixi waved her hand, her gaze sweeping meaningfully between the two of them. Suddenly, everything became traceable as she recalled some details of their previous interactions.
She comforted her, telling her that Guan Bohan was just being childish and would figure things out on his own, so she shouldn't worry about it. She then told them both to take care of themselves and not to worry too much, and tactfully took her leave, giving them space.
After Jing Zixi left, Xia Chan began rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for her first-aid kit. "Do you have any medicine here? Yunnan Baiyao, or iodine solution will do..."
At this moment, Shen Zhoudu's gaze was fixed on her with deep intensity, his eyes shining with an unusual light. When she finally found a tube of Yunnan Baiyao, he suddenly stepped forward and hugged her from behind.
"What are you afraid of?" He rested his chin affectionately on her shoulder, a slight smile in his voice. "It's not that serious."
"Don't you have to be on camera tomorrow?" Xia Chan turned around in his arms and carefully applied the powder to the corner of his lips, observing him closely. "Anyone who didn't know better would think I hit you."
He chuckled softly to himself. The powder stung his lips, but he didn't seem to feel any pain.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close to his chest, and gazed into her eyes.
"If I had known, I would have let him beat me even more severely."
Xia Chan stared at him strangely.
"Xia Chan, you're worried about me."
His eyes were deep, like a clear galaxy melting into her face, as if he wanted to draw her in.
"You were protecting me just now."
"You said you like me."
"You admitted to liking me in front of others for the first time... Xia Chan, I like it when you said you liked me."
Xia Chan looked into his eyes, her heartbeat paused slightly, and after a moment she lowered her eyes as if avoiding his gaze.
She had never been someone who could express her love and emotions as calmly as he could, but at this moment she pursed her lips, raised her head again, and gently put her arm around his shoulder to look into his eyes, "After all, aren't you under my protection?"
The starlight in the sunken boat's pupils deepened in an instant.
"Big star...then I'll protect you again!" She leaned forward and pressed her face against his chest, her fingertips lightly brushing against his chin and Adam's apple, her breath sweet as orchids. Finally, she placed her palm on his left chest, feeling his heartbeat, and whispered, "Let's go public."
-
That evening, amidst a cacophony of voices, Chenzhoudu finally released a statement on Weibo.
"Hello everyone, my online friends and fans. I would like to respond to all the recent online rumors about my love life. This is the first and last time I will respond to these rumors. I apologize for taking up a few minutes of your time."
I met Xia Chan when I was young, at the tender age of seventeen. At that time, I was going through the first difficult period of feeling lost and confused in my life, while she was straightforward and vibrant. We met in the summer in Qingshui Town, Tongcheng.
Xia Chan is independent and resilient, while I was lost and confused. She accompanied me through that difficult seventeenth year and guided me out of that fog. I am always very grateful to her.
The six months I spent in Qingshui Town were the happiest six months of my life so far, and they have had a significant impact on my life.
We didn't get together when we were seventeen; instead, we had a long separation. During those years of separation, I gradually understood and became more certain of what I really wanted, while she shone brightly in her field.
Meeting her again was a blessing from heaven, and I felt it was a second chance that heaven had given me. I didn't want to miss it again, so I confessed my feelings to her.
The moon I longed for when I was seventeen finally came to me when I was twenty-six, and I want to hold onto it.
I know there have been many conflicting opinions online lately, but I hope everyone can be mindful of their words. Don't easily believe rumors and slander, and don't defame or hurt ordinary people.
Xia Chan did nothing wrong. I was the one who missed the appointment with Qu Yao's podcast, but Xia Chan was in trouble that day, and I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Of course, whatever the reason, a mistake is a mistake, and I apologize to Teacher Qu Yao and admit my mistake to everyone.
The two days I missed in my schedule were when I learned that Xia Chan's maternal grandmother had passed away many years ago. Grandma Xia was a very important person to me, and I cannot pretend I didn't know. I apologize to the fans who trusted me and to the staff who worked on those two days.
As a public figure, I should set an example by my own conduct, but I have indeed failed to do so. I hereby solemnly apologize and promise that I will learn from this experience in the future.
Whether my fans are disappointed, criticize, or leave me, I accept it all. I am grateful for your companionship and for our brief encounter. I hope that at least when we met, I brought you good memories and joy.
I sincerely wish everyone a smooth, happy, prosperous, and peaceful life in the future.
Wishing everyone a peaceful and wonderful evening.
Sunken Boat Crossing
July 29, 202X, 22:52:57
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