Chapter 116
"When have I ever lied to you?" Jiang Li smiled and stroked her chin. "Now is not the time for you to lie to me, and you're trying to turn the tables on me."
Guan Nan sat up straight immediately: "Of course there is!"
"What happened?" Jiang Li sat up straight.
He sat up a little straighter, but his posture remained casual and leaned towards her, with a look on his face that said, "Tell me what you want to hear."
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan perked up immediately, gave him a serious look, and then started counting on her fingers, ready to dig up his past misdeeds. But in the end, she racked her brains and couldn't come up with a single one.
In the previous misunderstandings, it seemed that she had always been prejudiced, even though he had clearly done nothing wrong.
But because she had this thought in mind, she saw everyone as having the same thought.
But now that the words have been spoken, there's no going back.
After a long pause, she forced herself to say, "Anyway, it is."
Jiang Li lowered his head and chuckled softly, saying in a slow and meaningful voice, "There is, but where is it? It's all just guesswork."
"·····"
Guan Nan was embarrassed, but words spoken are words that cannot be taken back. She tried to remain calm and made up some random accusations: "How could I be confused? You're both my ex-girlfriend and my current girlfriend. Who knows? You even said that...that wedding candy was your mother's. You didn't even explain clearly."
She thought Mr. Jiang was her stepfather, which made her anxious and worried. She never dared to mention these things in front of him, for fear of upsetting him.
"..." After a few seconds of pause, Jiang Li realized what she was referring to. Her smile deepened, and she asked earnestly, "Are you done?"
Guan Nan stared at him with a tense expression.
"Is it my turn to speak?" Seeing that she didn't argue, Jiang Li smiled faintly, "Then I'll speak."
Seeing him like this, Guan Nan felt that he was holding back something bad, but she couldn't say anything, so she could only nod.
Jiang Li retorted, "You don't know who my ex-girlfriend is?"
"How would I know?" Guan Nan frowned.
“You don’t know,” Jiang Li chuckled softly, then patted her head and sighed, saying slowly, “If you don’t know, then no one else will. After all, she hasn’t seen me for many years.”
"As for his current girlfriend, He Jiafen's unilateral decision is utterly absurd."
"My feelings are still a blank sheet of paper, completely empty. You can do whatever you want with it, I can handle it."
Guan Nan stared straight at him, seemingly surprised that he would say it so bluntly.
At this point, Jiang Li leaned back, his head and body tilted back, staring at the moon high in the sky above the trees, and couldn't help but laugh. "And what about my godmother? How can you say it wasn't a lucky accident? If I hadn't gone along with what you thought and said, would you have been able to eat that candy?"
What he said was indeed correct, and Guan Nan couldn't think of anything else. She stammered, "Then, you can't lie to me."
“You’ve lied to me so many times, can’t I lie to you just once?” Jiang Li said with a leisurely smile. “Besides, you didn’t even ask me.”
Guan Nan pressed him, asking, "Will you tell me if I ask?"
"We'll see." A sly glint flashed in Jiang Li's eyes.
It depends.
It depends on the situation.
Guan Nan's calm demeanor, which made him think, "If things don't happen in the first place, there's no need to plan ahead," was a bit infuriating.
"You can be really annoying sometimes!" Staring at him with his head slightly tilted back, every strand of his hair exuding a casual and carefree air, Guan Nan turned to the side, knelt on one knee on the island counter, and lightly pinched his chin, saying angrily, "Why am I talking to you? You're always being unreasonable!"
Before she could finish speaking, in a corner where Guan Nan couldn't see or even notice, a hand gently supported her waist.
Jiang Li braced himself on his other hand, smiling slightly as she climbed up. He lifted his eyelids to meet her gaze, dragging out a lazy tone: "Why are you being unreasonable?"
Seeing him like this, Guan Nan couldn't help but pinch his ear again, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Besides, my name is Jiang Li," Jiang Li pronounced clearly, but at this moment he insisted on making sense even when he was being unreasonable, changing the first and third syllables to the third syllables, "How much more reason do you want to talk about this?"
Knowing she couldn't out-argue him, Guan Nan angrily punched him lightly in the chest and turned to sit back down.
The next second, with a gentle but firm pull, the person fell into his arms.
“What?” Jiang Li said, “You’re throwing yourself into my arms.”
Guan Nan glanced at the hand that hadn't let go.
He added, "But I have a girlfriend."
This person is a typical example of someone who benefits but then acts innocent.
Guan Nan pursed her lips, but didn't refute him. Instead, she patted his hand in agreement and said in a serious tone, "This student, please have some self-respect."
“Hmm,” Jiang Li didn’t let go either, putting one arm around her and lifting her knees off the cold countertop, resting them on his thigh. “Then please help me tell Guan Nan from Class 1 of Grade 11 that your current deskmate will be your future husband, and you can exercise all the privileges of being a girlfriend, fiancée, and wife in advance.”
Guan Nan pursed her lips, seemingly not expecting him to say that.
"Tell her that if she has any problems, anything difficult or hard to solve, she should tell Jiang Li everything. She can unconditionally trust Jiang Li, the person who sits next to her."
"She's not good with words, she's always speechless, she's easily swayed and soft-hearted, and she can't see people clearly. She can never learn to refuse others, and if she needs help, she always silently bears it all by herself."
"If possible, please pass on this message to her for me, in the summer of 2017."
"Remember to go home the night after you finish the college entrance exam."
because.
There were people waiting under the clock tower.
Guan Nan bit her lip, watching his smile turn into bloodshot eyes. She suppressed the burning pain in her heart, gently wiping the corner of his eye, but her hand was grabbed.
"I'm sorry," Guan Nan said, still somewhat at a loss, "I'm sorry, Jiang Li, I didn't know..."
At that moment, she was blinded by her anger.
They completely forgot about their promise to each other.
But that boy, so unrestrained and flamboyant, waited under the clock tower year after year, seemingly without ever getting tired.
It turns out that the simple, seemingly joking promise was actually taken to heart by someone and was being fulfilled through their actions.
"Do you really feel sorry for me?" Jiang Li looked down at her.
Guan Nan nodded vigorously: "Mm."
"Then tell me..." Jiang Li kept a close eye on her expression, licked his lips, and said in a seductive and probing tone, "Say you love me."
"You love me." Guan Nan replied without hesitation.
"..." Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me?"
Guan Nan snapped out of her daze, realized what she had said, and quickly shook her head, correcting herself: "I love you."
Tentative words are always incredibly effective at achieving or accomplishing a goal.
After all, Guan Nan has never been an emotional person. She has always been reserved in expressing her feelings, like a graceful poem that makes people's hearts linger until they realize the meaning of her words and deeds in the middle of the night.
That's why Jiang Li tentatively embraced the answer, hoping it would be dashed.
He was clearly stunned when he received the answer.
Guan Nan then said, "Jiang Li, I love you."
Jiang Li.
I love you.
I will love you forever, until our bones are buried and our coffins are closed.
I also know that it was you who gave me this, and I will never lose the courage to love you as wholeheartedly as you loved me.
At exactly twelve o'clock, the New Year's bells rang throughout the city.
They kissed as time marched on, as they released balloons into the city with outstretched arms, amidst cheers and celebrations from the world.
The clock seemed to be saying something.
--Happy New Year.
Welcome to the new year 2024.
Jiang Li rested his chin on her shoulder, turned his head to her ear, and whispered, "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year." His breath tickled her ear, and Guan Nan involuntarily shrank back, her lips red and her face flushed as she blinked, her breath still slightly unsteady and disordered.
Their necks touched for a moment.
Guan Nan couldn't help but glance at him, seeing his eyebrows slightly raised as he straightened his posture with a hint of embarrassment. He pretended nothing had happened, calmly looking ahead.
Not far away, there were children carrying balloons and trying their best to sell them; they didn't look very old.
Suddenly, Guan Nan was in a daze, as if she saw herself in her teenage years.
And so, pretending to be a little adult, wandering among every passerby who might hold hope, tirelessly changing or repeating the same words over and over again.
But after the New Year, even balloons weren't very popular; she had arrived too late.
Seeing this, Guan Nan turned her head and called his name: "Jiang Li".
"Hmm?" Jiang Li heard her voice and subconsciously turned his head to respond, then glanced in the direction she had just been looking. "Who did you see?"
Guan Nan shook her head and said gently, "Could you buy me a balloon?"
"Balloons?" Jiang Li was taken aback for a moment, then glanced again at the little girl who was trying hard to sell her balloons, and instantly understood what she meant. "Of course."
Jiang Li walked towards the little girl, while Guan Nan stood still and watched him communicate with her.
This scene made her feel extremely sore and achy.
Standing under the big old tree, she seemed to see herself, who never missed a winter or summer, and whenever she couldn't hold on any longer, she always hoped and longed for someone to buy everything and let her take a short break.
However, the girl was too young then and did not know that things in this world often do not go as planned.
Guan Nan lowered her eyes and gave a self-deprecating laugh, as if laughing at the unrealistic naiveté and foolishness of her teenage years. Just then, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. She looked up and saw a little girl carrying a handful of balloons walking towards her, a nervous smile on her face.
"Sister," the little girl said, handing her the balloons and mustering her courage, "these balloons were given to you by that brother. He said—"
The sun rises every day, and I will always love you.
There will be no sun tomorrow.
I was just kidding.
Cloudy and rainy days, today and tomorrow, typhoon, rain, and hail.
Even if the world ends, I will still love you.
Because it's you, I'm not afraid of time or place.
Jiang Li stood in the crowd, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, still with that carefree and languid air. Snowflakes drifted down, landing on his hair, long eyelashes, shoulders, and front of his coat, making his pupils appear even darker.
He tilted his head slightly, slowly scanning the area, his casual movements revealing his arrogance.
The next second, their eyes met in mid-air, and their lips moved slightly.
It hadn't snowed in Fuling for years, and this heavy snow came without any warning, turning their hair white all of a sudden.
At the same time, Guan Nan understood.
He said: Happy wedding.
During Guan Nan's brief moment of surprise, she saw Jiang Li slowly withdraw his hands, then very formally tug at the front of his trench coat, and bow in her direction with his hands clasped together.
At that moment, "Love Story" was playing from the strap of Santa Claus next to them.
I've been feeling so alone
i keep waiting for you but you never
Is this in my herd
At this moment, Guan Nan's mind was completely blank, just like the lyrics described.
But that was only for a moment.
She reacted immediately, bowing deeply with her hands clasped in the same gesture as him.
Amidst the revelry of thousands, they bowed to heaven and earth.
Just then, snow covered everyone's heads.
—End of text—
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