Chapter 24 I miss him, I miss him so much.
Jin Huan doesn't remember how she fell asleep again that night.
When she woke up the next morning, she found that her phone was completely out of battery and shut down. She quickly grabbed a charger, plugged it in, and turned it on. She then saw a WeChat message from Zhong Yan.
Zhong Yan: "Send me a message when you wake up."
Jin Huan immediately replied, "Sir, I'm awake."
She realized something was wrong as soon as she sent it.
It must be the middle of the night for him now. I don't know if sending a message at this time will disturb his rest, but as soon as she replied, Zhong Yan replied.
Zhong Yan: "Are your eyes alright?"
Jin Huan was completely bewildered.
She had no idea what Zhong Yan meant by asking her that question. She touched her eyes and felt a slight swelling at the corner of her eye. Then she got out of bed and looked in the mirror, only to find that her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.
But she doesn't remember what happened.
She had a terrible dream last night, so much so that she can't quite remember it, but she can vaguely guess that Zhong Yan's question to her must mean that she had done something bad again.
Jin Huan sighed deeply, inwardly condemning her own immaturity.
For such a small matter to bother Zhong Yan, he is such a responsible person, he must be worried about her. He is so busy with work, but I wonder if it's because of her that he hasn't gone to sleep yet.
Jin Huan immediately replied to him, "Your eyesight is very good."
It was already late at night, past midnight, for Zhong Yan. He was worried about Jin Huan, so he simply worked on his work while waiting for her to wake up. He had heard her crying so much on the phone last night while she was asleep, but now that she was awake, she acted as if nothing had happened. Clearly, she didn't want to say anything and didn't want him to worry.
Zhong Yan stared at the conversation on the screen for a while, then didn't ask any more questions. He simply sent a message: "Eat well this morning. It's your first day of school, so cheer up."
His tone made Jin Huan imagine an old father who was very worried about sending his child to school.
She replied in a cheerful tone, "Okay! You should go and get some rest too!"
After replying to the message, Jin Huan first went to the bathroom to wash her face and used the running water to clear her mind. She looked closely at her eyes and found that the redness was excessive. She wrung out a towel with hot water and applied it as a hot compress for five minutes.
The soreness and swelling have subsided a little.
The driver took Jin Huan to school on time. There was a heavy rain last night, but the weather was quite nice today. As soon as we arrived at school and got out of the car, the sun came out from behind the clouds.
Actually, it's still early.
Jin Huan's morning habit is to drink a cup of coffee. She didn't sleep well last night and her eyes were a little swollen, so she decided to order a hot Americano to reduce the swelling.
I rushed to the laboratory and ran into Du Qingxu at the door.
Jin Huan took a sip of her Americano, which was so bitter that it made her frown. Seeing that Du Qingxu wasn't going in, she asked him, "Why aren't you going in?"
When Du Qingxu saw her arrive, he seemed relieved and shook his head with a smile, saying, "It's nothing."
He was initially worried that Jin Huan would be late, so he was a little concerned.
It had been a New Year since I last saw her, and Jin Huan seemed to have become even more beautiful. She used to always have a faint fragrance, but now that fragrance was even fainter, replaced by a somewhat heavy sandalwood scent. It seemed to contradict her own fragrance, yet it blended together perfectly. When she smiled, the gentleness in her eyes became even more apparent.
Du Qingxu was stunned for a moment when she saw Jin Huan like this.
Then he noticed the watch on her wrist.
Previously, Jin Huan didn't wear a watch much, at most she would wear a fitness tracker that could record heart rate, because wearing too many things in the laboratory was inconvenient and would easily get dirty, so the awareness of sterility was still very important.
Du Qingxu didn't know anything about luxury goods, let alone watches, but the watch on Jin Huan's wrist was surrounded by a circle of small diamonds on the dial, small and exquisite, so it must be quite valuable.
It might be a New Year's gift from an elder in the family, Du Qingxu thought.
To be able to give away such a gift so casually, one must indeed be... very wealthy.
This was something he never even dared to dream of.
Jin Huan found him strange, so she raised her chin, gesturing for Du Qingxu to go inside.
Du Qingxu then realized what was happening.
He never wanted to appear too embarrassed in front of Jin Huan, but he always seemed to be like this, constantly reminding himself on the one hand, but unable to control himself on the other. For him, in his stagnant life, meeting Fang Jin Huan was the only thing that could be considered lucky.
After all, sunlight is warm as long as you can touch it.
As he entered, he asked her, "How was your rest during the Spring Festival?"
Jin Huan posted two photos on her WeChat Moments during the holiday, both of which were pictures of her daily life. Du Qingxu only liked them, but he looked at each of the photos she posted carefully.
The food she ate for her New Year's Eve dinner, photos of the flowers and plants by the roadside, the cookies she made herself, and some snippets of her life as she started exercising...
Her life is very fulfilling. You can tell from the little things in her life that besides studying, she has a lot to do. She is always full of energy and doesn't easily let herself be idle.
"It's fine." Jin Huan nodded, then casually asked, "How about you?"
Du Qingxu smiled faintly: "That's fine too."
Throughout the holiday, the students in the research group sent all sorts of messages, either on their WeChat Moments or in group chats. Only Du Qingxu didn't post anything. The only time was on New Year's Eve when she took the initiative to send her a New Year's greeting, but it was just a simple blessing and then they didn't talk anymore.
Du Qingxu herself is not very active online.
The topic ended abruptly there.
Du Qingxu is not good at chatting. He is the kind of person who can easily kill a conversation. He is aware of how boring he is. He is the kind of person who is not likable in any way.
Tan Xi treated everyone to dinner that evening.
For their first meal together after the New Year, Tan Xi chose a newly opened hot pot restaurant near the school. In this weather, it's the most lively time for everyone to gather together for hot pot.
To cater to everyone's tastes, we ordered a half-and-half hot pot.
Du Qingxu rarely participates in such events; he always finds excuses to refuse. But today, he made an unprecedented exception and came along.
Jin Huan invited him to come and sit with her.
"What would you like to drink?" Jingxin asked as she went to get the drinks.
Tan Xi drank coconut water. She had gained several pounds from eating too much during the Spring Festival and now needed to manage her weight. Jin Huan asked for a glass of orange juice, but Du Qingxu shook his head and said that water was fine for him.
"I heard that their corn juice is delicious, made from fresh corn, with nothing added," Jingxin said, ordering another pot of freshly squeezed corn juice for everyone to try.
It's rare to have everyone here today.
Everyone chatted about the interesting things that happened during the holiday. After they had finished eating, they put down their chopsticks and asked Du Qingxu if she had gone home for the New Year.
"I went home for a few days." Everyone knew about Du Qingxu's situation, and he never intended to hide it. "My mother is feeling better recently, so I had New Year's Eve dinner with her."
Jin Huan nodded knowingly and said with concern, "Then Auntie should still take more rest."
As Jin Huan spoke, she took another sip of the corn juice in front of her.
The corn juice here is really delicious. Jin Huan just tried a cup and couldn't help but keep drinking. Even though she had finished the cup, she was thinking that she should bring this corn juice to Zhong Yan to try.
"Do you have time in a couple of days?" Du Qingxu asked tentatively.
Jin Huan was engrossed in sipping her corn juice and didn't immediately realize what day it was in a couple of days. Originally, after learning that Zhong Yan wouldn't be coming back, she hadn't paid much attention to the date.
"I have time," Jin Huan nodded. "Besides school, I don't have anything else to do."
As long as you finish your work according to plan each day, you'll have time.
“Didn’t we say we’d have dinner together last time? I was thinking…” Du Qingxu tried his best not to be nervous. He thought about it for a long time. He felt that some things couldn’t be kept inside. His current situation was like this and couldn’t be changed, no matter how long it went on. But if he had to say something, he wanted to say it.
"Oh...right." Jin Huan remembered that they had been putting off having dinner for a long time. She nodded, "Then you set the time and place, I'll definitely be there."
She had to keep her promise and invite him to dinner.
Du Qingxu lowered her head and gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.
He worked several jobs last year, basically doing any job that could earn money. He lived very frugally, spending very little each month. Apart from his mother's medical expenses, he managed to save a small amount of money.
Du Qingxu has a complete plan for his future life. He does not intend to continue his studies. He is currently in the second semester of his second year of graduate school. After completing his thesis, he will start looking for a job. With his current education and abilities, he can find a relatively good job.
He had no other requirements except for a high salary.
He needs money, he desperately needs money.
Even when life gets tough, it proceeds smoothly according to his plan. Even though he's not confident enough right now, he believes in his abilities and that he'll have what he wants in a few years.
Of course, he wasn't trying to make empty promises or say anything grandiose or far-fetched. In his situation, he knew that seizing opportunities was the most important thing.
In everything, you must seize the opportunity.
After Jin Huan got home, she received a message from Du Qingxu, who said that he had made a reservation at a small restaurant near the school at 6 pm the day after tomorrow.
Jin Huan had never heard of this shop before, but the name didn't sound special, so she readily agreed, saying she would be there on time.
The day after tomorrow is Sunday, so she shouldn't have to go to school. But since she had made an appointment with Du Qingxu, she planned to go to the lab in the morning. Anyway, it's always good to work hard.
Jin Huan had just finished her run when she received a video call from Zhong Yan.
When her phone rang, she immediately ran to answer it, connecting the video call almost instantly without wasting a moment.
She was slightly out of breath and looked a little disheveled. She had just finished exercising and her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, which trickled down her forehead as she breathed. Even so, she still smiled when she saw Zhong Yan: "Sir."
It was as if a sweetheart had suddenly appeared in the frame. Zhong Yan took off his coat, leaving him in only a shirt. He carefully examined Jin Huan's eyes on the screen and only breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that they weren't as red and swollen as he had imagined.
"How was your day at school?" Zhong Yan asked her gently.
"That's great." Jin Huan smiled. She really liked Zhong Yan's caring questions, even if they were just about her daily life. It made her feel happy that her daily life had been taken care of.
So she sat on the blanket and told him with a smile what had happened at school that day.
"In the morning, I did some cleaning in the lab and prepared some supplies. Then in the afternoon, we had a group meeting, and afterwards, Professor Tan treated us to hot pot."
Jin Huan swallowed hard and told him sincerely, "The corn juice at that hot pot restaurant today was delicious. You must try it next time."
Jin Huan really wanted to ask him when he would be back, or at least a rough time, but after hesitating for a long time, she held back. After all, her job was more important than his.
And she didn't have anything important to do, she just missed him, missed him so much.
As Zhong Yan listened to her earnest report, his smile was gentle. He was just missing that kind of vibrant energy from her, so he was happy to listen to even the most ordinary words.
After she finally finished speaking, Zhong Yan asked her, "What about the day after tomorrow? Do you have any plans for the day after tomorrow?"
"The day after tomorrow?" Jin Huan blurted out, "I have dinner plans with my classmates the day after tomorrow."
Zhong Yan asked, "Which classmate of yours?"
She had met all of her classmates, including Zhong Yan, so Jin Huan said directly, "Do you remember a classmate surnamed Du?"
Zhong Yan's gaze darkened slightly, but his tone remained calm: "I remember... it was him who invited you to dinner the day after tomorrow?"
“Yes,” Jin Huan nodded. “I’ve owed him this meal for so long.”
Zhong Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, leaned back in his chair, and said coldly, "I know, be careful."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
