Chapter 25. Love and romance.
The weather wasn't great over the weekend; the sky was overcast and looked like it was going to rain.
Jin Huan was busy in the lab like a spinning top this morning, but today only she and Jing Xin are there, and the lab is unusually quiet.
Jingxin didn't need to use her brain today; she chatted with Jinhuan while working.
"Have you noticed? All the guys in our lab, except for Du Qingxu, are really cowards."
Jing Xin always speaks frankly, and what she says can make Jin Huan pause for a moment.
“I was talking about his physique and appearance,” Jing Xin explained. “Du Qingxu, he lives up to his name, like a pine tree standing tall, with an upright character.”
He possesses a unique stubbornness, which is probably a result of the hardships he has endured in life.
People like him are more attractive than the average guy. He has good character, excellent abilities, is flexible and hardworking, humble and polite, and neither arrogant nor impatient...
"To be honest, I even considered pursuing him back in my first year of graduate school." Jing Xin sighed. Du Qingxu had many good points, but he had one fatal flaw: he was poor.
It wasn't just simple poverty, but a poverty weighed heavily on him, making it hard for him to breathe.
Jing Xin is an only child. She grew up spoiled by her parents. Her father is a senior executive in a company, so her family is well-off. She knows better than anyone that a girl from a family like her should never be involved in "poverty alleviation".
There are some hardships that she was born unable to endure.
So it's a pity, a real pity.
Jin Huan looked at Jing Xin with a gossipy expression: "You like Du Qingxu?"
Jing Xin frowned and corrected, "It's a feeling of attraction. I had a feeling of attraction towards him when we first met."
I've had the thought of pursuing her, but I've never actually done it.
A little bit of goodwill based on appearance and character can be easily worn away; it's nothing.
Jin Huan said "Oh," and smiled, "He's such a nice person."
There is a magnetic field between people, and Du Qingxu is the kind of person with a very clean magnetic field. Although Jin Huan said that, he cannot be simply described as a "good person".
However, Jingxin's words reminded her.
Thinking about having lunch with him in the afternoon, Jin Huan decided to call the driver at home and tell him not to pick her up. She also thought she should take off her watch temporarily.
Although these things are nothing in themselves, their value is ridiculously high, even for any ordinary person.
After all, Du Qingxu is a very proud person, so she should be considerate of that to avoid making him feel uncomfortable in any way.
Jin Huan arrived at the appointment on time in the afternoon.
This is a rather interesting shop located on the nearby commercial street. The overall color scheme is retro and warm, and the style is a bit cute. It's a perfect place to eat in this cold winter. When Jin Huan arrived, Du Qingxu was already waiting for her at the door.
"How did you know about this place?" Jin Huan looked around and praised with a smile, "It's very beautiful."
Du Qingxu said, "It was recommended by a classmate."
He wore a new outfit today, which made him look more energetic. Just as Jingxin said, the outfit accentuated his upright posture. He was already good-looking, so with a little dressing up, he became very eye-catching.
Jin Huan complimented him, "You look great today too!"
She was always very sincere when she praised someone, and her eyes smiled. Du Qingxu was obviously stunned for a moment. He looked down at himself, smiled, and didn't say anything.
Jin Huan dressed casually today, without any deliberate dressing up or much makeup. She only applied a base and a little bit of lip gloss before going out, making her look very plain, but with a bit more color than if she were completely bare-faced.
I quite enjoyed the meal.
The two were quite familiar with each other, and they chatted while eating without any awkward silences. They mostly talked about experiments. Du Qingxu was meticulous in his work, and Jin Huan relied on him to handle some of the small data issues. Jin Huan admired Du Qingxu in this regard and consulted him more than once.
Doing experiments requires a rigorous attitude, but unfortunately, she is sometimes not rigorous enough, which is why she always makes mistakes. Fortunately, she is good at reflecting on herself and her main principle is to correct her mistakes, listen to opinions, never be stubborn, and never engage in internal conflict.
Jin Huan had a very satisfying meal. The portions at this restaurant are small, but the dishes are exquisite and delicious. Even if there are only two people, they can eat several dishes. Moreover, the price-performance ratio is good. It is indeed a hidden gem of a restaurant.
When it came time to pay, before Jin Huan could even take out her phone, Du Qingxu had already paid.
"You said I'd treat you." Jin Huan was stunned.
"How can you pay?" Du Qingxu scratched his head. He didn't remember agreeing with Jin Huan that she would pay. It was originally his turn to treat her to dinner.
Jin Huan opened her mouth, but it was difficult for her to say anything.
Du Qingxu didn't dwell on the matter any longer. He asked Jin Huan, "Do you have any plans for today? If not, would you like to come somewhere with me?"
It started raining outside at that moment.
Du Qingxu happened to have brought an umbrella. He opened it and asked the question, having thought it through many times in his mind, trying to be as polite as possible so as not to offend Jin Huan.
Jin Huan finally had time to take out her phone to check the messages. As she read them, she asked, "Huh? Where are you going?"
The rain intensified, and Du Qingxu, worried that Jin Huan would get wet, could only move closer to her.
A breeze blew from the side, and a few stray hairs were blown gently across her cheek. Jin Huan was looking down at her phone screen, her chin hidden in the shadows. Her features were soft, and her skin was soft, giving the illusion of a cute plush doll.
That's the impression she gives off.
Sometimes I think...it's really cute.
Such thoughts kept popping into her mind, but as she got closer, Du Qingxu's heart was pounding.
Du Qingxu was stunned.
Jin Huan knew about his situation, and of course, his classmates all knew about it. When they first entered university, she saw him riding a shared bicycle to his part-time job every day, so she gave him a pair of gloves, saying that they were originally a gift for her father, but they were too small and she couldn't return them, so she gave them to him instead.
Later, Du Qingxu learned that Jin Huan had no contact with her father at all. She said she bought gloves that were too small because she felt sorry for him because he had frostbite on his hands and still had to do experiments.
Du Qingxu has self-respect, but he is not obsessed with saving face. He knows that Jin Huan's intentions are good, and he will accept such goodwill.
And I am grateful.
He will remember everyone who was willing to help him.
Du Qingxu could still count these kinds of things.
Jin Huan is always very considerate of others; she always tries her best to take care of other people's feelings.
Just like the watch that I've deliberately taken off now.
Du Qingxu paused for a while, his face slightly stiff, and denied in a low voice, "No, I didn't go anywhere."
Jin Huan saw that Zhong Yan had sent her a message asking when her dinner would end. She was chatting at the time and didn't reply. Later, he sent her another message saying that it was raining and he would come to pick her up.
Come pick her up.
These three words drifted into Jin Huan's mind like a breeze. She had been wondering how someone abroad could possibly come to pick her up. Not daring to believe it, Jin Huan tentatively replied, "You're back?"
Zhong Yan: "Mm."
She opened her mouth in surprise.
Shock and joy washed over her at the same time. Jin Huan was stunned for two seconds before she saw the message from Zhong Yan.
"I'll wait for you at the school gate."
Jin Huan had mentioned to him yesterday that the place she ate was near the school. Today it was raining, and she told the driver not to pick her up. Zhong Yan had just landed, so he simply came to pick her up and they could go back together.
Jin Huan walked towards the school gate without realizing it was raining.
Du Qingxu hurriedly followed with her umbrella: "Where are you going? I'll take you."
Jin Huan is never in a hurry, and I've never seen her in such a rush before. Du Qingxu held the umbrella and tilted it towards her. The rain was getting heavier, and it would be easy to get wet if they walked too fast.
As Jin Huan walked, she said, "I'm going back to school."
.
Zhong Yan had been waiting at the school gate for a while.
It was raining today, so he asked the driver to pull over. He came straight here after getting off the plane, and in just twenty minutes, the rain started to pour down.
Zhong Yan spotted Jin Huan at a glance.
She was dressed in white, which stood out against the gloomy, rainy day. She couldn't walk fast because of the rain, so she kept an eye on her step and looked ahead. The person with her was holding an umbrella for her, and almost two-thirds of the umbrella was tilted in her direction.
The umbrella was just an ordinary umbrella, just big enough for two people. Jin Huan was so engrossed in looking around that she didn't notice that Du Qingxu's shoulder was already half wet.
These are new clothes he just bought.
He rarely wears new clothes.
Jin Huan stopped and stood behind the eaves. She told Du Qingxu that she was waiting for someone to pick her up and that he should go ahead and do what he needed to do.
Du Qingxu withdrew his hand and moved to the side to cover his wet side: "I'll stay here with you."
Jin Huan shook her head: "No need."
She emphasized, "Really, it's not necessary."
Since she had already said that, Du Qingxu couldn't say anything more. He stuffed the umbrella into Jin Huan's hand, turned around, and ran towards the school gate.
Jin Huan suddenly had an umbrella in her hand. By the time she realized what was happening, Du Qingxu had already run quite a distance. She opened her mouth, but could only swallow her words back.
He sighed with delight.
Du Qingxu is acting strangely today; everything has been odd since we finished eating.
Jin Huan was still thinking when Zhong Yan's voice came from beside her: "Did you enjoy your dinner tonight?"
He asked in a gentle tone.
Jin Huan looked up upon hearing the sound.
Zhong Yan, holding an umbrella, stood two steps away from her. He said he had just gotten off the plane, yet he was dressed so formally, his hair styled. When he saw her, he gave her a faint smile.
“Mr. Zhong.” Jin Huan quickly became delighted. She took two steps forward, closed her umbrella, and crawled under it, looking up at him with bright eyes.
"Didn't you say you'd let me pick you up when you got back? Why didn't you tell me?" Jin Huan was a little disappointed that she didn't get to see him, otherwise she could have seen him the moment he landed.
"I won't disturb you and your classmates while you're eating," Zhong Yan said gently. "I can pick you up right after we finish eating, it'll be the same."
Jin Huan looked at him with concern: "You must be very tired."
Zhong Yan shook his head: "It's okay, I'm not tired."
Jin Huan was still curious. She had heard him say that he would need some time to finish his work, so why was he back today?
Jin Huan, curious, asked directly, "Why are you back today?"
Zhong Yan didn't answer, he just looked at her.
His gaze darkened slightly, and compared to his usual calm and gentle demeanor, it seemed to contain a hint of sharpness. Under his gaze, Jin Huan's face inexplicably flushed, and then she heard him slowly reply, "Jin Huan, today is Valentine's Day."
It was only then that Jin Huan realized what was happening.
Ah... She was thinking about Valentine's Day a while ago, but these past two days, since Zhong Yan wasn't coming back, she gradually forgot about the day. In fact, if Zhong Yan hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have remembered it at all.
"I...I did remember," Jin Huan explained awkwardly, "but I thought you weren't coming back, so I..."
She even had dinner with Du Qingxu on this special day!
Jin Huan slapped her forehead, thinking how stupid she was to agree without thinking. Otherwise, she would have definitely changed the time, tomorrow or the day after would have been fine. Such a special day is easy to cause misunderstandings.
Jin Huan didn't want to cause this kind of trouble for others.
"There's still time." Zhong Yan didn't seem upset that she forgot, nor did he mention her dinner with her classmates, as if he didn't care about it. He looked at her gently and patiently asked, "What else do you want to do later... something you want to do with me?"
"Or... go home?"
There are things you can do outside, and things you can do at home; that's roughly what he meant.
For Zhong Yan, this was her first Valentine's Day, and he meant that she should do whatever made her happy.
Everything is fine, both at home and outside.
"But I'm so full." Jin Huan rubbed her stomach, regretting that she had eaten too happily and hadn't left any room for her stomach. She even thought that she should have brought some digestive tablets with her before going out.
They eat one meal and then eat another, and so on.
Seeing her rubbing her stomach in frustration, Zhong Yan asked, "How about we take a walk to help with digestion?"
The rain started to lessen and the wind stopped. Jin Huan pointed to the school and said, "You haven't explored our school yet, have you? Let me show you around."
Zhong Yan smiled and nodded: "Okay."
It's the weekend, and the campus is crowded with people walking in pairs. Jin Huan only just noticed that quite a few people are also carrying flowers.
She saw it and silently felt annoyed again.
If she hadn't forgotten, she could have picked up Zhong Yan and gone on a date with him at this time. She hadn't had a proper date with Zhong Yan yet.
Moreover, she didn't wear the clothes she had prepared beforehand.
Jin Huan touched her face; she had only applied a little sunscreen, and her lip gloss had even smudged while she was eating. It was hardly a proper date outfit.
Nothing is going right, nothing is going right.
Noticing that Jin Huan was lost in thought, Zhong Yan glanced at the umbrella she was still clutching in her hand and asked casually, "What are you thinking about?"
Jin Huan let out an "Ah," and denied it rather unhappily: "It's nothing."
The more I thought about it, the more I regretted it, but I knew it was useless to think about it, so I could only sulk to myself.
Zhong Yan has always had this calm and composed demeanor. When he is not speaking or smiling, he appears distant from people, and even when he speaks, it sounds like he is concerned about a child's studies.
At this moment, Zhong Yan took Jin Huan's hand and held it in his own. The warmth of his palm slowly spread through her. Jin Huan looked down at him and then looked up at him.
"Come closer to me." Zhong Yan smiled, her eyes crinkling, and said slowly, "Do you see other couples like us?"
Couples, what a novel term.
Jin Huan blinked and asked, "Are married couples also lovers?"
She seemed to like the word: "Sir, I've never been in a relationship before."
At her age, she should be longing for love, but she has never been in a relationship.
She was also very curious about the things that couples do in relationships.
Zhong Yan looked at her with a smile in his eyes, and slowly, seriously said, "Don't you think so... Xiao Bao?"
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