Chapter 48 Running
The sound of "I love you" drilled into Lu Qingmian's ears. At first, Lu Qingmian was able to restrain himself, with a cold face and his hands hanging at his sides. He just lowered his eyes and watched Jiang Jinyue throw herself into his arms. But Jiang Jinyue kept talking about "I love you". There was complete trust and attachment in his eyes. He expressed his feelings directly and without hesitation, which made Lu Qingmian couldn't help but reach out and hold Jiang Jinyue's lower back.
The waist he touched was soft, and Jiang Jinyue's body temperature fit against his body. Lu Qingmian's other hand also quietly wrapped around it.
Jiang Jinyue had already sat completely in Lu Qingmian's arms. He wrapped his legs around Lu Qingmian's waist and rubbed his cheek against Lu Qingmian's neck gently, full of affection.
"Am I your boyfriend now?" Lu Qingmian couldn't suppress the curve of his lips, revealing some of the youthfulness that should be possessed by a boy of his age.
"Yes! Boyfriend! My boyfriend!" Jiang Jinyue nodded vigorously, and the word "boyfriend" sounded crisp.
Lu Qingmian's hug became stronger and stronger, so strong that Jiang Jinyue felt a little pain, but he said nothing, just hugged her back even harder.
The two people's chests were pressed tightly together, and the two rapidly beating hearts seemed to be embracing each other.
Amidst the rapid heartbeats, the sounds of tender buds breaking through the soil could be heard from every corner of the small tent. Roses sprouted and bloomed one after another, filling the tent in the blink of an eye and transforming the small space into a sea of flowers.
In the middle of the crimson sea of flowers, Jiang Jinyue and Lu Qingmian hugged each other for a long time, neither of them willing to let go first.
The scent of roses filled his nose, but to Jiang Jinyue, the sweet scent of Lu Qingmian's blood attracted him more than the scent of flowers.
He had just tasted blood for the first time last night. Although he wanted to hug Lu Qingmian all the time, he was afraid that he would lose control and bite Lu Qingmian, so he supported Lu Qingmian's shoulders and took the initiative to move away.
Although the distance was getting farther, his eyes were still glued to Lu Qingmian.
Lu Qingmian picked up Jiang Jinyue and placed him beside him, smoothing down Jiang Jinyue's messy hair.
Jiang Jinyue's hair had grown long enough to be tied into a small bun. He lifted a strand and looked at it, then said, "I want to cut my hair."
Because of PTSD, Jiang Jinyue has been cutting his own hair over the years. If it grows too long, he uses scissors to cut it shorter. Naturally, he doesn't have much of a hairstyle to speak of. Fortunately, his hair is fine and soft, so it doesn't look too ugly.
Lu Qingmian asked, "Shall I help you cut it?"
Jiang Jinyue shook his head: "I want to... go to the barber shop to get a haircut."
He looked at Lu Qingmian with a firm gaze: "I haven't been to the barber shop in all these years. I can feel that I'm almost well. When I get well, I'll go to the barber shop and get the most popular haircut!"
Lu Qingmian tucked the hair on Jiang Jinyue's cheek behind her ear and said, "A perm? It's quite popular now."
Jiang Jinyue imagined herself with an afro and quickly shook her head: "Then I'd rather not..."
Lu Qingmian chuckled, and did not let go of the fingers that were behind Jiang Jinyue's ear. Instead, he pinched the back of Jiang Jinyue's neck and pulled him closer.
"Jiang Jinyue, do you know how you've been looking at me today?"
Jiang Jinyue's heartbeat, which had just calmed down, started beating faster again. He had indeed been secretly looking at Lu Qingmian today, and had been caught by Lu Qingmian many times, but he himself had no idea what kind of look it was.
"What look?"
Lu Qingmian leaned forward and said in a low voice, "The look of someone wanting to be fucked by me."
Jiang Jinyue's red eyes widened slightly, and he subconsciously wanted to hide himself, but Lu Qingmian had already backed away with a big laugh, and even considerately left the small tent, leaving the space for Jiang Jinyue alone.
After Lu Qingmian left, Jiang Jinyue plucked out the roses around him before he calmed down.
The sprain on his ankle wasn't serious, and considering he was now a vampire, it would probably heal in no time.
The small tent became quiet, and the laughter of Chen Keai, Cen Yingjie and others flying kites could be faintly heard in the distance.
Jiang Jinyue was feeling particularly relaxed. He took out his mobile phone, opened his own forum "Yue's Nest", and began to write in his diary, recording everything that had happened recently bit by bit.
After finishing writing, Jiang Jinyue flipped through the pages and saw the post he had made when he first came to H City. He felt particularly emotional.
"Hopefully, everything will get better."
Jiang Jinyue's fingertips lightly brushed over these words, and the corners of his lips unconsciously curled up.
“Things are really getting better.”
He had a hunch he had never had before that not only would things get better, but they would get better and better.
At night, a group of people sat outside and looked at the stars.
Tomorrow is the fifth day of their camping. After discussing with everyone, Cen Yingjie decided to go back the day after tomorrow, so that there will be one day left for everyone to rest during the seven-day National Day holiday.
Jiang Jinyue had no objection. Hanging out with friends like this was something that was completely impossible for him in the past. Jiang Jinyue was already very satisfied.
But... he was sitting next to Lu Qingmian and could sense Zheng Yue's glances at him from time to time.
There are some things that cannot be avoided forever. Before ending the camp, he has one last thing to deal with.
Zheng Yue was sitting on the other side. Meeting Jiang Jinyue during this camping trip was a big surprise for her. She had been looking for an opportunity to talk to Jiang Jinyue alone, but Lu Qingmian was very wary of her and almost never left Jiang Jinyue's side, so Zheng Yue could not find an opportunity.
At this time, she just looked at Jiang Jinyue a few more times, and Lu Qingmian sat up straight, blocking Jiang Jinyue tightly to prevent her from seeing anything.
Zheng Yue turned her head away disappointedly, thinking that this camping trip would end like this.
Cen Yingjie looked at the stars above his head and suddenly suggested that everyone get up early tomorrow to watch the sunrise, which would be a perfect end to this camping trip.
Everyone had no objection and got up and went back to the tent, intending to rest early.
Lu Qingmian and Jiang Jinyue also stood up and walked towards the tent together. Halfway through, Lu Qingmian seemed to say something to Jiang Jinyue and went to the washing area alone.
Zheng Yue finally saw Jiang Jinyue alone. With intense emotions surging in her chest, she took a few deep breaths and strode over.
"Jiang Jinyue!" Zheng Yue quickly caught up with Jiang Jinyue, stood beside Jiang Jinyue and greeted him.
Jiang Jinyue turned around and looked at the girl who was a little taller than him.
"I have something to tell you..." Zheng Yue thought about the wording. She felt that Jiang Jinyue would definitely reject her. She had already started thinking about what to say after being rejected, but she didn't expect Jiang Jinyue to agree.
"Okay, come over here and talk."
Jiang Jinyue carried the camping lantern and led Zheng Yue out of the tent area and walked towards the grove where Cen Yingjie and others had made wishes to the moon before.
Zheng Yue originally wanted to talk to Jiang Jinyue alone, so she followed him without thinking too much.
When they reached the open space under the moon, Jiang Jinyue put down the camping lantern and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Zheng Yue had always wanted to make a formal apology to Jiang Jinyue, but when she looked at Jiang Jinyue standing in front of her, she suddenly didn't know how to start. The courage she had finally mustered was gradually disappearing.
“I, I…”
She said "I" several times, looking embarrassed, and finally finished a complete sentence: "My hometown is also Ze County!"
Jiang Jinyue nodded and was about to speak when a strange noise suddenly came from the grove.
The sound came from behind the tall grass, rustling, as if something was hiding under the tall grass and moving quietly.
"What's that sound?" Zheng Yue immediately looked towards the source of the sound.
The camping lantern had a limited range of illumination, and it was pitch black there. In the moonlight, only the shadows of tall grass could be vaguely seen.
"Maybe it's a little squirrel or something." Jiang Jinyue also looked over there.
Only then did Zheng Yue notice that the grove was very dark and quite far from the tent area. Only the camping lamp placed at her feet emitted a faint light, which looked a bit scary.
She took the initiative to pick up the tent lantern, not wanting to give up the hard-earned opportunity to be alone with Jiang Jinyue, so she mustered her courage again and said:
"Jiang Jinyue, I don't know if you still remember me. Actually, I am..."
"Ah——" A sudden wolf howl interrupted Zheng Yue's words.
Zheng Yue suddenly turned around and looked at the tall grass over there, his expression changed drastically, "There are wolves? Why are there wolves here?"
Jiang Jinyue blinked his eyes, and his expression showed a little fear belatedly, but the fear was only on the surface, and it looked fake no matter how you looked at it, like an unqualified actor.
"Is it really a wolf?"
Zheng Yue held up the camping lantern, but she didn't dare to walk over to look.
Although she had finally had the chance to be alone with Jiang Jinyue, she was not someone who didn't know the importance of things. She immediately said, "Let's go back first! Don't stay here. It's not safe here!"
Jiang Jinyue agreed without hesitation, but did not move, still looking at the tall grass swaying back and forth.
Another wolf howl was heard, and it seemed to be much closer.
Zheng Yue was very anxious. She wanted to grab Jiang Jinyue's wrist and take him away, but she didn't dare to touch Jiang Jinyue. So she could only carefully pull Jiang Jinyue's sleeve and said, "Let's go!"
Jiang Jinyue then followed Zheng Yue back. Zheng Yue walked very fast, but Jiang Jinyue walked slower and slower.
"Jiang Jinyue, hurry up and catch up!" Zheng Yue turned back and urged several times.
Jiang Jinyue's pace didn't quicken, but slowed down. "I sprained my ankle this afternoon, and it hurts a lot."
Zheng Yue frowned tightly, his face turned pale, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead. There were no more wolf howls at this moment, but the rustling sound was always following behind them, even getting closer and closer.
It was hard not to suspect that a wolf was lurking beneath the tall grass, ready to pounce and bite them at any moment.
"Jiang Jinyue, please bear with it for a moment. Something is wrong here. Let's go back to the tent area to find the management staff."
"Yeah!" Jiang Jinyue nodded, then took a few quick steps, but was suddenly tripped by something and fell to the ground.
Zheng Yue quickly turned around and squatted beside Jiang Jinyue, "What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?"
Jiang Jinyue kept his head down, his overly long bangs covering his face. Zheng Yue couldn't see his expression clearly, but could hear his voice, which was very low, as if he was enduring pain.
"My ankle... it hurts."
The rustling sound was getting closer, less than two meters away from them.
Zheng Yue was anxious and afraid. She didn't care about anything else. She reached out and held Jiang Jinyue's arm, saying, "I'll hold you. Let's go!"
Jiang Jinyue shook his head and did not move.
"Zheng Yue, you go first. Go back and call Lu Qingmian over for me. I'll just wait here."
Zheng Yue refused sternly: "No! I can't leave you here alone! There might be wolves here!"
As she spoke, she kept looking back at the tall grass over there making the rustling sound. She simply squatted in front of Jiang Jinyue, turned her back, and exposed her thin shoulders: "Jiang Jinyue, I'll carry you!"
Jiang Jinyue paused and did not move.
At this moment, a black shadow suddenly jumped out from the tall grass. The black shadow looked very huge, with two faint lights on its head. It looked like a huge wolf.
Zheng Yue was stunned by the scene before her. Jiang Jinyue pushed Zheng Yue and said, "Zheng Yue, hurry up and leave!"
Unexpectedly, Zheng Yue not only did not leave, but gritted her teeth and pounced on Jiang Jinyue, pressing Jiang Jinyue firmly with her body in an attempt to protect him.
"I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving this time no matter what!"
The wolf shadow pounced over, but did not stop. Instead, it jumped over the two men's heads and disappeared into the tall grass.
Soon, the rustling sound disappeared completely.
Zheng Yue's whole body was shaking violently, but she kept pressing on Jiang Jinyue and did not get up.
Jiang Jinyue was pressed to the ground with the camping lantern dropped to the side. He saw a bright moon through the mottled branches above his head.
Years passed, and the memory of the small park that night shattered like a mirror in front of Jiang Jinyue's eyes, and slowly drifted away with the cool night breeze.
"Sister Yueyue," Jiang Jinyue said softly, "Let's forget the past."
Zheng Yue's trembling shoulders suddenly stiffened. She realized something and slowly sat up.
"When... did you recognize me?" Zheng Yue's voice was hoarse.
Jiang Jinyue propped himself up with his arms and sat up, a gentle and beautiful smile on his lips, "The moment you said my name."
Zheng Yue's eyes widened, the fear on her face had not completely dissipated, and she looked a little funny.
Jiang Jinyue picked up the camping lantern and stood up. He brushed off the dirt on his body and extended his hand to Zheng Yue.
Zheng Yue looked at the hand stretched out in front of her. It was slender and white, and did not look very strong.
She raised her hand and placed her trembling palm on it.
Jiang Jinyue's palm was a little cold, but it warmed Zheng Yue's heart.
She stood up slowly, her thoughts still a little sluggish.
Jiang Jinyue looked at the girl in front of him. In a trance, time went back to the past. Zheng Yue standing in front of him also became the tomboy she used to be.
"Sister Yueyue, I have moved on, and I hope you have too."
Zheng Yue's frozen brain finally regained its composure. She looked at the not-so-tall Jiang Jinyue in front of her, and hot tears welled up in her eyes. She tightly grasped Jiang Jinyue's hand and choked with sobs,
"Jiang Jinyue, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, thank you... I'm sorry..."
She spoke incoherently, as if she could not remember anything else except these few words.
Jiang Jinyue's red eyes reflected Zheng Yue's tearful appearance, and her tone was gentle and ethereal: "This time, didn't you stand in front of me?"
Zheng Yue's sobbing stopped for a moment, and then her legs went limp. She knelt in front of Jiang Jinyue, grabbing Jiang Jinyue's hand and crying loudly.
The tall grass in the darkness was parted, and a tall figure walked out.
Lu Qingmian was holding a mobile phone, and an audio clip of a wolf howling was paused on the screen.
Behind the tall grass, broken rose petals could be vaguely seen scattered on the ground. The huge wolf shadow was just a shape made up of vines. There was no wolf at all from beginning to end.
"Stop howling." Lu Qingmian's voice was very cold, and he was obviously different from Jiang Jinyue.
Zheng Yue wiped away her tears in embarrassment, let go of Jiang Jinyue's hand, and stood up sobbing.
She seemed to have a lot to say but didn't know how to say it.
Jiang Jinyue smiled and no longer focused his attention on Zheng Yue, but walked to Lu Qingmian.
The two walked out hand in hand and side by side.
Zheng Yue followed behind the two of them. She understood that Jiang Jinyue no longer needed to listen to what she said.
Be it an apology or thanks, Jiang Jinyue no longer needs them.
Just like Jiang Jinyue said, keep moving forward.
After tossing and turning all night, Jiang Jinyue returned to the small tent feeling a little tired, and his stomach was rumbling.
The last time he ate was last night, and he had been hungry since leaving the top of the mountain.
Lu Qingmian heard it, opened his collar, and hooked his finger at Jiang Jinyue, "Take a bite?"
Jiang Jinyue's red eyes subconsciously looked at Lu Qingmian's neck, and her red lips were slightly open, obviously very eager.
He stared blankly for a long time, then forced himself to look away and shook his head in rejection.
"No, if you bite me again, I'll die."
No matter how good Lu Qingmian's physique is, he cannot withstand continuous blood loss. Even if Jiang Jinyue restrained himself and only drank a little, he was reluctant to let him drink.
If I don't drink blood, the only thing that can fill my stomach is...
Jiang Jinyue lowered his eyes, his snow-white eyelashes trembling slightly, revealing his inner nervousness.
Lu Qingmian's heart beat rapidly in his chest, but he remained calm and composed.
"Do you want it?" Lu Qingmian asked in a cold voice, lowering his voice a few degrees as he sat next to Jiang Jinyue.
What you want is self-evident.
Jiang Jinyue didn't try to be stubborn this time. He quietly reached out his hand, hooked Lu Qingmian's fingertips, and responded in a low voice: "Yes, I want a little bit."
Lu Qingmian turned around, sat with his back against Jiang Jinyue, bent his long legs, and his fingers left Jiang Jinyue's fingertips.
Jiang Jinyue withdrew his hands and hugged his knees, and heard a secret sound coming from behind him.
Gradually, a sweet scent filled the small tent. Jiang Jinyue couldn't help but slightly open his lips and swallow the air that could fill his stomach.
Lu Qingmian's always suppressed breathing gradually became heavier, causing Jiang Jinyue's heartbeat to speed up along with his breathing.
Jiang Jinyue didn’t know if it was because they had already confirmed their relationship, but she felt that the scent seemed sweeter than before.
After a full meal, Lu Qingmian threw away a pile of wet wipes and paper towels.
He leaned lazily against Jiang Jinyue's back, his voice thick with the sexiness of afterthought, "Jiang Jinyue, it seems like I haven't asked for a tip from you in a long time."
Although Jiang Jinyue was shy and nervous, she didn't evade the question. Instead, she asked seriously, "How are you going to collect it?"
Lu Qingmian was stunned for a moment, moved his body, and simply let himself lie on Jiang Jinyue's legs.
He raised his hand, and his fingertips traced Jiang Jinyue's facial features bit by bit. "Save it for now. When you are completely well, I will collect it together."
Jiang Jinyue lowered her head and pecked Lu Qingmian's fingertips with a blushing face, "Okay."
After a good night's dream, the next day, just as the sky was getting light, Lu Qingmian woke up Jiang Jinyue.
The two of them packed up and went up the mountain with their friends. Of course, the best place to watch the sunrise is from the top of the mountain.
Jiang Jinyue had just sprained his ankle yesterday. Although his ankle had almost healed due to his vampire constitution, Lu Qingmian was still worried and half-carried and half-supported him up the mountain.
Because there were so many of them, the way up the mountain was not boring. Everyone chatted from time to time, and when they reached the top of the mountain, the sun had just risen.
Lu Qingmian held an umbrella and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Jinyue, watching the rising sun.
"Are you scared?" Lu Qingmian asked.
Vampires are afraid of sunlight, which is an ancient taboo.
The rising sun in autumn was not dazzling. Jiang Jinyue squinted his red eyes and looked out from under the umbrella at the rising outline of the sun, and shook his head.
"You're here." Jiang Jinyue said softly.
Lu Qingmian curled his lips. Ever since Jiang Jinyue appeared in his life, his always empty chest seemed to be getting fuller and fuller.
When the sun was completely overhead and the sunlight was bright, Jiang Jinyue's cell phone suddenly rang.
He took out his cell phone and found that the caller was Wang Xiaoya.
"Mom?" Jiang Jinyue answered the phone, feeling a little worried. Did something happen to Wang Xiaoya calling him so early?
"Yueyue, good morning." Wang Xiaoya's voice was very calm.
"Mom, what happened?" Jiang Jinyue asked.
"Can't I just say good morning to you if there's nothing wrong?" Wang Xiaoya smiled and asked a few more questions about Jiang Jinyue's life. In less than five minutes, Wang Xiaoya was about to hang up the phone, as if she really just wanted to say good morning to Jiang Jinyue.
Before hanging up the phone, Jiang Jinyue suddenly said, "Mom!"
"Yes, I'm here." Wang Xiaoya said.
Jiang Jinyue looked at the sun in the mountains and said softly, "Come on."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment: "Good boy, you too, keep going."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Qingmian asked Jiang Jinyue what happened.
Jiang Jinyue looked at her phone, then shook her head, "Mom... is moving forward."
On the other side, Ze County.
Wang Xiaoya hung up the phone and was a little dazed.
At this time of day, she would have already started to manage the small supermarket and prepare for the new day's business.
But today is a little different.
The rolling shutter door of the small supermarket was closed. The usually tidy small supermarket was in a mess, with shelves overturned and goods scattered everywhere. The sausage grilling machine that usually emitted a fragrant smell at this time was still turned off, and wooden skewers were scattered all over the floor.
Outside the rolling shutter door, Jiang Wangfeng was sleeping at the door with his clothes spread out, holding a wine bottle, and talking in his sleep from time to time.
"Wang Xiaoya, don't even think about getting a divorce..."
Paint of various colors was splashed on the rolling door, and disgusting words such as "bitch" and "slut" were written on it.
Wang Xiaoya put down her phone and sighed softly.
She had already considered these possibilities when she planned to divorce Jiang Wangfeng, but she didn't expect Jiang Wangfeng to be more shameless than she imagined.
She opened the drawer and took out a stack of scratch-off tickets.
This was the box that Jiang Jinyue sent her. She was reluctant to shave it all at once, so she only shave one occasionally to relieve her fatigue.
Today too, she carefully picked out a scratch ticket from a stack of scratch tickets, took out a coin and slowly scratched the gray coating on it.
She never expected pie in the sky to help her, so she never thought about winning any big prize. For her, winning five or ten dollars was already a big surprise.
After scratching the first half of the ticket, Wang Xiaoya raised her eyes and casually glanced at the winning numbers, and found that the previous numbers all overlapped.
Wang Xiaoya didn’t take it seriously as she could only win five dollars.
She continued to scrape down, and soon only the last line was left. Her fingertips holding the coin began to tremble uncontrollably.
She carefully compared the winning numbers above and checked the prizes behind them again and again.
200,000.
If the numbers in the last row also match, she will win 200,000.
How is that possible?
Wang Xiaoya took a deep breath, pinched the coin, and gently scratched the first number on the last row.
Then the second, the third...
The last line is scraped off.
The coin fell from his fingertips, rolled a few times on the table, fell along the edge of the table, and landed on the cement floor of the small supermarket with a crisp sound.
Wang Xiaoya widened her eyes, picked up the scratch card with trembling hands, and looked at it in the sunlight over and over again.
Her face looked pale and old due to lack of rest for a long time, her eyes were bloodshot, her skin was dull, and her whole body exuded a decadent air that was not suitable for someone of her age.
At this moment, her facial features were shaking, and they looked a little distorted due to excessive stimulation and surprise.
"I won... I really won... Two hundred thousand."
Tears couldn't help but slide down from the corners of her eyes. Wang Xiaoya solemnly put away the scratch-off ticket, raised her hand to wipe away the tears, and stood up from the chair.
The back that was bent by life slowly straightened, and Wang Xiaoya walked towards the bedroom with her head held high and chest puffed out.
She took out Jiang Wangfeng's clothes, stuffed them casually into a black bag, and dragged it to the door of the small supermarket.
Two hundred thousand is just a small amount for many people.
But for her, it is an unparalleled confidence.
Wang Xiaoya took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and lifted the shutter door.
The rusty rolling door made a harsh noise, waking up Jiang Wangfeng who was sleeping at the door.
Jiang Wangfeng stood up in a daze, waving the wine bottle, "You bitch, you finally opened the door!"
Wang Xiaoya kicked the black bag containing Jiang Wangfeng's clothes away, picked up the big broom beside her with a cold face, and hit Jiang Wangfeng with it.
"Jiang Wangfeng! Even if I don't open this supermarket, I'm going to divorce you!"
Ze County is very lively early in the morning.
H City.
After watching the sunrise, the group began to descend the mountain.
On the way down the mountain, Jiang Jinyue was unwilling to let Lu Qingmian carry him on his back. He grabbed the big black umbrella and ran down first.
His ankle was still a little sore, and he couldn't walk smoothly at first, but after getting used to it, he gradually felt less pain, and his pace became faster and faster, until he finally started running.
You can't stop running just because of temporary pain.
The steps on the mountain road were full of traces of time. Jiang Jinyue's clothes fluttered as he ran, and he counted his steps as he ran.
"One step, two steps, three steps..."
Lu Qingmian was tall and had long legs, and he quickly caught up with Jiang Jinyue.
He did not stop Jiang Jinyue from running. Instead, he grabbed Jiang Jinyue's hand and ran faster with Jiang Jinyue.
The wind was left behind by the two people.
The friends in the camping club looked at the two people who suddenly ran away in confusion.
Someone shouted, "Running race, huh? Here I come!"
A group of people started running one after another.
They were full of anticipation for the sunrise before going up the mountain, and they did not feel empty or bored when going down the mountain.
The mountain road becomes smoother and smoother, and so does life.
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