Chapter 113 Post-Wedding Extra: Old Things (Part Two)
When we first started decorating, we designed the storage room according to practical functions, and we customized many cabinets, so there was plenty of storage space.
Jiang Wan pushed open the door to the storage room, turned on the light, and a thin layer of dust floated in the air under the light.
Even though it's cleaned regularly, a place that's been empty for a long time still feels a bit deserted.
Jiang Wan, relying on her memory, walked to a cabinet by the wall, opened the cabinet door, and began rummaging through the neatly stacked cardboard boxes.
As far as she can remember, after the wedding photos were taken, she received the finished photo frame from the photography studio, but she never even opened it to look at it.
I had the wedding planner pick out a few photos that would be used at the wedding, and then I just grabbed a small frame and put it on the bedside table in the master bedroom. The rest were put away in the storage room untouched.
Logically, it should still be stored in the original box.
Jiang Wan opened one cardboard box after another, and after confirming that it wasn't the right one, she moved it to the other side. After moving around for a long time, she had messed up everything in the cabinet.
Just as she was wondering if it wasn't in the cabinet, a metal box hidden at the very back fell out.
It was a metal box she had never seen before, with some paint chipping on the surface, and it looked like an old item from a long time ago.
She took the box out, looked at the clasp on it, hesitated for a few seconds, and then opened the lid.
Although she didn't remember it, since it was something kept at home, there shouldn't be anything she couldn't see.
Zhou Chong wouldn't possibly be hiding any secrets from her.
After opening the lid, the first thing you see is a pair of phone charms.
Jiang Wan froze on the spot.
The old, slightly faded plush, white and gray rabbit phone charms, are still tightly stuck together by magnets.
After returning to the present, Jiang Wan would sometimes wonder if everything that happened when she traveled back to the past was just a dream.
Or perhaps, some new type of brain-computer interface game?
After all, many things remained the same after she returned, such as work arrangements. It seemed that she and Zhou Chong had only taken a short vacation, and everything was back on track after they came back.
But if it was a dream, then after returning, many things were indeed changed.
For example, the grandmother who did not pass away, and Sun Qianyu and Jiang Shengming who got back together, etc.
But the memories she shared with Zhou Chong existed only in their minds.
Until she found this tin box.
Unlike the necklace that hung around her neck the day she woke up, platinum and diamonds are chemically very stable materials that will not oxidize or fade, and will remain as good as new over time.
But these phone charms are gadgets from ten years ago, bought at a stationery store near the school. The rabbit plush is no longer soft, and some of the threads are even coming loose and shedding, giving it an old, pale yellow hue.
Jiang Wan took out the two phone charms and wrapped them around her fingertips. The slightly rusty metallic texture was a clear reminder of how much time had passed.
She raised her hand, watched the two little rabbits face to face, swaying and spinning in the air, and smiled gently.
After examining it for a while, she put the little rabbit phone charm back, but then found a yellowed hardcover book at the bottom of the box.
It looks like a notebook.
She took it out, and after opening the title page, her pupils suddenly widened.
It is Zhou Chong's handwriting.
December 5th, Thursday, Sunny
Today, I heard Jiang Wan tell Sun Qianyu that she doesn't dislike me.
During recess, after she came back from the convenience store, she gave me a bottle of Liziyuan milk, even though Jiang Shengming also got some.
December 6th, Friday, Cloudy
The monthly exam papers have been handed out. I don't remember what the previous exams were about, but after looking at the papers, I can still recall most of them. They weren't difficult.
In the afternoon, Lao Fan called me out and said that Jiang Wan wanted to be my deskmate, and asked if I was willing.
How could I possibly refuse?
But I was stunned. Lao Fan thought I was hesitating, but actually, I just couldn't believe it.
Is this a dream?
December 13th, Thursday, Sunny
The math weekly test was very easy, and she and I tied for first place.
She didn't lose to me, but she didn't seem very happy.
Then I'll lose to her, it doesn't matter. The bet is just to promise her one thing, or even a hundred things.
When I turned to this page, a stiff card fell out from the insert.
Jiang Wan picked it up and held it in her palm.
Although it's called a card, it's actually just a thick little square made of ordinary manuscript paper folded into shape. But because of this, the paper is much better preserved than other types of paper.
Zhou Chong conceded defeat and agreed to do Jiang Wan a favor: she could redeem this card indefinitely.
The handwriting remains clear and unfaded, like a promise that is valid indefinitely.
Turn it over to the back.
[Do you wish to use the redemption benefits?]
Jiang Wan looked at the small checkmark next to the word "no" and couldn't help but feel her eyes welling up with tears.
To this day, this indefinitely valid redemption right remains unused.
She stared blankly for a while, blinked, stuffed the small card into her pajama pocket, and continued flipping through the pages.
It turns out that Zhou Chong actually kept a diary after returning to the past.
Each date, each event, now seems more like a memoir belonging to him and her.
December 15th, Saturday, Sunny
In my memory, I had never met her outside of school. Today was the first time I had seen her without her school uniform at this time.
It's very pretty, like a beautiful doll.
When I was doing my homework, I got distracted and couldn't help but want to look at her.
Fortunately, she didn't find out.
[December 17th, Monday, light rain]
Today, she asked me if I had someone I liked.
I looked into her eyes, but I didn't dare say that she was the one I liked.
If she finds out, she'll be shocked, and maybe she'll gradually distance herself from me.
Even if it were truly a dream, I wouldn't dare gamble on that possibility.
[December 25th, Thursday, sunny.]
Today is my twenty-first day back here, and I finally believe that none of this is a dream.
...
She said, "Zhou Chong, let's apply to the same university."
Perhaps, this time, she and I really will have a different future. I'm finally starting to believe in this possibility.
Jiang Wan sat cross-legged on the floor, holding the diary and reading it carefully, her eyes unconsciously becoming a little moist.
The door behind her opened quietly, but she didn't notice.
The velvet slippers made almost no sound as they stepped on the wooden floor.
Zhou Chong approached her step by step.
The tin box spread out on the ground contained a pair of tattered rabbit phone charms, and the yellowed diary she was holding in her hands.
He knew what she had found.
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