Chapter 69 69 That heartache seems even deeper than five years ago...
Chen Zhan quickly completed the paintings He Jingsui had ordered. Their vibrant colors and simple, romantic style were perfect for children of that age. He framed each painting, packed it into boxes, and shipped it to He Jingsui's shooting range.
Today is the weekend, and there are many children in the shooting range learning shooting, chattering non-stop.
She had just walked in when a little girl in a red floral dress suddenly ran over and hugged her. Chen Zhan paused, a little caught off guard. Just then, He Jingsui came out, and their eyes met.
Xiao Tao had also arrived. She was now directing the staff to move the paintings. Entering the shooting range, she saw He Jingsui again, and just like the first time she saw him, her eyes lit up. She smiled at him, but soon realized that He Jingsui wasn't looking at her.
His attention seemed to always be on Chen Zan.
Xiao Tao understood immediately and did not say anything to break the atmosphere between them. Instead, she asked the staff to be careful when moving the painting.
Chen Zhan's gaze lingered on He Jingsui for only a moment before she looked away. She looked at the little girl in front of her, gently raised her hand and rubbed her head, saying softly, "Little friend, what's wrong with you?"
The little girl opened her round eyes and smiled brightly, "Sister, I think you are so beautiful. I like you so much!"
The sudden praise caught Chen Zan off guard. She was briefly surprised as if she had received a pleasant surprise. Her beautiful eyes curved slightly and she said thank you to her.
"Then can you play with me?"
Unexpectedly, Chen Zhan was about to let go of him and talk to He Jingsui about painting, but the little girl in front of him blinked her big eyes, pulled her hand and said coquettishly, "Sister, can you play with me?"
Before Chen Zan could react, she was pulled away. She subconsciously looked in the direction of He Jingsui. The man had his hands in his pockets, his lips slightly raised, a smile in the corners of his eyes, and he looked at her lazily with his head tilted, as if his gaze had never moved away.
Whether in the past or now, Chen Zan still couldn't stand the way he stared at her. His gaze was too scorching, sticking to her face, making her skin slightly hot.
Chen Zan subconsciously dodged.
He Jingsui's eyes were always fixed on Chen Zan's figure, and he didn't move away even when she was pulled away by the little girl.
"that……"
Suddenly, a cautious female voice came from beside me.
He Jing paused, retracted his gaze and turned his head to look. He still remembered this girl. She was Chen Zan's assistant.
He Jingsui nodded to her in a friendly manner and asked politely, "What's wrong?"
After entering society and growing into an adult man, it seemed like everything began to change.
Including his voice, which became deeper and more mature.
Xiao Tao blushed shyly and said to He Jingsui, "We have delivered the paintings you ordered. Do you want to check them?"
"Thank you, no thanks."
"Ah?" He Jingsui answered straightforwardly, but Xiaotao was confused for a moment.
He Jing then explained with a smile, "Your great painter Chen and I are old acquaintances."
What he meant was that he didn't need to use an inventory to prove Chen Zan's character, nor did he need to use an inventory to question Chen Zan's ability.
"Old acquaintance?" These three words piqued Xiao Tao's curiosity. "Do you know each other?"
"Yeah." He Jingsui pulled the corners of her lips lazily and glanced at Chen Zhan's figure over there. Under the bright light, her eyebrows were curved.
The love in his eyes could hardly be hidden, and he told her frankly: "She is my ex-girlfriend."
Xiaotao opened her eyes wide in surprise.
…
Chen Zan was pulled by the little girl to the shooting area on the other side. The shooting area here was very small, with only two tracks. It was not a place for them to learn shooting, but more like an entertainment experience area.
The scale is designed according to the proportions of a child, and Chen Zan feels a bit out of place standing there.
"Sister! I have a secret!" The little girl blinked her clever eyes and playfully kept the secret with her.
Chen Zhan was amused by her and curled the corners of her lips. She thought she was very cute, so she chatted with her, "What's the secret?"
"I won't tell you." The little girl was very clever, "Unless... we compete!"
"Comparing what?"
The little girl raised her hand and pointed forward: "Compare to this!"
"Let's see who shoots first. If I win, you have to listen to me and stop being angry with your brother. If you win, I will tell you the secret."
The brother she mentioned made her subconsciously think of He Jingsui, but... Chen Zan asked: "How do you know that I am angry with my brother?"
The little girl said, "My brother told me himself. He was very unhappy after you left last time."
Chen Zan subconsciously turned his head to look at He Jingsui over there. He still looked casual and was chatting with Xiaotao.
Her gaze stayed on him for only a second before moving away.
"Okay, sister?" The little girl in front of her pulled her hand and acted coquettishly.
She looked at her with her watery eyes. Chen Zhan couldn't bear to refuse, so he nodded: "Okay."
One big and one small were holding a shooting gun in their hands.
"Bang!"
The bullseye hole on the opposite side.
The little girl's accuracy was higher than Chen Zhan's. She jumped up happily, "Yeah! I won!!"
"This is what my brother taught me! Isn't it amazing!!"
"Well," Chen Zhan raised his hand and rubbed her head, smiling at her with curved lips: "You win, little friend."
"Then sister, you have to promise me that you will never be angry with your brother again, okay?" The little girl said, "My brother told me that he did something that made you very sad, but he didn't mean it. Will you forgive him?"
In the world of children, it seems that all mistakes can be forgiven with the three words "I'm sorry".
But, can everything really be forgiven?
Five years ago, He Jinzhou's words burned a scar on her chest that was difficult to heal. In the five years since she and He Jingsui were separated, the scar would ache dully whenever she thought of him.
It seemed to be reminding her that she could no longer like He Jingsui.
But it hurts, so there's no use.
He Jingsui, she couldn't control herself from thinking about it.
"Okay, sister..."
His wandering thoughts were pulled back to his senses. Chen Zhan's eyelashes trembled and he curled his lips slightly.
She whispered, "Okay."
The little girl's eyes sparkled with joy. She pulled Chen Zhan to continue, "How about we play again? If you win this time, I'll tell you the secret!"
The big and the small started competing again.
The little girl raised the gun of her mobile phone in a serious manner, closed one eye playfully, and with a "bang", a hole was broken in the bull's eye on the opposite side.
She hit a good spot to surpass.
Chen Zan didn't plan to win, and the last time she touched this sport was in college. After so many years, she had long forgotten it.
But she still respected this game which was not really a competition.
Raising the gun, she slowly moved to find the bull's eye.
But just as she was about to pull the trigger, a figure suddenly appeared from behind her, and a hand appeared in her eyes and covered her hand.
His palms were broad and warm, just as they had been before.
He pressed his bony fingers on her hand and pulled the trigger. With a "bang", the gun hit the bull's eye.
My heart skipped a beat.
Chen Zhan subconsciously turned her head to look at the person behind her. His face was close at hand, his breath was also close at hand, and the scent of him that she still craved rushed into her nose.
My heart is in turmoil.
She struggled to break away from him in panic.
The little girl opened her mouth in surprise at the small black dot in the center of the target in the distance.
"Wow--"
"Sister, you are so awesome—"
She turned her head and looked at her with admiration, and also saw He Jingsui beside her.
The little girl didn't see that the shot was actually fired by He Jingsui holding Chen Zan's hand.
She excitedly said to him: "Brother, I am so awesome!"
He Jingsui pretended not to know, and smiled at Chen Zhan in response to the little girl's admiration, "Really?"
“…” Chen Zan blushed.
The little girl replied, "Yes!! Sister hit the center of the circle just like you!!!"
"That's pretty impressive."
“…”
Their chorus of praise made Chen Zan's cheeks warm, and the back of her hand, touched by He Jingsui, seemed to feel faintly hot. She suddenly remembered that when she was in college, He Jingsui had also held her hand like this and taught her to shoot.
That heart-pounding moment only existed in the past.
She knew that moments like this could only exist in the past.
The little girl clapped for Chen Zan happily. She waved to her to squat down and told her to tell her the secret as agreed.
He Jingsui, who was standing by, heard this and chuckled, raising his eyebrows. "Any more secrets?"
The little girl tilted her head and said to him, "Yes, I made a promise with my sister that if she wins, I will tell her the secret."
"What secret?" He Jingsui laughed.
The little girl waved her hands and said, "I won't tell you. I'll only tell my sister."
“…”
Chen Zhan gradually relaxed after hearing the little girl's words. She squatted down, tilted her face, and asked her happily, "What secret do you want to tell me?"
The little girl leaned close to her ear and whispered something very softly.
But Chen Zan was stunned.
She said in such a sweet voice in her ear: "Sister, actually brother likes you very much."
The little girl was quickly picked up by her parents.
Chen Zan was still stuck in the moment when He Jingsui held her hand from behind.
Her breathing was slightly stagnant, and she felt her whole heart trembling.
She still couldn't resist the feeling He Jingsui brought her, which made her unable to control her heart.
But.
Before this, his friends had warned her to stay away from him in the future.
Her mood seemed to be stuck together by spilled paste. Chen Zhan recalled Jiang Qiannan's words at an inopportune time. That serious tone, every word of which hit her already broken heart nakedly.
"What's wrong?"
His voice suddenly came from beside me, "Are you worried about something?"
Chen Zan turned his head and looked at him.
Her gaze only stayed on him for half a second before moving away.
She really has something on her mind.
I couldn't help but ask him, "I heard from Shi Yi that you retired and didn't want to be a shooting athlete anymore, so you opened this shooting range. Why?"
He Jingsui looked at Chen Zhan's face with a nonchalant gaze. He chuckled and raised his eyebrows slightly, "Are you concerned about me?"
"No." Chen Zhan said stubbornly, but the fingers pinching her tiger's mouth revealed all her thoughts.
It was right under He Jingsui's nose and he saw it clearly.
"Yeah, I've retired." He said frankly, his tone lighthearted. "I don't want to be a shooting athlete anymore."
"Why?" Chen Zhan was puzzled. "But you clearly..."
She almost mentioned the match in which he defended his world title two years ago.
But it was too late. The abrupt end of the language made it easier for people to understand the meaning.
“Because my destination has changed.”
He looked at her and said, "Chen Zhan, I've proven with my own strength that I can win the world championship without relying on that opportunity. I've fulfilled my dream and my mother's last wish. You don't have to feel guilty anymore."
"Before I met you, I always thought that shooting was the end of my life. At that time, I thought I might be an excellent shooter for the rest of my life, until I was too old to carry that gun."
"But after meeting you, I started to look forward to the future. My life is not just about shooting. Maybe there is another possibility."
Her heart ached, and she didn't dare to listen to the other possibility in his words.
Things are different now, she doesn't even dare to dream about it.
"Then you can't either..." Chen Zhan's voice trembled slightly, she didn't know how to say those words.
But He Jing then understood.
He told her, "Because I have no reason to go on."
Chen Zan was stunned.
My heart seems to be covered with a layer of dark dust.
That kind of heartache seems to be even deeper than five years ago.
She didn't know how to face him.
After all, she was the one who hurt him first.
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The author has something to say: Let me explain to you here:
Before Zhanzhan appeared in Asui's world, shooting was the only thing that he thought was important. Especially after his mother passed away, shooting became even more important to him.
But after Zhanzhan appeared in Asui's world, Asui slowly discovered that shooting might just be an obsession for him. He wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion because of his mother's death. He could not let his mother see him standing on the podium, but the most important thing in his life had begun to change.
During the time he was with Zhanzhan, he experienced emotions that he had never experienced before, and he really loved Zhanzhan very much.
He gradually realized that the most important thing in his life was Zhanzhan.
I hope everyone doesn't misunderstand that Asui deliberately retired from TvT
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