Chapter 66: Jingbei is not that big, they will meet again eventually.
Chen Zhan had no plans to return to the United States. She planned to stay in Beijing and set up her own studio. With Lu Wei's help, the process went very quickly.
The studio's location was in the heart of northern Beijing. While not exactly prime real estate, it was bustling with shops. On the day of the official opening, He Shiyi arrived to join in the celebrations, only to find the studio utterly deserted. Besides Chen Zhan and Lu Wei, the only person present was Xiao Tao, Chen Zhan's temporary assistant.
Chen Zan and Lu Wei were chatting, and Xiao Tao was organizing the materials in the studio.
This doesn't look like a business opening...
There wasn't even a bundle of wheat ears at the door to wish for a good business.
"I don't need those. I set up a studio just to give myself a place to develop my hobbies." Chen Zan took these things lightly. What's more, she had just returned to China and settled down. Apart from Lu Wei, the only friend she could talk to was He Shiyi, and not many people knew about her.
Chen Zhan smiled and said to He Shiyi, "Besides, you're here, aren't you? This is the best blessing for me."
He Shiyi was moved and hugged her, "You are doing things, of course I have to come and cheer you on."
"I don't know what you were thinking back then. It's so hard for me to go so far away and even see you!"
Chen Zhan also put his arms around her back, pursed his lips lightly and said nothing.
When the studio first started, work wasn't plentiful. Chen Zhan spent her days at home painting, occasionally taking on commissions online. Life was relatively leisurely. She had a spare room in her home, which she cleared out to use as a studio. She moved some of her artwork there, leaving some space empty, but it gradually filled up again.
Those are He Jingsui painted by Chen Zan.
When she first went to the United States, she didn't adapt at all. The feeling of leaving home and missing him kept lingering in her heart. She was already very sad, and she would think of him whenever she saw anything.
Especially when it's late at night and everyone is asleep, the feeling of missing her floods her heart, but her chest aches every time she thinks of her, because she is no longer worthy.
He Jinzhou's word "stumbling block" was like a knife stabbed into her chest. No one could pull it out, not even her.
She could no longer face him calmly, face his love, face his heart.
She can't do it.
But she still missed him very much, shamefully.
She would stay in the studio every day, outlining his outline on the drawing paper bit by bit with a pencil, and the tip of the pen would flow between his every frown and smile as she drew one picture after another.
She painted for as long as she missed him.
When she returned to China, she packed up He Jingsui's portrait and took it away, filling the entire room with it.
This leisurely life lasted only a short while. One morning, Chen Zhan went to work at the studio. As soon as she walked in, Xiao Tao ran over excitedly and said to her, "Sister Zhan Zhan, a big client has come to our studio!"
This made Chen Zhan stunned. She didn't understand what was going on. "What big client?"
Xiao Tao opened her round eyes and raised her hand to point in a direction to Chen Zhan. She didn't say it clearly, "The person is over there, go and see for yourself."
As she spoke, she lowered her voice again, shielding her mouth with one hand, and whispered to her, "The big client is super handsome, has a good personality and is gentle. He's a high-quality man at first glance. Sister Zhanzhan, you will definitely be super satisfied when you meet him."
“…”
The topic was a bit off topic, so Chen Zan smiled faintly at her, then left and walked in the direction Xiaotao pointed.
Only after meeting him did I realize that the big client Xiaotao was talking about was Jiang Yu.
Chen Zhan was a little surprised, "Brother Jiang Yu?"
Jiang Yu, who was sitting on the sofa, turned his head when he heard the voice, his eyes fell on the woman's surprised face. After a pause, he curled his lips and stood up.
He was wearing a silver suit, clean and simple, and the smile on his face was still so gentle.
Walk towards her.
"How did you..."
He suddenly appeared in front of him, catching Chen Zan off guard.
"Why that expression?" Jiang Yu didn't react as much as she did. He even had the same gentle smile in his eyes as before. "Don't you recognize me?"
Chen Zhan shook his head and looked at him, "Why are you back?"
"The company decided to transfer me back to China to join the company," Jiang Yu explained simply. "Our company plans to set up a branch in northern Beijing. I'm a local from northern Beijing, so they gave me priority."
"So, you're going to stay in Jingbei and not go back?"
Jiang Yu smiled and nodded, "Yeah."
Seeing her expression, he teased her again, "You don't welcome me?"
Chen Zhan quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no."
"Then why didn't you tell me about such a big thing as organizing an art exhibition and setting up a studio?"
I didn't tell him because I didn't want to trouble him. The years I spent in the United States were enough to trouble him. Besides, there was no need to tell him everything about their relationship.
"I can do it myself." She answered Jiang Yu's question with five words.
Jiang Yu smiled lightly. He knew what she was thinking, but he didn't expose her. He just said, "You are still the same as before."
I like to take care of everything myself.
Chen Zan kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Until Jiang Yu said again: "In that case, let's have dinner together tonight?"
"Congratulations on the successful opening of your exhibition, the successful establishment of your studio, and my return to Beijing."
It turns out there was a purpose.
Chen Zhan laughed out loud and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll treat you."
In the evening, the two of them met at a restaurant in the city center. Chen Zan treated them and she booked a private room.
The two sat facing each other.
The waiter left after serving the dishes. There were only the two of them in the private room, and the atmosphere was a little quiet. Chen Zhan was a little hungry at this time. She was concentrating on eating and didn't notice that Jiang Yu across from her was actually looking at her.
until.
Jiang Yu suddenly said, "Zhanzhan, why did you suddenly return home?"
Chen Zhan paused with his hand picking up the food, raised his eyes, and then lowered them again.
She said it perfunctorily, "Come back if you want to."
"So you're not going back to America?"
“I think so…”
"Is it because of He Jingsui?" Jiang Yu's voice was soft, but it carried an attack as fierce as water and fire.
Chen Zhan didn't know how to respond. Beneath her trembling eyelashes, her eyes concealed a multitude of obscure emotions, and even she herself couldn't tell where those emotions came from.
The hand holding the chopsticks tightened unconsciously. She felt like she was caught in an airtight net, confused like a headless fly, "I don't know..."
Jiang Yu knew they'd broken up five years ago. He also knew Chen Zhan wasn't doing well after the breakup. Even after going to the United States, she still seemed like a shell without a soul. He watched her suffer, knowing she was being forced into it, but he could do nothing because he wanted them to break up more than anyone else.
"Don't think about him, Zhanzhan," Jiang Yu put some food in her bowl and said, "You've been separated for five years. Your past is already in the past. We need to move on."
His kind words of advice made Chen Zan feel a dull pain in his chest.
Suppressing those uncomfortable emotions, Chen Zhan pulled the corners of his lips stiffly and nodded in response, "Well, we must look forward."
But she didn't know whether her response was a response to him or to herself.
It was past nine o'clock when we finished our meal. Night fell, neon lights flickered, the streets were brightly lit with heavy traffic, and the slowly blowing wind added a touch of warmth and coolness.
It lightly blew onto Chen Zan's face and ruffled her hair.
Jiang Yu was walking behind her when his cell phone suddenly rang, disrupting his pace. He walked aside to answer the call, which was about work.
After contacting the other party, Jiang Yu hung up the phone. He walked back to Chen Zhan and apologized to her, "Zhan Zhan, I have something urgent to go back to the company, so I can't take you home."
"It's okay," Chen Zhan smiled at him, "Brother Jiang Yu, if you have urgent matters, go ahead and do them. I can go back by myself."
He looked like he was in a hurry and didn't waste a minute. "Then be careful on your way back. Call me when you get home."
Chen Zan nodded and said okay, then waved goodbye.
The two parted at the door of the hotel. After Jiang Yu left, Chen Zan didn't rush home immediately. The night in northern Beijing was prosperous and bright, very beautiful, and the wind blowing on his face was very comfortable.
She walked aimlessly on the street. The lights of the shops were bright, and the bustling crowds were flowing lazily and casually. Chen Zan was mixed in with them, and her mind couldn't help but recall what Jiang Yu had just said.
"You've been separated for five years now, and your past is already in the past. We need to move on."
Chen Zhan pulled the corners of his lips weakly, with a hint of self-mockery.
She has been moving on for five years, but every time she thinks of him, she still can't let go easily.
The lights on the roadside lengthened her shadow, and such a slender and lonely figure was full of loneliness.
Passing by a convenience store at the intersection, Chen Zhan went in to buy something. She walked around the shelves twice and bought some milk and snacks.
There were some scattered things in the small basket hanging on her arm, and she continued to pick out drinks and milk on the shelf.
It was at this moment that she heard a familiar voice.
"You really don't have time tomorrow?"
At first, she thought she had misheard, until she heard that familiar name, "He Jingsui, are you so disrespectful to me?"
She almost dropped the milk and subconsciously turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.
But in the next second, when his sight fell squarely on that person, he was suddenly stunned.
My heart seemed to skip a beat.
The sounds around her seemed to fade away, and she could only see him.
Chen Zan never thought that their first formal meeting after five years would be here and would be like this.
He has changed a lot. His figure is more upright and his temperament is more mature. He still looks so handsome in the black shirt and black trousers.
The face had lost the youthful aura of his student days, and the features were three-dimensional and deep, but the expression was a little cold, and a little careless and lazy.
Bathed in bright light, it becomes even more eye-catching.
Those memories came back, devouring her heart bit by bit. The hand holding the milk tightened subconsciously, and Chen Zan was the first to avoid looking at him.
He Jingsui obviously didn't expect to meet her here, and there was a hint of surprise in his deep eyes.
But it disappeared in an instant.
Because he had seen her before, at an art exhibition and in a bar.
But he still looked at her, saw her trembling eyelashes in confusion, saw her trapped in the same place not knowing how to move forward or backward, and saw if she would still muster up the courage to call his name.
But she didn't.
It was Jiang Qiannan who spoke first, his voice cold, "A Sui, let's go."
He Jingsui seemed to be defiant and didn't move, but was finally pulled away by Jiang Qiannan, grabbing his shoulders.
The shadow on the ground swayed and disappeared at her toes. Chen Zan's back stiffened, her fingers sank into her palms, and it was as if the force that was being squeezed against her heart suddenly loosened. She slowed down her breathing and exhaled gently.
Subconsciously, I turned my head to look in the direction they left, and all I could see was his figure just leaving.
Jiang Qiannan didn't know that He Jingsui had already met Chen Zan twice, and thought this was their first meeting. Their breakup five years ago was still fresh in his mind. He didn't know the details of their breakup, but he knew He Jingsui's humility and compromise. He had never seen him so embarrassed and decadent.
Her reappearance undoubtedly reopened He Jingsui's wounds that were about to heal. As his good brother, Jiang Qiannan couldn't bear to see him suffer injustice and torture again.
The greater his prejudice against Chen Zan, the more ruthless his words became.
The tone was so cold, so contemptuous, and so mocking, "Didn't she go to the United States to study and further her studies? Why is she back now?"
"I've never seen such a person before. She just walked away, faster than anyone else. Now she comes back just like that. She's so carefree." Jiang Qiannan patted his shoulder. "A Sui, we should avoid her when we see her next time."
The chattering in his ears made him irritated. He Jingsui tutted, shook off his hand on his shoulder, and frowned, "Are you done?"
Jiang Qiannan had a preconceived notion that He Jingsui didn't want to mention this matter again, so he shut up and even raised his hand to make a zipper motion at his mouth.
The evening breeze blew a few strands of hair on his head. He Jingsui turned his face slightly and used only the corner of his eye to picture the convenience store. The lights were on, bright and incandescent, but no one came out of it.
With a ridiculous snort, He Jing left with a sullen face.
That night, both of them had dreams. They dreamed of each other and the painful memories that they were reluctant to throw away.
At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Zhan got up from the bed, pushed open the glass door of the balcony, walked over and leaned against the railing. The cold night wind blew across her slender figure, and her messy long hair was casually spread behind her head. She looked at the brightly lit neon lights from afar, but her heart couldn't help but think of him in the convenience store.
The name that He Jingsui had been waiting for for a long time was murmured out by her, "He Jingsui..."
At the same time, He Jingsui couldn't sleep either. His mind was the same as Chen Zan's. His heartbeat was pounding heavily against his chest. He held a cigarette between his slender fingertips. He took a lazily puff, his lips slightly open as he puffed out smoke.
All I could recall in my mind was her panicked look in the convenience store.
She was not prepared for the long-awaited reunion.
He Jingsui chuckled softly, shaking the ash off his cigarette with his fingers before loosely holding it to his lips. The dim light cast a layer of loneliness on his figure. He looked toward the distant, star-like lights, and the emotions surging from deep within his heart enveloped him, devouring him alive, swallowing him up in memories of Chen Zan.
Beijing North is not that big, they will meet again eventually.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com