Chapter 18
The next morning.
Jiang Jiawei was woken up by the sound of a power drill next door.
I went downstairs.
Good morning, Dad.
"Get up, Jiajia." Jiang Weichao was packing food for a customer.
Jiang Jiawei rubbed her eyes and yawned.
Did the neighbors wake you up?
"Um."
Their eyes, still half-asleep, were glazed over. After a while, they noticed several paper bags on the dining table where the tea tray was placed, which was their own.
What is this?
Jiang Jiawei reached out and tugged at it.
“Oh, Zhengxi brought this over early this morning. He said it was a gift his grandma insisted on sending, one for you and one for your brother, and he even bought one for me.” Jiang Weichao wiped his hands and walked over. “He said this one is for you, that his sister picked it out for you. It’s something for girls like you, so I don’t really understand it.”
Jiang Jiawei opened the paper bag.
Jiang Weichao said, "They don't look cheap at all. Look, these are chocolates for my younger brother. They all seem to be imported. This kid is very thoughtful. He even bought me some ointment to put on my wrist."
Then he asked, "Have you had breakfast? I put it on the table for you."
"not yet."
"Go eat quickly, and take these upstairs with you."
"oh."
Jiang Jiayi arrived home in the evening, bringing back a large bucket of fish.
He was overjoyed to learn that Mu Zhengxi had bought him a lot of chocolates.
During dinner, Jiang Weichao said, "I forgot to ask Zhengxi where his grandma lives. Otherwise, we could send some things to the old lady. I'll remember to ask him next time."
Hanyang.
Tuesday afternoon activity class ended, and there was still some time.
Mu Zhengxi was dragged to watch a movie with Mu Yashan, who was in a bad mood. After the movie, they had a meal at the mall and each bought an ice cream and wandered around the mall.
Mu Yashan's gaze was drawn to the posters she passed, and then her feet automatically turned and went into the store.
Mu Zhengxi quickly stated, as if to preemptively warn, "Hey, let me make this clear first, I can't afford to buy it for you."
Mu Shaoqing was very strict with them when it came to money, but because their daily food, lodging and travel were all arranged properly, Mu Zhengxi rarely encountered any expenses in his life, and he basically had all his monthly allowance left over. However, things are different now.
"Pshaw, I have my own money."
"Then why didn't you pay?!"
"I'm in a bad mood, can't you treat me to a meal?"
"Fine, but I can't afford this anyway."
"I didn't ask you to buy it, you stingy person."
"..."
The shop assistant recognized Mu Yashan and greeted her warmly, "Miss Mu, it's been a long time since you've been here."
"Hi, is that a new product in your poster?"
"Yes, please sit down, I'll go get it for you to try."
Where is your store manager?
"In the VIP room."
"Oh, we have a guest?"
Mu Zhengxi, eating ice cream with his hands in his pockets, strolled around aimlessly, the diamonds dazzling his eyes, and their prices almost blinding him as well.
"Hello, would you like a glass of water?"
Mu Zhengxi raised his hand to politely decline, saying he couldn't afford it.
A familiar voice entered my ears.
Turning my head, I saw Ren Xin and a boy.
She saw him, but quickly looked away, pretending not to see him.
He did greet Mu Yashan, but it was a rather casual exchange.
Store Manager: "Miss Mu is here."
Mu Yashan crossed her arms and curled her lips. Who wasn't born a pampered young lady? Why are you putting on airs with her? Are you crazy?
The salesperson who went to pick up the new products came over and said, "Ms. Mu, this way please."
"No need, I don't like using the same things as others. Next time, have your manager call me in advance."
Mu Yashan took Mu Zhengxi's arm. "Let's go, brother."
This form of address caught Mu Zhengxi off guard.
The two walked a long way before taking the elevator. Mu Zhengxi looked at Mu Yashan, who seemed inexplicably angry, and found it somewhat amusing. "What's wrong with you? Did Ren Xin upset you?"
"Stop pretending. Do you even remember who that guy was?"
"It looks familiar."
"He's the grandson of my grandfather's comrade-in-arms. He used to play with Mu Zhengyang when he was little. He just transferred back to the affiliated high school last semester."
"Oh, that gold nugget? Didn't even graduate high school?"
"Yeah, he got fired abroad and came back to China to cause trouble."
"Then why are you angry?"
Mu Zhengxi stuffed the last bite of the crispy cone into his mouth.
Mu Yashan glared at him with exasperation, then snorted and tilted her chin up, "Brother, it's okay, we don't care anyway."
Hahahaha.
So that's what it was for.
The designer bags in the shop window are not so much amazing because of their designs, but because of their prohibitively high prices.
However, he had no intention of becoming anyone's designer handbag.
My younger sister can be quite cute sometimes.
Mu Zhengxi put his arm around Mu Yashan's shoulder and pulled her close, flicking her head lightly. "Is there something wrong with you? Did your brother tell you he likes you?"
"It hurts..."
"Stop playing matchmaker all the time, are you from the marriage association?"
"Mu Zhengxi, you!"
"Your brother can't afford a diamond necklace right now, but he can still afford a small gift."
The boutique on the basement floor is more in line with his current status; he can still afford earrings that cost a few dozen yuan a pair.
The shopping mall was very close to Mu Yashan's home; she could walk back. Mu Zhengxi took the subway directly back, but instead of going home, he went to the family compound.
Minxia had just finished feeding Teacher Jiang dinner and was cleaning up.
Mu Zhengxi helped by going to the bathroom, wringing out a towel, and wiping Jiang Wenqing's face, neck, and hands.
He pulled out red velvet flower hair clips he'd bought at a boutique from his pocket and pinned them to her neatly combed, distinctive gray-white hair, one on each side, making her look like a child—it was quite funny.
In his memory, the person who always wore simple navy blue work clothes always had a black hair clip that never went wrong, and black cloth shoes. She had sharp eyes with glasses, and when she was expressionless, she would scare her subordinates and students into silence. It was hard to connect her with the sweet-smiling twenty-year-old girl in the family photo album wearing a red evening gown at a ball.
Mu Zhengxi reached out and placed his palm on her cheek. Her drooping face was a little cool, like a sponge that had been used for a long time in a sink. His thumb gently brushed over her slightly swollen eyelids.
Her beautiful eyes collapsed into an endless black hole, and her soul was accidentally imprisoned in the time and space of the winter of 2004. Jiang Wenqing has spent more than two years but still has not found an escape route.
While waiting, Mu Zhengxi felt that he was seriously following her instructions to gradually transform from a naive child into a less superficial adult.
"Jung-hee".
"ah?"
Minxia asked him, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"have eaten."
"Did you eat at school or at home?"
"We ate out, with Yashan."
"Teacher Fang brought over some sauerkraut and beef buns from upstairs this afternoon. Would you like to try one?"
"OK."
Mu Zhengxi sat down at the dining table.
"Going home tonight or staying here?"
"I'm going home tonight, and I need to catch a plane to participate in a physics competition tomorrow morning."
“Physics competition? That’s your forte, you’ll definitely succeed.” Minxia said, “Bring back a big prize and show Professor Jiang how amazing Zhengxi is.”
Mu Zhengxi smiled and said, "It's just a regular physics competition."
Minxia knew that Mu Zhengxi would be very happy to receive any praise, no matter how small, from any competition he won since childhood. But physics was an exception, and she didn't know why. However, she wouldn't ask Mu Zhengxi about things he didn't want to talk about. Seeing that he was choking, she got up and poured him a glass of water.
"Thank you, Sister Xia."
Minxia often couldn't understand why Zeng Yuan was always dissatisfied with Mu Zhengxi. Even if there was a rift between her and her mother, she shouldn't take her anger out on the child.
"Is it delicious? I knew you'd like it, and it just so happened you came today." Under the light, Minxia finally noticed, "What happened to the injury on your face?"
"It's alright, the medicine has already been applied."
"Another fight?"
"No! I got injured while playing football."
"Oh, the competition has started, right?"
Minxia remembered that he had mentioned it briefly during his last visit.
"You'll have to be careful then. I'll apply more medicine to your wound in a bit."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Xia."
Changqing is not a city with four distinct seasons. Autumn feels like a weekend. In the blink of an eye, the weather suddenly turns cold, leaving no time to react. The extreme temperature difference also brings the flu.
This time, the first one to get sick was not Jiang Jiayi, who was always in poor health, but Jiang Jiawei. She had a fever for two nights in a row, and when the medicine didn't work, she went to the pharmacy for an IV drip.
I haven't had such a severe cold in a long time since I got sick in my first year of high school.
The person sitting on the sofa wrapped in a small blanket looked listless, with a buzzing in their ears, hot eyes, and hot breath.
Jiang Weichao brought her water and medicine, then checked her temperature. After the IV drip was administered, the fever did not return.
"Shall we cook some porridge?"
Jiang Jiawei shook her head.
"How about making some white fungus soup?"
Jiang Jiawei thought for a moment and nodded.
"Would you like some fruit? Dad will go buy some."
"good."
What would you like to eat?
"Eat a pear."
"Okay, anything else?"
"And...and grapes!"
"good."
"Want to watch some TV?"
Jiang Jiawei nodded.
"Dad's gone out, make sure you finish your water."
"good."
CCTV-8 is broadcasting "My Own Swordsman".
I don't know if it was the medication working or if the pain from the flu virus was distracted by the TV show, but my heavy head felt a little lighter.
A phone call came in on the landline next to the sofa.
Hello.
Mu Zhengxi participated in the competition for six days, and when he returned, he received several text messages from Zhang Chao saying that Jiang Jiawei was sick and had not gone to school.
Before he could react, his finger had already pressed the dial button. Mu Zhengxi rubbed his palm against the seam of his pants, unable to utter a word for a long time. He felt a nameless guilt and wanted to hang up, but he felt too cowardly.
Who are you looking for?
The voice on the other end of the phone had a heavy nasal tone; the person would sniffle every few seconds, accompanied by a light cough.
"Jiang Jiawei".
Finally, a sound was produced.
"Hmm? Jung-hee?"
"yes."
"What's the matter?"
"I...I'm looking for your brother. Last time he asked me to bring him that comic book, but I forgot which one it was."
He speaks at breakneck speed, like he's rushing to catch a bus.
Jiang Jiawei heard it all but clearly understood that he was looking for Jiang Jiayi. She looked up at the quartz clock and said, "He hasn't gotten out of school yet. I'll have him call you when he gets home later."
Mu Zhengxi seemed to only then realize what was happening and asked, "You have a cold?"
"yes."
"When did you catch a cold? It sounds pretty serious." Mu Zhengxi licked his lips, shifted his position, and leaned against the wall of the changing room.
"Yesterday, oh no, the night before last, I suddenly developed a fever."
"How could he suddenly have a fever? He was perfectly fine just a few days ago. Was he wearing too few clothes?"
"I don't know, but a lot of people in our class have caught colds recently, so they might have been infected."
"How is it now?"
Jiang Jiawei coughed a few times and scratched her neck with her fingers as if it were an itch. "I'm on an IV drip now, I feel a bit better."
"That serious??? He's on an IV drip?!"
Zhang Chao didn't mention that he had gone for an IV drip and that his condition was that serious.
"I'm much better now, it's nothing serious. Is it cold where you are?"
"Is it alright? Is Changqing very cold?"
Jiang Jiawei reacted slowly and spoke slowly as well.
"Yes, the temperature has dropped a lot. You should be careful not to catch a cold."
"I'm going to the football team training in a bit. We have a match this weekend, it's the knockout stage."
"The knockout stage? Does that mean if you lose, you have no chance?"
"yes."
"Oh, good luck then!"
Mu Zhengxi hummed in response after a while.
"Jiang Jiawei".
"Um?"
I'll come visit you next week.
Next week?
"Yes, next week."
Xu Zizhao called to him from the locker room door.
What are you doing?
"They're gone."
"I'm going to training now."
"good."
"Jiang Jiawei, get well soon, don't let me catch it."
Jiang Jiawei smiled and said, "I understand."
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