Chapter 34
Mu Zhengxi was not burned to death.
The magma wasn't as scorching as he'd imagined; it was the temperature of a hot spring. The lava flow nourished and irrigated the cracked earth, causing seeds buried deep beneath the crust to suddenly take root and sprout, attaching themselves to bones and blood vessels, growing wildly at an astonishing rate, their dense branches and leaves crowding his entire chest cavity, his heart overwhelmed and on the verge of collapse.
Jiang Jiawei opened and closed her mouth, pointing into the distance as if she were talking to him. When he didn't answer, her eyes became anxious, her eyebrows furrowed, and she mouthed his name.
"Jung-hee".
"Jung-hee".
"What’s wrong with you?"
I like you, Jiang Jiawei, I like you, I like you, I really like you, Jiang Jiawei, that's great, I like you! A voice was screaming wildly in his head, but Ursula's poison really worked, and he lost his voice and couldn't say a word.
It's not Jiang Jiawei who's 24, it's Jiang Jiawei who's 17. Jiang Jiawei who met Mu Zhengxi seven years earlier is also 17.
When the fireworks faded, the witch's poison lost its effect.
Mu Zhengxi said, "Jiang Jiawei is so lucky."
His smile, which was as stingy as Scrooge's when taking photos, is now as generous as fireworks that are free at midnight.
"Varied-"
What?
The last note was dispelled by the sudden embrace and disappeared into the wind.
Happy New Year, Jiang Jiawei.
Happy New Year, Jung Hee.
Mu Zhengxi, who was a head taller than her, bent down, and Jiang Jiawei felt like she was being held captive by a human backpack. When she realized what was happening and tried to pat his back in response, Mu Zhengxi let go, raised his arms high like a monkey on Mount Emei, and then turned around to high-five Yan Yuheng and the others beside him, his excitement as vibrant as the maple-red jacket he was wearing.
Jiang Jiawei tilted her head and smiled at him.
Zhenzhen came over and hugged her.
Happy New Year, Jiajia!
Happy New Year, Sister Zhenzhen.
Regarding the future, Mu Zhengxi's furthest plan was only to fulfill his promise to Jiang Wenqing. But that night, lying on his hotel bed, clutching his overloaded heart, he thought about what he and Jiang Jiawei's future child should be named.
Oh right, that's strange. I don't remember them having any children after all these years of marriage. Do they not want to have children? Well, raising children is quite troublesome. Mu Zhengxi pursed his lips. If they don't have any, then so be it.
The most urgent task right now is to be quick, even faster, to become independent, to grow up quickly, and to become a reliable and insightful adult.
As dawn broke, Mu Zhengxi finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, gently floating and swaying in the water.
The ship sank. Mu Zhengxi woke up with a start. Looking down, he felt a shameful, damp heat that made his body temperature spike. In the dead of winter, the high school virgin, who had just recovered from a cold, risked taking a cold shower and sneezed four times in a row.
Jiang Jiawei held the bowl and sipped her soy milk. When she looked up, Mu Zhengxi was staring at her, but his gaze was unfocused, meaning he was daydreaming.
"Jung-hee?"
"Um?"
The person who had regained their senses lowered their head and pretended to take a sip of the soy milk that had been sitting for a while.
Jiang Jiawei looked at the person who had been acting strangely all morning and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
When Mu Zhengxi met her gaze, he felt as if he had been electrocuted and immediately lowered his eyelids. "No."
"Your face is very red. Are you really running a fever again?"
"I...I'm hot." Mu Zhengxi tugged at his collar and pointed to the pot of soy milk, saying, "This is too hot."
After finishing breakfast, Jiang Jiawei stood up and took a new bowl to pour him some.
Poor Jiang Jiayi had to go to a training class early this morning after partying last night. He got the time wrong and overslept, so Jiang Weichao had to take him there on his motorcycle. Jiang Jiawei, a light sleeper, was also woken up and got up too.
As a customer entered, Jiang Jiawei packed up the breakfast they ordered and turned to ask Mu Zhengxi, "Do you want to bring some breakfast back for your friends?"
"They don't get up for breakfast." This statement was made with a mix of disdain and smugness, implying a self-aggrandizing tone while belittling others.
The person in question has exceptional hearing; the phone call comes immediately.
Where?
"Eat breakfast."
Yan Yuheng felt that he had really asked unnecessary questions.
Don't forget your flight time.
"Know."
The phone rang and hung up.
Mu Zhengxi sneezed, and was quite certain that Yan Yuheng was cursing him.
The end of the New Year's Day holiday means that their Christmas holiday is also coming to an end.
Before Mu Zhengxi could even pull himself out of his hazy, beautiful dream from this morning, he was immediately plunged into an even deeper layer of sorrow at parting. How cruel! This world is so cruel to a seventeen-year-old boy just beginning to experience love, tormenting him on both sides with the constant cycle of love and separation.
As more customers arrived, Jiang Jiawei glanced at the person sitting in the seat with their head down, seemingly lost in thought, and called out, "Zhengxi."
"ah?"
"Please give me my change."
"Oh, it's here."
Mu Zhengxi sighed as he gave change to the client. What was he going to do? Jiang Jiawei couldn't even calculate money properly. What would happen to her if she left him?
What are you doing?
When Jiang Jiawei, who had just delivered the food, came over and saw him looking like this, she found it a bit funny and thought he hadn't slept well last night.
"Jiang Jiawei".
"Um?"
"Boss, another bowl of soy milk, please."
"OK."
Jiang Jiawei was sent back.
What do you want to tell me?
"I'll wait a minute—"
"Boss, please give me ten of these shumai."
"Would you like it to go?"
"Yes, how much?"
"Ten for eight yuan."
Mu Zhengxi accepted a ten-yuan note and gave the other party two yuan in change.
Jiang Jiawei leaned on the table and turned to look at him. "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well?"
Mentioning this made Mu Zhengxi feel guilty. He licked his lips, his whole body heating up. Jiang Jiawei's open and concerned gaze made him feel an overwhelming sense of shame. But really, it wasn't a big deal. He was a normal guy, and besides, he wasn't dreaming about someone else, it was his own wife, right? Although not yet, she would be in the future.
Wife... Wife, Mu Zhengxi's heart rate spiked every time he uttered those two words.
I pressed the back of my hand, which was noticeably cooler, against my cheek.
Are you alright?
Jiang Jiawei compared her own fever again and found she didn't have a fever.
The tree in his chest was growing rapidly again, its branches and leaves trembling and squeezing together. It wasn't uncomfortable, but rather a tingling, itchy sensation, like being brushed by a feather—a very strange feeling. Mu Zhengxi tilted his head and pressed his hand closer to Jiang Jiawei's. Was this moment happening now, or was it happening a long, long time ago?
"You don't have a fever, why don't you take your medicine for another two days?"
Jiang Jiawei lowered her hand and, as she had done for many years as a doctor, delivered her conclusion in a flat tone, sounding indifferent, or so Mu Zhengxi thought.
"Boss, two more cabbage buns, please."
"Okay, coming right away~"
"Take medicine? What medicine? You look like a medicine to me." Mu Zhengxi put his hands in his pockets. "Isn't it said that girls mature earlier than boys?" He thought Jiang Jiawei was completely clueless. A bicycle whizzed by on the side of the road, ringing its bell repeatedly. A boy was carrying a girl. Mu Zhengxi clicked his tongue. "What's with riding a bicycle so early in the morning? Are you sick?"
Yan Yuheng called again.
Hurry up, hurry up, it's like they're taking your life.
This is exactly the kind of person who can't stand seeing others succeed just because they couldn't win over Nie Yuting themselves.
Mu Zhengxi pressed the button to turn it off.
"Jiang Jiawei".
"Eh."
"I'm going back to Hanyang."
Now?
"Okay, let's go to the airport now."
"good."
"that's all?"
Jiang Jiawei added, "Have a safe journey."
"that's all?"
Jiang Jiawei was also stunned, her eyes asking, "Then what else do you want?"
Mu Zhengxi looked at her as if she were a heartless man, trying to make her realize her mistake and find her way back to their warm past. "You should have told me to call you when you arrived."
Jiang Jiawei frowned slightly and looked away, her eyes glancing at the milk on the shelf.
Would you like some milk?
What does this have to do with milk?
"I won't drink it."
Jiang Jiawei had a sudden inspiration, "Then bring some corn. You can eat it on the plane when you're bored, and we'll arrive soon after." She packed it for him, saying, "This one looks the best!"
Mu Zhengxi was about to suggest what to gnaw on, since he wasn't a squirrel, but Jiang Jiawei said this was the prettiest one, so fine, he couldn't let her down.
"I'm leaving."
"Okay, bye-bye."
It was so decisive and efficient, without any hesitation. Mu Zhengxi said irritably, "What are you bowing for? It's not like you've disappeared."
The phone rang again.
"Don't rush me, it's here."
Mu Zhengxi hung up impatiently.
"I'm really leaving."
"good."
Because of Mu Zhengxi's procrastination, they had to run all the way to the airport and finally made it to the gate at the last minute.
The person propping their face up with their hand stared blankly out the window, clutching a steamed corn cob tightly in one hand. They looked like a fish out of water, lifeless and devoid of any vitality.
"Damn, I'm so hungry. Do you want some of that corn? If not, I'll give it to you."
Xu Zizhao, with his messy hair, reached out to ruffle Mu Zhengxi's hair, only to be glared at fiercely. Mu Zhengxi impatiently pulled his arm back, then pulled up his hoodie and buried himself completely in it, becoming withdrawn.
Xu Zizhao's hand froze in mid-air, looking completely bewildered. He blinked and looked at Yan Yuheng.
Yan Yuheng laughed so hard his whole body was shaking, and said to him, "Don't eat his corn, it's his token of love, a priceless treasure, you can't afford it."
Xu Zizhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and forgot about the corn incident. He laughed along, "Brother, you've finally met your match." He reached out and patted Mu Zhengxi's shoulder in a cheeky manner, "Who was it that said two months ago that they weren't interested in all this lovey-dovey stuff?"
The old saying is true: you can eat whatever you want, but you really can't say whatever you want.
Back to Hanyang.
The servants in the house were all busy with their own duties.
A circle of collected vases were placed in the hall, and new flowers were being arranged. Mu Zhengxi glanced at the restaurant and saw people coming and going changing tableware, making such a big fuss.
Who's coming over tonight?
Lin, who was standing next to him, said, "Your uncle and a few other guests from Hong Kong, but I don't know exactly who they are."
Mu Zhengxi didn't care about this. It didn't matter who it was. All he had to do was play the role of a good son.
However, the suitcases that kept being brought in caught his eye again.
Mu Zhengxi paused as he climbed the stairs, adjusting the brim of his hat. "My mother's back too?"
"Yes, she arrived at the airport around the same time as you, but she went to the company first."
About ten suitcases.
Alarm bells rang in Mu Zhengxi's mind; this was very bad.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
