Chapter 44
Mu Zhengxi's mood, which had been gloomy since he woke up early, was now somewhat clouded.
He squinted at the figures standing and talking in the shop, and nudged Jiang Jiayi's foot beside him, "That person, isn't that the one we met that day?"
Jiang Jiayi let go of the straw she was biting. "Yes, she's the top student in the science stream at my sister's school."
"What was your name again?" Mu Zhengxi bit his lower lip, racking his brains for a while, "Hiss..."
Jiang Jiayi reminded him, "Liu Xinze."
"Oh right, Liu Xinze."
This name is so familiar, but I just can't remember it. It's strange. Just hearing these three words makes me inexplicably angry. Mu Zhengxi took a deep breath.
“I’ve never seen him come to our shop before, but lately he’s been coming in for breakfast quite often.” Jiang Jia glanced at the man, the last part of her sentence carrying a deeper meaning.
"Could it be that he... likes your sister?"
Jiang Jiayi shrugged. "Who knows?" She tossed the empty milk carton into the trash can.
Mu Zhengxi scoffed, "Do you think your sister would actually be interested in him?"
Jiang Jiayi revealed a mischievous smile and raised an eyebrow, "Feelings are hard to say."
His skin was as white as paper, making him look like he had osteoporosis and was calcium deficient. He looked weak and frail. Oh right, weak and frail. Mu Zhengxi remembered that the only person Jiang Jiawei had ever praised in front of him was his maternal grandfather, who looked exactly like that.
"Your grandfather is so handsome."
"Jiang Jiawei, are you serious?"
"Really, she looks very elegant."
"He married two wives, had three known mistresses, and countless one-night stands. He even died of a heart attack halfway through sex. And he still has class?"
"Your sister has always had a terrible eye for people!"
Jiang Jiayi retorted without even thinking, "You're the one with bad taste!"
The two glared at each other angrily, then inexplicably sensed something was wrong. After an unspoken awkward silence, they looked away from each other.
Mu Zhengxi: "I mean occasionally. It's normal to misjudge occasionally. Most of the time, it's fine."
Jiang Jiayi: "Hmm... Actually, I also think you have a very good eye."
"Are you this happy on the first day of class?"
"I can't believe it! I ran into my high school classmate! He's our teaching assistant for managerial economics!!!"
"Male or female?"
"He was the top student in our school at the time, and he also got the best score in the college entrance examination. I never imagined that he would stay at the school as a teacher now."
"A guy? Why are you so agitated, Jiang Jiawei? Don't tell me you two had a past relationship."
"I'd like to, but I doubt they'd be interested."
"Hello!!!"
Just kidding!
"Your expression doesn't look like you're joking."
"Okay, to be honest, he really was my ideal type in high school."
"Your ideal type, right? What's her name? I'll go meet her sometime."
"Haha, everyone says that was before high school."
"What happened before? Don't people say that first love in junior high or high school is the most unforgettable?"
"He wasn't my first love, but he wasn't my ideal type."
"Your ideal type is your unfinished first love. Let me check your schedule, Liu Xinze, Liu Xinze, right?"
"Holy shit!"
Dead memories are resurrected; no wonder he couldn't remember them no matter what. Who would want to remember such unpleasant memories?
Mu Zhengxi suddenly stood up, so forcefully that the bicycle he was sitting on overturned. Jiang Jiayi was also startled. She watched as he crushed the empty milk carton in his hand and stormed into the store, looking like he was about to fight.
I went inside.
"Oh, your cousin is back again."
Cousin? Again?
Mu Zhengxi almost lost his footing.
Liu Xinze glanced at him dismissively and said to Jiang Jiawei, "Then I'll be going now."
Okay, thanks.
Mu Zhengxi stared at the notebook in Jiang Jiawei's hand. "What's this?"
"The notebook. I need to borrow his first-year geography and math notes." Jiang Jiawei glanced at the milk carton he was holding and asked, puzzled, "What's that for?"
"I...recycle."
After saying that, Mu Zhengxi threw the milk carton into the trash can as if throwing away a hot potato, wiped his fingers along the seam of his pants, and followed closely behind Jiang Jiawei who was walking upstairs.
"Jiang Jiawei, why did he say I'm your cousin?"
Jiang Jiawei, munching on corn, turned around and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Doesn't the whole school know you're my cousin?"
Damn. I forgot about this huge blunder.
Why did you borrow his notes?
“He remembers it well, I’ll borrow it to take a look.”
"I also……"
Oh no, he doesn't have that, he can't.
However, "I can write one for you if you need it."
"Aren't we taking different courses?"
Mu Zhengxi waved his hand, "They're pretty much the same."
"Jiang Jiawei, you... well..."
Mu Zhengxi hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
"What?" Jiang Jiawei walked over to the dining table and handed him the fish food. "Feeding the fish?"
"I'm talking to you."
"I'm listening. What do you want to ask?"
“I wanted to say…” Mu Zhengxi pinched some fish food on his fingers, “I wanted to say that your ideal type isn’t someone like Liu Xinze, is it?” He exhaled a string of bubbles like a fish.
She took a deep breath, then immediately pretended to be focused on the fish tank, muttering to herself, "Eating so fast, is it that hungry?" It was as if the question she had just asked was really just a casual remark.
Jiang Jiawei, with her elbows resting on the table, was a head taller than Mu Zhengxi, who was leaning over the table watching the goldfish eat. Her eyelids drooped slightly as she glanced at Mu Zhengxi's face.
She said, "Why do you ask that?"
These words, combined with his expression, had a hint of interrogation.
Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Mu Zhengxi touched the fish tank with his fingers, licking his lips as he thought, "I... I was just asking casually." Quickly, he had a sudden inspiration and decided to play along, "As your cousin, can't I show some concern for my cousin?"
Jiang Jiawei was amused by his angry and grimacing expression.
"I don't think Liu Xinze is a good person." Mu Zhengxi spoke ill of others while making himself sound pitiful and wronged.
"Stop laughing, Jiang Jiawei!"
"Then call me 'sister' and let me hear it."
They're really pushing their luck.
"I refuse."
Mu Zhengxi got up and angrily went downstairs.
"Mu Zhengxi?"
A few minutes later.
The person who returned put on a serious expression and said, "I just called and confirmed that I was indeed born in the morning, at 7:28 a.m.
Jiang Jiawei blinked and raised her hand. "Want some peanuts?"
Mu Zhengxi glared at her, then finally gave up and grabbed the peanuts from her palm, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed them with resentment, and pulled up a chair to sit down next to her.
"Is it tasty?"
"Jiang Jiawei, you need to listen to me."
Jiang Jiawei felt wronged and nodded, saying in an exaggerated tone, "I was listening, I was listening very carefully. You're older than me, you were born at 7:28, I heard you."
Mu Zhengxi felt he had been tricked.
"Is it tasty?"
"tasty……"
Jiang Jiawei said, "These are peanuts grown by my grandmother."
Mu Zhengxi then found an opportunity to retort, "How come your grandma can do everything? How come you can't do anything but eat?"
Jiang Jiawei wasn't angry when she heard this, she just smiled and said, "Isn't it good that you can eat?" She gestured for Mu Zhengxi to reach out and placed the freshly peeled peanuts on his palm.
The goldfish flicked its tail, making a soft sound, and its red scales glittered as if sprinkled with gold dust.
Mu Zhengxi lay on the table, and when Jiang Jiawei gave him peanuts, he reflexively took them and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Crunch, ptooey."
Hahahaha.
Having been pranked, Mu Zhengxi merely gave Jiang Jiawei a resentful glance before lying down again.
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
Mu Zhengxi shook his head and asked, "Jiang Jiawei, may I see your mother? Ms. [Name]."
"Haven't you seen it before?"
"I'd like to see other photos."
"Okay." Jiang Jiawei carefully tossed the peanut in her hand into her mouth, clapped her hands, and said, "Clear the table."
"good."
Jiang Jiawei entered the room, took out an A4-sized photo album, and opened it. "This is a photo of my mother when she was a teenager."
"Is this your mother???"
"Doesn't it look just like me?"
Mu Zhengxi was shocked. "It looks so much like it!"
Jiang Jiawei touched the face in the photo, "People say daughters look like their fathers, but I actually look more like my mother."
"They are exactly the same."
"This photo was taken when my mom and dad first met, when they went to May 1st Square in the city."
How old is she?
"I think it was when I was nineteen."
The teenage girl looked almost exactly like the girl on the TV cabinet.
What about this one?
"This is me, when I was four months pregnant."
"He looks like a boy, haha."
"My grandma and the others said the same thing."
What about this one?
"This photo was taken when I was three years old, when my mom took me to Ocean Park."
Wearing brown corduroy overalls, she looked like a college graduate. Her long, loose, slightly wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her red lipstick gave her an exceptional air. In her arms, a little girl in a white princess dress held a cotton candy. The two of them had identical eyes and mouths when they smiled.
Mu Zhengxi turned to look at Jiang Jiawei, a smug smile creeping onto his lips.
Jiang Jiawei pointed to the photo, "This is my aunt, and this photo was taken at my grandma's house."
"Then this is the barbershop my dad used to run. It was taken by an uncle next door at the entrance of the shop."
...
The photo album was thin; I flipped through it in no time.
"Okay, that's all."
Mu Zhengxi quickly looked away and coughed lightly, "Hey, why isn't Jiang Jiayi here?"
"Yes, but this book is still in my mom's belly, haha."
Speak of the devil and he appears.
"Sis, Dad asked if you're going out for lunch or dinner?"
"Oh, evening."
Jiang Jiayi then repeated it downstairs, and then walked over, asking, "What are you two doing?"
"Looking at old photos of my mother."
Jiang Jia bent down and leaned closer, "Wow, I haven't looked at this photo album in ages." She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Mu Zhengxi.
Mu Zhengxi: "Do you have any photos of Jiang Jiayi when she was a child?"
"Yes, I have."
"show me!"
When talking about her childhood looks, Jiang Jiayi became incredibly confident and proud, saying, "I was so good-looking when I was little. Back then, people thought I was mixed-race with foreign genes."
Mu Zhengxi scoffed.
Jiang Jiawei brought over the photo album. "It's true. He was very handsome when he was a child."
Mu Zhengxi: "I think you're quite pretty too."
"After seeing my brother, you won't think I'm good-looking anymore."
It really does look exactly like the baby depicted in the TV baby formula commercial.
Jiang Jia raised an eyebrow. "So, do you believe me now?"
"Not bad."
What did you look like when you were a child?
"Of course he's handsome."
"Narcissistic, bring it out for me to admire next time."
"Okay, but be careful not to fall in love with me."
Jiang Jiayi's face was filled with disbelief, as if she thought, "Is this human language? What kind of nonsense could someone utter?" She felt that even retaliating would be a waste of energy.
Jiang Jia looked at his sister, who was laughing out loud, with a puzzled expression. "Is it that funny?"
Jiang Jiawei covered her face with her hand in embarrassment and said "Oh".
Jiang Jiayi glanced back and forth between the two, utterly speechless.
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