Chapter 55
The small fish coated in flour are fried until crispy, and the river crabs are sprinkled with chili powder. Paired with homemade sweet and sour bayberry wine, it's the perfect match for a summer night.
Out of brotherly affection, Jiang Jiayi kindly reminded him, "You absolutely mustn't try to outdrink my sister, or you might end up in the emergency room."
Mu Zhengxi thought to himself, how could he dare? Even Yan Yuheng's father, a man known as a wine connoisseur, had once defied the odds and been knocked out by Jiang Jiawei's bottle of wine. Now he finally understood where Jiang Jiawei's drinking capacity came from; it turned out she had been trained since childhood.
The next morning.
Grandpa went to the field to turn over the sweet potato vines, plant new vegetable seedlings, and took a few boys with him to experience working in the fields.
Around 11 p.m.
Jiang Jiawei received a text message on her phone.
Are you asleep?
【not yet】
I think I've been bitten by ants.
A few minutes later, they replied.
Come down.
Using the light from his phone, Mu Zhengxi got up. Tonight it was his turn to sleep on the floor, which was right next to the door. He quietly opened the door and went downstairs.
The door to Jiang Jiawei's room was a third open, letting in a beam of light.
Mu Zhengxi called out softly, "Jiang Jiawei."
"Here."
The person who appeared behind him startled him.
Jiang Jiawei said, "I went to Grandma's room to get the medicine." She pushed open the door and said, "Come in."
Mu Zhengxi followed her into the room.
Jiang Jiawei searched for cotton swabs, but they weren't in the desk drawer. She found them in the bedside table drawer.
Where were you bitten?
Mu Zhengxi pulled up his trouser leg, revealing several red, swollen bumps on the instep and ankle of his foot.
Jiang Jiawei angrily questioned him, "Why didn't you say so during the day?"
Mu Zhengxi said weakly, "I didn't feel anything during the day..."
At night, the itching was so intense that it felt like a burning sensation, as if chili peppers were burning the wound.
"Sit down."
The person who had been scolded sat obediently in the chair in front of the desk.
"I'll apply it myself."
Jiang Jiawei said irritably, "Of course you applied it yourself, it's not like your hand is injured."
Mu Zhengxi, who had been given the drug, pursed his lips and stole a glance at Jiang Jiawei, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed and vigorously fanning herself with a feather fan.
He cautiously made the request, "I'm a little hot too, could you fan me a bit?"
The hand waving the fan paused for a moment, as if glared at, but a gentle breeze still blew across the wound being treated. Mu Zhengxi pursed his lips, the burning pain and itching relieved considerably with the help of the medicine and the wind.
Jiang Jiawei glanced up at his arm. "Is there nothing else?"
Mu Zhengxi checked it again and said, "It's gone." Then he twisted the screwdriver on the medicine bottle.
Jiang Jiawei gestured with her chin to the blisters on his hands from holding the hoe, "Are the blisters on your hands alright?"
"I tore it open..."
Grandma had told me yesterday not to break it, that it would be fine soon.
Jiang Jiawei sighed softly, opened a drawer, took out a band-aid and gave it to him, "Put this on."
Mu Zhengxi obediently did as instructed.
I asked her, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Normally, she would already be asleep by this time.
In the countryside, the whole village usually starts to go to sleep after nine o'clock, except for those families with young people who might stay up a little later.
"I can't sleep," Jiang Jiawei guessed. "Maybe I slept too much at noon."
At noon, A-Le fell asleep. She lay down next to her, intending to take a nap, but ended up falling asleep as well, not waking up until Mu Zhengxi and the others returned home.
The scent of shower gel filled the room, and the curtains fluttering in the wind, along with the girl sitting in front of him, made it hard for the teenage high school boy not to be distracted, his gaze wandering aimlessly.
The proper procedure should be to get up and go back to the room, but perhaps the ants' venom was too potent, causing my feet to feel very heavy, as if the tree had taken root.
"Jiang Jiawei, let's go to the rooftop for some fresh air."
Aren't you sleepy?
Mu Zhengxi lifted his foot. "How can I sleep with this pain?"
He suddenly forgave the ant that bit him.
Hearing this, Jiang Jiawei looked at the wound with concern, "Does it hurt a lot? I'll ask Grandma to prepare some herbal medicine for you to apply tomorrow."
Let's go!
Mu Zhengxi grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.
His palms were sweating, while Jiang Jiawei's wrists felt like cool rice cakes.
My pulse was pounding so hard I couldn't tell if it was my own or hers.
Embark on an adventure from the first floor to the second-floor rooftop, a journey devoid of conspiracy where victory is achieved by not waking others.
The old light bulbs on the rooftop cast a dim, yellowish light.
The evening breeze made people sneeze.
The rattan chair is made of ice.
The stars were bright, and we even encountered an airplane. The airplane probably had no idea that there were two humans on the ground, ten thousand meters away, idly guessing which direction it was going.
Jiang Jiawei said, "You'll be going to study abroad in the future, right?"
It sounded like a question, but it was actually a statement. Mu Zhengxi turned his head, momentarily taken aback.
"yes."
The voice that answered affirmatively was a little heavy, but there was no way to lie.
"Going to America?"
"yes."
Jiang Jiawei looked up at the sky. "How long will the flight take?"
Mu Zhengxi said, "It won't be long. I'll be back when I have a holiday. I can come back anytime I want." He spoke very casually and relaxedly, just like every time he came to Changqing.
Jiang Jiawei lowered her head and smiled after hearing this.
"What are you laughing at? I'm serious."
Jiang Jiawei nodded, as if to confirm that he was telling the truth.
Their gazes met, so close that Mu Zhengxi could clearly see the mole between her eyebrows, in the exact same spot as he remembered.
My throat is very itchy; my overworked heart is to blame.
"Jiang Jiawei".
What I say is...
"sorry."
The reason is.
"I told a lot of lies."
The explanation is...
"But it wasn't intentional. I can't tell you now. I'll tell you after the college entrance exam, okay?"
He wanted to confess to her the absurd yet incredibly lucky dream, and to tell Jiang Jiawei that his coming to Changqing was entirely because of her, and that the grandmother and aunt he had made up were all lies. He had no family in Changqing at all, and if he did, it would be her in the future.
Mu Zhengxi guessed she would say yes.
She agreed.
"You asked me before which university I wanted to apply to, and now I've decided."
Mu Zhengxi listened attentively, full of anticipation, "What university?"
"I want to apply to... Xuanhe University."
Upon hearing this name, Mu Zhengxi's immediate thought was, "Isn't that the university Liu Xinze attended?!"
Jiang Jiawei looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Mu Zhengxi realized he had spoken too quickly, but he couldn't care less. Not to mention that they were not in the same place to begin with, and would be in different countries for university in the future, even if he could travel back and forth frequently, there's a saying that goes, "familiarity breeds fondness."
In the past, Mu Zhengxi would never have considered Liu Xinze a competitor. But feelings are nothing like grades or scores with objective answers; subjective liking is the only standard. For the first time, Mu Zhengxi experienced what it meant to have no chance of winning. The moonlight turned into a bucket of cold water, soaking him completely. Annoyed and feeling wronged, he blurted out, "Is it because of Liu Xinze?!"
Jiang Jiawei looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
In the few seconds that she didn't answer, Mu Zhengxi's thoughts had already drifted to outer space.
"Jiang Jiawei, you don't actually like him, do you?!"
Jiang Jiawei calmly replied, "I don't like him." She then countered, "Who told you I like him?"
"I, I, I guessed!"
"Then you guessed wrong."
Jiang Jiawei rested her chin on her hand and looked away.
"Then why didn't you apply to Hanyang University! We're both 985 universities, are you discriminating against Hanyang University?!"
Hard work doesn't guarantee you'll be a top scorer; that requires talent. Jiang Jiawei ignored him and stood up.
Mu Zhengxi immediately stood up as well, grabbing at a piece of driftwood and blurting out, "Then do you know why I went to study in America?"
Jiang Jiawei turned around and asked cooperatively, "Why?"
The man with his hands in his pockets said, "It's because of a girl, and because of a promise I made to her." He spoke as if it were a serious matter, but in reality, it was no different from a sulking child testing the other person's reaction.
Jiang Jiawei raised an eyebrow. "Then you must keep your promise, Mu Zhengxi."
The smile in his eyes was genuine and sincere, like the starlight clearly visible in the night sky.
Unlike him, she wasn't angry, nor did she feel any jealousy or desire to get to the bottom of things.
"Hey Jiang Jiawei!"
Mu Zhengxi watched her retreating figure, stood there, anxiously grabbing his hair into a mess, and then hurriedly chased after her.
"You don't actually like Liu Xinze, do you?"
"It can't be true, right?"
"You didn't choose to take the entrance exam for Xuanhe University just for him, did you?"
"Jiang Jiawei!"
"Shhh."
"you tell me."
"hurry up!"
When asked, the angry person coldly slammed the door shut, saying, "Go to sleep!"
"Jiang Jiawei!"
The alarm blared incessantly, shattering my sleep all night.
Zeng Yuan received a call from Minxia at around 1 a.m. in Vancouver.
Around 3 PM, the doctor called to tell her that she was out of danger and needed to be observed in the ICU for two days.
She called Minxia and explained.
"Don't let Jung-hee know about this."
Her hands were trembling, but her voice was unusually calm, revealing no emotional fluctuations.
After hanging up the phone and standing up, I felt a sudden blackout due to insufficient blood supply to my heart. I leaned against the back of the sofa and took a while to recover before slowly making my way back to my room, supporting myself against the wall.
Two days later, the earliest morning flight between Hong Kong and Hanyang landed and headed straight to the hospital.
The woman in the smoky gray business suit had her hair up and her makeup exquisite.
Minxia unconsciously clenched her hands in front of her. "Miss Zeng."
Zeng Yuan nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. I'll have the driver take you home to rest. A caregiver will come to help take care of you."
He didn't waste any more words after that.
The assistant standing next to Zeng Yuan gestured, "I'll take you downstairs."
Minxia waved her hand, smiling somewhat awkwardly as she declined, "No need, I'll just wait here. I won't be able to sleep soundly if I go home before Teacher Jiang wakes up."
Zeng Yuan came out after the visit.
Seeing that Minxia hadn't left, he didn't say anything more.
Minxia cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Zhengxi, when are you coming back? I'm worried about what will happen when he returns..."
Zeng Yuan interrupted her, "Dr. Xu just told me that he should be able to be transferred to a regular ward today. If Zhengxi comes back in a couple of days and is still not discharged, then tell him that he came to have his lung function checked."
Minxia understood and nodded.
"Yes, I know."
Jung-hee is applying to universities abroad, so this semester is a very important one.
Jiang Wenqing woke up.
Standing beside her, Minxia held her hand, her eyes red and swollen from a sleepless night, and tears welled up in her eyes once again.
"Hang in there, you must hold on, Teacher Jiang."
"Or else, Zhengxi... Zhengxi..."
Minxia raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
Mu Zhengxi returned to Hanyang.
Jiang Wenqing's first day home after being discharged from the hospital.
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