Chapter 59
Under the nightlights, the backboard of the outdoor basketball court was slammed shut with a loud thud; it was less like shooting hoops and more like venting anger.
Xu Zizhao stood up and was about to step forward when Yan Yuheng grabbed him.
"It's been so long, my hand was broken for a while."
"If you don't let him cut off his analgesia, he'll feel even worse."
Xu Zizhao clicked his tongue and condemned him.
Just kidding.
Yan Yuheng pressed the person down to sit down again.
"No, what happened to him?"
Yan Yuheng made a peace sign, but Xu Zizhao slapped him down, saying, "Are we even brothers anymore? You're still joking around at a time like this."
Yan Yuheng clenched his fist speechlessly, swallowing back the curse words, and gritted his teeth as he analyzed, "...I'm saying there are two possibilities."
"Two possibilities? Which two? Professor Jiang? Or Ms. Zeng?"
They knew that Jiang Wenqing was hospitalized and that her condition was not optimistic. As a result, Mu Zhengxi withdrew from the band performances they had previously signed up for and spent almost all his weekends and after-school hours at the hospital.
“Teacher Jiang and Ms. Zeng belong to the same category, both are family affection. There’s another kind.” Yan Yuheng paused for a moment, then said in a deliberately profound tone, “Love.”
There are essentially only two types of romantic troubles for teenagers.
Xu Zizhao reacted quickly, "What happened to Jiang Jiawei?"
“You’ll have to ask him that.” Yan Yuheng raised his chin and pointed at the person who made the violent shot.
Xu Zizhao instinctively leaned back; he had no intention of becoming a human cushion for the time being. "Heartbroken?? No way??"
Yan Yuheng stared at the figure under the lamp, remaining silent.
About five minutes later, Mu Zhengxi watched the hollow ball in the basket fall freely, but instead of picking it up, he pulled away the jacket hanging on the basketball hoop.
He casually raised his hand and greeted the two people sitting on the sidelines.
"They're gone."
Yan Yuheng stood up.
Where to?
"Hospital."
Xu Zizhao picked up the basketball that had rolled to his feet, pursed his lips, and said, "It seems like a possibility." He then sighed, "May Teacher Jiang get better soon."
"Sis, I'm done washing."
Jiang Jiayi came out while drying her hair and found Jiang Jiawei asleep on the sofa.
Hearing the sound, the person with their face covered by pajamas turned over and faced the inside of the sofa.
Jiang Jia reached out and gently shook her shoulder. "It's eleven o'clock. Go take a shower. Don't sleep here."
"immediately."
Jiang Jiayi immediately lifted him up into a sitting position, saying, "Don't do it right away, or you'll fall asleep again like last time."
Jiang Jiawei rubbed her eyes and yawned, then haphazardly searched for slippers on the floor and put them on. She reached out her hand and said, "Give me a hand."
Jiang Jiayi grabbed her arm, and Jiang Jiawei used the support to stand up. The advantage of her younger brother growing up is that he has strength and broad shoulders that she can lean on when she is tired.
Jiang Jiayi patted her shoulder gently, just like Jiang Jiawei had comforted him when they were little. Now the roles were reversed, and he said, "Sister, it's okay. I'm here for you. I'll take care of you. What are you afraid of?"
Jiang Jiawei reached out and hugged him.
"Okay, you have to keep your word."
"Of course."
The trees on the playground have shed all their leaves, leaving only a layer of brownish-black bark.
"Give me a bite."
Jiang Jiawei pulled the bread wrapper down a bit and handed it to Chen Jingyu, who in turn handed it to her. "This strawberry jam filling is alright, not too sweet."
Jiang Jiawei leaned over and took a bite.
"Right? It's alright, isn't it?"
Jiang Jiawei curled her lip. "It doesn't taste good."
I was given a push on the shoulder.
Zhang Chao, who was on his way to buy water at the convenience store, took a detour past the podium and tossed two bottles of yogurt to them.
Thanks!
The person who had turned away waved and returned to the playground.
Chen Jingyu remarked, "Zhang Chao has really changed a lot."
The person who has always been a negative example of school rules is now listed as one of the candidates for the class's "Three Good Students" this semester. A prodigal son who has turned over a new leaf is more precious than gold. Now he has truly become a celebrity at No. 3 Middle School.
Chen Jingyu propped up one leg and patted Jiang Jiawei, "My mom went to his family's supermarket the day before yesterday and said that Zhang Chao's mom was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. The supermarket is offering discounts to reward new and old customers."
Jiang Jiawei smiled, then lowered her head and sighed.
The two exchanged a glance.
Chen Jingyu's smile gradually disappeared.
However, Xu Yue has not yet returned to school.
Chen Jingyu suddenly realized, "I haven't seen Mu Zhengxi lately. Has he not come back?"
“He…” Jiang Jiawei paused for a moment, “He has to take the college entrance exam soon, he probably doesn’t have much time.”
"Too."
A sense of melancholy washed over me without warning.
Jiang Jiawei crossed her arms behind her head and lay back.
"Ugh, it's so dirty."
"Whatever."
Chen Jingyu tossed the plastic bag she was holding to Jiang Jiawei, who took it and placed it behind her head.
Chen Jingyu said, "I really wish the college entrance exam was tomorrow."
This journey through the tunnel was longer and more arduous than I had imagined.
Jiang Jiawei turned her head away from the glaring sunlight. "Is the college entrance exam tomorrow?" she whispered. "But I don't have confidence if it's tomorrow."
Chen Jingyu turned around, rested her head on her stomach, and lay down as well.
Jiang Jiawei said, "From this angle, your hair looks golden brown."
"I'll dye my hair after the college entrance exam. I've already told my mom." Chen Jingyu shook her head.
"It itches, haha, don't move!"
Jiang Jiawei reflexively did a push-up with a small arc.
"And you, is there anything you'd like to do?"
"Me?"
Let's go get our hair dyed together.
Do you want to dye your hair?
Jiang Jiawei seemed to realize something and chuckled softly.
After a while.
Jiang Jiawei said, "I want to get a good night's sleep, a really good night's sleep."
He then closed his eyes.
Mu Zhengxi opened his eyes, and the coach sitting next to him tossed him the water in his hand.
"Congratulations! Ah Heng told me you received your acceptance email?"
In mid-December, Stanford University sent out a notification email regarding the REA program.
Mu Zhengxi gave a slight smile.
Thanks.
"When are you planning to treat me to dinner, Captain Mu?"
"Anytime is fine, wanna go tonight?"
"Of course I'll go!"
Mu Zhengxi propped himself up, looked up at the sky, and then looked at the junior students who had just joined the first team on the football field.
The coach reached out and put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Mu Zhengxi picked up his water bottle and touched his shoulder, the meaning unspoken.
We went to a hot pot restaurant for dinner, then booked a private karaoke room, and finally found a barbecue restaurant in the early hours of the morning.
The Christmas holiday starts tomorrow and lasts for two weeks, so we can be carefree.
The shaken beer, like soda, bubbled and foamed as soon as it was opened, leaving my hand covered in it. The smell of alcohol spread, but it wasn't sweet; it tasted bitter.
The coach hurriedly put down the skewers in his hand and frantically pulled the bottle from Mu Zhengxi's mouth. "Hey, hey, hey, you're underage, stop messing around! I thought you opened it for me." He patted Yan Yuheng next to him. "Still laughing? You're still laughing, aren't you!"
Turning my head, I saw that Xu Zizhao had restarted the game.
Mu Zhengxi smiled and gave him a high five, the glass bottles clinking together crisply.
Xu Zizhao called out, "Brother Yu, come on, have a drink!"
He's already acting like he's drunk before he's even had a sip.
"Damn it, you three, you flew away, huh?!"
"Haha, come on, Brother Yu!"
"Well... it's a deal, one bottle each! No drinking too much!!"
Mu Zhengxi put his arm around the coach's shoulder and said, "Come on, let's do it!"
Although it was an exception to drink alcohol due to the atmosphere, there were adults watching, and each person only drank one bottle. They were not even slightly tipsy, but the smell on their bodies was still very obvious.
When Mu Zhengxi arrived at the hospital, he stood at the door of the ward for a while.
It's strange, Wenqing. I got into your university and fulfilled the promise we made, but why am I not as happy as I imagined?
It's unripe and semi-ripe; one bite and it's all bitter and astringent. It's a pity to throw it away, but it's really hard to swallow.
Zeng Yuan, who was sitting on the living room sofa rubbing her temples, finally saw someone come in. Her nose caught a whiff of something unpleasant. "You've been drinking."
Mu Zhengxi gave a perfunctory "oh" and then went upstairs.
After taking a shower, the person sitting on the sofa made Mu Zhengxi pause as he dried his hair. His eyes swept over the dictionary next to her, with two photos on top of it and her phone on top of that.
Mu Zhengxi's expression changed instantly. His brain, which had been clouded by fatigue, cleared up in a flash. He took the things back in one stride. "Who gave you permission to rummage through my things?!"
Zeng Yuan stood up slowly, her gaze lightly falling on the small animal that had been provoked, its still-unsharpened fangs not worth her attention.
"I forgot to tell you."
I went to Changqing this week.
Mu Zhengxi's pupils contracted for a moment.
Zeng Yuan's gaze fell on the photo in his hand, her voice soft and cold, "I went to say goodbye for you and did some charity work for you while I was at it."
With a loosening of his grip, the objects fell one after another.
The person in front of me was wearing soft white loungewear. The light shone on her, and her long hair, which was tied over her shoulders, was jet black and shiny. Her well-maintained skin was firm and fair. She was a beautiful mother who was worth showing off, far exceeding 100 points.
At this moment, Mu Zhengxi looked at her with a sense of unfamiliarity and confusion. A chill rose from the soles of his feet, and his brain felt like it had short-circuited, with a crackling pain.
"It's me who likes her, it's just my wishful thinking! Why are you looking for her?!"
"That's precisely why I feel even more unlucky and ashamed!"
The pent-up anger erupted.
Mu Zhengxi was startled by Zeng Yuan's outburst. In his memory, she rarely roared hysterically like this. But after realizing what was happening, he found it even more ridiculous. These two words perfectly encapsulated their mother-son relationship.
Then she reverted to that condescending contempt, switching to a tone familiar to Mu Zhengxi, the gentle voice that seemed to be telling him a story, "Are you really that incompetent, Mu Zhengxi? Running around like a dog, don't you have any shame or self-respect?"
But for some reason, even the person who was cursing had tears in their eyes.
Mu Zhengxi looked at her, his eyes full of childlike innocence, and asked, "Mom, why didn't you strangle me when I was born?"
He blinked, tasting the tears on his lips, and scoffed, "Oh no, you should have aborted me when that damn fortune teller told you we weren't compatible!"
He reached into his clothes, pulled out the pendant, ripped it off his head, and casually tossed it out the window.
The movement was so fast that by the time Zeng Yuan realized what had happened, the item had already fallen into the garden downstairs.
Another slap.
To be honest, Zeng Yuan is not a parent who practices corporal punishment. This kind of educational philosophy belongs to Mu Shaoqing. He missed out on the legendary mixed doubles when he was a child, and now he can be considered to have made up for it.
With a trembling finger, he pointed at the person outside the window and commanded, "Go and retrieve it for me right now!"
Mu Zhengxi replicated a contemptuous smile with a similar face, and under the glare of fury, bent down to pick up the two photos and the phone from the ground. His finger paused on the dictionary, but he didn't touch it.
Zeng Yuan clutched her chest, which was throbbing with pain, and squatted down in despair after Mu Zhengxi left the room. Only then did the servants outside dare to enter.
"lady!"
"Go down to the garden and find the thing, hurry up." He added, "Have someone follow him."
"Go quickly."
Zeng Yuan reached out and pushed the other person.
Those who had been by her side for many years had tears in their eyes and repeatedly replied, "Okay."
Picking up the dictionary, a photograph fell from the cover of the title page; it was a photo taken when she was fifteen years old in the back garden of her home.
On the blank space on the back, there are childish pencil marks that say, "My beautiful mother." I can't write "beautiful" in Chinese; I wrote it in pinyin.
One hand wasn't enough; it took both hands and a great deal of force to barely suppress the sobs that were about to escape from her mouth.
"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."
The wind rushed into my mouth, my throat was so dry and painful, my body was almost numb, and my fingers mechanically dialed repeatedly.
Please, Jiang Jiawei, answer the phone... I'm begging you...
I stumbled and slipped, my palm scraping against the rough pavement still covered in snow. I quickly got up and picked up my phone, which had fallen a few steps away. Thank goodness, it wasn't broken.
For what felt like the umpteenth time, the customer service voice on the other end of the phone eventually changed to a message indicating that the phone was switched off.
He stood there, blinked, and his vision quickly blurred again. He blinked again, and it was still blurry.
"Jung Hee!"
Mu Zhengxi turned around.
Then his shoulders slumped slightly, and he became a puppet, with someone helping him put on his clothes.
He reached out and handed over his phone.
"Hello, could you please call my grandma and ask her to come pick me up?"
"The first contact person named Jiang Wenqing is her."
"Also, if someone named Jiang Jiawei calls me, please let me know immediately."
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