Eat the green plum
The two of them seem to have made up.
“If you want the town to keep this a secret, I can help you cover it up, but you have to take me with you every time you go to the mine.”
Jin Xilu told Jiang Yilin, "This is the only time I will pretend not to know, but I'm not really unaware of anything or don't want to know anything. I need to."
At this point, Kim Hee-ro paused, her voice trembling with difficulty: "I need you to have yourself in your heart, and also me."
Jiang Yilin didn't want the atmosphere between them to become so heavy, so he nodded good-naturedly, his eyes sparkling as he carefully looked at her face again and again, though his tone wasn't very serious.
"If you're going to say that, then tell me again, what is our relationship now?"
"Colleague, classmate, friend, or lover?"
Jiang Yilin's original intention was simply to skip over the previous topic, but he didn't expect to get himself caught up in it as he talked. He unconsciously blurted out what he was thinking, and when he realized it, he could only mumble the last two words.
However, Kim Hee-ro wasn't buying it. She slapped his hand away, turned her head away, and said, "Of course not!"
"We're just ordinary neighbors, haven't you known that all these years?"
"Hmm." Jiang Yilin only dared to think this in his heart, since if he actually said it out loud, Jin Xilu would just hop away angrily. So he quickly picked up on her words, "Okay! Good neighbor, come and eat some noodles. I really cooked two bowls of noodles."
They were really just ordinary neighbors. Neither of them tacitly crossed the line in their hearts and moved towards a closer or more unrestrained relationship.
Jin Xilu was indeed hungry after lying in bed for so long, and she didn't have the energy to be coy and push and shove. She threw off the covers and got out of bed, and Jiang Yilin brought over two small chairs.
And so, she and Jiang Yilin finished their bowls of noodles together on this small bedside table, head to head. Their noodles were slightly different; hers was sprinkled with scallions and chili peppers, making it look more substantial and flavorful than his.
However, Jiang Yilin had no talent for cooking. His noodles were so bland that Jin Xilu wondered if they were out of salt. But she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so after finishing the noodles, she could only say dryly, "Your noodle soup is really refreshing."
Jiang Yilin immediately realized the meaning behind her words. She didn't refute it, but just picked up her chopsticks, stirred the noodles in her bowl, and then put them down. It was at this moment that Jin Xilu realized that while she was engrossed in eating her noodles, Jiang Yilin had barely touched her chopsticks and was just staring at her as she ate.
The bedside lamp in his room was all show and no substance; its dim, pale yellow light could only illuminate the person facing him as if a soft-focus filter had been applied, but nothing else.
Jiang Yilin, however, really liked these two bedside lamps and refused to turn them off and replace them with a larger light. After they finished eating noodles, Jin Xilu couldn't help but ask him, "These two lamps are so dim, why do you always prefer to only turn them on?"
“They weren’t dark before.” Jiang Yilin took out his handkerchief and handed it to her, a smile playing on his lips as he stared at the chili powder that Jin Xilu had accidentally eaten on her face. It was so cute. If he hadn’t known she would be angry, he would have wiped it off for her himself.
Kim Hee-ro blushed and turned to sit sideways. Although she was shocked that someone would still carry a handkerchief around in this day and age, she still took it and awkwardly wiped her mouth. Afraid that he would be smug, she didn't think twice and said directly, "Why was it bright before? Is it because you haven't mopped the floor in a long time?"
"Haha, no. These are a pair of lamps my mother left me." Jiang Yilin was amused by her. Jin Xilu hadn't done anything, yet she could easily make him laugh. He simply stopped eating his noodles, put down his chopsticks, let one hand hang down and support himself on the floor, and placed the other hand on the bedside table, which wasn't very big to begin with, so he had to sit even closer to her.
He squinted, slightly annoyed by the dim light, seemingly trying to make out Kim Hee-ro's somewhat adorable expression, but the bedside lamp was too dim and he failed.
Kim Hee-ro was also startled by his sudden movement. She put down the bowl, stood up, climbed back onto his bed, and sat cross-legged to watch him.
So Jiang Yilin took over the bedside table. He slowly lowered his body until his head rested on his outstretched arm, looked up at her face, his eyes filled with infatuation. His gentle voice was like warm, orange seawater enveloping and healing her.
"Jin Xilu, it's been a long time." I missed you so much. Jiang Yilin smiled after saying this, realizing that she had said it too late.
“It’s not too late.” Upon hearing his words, a thin mist immediately appeared before Jin Xilu’s eyes. She was too familiar with his smile that melted into her heart, and she immediately understood what he meant.
“I want to know about your mother.” Jin Xilu quickly corrected herself, “No, not just that, I want to know more about He Min.”
He Min is indeed Jiang Yilin's mother, but she is more than just his mother.
She died when Jiang Yilin was eight years old. From then on, Jiang Lianyin forbade anyone to mention He Min's name, which is why Jiang Yilin was momentarily dazed when he heard the name He Min.
“She was a pitiful person.” He had thought he had long forgotten his memories of his mother.
But when she was mentioned, those memories of their time together came flooding back like a burst dam, overwhelming him and causing him to sway and pound.
When Jiang Yilin thought of He Min, the first thing that inevitably came to mind was a kerosene lamp that was always lit, day or night. As a child, he would lie on the ground and try to guess through the small, coin-like eye when someone would come to refill the wick. But he never saw anyone come before his family took him away. Thinking further back, he imagined a dark cellar, and finally, He Min, with a sorrowful expression, reaching out to the skylight in the cellar.
"I don't remember very well," Jiang Yilin lied.
"Can you please stop asking and ignoring this? This has nothing to do with you. Don't take everything on yourself."
He didn't want to expose his vulnerability and the filthy and disgusting things about the Jiang family men to Jin Xilu too early. More than once, he thought how wonderful it would be if he wasn't Jiang Lianyin's biological son.
But he had no choice; his blood was filled with the filth and turmoil of the Jiang family, the black blood that constantly tormented and devoured him.
Jin Xilu opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she heard Jiang Yilin say something to her.
"You should get some rest. I'll take the dishes downstairs to wash them." He backed down when it came to confessing about He Min.
When Jin Xilu saw him lift his head and loosen his legs as if he was about to stand up and walk, she hurriedly grabbed his hand in a panic. Noticing the deep look he was giving her, she immediately let go and lay back down on the bed, feeling a little sullen.
"Okay, so you can't sleep now?" Jiang Yilin lowered his eyes and couldn't help but rub his fingers together, staring thoughtfully at the spot where she had just held his hand, without moving an inch.
"No." Kim Hee-ro turned over, not wanting to see his face. She didn't necessarily want to talk it out all day, but the fact that he kept pushing her away made her feel hurt.
This inexplicable barrier always stood between the two of them. Several times she wanted to rush forward and tear it apart, but Jiang Yilin easily pressed his forehead against hers. She advanced, he retreated; she retreated, he stood still, looking at her with gentle yet sorrowful eyes.
Kim Hee-ro was always vaguely worried that he would do something behind her back that would hurt her without any consequences, which made her feel sorry for him and increasingly uneasy.
"Can't sleep? I'll hum a song for you." Jiang Yilin sat down again, but this time he sat on the edge of the bed, and the distance between the two of them shrank again. Now, Jin Xilu could turn her head and meet Jiang Yilin's face.
"I want the song you hummed for me before."
"Okay." Jiang Yilin agreed readily. After gently smoothing out the wrinkles on the quilt, he didn't remove his hand and left it draped over the spot where Jin Xilu's hand was through the quilt.
"Your mother taught you this, didn't she?"
"Yes." This time, Jiang Yilin didn't lie.
His cold expression remained unchanged, but he smiled inwardly. His mind was entirely focused on the song that Kim Hee-ro still remembered, and he didn't notice that her way of speaking was a bit roundabout, nor did he realize that Kim Hee-ro's focus was not actually on him.
What Jiang Yilin was thinking was, "She really does have feelings for me."
I remember when he hummed it to her back then, she said she didn't like it, but now I realize she was just saying that to hide her true feelings.
She clearly loved it so much that she secretly recorded it on an MP3 player when she wasn't looking. Now, five years later, she still remembers the song.
He started singing. He was already in a bad mood when He Min taught him to sing. The song had no lyrics, the tune was clear, and it was neither slow nor fast. Jin Xilu closed her eyes and listened to it, feeling as if a gentle breeze was blowing a few bamboo leaves past her eyes, and the air was filled with the fragrance of dew.
It was indeed her song; He Min had unknowingly saved her life back then.
Five minutes later, Jiang Yilin stood up from the bedside, bent down to cover the sleeping girl with the blanket, and his hand remained on the blanket for half a minute. During those thirty seconds, he did not speak but silently watched the girl on the bed, his gaze not missing any part of her face, from the strands of hair on her face to her eyes and nose, and finally returning to her gentle breathing.
Jiang Yilin forced himself to immediately give up his obsession with Jin Xilu. Only after she fell asleep and closed her eyes did he dare to openly invade every inch of her skin.
Sweet dreams, my Xilu.
Jiang Yilin left quietly, making sure to turn off one bedside lamp before leaving, and leaving another lamp some distance away to prevent her from being frightened when she woke up.
The sound of the door closing rang out, and after a few minutes the footsteps disappeared, and the entire fourth floor fell silent again.
"Just kidding, you idiot!"
Kim Hee-ro woke up, her beautiful eyes shining brightly in the darkness; she hadn't actually slept at all.
Kim Hee-ro sat up, pulled her bag out from under the bed, and reached inside to find the diary.
Jiang Yilin, you pushed me away this time, but it's okay, I'll rely on myself.
"This time, it's my turn to help you!"
The next day, Jiang Yilin tore up the note left by Jin Xilu, gave a mocking smirk, and his eyes suddenly stopped, his steps faltering as he leaned against the door. Three seconds later, he swallowed the blood, which was filled with hatred, back down his throat. The sweet, metallic taste of the blood made him unable to think; all he wanted was to grab the woman back.
Kim Hee-ro doesn't want him anymore.
This is the second time.
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