Chapter 28 Numb.28 You Smell Good
The aura emanating from the newcomer almost blended into her own. She slightly turned her head and raised her eyes, just in time to meet Jie Ying's lowered gaze.
The previously gloomy and windy weather suddenly tore a gap through the thick clouds, and the slanting light fell right into Jie Ying's eyes. The distance between them was so close that the light made his dark eyes turn into a bright amber color.
The cold wind blew Xu Wu's slightly fluttering hair all over Jie Ying's body, brushing against his chin or lightly kissing his cheek.
The sudden warm light allowed her to clearly see even the long eyelashes of Jie Ying when he lowered his eyes, as well as the fine hairs on his face.
The homeroom teacher's voice was still loud behind her. Xu Wu snapped back to reality and glanced at the classmates chatting around them out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she was somewhat relieved, but she still took a step to the side to create a safe distance and asked him, "Where did you go?"
Upon hearing this, Jie Ying's eyes crinkled slightly, and she replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, "Is Wu... looking for me?"
"What's with the narcissism?" Xu Wu suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She glanced back at the classroom, trying to cover up the situation. The homeroom teacher had already mentioned Xia Ni's award in the last essay competition and was awarding the certificate in front of everyone. Xia Ni's mother couldn't stop smiling. Even Xia Ni in the corridor was being congratulated by people around her with their arms linked together.
There were two empty seats in the classroom.
One is her, and the other is Jieying.
"Great job, Xia Ni, first prize!" The long-haired girl next to her nudged her arm and joked, "You'll have to treat us to dinner."
“That’s right,” Liu Tan chimed in from the side, “You can’t live without eating Haidilao.”
"What a rip-off!" Xia Ni laughed and cursed. "The first prize is only seven hundred. They'll bankrupt me."
All around her were these kinds of noises, but the place where she and Jieying were kept apart seemed to be isolated, so quiet that only the wind was making a racket.
The sudden beam of light was blocked by the clouds again, and the fleeting warmth quickly dissipated, leaving her bare hands unbearably cold.
Xu Wu withdrew her gaze and asked casually, "Aren't your parents coming either?"
This should have been an easy question to answer. She could imagine what Jie Ying would say, something like "I don't have time."
But there was no sound; unusually, Jieying did not answer her.
Xu Wu frowned, and when she looked at Jie Ying's expression, she saw that he was silent, his dark eyes seemed to be slightly lost in thought, and his long bangs covered his absent-minded pupils, so that he could not be noticed at all if you did not look closely.
Xu Wu was stunned. This was the first time she had seen Jie Ying like this. Was it because of what she had just said?
Students from the next class would occasionally pass by, and sometimes a curious glance would fall on me, but they would quickly look away, though it meant no harm.
Perhaps because the topic had become sensitive, Xu Wu softened her tone and said, "If you don't want to talk about it..."
"No..." Jie Ying's lips parted slightly, and she said softly, "I..."
But he got stuck as soon as he said that one word. No matter what he did or what his brain gave him, he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
Jie Ying clenched her fists and then relaxed them, pursed her lips, her eyes revealing confusion, and even her breathing became more rapid.
He didn't know how Xu Wu would view him for this.
Jieying's mind was in a state of chaos, and fragments of the past flashed by like a revolving lantern, making it hard for him to breathe.
until-
A hand gently grasped his wrist through his sleeve.
Jie Ying's pupils trembled, and her heartbeat stopped for two seconds. Her terrible mood suddenly calmed down miraculously. She slightly raised her eyes, but not too much, and stared at the first button on Xu Wu's chest.
Her hands were very cold. Apart from the weather today, he knew that Xu Wu was also very sensitive to the cold.
But he felt at ease, as the coolness transformed into wisps of warmth that seeped into his limbs and bones when it came into contact with his clothes.
Whether it's the temperature of your fingertips or your skin.
This is an attempt to appease.
Jieying suddenly realized this.
"I......"
He tried to speak again, but his voice was hoarse.
Xu Wu wasn't in a hurry. She nodded in agreement and waited patiently.
That could be considered an advantage, though; her greatest skill is undoubtedly waiting.
She had taken in Jie Ying's expression just now, and it was familiar to her.
It had appeared on her face a long time ago.
"I tried to contact them, but I couldn't." After a long while, he said this in a dejected tone.
Xu Wu frowned.
According to Jie Ying, his relationship with his parents was very simple, so simple that it was just a one-way straight line.
There was no earth-shattering love story. His father started from scratch, and his mother was originally his father's secretary.
His birth and even his seventeen years of life can be summed up in two words: accident.
In my memory, my parents have never been seen together in a photo. The only time they were seen arguing at the same time was on June 20th, my third birthday.
It was extremely noisy.
One said, "Take your son and get out of here," while the other said, "Why don't you just die?"
Nobody remembers, nobody cares.
At that moment, he sat unmoved at the dining table, listening to the deafening sounds of things being smashed in the bedroom.
He closed his eyes, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and made a wish on the empty table.
Mom and Dad, please make up quickly and celebrate his birthday together.
Then I opened my eyes and blew a breath into the air, as if to wish myself a happy birthday.
The next day, his parents divorced, and neither of them wanted him; he was awarded to his father.
He could hardly remember what his parents looked like anymore. He only remembered the look in his father's eyes when he saw him, as if he were some kind of trash, and his mother's hysterical roars at him every night. Why did his father always have such a stern face every time he saw him? Couldn't he even smile? They clearly looked so alike.
Later, her mother also hated this face. She said, "Your face is disgusting. It's so ugly that it gives me nightmares."
He was so frightened that he had a fever and nightmares for a week, which later caused some disorder in his language system, resulting in a stutter.
So over time he stopped talking.
The nanny once said that he was a loner. Other children his age would be with groups of friends, so why did Jieying prefer to be alone?
Jie Ying thought, "Well, that's fine then. Anyway, he's ugly, so why should he go out and scare people?"
So he grew his hair long, and no one noticed him anymore.
That's just how life is, isn't it?
Then-
He met Xu Wu.
What kind of person is Xu Wu?
A clever, arrogant, and hypocritical bad person.
It was so flamboyant it seemed to tear him apart.
He was fascinated, hopelessly fascinated.
......
Xu Wu remained silent, her heart aching, unsure how to react, but her grip on Jie Ying's hand tightened unconsciously.
Given his past, how could he have grown into the person he is today?
"The first time you met me..." she said slowly.
“No, it’s not at the door,” Jie Ying corrected.
"?" she asked, puzzled.
“When you were in the first year of high school,” he whispered, “you were walking with other people, and you would sometimes bump into me.”
Xu Wu couldn't remember: "Really?"
Jie Ying nodded.
Xu Wu simply didn't notice, and even hurriedly turned around to apologize to him.
"That's it?" Xu Wu had no recollection of it at all.
"You...you said 'Happy Birthday'." Jie Ying pursed her lips.
Actually, it wasn't said to him. Xu Wu was chatting with someone else when that person mentioned it was her idol's birthday, so Xu Wu casually replied, "Happy birthday to him."
That day happened to be Jieying's birthday.
These four words made Jie Ying stop in her tracks.
In seventeen years, this was only the second time he had heard "Happy Birthday," the first time being when he was three years old.
"That's all?"
That's all.
Xu Wu remained silent for a few seconds, and then she suddenly understood what the attraction she felt from Jie Ying was.
They are similar.
They are like natural mirror images.
One is for internal use, and the other is for external use.
At first, Xu Wu was unwilling to admit that she would be involved with Jie Ying, but when she let Jie Ying's gaze fall on her, she belatedly realized that she couldn't escape it.
It wasn't that Jieying wouldn't allow it, but rather that she suddenly didn't want to leave.
"And what about your birthday this year?" she asked slowly.
She wanted to know a few small, insignificant things about him.
But Jieying said, "I... I've never... but..."
He answered honestly.
Indeed, according to him, he doesn't look forward to the ritual of birthdays.
Or is it -
Xu Wu looked at him because no one gave him anything to look forward to.
That's why expectations were lowered to the minimum, but they still exist in reality.
After a long pause, Xu Wu smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I don't do that either."
This smile was subtle, unlike the usual feigned smile; this time, the smile lingered brightly in his eyes for a long time.
It's from the bottom of my heart.
Jie Ying stared blankly for a few seconds before looking away.
"Speaking of which, did you adopt that cat?" Xu Wu recalled the post on her WeChat Moments about the tabby cat drinking water.
"Yes, yes," Jie Ying responded.
You like cats?
No, I don't dislike it.
I don't like it that much, but I don't hate it that much either.
The cat I had when I was a child was given to me by my parents to play with. It was clearly his property, but in the end, they threw it away under the pretext that it was dirty.
He could not resist, nor could he resist.
At that time, I thought that as long as I didn't like it, I wouldn't be surprised if I lost it someday.
Whether it's a cat or a person.
“Fog,” he asked cautiously, “would you like to go and take a look?”
Xu Wu paused for a moment: "Now?"
She glanced at the classroom subconsciously, then took out her phone to check the time; it was 9:40.
"I'll tell the class monitor." Xu Wu put her phone away.
But Jie Ying grabbed her wrist to stop her from moving, emphasizing his words: "No need."
Xu Wu was stunned for a moment, and was actually fooled by him, nodding in agreement.
The leaves, carried by the wind, rustled softly, and this gentle breeze made the atmosphere between the two of them even more harmonious.
“Jieying,” Xu Wu suddenly said, her scent of freesia now fully captured. “You smell so good.”
Author's note: Bro, you smell amazing! [panda head emoji]
P.S.: Update time will be announced in the comments section. Zun Du updates daily.
I have completely changed my ways!!
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