Chapter 2 A Match Made in Heaven
Jiang Meng stepped across the threshold: "Teacher Wang."
She walked inside with light steps, her voice bright and clear: "I brought you a bottle of wine!"
Jiang Meng raised her arms to show herself.
Fearing that she would find it heavy, Chen Jizhou reached out and took it from her, blocking the not-so-spacious entrance to the hall.
The tall, thin boy deliberately stood forward, and Jiang Meng almost bumped into him. Although she braked in time and didn't hit him, her body was already overwhelmed by his cool fragrance. When she looked up, she heard him say with a hint of sarcasm, "The Eight-Point Regulation has just come out. Don't make my old man lose his official hat."
Jiang Meng seemed to hear a hint of laughter in his voice, but she didn't look at his expression to confirm if he was really laughing. She simply snatched the wine box back into her hand and asked, "Did someone talk to you?"
"..."
She squeezed through the door and followed Wang Jingbo, explaining, "It's homemade medicinal wine, it's alright."
Chen Jizhou stood there stunned for a while before finally withdrawing his hand and putting it back in his pocket.
He leaned against the door, observing the girl's slender figure as she rushed in through the wind.
Jiang Meng said to Wang Jingbo, "My grandma made this herself. It's very effective. She has rheumatism, and when her legs and feet hurt, drinking this makes her feel better."
Wang Jingbo: "It's so effective!"
Jiang Meng nodded vigorously: "It's effective immediately."
Wang Jingbo watched as she took out the glass jar and placed it on the living room table, glancing at it and asking, "What's this?"
Jiang Meng didn't really want to say it; she was terrified of that creature and even found the word disgusting, but the old man was looking at her.
"It's that mollusk that swims around," she said, making a vivid swaying motion as she swam around.
Because of her idol worship, Jiang Meng learned some dances from Korean groups. She moved her waist flexibly and looked quite professional.
Chen Jizhou was still watching her from behind when he caught a glimpse of the beautiful curves of her body beneath her clothes. He lowered his gaze, wondering if she had grown taller again. Her pants were pulled up quite a bit, revealing a walnut, a charm for warding off evil, that had been hanging on her slender, fair ankle for over ten years. Her once tender, white lotus root-like legs had developed into the graceful and poised limbs of a young woman.
Chen Jizhou withdrew his gaze, sat down on the sofa next to him, and casually flipped through a magazine.
Wang Jingbo was amused by her quirky and clever manner: "You mean—"
Jiang Meng patted his shoulder and said repeatedly, "Don't say it, don't say it, it's terrifying, it's hard to even think about it."
Wang Jingbo adopted a playful, childlike demeanor, and said softly, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything."
Jiang Meng poured him a small cup: "Try a sip, it's much more effective than getting a massage."
Jiang Meng has a personality and appearance that are naturally pleasing to the elderly. Wang Jingbo has never been able to resist his little girl's coquettishness. Under his watchful eye, the child has grown from a little ball of flesh to what she is now, laughing, joking, and playing with him. Gradually, she has become so beautiful and tall, with every smile and frown incredibly vivid.
Wang Jingbo leaned on her, smiling as he picked up his wine glass, but after taking a sip, his smile vanished.
Jiang Meng said seriously, "This little bit is enough. It will definitely be effective by tomorrow morning. One sip of this wine is equivalent to a year's supply of Brain Gold."
Wang Jingbo continued to pound his back in cooperation, raising his voice to say, "Ouch, ouch, it's true, my old back has finally been able to straighten up for once."
Jiang Meng smiled and snapped her fingers: "Yes, this is the legendary Rejuvenating Wine, brewed exclusively by us!"
Faint laughter came from the side.
It was a very soft sound, but since her attention was partially diverted, she naturally heard it.
Jiang Meng stopped laughing, put her hand to her mouth, and whispered to the old man, "What is he laughing at?"
Wang Jingbo looked over there and raised his voice: "That ancestor over there."
Ancestors looked up from behind the "Youth Digest" magazine.
They are a pair of clear, handsome, and pure eyes.
He asked what was wrong.
"You start pretending to read a book as soon as someone comes over? I never see you studying before—why don't you try it too? You have a problem with your back, don't you?"
Chen Jizhou didn't understand: "What problem could I possibly have?"
"Have you been complaining of back pain lately?"
"I twisted my ankle while playing basketball. Can an injury be the same as aging?"
Wang Jingbo: "What's the difference?"
Chen Jizhou laughed in exasperation, "Spreading rumors is against organizational discipline, so don't set a bad example."
As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Meng, who was secretly laughing beside him.
Wang Jingbo didn't punish him. He set out the wine and asked Jiang Meng if she had eaten.
Afraid of being asked to stay for dinner, she lied and said, "I've already eaten."
Wang Jingbo nodded at the sofa and said, "Then sit down for a while, I'll cook some noodles."
Then he called to Chen Jizhou, "Go wash some fruit for Mengmeng."
She glanced back.
Chen Jizhou stood up.
Jiang Meng hadn't been here for a long time, and it wouldn't be right to just leave, so she stayed at his house for a while as a token gesture.
The place where she was sitting was a small living room, which was originally reserved for Chen Jizhou to practice the drums. Now the instruments in the corner had been put to use. Two old men's shirts were drying on the drumhead, and the drumsticks were not wasted either, being used as forks propped up on the security window. A pair of winter gloves were also drying, one on each side.
His noise-canceling headphones hung on the wall, along with a basketball net containing a ball signed by a basketball star.
It's supposed to be a place where elderly people live, but there are lots of interesting things in every nook and cranny.
Chen Jizhou has too many toys.
Although he wasn't often here, everything was well preserved, and even Wang Jingbo's own accordion was given way to him.
Wang Jingbo had only one daughter, and his daughter only had one son. She spoiled Chen Jizhou like a grandson, and although she would grumble at him, she basically granted his every request.
Jiang Meng's parents knew Wang Jingbo when they lived in the South Third District. She and Chen Jizhou attended the affiliated primary and secondary schools of S University, and later went on to attend the same high school. She had no recollection of their first meeting. This person, like every relative around her, seemed to have existed in her memory since birth.
When Jiang Meng's gaze returned to the television, the fruit he had washed was placed on the coffee table.
Jiang Meng didn't look at the person next to her, but she felt the sofa sink down.
She didn't say anything.
The TV volume was very low, and Jiang Meng felt a little embarrassed. She looked around but couldn't find the remote control.
Just as she was hesitating about whether to just run away, the landline on the small table next to her suddenly rang.
She quickly stepped back, lying down firmly on the sofa back to make room for him.
Chen Jizhou reached his arm past her and picked up the receiver without even looking at the number.
He intended to wait for the other person to speak first, but there was a moment of silence on the other end, so he spoke up: "Hello?"
The voice on the other end cursed loudly, "Are you trying to die, Chen Jizhou?!"
"..."
It was his mother's voice.
Even from a distance, Jiang Meng could hear it; it was terribly jarring.
He pulled the receiver away, then brought it back, clearing his throat: "Still alive? What's up?"
Wang Qi: "Why go to Grandpa's instead of going home?"
Chen Jizhou calmly made up an excuse and continued, "Recently, a girl has been pursuing me and insisted on coming home with me from the school gate, so I had to take a shortcut. If you don't want to have another daughter-in-law out of nowhere, let me stay here and avoid the limelight for a couple of days."
Wang Qi got even angrier: "You've been having affairs outside?"
He smiled innocently: "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, I don't know any of those people."
Because the telephone line was hanging right in front of Jiang Meng, she held her breath for a while. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but the person next to her seemed to have moved three centimeters closer.
When did you arrive?
She leaned back again.
Boys who have taken a shower have a scent similar to grapefruit or pomelo, a clean and pleasant smell that gives off a youthful vibe.
Wang Qi said, "With your mouth and your scheming mind, I really don't believe you if you say you're not chasing girls outside. You'd better watch yourself when you're out there."
Jiang Meng almost laughed.
She had always found Chen's mother quite interesting. Like other parents, she worried about grades, but more than grades, she worried about her son flirting with girls, especially given the widespread urban gossip surrounding inadequate sex education, such as "middle school students falling into prostitution" and "childbirth at school followed by dumping in the trash." Hearing these stories so often made Wang Qi's heart race; she wished she could install eight hundred surveillance cameras on her son.
Not many parents can understand her.
However, once they saw her son, their hearts were filled with anxiety.
"You can control your mouth, but can you control your beauty?"
Chen Jizhou was also getting a little tired of talking. He leaned back, letting his body curve naturally against the sofa's contours. His loose T-shirt and sweatpants made him look relaxed and natural. His knuckles lightly supported his temples, and he said in a defiant tone, "Why don't you poison me? Poison me into a toad, and from then on I'll be a toad that doesn't care about anything else. I guarantee you can rest assured."
"I won't poison you, I'll sew your mouth shut!" Wang Qi said irritably at the end. "Hurry up and come back, stop causing trouble for your grandfather."
He retorted clearly and distinctly, "I'm very well-behaved."
Hang up the phone.
Behind him, Wang Jingbo's tone, lamenting the decline of morality, came over: "I thought she came to keep me company since Grandma wasn't here, but it turns out she came here to escape her romantic entanglements."
Chen Jizhou turned his head to look towards the kitchen, his gaze going past Jiang Meng's shoulder.
Then, he spoke much closer to her: "That's really what I'm planning. I was just kidding my mom. I can't even get a few points from all the exams combined. If I dare to go back, she'll slap me in the face with her slippers."
Wang Jingbo sneered: "Hmph."
Chen Jizhou smiled faintly: "You're not young anymore, don't be so sarcastic."
Out of the corner of Jiang Meng's eye, she saw a slight smile curving at the corner of the boy's mouth. Chen Jizhou watched as her ears received his breaths, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, and then gradually turned red.
Wang Jingbo clicked his tongue in amazement: "Mengmeng, look at him! I wonder where he learned his ability to talk to people in such a way."
Chen Jizhou didn't reply to his grandfather, silently leaving the space for the person who should have spoken.
But Jiang Meng remained silent.
He remained facing her directly.
About seven or eight seconds passed.
His voice lowered a notch as he addressed her, "Are you still angry?"
"..."
Chen Jizhou sat casually, his arm draped behind Jiang Meng. He turned slightly to look at her, in a posture that was both offensive and defensive, as if he had trapped her in his arms.
But she couldn't handle it.
His presence was everywhere. Jiang Meng didn't need to raise her face; she only needed to slightly turn her eyes to meet the faint smile on his face.
A man's temperament is evident in his eyes. Chen Jizhou was modeled after that dashing and carefree type. His exquisitely curved eyes were captivating and alluring, and when he stared at someone, they were incredibly alluring.
Although he bickers with his family, Chen Jizhou's temperament is not sharp at all. He can make a few sarcastic remarks for his own benefit without hurting others, and his eyes are full of the warmth of "the steel that has been tempered a hundred times can be turned into the softness that wraps around the finger".
In such a temperature, it would seem as if she would be wrong to say forgiveness at the wrong time.
Chen Jizhou took out a coin, placed it in his palm, and held it up to her eyes. The copper coin lay in his palm, strung with double layers of hand-woven thread, with two small, icy-blue jade beads hanging from it.
Jiang Meng was confused: "What?"
He said, "The breakup is over, and this is a gift to mark our meeting."
She was a little surprised. Nacho said, "But I saw the last can. You're just trying to please me with what's left over."
"Yeah?"
Chen Jizhou looked at her puffed-up profile, his smiling eyes half-lit and half-shadowed in the lamplight, "Then take a closer look?"
As soon as he finished speaking, she noticed that there was a pair of birds hand-engraved on the back of the copper coin. There aren't many copper coins with engravings, and this one is different from the ordinary engraving process. The carving is very realistic, and every detail from the wings to the eyes is exquisite and meticulous. It can be said to be a beautiful coin of collectible quality.
"How romantic!" Jiang Meng inadvertently revealed a hint of her joy. "What kind of bird is that?"
Chen Jizhou looked into her eyes and said, "One in a million, a perfect match."
He emphasized that it was one in a million in order to refute her statement about "the rest".
Every time they broke off their friendship, he would sincerely apologize. Even if the so-called breakup was just a harmless joke from her, he would prepare a gift with great ceremony as a greeting gift for their "re-acquaintance".
Chen Jizhou picked up Yuanyang, waved her in front of her, and promised, "Here you go. From now on, I'll only eat savory tofu pudding."
As he spoke, the small copper coin brushed against the tip of her nose, like someone gently scratching it with their knuckles. He was deliberately rubbing against her, his gesture as considerate as stroking a small animal's fur. Because the movement was so swift, if it weren't for the real ticklish sensation, Jiang Meng would have doubted that this subtle moment had never happened.
He looked at her, placed the things in her palm, and lowered his voice, "Don't ignore me."
This statement was a double blow to her arrogance.
Chen Jizhou didn't tell her that the copper coin symbolized something similar to a love token. He only thought of it after giving the gift, and a smile unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
Jiang Meng noticed the subtle expression on his face and interpreted it as: "I only need to use a little trick to win a girl's heart."
Jiang Meng, as expected, was easily captivated by this petty trick.
I'm embarrassed.
She said, "Who wants to go home with you? How come I didn't know?"
Chen Jizhou laughed, "You lied to my mother, how could you lie to me too? I'm completely innocent, Old Wang can vouch for me."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Jingbo's voice came from the second floor: "Stop whispering there, someone come and show me the instruction manual for this new washing machine."
Chen Jizhou accepted the order and stood up.
Jiang Meng should go home now. "I'm leaving, Teacher Wang!"
Chen Jizhou was going upstairs: "Wait two minutes, I'll take you."
Jiang Meng: "It's just a few steps, do you really need to take me there?"
He said, "My parents taught me that a man should be a gentleman."
Jiang Meng firmly refused: "No way, it's like a date, so disgusting."
She left in a hurry, and in her quick steps, she didn't see the threshold and almost tripped, but luckily she caught herself on the door frame in time.
Jiang Meng heard laughter in the distance, turned around and saw a young man standing on the second-floor balcony, his figure tall and slender, like a vibrant and upward-reaching poplar tree.
He easily braced himself against the railing of the Vase Pillar and looked down at her: "The ground is slippery, slow down, no one is chasing you."
Jiang Meng muttered to herself, "You have to say it."
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