Chapter 49 Possessiveness
Did Chen Jizhou's heart start racing the moment he saw her?
Jiang Meng raised the corners of her mouth, thinking with delight, "Am I that pretty today?"
After taking a shower, she admired her own beauty in the mirror for twenty minutes.
She also had some self-doubt: had she hugged him too deliberately today?
She actually... secretly touched him, hoping he didn't find out.
Jiang Meng looked at her flushed face in the mirror and argued righteously, "You can't blame me. No one can remain unmoved by a woman in his arms. It's his fault for seducing people, not mine."
She cheered herself up, hopped out in her slippers, and went outside.
Today is Qixi Festival. On my way back, the fireworks outside never stopped. One burst after another, Jiang Meng sat on the balcony and enjoyed the breeze for a while. The apartment wasn't a sea-view apartment, but it faced a green mountain. Although the mountain looked close to her, she had checked the map and it was dozens of kilometers away.
Behind that mountain is the small town called Yunzhu.
The firefly attraction is open seasonally, every summer.
She often sits here and thinks of the past.
When she was seventeen, a time of unbearable pain and despair, when she was repeatedly frustrated and lost because of her father's neglect, he once told her there that someone would always be grateful for her birth.
She never truly fell into the abyss, because there was always a force by her side.
Unfortunately, it takes time, until one truly becomes a spectator of memory, to gain a sudden understanding of this.
—It's been so long already.
So much pain has passed, and so much beauty has passed.
The quiet moments that follow immense satisfaction can leave the heart feeling lonely.
After taking a shower, Jiang Meng leaned back in a single chair with her knees bent, and cool lemon leaves swayed in the breeze beside her.
She took off her shoes and placed her feet on the chair, her fingers gently touching the instep of her foot. The skin was smooth and slightly cooler than his hands.
Recalling what had just happened, her blushing was delayed.
Will he still care about her? About everything that is closely related to her?
When Ye Zhaoxu returned to Pingjiang a while ago, she asked her about what happened back then. She had skipped class once during her senior year of high school. Her mother knew about it, but she was having a hard time at the time and had no time to take care of her daughter. Ye Zhaoxu's intention was not to ask what happened during those two days, but to mention Chen Jizhou.
In Ye Zhaoxu's memory, this person had faded away for a long time. In recent years, he had been studying and starting a business abroad, and all the news she heard was about his success. It was like listening to the story of a young man's struggle in the distance. It was hard to connect these glorious experiences with the boy she had watched grow up. Until Jiang Meng brought back news about him. She said that they played ball together. She finally remembered a simple and cold winter when Chen Jizhou came to pay his respects for the New Year. Ye Zhaoxu hurriedly knocked on Jiang Meng's door, but he gently stopped her: "Auntie, let her sleep a little longer."
Ye Zhaoxu said she knew. Regarding that weekend when she skipped class in her senior year of high school, she asked Jiang Meng, "You didn't go to Ningcheng to watch the game, did you? Where did you go to have fun?"
Jiang Meng lay on the sofa, her head resting on her lap, reminiscing about the past. A gentle, tender smile graced her face as she softly told her, "We went to see the Milky Way, do you believe me?"
Ye Zhaoxu smiled obediently: "Yes, the Milky Way, I believe it. Is the Milky Way beautiful?"
"very beautiful."
Jiang Meng said it was so beautiful that she didn't want to go again.
Ye Zhaoxu lowered his head and asked her softly, "Tell me secretly, did you like him before?"
Jiang Meng slowly shook her head: "I used to... like someone else."
However, she doesn't want to like anyone else now.
Time left her with the bitterness of regret, but also the preciousness of what was lost and regained.
She used to take things for granted and never thought about relationships.
She had to acknowledge the course and occurrence of love, and she had to acknowledge the existence of possessiveness.
She was possessive of him, which was certainly more than just a manifestation of friendship.
Jiang Meng told her mother, "I don't want to lose him again, unless he rejects me outright."
Jiang Meng didn't reply to Chen Jizhou's message, but she calculated the time he would arrive home and called him back. In the first two seconds after he answered, there was the sound of a hairdryer on the other end, so Jiang Meng paused for a moment. After the other end quickly quieted down, she asked him, "Is your phone charging?"
He must have just finished showering, because Chen Jizhou put down the hairdryer, closed the door, and walked outside: "It's charging."
Jiang Meng asked him, "What did you mean by that message you sent me?"
Chen Jizhou said, "It means my heart is racing."
His answer was frank and straightforward: "Can't you understand just a few words?"
Jiang Meng smiled and whispered, "I understand now."
He chuckled softly: "Then why ask?"
"Let me confirm."
"Confirm what?"
Jiang Meng coughed softly, and after a few seconds, changed the subject: "Do you have a girl you like?"
Chen Jizhou readily admitted, "Yes."
Jiang Meng was taken aback: "Is it...before or now?"
"It has always existed and it still does."
She was even more surprised: "Then why didn't you tell me?"
He laughed and said, "You didn't ask me either."
She was slightly annoyed: "Stop beating around the bush with me, okay?"
What does "going in circles" mean?
"It seems like an answer, but it's actually a meaningless one."
Chen Jizhou still smiled: "Okay, I won't beat around the bush with you."
Then he said, "Just tell me what you want to do."
This means, don't beat around the bush with me.
Jiang Meng sat on the chair, hugging her knees, watching the fireworks in the sky. She was a little embarrassed to ask, "Do you like me?" But she had a feeling, though; he had indeed blushed when he gave her a ride today. Jiang Meng said, "Could you talk to me for a bit?"
"Isn't that what you're saying?"
"I mean every day from now on."
He didn't speak, as if trying to understand what she meant.
"Can I make a phone call for a bit? Every night before bed." Seeing that he didn't answer, Jiang Meng was afraid of being rejected, so she reluctantly explained, "You know, I live alone, it's very boring."
Chen Jizhou slowly hummed in agreement, but it wasn't a yes; he was still trying to understand.
She said, "You can refuse me. You have five seconds to refuse me. Five, four, three, two, one—Chen Jizhou."
Chen Jizhou was home alone. He had just finished showering and was sitting by the window for a while when he suddenly noticed that the moon was quite beautiful. He was leisurely looking up at the moon when he heard someone on the other end of the line getting anxious. He chuckled and said, "I haven't even had a chance to speak yet."
Jiang Meng paused for a moment, then said shyly in a soft voice, "You know what? No other boy has ever touched my feet except you."
That's practically saying, "You have to take responsibility for me."
Chen Jizhou was genuinely taken aback by these words.
Who was that begging me, brother, just now? And now they're using that to blackmail me?
But he admitted that he really couldn't handle it. Chen Jizhou rested his forehead on his hand for a while, smiled, and said calmly, "Okay."
Jiang Meng's tone immediately became much lighter and more cheerful: "Then you should call me willingly."
"……Can."
"yeah!"
Her excitement seemed genuine; her cheerful tone made him smile. Chen Jizhou instinctively asked, "Were you always like this when you were dating before?"
"fall in love?"
Chen Jizhou paused, then lightly rubbed his flushed face with his fingertips: "I forgot, we're good friends."
Jiang Meng did not respond.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she said, "There are so many people setting off fireworks outside today, are there any where you are?"
"No, it might be prohibited here."
"But Qixi Festival is almost over, it should stop after midnight. Just like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage, do you remember?"
She changed the subject so quickly that Chen Jizhou couldn't keep up: "...Hmm?"
"It was the Fairy Godmother who conjured a pumpkin carriage for Cinderella and turned the little mouse into a horse, taking her to the prince's ball. But she also told her that at midnight, the spell would break, the carriage would turn back into a pumpkin, and the coachman would turn back into a mouse. So they had to end it all before midnight—Chen Jizhou."
She still really liked calling his name.
He replied lazily, "I'm listening."
What's your heart rate right now?
Although he didn't know what this had to do with the Fairy Godmother, her thinking was a bit too unconventional. Chen Jizhou had already taken off his watch while taking a shower, so he just made up a number: "120".
Jiang Meng chuckled: "Is this normal?"
He said, "I won't die anyway."
A few seconds of silence.
She asked, "Is it because of me?"
The only sound on both ends of the phone was the explosion of fireworks from her end. After the explosions subsided and silence returned, Chen Jizhou said solemnly, "It's because of you."
His voice was deep and resonant, striking a chord deep within.
The evening breeze was clearly cool, but Jiang Meng felt hot inside and out. Unable to utter any more words, she hurriedly said "Bye-bye" and hung up the phone.
The first thing Jiang Meng did upon waking up the next day was to reach for her phone: "Good morning, are you awake?"
Chen Jizhou: "He's awake."
The second thing she did was to go into his WeChat Moments.
Jiang Meng: "Why haven't the clouds changed today?"
Chen Jizhou: "Today's clouds are only meant to be seen by one person."
Jiang Meng sent a "Let me see" emoji.
Then he sent me today's cloud.
It is a big, full heart.
Jiang Meng happily added the special love photo to her album.
September brought the start of the new school year, keeping Jiang Meng busy for a while. After several rain showers, autumn arrived in Yunzhou.
Chen Jizhou really did call her every day, around bedtime. He had a very regular schedule, going to bed early and waking up early, while Jiang Meng was a night owl. So often, when he was already drowsy, she would still be talking energetically. Jiang Meng would talk about anything, like sharing any funny jokes she'd come across that day. Chen Jizhou was probably already asleep on the other end, but he would chuckle softly in response, in a very thin, low voice. You could say it was perfunctory, or you could think he was genuinely laughing. Jiang Meng would say gratefully, "Thank you for your support, Young Master Chen."
Chen Jizhou said, "Support? I really find that hilarious."
She smiled contentedly: "You have such a good temper. There aren't many people in this world who can tolerate my nagging anymore."
Didn't you say I had a bad temper before?
"Those were just words spoken in anger."
Chen Jizhou didn't refute her, and suddenly asked her, "Want to play ball tomorrow?"
Jiang Meng: "Okay, then will you be on my team? They all think I'm bad."
"Who said you're bad at the game?"
"All of them! They're all so despicable!"
Chen Jizhou spoke steadily, as if he were helping her get revenge: "I'll be on your team, we'll crush them, just you wait."
Jiang Meng vaguely realized something and said to him, "However, if you want to see me, I should say I want to see you. Don't start with 'Want to play ball?', okay?"
After a silence that felt like an eternity, when she was starting to wonder if he had fallen asleep, Chen Jizhou confessed in a low voice, "Yeah, I missed you."
Jiang Meng's lips curved into a gentle smile: "Okay, I miss you too."
Goodnight, my friend.
"good evening."
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