Chapter 24 All you do is torture me?
Jiang Meng actually quite enjoys spending time with Li Shuheng.
This is certainly not liking someone who is romantically attracted to them.
He was different from Xie Zhuo and Chen Jizhou. This world doesn't need so many prodigies; it also needs those with quiet, unassuming personalities, like a gentle drizzle, that complement their melancholy. Even without any spectacular moments, they still have to endure a lackluster and misunderstood youth amidst the bustling crowds.
Although he has a refined and handsome appearance, he has a reserved personality, and apart from his decent looks, there is really nothing to be found to be charming about him.
Yet this person, like her mirror, constantly reflects the humid rains of her life.
She finally admitted that this feeling was called mutual appreciation.
When Jiang Meng went in, Li Shuheng was still sketching the plaster statue. Jiang Meng didn't know anything about painting, but at a glance, the paintings on each canvas looked pretty good. However, the cruel examination system would also differentiate between good and bad, high and low in art.
A damp breeze blew in from outside, sweeping across the sketchbook he had placed beside him. Before Jiang Meng could speak, she noticed a page of the sketchbook that had been rolled up. She hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but the signature "A" on the corner of the page made her heart skip a beat.
The wind stopped, and the untouched sheets of paper drifted down again.
She quickly turned to that page and saw his drawing of an anime heroine and her violin.
This is the profile picture Jiang Meng used before.
She stared at the character "A" for a while. His handwriting was neat and elegant, with a scholarly air like gentle rain.
Jiang Meng then glanced at Li Shuheng, who was quietly painting.
"See that? The notebook."
Jiang Meng snapped out of her daze: "...Yes, I saw it."
As she took her notebook and prepared to leave, Li Shuheng glanced at her and said, "I'll be done soon, wait for me."
Jiang Meng didn't answer; her mind was still on the picture book. She gently turned the pages and carefully examined the colored drawings he had copied. Jiang Meng then looked at Li Shuheng, many thoughts welling up in her heart, but she didn't say them aloud. Finally, she only asked softly, "Do you like this anime?"
Li Shuheng glanced at it, her tone still indifferent: "Yes, you like it too?"
“I like it too,” she said.
He put down his pencil and tidied up his stationery.
Yu Guangli's girl is flipping through his sketchbook.
Li Shuheng slowed down, hoping that this moment could pass more slowly.
His feelings for Jiang Meng are those of a boy for a girl, and have nothing to do with Chen Jizhou.
His dislike for Chen Jizhou had nothing to do with Jiang Meng. It just so happened that they knew each other and were good friends.
Because of this connection, he wanted to keep her and get closer to her, and it's hard to say that there wasn't an element of deliberately provoking that person involved.
Why do I dislike Chen Jizhou?
Perhaps it was because on the day of the sports meet, when his arrogant victorious gaze fell upon him, he waved that dazzling medal in front of him and said, "Your gold medal."
Li Shuheng would remember that mocking look for a long time. Every time he saw Chen Jizhou or Jiang Meng, he would immediately think of that time when Chen Jizhou asked him with a faint smile, "Is it heavy?"
Finally, the gold medal was thrown at him—"Don't drop it, you're number one."
His schemes were exposed, and he felt pain. But when he obtained a Loser's loot, he realized that his pain stemmed from jealousy.
He couldn't be so cheerful, so detached from desires.
No one is born with an invincible family background to back them up, allowing them to be free, open, and unrestrained.
He was trapped in a cage, and had to rely on his paintbrush, which he kept working day and night, to achieve success.
Are you feeling better lately?
Every time Li Shuheng walked with Jiang Meng, he desperately wished Chen Jizhou were nearby; their narrow-minded rivalry made dark thoughts arise at any moment.
He likes Jiang Meng too, right?
Otherwise, he wouldn't have seen that stinging, bittersweet look flash across her bright, open eyes so often at such moments.
Jiang Meng smiled and said, "That's much better."
Unfortunately, Chen Jizhou is not here today.
Xie Zhuo was there.
Xie Zhuo stayed after school to do some homework. As he was about to hail a cab to leave, his gaze shifted to the two people beside him. He glanced at Jiang Meng and Li Shuheng, frowned almost imperceptibly, and said, "Jiang Meng."
When Jiang Meng saw Xie Zhuo, a lively expression appeared on her face, and she raised an eyebrow: "What?"
He said, "I'll treat you to dinner."
This trick is really useful for food-loving girls.
Jiang Meng immediately abandoned her delusion and ran towards him with a bright smile: "Great! Today you're my big brother, I want to eat tomato and beef brisket rice with fatty beef, braised egg, ham sausage and chicken leg."
Xie Zhuo turned into the restaurant next door and ordered her a tomato and beef brisket rice bowl with fatty beef, braised egg, ham sausage, and chicken leg.
As they sat down, Xie Zhuo asked her, "What happened to you the other day?"
Jiang Meng didn't understand: "What happened to me the other day?"
After a moment's thought, he described it as: "He looked unwell and was saying strange things."
Jiang Meng finally understood why Chen Jizhou called her dull. Xie Zhuo probably still thought that she was in a predicament because of losing five hundred yuan and didn't understand her frustration.
She didn't say anything irrelevant to him. Jiang Meng knew that recently, many junior girls had come in and were eyeing him, which gave Xie Zhu a headache. He probably pulled Jiang Meng along just now to avoid some of those stares.
So when she asked, "Then why are you being so kind as to invite me to dinner?"
Xie Zhuo replied as expected, "Someone is pursuing me, so I'm laying low for a while."
She said, "Actually, you don't need to pretend to be very distressed, because your limelight will soon be overshadowed by your good brother. You don't need me at all; Chen Jizhou will naturally help you fend off unwanted suitors."
Xie Zhu broke his chopsticks: "Put the chicken leg back."
Seeing his displeased expression, she burst into laughter.
Jiang Meng said excitedly, "But Chen Jizhou won't get angry. He'll just give me all the good food."
Xie Zhuo wasn't angry: "Then marry him."
The nodding gesture, coupled with those words, suggested a degree of satisfaction with the marriage arrangement.
"%*@#*&@￥&%..." Jiang Meng angrily threw the chicken leg into his bowl: "This is ridiculous!!"
After eating quietly for a while, Jiang Meng looked at Xie Zhuo with a sentimental gaze: "Will you come back after you go to America?"
He said, "Let's take it one step at a time."
"...Hmm." She thought sadly, her face buried in her hands. Everyone was about to leave.
However, Xie Zhuo's sadness lasted only ten seconds before he added, "Of course, if you get married, I will naturally come back to congratulate you."
Jiang Meng nearly flipped the table: "...Are you out of your mind?"
Xie Zhuo smiled calmly and returned the chicken leg to her.
Since the day she told her mother, "I never want to see him again," Jiang Su really hasn't appeared in front of her.
Jiang Meng lived a peaceful life, not only in terms of sensory tranquility, but also in terms of peace of mind.
Ye Zhaoxu has been very kind to her lately. She is working hard to learn how to cook and has made all sorts of terrible chicken soup, fish soup, and mutton soup for her daughter. Jiang Meng saw through her thoughts: "You're only being so gentle because I'm in my final year of high school. You'll definitely change your attitude after I finish my exams and won't allow this or that."
Ye Zhaoxu remained quick-witted: "Good to know, cherish it while you can, who will wait on you like this after you finish your senior year of high school?"
"..."
Jiang Meng was so angry her mouth twisted into a crook.
That evening, Jiang Meng studied late into the night and sent A a message: "You've been so quiet lately."
I thought he was asleep, but then I got a message back: "Studying, preparing for college entrance exams."
A asked her, "Why did you change your profile picture?"
Jiang Meng: "Is it pretty? This is my photo."
A: "I can tell."
Jiang Meng didn't know whether she should compare him to a classmate she knew. Sometimes she could sense that Li Shuheng might have a crush on her.
Sometimes I wonder if she's just too narcissistic.
But those astonishing coincidences are hard to explain. Are they really just coincidences?
He knew about the fireworks.
He also knew that she liked friend A.
The neat handwriting of the "A" at the end of the album is always etched in my mind.
Jiang Meng: "You forgot we have matching profile pictures, should I change them back?"
A: "No need."
Jiang Meng: "I watched a movie yesterday, it was quite interesting, let me tell you about it."
A: "Now?"
Jiang Meng: "What's wrong?"
A: "Look at the time! The roosters are already crowing outside."
A: "Is all you do torment me?"
Jiang Meng: "Aren't you studying?"
A: "Actually, you woke me up."
Jiang Meng smiled, unsure if it was true or not.
She said, "You think I'm annoying? Then go to sleep, but don't put your phone next to your pillow."
A: "Go ahead and speak."
A: "I will never find you annoying."
Jiang Meng: "You just find me annoying!"
A: "Please, Miss, tell me quickly! I really want to know!"
Jiang Meng couldn't stop laughing. She glanced at the time and realized it was almost three o'clock.
She felt bad, so she decided not to talk about the movie anymore, but gave him a gentle reminder: "The word 'forever' is very heavy, don't say it lightly."
She didn't believe in forever, just as her parents' love could break down, Xie Zhuo and Chen Jizhou would eventually leave.
In reality, it would be enough if everyone could accompany her for a while.
A did not reply.
Finally, Jiang Meng, with little hope, blurted out what was on her mind: "I want to see you, is that alright?"
She thought she wouldn't get a response to that.
But after a while, A agreed.
-
They arranged to meet on Friday night, but when the day actually arrived, she felt extremely uneasy.
There was evening self-study on Wednesday. During the break after school, Jiang Meng sent Chen Jizhou a message: "Have you finished class? Our class rearranged seats today. Could you help me move my desk?"
Chen Jizhou promised her he would come over in a little while.
Instead of going down for dinner, Zhao Yuanting came to her seat and looked at Korean entertainment magazines with her for a while. Jiang Meng was the kind of person who couldn't keep things to herself, and she took advantage of the break when no one was around to secretly tell her the whole story of how she got to know her friend A, as well as some of her guesses about him.
Zhao Yuanting said to her with a disappointed look, "Li Shuheng? You'd be better off liking Chen Jizhou!"
Jiang Meng pressed down on her shoulder and shushed her, "Keep your voice down. What is the logical relationship between these two things?"
Moreover, Jiang Meng still hasn't figured out whether her feelings for A can be considered liking.
Jiang Meng's experience with love is completely blank. She doesn't know what it feels like to like someone. Her heart races when she sees the other person setting off fireworks for her—can that really be considered liking someone? It sounds rather shallow.
"Winter dreams" can make people see things through a lens of illusion, but she even had a winter dream about her idol.
Her feelings for her idol were clear: she only admired him from afar, without any possessiveness towards her boyfriend.
Zhao Yuanting's biased conclusion made Jiang Meng, whose thinking was already confused, frown.
Zhao Yuanting calmed down and said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop thinking about their high jump competition."
Jiang Meng couldn't say whether she liked A or not, but she clearly didn't have any feelings for Li Shuheng. However, she still spoke up for him: "Li Shuheng is pretty good, isn't he?"
"Isn't Chen Jizhou good enough?"
“Chen Jizhou is a good person… a very important person.” Jiang Meng paused, feeling that the topic was getting off track and something was wrong. “But we’re friends.”
Zhao Yuanting raised an eyebrow: "What about my friend?"
Jiang Meng countered, "Would you be with me?"
Zhao Yuanting was shocked and covered her chest, stepping back a good distance: "We're both women, how can we be together?!"
Jiang Meng said seriously, "Although he is not a woman, putting the two of us together makes me feel exactly how you feel right now. It's as strange as it gets."
Zhao Yuanting tried to understand her words, then heard Jiang Meng ask, "Would you try to develop me into a partner?"
"Of course not!"
Jiang Meng shrugged: "That settles it then."
Zhao Yuanting felt something was off, but then she seemed to understand it a little.
The autumn rain outside the window fell heavily, fading their voices.
Chen Jizhou paused behind the window for a while, making sure the conversation wouldn't continue. He then knocked on the classroom door and went inside.
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