Chapter 35 She still carries his heartbeat...
Jiang Meng hung up the phone without hesitation.
She noticed Chen Jizhou packing his things next to her and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Um."
He packed up a racket and asked, "Is there a place to take a bath here?"
Jiang Meng looked around. The gymnasium was quite old and didn't seem to have showers, but she wasn't sure: "This is my first time here too. Why don't you ask the security guard at the entrance?"
Chen Jizhou glanced at the exit in the direction she pointed, then looked at his phone. "Never mind, I'll go to the company to wash up."
He slung his bag over his shoulder, and a girl came up next to him. She had been watching him play basketball for quite a while, and now she mustered up her courage and said in a high-pitched voice, "Handsome, could you please correct my posture?"
Chen Jizhou didn't even look at her: "What are you correcting? Do I look like a teacher?"
"..."
So cold-hearted.
Chen Jizhou walked a short distance, then stopped. When he turned around, the wind ruffled his hair. He glanced at Jiang Meng from afar and said, "Let's go."
Jiang Meng waved: "Bye-bye."
Zhou Xun couldn't get through on the phone, so he sent Jiang Meng a text message: "What's wrong? Don't you want to see me again? I'll treat you to dinner and apologize."
Why is this guy still haunting me? Jiang Meng made up an excuse to brush him off: "I have a boyfriend."
She looked up and gazed at the figure walking away into the distance.
His handsome features remain faintly in my retina.
She finally understood why all the stand-ins paled in comparison when the true love appeared.
That Zhou Xun was only slightly similar to him in some subtle details during his student days, such as his flamboyant, bright, and enthusiastic nature.
Chen Jizhou's demeanor has already surpassed that of others.
Of course, more importantly, they were no match for each other from the very beginning.
No one can compare to him.
Qi Yunqing learned some moves and belatedly began to know how to feed her the ball, but Jiang Meng, having learned the truth, was no longer so confident.
Seeing that she looked listless, Shen Shuhuai comforted her a couple of times as she left.
This man was gentle and mild-mannered, with a slow and pleasant manner of speaking: "Don't rush, practice more. You are quite skilled. There was a girl who took a liking to President Chen before. She thought she was good at the game and wanted to play a few rounds with him. But President Chen defeated her in five shots and she never wanted to play with him again."
Qi Yunqing nodded: "I can testify that there aren't many people who can beat him."
"..."
Jiang Meng paused for a moment, then laughed: "But he didn't deduct any points from my account."
The two said in unison, "You're amazing!"
So Jiang Meng was coaxed into becoming an embryo by them, and a smile returned to her face.
On her way out, Qi Yunqing received a message from Chen Jizhou: "You should take care of her from now on, and be more accommodating to her."
Qi Yunqing: "?"
Chen Jizhou: "Isn't this about flirting? Learn how!"
Qi Yunqing: "Oh, oh, oh, then what do we do?"
Chen Jizhou: "Find a place for her to practice alone first, don't let her pick up the ball."
When beginners practice, the coach usually brings a big bucket of balls for a monotonous practice session. Fifty or sixty balls fly all over the court. Their rule is that whoever practices is responsible for clearing the court.
Qi Yunqing was puzzled: "Huh? Didn't you tell me not to pursue her?"
Chen Jizhou: "If I level up my skills, I won't make a foolish mistake next time I meet someone I truly like."
Qi Yunqing said confidently, "I really like this one, I might just win her over [winking emoji]".
Chen Jizhou: "I'll take it away, you try."
Qi Yunqing: "...You're not going yourself, what do you mean by that?"
Chen Jizhou remained silent for a while. He didn't explain why he wouldn't go, but simply said, "You're too much of a womanizer, don't ruin someone's life."
Qi Yunqing retorted, "Although I've had seven, eight, or nine girlfriends, I've always been the one being pursued. There aren't many women for whom I've taken the initiative. How do you know I wasn't sincere? How did that hurt them?"
Chen Jizhou, too lazy to waste words, simply said, "That's enough."
Exercise releases dopamine, which makes people feel good, and Jiang Meng found this to be very true after she got into badminton. Under Qi Yunqing's guidance, she learned how to buy rackets and shuttlecocks, and her happiest time of day was going to the court.
However, she hadn't seen Chen Jizhou for a while.
That day, unable to resist, while resting, Jiang Meng asked, "Is your friend not coming?"
Qi Yunqing bought her an energy drink and handed it to her, saying, "Which one?"
Jiang Meng guessed that Chen Jizhou never talked about her with these people, and they probably didn't know that the two knew each other.
"Ace of Hearts".
Qi Yunqing said "Oh," and then added, "He said the school is too far from where he lives, and it's inconvenient for him to travel back and forth."
Jiang Meng paused for a moment in surprise: "So he's not coming anymore?"
"They probably won't come."
She tightened her grip on the beverage bottle, anxiously rubbing its surface.
With his multi-million dollar car, what inconvenience could there be when he steps on the gas?
Jiang Meng asked, "Too busy?"
Qi Yunqing said, "He's not busy, is he? I saw him go out to sea for a day yesterday, and he came to my place to pet my dog the day before yesterday."
Jiang Meng murmured, "Then why didn't you come?"
"If they're not coming, they're not coming. Maybe they've found another hobby, or maybe they've found a new partner and are playing in another venue."
Hearing their conversation, Shen Shuhuai asked Qi Yunqing, "How many months old is your Springer Spaniard?"
So the two of them talked about dogs for a while.
Jiang Meng took out her phone to look at Chen Jizhou's Instagram.
He took photos of the sea outing, including seabirds and sunsets, which were breathtaking.
He also took pictures of jellyfish that had been pulled from the sea, spread out on the ground. Opposite him in the photo was a pair of sneakers; he was with a boy.
The racket beside her slipped and fell to the ground, but Jiang Meng didn't even bother to pick it up.
Qi Yunqing then realized that he had never properly introduced Chen Jizhou to her before, and asked her, "By the way, what did he tell you his name?"
Shen Shuhuai: "Chen Wuqing or Chen Xiaoyao?"
Jiang Meng was confused: "What do you mean?"
Qi Yunqing laughed and said, "He said he has 108 names in the martial arts world, which he uses to pick up girls. He flirts with them and then runs away, leaving no trace."
When Qi Yunqing said this, he had Chen Jizhou's narcissistic expression on his face.
But the person in front of him was ultimately not him.
So this statement is now just a joke, it's lost all its cuteness.
Jiang Meng picked up the paddle, stood up and left: "Let him yell whatever he wants, who wants to follow him around?"
Shen Shuhuai clicked his tongue and patted the shoulder of the person next to him: "I told you not to talk nonsense like that."
"What's wrong with me?" Qi Yunqing was a little confused. She scratched her head, but still caught up and apologized respectfully. "Don't be angry, Teacher Jiang. I was just teasing you. If you want to see him, I'll try to arrange it next time."
Jiang Meng puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased: "I don't want to see you."
"Okay, okay, then please don't be angry. I didn't mean to provoke you. I'm bad with words." Qi Yunqing smiled and made a fake slapping motion.
Shen Shuhuai called out from behind, "Still want to play ball?"
Jiang Meng: "Let's go."
Qi Yunqing: "Okay, we also have very professional coaches here!"
As Jiang Meng walked away, she heard the two men sigh:
"Girls are hard to get."
"It's a pity that the girl doesn't seem to like him. Is she just waiting for Chen Jizhou here every day?"
What's this called?
"What you can't have always seems more alluring."
She thought that he wasn't busy and hadn't left Yunzhou.
He was still as cheerful as ever, but he didn't want to see her as much anymore.
Of course, I wouldn't take her with me when I go out to play.
If I'm not coming, I'm not coming.
Once you're unfamiliar with something, you're unfamiliar with it.
They were no longer the closest of friends.
Jiang Meng never imagined that one day she would be excluded from Chen Jizhou's circle.
She could hardly imagine that one day, she wouldn't be the first person he chose to go out and have fun with.
So this is how indifferent he seems from other girls' perspectives.
Jiang Meng felt a bit depressed. When she got home, she called Ye Zhaoxu.
Her mother asked her how her ball games had been going lately.
She didn't speak, only let out a soft sigh.
Ye Zhaoxu: "How about He Zhouzhou?"
Jiang Meng spoke up: "I don't know."
Ye Zhaoxu smiled, deliberately bringing up the very thing she didn't want to hear: "What do you mean I don't know? Can we develop this further?"
If these words had been spoken in the past, Jiang Meng would have stomped her feet and shouted: "Don't damage our revolutionary friendship!"
But she's much calmer now and would say, "Don't joke like that."
Then, a reasoned and well-founded rebuttal was presented—
"With your taste in men, don't give me any advice. I've already inquired about Chen Jizhou's stance on not getting married. Besides, they say he's not only a monk, but a monk with an impenetrable fortress. Maybe he's not interested in girls. He doesn't seem like the type to settle down, let alone find someone to marry just for the sake of marriage."
Ye Zhaoxu said, "How do you know he's not interested in you?"
Jiang Meng opened their chat history, which had been empty for several years.
Look at this, does this look like someone is interested?
This blank space is so cruel, constantly reminding her that the best times of intimacy have passed.
Seeing that Jiang Meng remained silent, Ye Zhaoxu, not yet fully aware of her low spirits, said, "It's okay not to get married, we can just keep dating."
Jiang Meng was speechless. Just how much did her mother want to adopt this son-in-law? Or was she just anxious for her to find a boyfriend?
"But even if I want to date him, I have to... I have to rebuild our relationship first. He doesn't want to hang out with me anymore, and he doesn't talk to me."
Ye Zhaoxu: "Why don't you take the initiative? It's not a big deal."
Jiang Meng whispered, "Would it be useful if I took the initiative?"
Ye Zhaoxu acted as if he hadn't heard her: "Take the initiative."
After a moment of silence, Jiang Meng replied softly, "I understand."
After my parents divorced, my mother has become more open-minded and carefree in recent years. She enjoys living alone. She once promised Jiang Meng that she would not find a partner again and would not let her accept a new environment and a new family role. Of course, she didn't need to feel that she had burdened her with anything. This was her choice.
For a while, Jiang Meng enjoyed watching TV dramas where the female protagonist traveled back in time to meet her mother when she was young. She would sigh softly for the unhappy marriage of the mother in the drama: "It doesn't matter if I wasn't born. I hope you find good love."
“If I hadn’t met him, how would I have met you?” Ye Zhaoxu would tell her frankly, “I have never regretted it, and you don’t need to be sentimental on my behalf.”
Ye Zhaoxu doesn't think that her unhealthy relationship with Jiang Su could have any impact on the child.
She always told Jiang Meng that what is meant to be yours will be yours, and that she would meet her true love, so she didn't need to worry about love.
Her mother still encouraged her to love, and even to actively pursue love.
Lost in thought, Jiang Meng sat up in surprise: No, how did it come down to love or not love?
She got involved in her mother's arranged marriage and ended up getting caught up in it herself.
Is she in that kind of relationship with Chen Jizhou?
Even if—
Even if things really come to that point in the future, we should at least rebuild our revolutionary friendship first.
Jiang Meng opened the drawer of the bedside table.
There was a watch inside, which I had stolen from him.
Perhaps we shouldn't have made up so hastily and casually.
She should tell him that she has really missed him all these years.
She should tell him that she still carries his heartbeat.
It was even always placed where she could reach out and touch it.
She even wears it on every important day, such as when taking graduation photos, on her birthday, or on New Year's Eve.
It's as if he never left.
She placed her fingertips on the watch face, listening to the ticking sound.
Jiang Meng had long suspected that Chen Jizhou probably didn't want to play with her anymore. His lukewarm attitude towards her had lasted for a long time. She couldn't find the source of the estrangement, so she could only attribute it to distance and changes, until the autumn of her senior year when a girl found her.
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