Chapter 23
Are you sure?
The next day,
On Lunar New Year's Eve, Josh and Chen Zhiyu got up very early.
The couple hadn't finished preparing all the New Year's goods at home, so they discussed it yesterday and decided to go to the supermarket today to buy the last few.
"I asked, and the shopping mall nearby closes at 2 p.m. today. Let's go early and come back early." At the end of the year, Josh received a bonus from her department, and she planned to use the bonus to buy more New Year's goods.
Even on Lunar New Year's Eve, the mall was still packed with customers.
Fortunately, the two had already prepared a list of what to cook for the New Year's Eve dinner. They simply followed the menu and bought the necessary ingredients, making the whole process quick and efficient.
After buying what they wanted, they still had some time left. Since they had nothing to do at home, Josh suggested going upstairs to browse the clothing section.
"We always need to buy new clothes for the New Year." Josh led Chen Zhiyu upstairs.
The clothing section on the second and third floors was as lively as ever, decorated with a strong festive atmosphere.
At the entrance to the escalator on the second floor, there stands a large New Year painting doll, which is both festive and prosperous. Traditional New Year songs are everywhere, and the atmosphere is filled with joy.
Right now, most of the clothes in the mall are new spring styles. The diverse array of clothes decorating this warm showroom makes it feel like spring has arrived early.
Actually, in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the temperature has defied expectations, plummeting sharply and continuing until after the holiday. The howling north wind feels like a razor blade against the skin, leaving it dry and painful.
Unlike the outside, the scene inside the mall is completely different. It's fine in the supermarket, but when you come to the clothing section, the temperature rises sharply.
Josh took off the down jacket he was wearing and draped it over his elbow. He felt stuffy even in just the sweater underneath.
Standing directly in front of the central air conditioning vent, with the dry, hot air blowing on my head, I could feel my skin tightening up after a while, as if I was about to be roasted into a dried-up human body.
Josh moved a few steps away from the wind and stood close to the shop entrance, looking at the clothes in each store.
Suddenly, she stopped in front of a shop and paused.
Chen Zhiyu, who was standing next to her, noticed this and looked in the same direction as her.
Josh's gaze was fixed on a male model.
Chen Zhiyu glanced at it casually; there was nothing special about it.
The outfit worn by the model is a very simple spring casual set, consisting of a long-sleeved shirt with a white inner layer on top and ordinary jeans on the bottom.
The shirt is light blue, and the jeans are a loose, straight-leg style.
The colors are unremarkable, a simple blue and white combination that is refreshing, but lacks any highlights, especially compared to other clothes in the store. It lacks a sense of style and is obviously a bit too ordinary.
A few years ago, this outfit might have stood out, but now it looks rather ordinary.
"What's wrong?" Chen Zhiyu asked her curiously.
As Josh stood in front of the model, looking at the clothes, her thoughts were instantly pulled back to her school days. She suddenly remembered a senior she had a brief crush on during her first year of high school.
At that time, Josh had just started high school and was not used to the pace of high school. His daily life was boring and tedious. All he could see was the blackboard and the teacher, and all he could see was an endless sea of problems.
Meeting that senior was purely by chance, and it briefly added a touch of brightness to her otherwise bleak high school life.
I remember the first time I saw that senior, he was wearing a similar outfit.
In the corridor of the teaching building, the setting sun bathed the floor tiles. The senior student leaned against the golden sunlight, his arm around the classmate next to him, his smile unrestrained. Even that ray of sunlight flashed past Josh's eyes.
For some time afterward, this image kept replaying in her mind.
Fortunately, Josh's class shared physical education classes with this senior's class, and during free time, Josh could often be seen playing basketball with his classmates.
But later, as his studies became more demanding, Josh gradually forgot about that short-lived, unrequited love that ended without a trace.
Later, as time went by, she long forgot what the senior looked like and how tall he was. The only thing she remembered was his clothes and the bright, warm sunshine during that time.
"Didn't you bring him a bottle of mineral water?" Chen Zhiyu asked jokingly after hearing the whole story.
Josh didn't catch the underlying jealousy in his words. "Why buy bottled water?" She quickly realized, "How could I? I don't even know them. It would be so awkward to suddenly run off and deliver a bottle of water."
Josh didn't like to stand out, and she never imagined anything would happen between her and that unknown senior.
It's best not to bother others with things like having a crush.
Chen Zhiyu didn't ask any more questions, but this time it was his turn to stare intently at the clothes on the model.
"Come on, let's take another look over there." Qiao Xiyi's youth had ended, and she was back to reality. She grabbed Chen Zhiyu's arm and started to walk into the mall.
Chen Zhiyu stood motionless like a wooden pillar, and Qiao Xi was pulled back without warning. "What are you looking at?"
“I want to try this outfit on,” Chen Zhiyu said suddenly, pointing to the mannequin in front of him.
"What?" Josh didn't hear clearly.
“I want to try this outfit on.” Chen Zhiyu pointed to the shirt and jeans, repeated himself, and said it again with even more determination.
Josh looked at him, then at the clothes, and asked, "Are you sure?"
This outfit is really nothing special; it's just the most ordinary style.
"Do I look bad in this?" Chen Zhiyu asked, glancing at her sideways with a rare hint of displeasure.
“No, not at all.” Seeing Chen Zhiyu’s gaze, Qiao Xi blurted out, then paused for a moment after speaking.
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhiyu turned his face away from her and tried to suppress the urge to smile. "That's fine then."
After he finished speaking, he went inside.
Josh followed him in, still somewhat bewildered.
Inside the store, after a brief conversation with the sales clerk, Chen Zhiyu took a new set of clothes identical to the one on the model and walked briskly into the fitting room.
Opening and closing the door, the movements were fluid and seamless.
The whole process was so fast that Josh didn't even have time to react. From the moment Chen Zhiyu entered the fitting room, she sat on the low sofa in front of the fitting room, waiting, her feelings mixed, sitting there in a daze.
She only came to her senses when Chen Zhiyu came out after changing his clothes.
The fitting room door opened, and Josh looked up, startled.
The lights in front of the mirror were dazzling, but the soft light shone on Chen Zhiyu. He was tall with fair skin, and the light blue color suited him well.
The jeans weren't overly formal, giving Chen Zhiyu a relaxed and laid-back vibe.
Simple and refreshing, the whole person looks like a cool mint candy in summer, very refreshing.
Chen Zhiyu stood in front of her, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "How was it?"
“Not bad.” Josh looked up at him.
"Then I'll take this outfit."
“Okay.” Josh stopped asking, “Should we go to other stores to compare prices?” and went straight to the counter to pay.
There were many people checking out, so Josh stood in line at the counter. When she turned around, Chen Zhiyu hadn't changed back into his original clothes yet. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking at her with his head tilted to the side.
Seeing Chen Zhiyu's outfit, Qiao Xi tried hard to recall what the senior looked like, but she still couldn't remember.
But one thing she was certain of was that whenever she thought of that outfit again, a different, complete image of the boy would appear in her mind.
*
Even with only two people in the family, they can still prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner together.
The freshly fried meatballs were all golden and crispy, and smelled delicious. Josh had a great appetite, and she ate most of the meatballs that Chen Zhiyu had just fried.
"Are you going to eat later?"
Josh grabbed a meatball with his bare hand and stuffed half of it into his mouth. "I'm eating it now."
Not content with just food, Josh took out the drinks he had bought from the balcony. The temperature on the balcony was lower than inside, so the cola was still ice cold when he got it.
Holding the cool bottle, she could even imagine the refreshing sensation of the ice-cold cola as it entered her mouth.
"Don't think about it." Chen Zhiyu shattered her illusion and took the bottle of cold cola from Josh's arms.
"Hey!" Josh was about to get angry.
"It's too cold, you'll feel uncomfortable if you drink it." Chen Zhiyu carried a large bottle of cola into the kitchen. "I'll heat it up for you, you can have ginger cola."
Chen Zhiyu took a piece of ginger from the refrigerator, peeled it, and cut it into strips. He didn't cut it too finely so that it would be easy for Qiao Xi to filter it when she drank it. Then he put the cut ginger strips and cola into the health pot to boil.
Once the ginger cola has boiled, pour it into a glass and hand it to Josh, saying, "Be careful, it's hot."
Josh rarely drinks this. She didn't like the taste of ginger when she was a child and always resisted it. She picked up the cup, took a small, cautious sip, and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"I haven't had it in so long that I almost forgot what it tasted like, but now I think it's actually quite delicious."
Chen Zhiyu: "It's too cold outside today, so this will also help prevent a cold."
Josh squinted his eyes in enjoyment as he took a sip of ginger cola. It was less carbonated, but the ginger added a touch of spiciness. The mild spiciness made his nasal passages clear instantly, and a warm sensation ran down to his lower abdomen, as if he were being warmed by a heater.
I feel so much better.
Soon, after finishing one glass, Josh poured himself another.
This year's New Year's Eve dinner was also very sumptuous. They ate to their hearts' content. After dinner, the two of them each held a warm cup of ginger cola and continued to snuggle on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Actually, in the past, neither family had the requirement to stay up all night on New Year's Eve. If you had to say, staying up all night on New Year's Eve only started when the two of them lived together.
In previous years, Josh and Chen Zhiyu would stay in the living room during the Spring Festival, watching the Spring Festival Gala until midnight.
But after midnight, no one left, because they all knew in their hearts that as soon as they returned to their own rooms, they would be enveloped by loneliness.
So from then on, on New Year's Eve, after watching the Spring Festival Gala, around 1 a.m., they would look for old New Year's films to watch, and they would watch them all night long.
Josh drank a bit too much ginger cola and wasn't sleepy at all. It wasn't until late at night that he finally couldn't stay awake any longer, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
The sofa was too soft, and she couldn't sleep soundly on it. In her drowsy state, she felt someone lying next to her, but she was too sleepy and tried several times but couldn't open her eyes.
Even without the perfume's allure, Josh still had a beautiful dream; she was very happy that year.
After the Lunar New Year, it will be February, and there won't be many days left until the college entrance examination.
Before he knew it, the day of the college entrance exam arrived, and Josh felt like he was dreaming.
Two days before the college entrance examination, Chen Zhiyu's school gave students a holiday and asked them to study at home on their own.
Chen Zhiyu, who is about to take the college entrance examination, is acting as if nothing is wrong, while Qiao Xi is so anxious that she can't sleep, and no amount of perfume can help.
Josh originally wanted to give Chen Zhiyu a lot of nourishing supplements, but he was afraid that it would cause problems if he did so too quickly, so he had to give up. He then planned to take leave to accompany Chen Zhiyu to the exam, but Chen Zhiyu stopped him from doing so.
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