Chapter 65
Chi Jun's voice wasn't loud, and in the noisy ramen shop, he was practically invisible.
However, even across the dining table, these words, which could be considered a heartfelt confession, resonated deeply in Xu Qingzhou's mind. They were brief, yet each word carried weight.
Xu Qingzhou's grip on the spoon suddenly stopped.
It was as if a vacuum glass dome had suddenly descended from the sky, isolating this dining table from all the noise and people in the store, leaving only the two of them, gazing at each other across the table.
Xu Qingzhou looked at Chi Jun.
Chi Jun stared at her intently, his eyes conveying a mixture of deep meaning, determination, and inquiry.
Xu Qingzhou is not a fool.
She could clearly see in those eyes that Chi Jun wanted to come back.
Half a minute later, Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyes and squeezed the porcelain spoon in his hand tightly.
She suddenly realized how big a mistake she had made.
She believed that becoming a star was a bright and promising path for Chi Jun—he wouldn't have to struggle for a living, and he would have many fans who loved him. With his personality, he would live a more carefree and splendid life in the entertainment industry than anyone else.
But that's all she thought.
Using the hurtful excuse of being a "burden," she presumptuously pushed Chi Jun down a path that seemed to be for his own good.
She considered Chi Jun's future life, his thoughts and ideas, her own life without him, and even the fact that they would never cross paths again.
But the only thing she never considered was whether Chi Jun was willing.
She couldn't imagine the agonizing struggle Chi Jun's pride must have gone through to finally muster the courage to return to this small town, to stand before her, and say: When she so resolutely pushed him away, what kind of struggle had he endured to finally have the audacity to do so?
Zhouzhou, I like it here.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingzhou's vision blurred, and his nose began to sting.
【sorry】
She wrote it on the paper.
Her eyes, which were fixed on Chi Jun, were filled with apology and regret.
Chi Jun figured it out.
His eyes flickered involuntarily, and he moved his lips, but with an indifferent and lazy air, he leaned back.
“I forgive you,” he said.
With a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, he still exuded that same arrogant and carefree air.
"It's because I'm so tolerant and generous."
*
Chi Jun's return was good news for most people except for Rolly, Chen Mi, and their group.
Starting the next day, Chi Jun kept inviting Li Rui and his gang to eat, drink, and have fun. They were all clearly so happy they drank a few extra glasses of alcohol, yet they still couldn't hold back their words—
"Damn, I thought my brother was going to be a top star, and I was still treasuring all those autographs I got in advance. And now you're back? Does that mean I'm stuck with those autographs and can't sell them anymore?"
"Exactly! Brother, I was counting on you to set up your own studio and go to the big city with me to eat and drink well. Well, now I can only eat at street stalls again."
Chi Jun fiddled with a pile of wine bottles in front of him, his eyes slightly red from the alcohol, but he smiled comfortably and freely.
"What's wrong with street stalls? I just love eating at street stalls."
"And you lot," Chi Jun said, legs spread wide, arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, tilting his head as his gaze swept leisurely over the faces around him, "Although, well, none of you are exactly what you'd expect—"
As he spoke, he pinched a little distance between his thumb and forefinger:
"You're still a little bit worse than me, but all in all, it's still more fun playing with you guys."
Everyone was quite drunk, their eyes glazed over, their faces as red as monkey bottoms, as they sat around the barbecue table. They didn't realize there was anything wrong with what they were saying, and they even grabbed their bottles and shouted that they wanted to toast to this touching friendship.
Only after Li Rui noticed and warned them did they launch a group attack.
"Damn, is this some kind of indirect way of insulting us?"
"Xu Jun, come here, explain yourself clearly, do you think we're ugly?"
"Don't even think about going back today until you explain yourself clearly!"
"..."
That night, Chi Jun got quite drunk from being plied with drinks.
Aside from being punished for saying the wrong thing, he was mostly happy and couldn't help but drink more.
Around midnight, Chi Jun took a taxi back to his rented apartment compound.
Most of the tenants were already asleep, and the doors and windows were dark under the night sky, with only one or two lights shining out—Xu Qingzhou's small rented room was one of them.
The little girl had just finished a math test and was about to go get some hot water when she came back to continue her English homework. Then she heard the sound of a key opening the door.
The key jingled for a long time, but the door remained closed.
Xu Qingzhou glanced out the window and saw Chi Jun.
He held the key for ages but couldn't open the door; I don't know how much he'd drunk.
Xu Qingzhou sighed softly and stepped forward to open the door.
Upon seeing Xu Qingzhou through the security door, Chi Jun paused in his hand, which was holding the keys. Then, a slight smile appeared on his lips, and he leaned against the door frame, reeking of alcohol, and looked at Xu Qingzhou.
Xu Qingzhou waited silently for a while.
"Aren't you coming in?" she asked.
Chi Jun raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "No rush."
He seemed to be in no hurry at all. Against the backdrop of the dark night sky behind him, he maintained a lazy posture, leaning against the door frame and tilting his head to stare at Xu Qingzhou.
His eyes were deep, as if he were scrutinizing someone, or perhaps simply admiring them.
A faint, enigmatic smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
Xu Qingzhou felt a little awkward under their gaze. After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but ask:
Why are you looking at me like that?
Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, Chi Jun raised his eyebrows and suddenly tapped her on the forehead.
"You're so good-looking, and you think you're in the right if I don't let you see you?"
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
Perhaps it was because Chi Jun's hands were too cold, but when they briefly touched my skin, even my heart skipped a beat.
Xu Qingzhou covered her head with both hands and took a half step back. Meeting Chi Jun's gaze, she felt the heat rebound from the cool spot where their skin had just touched, quickly spreading throughout her body, and even her face couldn't help but feel slightly hot.
Perhaps due to the influence of body temperature, Xu Qingzhou felt that his originally clear mind suddenly became somewhat chaotic.
She glanced quickly at Chi Jun, then lowered her eyelids.
But after only two seconds, he couldn't help but glance at it again.
Ultimately, reason told her that silence was golden before she had a clear understanding of the situation.
It's cold outside, come in.
She pretended to be calm and changed the subject, saying nothing more, before turning back to her small desk.
As if seeing through her clumsy disguise, Chi Jun stood at the door and clearly scoffed.
—It was a laugh with a hint of sarcasm.
However, Xu Qingzhou was determined to pretend to be deaf and dumb, sitting properly at his desk, pen in hand, staring at the exam paper.
I just won't look at him.
Fortunately, her complex and fragmented lifestyle had long since honed her ability to quickly immerse herself in her studies. Xu Qingzhou forced herself to silently read the questions twice before quickly throwing herself back into the sea of questions.
Before I could even finish a few questions, a series of abrupt message notifications rang out, interrupting my train of thought once again.
Xu Qingzhou looked up and stared at the lit-up phone screen.
First came the sound of gold coins clinking together, then—
"5000 yuan received via Alipay."
Another series of clinking sounds of gold coins—
"Ten thousand yuan has been deposited into my Alipay account."
"Alipay payment received, 20,000 yuan."
A clear and articulate female voice echoed continuously in the small rented room, referring to figures of money that seemed distant to her.
Xu Qingzhou paused, his hand holding the pen still. His first thought was: the phone is broken.
Or it could be a new type of fraud used by fraud gangs.
However, when I opened Alipay on my phone, I was taken aback.
She turned to look at Chi Jun—
The latter sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, head down, intently typing away on his phone.
Meanwhile, the phone notification tone continued to ring persistently—
"Alipay payment received, 30,000 yuan."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
She practically rushed forward and reached out to grab Chi Jun's phone.
Chi Jun looked up at her.
Xu Qingzhou maintained the position of holding the other person's phone, and looked at Chi Jun, her terrified face clearly saying: What are you doing??
After getting drunk, Chi Jun looked at her with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Xu Qingzhou could only take out a pen and paper and ask clearly: "Why did you transfer money to me?"
Chi Jun blinked, and after two seconds, he exclaimed "Ah!" and said casually:
"Food and lodging expenses."
The phrase "food and lodging expenses" left Xu Qingzhou speechless.
So even though he's back, he still wonders if he's a burden to her.
That's why I'm transferring her room and board expenses, afraid she'll kick me out again?
The words of explanation, accompanied by complex emotions, rushed to his lips in an instant. Xu Qingzhou gripped his pen, looked at Chi Jun's face, but found that the more he was eager to explain, the less he knew how to begin.
The two looked at each other, and finally, Chi Jun spoke first.
"Zhouzhou, stop delivering food."
He looked at her; although he was somewhat drunk, his expression seemed more serious than ever before.
"The money I transferred to you is enough to support you through college."
Xu Qingzhou looked at him silently, her hand holding the pen twitched, but just as she was about to write, the pen was snatched away by Chi Jun.
He held the pen in his hand, skillfully fiddling with it while watching her, and said:
"I know what you're trying to say, but when you risked your life to save me, didn't you also treat me the same way?"
"Of course, if you really feel uneasy about using this money, you can write down IOUs for each transaction first, and then pay me back little by little after you graduate and start earning money."
He paused, looked at her, and said seriously:
Is that okay?
This "Is it okay?" doesn't sound like a discussion, but rather like a cautious request.
Xu Qingzhou stared at Chi Jun.
The small rented room was completely silent, except for the ticking of the clock, which sounded rhythmically, each tick becoming clearer and clearer.
It seems to be urging for an answer.
Xu Qingzhou's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched and relaxed, relaxed and clenched again.
Finally, she nodded heavily.
Chi Jun smiled.
As if he had breathed a sigh of relief, he placed his hands on the sheets behind him, adopting a relaxed posture.
Xu Qingzhou looked at him and smiled faintly.
She knew that, based on reason, emotion, and objective conditions, she should accept the money.
However, the most important thing is that she accepted the money, and perhaps Chi Jun will be able to use this as an excuse to stay with a clear conscience in the future.
only……
Xu Qingzhou thought for a moment and then took the pen from Chi Jun's hand.
But isn't this a bit too much money being transferred?
Chi Jun thought for a moment and nodded.
"That's a bit too much."
Xu Qingzhou picked up his phone and was about to transfer most of the money back to him.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he unlocked the screen, he heard Chi Jun yawn lazily, his tone returning to its usual nonchalant manner: "Keep this for me, I'll use it to get a wife later."
"?"
Marry... a wife?
In Xu Qingzhou's mind, this word seemed to have a very obvious disconnect with Chi Jun.
So much so that she was momentarily stunned and didn't know how to respond.
During this silence, Chi Jun's smile widened noticeably, and he sat up straight, staring at her with great interest.
"What, you don't want me to get married?"
Xu Qingzhou remained silent.
After a while, he shook his head.
"How could that be? Getting married is your own big deal, it has nothing to do with me, and I have no right to interfere."
Xu Qingzhou was telling the truth.
That's really what she thought.
But for some reason, after writing that sentence, the little girl felt a little down.
I don't want to continue this topic.
Xu Qingzhou secretly took a breath and turned to return to his desk, but Chi Jun suddenly spoke up at that moment:
"How can it not concern you?"
Xu Qingzhou turned her head and saw Chi Jun with his hands behind his back, looking up at her.
His expression was enigmatic, a half-smile playing on his lips as he looked into her eyes. They were bright and deep, like a ray of light, profound, direct, and unobstructed, instantly illuminating her heart.
"If it has nothing to do with you, then who else could it have to do with?"
His tone was matter-of-fact, exuding an unquestionable arrogance.
Xu Qingzhou remained silent.
In the silence that followed her words, she met Chi Jun's bright gaze and clearly heard her own heart skip a beat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
