Her picture book
Jiang Jingshu's first New Year here was the warmest day she had ever experienced in her life.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the streets are bustling with activity, and every place is filled with the festive atmosphere. The sound of firecrackers can be heard everywhere, and people are wearing their newly bought clothes, looking fresh and beautiful.
The night no longer seemed dark.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Jiang Jingshu was nestled in bed when Jiang Yuan knocked on her door.
Jiang Jingshu quickly got up, opened the door, and Jiang Yuan walked in carrying a plate of candied melon. "Jingshu, come and have some candied melon."
"Sugar melon?" Jiang Jingshu had never seen such a thing before. She only thought that what Jiang Yuan was holding looked like garlic, but it did not give her any desire to eat it.
Jiang Yuan smiled and handed one to Jiang Jingshu, "Hurry up and eat one, it's twenty-three, sticky candy."
Jiang Jingshu took it, put it in her mouth, and couldn't help but feel curious. Although it looked like garlic, it tasted sweet and was very crispy.
Her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed repeatedly, "Delicious!"
Jiang Yuan smiled at Jiang Jingshu, "Even if you like it, you can't overindulge, or your teeth will hurt."
Jiang Jingshu nodded quickly. A little while later, Su Xiaoyue called, "Jiang Jiang, Wen Jinyan and I are going to buy New Year's goods, are you coming?"
"New Year's goods?"
“Yeah, we’re planning to buy some candy and melon seeds. Do you want to come with us? Let’s invite Xie Zhijin too. It’s no fun for him to spend the New Year alone. Let’s make it more lively.” Su Xiaoyue’s voice came over, but Jiang Jingshu remained silent.
Yes, during the Chinese New Year, the whole world is bustling with activity, but all that bustle has nothing to do with that one person.
Thinking of Xie Zhijin, Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"No, you two go ahead." Jiang Jingshu refused, and then opened Xie Zhijin's chat window.
"Would you like to spend Chinese New Year with us this year?"
Jiang Jingshu typed a line, but still felt it wasn't quite right. She deleted it and typed another line: "Want to spend the New Year with me?"
It was deleted again.
How can she best convey her meaning to that person?
In the end, she sent it anyway, "What are your plans for the Chinese New Year?"
Xie: to work, to study.
Jiang Jingshu looked at Xie Zhijin's message and continued typing. Before she could finish typing, another message from Xie Zhijin came through.
Xie: Let's set off fireworks together.
Jiang Jingshu immediately laughed, deleted what she had just typed, and retyped a new line.
“The streets have been very lively these past few days, but it’s really a bit lonely at home with only my dad and me celebrating the New Year.” Jiang Jingshu paused, as if choosing her words carefully, and then typed, “If you don’t have anything planned for the New Year, would you like to come to our house for the holiday? It’ll be more lively there.”
After sending the message, seemingly worried about Xie Zhijin's response, she asked, "Is it okay?"
Xie: Is it really appropriate for me to attend your family reunion dinner?
Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang: But I want you to come.
After sending the message, Jiang Jingshu tossed her phone onto the bedside table, lay down on the bed, and forced herself not to look at her phone.
How did she send it?
But I want you to come.
The words "I want you to come" just popped into Jiang Jingshu's mind.
The phone vibrated beside her, but Jiang Jingshu didn't have the courage to pick it up.
She took a few deep breaths and picked up her phone.
Xie: Okay.
Xie: Jiang Jingshu, thank you.
Jiang Jingshu suddenly relaxed and called Xie Zhijin, inviting him to go shopping for New Year's goods together.
Xie Zhijin readily agreed.
The two walked along the bustling road. Jiang Jingshu was wearing a scarf, and a cold wind blew by, causing her to sneeze involuntarily.
Xie Zhijin turned to look at her, "Are you cold?"
Jiang Jingshu shook her head, even though she sneezed again afterward.
However, despite being dressed quite warmly in thermal underwear and even a windbreaker, along with a thick scarf and hat, Jiang Jingshu still felt the chill penetrating her from every angle.
Xie Zhijin looked at Jiang Jingshu's exposed hands and asked, "Are your hands cold?"
Jiang Jingshu quickly rubbed her palms together and breathed on them gently, saying, "Cool."
Xie Zhijin paused for a moment, then asked Jiang Jingshu to wait for him before leaving.
Jiang Jingshu stood obediently in place waiting for her. She was very cold, for some reason, as cold as the water that had drowned her in the Imperial Garden that day.
She didn't have to wait long before she saw Xie Zhijin walk over and hand her a small hot water bottle.
"Where did you buy this?" Jiang Jingshu took it. Xie Zhijin had already filled it with hot water, making it very warm. Jiang Jingshu's hands were also warmed by the small hot water bottle.
"I remember there's a convenience store nearby, so I went to buy it." Xie Zhijin said, then handed Jiang Jingshu a cup of very hot milk tea. "Sorry, there were a lot of people buying milk tea, so you had to wait a while."
Jiang Jingshu shook her head. "There shouldn't be any convenience stores around here, right?" She suddenly grabbed Xie Zhijin's hand. "Your hands are so cold. You rode your electric bike there as fast as you could, didn't you?"
Xie Zhijin reflexively withdrew his hand, his face seemingly a little red. "It's not that far."
Jiang Jingshu placed the hot water bottle in Xie Zhijin's hands, saying, "Xie Zhijin, thank you."
"Jiang Jingshu, don't be so polite with me." He put the hot water bottle back into Jiang Jingshu's hands. "Besides, I'm not riding very fast."
Jiang Jingshu smiled as she held a small hot water bottle in her hands, which was decorated with a Hello Kitty pattern.
She smiled and walked into the store with Xie Zhijin.
The two of them bought a lot of candy, as well as melon seeds and snacks, and they returned home with a full load.
When the two returned home, Xie Zhijin handed the things he was carrying to Jiang Jingshu, saying, "They're a bit heavy, can you carry them upstairs?"
Jiang Jingshu took it and nodded to Xie Zhijin, "Xie Zhijin, don't forget what you promised me."
Xie Zhijin just looked at her and smiled.
Let's celebrate the New Year together this year.
"good."
The cold wind seemed to carry Xie Zhijin's voice to Jiang Jingshu's ears. She turned around and went upstairs.
The house was a bit warmer, but she was still cold. For some reason, she sat on the edge of the bed shivering.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
"I think I'm sick," Jiang Jingshu said, touching her forehead. "But my forehead feels cold, so it shouldn't be a fever."
The system told her to lie down, and Jiang Jingshu lay on the bed, only feeling a warm sensation coming from her body.
"I'm not cold anymore." Jiang Jingshu slowly stood up. "Help, what did you do?"
However, there was no immediate response from the system.
Jiang Jingshu got out of bed and sat at her desk. The agave was growing very well. The leaves that were just sprouting a few days ago seemed to have received plenty of nutrients. Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but wonder why, despite her hard work to improve herself in City A, she hadn't been able to speed up the growth of the agave.
And in less than a month since she returned to Z City, the agave has grown so rapidly.
Jiang Jingshu reached out and touched the agave. "Strange."
Agave is warm.
Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but feel a little confused, remembering that the agave she had touched before was extremely cold.
But now, in the cold winter, why does the agave feel so warm?
Jiang Jingshu couldn't figure out the reason, so she could only sort out the things she had bought.
After tidying everything up, she sat down at the table and began to draw.
The painting she drew was of Xie Zhijin as she imagined him.
The image of riding an electric bike against the cold wind to the convenience store.
Although she couldn't see what he looked like.
But this image suddenly appeared in Jiang Jingshu's mind.
It haunted her.
She flipped through her sketchbook and discovered that it was filled with pictures of Xie Zhijin.
He stood up for her, he prepared surprises for her, he quietly stayed by her side.
Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but laugh.
At first, I painted mountains and rivers, clouds and the moon.
But now in the picture book
Yet it was always filled by one person.
—
On the 29th day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Jingshu arrived at the hotel where Xie Zhijin was staying and said to him with a smile, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
Xie Zhijin just stared at Jiang Jingshu's outstretched hand.
Humans are attracted to light, and Xie Zhijin is no exception.
She pulled him back to her home.
Jiang Yuan thoughtfully tidied up the guest room, saying, "Xiao Xie, don't be shy, make yourself at home."
"Thank you, Uncle," Xie Zhijin said, and Jiang Jingshu helped him tidy up.
"Actually, I can do it myself." Xie Zhijin saw Jiang Jingshu carrying a small bag for him and quickly took it from her hands. "Uncle is really a nice person."
"Xie Zhijin, in the new year, I hope you can learn one thing." Jiang Jingshu stopped what she was doing and stared at Xie Zhijin.
Xie Zhijin asked her, puzzled, "What?"
"I hope you'll bother me a lot in the new year."
"What kind of wish is this?" Xie Zhijin thought Jiang Jingshu's wish was absurd, but Jiang Jingshu just smiled and said to him, "This is a wish."
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, in the morning, Jiang Jingshu sent Xie Zhijin a message: "Did you sleep well last night?"
"very good."
The other party replied very quickly, almost instantly.
Jiang Jingshu smiled and then started scrolling through short videos.
Suddenly, she came across a live stream that looked familiar to Jiang Jingshu; it seemed to be the kind of game Xie Zhijin played.
But the host's voice had a strangely familiar feel to it!
That's not right!
Jiang Jingshu looked at the streamer's nickname, "Xie Jin".
Jiang Jingshu kept the live stream running in a private window, then sent Xie Zhijin a private message, "Xie Zhijin, what are you doing?"
A soft laugh suddenly came from the live stream room.
Jiang Jingshu: ?
How did she manage to imagine Xie Zhijin's facial expressions and movements based on that sound?
Looking at this game streamer with 2 million followers, Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but have a guess.
Could this streamer be Xie Zhijin?
Soon, Xie Zhijin's message arrived.
"I'm working, what's wrong?"
Jiang Jingshu typed a few more words, "I saw your post."
The other side fell completely silent. Jiang Jingshu looked at the comments in the live stream.
Did anyone hear Xiao Jin laugh just now?
[Xiao Jin, are you finally feeling better?]
Can you please focus on playing the game?!
Occasionally, a few unfriendly voices were heard, but she heard Xie Zhijin say in the live broadcast room,
"Sorry everyone, a friend just messaged me."
[You're laughing so happily, is that your girlfriend?]
[Are you dating someone and actually playing games at the same time?]
[Oh God, has Xiao Jin finally figured it out?]
Xie Zhijin was still watching the comments section when he said, "Sorry, she's not my girlfriend, she's a good friend."
"Sending messages won't interfere with playing the game."
"We'll still win."
"It dawned on me, yeah, I've always been smart."
Is that friend in the live stream?
[Curious, what kind of friend?]
Stop talking and focus on the game.
Jiang Jingshu smiled. Xie Zhijin didn't respond to the comments in the chat. Jiang Jingshu watched Xie Zhijin's live stream until noon.
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