Songs we listened to together
On the day of departure, Jiang Jingshu's alarm clock rang early. She quickly got dressed, tidied herself up, and prepared to leave.
Jiang Yuan had just finished making breakfast. "Xiao Jing, do you have enough money to go out and have fun?"
Jiang Jingshu took out a loaf of bread, spreading jam on it as she nodded, "It's enough, don't worry."
Still seemingly worried that Jiang Jingshu didn't have enough money, Jiang Yuan transferred another 7,000 yuan to Jiang Jingshu's WeChat account, instructing her, "Contact me anytime if you need more, and take good care of yourself while you're out there."
Jiang Jingshu nodded, indicating that she would take good care of herself. After the meal, Jiang Yuan took her to the station.
From afar, she could see Xie Zhijin waving at her from the station entrance. Xie Zhijin was wearing an apricot-colored trench coat and a scarf, and slowly waved to Jiang Jingshu.
Jiang Jingshu's eyes lit up, and after saying goodbye to Jiang Yuan, she ran towards Xie Zhijin.
"You look very handsome." Jiang Jingshu praised him without reservation.
As she was praising him, she felt a pressure on her shoulder. Jiang Jingshu turned around and Su Xiaoyue hugged her from behind. "Jiang Jiang, I can finally travel with you!"
Jiang Jingshu's eyes lit up even more. "Xiaoxiao, you're so beautiful."
Su Xiaoyue had her hair styled in double buns, wore exquisite makeup, and even had a mole deliberately placed under her eye.
Su Xiaoyue was wearing a light-colored pleated skirt and a light blue scarf around her neck.
"Jiang Jiang, have you fallen for me yet?" Su Xiaoyue smiled at Jiang Jingshu.
Jiang Jingshu, however, was still surprised by Su Xiaoyue's bare legs under her skirt. "Xiaoyue, aren't you cold?"
Su Xiaoyue gave Jiang Jingshu a mysterious smile, then secretly used her hand to lift her bare leg from under her skirt. "I'm wearing super, super thick leggings."
Jiang Jingshu laughed, "Then why are your hands still so cold?" She took Su Xiaoyue's hand and put it in her down jacket pocket, "Since your clothes don't have any pockets, I'll lend you mine."
"Wow, Jiang Jiang, you're so kind!" Su Xiaoyue quickly reached into Jiang Jingshu's pocket.
"Su Xiaoyue, you run so fast, are you a hamster?" A pleasant male voice reached Jiang Jingshu's ears, and Jiang Jingshu immediately understood that this was probably Su Xiaoyue's childhood friend.
Su Xiaoyue turned her head and made a face at the boy, then reached her hand out of Jiang Jingshu's pocket and said arrogantly, "Wen Jinyan, quickly bring me my down jacket."
Wen Jinyan chuckled and handed the bag to Su Xiaoyue, scolding her as she did so, "Didn't you say you weren't cold? Why are you bringing clothes now?"
Su Xiaoyue quickly took the bag and put on the down jacket. "You really believed me when I said I wasn't cold? Wen Jinyan, you childish devil."
Wen Jinyan smiled and glanced at Su Xiaoyue, then extended her hand to Xie Zhijin. "Hello, my name is Wen Jinyan. Su Xiaoyue and I grew up together." Before she finished speaking, Wen Jinyan added, "Childhood sweethearts."
Su Xiaoyue took Jiang Jingshu's hand and said, "Jiang Jiang, this is my childhood friend." Then she looked at Wen Jinyan with a look of disgust and said, "Childhood friend is childhood friend, but childhood sweethearts is too."
Xie Zhijin took Wen Jinyan's hand and said, "Hello, I am Xie Zhijin, and this is Jiang Jingshu. We are Su Xiaoyue's classmates."
Su Xiaoyue waved her hand subconsciously, "Xie Zhijin is a classmate," then glanced at Jiang Jingshu, "Jiang Jiang is a best friend."
Jiang Jingshu patted Su Xiaoyue a little shyly, and the group added each other on WeChat before boarding the high-speed train.
Su Xiaoyue originally intended to sit with Jiang Jingshu, but Wen Jinyan pulled her away, saying, "Is this your seat? Sit next to me."
Su Xiaoyue could only pout at Jiang Jingshu, then glare at Wen Jinyan before sitting down next to him.
Xie Zhijin's seat was by the window. He glanced at Jiang Jingshu's ticket and said, "Why don't you sit by the window?"
"What? You don't like the window seat?" Jiang Jingshu asked him.
Xie Zhijin nodded. "To be honest, I'm a little afraid of heights."
"You're afraid of heights?" Jiang Jingshu looked incredulous. "Then why have you ridden roller coasters and Ferris wheels?"
Xie Zhijin:......
Seeing Xie Zhijin's silence, Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Xie Zhijin, next time just tell me directly, Jiang Jingshu, do you like the window seat?"
"Because I always see you staring out the window in a daze during class." Xie Zhijin spoke in a very soft voice, mimicking Jiang Jingshu's earlier manner, saying each word carefully, "So, Jiang Jingshu, do you like seats by the window?"
"Okay, thank you." Jiang Jingshu sat down inside, carrying a small bag. She glanced at Xie Zhijin and quietly placed the bag next to him.
Feeling something in his hand, Xie Zhijin looked at Jiang Jingshu and asked, "What is this?"
"Open it and you'll see." Hearing Jiang Jingshu's words, Xie Zhijin took the item out of the bag and said in surprise, "You've drawn another picture."
In the painting, snow is falling heavily, and a man and a woman are standing outside a convenience store. The man is holding a lighter and approaching the woman, who is closing her eyes and making a wish.
Xie Zhijin was stunned. He only heard Jiang Jingshu speak, "Xie Zhijin, do you still remember the warm snowy day I mentioned?"
Xie Zhijin nodded woodenly.
"This day marked the beginning of my love for snow. It's also why I feel that snowy days are warm."
"Is it because of me?" Xie Zhijin pointed slightly to himself.
Jiang Jingshu nodded, then confirmed again, "It's because of you."
—
During the three-hour drive, Jiang Jingshu felt her eyelids drooping. Xie Zhijin watched Jiang Jingshu nod her head little by little and couldn't help but smile.
Jiang Jingshu wasn't fully asleep. She noticed Xie Zhijin beside her tilting his head and staring at her. Feeling a little embarrassed, she asked, "Why are you staring at me?"
"Go to sleep if you're sleepy, I'll wake you up."
As Xie Zhijin finished speaking, a white earphone was inserted into Jiang Jingshu's ear.
This is the first time Jiang Jingshu has worn headphones since coming to modern society.
Feeling a bit strange, Jiang Jingshu glanced at Xie Zhijin beside her out of the corner of her eye.
Xie Zhijin also put on his headphones and looked at Jiang Jingshu, "Want to listen?"
Jiang Jingshu nodded.
She quietly closed her eyes, with Taylor Swift's "Love Story" playing in her headphones. Jiang Jingshu had heard this song before; the rhythm was great and it was very catchy. She had listened to it carefully many times.
"Xie Zhijin, are you here to teach me English?" Jiang Jingshu asked Xie Zhijin.
"What do you want to hear?" Thinking that Jiang Jingshu didn't like the song, Xie Zhijin handed her his phone, indicating that she should choose.
Jiang Jingshu didn't have any particular song she wanted to hear. She simply closed her eyes and didn't take the phone Xie Zhijin offered. "No need, this song is very nice."
Xie Zhijin's lips curled up slightly. "You like it too?"
“Xie Zhijin, I’ve heard this song before, and I really like it.” Jiang Jingshu suddenly recalled that in order to learn English well, she watched American TV series and listened to English songs for a long time at home, including this song, “Love Story.” Jiang Jingshu said with some pride, “I know what the lyrics mean.”
Not only that, out of curiosity, Jiang Jingshu also searched for the story of Romeo and Juliet.
"Xie Zhijin, what do you think of the story of Romeo and Juliet?" Jiang Jingshu suddenly asked curiously. This story hadn't stirred much emotion in Jiang Jingshu's heart.
In her heart, she would not stubbornly persist in something that was destined to have no good outcome; if there was no good result, why even begin?
Xie Zhijin looked at him and said, "They are both very brave people, willing to give everything for love, even their lives."
"But it's an unavoidable tragedy." Jiang Jingshu couldn't help but sigh. She looked at Xie Zhijin, "If it's destined to be a tragedy, destined to be rejected, would you still go through with it?"
Romeo and Juliet is a sad sonata.
Two opposing families, their descendants have formed a bond of love, which is destined to have no good outcome, Jiang Jingshu thought.
"Juliet was forced by her father to marry a man she did not love. She wanted to drink a potion to fake her death in order to escape the marriage, but Romeo thought Juliet was really dead. In despair, he drank the poison and they died together."
Jiang Jingshu lowered her eyes. "But fate is so cruel. After Romeo drank the poison, Juliet woke up. Xie Zhijin, tell me, how regrettable is that?"
Xie Zhijin solemnly replied, "Juliet ended her own life with Romeo's sword. Jiang Jingshu, although this is a tragedy, it may be the best ending for the two of them."
Jiang Jingshu shook her head, wondering, "If they had known from the beginning that this would be the final outcome, would they still have chosen to be together?"
"Probably." Xie Zhijin looked out the window. "At the very least, they had a passionate love affair, and that's enough."
What's the point of doing this?
"Isn't that meaningful?"
Just as Jiang Jingshu heard Xie Zhijin's reply, the song was playing the line, "Marry me, Juliet. You'll never have to be alone."
She looked up at Xie Zhijin and suddenly realized, how could this not be meaningful?
Jiang Jingshu has always been a results-oriented person. In her mind, the outcome is often more important than the process. So much so that when something happens, Jiang Jingshu doesn't care about the process, only about the result.
If she were Juliet, perhaps she wouldn't have Juliet's courage and decisiveness. She wouldn't have chosen to elope with Romeo, nor would she have rebelled against patriarchal society for him.
In her mind, the ending was tragic, so the whole thing was meaningless.
She will restrain her emotions and not let them grow unchecked.
Jiang Jingshu realized she was wrong. Xie Zhijin was not the same person as her. Xie Zhijin cared more about the process than the result. If the process was beautiful enough, the ending might not matter to him.
However, Xie Zhijin told her that the passionate love story that Romeo and Juliet went through was the greatest significance of this relationship.
She slowly began to accept it.
"Xie Zhijin, even knowing the outcome, will you still persevere?"
She was met with Xie Zhijin's unwavering gaze.
He said, "I will. No matter the outcome, once I've made up my mind, even if I end up being shattered to pieces, I will never back down."
After ending the topic, Jiang Jingshu glanced out the window, her heart secretly churning.
The system's voice rang in Jiang Jingshu's mind, "Your Highness, the result is indeed important, but the process is also very important."
Jiang Jingshu listened to the system's voice, "Your Highness has never felt a sense of belonging here. Even if the final outcome is to return to your world, for now, you are still in this world."
The system seems to be able to guess Jiang Jingshu's thoughts at all times.
Every time she guessed correctly, Jiang Jingshu thought about how she would one day return to Yongning Kingdom and continue being the seventh princess. What would be the meaning of this journey?
Whenever she felt attached to the ties that modern society had placed upon her, she would remind herself again that she did not belong here, and force herself to be more clear-headed so that the time of parting would not be too painful.
But recently she has found that she has started to think about her future life in this world. In dealing with Xie Zhijin's mother, she began to think about how to get along with Xie Zhijin in the future. When she went out to play with Su Xiaoxiao, she even thought about where to go with her next time.
Someone who was destined to have no future here has actually started thinking about the future.
That's wrong.
Jiang Jingshu gently shook her head, telling herself not to overthink it. She would have to go back sooner or later, so what was the point of thinking so much now?
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