What are your criteria for choosing a boyfriend?
As their eyes met, Xie Zhijin's face suddenly loomed large. Jiang Jingshu lowered her head. "It's you."
Xie Zhijin quickly caught up with her, walked to Jiang Jingshu's side, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
Jiang Jingshu's normally smooth brows furrowed slightly, as if sensing the girl's mood beside her. Xie Zhijin glanced at the roadside vendors and asked Jiang Jingshu, "Would you like some candied hawthorn?"
Jiang Jingshu shook her head. "No, I have some things to do, so I'll go upstairs first." She was feeling rather complicated and didn't feel like chatting with Xie Zhijin.
"Are you unhappy?" Xie Zhijin asked directly.
Feeling that her emotions had been read, Jiang Jingshu shook her head. "I'm not unhappy. Why aren't you home? Are you taking a walk downstairs too?"
"Yes and no." Xie Zhijin stood with his hands behind his back and walked to a bench in the community.
"What does this mean?" Jiang Jingshu didn't quite understand what Xie Zhijin meant by "yes" or "no." She followed Xie Zhijin to the bench.
"I'm a little unhappy." There happened to be an old man selling candied hawthorns next to the bench. Xie Zhijin went over and bought two skewers while he was speaking, handing one of them to Jiang Jingshu.
Jiang Jingshu took the string of candied hawthorns. "So, can eating candied hawthorns relieve the symptoms?"
Xie Zhijin shook his head.
Jiang Jingshu asked, "How can that be?"
Xie Zhijin tried to pull Jiang Jingshu's wrist forward, but Jiang Jingshu subconsciously pulled her hand back, saying, "Just talk it out, why are you hitting me?"
Xie Zhijin said helplessly, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I just wanted to take you somewhere."
Jiang Jingshu gave a soft "oh" and then walked ahead of Xie Zhijin on her own. "Then just say it."
Xie Zhijin watched Jiang Jingshu walk further and further away in the opposite direction, smiled and quickly caught up with her, whispering to Jiang Jingshu, "Take the other way."
—
Having finished their candied hawthorns, the two arrived at a place completely unfamiliar to Jiang Jingshu.
So when Xie Zhijin went to buy tickets, Jiang Jingshu tugged at his sleeve and asked, "What is this?"
Xie Zhijin raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious about Jiang Jingshu's reaction, "Which one is what?"
"Right here, this place." Jiang Jingshu looked around. She recognized the facilities from the internet, and the word that came to mind was, "An amusement park?"
Xie Zhijin nodded. "Yes, why do you seem so unfamiliar with this place?"
"It's been a long time since I've been here, I don't quite remember," Jiang Jingshu lied without batting an eye. She then asked him, "Why did you bring me here?"
"When I'm in a bad mood, I want to come here and ride the roller coaster." Xie Zhijin looked at Jiang Jingshu, feeling that the roller coaster here could wash away all unpleasantness.
"And then?" Jiang Jingshu still didn't understand why Xie Zhijin had brought her here.
“But I’m a coward, I only dare to sit next to people I know well.” Xie Zhijin said, while observing Jiang Jingshu’s expression. “Why don’t you sit with me here? It’s very stress-relieving.”
Jiang Jingshu watched the people screaming and shouting on the roller coaster, then turned her gaze to Xie Zhijin, "Are you sure? Aren't you scared?"
Xie Zhijin scratched his head awkwardly, "Um...sorry, I forgot to ask if you were scared."
Jiang Jingshu shook her head.
She wasn't afraid; in fact, she felt it would be great.
Since she wasn't in a good mood anyway, Jiang Jingshu decided to ride the roller coaster with Xie Zhijin.
If a roller coaster traveling at super high speeds can really take away all your worries, then it's definitely worth the trip.
Xie Zhijin and Jiang Jingshu were in line, and there was a couple in front of them.
The boy seemed to be very afraid of this type of game. While waiting in line, he took the girl's arm and asked her if he could wait for her downstairs.
The girl patted the boy on the shoulder with a battle-hardened air and said to him, "The first criterion for my boyfriend is that he can't be a coward."
The boy hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.
Jiang Jingshu secretly glanced at Xie Zhijin out of the corner of her eye. Xie Zhijin seemed normal. Remembering that Xie Zhijin had said he was timid, she poked Xie Zhijin's arm and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm not afraid of this." Xie Zhijin's lips curled slightly as he asked Jiang Jingshu, "Have you ever ridden this before?"
Jiang Jingshu shook her head honestly.
The girl in front of her suddenly turned around, grabbed Jiang Jingshu's hand, and said, "Sister, your boyfriend is so nice! He even takes you on roller coasters." She then gave her boyfriend a disapproving look, adding, "Unlike some people, whose legs are shaking like crazy! Can't you learn from other people's boyfriends?!"
The boy seemed quite displeased with what the girl said. He gently hugged her, trying to show off his boyfriend qualities.
The girl quickly broke free, her beautiful eyes fixed on Jiang Jingshu.
Jiang Jingshu's face involuntarily flushed red. "He's not."
"Not what?" The girl looked at Jiang Jingshu with a sly smile. "Not my boyfriend?"
Jiang Jingshu, who had never dealt with such a scene before, seemed a little at a loss. Fortunately, Xie Zhijin slightly stepped aside to block Jiang Jingshu and replied, "We are friends."
Jiang Jingshu nodded from behind.
Fortunately, the young couple in front of them didn't say anything shocking or awe-inspiring in front of them anymore.
However, Jiang Jingshu and Xie Zhijin, who were behind them, could still hear them whispering, "The two of them will be together sooner or later."
Jiang Jingshu: ...
Xie Zhijin turned his head slightly and asked her in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "What are your standards?"
Jiang Jingshu looked up, somewhat confused about Xie Zhijin's meaning.
Xie Zhijin then asked, "That girl said that her first criterion for choosing a boyfriend is that he can't be timid."
Jiang Jingshu nodded; she had heard him. But she hadn't expected Xie Zhijin's next question to be, "And what about you?"
What are your criteria for choosing a boyfriend?
Jiang Jingshu didn't know how to answer, "Why are you so gossipy?"
"I'll check up on my good friend's love life so that if we're mistaken for a couple again, I can tell people that I'm not her type."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
Soon it was their turn. Jiang Jingshu sat inside and set up the safety equipment according to regulations.
Soon, the roller coaster began to move. The initial speed was relatively gentle.
"What did you say?" Xie Zhijin suddenly interrupted Jiang Jingshu.
“Tell me, I’m not her type,” Jiang Jingshu said slowly.
Soon, the roller coaster went from slow to fast, plummeting at a vertical point. Jiang Jingshu didn't scream; she clearly realized that she liked this feeling.
It wasn't until the intense feeling of weightlessness came over her that Jiang Jingshu felt somewhat uncomfortable.
A voice came from beside her, but Jiang Jingshu couldn't hear it clearly.
Two minutes later, the two sat on a park bench after the event. Xie Zhijin asked Jiang Jingshu, "How did you feel?"
Jiang Jingshu looked at Xie Zhijin with great enthusiasm, "Xie Zhijin, shall we sit here again?"
Xie Zhijin:?
The two of them sat down again.
Xie Zhijin felt a little dizzy. He sat on a park bench, and Jiang Jingshu went to buy two bottles of water and handed them to him. "If you had told me you weren't feeling well earlier, I wouldn't have made you sit here a second time."
Xie Zhijin turned on the water tap, but couldn't turn it on right away.
Jiang Jingshu snatched it and turned it on for him, saying, "But this method is indeed quite stress-relieving."
Xie Zhijin took the water, drank a few sips, and then said to him, "Then whenever we're unhappy, we can just ride the roller coaster."
"You're so dizzy, can you still sit next time?" Jiang Jingshu bent down slightly and stared at Xie Zhijin.
Xie Zhijin wiped the sweat from his brow. "Okay."
Jiang Jingshu and Xie Zhijin strolled around the amusement park for a long time until night fell before slowly heading home.
On the way, Xie Zhijin said to her, "Thank you for coming here with me today."
"You're welcome." What Jiang Jingshu didn't say was that she had actually relaxed as well.
—
Back home, Jiang Jingshu finished the test paper Zheng Xi had given her, then lay on the bed playing on her phone.
While playing, she asked the system, "Help, the roller coaster is so exciting."
"Your Highness, are you feeling any better?" the system's voice came through. Jiang Jingshu replied, "Actually, I'm not that sad, just a little melancholy. I guess my period is coming."
"It should be in the next few days, but Your Highness should still be careful with your wording. This is menstruation, you can't call it 'kui shui' anymore." The system was still correcting Jiang Jingshu's word choice error.
"I know, it's just that I'm used to it." Jiang Jingshu sighed. These so-called modern common things were completely foreign to her.
Whenever she used these obscure and difficult words, it felt like God was reminding her that she did not belong to this world.
"Helpman, please don't call me Your Highness."
The system did not respond, so Jiang Jingshu said, "Just call me Jingshu."
"Then don't ask me for help..."
After a long while, the system's voice came through. Jiang Jingshu asked curiously, "What did it call you?"
"Never mind." In the end, the system did not utter its name. She said to Jiang Jingshu, "Although no one in this world regards you as His Highness anymore, I cannot. I know you are His Highness, and I cannot overstep my bounds."
"You look just like an old friend of mine I haven't seen in ages," Jiang Jingshu said, recalling how Zhou Mingyuan used to address her as "Your Highness" whenever they met.
Jiang Jingshu had also told him that she did not have the dignity of a princess, and calling her "Your Highness" would seem too distant, so she asked him not to call her "Your Highness".
However, Zhou Mingyuan said to her, "I'm sorry I can't comply. Your Highness will always be Your Highness. I also hope that Your Highness will not underestimate yourself. No matter what, you are still the Seventh Princess of Yongning Kingdom."
Bringing her thoughts back, Jiang Jingshu said, "I wonder how Zhou Mingyuan is doing. Someone like him, who is so close to my imperial brother, must have a very bright future ahead of him."
Jiang Jingshu seemed to have thought of something again, and she asked the system, "Help, where was my ancient self during this time I traveled to the modern era?"
"Your Highness need not worry. Your ancient self is currently recuperating from illness. Once you successfully cultivate the agave, your soul will return to your original body, and you will be able to awaken."
Jiang Jingshu nodded and asked to herself, "I wonder how Granny is feeling."
"Granny is in good health, Your Highness, please rest assured." The system's words acted like a tranquilizer, immediately putting Jiang Jingshu at ease.
"I wonder if Zhou Mingyuan will realize his ambitions and make a name for himself in the court when I return," Jiang Jingshu asked herself, then answered herself, "Perhaps he will."
"Does Your Highness wish to return?" the system's voice asked.
Jiang Jingshu hesitated. Did she want to go back? Probably she did.
No, I definitely want to.
After all, that was her home, the home that truly belonged to the original Jiang Jingshu.
Here, even those who are kind to her are taking up Jiang Jingshu's original life and monopolizing the love that belonged exclusively to her.
She wants to go back. Right now, she just hopes to successfully cultivate the agave as soon as possible and return to her hometown without creating too many entanglements.
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