Entering the next spring
A ray of light shone through the slightly ajar door, landing directly on the suitcase.
Zhou Qingchi glanced down at it and said, "This isn't my mother's."
Bai Yixia also realized that this did not belong to Jiang Yinghua. She thought for a moment, "Maybe it's a colleague who came back with us?"
Nie Jiayuan clicked her tongue and stepped forward to open the door. "What are you two guessing about? Why don't you go in and take a look?"
The door opened, and cheerful laughter wafted out. The three people sitting around the sofa turned their heads in response.
The woman sitting in the middle was beautiful, and with the passage of time she looked like a fine wine. She looked towards the door in surprise and immediately met Zhou Qingchi's gaze.
Jiang Yinghua smiled and called out affectionately, "Xiao Chi, you're back?"
Bai Yixia walked behind Zhou Qingchi and clearly saw him stiffen for a moment. Then a low laugh came from the young man in front of her. He said, "It's a bit strange to hear these words coming from someone who has returned from afar."
A few more laughs came from inside, and Zhou Qingchi said again, "Welcome home, Mom."
Jiang Yinghua's eyes reddened, and she turned her head to wipe them with her hand. She noticed Bai Yixia hiding behind Zhou Qingchi and found it somewhat amusing.
"Xiaxia, why are you hiding behind Qingchi?" she asked gently.
Bai Yixia popped her head out from behind Zhou Qingchi and looked at Jiang Yinghua with a grin, "This is a special reunion of mother and son, I'm saving it for the main character."
She's always been the one to liven things up, and with Bai Yixia's appearance, the somewhat subdued atmosphere immediately warmed up.
Bai Yixia called out affectionately, "Aunt Jiang, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"
Jiang Yinghua, who always adored her, waved to her with a beaming smile, "I missed you too. Come on, Aunt Jiang brought you a gift. Jiajia is here too."
Nie Jiayuan didn't stand on ceremony at all, and walked over after giving a reply.
Bai Yixia answered loudly, reached out and took Zhou Qingchi's hand, who was standing at the door, and pulled him inside with a puzzled look.
Zhou Qingchi seemed to have just come to his senses and followed her into the house.
When the three of them entered the living room, they turned their attention to the stranger.
The middle-aged man had a refined appearance, with glasses perched on his nose. He looked at the three of them with gentle eyes, but a hint of tension could be seen from his constantly opening and closing fists.
The man stood up awkwardly and greeted the three men.
Before Jiang Yinghua could speak, Zhou Qingyan stepped in to introduce, "This is Uncle An."
Jiang Yinghua frowned and glared at Zhou Qingyan, looking at the three of them with a tense expression, or rather, mainly at Zhou Qingchi.
This woman, who was always very calm, now seemed a little nervous. She said, "Anming. I met a photographer when I was working over there."
Bai Yixia's innate keenness made her realize that this "Uncle An" was no ordinary person. She looked at Jiang Yinghua's hands twisted in front of her and didn't know what to say for a moment. She just subconsciously turned her head to look at Zhou Qingchi.
Just as she expected, Zhou Qingchi didn't react any differently. He smiled and nodded, his eyes revealing no emotion.
The young man greeted politely in a gentle voice, "Hello."
The man paused for a moment, then hurriedly nodded and said, "Hello." He looked at the three of them and apologized, "I apologize for disturbing you."
Bai Yixia didn't pay much attention to what happened afterward. She held Zhou Qingchi's hand tightly, feeling the temperature of his palm gradually getting colder.
She had known since childhood that Zhou Qingchi was unwilling to show his sadness or displeasure on the surface. Bai Yixia could always tell his unhappiness from subtle behaviors.
Just like now, even though Zhou Qingchi had a smile on his face and a gentle tone, he was tense all over, like a stone sculpture.
She listened as Zhou Qingchi exchanged a few polite words with Uncle An in a calm manner, and felt the increasing strength in his grip on her hand.
Bai Yixia understood that he was displeased with Uncle An's arrival.
But Bai Yixia was genuinely confused at this moment. She could understand Jiang Yinghua, an elder like her own mother. She had been divorced for fifteen years, immersing herself in work and family during that time. If she had someone she wanted to be with now, Bai Yixia didn't see anything wrong with it.
Even Zhou Qingyan seemed to accept it well. He had obviously already spoken with Uncle An, and naturally joined in the conversation, generously praising this remarkable elder.
But the subtle aggression that Zhou Qingchi revealed left Bai Yixia completely baffled.
Of course, she didn't think Zhou Qingchi had any loyalty to his scumbag biological father; no one hated Zhou Sheng more than him.
Bai Yixia felt a little pain from being pinched, so she quietly struggled and gently scratched Zhou Qingchi's palm.
Zhou Qingchi seemed to be suddenly jolted awake, and his grip loosened. He stopped talking, "It's getting late today, Uncle An, why don't you come over for dinner next time?"
Uncle An nodded repeatedly, "Okay. Then, Teacher Jiang, I'll be going now."
Jiang Yinghua also seemed a little flustered. She stood up and glanced at Zhou Qingchi, "Shall I see you off?"
Seeing that Zhou Qingchi didn't seem to object, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief and led Uncle An out of the house.
At this moment, only four young people remained in the house.
Zhou Qingyan knew his older brother very well. He scratched his head and asked bluntly, "Brother, what do you think? Do you not like Uncle An?"
Nie Jiayuan frowned slightly. "Yeah. My goodness, the way you looked just now really gave me goosebumps."
Nie Jiayuan had seen that feigned gentleness the most, and when she occasionally glanced at Zhou Qingchi, the coldness deep in his eyes would send a chill down her spine.
“Aunt Jiang…” Nie Jiayuan hesitated for a moment, “If she wants to start another relationship, that’s perfectly fine with her. You can’t—”
"It's getting late," Zhou Qingchi interrupted her, his eyes devoid of emotion as he stared directly at her. "I don't want to talk about this right now, how about another day?"
Despite the seemingly amicable tone, Zhou Qingyan and Nie Jiayuan shuddered. After a moment of hesitation, they both nodded.
Bai Yixia stared blankly at Zhou Qingchi, as if it was the first time she had seen him like this.
Zhou Qingyan hurriedly ran back to his room. Nie Jiayuan took Bai Yixia with him when he left.
Bai Yixia couldn't quite describe her feelings. She didn't try to break free from Nie Jiayuan's hand, but was pulled forward by her. She hurriedly said goodnight to Zhou Qingchi.
Zhou Qingchi suddenly called out to her, "Xiaxia!"
Nie Jiayuan paused at the sound of the voice. Bai Yixia turned to look at Zhou Qingchi, whose face showed unease and a hint of struggle in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he only managed a forced smile.
"See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow, okay?" He let out a long sigh of relief, his expression softening under Bai Yixia's gaze.
Bai Yixia said, "Of course, we see each other every day."
Nie Jiayuan exclaimed "Oh dear!" as if she couldn't stand their nagging anymore, and pulled them out the door.
Zhou Qingchi's figure was trapped inside the gate. The moment the gate closed, Bai Yixia felt as if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She saw Zhou Qingchi's usually upright figure slightly hunched over, and he raised his hand to cover his eyes, unsure if he was crying.
"Oh my god, I knew this guy was hard to get along with... What did you see in him?" Nie Jiayuan muttered.
Bai Yixia suppressed her doubts and turned to look at Nie Jiayuan. Meeting her childhood friend's genuine question, she raised an eyebrow and smiled, "What else could it be? Of course, I've got my eye on everything."
Nie Jiayuan looked speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, "Did his roommate say anything to you today?"
Bai Yixia's heart skipped a beat. "Hmm?"
"What do you mean, 'hmm'? Don't I know you?" Nie Jiayuan tilted her head and smiled. "On the way back, you kept looking at Zhou Qingchi and remained silent."
Having her thoughts exposed, Bai Yixia pouted, stubbornly trying to distort the truth, "I've always looked at him because he's good-looking, and you know he doesn't like to talk when he's driving."
How could a childhood friend of twenty years be convinced by such an argument? Nie Jiayuan snorted and followed Bai Yixia into her house, leaning against the entrance hall. "You think you can fool me with such nonsense?"
She spread her hands, "Even if Zhou Qingchi doesn't like to talk while driving, he will always listen to you. We all know that; he never refuses you."
After Nie Jiayuan finished speaking, Bai Yixia nodded helplessly, "Okay. Xu Minglang did say some things to me. I'm just curious about what this 'Zhou Qingchi' is like."
Bai Yixia said, "Thinking about it this way, it seems you've also told me that he's hypocritical, that he..." She frowned almost imperceptibly, her voice becoming very low, "...that he's different."
The Zhou Qingchi that others talked about seemed to only be slightly revealed to Bai Yixia tonight.
Bai Yixia had seen Zhou Qingchi when he was sad, and she had seen him when he was angry. More often than not, she was facing a Zhou Qingchi who was smiling and had a handsome face with bright eyes.
It is the image of Zhou Qingchi that runs through his entire childhood and adolescence.
But for a fleeting moment, Bai Yixia saw his aloofness, not a feigned indifference or coldness, but a genuine detachment and indifference that emanated from his very nature.
Nie Jiayuan crossed her arms and nodded. "And then, what do you think?"
Bai Yixia snapped out of her thoughts and asked, puzzled, "What?"
"Seeing Zhou Qingchi like this, you..." Nie Jiayuan seemed to hesitate, but perhaps considering that their relationship didn't need such pretense, she asked directly, "Would you still like him?"
Bai Yixia chuckled. She stared at Nie Jiayuan in disbelief. Some words should have burst out at that moment, but for some reason, Bai Yixia smiled first, pursing her lips.
Bai Yixia's laughter puzzled Nie Jiayuan, but it also made her laugh. "What's going on? What are you laughing at? Didn't you say before that you liked Zhou Qingchi's gentleness towards you, but he's not that kind of person, he never has been!"
Just like any best friend would look at her love-struck friend, Nie Jiayuan helplessly rubbed her head and angrily flicked Bai Yixia's forehead under her smiling gaze, "Bai Yixia, you're hopeless!"
The door opened and closed again, and Bai Yixia breathed a sigh of relief. The phone on the shoe cabinet buzzed twice, and its faint light reflected in Bai Yixia's eyes, like two small flames in the darkness.
On her phone, Zhou Qingchi said goodnight to her.
- Please have some porridge: Goodnight, Xiaxia *^_^*
Seeing the expression at the end, Bai Yixia couldn't help but laugh again.
-
The next day, Jiang Yinghua hosted a dinner party for them.
Zhou Qingchi's culinary skills were mostly learned from his mother, and his skills were already quite good, but Jiang Yinghua was even better.
Lin Shuyang had said that she was already overworked as soon as she returned, but Jiang Yinghua said, "I'm in a foreign country, I don't even have the chance to be overworked."
The two women had known each other since childhood, and parting still brought them a lot of reluctance.
Nie Jiayuan chewed on the sweet and sour pork tenderloin, then shook her head regretfully, "It's such a pity my parents don't have this kind of luck."
Jiang Yinghua laughed and said, "No rush. I probably won't be doing overseas business anymore after this trip back to China. We'll have plenty of opportunities to get together later."
Bai Yixia was the most supportive. She bumped into Zhou Qingchi with her elbow and said, "Okay, then you and Aunt Jiang will compete on the same stage, and we'll be the referees."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious and joyful. Bai Yixia joked with her two mothers while keeping an eye on Zhou Qingchi's expression.
I really don't know if Zhou Qingchi is amazing or what, but he didn't show any abnormality. He could even keep up with Bai Yixia's jokes and make everyone at the table laugh.
But Bai Yixia still felt that something was wrong.
Lin Shuyang and President Bai were both called away for work in the afternoon and did not return on time in the evening.
That evening, there were only the five of them at the table. Without the restraint of the other elders, Zhou Qingyan's talkative nature came out. Except when he had something in his mouth, he chatted with Bai Yixia non-stop.
The conversation somehow shifted to Bai Yixia and Zhou Qingchi.
Jiang Yinghua asked curiously, "Who pursued whom?"
Bai Yixia was thinking with chopsticks in her mouth when Zhou Qingchi answered first, "Both sides have them."
Nie Jiayuan gave a nonchalant hum.
Jiang Yinghua roughly understood. She gave an "oh" in a drawn-out voice and then asked, "So who confessed first?"
Bai Yixia had no time to think. She raised her eyebrows and slightly lifted her chin. "Me!"
Perhaps not expecting such an answer, Jiang Yinghua paused for a moment, then frowned at Zhou Qingchi with some disapproval.
Bai Yixia saw her expression, chuckled, peeked at Zhou Qingchi, and said loudly, "I can't help it, I like him too much."
The remaining four stared wide-eyed. Nie Jiayuan exclaimed, "I can't bear to look!" after realizing what was happening. Zhou Qingyan shivered with a toothache, and Jiang Yinghua couldn't help but chuckle.
Bai Yixia hummed and looked at Zhou Qingchi, finally feeling the unpleasant emotions surrounding him dissipate.
She hid her hand under the dining table, groped her way to hold Zhou Qingchi's hand, and tapped her four fingers together in his palm.
Zhou Qingyan, having recovered from the goosebumps, glanced at the two secretly flirting under the table and suddenly said, "When my brother and Xiaxia get married, Mom probably won't feel like she's welcoming a daughter-in-law; she might feel like she's marrying off a daughter."
His words immediately won Jiang Yinghua's approval, and she smiled, her eyes crinkling, "You never know. But the good thing is that the two of you will be living in the same house."
Bai Yixia couldn't help but laugh, but she quickly stopped. It was because Zhou Qingchi seemed less than happy; he unconsciously clenched his fists.
The bowl clattered onto the table, drawing the attention of several people.
Zhou Qingchi put down his chopsticks, looked at Jiang Yinghua, and smiled, "Mom, could you ask Uncle An if he's free tomorrow? If so, please invite him over for a simple meal."
This statement sounds perfectly reasonable, but apart from Bai Yixia and Jiang Yinghua, no one noticed Zhou Qingchi's discomfort.
But Jiang Yinghua, as a mother, didn't know what to say. She nodded and said, "Okay, Mom will ask him."
Zhou Qingchi seemed to relax a bit after receiving a reply. He realized that Bai Yixia's hand, which he had been holding tightly, suddenly loosened its grip.
Bai Yixia grasped his hand in return, and gently swayed it in the air.
The two of them finished off the dinner. Looking at the bubbles in the sink, Bai Yixia felt some emotions exploding along with them.
After they finished tidying up, Zhou Qingchi squeezed out a large amount of hand cream and applied it to her hands. Bai Yixia chuckled and took his hands, cupping them between her own. "This is too much!"
She gently stroked Zhou Qingchi's hand, looked into his eyes hidden beneath his eyelashes, stepped forward, and lightly kissed his lips. "Will you come with me?"
Zhou Qingchi trembled. He looked up at Bai Yixia, who was still as gentle as ever. He lowered his head and gently nuzzled Bai Yixia's nose, murmuring, "Help me, Xiaxia."
Bai Yixia nodded, puffed out her chest, and said proudly, "Of course, although I may not be good at mixing those 'little' or 'appropriate' amounts of seasonings, Chef Bai's knife skills are excellent, and I can definitely help out in the kitchen!"
Hearing her energetic words, Zhou Qingchi smiled and leaned closer, pecking her lips with a kiss.
In order to prepare for the invitation the next day, everyone decided to send the message early.
Zhou Qingchi watched as Bai Yixia reluctantly said goodbye to him, only to hop back to the opposite door, and his heart sank.
He took the ornament that Bai Yixia had made by hand from his room and placed it on the small table on the balcony.
The soft light only illuminated a small area, and he sighed silently as he slumped into his seat.
He heard his mother's footsteps and suddenly opened his eyes, meeting her worried face.
"Mom, aren't you going to rest?" Zhou Qingchi asked.
Jiang Yinghua smiled faintly, sat down opposite him, considered her words carefully, and slowly asked, "Xiao Chi, don't you like Uncle An?"
Before Zhou Qingchi could answer, Jiang Yinghua said urgently, "If you don't like him, Mom can stop seeing him." She crossed her arms insecurely, her eyes brimming with tears. "I know that Mom was absent a lot from your life growing up, I—"
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Mom.” Zhou Qingchi gently interrupted his mother’s self-reproachful words. He took a deep breath. “I don’t dislike it. It’s your freedom. If you like it, I won’t stop you.”
Seeing that Jiang Yinghua wanted to say something, Zhou Qingchi stood up and gently patted her shoulder. "I hope you are happy too, Mom."
"Xiaochi..."
“You’re not wrong, and neither am I…” Zhou Qingchi smiled slightly and reassured her, “Go and rest, Mom. You’re not as familiar with Uncle An’s tastes as I am. We need to go to the supermarket early tomorrow to buy some ingredients.”
He successfully comforted his disheartened mother, and Jiang Yinghua's furrowed brows relaxed. She smiled and draped her shawl over her son's shoulders, saying, "You should get some rest too."
Zhou Qingchi watched her enter the room, and the door slowly closed. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but his frustration only intensified. He grabbed a bottle of red wine from the bar, and then, as if that wasn't enough, took out a few cans of beer from the refrigerator.
-
Tonight, Bai Yixia found it particularly difficult to fall asleep. She opened her eyes and groped for something on the bed.
Realizing that there was no one else beside her, she decisively sat up in bed and silently pounded the quilt.
Insomnia made her feel a little thirsty, so she quietly opened the bedroom door and walked into the living room.
This similar experience reminded her of a night not long ago when she caught Zhou Qingchi, who was secretly heartbroken, and won his affection for her.
Her heart was pounding, making her somewhat absent-minded in the quiet night.
As if sensing something, Bai Yixia changed her pace. She opened the balcony door and, as if preordained, turned to look at the balcony next door.
There was a small light shining there, and Zhou Qingchi sat alone by the light.
Bai Yixia saw his face turn around when he heard the sound. Even though they were a few meters apart, she felt like she was possessed—she thought she saw Zhou Qingchi crying, his eyes red and his gaze unfocused.
Because they were drinking.
So, as if it were a matter of course, Bai Yixia entered the Zhou family home with ease. She sat down next to Zhou Qingchi, wrapped in a warm, fluffy coat, and naturally fell into his arms.
Bai Yixia was distracted, thinking that it was fortunate that the red wine didn't have as pungent an odor as the white wine, otherwise she might have given Zhou Qingchi a good scolding.
The man held her tightly, his breath warm against her neck. His voice was hoarse as he murmured, "Xiaxia, Xiaxia, Xiaxia..."
Bai Yixia realized that she was indeed a very soft-hearted person, and she replied again and again, "I'm here."
The person behind her didn't speak again. Bai Yixia could only hear his breathing. She didn't know what Zhou Qingchi was sad about, so she asked, "Do you really not like Uncle An?"
Zhou Qingchi remained silent for a long time, so long that Bai Yixia thought he was drunk or asleep, before finally receiving a reply.
“No.” Zhou Qingchi’s tone didn’t sound like he was lying, but Bai Yixia was puzzled. Before she could ask her question, Zhou Qingchi revealed the confusion that had been lurking in her heart, “I’m just a little… a little confused…”
"Don't understand? Don't understand what?"
Strands of hair brushed against her cheek, and Bai Yixia realized that Zhou Qingchi was shaking his head, accompanied by the words, "I don't know. I don't know either."
Her tone was full of hardship, and Bai Yixia felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly, twisting and throbbing with pain.
Zhou Qingchi was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Xiaxia, will you always like me?"
All her confusion was resolved after Zhou Qingchi asked that question, and Bai Yixia immediately understood what she had seen but not understood from Zhou Qingchi over the past two days.
self-abasement.
This is a word that doesn't fit Zhou Qingchi at all.
But this is something that truly affects him.
Bai Yixia wondered, "Will I always like him?"
“I’ve always liked you,” she replied. “I never imagined there would be a day when I wouldn’t like you anymore.”
He thought this answer would give Zhou Qingchi a sense of security, but he lifted his head from Bai Yixia's neck, his eyes were vulnerable, and his thin lips trembled slightly.
Bai Yixia wanted to smile at him and let him know that she was not joking, but after sensing Zhou Qingchi's impending emotional collapse, she felt too heartbroken to smile.
"What do you like about me?" Zhou Qingchi asked softly.
Nie Jiayuan had asked this question many times, and Bai Yixia had answered it many times as well. She said, "I like the way you are in front of me."
The feelings for each other had been hidden in every moment Bai Yixia had spent with Zhou Qingchi during her teenage years—the good, the bad, the joyful, the sorrowful…
In those moments, Bai Yixia didn't know how she came to like Zhou Qingchi, but once she realized that this was called liking, she was already deeply in love.
But Zhou Qingchi still didn't relax his furrowed brows, and even gave a bitter smile.
He seemed truly drunk, and those words he would never utter when sober finally found an outlet.
His voice trembled, “Every way I act in front of you is something I’ve learned from you.”
Zhou Qingchi was not a lively person, at least not when he was a child.
Zhou Shengxin had no family; he was long since indulging in some unknown pleasure. He was tired of teaching his son, so Zhou Qingchi could only imitate his indifference.
Back then, only in front of his two younger sisters could he occasionally smile at the carefree Bai Yixia.
The first time I imitated Bai Yixia's smile, Bai Yixia's gentleness, was when I was five years old.
After catching Zhou Sheng cheating on her, Jiang Yinghua had a huge fight with him and then hid in her room, breaking down in tears. She was indeed a mother of two, but she was only in her early twenties.
Her lover's betrayal broke her heart. She put on a brave face in front of others, but her composure crumbled when she got home.
She collapsed to the ground and burst into tears. Zhou Qingchi, who was holding his young brother, was at a loss as he looked at his distressed mother.
That irresponsible father neither comforted his distress nor offered any solace; in fact, he treated him with indifference.
Zhou Qingchi held her younger brother expressionlessly, first hearing her mother's cries, then her brother's cries.
He had no one to turn to for help, but his natural dependence on his mother compelled him to approach her. He leaned close to Jiang Yinghua and whispered, "Mom—"
But the emotionally distraught woman pushed him away. She looked at Zhou Qingchi with utter disgust, at his strikingly similar features to Zhou Sheng's, and at the same cold indifference on his face.
Those are the memories that Zhou Qingchi still visits in his dreams.
The woman screamed and yelled at him to stay away, "Don't come any closer!"
Zhou Qingchi staggered helplessly and fell to the ground. He hugged his wailing younger brother tightly, his eyes filled with bewildered fear.
The woman looked at him, sobbing, her brows furrowed in sorrow, as if she were looking at someone she particularly hated. She murmured pleadingly, "Why? Why won't you smile? Why are you like him?"
Xiao Zhou Qingchi couldn't answer that question; he didn't even understand what his mother was asking.
His breathing became rapid, and the sound of the two people crying in his ears made it hard for him to breathe.
Click.
The door suddenly opened, letting in a few rays of light from the foyer into the hallway. A slightly disheveled head poked its way in, and the girl's round eyes stared directly at Zhou Qingchi.
She seemed to have been instructed on something and cautiously entered the room.
She walked briskly, almost jogging, to the three of them.
Xiao Bai blinked, seemingly not understanding why Aunt Jiang was crying, why her younger brother was crying, and why her older brother Qingchi looked like he was going to cry too.
She patted Jiang Yinghua's shoulder gently with concern, then reached out and hugged her crying younger brother from Xiao Zhou Qingchi's arms. She held the child tightly, then reached out and pulled Xiao Zhou Qingchi's hand along with her own.
The task assigned by their mother was to take Qingchi and his younger brother out. Xiaobai was struggling to carry the children, but their little hands were still tightly holding onto Xiao Zhou Qingchi's hand.
However, instead of taking Xiao Zhou Qingchi out, she pulled him in front of Jiang Yinghua. Her eyes shone brightly in the darkness, like they were burning with fire.
Xiao Bai pointed at Jiang Yinghua, facing Xiao Zhou Qingchi, pursed her lips, and smiled very sweetly.
Zhou Qingchi could not forget that smile. After Xia left with his younger brother, he stood in front of Jiang Yinghua for a long time before imitating Bai Yixia, pursing his lips and raising the corners of his mouth.
With a sob in his voice, he smiled as he looked at his weeping mother and whispered, "Mom, don't cry, Xiaochi is with you."
Jiang Yinghua burst into tears again, but after that, she grew like a tree, rapidly spreading her canopy to shelter the child beneath.
After that, Zhou Qingchi never took his eyes off Bai Yixia again. He learned to smile like Bai Yixia and to treat others like Bai Yixia...
He learned things from people he liked that his biological father never taught him.
The first one is a gentle smile.
Tears streamed down his face. Zhou Qingchi's pent-up grievances and confusion, hidden for years, burst forth in an instant. He said, "If you knew what kind of person I really am, would you still like me?"
"What kind?"
Zhou Qingchi flinched, but still said, "I don't like playing with kids. They're noisy and always get my pants dirty."
Bai Yixia smiled through her tears, "Mm."
"I don't like chatting with the grandpas and grandmas downstairs either. They always repeat the same topic over and over again, and it annoys me so much."
Bai Yixia cupped his face in her hands and nodded, "I understand."
"I hate people who like you, and I don't want to see them smile at you. You're mine."
Bai Yixia wiped away his tears with her knuckles, kissed his slightly cool face, and choked out, "Okay, it's nothing."
Zhou Qingchi closed his eyes, rubbed his hand against hers, and said softly, "So, will you still like me?"
Bai Yixia was no longer sad. She chuckled softly, "Zhou Qingchi, I love every version of you in front of me."
It's probably truly hopeless. Yesterday, when Nie Jiayuan asked her what she thought when she saw a different Zhou Qingchi, Bai Yixia said:
"So handsome! This is a different kind of Qingchi-gege."
She hugged Zhou Qingchi tightly, "I'm so glad you've been watching me the whole time. It would be wrong if your gaze were directed at someone else."
“So there are no ‘ifs’ in the world,” Bai Yixia looked down at Zhou Qingchi, just like many times before, every time she looked at him, her eyes crinkling, “You are you, and I love you.”
Tears streamed down her face, and Bai Yixia didn't have time to wipe them away. Zhou Qingchi stopped her, letting himself show this vulnerable side. He looked at Bai Yixia with blinking eyes, his lips trembling.
As the wind picked up outside, his voice became hoarse, "Thank you, Xiaxia."
"Um?"
As countless times before, Zhou Qingchi smiled at Bai Yixia and said, "Bai Yixia, thank you for loving me."
He no longer remembered what kind of day or night it was, whether it was the height of summer or the depths of winter.
But Bai Yixia's smile was like the warm spring sunshine. Holding his hand, just like today, she led him into countless springs.
—End of text—
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