Chapter 60 When pursuing someone, you always need to show some sincerity. "...
“Hey A-Zhou,” Wang Yuemeng said, drying his wet hair with a towel as he came out of the bathroom, “you’ve been watching this video for half an hour, what can you possibly figure out?”
Jiang Muzhou lazily raised his eyes, "Look at how others gain 200,000 followers in a month."
Wang Yuemeng grinned, "If you had paired up with me back then, I might have gained just as many fans."
Jiang Muzhou removed Wang Yuemeng's iPad, which was covered in anime stickers, from the instant noodle container, and the steam from the braised beef noodles hit his face.
He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and said, "With your looks and the quality of your early videos, I don't even have enough followers for you to lose."
"Don't lick your lips while you're eating." Wang Yuemeng snatched the iPad back, touching the sticker that had bulged from the steam with heartache. "I'm afraid you'll poison yourself."
"Besides, chemistry between a couple is a mysterious thing." Jiang Muzhou raised his index finger and gestured back and forth between Wang Yuemeng and himself, then shook it. "We don't have any."
"We haven't done it yet?" Wang Yuemeng plopped down next to him. "We've been close comrades-in-arms for four years, eating and living together. Yuanbao should even call me godfather. Why did Su Cheng come from behind and get ahead of me? I was fighting for it..."
Wang Yuemeng's words came to an abrupt end.
"Holy crap!" He stared at the red mark on Jiang Muzhou's neck, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Is this some kind of miracle?"
He grabbed Jiang Muzhou by the collar and pulled him down, shouting, "You better tell me the truth! What happened?!"
Jiang Muzhou disdainfully pried his groping hand away, "It was scratched by a drunkard."
"Oh, it even used animal figurines." Wang Yuemeng reluctantly let go, but his eyes were still fixed on the red mark. "It specifically targeted the Adam's apple; this cat is quite wild."
Although Jiang Muzhou didn't say it explicitly, Wang Yuemeng could guess with his toes that this little wildcat must be Su Cheng.
During his four years of university, Wang Yuemeng changed girlfriends one after another, while Jiang Muzhou devoted himself wholeheartedly to his career.
Wang Yuemeng originally thought that all top students were so aloof and unromantic, but as soon as Jiang Muzhou returned to Linhai, he was paired up with a beautiful woman who looked like a fairy.
Only then did he realize that Jiang Muzhou wasn't actually averse to women; all these years he had been upholding male virtues for his beloved, who was far away in another city.
"During the National Day holiday, I skipped my lazy mornings and insisted on coming to this desolate place to film with you, and you just use me and then throw me away." After being glared at by Jiang Muzhou, Wang Yuemeng huddled in a corner with his instant noodle bowl, muttering aggrievedly, "Only the new love is seen smiling, and the old love is heard crying."
Jiang Muzhou was amused by Wang Yuemeng's crying and sobbing.
He wasn't poisoned by his own mouth, but he almost choked to death on instant noodles.
Actually, when they first started sharing the apartment, their relationship wasn't very close.
Jiang Muzhou was used to being alone and treated the other person as a stranger under the same roof, maintaining a polite but distant boundary and having no intention of getting to know them better.
But Wang Yuemeng's personality was completely different from his own, like a reckless heavy truck that crashed into his life. This guy, with inopportune enthusiasm, insisted on establishing a connection with him; to put it bluntly, he was just a bit dim-witted and simple-minded.
However, thanks to this lively character, Jiang Muzhou has become more cheerful than he was in high school due to his subtle influence.
"Seriously, what's your relationship now?" Seeing Jiang Muzhou smile, Wang Yuemeng immediately stopped crying, his gossip-loving soul burning brightly. "Should I start preparing some money for a wedding gift?"
Jiang Muzhou picked up the instant noodle cup and took a sip of the hot soup. "That depends on her."
The red mark on his Adam's apple wasn't dark, just a pale pink, and the edges were already somewhat blurred. It rose and fell slightly with the swallowing motion. "Let's see if she wants me."
Wang Yuemeng pointed at his neck, her eyes wide, "You two are already like this, and you still haven't confirmed your relationship?"
Jiang Muzhou leaned back, a faint smile playing on his lips.
He took out his camera and looked through the footage he had shot over the past two days.
Wang Yuemeng mumbled through his instant noodles, "With your looks, who wouldn't be tempted if you just stood there!"
"When you're pursuing someone," he said in a low voice, a subtle light flickering in his deep, dark eyes, "you have to show some sincerity, don't you?"
-
"Come and try my cooking!" Su Cheng pushed the paper plate in front of Wu Xin, a faint smile on her face.
On a white paper plate sits a slightly irregularly shaped chocolate mousse cake. The dark brown chocolate glaze is somewhat pitted and uneven, with a few small air bubbles floating on the surface. In the middle is a layer of fluffy and soft mousse, and the bottom layer is made of Oreo cookie crumbs.
Although Su Cheng was very confident in her cooking skills, she was extra cautious because it was a birthday gift for Jiang Muzhou.
To ensure everything went smoothly, she made a test sample first, intending to let the volunteers at the rescue station try it.
"How does it taste?" Su Cheng blinked her amber eyes, looking at Wu Xin expectantly.
"I can vaguely make out the silky milk flavor of Dove chocolate." Wu Xin gently poked at the conspicuous cookie pieces on the bottom of the plate with her fork and asked seriously, "But why didn't you use ready-made Oreo crumbs? These pieces are too big. Don't bakeries sell crushed Oreos?"
"Huh? There's such a lazy way?" Su Cheng's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought you had to break the whole Oreo in half and then crush it yourself... I spent ages getting the cream done."
"That just proves that you used really good ingredients, senior." Lin Yang licked the chocolate stain from the corner of her mouth, her bright black eyes gleaming with mischief. "Was it for that neighbor?"
Su Cheng lowered her eyelashes and nodded.
A faint blush appeared on the tips of her pale ears.
Lin Yang raised an eyebrow and asked with a hint of teasing, "Are you finally going to break the ice?"
A blush spread from the tips of her ears to her cheeks.
With her fingers tapping lightly on the table, Su Cheng's voice carried a hint of shyness and anticipation, "I'm counting on this cake."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang's expression suddenly became quite interesting, as if she wanted to laugh but was holding it back. "Then I suggest you just go to the cake shop and order one; it's safer that way."
"Is it really that bad?" Su Cheng was skeptical. She had secretly tasted the mousse with her finger when she was mixing it before, and it tasted pretty good.
“It’s not that it’s bad…” Wu Xin pursed her lips, carefully choosing her words, “but if it’s related to your chances of a successful confession, I suggest you think it over carefully.”
Su Cheng forked a small piece and put it in her mouth. The smile on her lips vanished instantly the next second.
The overly sweet and creamy texture made her frown.
That's strange, I followed the instructions exactly.
"Alright, alright, don't force yourselves." She picked up the cake the two of them hadn't finished, and threw it into the trash can along with her own piece. "I'll just order a ready-made one online."
She looked up and her gaze fell on the photo wall in front of her.
Suddenly, I remembered what Lin Yang had said that he hadn't quite said before.
She called the person over and pointed to the group photo of more than twenty people in the middle, "What exactly did you see in this group photo? Jiang Muzhou is clearly not in it."
“An older sister once told me that if you like someone, even if you don’t say it, your eyes will betray you.” Lin Yang stared at a certain spot in the photo, her voice very soft, “You will unconsciously look for his figure, and when you look at him, your eyes will become particularly focused, and your whole body will soften.”
Su Cheng thought Lin Yang was talking about himself, but upon closer inspection of the photo, she couldn't see anything special in his eyes.
"And the way you look at Jiang Muzhou is exactly the same as the way she looks at me."
“Her?” Su Cheng was clearly stunned.
In the photo, more than twenty people were sitting in a circle. Following Lin Yang's gaze, she noticed a girl looking at her with focused and gentle eyes.
Su Cheng tried hard to recall, but she didn't have a deep impression of this girl. She only remembered that she joined the rescue station in the same batch as Lin Yang, and seemed to be a white-collar worker who was usually quite busy with work.
But after Lin Yang said that, Su Cheng suddenly remembered that whenever Lin Yang came to participate in an event, this girl would always make time to show up, no matter how busy she was.
After the Spring Festival, I heard that she went abroad for further studies, and I haven't been in contact with her since.
Su Cheng felt as if a wad of cotton soaked in lemon juice had been stuffed into her heart, and a sour feeling spread from her heart to her fingertips.
She couldn't help but wonder if all those little schemes she thought she had hidden so well had already been exposed to Jiang Muzhou.
If so, when did it begin to be seen through?
Is it those fleeting moments we brushed past each other during our three years of high school, or the days we spent together after we reunited?
Since even Lin Yang could see it, how could Jiang Muzhou, with his keen perception, not notice her feelings?
But why did he keep pretending not to know?
Her breathing became heavy.
If he really knew, why didn't he just say it clearly? Whether to accept or reject, he could have given her a definite answer, so why did it become a Damocles' sword hanging over her head, leaving her room for illusion?
Is it interesting to watch her foolishly perform a one-woman show, constantly oscillating between expectation and self-doubt?
"Looking back now, that look was actually quite obvious. She said Sister Wen had noticed it a long time ago." Lin Yang smiled. "It's just that I had someone else in my heart at the time, so I didn't notice at all. When it comes to matters of the heart, those involved are always blinded, while bystanders see things clearly."
My thoughts became heavy and sluggish, as if filled with lead.
My heart kept sinking.
Was it because Jiang Muzhou was also deeply involved and couldn't see the situation clearly, or was it because he had someone else in his heart and therefore didn't notice her feelings?
But in any case, they can still maintain a decent friendship, right?
She should have felt satisfied, at least not exposed and turned into a complete stranger.
Human nature is always insatiable.
At first, she was content just to see him from afar, but as they spent time together day after day, she unknowingly developed a desire to possess him entirely.
“From an outsider’s perspective, I think your situation is very similar to his.” Lin Yang smiled and looked at Su Cheng. “You’re both just too close to the situation to see it clearly.”
Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective.
Su Cheng silently repeated Lin Yang's words.
She realized that she had fallen into that state of self-destruction again.
She didn't want this relationship to become her weakness; she longed to become stronger, more independent, and not be swayed by her emotions.
Cute is love.
It's something that no one can explain or articulate.
Love can make the weak strong and the indifferent soft.
Whether it's good or bad is hard to say, she should accept all the changes this relationship brings.
Whether it's sweetness or pain, it's all nourishment for growth.
Su Cheng withdrew her gaze from the photo, breaking free from the grip of her emotions.
In mid-October, pre-sale advertisements for "Double Eleven" from major e-commerce platforms were already everywhere. She calculated the inventory and prepared to go to the warehouse to check the quantity of surrounding items.
Just as I reached the door, a man wearing a light blue hoodie knocked on the door frame.
"Is Miss Su here?"
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