ordinary
“Sure.” Zhou Ji’an thought this was a good opportunity to return the favor to his mother. “What time tomorrow? Let me see if I have time to buy your mother a gift.”
As Deng Yi rolled up the cuffs of his gray sweater, he smiled and said, "Crochet is her hobby, don't worry about it."
Seeing the disapproval in her expression, Deng Yi smiled and said, "If you insist on sending it, I'll go with you to buy her a bouquet of flowers tomorrow."
Zhou Ji'an bent down to pick up the yoga mat she had dropped, closed her eyes to dispel the smile that Deng Yi always had on his face when he was with her.
His laugh sometimes made Zhou Ji'an think he was a pervert.
Even when Zhou Ji'an was provoked by the overheard conversation and rushed to his studio to break up with him, he maintained that smile and calmly said, "I need a reason."
Upon hearing the reason she came up with on the spur of the moment, he still smiled and said, "Okay, I wish you and your ideal type will be a perfect match."
If anyone else had said that, Zhou Ji'an would have thought it was sarcastic, but Deng Yi wouldn't have given her that feeling.
As someone who was born with everything, Deng Yi had a nonchalant attitude towards everyone and everything.
His smile seemed more like a tool to mask his nonchalant attitude.
Zhou Ji'an declined his offer: "No need, I can go by myself."
If she goes with him, she might get photographed, and then her photos will be posted online and commented on by netizens from all angles.
Although their wedding photos had been uploaded online before, she had already been scrutinized and evaluated from head to toe.
Deng Yi tilted his head slightly, looked at her, and asked, "Do you know her preferences?"
Zhou Ji'an hugged the yoga mat rolled up into a tube, frowning slightly as he looked at him.
She genuinely didn't know his mother's preferences. She actually planned to just buy any bouquet; after all, rich people like them could have whatever flowers they wanted, so it wouldn't matter how carefully she selected them.
But Deng Yi asked the question anyway, and Zhou Ji'an had no choice but to find out his mother's preferences.
Zhou Ji'an tightened his grip on the yoga mat and said, "You can tell me."
Deng Yi answered the phone at that moment. Before speaking to the person on the other end, he said to Zhou Ji'an, "It's not something that can be explained in a few words. It would be better if I went with you tomorrow."
The yoga mat in Zhou Ji'an's arms fell to the ground with a hollow sound.
Her fingernails dug into the soft yoga mat. She wanted to vent her anger, but the reason for it was vague.
Furthermore, she couldn't think of an appropriate way to express anger in their relationship.
As Zhou Ji'an pushed open the bedroom door, he thought she might slam it shut, but Deng Yi, who had just finished his phone call, suddenly raised his voice and said, "Buy the flowers early, don't sleep too soundly tomorrow morning like you did on the second day of the wedding."
Deng Yi maintained a helpless smile and said, "That morning, I tried many methods, but I couldn't wake you up."
Zhou Ji'an's ears were almost burned off.
She grabbed her yoga mat and quickly hid in the bedroom.
If other people were present and heard him say this, they would think that they had gone too far on their wedding night.
I don't know if he said that on purpose, or if she was just overthinking things.
On the night of their wedding, they barely exchanged a few words.
It seems they didn't talk much during the wedding ceremony.
Zhou Ji'an was too exhausted from wearing a formal suit and full makeup to deal with the constant stream of "relatives and friends," leaving him with no energy to say anything more.
Deng Yi was probably distracted by someone at the wedding and didn't want to talk to her.
Thinking of the person at the wedding, Zhou Ji'an opened his phone and looked at the photo she had kept for many years. As usual, he murmured, "They are a perfect match."
Many people think that Deng Yi and Yu Xi, an actress from his company, are a good match, and Zhou Ji'an is no exception.
Zhou Ji'an even felt that Deng Yi and Yu Xi's names were a perfect match.
Unlike her and Deng Yi, even when they walk hand in hand, people would only think they are completely unrelated.
Zhou Jian still remembers the expressions on the faces of her two roommates when they happened to run into her and Deng Yi on the street during college, and the way they looked at her when they walked away for a while and then turned back to look at her.
Finally, perhaps unable to contain themselves any longer, they said to Zhou Ji'an in the dormitory, "You're so much shorter than your boyfriend, don't you know how to wear high heels?"
Another roommate said, "Zhou Ji'an, you look so ordinary when you're walking with your boyfriend."
One of her roommates, who wasn't usually involved in these things, leaned over the edge of the bed and comforted her, saying, "Jian, don't listen to their nonsense. They're just jealous that you come from a small town and can still get scholarships and participate in competitions."
The other two roommates scoffed in unison, "Who cares?"
"Poor people would covet it."
Ever since these two roommates learned that Zhou Ji'an came from a remote small town, they have been constantly looking for a sense of superiority in him.
Because Zhou Ji'an had intentionally or unintentionally revealed his sense of superiority in the past, and had unintentionally hurt those around him. She despised that version of herself, and naturally she would also despise her two roommates.
So she had always looked down on her two roommates' behavior, but today they used a new word.
ordinary.
When Zhou Ji'an admitted that she had shown a sense of superiority to those around her, she realized that she was actually quite ordinary. Later, through continuous learning and hard work, she accepted this fact and no longer felt that being ordinary was a bad thing.
After all, apart from a very small number of people, everyone else in this world is ordinary and unremarkable.
But when these two roommates said "ordinary" today, they were specifically referring to her appearance.
They thought Deng Yi's appearance was outstanding, which is why they said she was ordinary.
Before Zhou Ji'an started dating Deng Yi, he knew that Deng Yi had done commercials and worked as a model because of his outstanding appearance.
He studied directing in college and ran a photography studio. He had no intention of becoming a star, but many talent scouts still approached him, wanting him to act in movies.
Deng Yi's appearance is outstanding, but Zhou Ji'an did not expect that Deng Yi's appearance was so outstanding that she was not good enough for him.
With this discovery in mind, she learned makeup, practiced wearing high heels, and worked hard to lose weight. She maintained a relationship with Deng Yi with unease and even humility until she accidentally overheard a conversation between Deng Yi and his friend. Only then did she realize that no matter how hard she tried, she could not eliminate the gap between her and Deng Yi.
"Why would you take a liking to Zhou Jian? She's so ordinary."
The door to Deng Yi's studio was half open. Zhou Ji'an stopped in his tracks when he heard his friend's words. Water dripping from the umbrella quickly spread on the ground.
After a long while, Deng Yi asked in his usual tone, "What's wrong with being ordinary?"
It turns out that she was just an ordinary person in his eyes.
Who exactly spread the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
Zhou Ji'an didn't have the courage to listen anymore. He took off his soaking wet high heels and walked downstairs. After a few steps, he couldn't help but look back. He didn't see anyone chasing after him, only his own footprints on the cement steps.
She thought that moving forward was the right thing to do.
The next day, Zhou Ji'an threw away her cosmetics and high heels, put on comfortable canvas shoes, and rushed to Deng Yi's studio, saying directly, "I want to break up."
Upon hearing this, Deng Yi put down what he was doing, immediately went to her, touched her face, and asked, "What's wrong? Did I make you angry?"
Zhou Ji'an knew she would never meet another Deng Yi in her life, and immediately felt a little regretful. She looked up at his expression, hoping he hadn't taken it seriously.
It would have been fine if she hadn't looked up, but when she did, Zhou Ji'an realized she wasn't wearing high heels and only came up to Deng Yi's shoulder.
Before wearing high heels, she didn't pay much attention to these details. But after wearing high heels and then changing back into flats, these details were magnified and overshadowed her regret.
Zhou Ji'an turned his head away from his hand, took several steps back, and after seeing his whole face, said, "Nothing, I just want to break up."
He didn't seem to take it seriously, and said with a smile, "I need a reason."
Zhou Ji'an's pitiful pride wouldn't allow her to admit that she felt inferior.
She glanced around at the objects in her peripheral vision. She saw movie posters covering the wall and a basketball in the corner. She clenched her fist and said, "You're too artsy. I like the athletic type."
Deng Yi, who had been smiling, suddenly stopped smiling.
At this moment, the atmosphere of a couple breaking up filled the room.
He looked at her quietly, as if she were an ordinary plant.
Zhou Ji'an guessed that he was waiting for her to say more to explain her reasons, but Zhou Ji'an was in a state of confusion and couldn't think of any explanation.
The two looked at each other for a while, and Deng Yi spoke first.
His opening line was: "Okay, I wish you and your ideal type will be a perfect match."
If you ignore the other details, his wish seems to have come true.
With Deng Yi's reminder, Zhou Ji'an woke up exceptionally early the next day.
After washing up, she sat down at the table and opened a blue makeup bag. The cosmetics inside were all things she had bought herself before the wedding.
Thinking about the stuffiness of wearing a full face of makeup on the wedding day, Zhou Ji'an zipped up his makeup bag.
Deng Yi had already tidied up in the living room. His dark green coat made his face so white it seemed to reflect light, and Zhou Ji'an hesitated again.
Deng Yi quickly noticed that she was staring at him, so he put his phone away and asked, "Can we go now?"
Twenty-eight-year-old Zhou Ji'an asked on behalf of nineteen-year-old Zhou Ji'an, "Can I not wear makeup?"
Seeing Deng Yi's surprise, Zhou Ji'an continued, "I know I might get photographed, but my face tends to peel and break out when I wear makeup, and I can't help but rub it with my hands, which is very uncomfortable."
"And I don't want to wear high heels either." Zhou Ji'an simply said all the things she didn't want to do at once, so as not to be bothered by these things in the future.
Deng Yi frowned and looked at her with amusement, saying, "Before, when I saw you suddenly wearing makeup and high heels, I thought you really liked them."
His words didn't count as an answer.
Zhou Ji'an clearly stated, "I don't like it."
“Those things are bad for your health. Luckily you don’t like them, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to persuade you not to use them.” After saying that, Deng Yi nodded slightly to her, indicating that she could leave.
After Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi met again at Wei Jinglin's housewarming party, Deng Yi spoke to her with extreme tenderness, so tender that Zhou Ji'an suspected they were still in love.
However, Zhou Ji'an soon received a proposal from him asking her to have a fake marriage with him.
Since it was a fake marriage, he naturally had his own purpose.
His goal was to reduce unnecessary scandals and social gatherings by having a public wife, while also avoiding the constraints of marriage.
Zhou Ji'an thought to himself that it was fortunate that Deng Yi was honest enough, otherwise, given her self-delusional personality, she would definitely mistake his gentleness for affection.
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