They suddenly realized Ting Ting was gone.
She shook He Junming vigorously: “Where did you hide Ting Ting, you hairy turtle…”
He Junming’s face darkened: “Crazy woman, provoke me again and I’ll beat you to death!”
Zhao Nuancheng thought, hmph, this hairy turtle is quite fierce and slapped him.
He Junming covered his face in silence: “…”
Method Tan asked: “When did Ren Ge come back?”
Nobody knew.
Jiang Ren left like a shadow in the night, silently, without saying a word to them from beginning to end.
“Where did he take Meng Ting?”
It was raining under the night sky of H City. Because it was the weekend, the streets were quiet and dark.
He wrapped her in his coat, watching the heavy rain. She stirred in his arms, seeming about to wake up.
The young girl carried the scent of red wine, like a small lily blooming on a rainy night. Her long lashes trembled lightly.
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
This was the third time he had broken his promise.
The first time was contacting the laboratory research institute to raise Shu Zhitong’s salary.
The second time was going to decorate her room.
He had painted the walls himself, not very well, as he had never done it before. He spent an entire afternoon carefully decorating that room, then placed the little princess crystal ball there.
Jiang Jixian was furious, his face very unpleasant.
Jiang Ren lowered his eyes and said calmly: “There won’t be a next time.”
But he knew there would be a next time.
He transferred back to his original high school in B City. His classmates were all shocked when they saw his foot. The way he walked was too obvious. Although those people jokingly called him Young Master Jiang, he knew all too well what they said behind his back.
Only those eyes were still the eyes of the Young Prince of Junyang.
Cold, black pupils, both sharp and wild.
Entering the third year of high school, the whole country was reviewing. The teacher taught “Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again” —
Laden with starlight, I sing in the glittering starlight. But I can’t sing out loud, quietly it’s the flute of farewell; Even the summer insects are silent for me, silence is Cambridge tonight!
It was one of the texts she had once smiled and asked him to recite, and he could still recite it all even now.
He lowered his eyes to look at the blank textbook, suddenly unable to bear it anymore, and walked out of the classroom.
Behind him was the angry voice of the Chinese teacher.
Again and again, he wanted to return to her side. Now with heavy rain in H City, he broke his promise for the third time.
Jiang Ren had come back three days ago.
At the bustling Seventh High School, he saw Huo Yifeng. The senior who had once confessed to Meng Ting is now a student at a prestigious university.
Huo Yifeng held a bouquet of roses, looking proud and elated, and bought Meng Ting a bag of cream puffs.
In the late autumn of October, a refined and elegant young man. A pure and beautiful young girl, like the most beautiful silhouette of youth, with many people around them cheering. Jiang Ren didn’t say anything, turned, and slowly walked away.
No matter how slowly he walked, his leg was still different from normal people.
He put his hands in his pockets, pressing his lips tightly.
Only tonight, the sound of rain and thunder covered the screaming in his heart, the darkness hid the sorry state of his leg. Only then did he dare to carry her out of Little Port City. Holding her in the back seat of the car, isolated from the entire city.
There were crystal tears at the corners of her eyes. As lightning tore through the sky, she opened her eyes.
It was very dark in the car. Meng Ting’s eyes were misty with tears as she lightly tugged at the corner of his clothes: “Jiang Ren.”
Her voice was soft and light, still carrying a grievous sob that could break one’s heart. Fortunately, her voice hadn’t been injured in the fire.
He didn’t speak, didn’t dare to speak, just gently kissed the top of her head.
She pulled at his knit sweater, her big eyes wet: “Does it hurt?”
He answered hoarsely: “It doesn’t hurt.”
She nodded, looking up at him, her little face pink from the effects of alcohol: “But I feel so sad. That day, I cried for so long. I knocked on the door but you ignored me.”
“Then I’m not a good person.”
She nodded, her voice thick with a nasal tone, becoming a little milk voice: “Why did you break up with me? Am I not good enough?”
“You’re very good, it’s me who’s not good.”
“You’re lying, why am I very good, but you don’t like me anymore.”
The heavy rain pattered on the car roof. He said in a low voice: “I love you.”
His voice was so low that no one could hear clearly. Meng Ting felt so sad, she had finally come to like him, but he left. She couldn’t help crying, crying for her four months of sadness.
She had always been reasonable, only this time, being a little drunk, she wasn’t reasonable at all.
She cried so hard she could hardly breathe, looking utterly pitiful.
He used tissues to wipe her tears clean, but soon the tissues were wet again. After Jiang Ren said he wanted to break up with her, she went home and saw Shu Zhitong without crying or making a fuss. For four months, she went to school and came home on time every day. As if nothing had happened.
But tonight, Meng Ting clearly couldn’t distinguish whether she was sad in a dream or reality. She cried so hard her heart ached and twisted into a knot.
She clutched his shirt, burying her little face in his chest.
His chest was wet with her tears.
She hated this bad guy.
Why did he say they should be together when he wanted to be together, and then break up when he wanted to break up? She couldn’t breathe. She pulled his hand to her heart, sobbing: “It hurts here.” Her heart, aching with pain, could only take small breaths through her mouth.
The young girl was soft and fragrant, her curves delicate.
He suddenly withdrew his hand.
A car next to them honked, a head poking out: “F*ck, don’t you know how to park, bro? I need to get out. Are you stopping here to enjoy the rain?”
Jiang Ren looked down, she had fallen asleep, tears still hanging on her cheeks.
Jiang Ren didn’t argue with the person. The person moved out a bit to see the car’s license plate clearly and took a breath. He didn’t say anything else and drove away.
Jiang Ren carried her to the passenger seat, fastened the seatbelt, and drove towards her home.
He knew that he only had this much time, he had to send her home eventually.
The sky of H City was pinkish, and because it was raining, the journey was quiet, with few pedestrians on the road. The apartment where she lived was in an average area, but it was very safe.
Apart from making a fuss earlier when she was drunk, she was now quiet and docile beyond belief.
Jiang Ren carried her down. The security guard recognized him and let him through.
Carrying her, he couldn’t use an umbrella, so he was completely drenched in the rain. He lowered his head to protect her in his arms. His steps were quick, making his limp even more obvious. Only after he went in did the security guard withdraw his gaze.
In the elevator, Meng Ting woke up. She wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t slept soundly.
The elevator went up floor by floor.
Until the light for the eighth floor lit up, she seemed to have become a bit more sober, opening her tea-colored eyes to look at him: “Are you sending me home?”
“Mm.”
“I don’t want to go home,” she mumbled, “Jiang Ren, if I go home, you’ll leave.”
His pale knuckles trembled slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
However, they had already reached the eighth floor.
His lips pale, he put her down on the ground and rang her doorbell.
Shu Lan was at the police station, Shu Zhitong was working overtime at the research institute. Only Shu Yang would be at home.
Jiang Ren made her stand steady. She seemed to know that this person was about to leave her again. Yet she remained quiet and obedient, only her fair small hand tightly clutching his sleeve, tears welling up in her eyes.
Don’t cry anymore. She told herself, it was already embarrassing enough.
She had already cried enough on the day he said they should break up.
The sound of slippers on the floor inside the house grew closer. But she didn’t want to let go. She held onto his sleeve, looked up at him, and sobbed: “Jiang Ren…”
He was about to go mad.
Really about to go mad.
With reddened eyes, before the door opened, he hugged her and hid in the stairwell.
She wasn’t afraid, nor was she flustered. She still held onto him.
Shu Yang opened the door and looked at the empty doorway, stunned. In the dim stairwell, he cupped her face, already crazed, and lowered his head to kiss her.
He had never kissed her like this before, with longing, desperation, loving her to the point of living, hurting to the point of dying.
Their breaths intertwined.
Then she stood on tiptoe and softly kissed him back.
This was their first real kiss. She hugged the young man’s lean waist, tilting her head up to kiss him.
The cold raindrops from his black hair fell on her eyelashes. Making one tremble from the marrow.
He was far from that cold and indifferent appearance. When Shu Yang frowned and came out to look around, he held her behind the stairwell, confining her in his arms, their lips and teeth in a desperate entanglement.
He wanted to die tonight.
A muffled thunder exploded in the sky. The wind blew the rain scattering everywhere.
He released her, his face deathly pale.
The young girl’s lips were crimson. She touched her lips, smiling at him shyly and innocently.
Jiang Ren laughed almost despairingly, stroked her hair, and said in a low voice: “I’m sorry.” I’m sorry, baby.
He had promised not to get close to her, not to disturb her life, not to touch her.
To let her find a man she likes and grow up well.
She didn’t understand why he was apologizing, but that didn’t stop her from thinking simply and happily now. Although she didn’t understand why this Jiang Ren was so strange, she knew he liked her very much.
Ten parts were drunk, and seven parts intoxicated the person.
The madness just now left Jiang Ren in a dilemma.
Her big eyes looked at him, her small hand holding his shirt, a completely trusting and obedient appearance, making him not know how to leave.
He had always been proud, now that he was sober, at least didn’t let her see the sorry state of his walking.
“Can you…” he said hoarsely, “turn around. Then go home.”
She couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Are you leaving?”
“Mm.”
She felt so angry and aggrieved.
If he didn’t like her, why did he kiss her so forcefully? Her lips were still numb. If he liked her, why was he leaving her?
“Jiang Ren, if you leave today, I won’t like you anymore,” she tried to make her tone serious, “I’m not lying.”
His Adam’s apple moved: “Okay.”
Meng Ting had no choice. Jiang Ren wouldn’t budge, and wouldn’t listen to anything. Her head was dizzy, and she sobbed: “And I won’t let you kiss me.”
“Okay.”
“I won’t see you.”
“Mm.”
“I’ll like someone else in the future.” Please don’t go.
He wanted so badly to say no, still remembering the despair when he misunderstood that she liked Xu Jia. Now he had to admit, no matter who she liked, as long as they had four healthy limbs and a healthy body, they were better than him.
His leg injury was too severe, it might never heal completely.
Beneath his shirt were burn scars, shocking to the eye. Let alone her tender appearance, even he frowned when he saw them.
She said she would like someone else in the future, he could no longer say okay, he could only say: “Go home.”
Jiang Ren lowered his eyes and unzipped the coat she was wearing.
Facing her, he slowly stepped back one step at a time.
Because of stepping backward, time seemed to grip his throat, particularly oppressive.
Leaving like this made him look not too different from normal people.
As the elevator was about to close, the young girl rubbed her eyes as if waking from a dream and ran towards the elevator.
“Jiang Ren!” She hoped he would hear, “There’s no one else, only you.”
The rain drizzled, the sound turning in the rain, perhaps dissipating in the wind.