Chapter 43: 18.2

“Life is really hard. Day after day, you always have something to worry about. However, no matter whether it is sunny or rainy tomorrow, there will always be something worth looking forward to.” The branches outside the window quickly passed by, and the rays of the setting sun landed on Jiang Ying’s cheek, alternating between light and shadow.  Her voice was gentle and calm, like the evening wind in early summer that wrapped around the sweet cherry and gently brushed over the pedestrians who had been busy all day.

“I’ve been working overtime for a week, and I haven’t slept for 30 hours right now. However, I feel very happy when I think about how there will be a bowl of warm beef noodles later.”

“You see, happiness is actually very simple. As for those painful and bad memories, you will find that it is nothing but empty chatter.”

When Jiang Ying finished talking and looked back at them, she saw that the brothers were staring at her.

She coughed awkwardly and turned away from them. “What’s wrong? Is chicken noodle soup for the soul stuff too cheesy for you?”

Yun Qian quickly shook his head. “No, not at all. Thank you. I understand what you said.”

Even the driver who was silent the entire way could not help it and had to give her a thumbs up. “Young miss, what you said is very good!”

Yun Xian smiled and looked at Yun Qian. He asked the questions that everyone had been worried about all day. “Where did you go alone today?”

Jiang Ying quickly followed, “Yes, that’s right, where have you been today? Have you eaten anything delicious?”

Yun Qian concisely summed up his day of skipping school: “I picked a bus at random, went on it for half the ride, came across a second-hand bookstore on the road, and read the parts of The Three-Body Problem1 that I haven’t finished yet.”

It was only then that Yun Xian remembered that there was one time his phone had died, so he borrowed a classmate’s copy of The Three-Body Problem to watch. He did not pay attention to the time and watched it until it was two o’clock at night. After his mother found out, she thoroughly checked his room the next day and threw away anything unrelated to his study.

Back then, Yun Xian was also scolded, and his mother warned him not to cover it up or be sneaky.

Yun Qian was probably very upset. He was only a few chapters away from finishing it. It was not easy to reserve it and sometimes took more than half a year to get it.

Yun Xian asked him, “How was the ending?”

“I don’t know.” Yun Qian lowered his head and looked depressed. “I don’t know why. When I was reading, I was always distracted. I was wondering how other people had done on the exam or what unit they had reviewed up to. I forced myself to finish reading it, and when I closed the book, I realized that I didn’t remember anything.”

“So you finally went back to school?”

Yun Qian smiled shyly, “I’m a little embarrassed to say that. The moment I saw the school logo, I felt so peaceful.”

Yun Xian sighed and said with unhappiness because iron didn’t turn into steel2, “So you’re ashamed. It’s the first time I saw a deserter come back and surrender.”

Jiang Ying immediately glared at Yun Xian and motioned him to shut up. She turned around and smiled and said to Yun Qian, “Is a student’s main task running away? This is a record for us in the future to show that we fought a battle. Besides, it is not shameful to run away. I love running away.”

Yun Xian chuckled. “You really know how to comfort him.”

Jiang Ying glared at him again. He pursed his lips to show that he would shut up and made a gesture to tell her to continue.

Jiang Ying went on, “But it’s true that running away can’t solve the problem. You can disconnect yourself for a brief while, think about what you should do, or simply distract yourself and change your mood. After that, you still have to face the problem.”

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After Jiang Ying’s encouragement, it was Yun Xian’s turn to give him advice. He put on an older brother’s attitude and said with a stern face, “I didn’t scold you because I know you’ve worked hard and I understand the reason why. But you really did something bad today, and made everyone worry about you all day.”

Yun Qian confessed, “I know, it’s my fault.”

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Seeing his honesty, Yun Xian nodded with satisfaction and asked, “Do you regret it now?”

Yun Qian replied without hesitation, “I don’t regret it. At least when I took the first step, I felt relieved.”

“The college entrance exam is nothing to be afraid of. Haven’t you always done well?” When Yun Xian finished speaking, they had just arrived at their destination.

It was already five o’clock, and the sun was still shining in early summer. It rained two days ago. The air today was clean, and the sky was blue with white clouds floating.

Yun Qian finally showed his first smile today, and his eyes brightened. It looked like he had relieved the pressure he had on himself, and really went into the battle dressed lightly. “I know, I have passed so many tests, and I won’t do badly on this last one!”

While the atmosphere gradually turned warm, Jiang Ying silently raised her hand. “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but there are still many horrible exams in college.”

Yun Qian was an innocent high school student and his naive eyes widened. He asked a question that made them laugh so hard that they couldn’t answer. “Isn’t college fun?”

It’s better to not frighten the student preparing for the exam. Yun Xian handed him the book bag and the key to the house. “Go up first. The delivery should be arriving soon. If you are hungry, you can eat first.”

Yun Qian asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m taking sister Xiao Jiang to buy some necessities. She will stay at our home tonight.”

When Yun Qian went upstairs, Jiang Ying realized something: she was suddenly staying at someone’s home. She was embarrassed. “Actually, I can go to a hotel.”

Yun Xian looked down at her. “What are you embarrassed of?”

Jiang Ying’s eyes widened. She raised her voice and bluffed, “How am I embarrassed?”

Yun Xian pointed to himself and then pointed to Yun Qian, who was going upstairs. “You will sleep in my room and I will sleep in Xiao Qian’s room. It’s more convenient to stay at our home and go to the airport tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, it’s like that.” Jiang Ying nodded and walked away to hide her guilt. But before she could take a step, Yun Xian grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t we going to the supermarket?”

“I want to do something first.”

As soon as he spoke Yun Xian held her wrist and walked to the corridor.

The sun was setting in the west, and the street lamps were not on yet. The corridor was dark and empty. Any subtle sound was amplified and could be heard clearly.

Jiang Ying was lightly pushed by Yun Xian, and her back pressed against the concrete wall.

She felt a small rough sensation against her back. She moved uncomfortably, but he recognized that she had a tendency to run away.

Yun Xian had always shown his gentle side, so she was unprepared. When he held Jiang Ying’s wrists over her head with one hand and held her waist with the other hand, he leaned in and kissed her. Jiang Ying’s heart was suspended in the air and she felt more nervous than ever before.

 

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Footnotes

Wiki 恨铁不成钢 (hèn​tiě​bù​chéng​gāng​) – an idiom that means being dissatisfied with the lack of progress in the person you expect more from

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