Qian Fei fell silent on the other end. After a long while, he finally spoke, as if unable to believe it, yet also suppressing his anger. The schadenfreude in his tone vanished: "Are you even human?"
Duan Jiaxu's voice was gentle: "You're the great hero."
"..."
"I can't ignore your contribution." Duan Jiaxu spoke slowly, feigning righteousness, "Wouldn't that make me an ungrateful wretch?"
"Go to hell!" His ability to twist the truth made Qian Fei laugh in frustration, "If you'd told me it was Sang Zhi earlier, I wouldn't have helped you at all!"
"Mm." Duan Jiaxu chuckled, "If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't have been able to win her over."
"..."
"I'll make sure to thank you profusely in front of your future brother-in-law."
"..."-
On the other end, Qian Fei hung up the phone.
He immediately saw the WeChat message from Sang Yan.
Sang Yan: [Is Duan Jiaxu okay? Asking you for help chasing someone?]
Sang Yan: [Impressive.]
Qian Fei: "..."
Qian Fei: [Piss off.]
Sang Yan: [Why didn't he ask me for help?]
Sang Yan: [Oh.]
Sang Yan: [I don't know how to chase people either.]
Sang Yan: [Sorry, I'm the one who gets pursued like crazy.]
Qian Fei: [Take your meds.]
Sang Yan: [Tell me, how did you help?]
Qian Fei made a last-ditch effort, frantically typing a long paragraph: [I didn't help, I don't know shit, don't listen to his nonsense. How could I help? It took me half a year to chase my own wife—what could I possibly do for him?]
Sang Yan: [Why are you so worked up?]
Qian Fei: [I really don't know.]
Sang Yan: [Boss Qian, you're acting strange. This is something you could brag about for three years, and you're denying it?]
"..."
Qian Fei felt like crying: [I really don't know, honestly.]
Sang Yan sent a voice message, sneering coldly: "You two are something else, ganging up to exclude me, huh? Fine."
Qian Fei: "..."
He really wanted to rush to Yihe and kill Duan Jiaxu-
Passing by a supermarket, Duan Jiaxu got out of the car and went in to buy the shredded squid and orange juice that Sang Zhi had just opened. Returning home, he placed the items back in their original spots, then sat down on the sofa and cleaned up the crumbs on the coffee table.
The house returned to its original state.
Yet, faintly, it still carried traces of Sang Zhi's presence.
Duan Jiaxu lingered in the living room for a while. He pulled out the lighter Sang Zhi had given him for his birthday from his pocket. Then, he took a cigarette from the case, placed it between his lips.
He paused for two seconds, didn't light it, and soon put it down again, letting out a soft laugh.
Duan Jiaxu leaned lazily against the back of the chair, rubbing his lips with his thumb, his smile tinged with a flirtatious, lovesick charm. After a long while, he got up and returned to his room.
On the nightstand sat a photo of the two of them from several years ago. Beside it was a moon-shaped nightlight, also a gift from Sang Zhi.
He turned off the room's main light and switched on the nightlight.
The room was quiet, bathed in dim light.
The warm yellow glow softened the cold emptiness.
There was still a message from Sang Yan on his phone.
Even Qian Fei had reacted so strongly upon hearing the news—Duan Jiaxu could roughly guess how Sang Yan would respond. After a moment's thought, he replied: [I'll come to Nanwu in a while.]
Duan Jiaxu: [I'll tell you in person then.]
After that, Duan Jiaxu sent a message to Sang Zhi: [Asleep?]Perhaps she was asleep, or perhaps she hadn’t seen it, but Sang Zhi didn’t reply immediately. At this hour, Duan Jiaxu couldn’t sleep either. He got up and turned on his computer, intending to finish the remaining work.
Just then, his phone rang.
Duan Jiaxu glanced indifferently at the unfamiliar number on the screen. As he was about to hang up, he suddenly recalled Sang Zhi’s words from earlier in the day, and the slight smile that had been lingering on his lips slowly faded.
Jiang Ying had actually done similar things before.
For a while, Jiang Siyun had frequently tried to set Duan Jiaxu up on blind dates. He didn’t have much interest in that sort of thing, especially right after graduation, when he wanted to focus all his energy on work.
But he didn’t want to reject Jiang Siyun’s well-intentioned efforts, feeling he had no real reason to refuse.
A few of the blind dates he found agreeable would ask him out again. Duan Jiaxu would politely accept the invitations, but afterward, they would inexplicably lose contact.
He once vaguely heard from one of them through WeChat.
A woman had approached her and said some things.
Duan Jiaxu quickly guessed it was Jiang Ying, and after that, he found the whole affair rather pointless. When Jiang Siyun tried to introduce him to others again, he would use lack of time as an excuse to politely decline.
It was, in fact, a rather realistic situation.
After all, marriage wasn’t a trivial matter, and it didn’t just involve two people.
Duan Jiaxu understood this perfectly well.
Since Jiang Ying hadn’t resorted to extreme actions or caused significant trouble for the other party—merely revealing the true circumstances of his family—Duan Jiaxu didn’t dwell on it much.
So much time had passed that he had long forgotten about Jiang Ying’s behavior.
Nor had he ever imagined she would take the initiative to seek out Sang Zhi.
Duan Jiaxu’s expression remained calm, betraying no discernible emotion, only a hint of impatience.
Then he answered the call.
As expected.
Jiang Ying’s voice came from the other end of the line.
He had no idea how she had gotten his new number.
As if surprised he had picked up, Jiang Ying seemed momentarily stunned, her voice hesitant: “Duan Jiaxu?”
Duan Jiaxu cut straight to the point: “Did you go to Yihe University today?”
“What of it?” Jiang Ying recovered, her tone mocking. “Your little girlfriend tattled on you, huh? Seeing how you’ve been running over there all the time lately, you must be putting in quite the effort.”
Duan Jiaxu took a lighter from his pocket, toying with it in his hand, but said nothing.
Jiang Ying: “If I’d known college students were so easy to fool, I should’ve targeted them from the start, right? You must be feeling pretty pleased with yourself now, huh? That college girl acts like she’s been brainwashed—have you already slept with her?”
Duan Jiaxu still didn’t respond.
Jiang Ying raised her voice: “Cat got your tongue?”
Duan Jiaxu: “Finished?”
“...”
“Honestly, hearing you say these things doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” Duan Jiaxu said coolly, his smile devoid of warmth. “Compared to that, your voice is far more unbearable.”
Jiang Ying fell silent for a few seconds before her voice grew even shriller: “Fine, then I’ll make sure to disgust you to death.”
“If that’s what you want, go ahead,” Duan Jiaxu replied indifferently. “As for me, I originally thought this was all trivial and couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. But now it’s starting to annoy me. Handling it myself would be messy, so I’ll have to trouble the police instead.”
“You’d call the cops on me? For what?!”"Though I'm not sure if it'll be useful," Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly, "we still have to try, don't we?"
"Duan Jiaxu!" Jiang Ying's breathing was heavy, her voice gradually taking on a sob, reminding him hysterically, "Think for yourself! If it weren't for your father! Would my dad have died?"
Duan Jiaxu: "You said it yourself—it was my father."
Jiang Ying: "You're his son!"
"By your logic, since my father killed someone in a car accident, I, as his son, am also responsible for killing that person?" Duan Jiaxu said gently. "Then as your father's daughter, why didn't you die with him?"
The other end fell silent, as if she hadn't expected him to say such a thing: "What did you say?"
Duan Jiaxu realized his words sounded harsh but didn't think there was anything wrong with them. He curled his lips slightly, lowered his voice, and finally said, "What do you think, is this interesting?"
Then, he hung up.
Jiang Ying didn't call back.
Duan Jiaxu blocked her number.
—
Sang Zhi came out of the bathroom after showering. Seeing Duan Jiaxu's message, she replied with a smile: [Not yet, planning to sleep soon.]
After a moment's thought, she added: [But if you want to chat with me, I can reluctantly stay awake.]
Admirer: [Won't you fall asleep while chatting?]
Sang Zhi was honest: [Probably will.]
Looking at the contact name, Sang Zhi tapped on his profile, thought of many nicknames, but ultimately changed it properly to "Duan Jiaxu."
Duan Jiaxu: [So I'm here to help you fall asleep?]
Sang Zhi frowned: [Then you should sleep early too, why always stay up so late? It's not good for you.]
Sang Zhi: [You'll age quickly like this.]
Ning Wei, sitting at her desk applying body lotion, casually asked: "Sang Sang, where did you go tonight? You came back so late. I just ran into your department members having a gathering, but I didn't see you there."
Sang Zhi looked up: "I went to see Duan Jiaxu."
Ning Wei: "Went on a date?"
Sang Zhi blinked: "We're together now."
Hearing this, Yu Xin turned around: "So fast?"
"Not really fast." Sang Zhi actually thought she had dragged it out for quite a while. "He didn't know I liked him too before, but now that he knows, why should I make him chase me? That would be strange."
Yu Xin: "That makes sense."
Sang Zhi lowered her head and continued chatting with Duan Jiaxu.
Duan Jiaxu: [Old is old then, anyway I have a girlfriend now.]
Sang Zhi: [?]
Sang Zhi: [I! MIND!]
Duan Jiaxu: [Alright then.]
Duan Jiaxu: [I'll sleep early.]
Sang Zhi checked the time and said: [We can still chat for half an hour.]
Half an hour later.
Perhaps because of today's events, Sang Zhi still didn't feel sleepy at all, full of energy. Holding her phone, she curled up under the blankets with no intention of going to sleep.
Instead, Duan Jiaxu brought it up first: [Half an hour's up, time for bed?]
Sang Zhi rolled over, unwilling: [Feel like we could chat for another half hour.]
This time Duan Jiaxu took several dozen seconds to reply, repeating her earlier words: [Like this I'll age quickly.]
The corners of Sang Zhi's lips lifted as she repeated his words: [Old is old then, anyway you have a girlfriend now.]
"..."
—
In the blink of an eye, June arrived.
Sang Zhi's group project was completed, needing only minor revisions before being submitted soon.The exam week was approaching, so Sang Zhi set aside the competition and focused on preparing for her exams. Taking advantage of this time, she followed Ning Wei’s example and prepared a resume, sending it out to suitable companies.
After thinking it over for a long time, Sang Zhi nervously called Li Ping and brought up the idea of not returning home for the summer vacation.
Surprisingly, Li Ping didn’t object much to her plan. She only reminded Sang Zhi to be careful and insisted that she must come home during the National Day holiday.
Sang Zhi agreed.
As classes gradually came to an end, Sang Zhi, who aimed for a scholarship, paid extra attention to her academic performance. She spent most of her time in the library, which meant she saw Duan Jiaxu less frequently.
Duan Jiaxu had suggested a few times that she keep him company, but Sang Zhi declined. She felt that if he were by her side, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Besides, he would probably find it boring to stay in the library.
One day, after finishing her nightly routine, Sang Zhi came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed. Just before falling asleep, she heard Wang Ruolan say, "I heard the whole campus will have a power outage tomorrow."
Ning Wei exclaimed, "Huh?"
Wang Ruolan explained, "They said it’s for maintenance in the power distribution room. Only a few dormitory buildings will have electricity; the rest won’t."
Ning Wei asked, "Will our dorm have power?"
Wang Ruolan replied, "No."
Yu Xin chimed in, "How long will the outage last?"
Wang Ruolan answered, "From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.—the whole day."
Yu Xin sighed, "Forget everything else, but on a day like this, without electricity, I’ll probably get heatstroke."
Sang Zhi also felt a bit annoyed since she needed her computer for revision. But after thinking it through, she decided it wasn’t a big deal. She could just go to a quiet café off-campus the next day and spend the whole day there.
However, what caught Sang Zhi off guard was that, due to the combined impact of exam week and the power outage, the usually quiet off-campus shops were now packed. Even arriving early in the morning, she couldn’t find a single seat.
Checking the time, she entered the subway station, planning to take the metro to the city library to study.
Just then, Duan Jiaxu called. His voice, transmitted through the phone, was deep and pleasant, carrying a familiar hint of laughter. "Girlfriend, do you have time to grab a meal today?"
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and said, "I’m heading to the city library now."
"The city library?"
"Yeah," Sang Zhi replied. "There’s a power outage at our school, so I’m going there to find a place to study."
Duan Jiaxu reminded her, "That library isn’t very spacious. You probably won’t find a spot if you go now."
After searching for so long and thinking she would finally find a place to study, Sang Zhi paused upon hearing his words. She felt so frustrated she almost wanted to lose her temper. "Why is it so hard to just find a place to study…"
It happened to be the weekend, and Duan Jiaxu was at home with nothing else to do. He chuckled softly and leisurely made a suggestion, "Come to my place."
"..." Sang Zhi was tempted but hesitated. "Won’t you distract me?"
"I won’t."
Not wanting to waste any more time, Sang Zhi stopped overthinking it. "Then I’ll take the subway to your place now."
After getting off the subway and passing through the ticket gate, Sang Zhi lowered her head to check her phone and noticed a message from Duan Jiaxu saying he was waiting for her inside the station. She looked up and scanned her surroundings, immediately spotting him standing not far away.Duan Jiaxu was dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and long athletic pants, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a phone, his eyes lowered. Tall and slender, he appeared handsome yet aloof, standing out strikingly in the crowd.
Sang Zhi was just about to walk over.
At that moment, a woman approached him, her cheeks flushed with a shy smile.
It was immediately clear she intended to ask for his contact information.
Sang Zhi’s expression instantly darkened.
She walked over silently and stood firmly beside the two of them without saying a word. She heard the woman speak, her tone tinged with embarrassment: "Hello, could I, um, add you on WeChat?"
Hearing the voice, Duan Jiaxu lifted his gaze and happened to notice Sang Zhi standing nearby, her face stern and silent. His eyes paused, and he watched her with amusement for several seconds before turning back to the woman and saying, "No."
"…"
After a brief pause.
Duan Jiaxu looked at Sang Zhi again and chuckled lightly: "If my girlfriend finds out—"
"…"
"I’d be a dead man."
Author’s Note:
Sang Zhi: Am I here with a knife or something?
Duan Jiaxu: My girlfriend is jealous—so adorable.
OpenNovel