...
Whаt an awful quеstiоn.
Jiаng Du stаrеd at him, her faсе flushed crimsоn. After hоlding it in fоr а lоng whilе, shе finally sаid, "Wei Qingyue, how can уоu be likе this?" She wishеd shе hаd twо long еаrs thаt shе сould рull down to cоvеr her fаce.
"Werеn’t you аsking about mу hеаlth уеstеrdаy?" Wei Qingуuе’s eуеs оncе agаin bеgan to shimmеr with а faint, еlusive light. "Sleeр with me, Jiang Du."
Goоd hеаvens, this рerson... Jiang Du fеlt thаt if shе didn’t slaр him, it wоuldn’t sееm likе а normаl humаn reаctiоn. Her tоes wеrе turning rеd, her hаir strаnds wеrе turning red.
The еntire city seemеd to be engulfеd in raging flamеs.
Jiang Du didn’t knоw hоw to сurse, much less hit anyone. She couldn’t bear to strike Wei Qingyue—he had already endured enough beatings. If anyone dared lay a finger on him now, she would be braver than before, rushing to protect him, even if it meant becoming a bruised mess all over again.
After struggling with her thoughts for a long time, Jiang Du finally got into Wei Qingyue’s car because he added, "At least come to my place to take a look, alright?"
Jiang Du couldn’t refuse.
"Have you told your family about us?" Wei Qingyue asked her in the car. "About us being together."
Jiang Du’s expression clearly showed her difficulty. Did he not use his brain at all? How could she say it? She hadn’t even seen Wei Qingyue on August 31st, and by September 1st, she was already in a relationship with him?
Wei Qingyue always seemed to know what she was thinking. He quickly said, "Then I’ll tell them. I’ll visit your home soon."
As he spoke, one of his hands reached over and patted the back of her hand, as if to comfort her.
"Wei Qingyue, I think," Jiang Du began with difficulty, "we actually don’t know each other at all. Don’t you think this is too fast? It all feels so unreal to me. Right now, I don’t even know if I’m dreaming or if I’ve really met you again." Her gaze grew distant as she looked out the window, as if searching for proof of reality in the sea of lights, the crowds, the skyscrapers, and the shops under the night sky.
Wei Qingyue glanced at her, his eyes intense.
For a moment, he didn’t respond. Only the sound of the car speeding along filled the silence.
"We’re still young, and the road ahead is long. We have plenty of time to get to know each other, Jiang Du. You’re almost thirty, and you’ve never been in a proper relationship. Aren’t you lonely?" Wei Qingyue glanced at her again, not needing her answer. "I’m lonely, maybe. You’re immersed in words, you have your own world, you don’t need anyone else. But I do. I’m just an ordinary person. I want to fall in love with a woman, I want to sleep with a woman, preferably not leaving the bed for three or five days." He unconsciously frowned. "Sometimes, I really feel like I’m becoming twisted, unbearably irritable. That feeling of desperately wanting to hold onto something, only to wake up empty-handed—it’s terrifying."
He paused. "Did I scare you? I admit, I’m too anxious inside. When I think that I’m already twenty-eight and can’t even grasp the shadow of the girl I love, and time is slipping away bit by bit, leaving nothing behind... I really don’t want to wait another second." Suddenly, he let out a long, pent-up sigh. "I’m so damn fed up."
Every word struck a deep chord in Jiang Du’s heart. Streetlights flashed past the car window like dusk on a desolate plain. Her eyes grew moist."All these years, I've been waiting for you every day. From the day you left, I've been waiting, waiting for you to come find me, to come see me." Her voice was very soft. "I've cried so many times, but you never came. No one told me if you would ever come back."
Wei Qingyue nearly ran a red light. He quickly glanced at her twice, waited for the red light to turn green, slowed down, and pulled over to the side of the road.
"How could that be? If you really wanted to find me, you could have asked Zhang Xiaoqiang anytime. I've also been trying to contact you, but I couldn't reach you. I knew Zhuo Dao Ke was you—I guessed it long ago. When our Chinese teacher first read your essay in class, I knew the letter was written by you. I listened to your essays for a whole semester. I remember everything you wrote in each essay, every letter you sent. I could recite them all backwards now." Wei Qingyue frowned, shaking his head in confusion. "I don't understand why you say you couldn't find me. I even appeared in science videos, hoping to give you another chance to see me. I did everything I could. How could you not find me?"
Jiang Du just looked at him with tear-filled eyes, her expression sorrowful. Wei Qingyue gazed into her mournful eyes and stopped pressing further. He said, "Alright."
But Jiang Du murmured, "Why did it take you so long to come find me? I've already become an old maid."
Wei Qingyue was at a loss for words. "I was looking for you. I never stopped looking for you." He saw her scrunch her nose and could only offer a gentle smile, tenderly stroking her small face. "Not old. Thankfully, you're not ninety."
Tears fell onto his palm, burning and painful. Wei Qingyue's thumb kept brushing across her face, and suddenly he pulled her into his arms, kissing her fiercely.
He had the build of a genuine man—so strong, his presence intensely stirring her. Jiang Du floated and sank in Wei Qingyue's embrace, tilting her head back to receive him. Her hair was so long, spilling over him.
Along this stretch of road, the neon lights grew sparse. After Wei Qingyue released her, his fingers gently brushed through her hair as he asked softly, "Do you feel better now?"
Jiang Du's face was flushed and warm. She nodded.
Wei Qingyue moved his fingers away and smiled again. "Do you still need me to spit?"
Jiang Du's face was framed by messy black hair, making her appear pale. She said, "I didn't wear lipstick today."
Wei Qingyue immediately understood what she meant by spitting. He asked her, "Can I drive now?" Jiang Du nodded silently.
His apartment was in a prime location, with convenient transportation and complete facilities. Wei Qingyue asked if she wanted some fruit. He remembered that Zhang Xiaoqiang always loved eating fruit after meals, so he assumed girls generally liked fruit.
"I want grapes," Jiang Du said. "Green ones, the really sweet kind."
Wei Qingyue smiled. "How would I know which kind you mean? Come with me to buy them." He took her hand and entered a convenience store.
The fruits were colorful and beautiful. Jiang Du began picking out grapes while Wei Qingyue stood beside her. At the counter, a drunken, middle-aged man with a paunch walked in and asked, "Hey, do you have condoms with little bumps?"
The clerk was a young woman who seemed accustomed to such situations and remained unruffled. "What do you mean by little bumps? What brand?"
"If I knew the brand, would I be asking you? I mean condoms with bumps." The man's voice was too loud, drawing everyone's attention.The girl pointed for him, "Please take a look yourself, which kind would you like?"
"The kind that can fuck a woman senseless, do you sell that?"
Someone in the convenience store chuckled. The clerk finally grew embarrassed, covering her mouth briefly before calmly picking out a box for him: "Do you mean ribbed or dotted? Which brand?"
The counter buzzed with murmurs.
Wei Qingyue listened with a faint smile. He glanced at Jiang Du, and as their eyes met, she quickly looked away, flustered, saying, "I still want to buy some blueberries, they're good for the eyes."
When checking out, Wei Qingyue casually picked up a box of something, very naturally placing it with her fruit. The cashier couldn't help but glance at Wei Qingyue a few more times, then at Jiang Du, smiling inexplicably.
As they left, Wei Qingyue carried the bag in one hand and naturally reached for her hand with the other, but Jiang Du avoided it. Her guard was up, and she hesitantly asked, "Have you read Tess of the d'Urbervilles?"
Wei Qingyue hadn’t. He answered honestly while taking out his phone to search, quickly skimming the summary. After a moment of silence, he smiled faintly and said, "What kind of person do you take me for?"
After a brief thought, he looked at Jiang Du and said, "Shall I take you home?"
Jiang Du watched him head toward the parking lot but didn’t move.
Wei Qingyue turned back, and Jiang Du stood still, saying, "I want to go up and see your home."
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll rape you?" Wei Qingyue joked. Jiang Du forced a smile, her face pale. He immediately regretted it deeply, remembering her background, and felt his joke was utterly despicable. He composed himself and said, "I’m sorry, don’t take it to heart."
Her hand was taken by Wei Qingyue again. His palm was dry and firm, while Jiang Du’s was sweaty.
In the elevator, Wei Qingyue gave her a silent smile.
His home was incredibly large, spacious and bright. Jiang Du stood at the doorway, slightly stunned. Wei Qingyue found a pair of women’s slippers for her. She looked down at them, then up at him, suspicion and wariness in her eyes.
The slippers were brand new, never worn.
"When I moved in, I bought two of every daily necessity—one for me and one for you. I thought, just in case I ever had the chance to bring you here, it would be convenient." Wei Qingyue explained calmly. This time, Jiang Du was completely stunned. Only when she saw the uncut tag on the slippers did she truly relax.
She had always liked him, missed him, but she wasn’t a fool without a brain.
After washing her hands, Jiang Du intended to dry them with a tissue, but Wei Qingyue handed her a new towel.
"Come, let me show you our home," he suddenly said "our," and Jiang Du’s heart ached again at an unbelievable speed.
"The master bedroom, see? Your vanity." Wei Qingyue tapped his phone, and the curtains slowly opened.
Besides the bed and wardrobe, there was a vanity in the master bedroom, prepared for Jiang Du. Over the years, Wei Qingyue had insisted that Jiang Du would come to live in this house. When decorating, he had consulted Zhang Xiaoqiang for advice, asking what a girl might need.
He guided Jiang Du to sit at the vanity. In the mirror, their reflections were blurred. Wei Qingyue coughed slightly, embarrassed. "I suppose the housekeeper hasn’t cleaned this area since no one uses it. I’ll have to remind her later.""Is this mine?" Jiang Du reached back and grasped the hand he had placed on her shoulder. Wei Qingyue said, "Of course," then led her to tour the open kitchen, the bathroom, and finally, the study.
The study was especially large, with a long solid wood desk at its center and bookshelves covering two entire walls.
In the corner stood a tall potted plant, its green leaves fresh and vibrant. Although Wei Qingyue wasn’t fond of tidying the house, he took special care of the study, never once forgetting to water the plant.
"This wall is for my books, and this one is yours. When I earn a bit more, we’ll move to a small Japanese-style dry landscape courtyard—though not purely that, more like incorporating elements of it," Wei Qingyue began sharing his future plans, gesturing as he explained to Jiang Du. "Around this spot, there’ll be a main feature tree. Oh, let me show you the renderings I designed myself. If you have any thoughts or ideas, we can discuss them."
He pulled Jiang Du to the living room, first turning on the computer, then pulling out the sketches he had drawn, his face alight with enthusiasm.
The sketches were a bit rough, but the software-generated renderings were clear. Wei Qingyue had spent a long time studying Japanese Garden Insights for this.
"Do you like it? If you don’t care for Japanese elements, we can change it. I was thinking that traditional Chinese courtyards take up too much space—it’s not practical. A house with a view would probably make you happier. I hope I’m not wrong—you love nature, right? We could plant a tree like the one in front of the Mei Zhong library?" Wei Qingyue asked her opinion earnestly, then smiled gently. "Living with me, it won’t be dark and scary anymore."
Jiang Du held his sketches, not looking at them or the computer. She simply gazed quietly at Wei Qingyue.
His eyes were radiant. In his plans, she had always been there.
Jiang Du didn’t know what kept Wei Qingyue’s fervor alive—how he could, for twelve years, day after day, year after year, treat her as if she were right beside him, part of his life.
Tears slowly welled in the corners of her eyes. Wei Qingyue, who had been explaining each design detail, looked up and froze.
Jiang Du just watched him, tears streaming down, falling in large drops.
The air seemed to hold the dust from their last shared duty, a breath deep enough to draw it all into the lungs—the regret and longing born from that dust, sinking deep into her core.
"Then let’s get married," she sniffled, finally beating him to it, saying the words first.
Wei Qingyue was stunned for a few seconds. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, then he burst into laughter, laughing until it turned into a cough, the coughing making his eyes moist and soft.
He said, "That’s something a man should say first. Why are you stealing my line? Silly."
That night, Jiang Du stayed. In front of Wei Qingyue, she called her grandmother, pretending to be calm. "I’m at Wei Qingyue’s place. I won’t be back tonight."
She hung up quickly, her ears red, her chest rising and falling.
Jiang Du stood up from the sofa and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window. Wei Qingyue’s eyes followed her the whole way.
She looked at the lights outside and saw Wei Qingyue’s reflection in the glass as he approached step by step from behind.
Her breath slowly stilled. Jiang Du felt her teeth chattering, the words forced out with sheer effort:“Wei Qingyue, when will you sell yourself?”
The night was thick, sinking deeper inch by inch.
The figure behind him stood still, his reply as straightforward as his usual demeanor:
“Tonight.”
Of course, the man did not forget to add:
“If Zhuo Dao Ke is willing.”
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