Chapter 27: It snowed for the first time this winter.

It snowed for the first time this winter.

Orange rays of light shot out from the boundless, black sky and slowly, the world was lit. The wind was cold and chilled people to their bones. If it weren’t for the empty fridge, Ruan Jiu Jiu wouldn’t have stepped outside.

She dragged Cheng Jun out the door.

From what Ruan Jiu Jiu recalled, Cheng Jun hadn’t left the house for a whole week.

He had these days off yet still holed up at home as always as a shut-in. She really worried that one day, he’d fall mentally ill from being holed up for so long. It just so happened that she needed a slave to carry things.

Cheng Jun didn’t plan to wear a jacket when they went out. He only wore a thin black sweatshirt. Seeing this, Ruan Jiu Jiu’s face darkened. She grabbed a black puffer hanging from the coatrack near the door and put it on him. The puffer hung loose on her, but on Cheng Jun it fit nice and snug.

Cheng Jun put his hand in his pocket and didn’t seem to have any objections to wearing her jacket. He languidly followed after her.

The two walked one after the other, and they drudged along at a slower pace than usual.

Ruan Jiu Jiu carefully walked down the stairs.

The snow had accumulated into a thick layer. Thankfully, she wore nonslip boots so she didn’t need to be too cautious. Ruan Jiu Jiu took a few steps and urged Cheng Jun, “Be carefuuuuuuu….”

Her foot slid out from under her and she lost control, falling down the stairs. She thumped her way down. It couldn’t be a funnier sight. Ruan Jiu Jiu was dizzy from the relentless bumps her butt suffered. But it didn’t actually hurt. Her thick puffer acted as a soft, proper cushion. It’s just that the sight was a bit embarrassing.

Ruan Jiu Jiu nervously looked left and right. No one had seen her embarrassing self. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief. Then she heard a clear, short laugh from behind.

Cheng Jun said, “Ha.”

Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…” This bastard dared laughed at her???

She was pissed. She wanted to get up but her foot slipped once more and she landed on her butt. These so-called “nonslip” shoes were practically rollerblades at this point. They were slippery as can be. Ruan Jiu Jiu really wanted to give the store a low ass review. Under her gaze, she saw Cheng Jun easily saunter down the stairs. He spoke unhurriedly and had a puzzled look on his face. “Aren’t we going?”

Ruan Jiu Jiu said, “… Help me up.”

“Oh.”

Holding onto his arm, Ruan Jiu Jiu slowly got to her feet and patted off the snow on her body. She originally wanted to chuck a few snowballs at Cheng Jun, but upon thinking how troublesome this guy was the last time he fell ill, Ruan Jiu Jiu nervously shook at the thought of him bringing up another full-course feast. She decided to focus on the errand at hand.

Just as she was about to walk in the direction of the supermarket, she saw a figure out of the corner of her eye.

It was a woman’s figure.

It was such a cold day and she wore a slightly thin windbreaker. Her hair was blown into a mess by the cold wind. It might have been the cold, but her pretty face seemed to frosted over and was ghastly pale. She stared in Ruan Jiu Jiu and Cheng Jun’s direction without moving, lifeless and spiritless.

Though it was rather inappropriate, Ruan Jiu Jiu thought of Mrs. Xiang Lin in the literature she was forced to read during high school. Mrs. Xiang Lin suffered a series of tragic misfortunes. There was a line about her that read “The woman’s pupils moved on occasion, proving she was at least alive.”

Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…” Sorry, but the only other thing that came to her mind was A’mao, Mrs. Xiang Lin’s son, who rather quickly perished.

She had a strange premonition. Perhaps it was because of the woman’s shocked gaze was too piercing but only one name floated in Ruan Jiu Jiu’s head.

Xu Bi Ying.

Could it be Xu Bi Ying? At such a critical time, she would actually run over to the neighboring city? Ruan Jiu Jiu really couldn’t understand her way of thinking.

Xu Bi Ying stood at a place not too far away.

Originally, she only wanted to take a look at that familiar window from downstairs.

Pretty much every night, the window of Cheng Jun’s study would be lit up. Back in those days, it was like a signal light that guided her ignorant, pure self towards it. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she stupidly lost herself in that cold, indifferent light.

She had run over today in that exact frame of mind. She had thought that when she laid her eyes on that lonely window, she would finally be able to put her thoughts to rest.

But instead…

Xu Bi Ying stared blankly as, against all expectations, Cheng Jun actually interacted with a woman. He even stretched out an arm to help support her up, obediently listening to her words like a big dog. The look in his eyes held a warmth that Xu Bi Ying had never once felt when he looked at her.

Xu Bi Ying’s world collapsed.

She might not have been able to remember any other woman, but Ruan Jiu Jiu’s appearance was something that, even if her bones ground to dust and her body turned to ash, Xu Bi Ying would clearly remember!

This sudden flash of recognition left her appalled—They actually…didn’t get divorced?

It had been some time since she saw online that, earlier than she expected, Cheng Corp was on the verge of bankruptcy. Xu Bi Ying had buried a small seed of unease in her heart. Her biggest golden finger was that she had gone back in time. Without this golden finger, she had nothing.

She had secretly prayed inside that it was only small flap of the butterfly effect’s wings. Now seeing the two’s harmonious appearance, Xu Bi Ying was suddenly struck dumb.

If it was possible for Cheng Corp to fail ahead of schedule, if it was possible for Cheng Jun not to get divorced, then it was also possible for Gu You to face a permanent setback and never see any possibility of changing his fortunes.

The vision of a successful life that she had familiarized herself with was suddenly reduced into a flea, with no possibility of reprieve.

A scary thought suddenly flashed through Xu Bi Ying’s mind—What if Gu You didn’t get back up on his feet? What if he truly let himself go? Then what should she do?

Gu You was currently in an awkward situation and faced great difficulties. Once Xu Bi Ying imagined him submitting to fate and becoming an ordinary office worker, her mood plummeted to the depths of the abyss. This was exacerbated when she saw that Ruan Jiu Jiu’s simple clothes were actually all brand named, her whole body was suffused with a lively spirit, and that she had a lovely, sweet demeanor. She clearly lived a life of comfort.

But compared to her. Her family’s financial situation was so-so. Gu You would sometimes send her gifts but they weren’t anything pricey.

Xu Bi Ying’s heart grew a bit cold, so much so that she couldn’t face Gu You and continue to treat him well.

Cheng Jun stood at the bottom of the stairs and followed Ruan Jiu Jiu’s gaze. Then immediately losing interest he withdrew his sight.

He slowly said, “Let’s go.”

At this time, they could still buy oden, Japanese fish cake stew, from 24-hour convenience stores.

Cheng Jun already decided what he wanted to eat.

Ruan Jiu Jiu came back to reality and saw that the woman was frozen in place, which only confirmed her suspicions. That woman should be Xu Bi Ying. From what Ruan Jiu Jiu recalled, Cheng Jun should have long already been divorced at this time. She didn’t know what sort of feeling Xu Bi Ying harbored when she saw her in that moment.

Ruan Jiu Jiu was not afraid of Xu Bi Ying.

Xu Bi Ying didn’t have some godly red envelope group chat or some hidden pocket dimension. She didn’t have a beautifying System or the opportunity to amass a harem. Her only option was to stick to Gu You like a dodder vine so as not to wither.

Compared to her, Ruan Jiu Jiu had finished reading the novel and knew more of the plot.

“Let’s go, let’s go. It’s freezing.”

They walked away and their figures slowly disappeared into the distance, but Xu Bi Ying was still dazed.

How should she continue to walk down this road?

……

Ruan Jiu Jiu stuck a hand in her pocket and her mind was also somewhat adrift.

After all, the male and female lead’s moves always had a big impact.

Next to her, Cheng Jun suddenly spoke. “Don’t get close to her.”

“Her?” Ruan Jiu Jiu suddenly understood who Cheng Jun was referring to.

Ruan Jiu Jiu asked, “You know her?”

He shook his head.

If Xu Bi Ying heard his response, she’d be angered to death. She had dropped so many hints for Cheng Jun yet he didn’t even have an impression of her!

Most importantly, Cheng Jun shook his head a little too earnestly. He wasn’t even pretending to not know her.

Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…”

If Xu Bi Ying was still secretly in love with Cheng Jun, she’d probably die on the spot from anger.

Upon thinking of this, curiosity suddenly struck Ruan Jiu Jiu. She nudged Cheng Jun’s arm with her shoulder. “Hey, have you ever dated before?”

Cheng Jun shot her a glance and didn’t bother replying.

Yet Ruan Jiu Jiu didn’t let that slide and continued pressing. “What about a crush? You should have had that, right? If you’ve never loved, you’ve never experienced youth.”

Cheng Jun faintly asked, “You have?”

Ruan Jiu Jiu immediately donned a pair of starry eyes as she said, “When I was in college, there was this guy who had the best singing voice on campus. He was so cool! All the girls in his department had a crush on hi- Hey hey walk slower!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Cheng Jun’s pace suddenly quickened and Ruan Jiu Jiu promptly forgot the rest of her words. She quickly hurried to catch up.

She was scared of the dark and definitely wouldn’t let Cheng Jun out of her two-meter radius!

※

Cheng Jun’s past was a mystery to her.

She didn’t know what he had gone through to develop into the person he was today. But Ruan Jiu Jiu could imagine that those memories weren’t that pleasant. From the bits and scraps that she picked up from his stepmom Qu Wei, Ruan Jiu Jiu could approximately confirm that the only one Cheng Jun held in his heart was his mother who had passed away.

She could already imagine that at school, Cheng Jun was bullied and envied by other guys because of his languid attitude.

During lunchtime chatter, Tu Nan had inadvertently let a crucial detail slip.

“I was classmates with Cheng Jun. High school classmates. I went abroad for uni but we still kept in touch.”

“High school classmates?”

Ruan Jiu Jiu was shocked. “Then do you know what he was like in high school? Don’t tell me he really was bullied?!”

Tu Nan choked on what he was about to say.

He looked at Sister-in-law who was like a pure, white bunny and thought about it before burying the truth of the matter. Women were emotional creatures, loved weak, pitiful characters, and were the most easily moved by men. If Sister-in-law treated their boss well, then his life would be a lot easier.

Tu Nan followed that train of thought and said mournfully, “Of course he was. He was as pitiful as could be. His life sure wasn’t easy.”

Wasn’t easy my ass!

Who didn’t know of such a godly figure?

Tu Nan continued, “There’s going to be an alumni reunion soon to celebrate the construction of a new building. We’re all planning to attend. Bo- B-bro Cheng Jun will probably also come.”

After high school, Cheng Jun’s lifestyle descended more and more into depravity even though clearly, it used to have some human warmth. Watching him, Tu Nan was worried. And then sensing the glacial speed with which the relationship between these two progressed, he couldn’t help but fret on their behalf. He only hoped that Ruan Jiu Jiu could understand Cheng Jun better, and help make it easier for Cheng Jun come out of his shell.

Only

Tu Nan’s sob story triggered an overflow of Ruan Jiu Jiu’s compassion.

Ruan Jiu Jiu returned home and looked at Cheng Jun, who was sitting on the sofa. Suddenly, she became very careful.

She patted his shoulder and tenderly asked, “What do you want to eat? Was today tiring? Want to have a heart-to-heart?”

Cheng Jun was silent for a moment and then suddenly stood.

Ruan Jiu Jiu thought he was touched.

Unexpectedly, he walked in a familiar direction and took out a familiar looking… thermometer.

Cheng Jun said, “Come measure.”

Ruan Jiu Jiu said, “You’re dead, really dead.”