Chapter 62: The Clingy Childhood Sweetheart 5 p2
Shu He could receive five or six love letters a week.
Most people would not send a second love letter after the first. A few would send three or four, and after being rejected many times, they would also give up.
There was only one person who gave Shu He a headache.
This person’s signature was a symbol. He didn’t know who had given it to him, but every two days, a new love letter would appear in his drawer. He asked the students around him if anyone had come to his seat, and the students all shook their heads, or the suspicious people they pointed out did not match these love letters.
That person sent them too frequently. At first, Shu He would seriously reply to the other person’s love letters, but later, he found that the person would not stop, and he really didn’t know what to write anymore, so he just wrote a single “no.”
And actually, this love letter didn’t really look like a love letter.
It was more like a pen pal.
He would ask him if he was happy, if he had eaten on time today, and would also talk about some of his own troubles, but they were all vague, and it was hard to tell what was going on.
After Shu He decided not to reply seriously, one day, Jiang Qi inexplicably asked, “Do you still reply seriously now?”
“There’s one person I don’t.”
Dozens of love letters, it was really too much to reply to them seriously. Shu He said in a muffled voice, “He keeps sending me love letters. I don’t even know what to write anymore. I’ve rejected him so many times and it’s useless.”
“Is that so…”
Jiang Qi was thoughtful.
For the next period of time, Shu He found that the person with the strange symbol signature had finally changed from sending a love letter every two or three days to once a month.
It seemed that he also didn’t know what to write in the love letters anymore—he was happy, but in the face of the love letter, he still only replied with a single “no” on the back, and then put it in the corner, and that person would come and take the love letter himself.
And so it was until the New Year, and the first semester of the third year of middle school was over, and the winter vacation came.
The system rarely came online and told Shu He that the plot was probably about to officially begin. Shu He didn’t react at first, and was so dazed by the news that he thought for a long time and still couldn’t figure it out before he asked it in a small voice what the plot was.
His face was also a little red, guilty for not being able to remember the plot at all.
【The illegitimate child.】 The system’s mechanical youth’s voice was very calm, and for some reason, it was different from before. 【This New Year, the protagonist’s father will bring the illegitimate child home.】
After the reminder, Shu He finally remembered the plot he had seen a few years ago. He immediately sat up straight and sent a message to Jiang Qi on his phone, asking him what he was doing now.
Jiang Qi replied after five minutes, saying that he was eating.
The text seemed to be no different from before.
But Shu He was still very worried.
He already considered Jiang Qi to be his good friend, and Jiang Qi had also promised that he would definitely succeed in his career in the future.
Although in the collapsed world, the protagonist had no ambition and was unwilling to go through the plot and slap the faces of all the villains, but Jiang Qi was different.
He had been very obedient to him since he was little and had helped him with his homework for many years.
Shu He called Jiang Qi.
Jiang Qi held his phone and stood up, hiding the noisy sound behind him. He stood in his room, gently answered the phone, and was the first to call out, “Baby.”
“Jiang Qi.”
“Are you coming to my house?”
Jiang Qi was silent for a while, opened a crack in the door, and looked at the two people who were arguing downstairs. His eyes were calm. “Baby, did Auntie say something to you?”
“Say what?”
Jiang Qi turned his head, and after a while, he said, “Nothing. I’m coming to find you.”
Ten minutes later, Jiang Qi, who had just said he was eating, was sitting at the dining chair of the Shu family. The living room was lively, and not only were there acquaintances of the Shu family, but there were also some relatives of the Shu family who had come to pay a New Year’s visit.
The light in the living room was bright, and the sound of everyone chatting was warm and ordinary, a sharp contrast to the hysterical arguing of the Jiang family next door.
Jiang Qi turned his head and watched Shu He, who was propping his cheek with his hand and looking at him. His delicate face was close at hand. His pupils moved slightly, and his heart skipped a beat, but he was very familiar with this unexpected feeling, and his voice naturally opened. “I’ll sleep with you tonight, okay?”
Shu He said okay, and then went over and hooked his finger and told him a secret. This skilled and clingy little action was something the two little childhood sweethearts had been doing since they were little.
He was used to it, and Jiang Qi was originally used to it too.
Why was it “originally”? Because ever since that dream, Jiang Qi could no longer treat it with a normal heart. He didn’t know if Little He had noticed, but for these few months, he hadn’t dared to kiss his face anymore.
Although sometimes he couldn’t help it, he would still be so cute that he would go over and give him a peck.
But every time after kissing, the young boy would guiltily glance at the one he’d kissed, then turn away with red ears, pretending to be nonchalant, pretending to be listening intently to what he was saying.
Just like now.
With his finger hooked, Jiang Qi’s expression was a little stiff. He didn’t even know what Shu He was whispering in his ear. Shu He didn’t think anything was wrong. After something like this happened, it was normal for the protagonist to be out of sorts.
After dinner, the two of them went upstairs.
In an instant, the adults in the living room all stopped talking, looked at each other, and sighed as they started to talk about what had happened at the Jiang family’s house.
And in the room, Jiang Qi also told Shu He what had happened at home without hiding anything. He had never had any secrets from the baby since he was little, let alone this kind of family matter.
When he mentioned these things, Jiang Qi’s expression was not resentful, only a little cold. Jiang Qi said that when he was very young, he had known that his family was different from the Shu family.
The Shu family had love, and the Jiang family did not.
There was no love between his parents either.
The matter of the illegitimate child, Jiang Qi was a little surprised when he first learned of it, but he didn’t feel it was very unexpected. He knew his parents’ character very well. The two of them had come together for profit, and in the end, they would also have problems because of profit.
After hearing this, Shu He worriedly went over to Jiang Qi.
“Are you sad?”
Jiang Qi seemed to have gone deaf for a moment.
He held his breath, and at close range, he stared at this flawless face, his dark eyes direct. Shu He asked a couple more times, but got no response. He frowned and thought to himself, It’s over. Jiang Qi is so sad he can’t even speak.
“Let’s go out and play together?”
“Let’s ask Chen Jingchen first, then Fang Ziyang, and also Lin Yushen.”
“Let’s go to the night market first. After we’re full, we’ll go see a movie, and then go to the fireworks area to see the fireworks.”
When Jiang Qi came back to his senses, he heard the last sentence. He thought Little He was so romantic, and he was even going on a New Year’s date with him, so he nodded without thinking.
The time was set for New Year’s Eve tomorrow.
On the evening of the next day, at seven o’clock, the famous Lanjiang District night market in the Capital was bustling with people, and the smell of fried and roasted food wafted from one end to the other, and happiness rushed over.
Jiang Qi hooked Shu He’s hand and looked at Chen Jingchen, Fang Ziyang, and Lin Yushen with a blank expression. Lin Yushen was a classmate in the class who was on good terms with Shu He.
What about the date?
Why are there three more people?
Jiang Qi ground his teeth, and the gray shadow on his brow made his eyes as dark as ink. He was in a very gloomy mood, but when he turned his head and saw Shu He’s bright eyes, his heart couldn’t help but feel sweet.
Shu He was completely unaware and happily pulled Jiang Qi to go around the night market in front of them. He spent a lot of money along the way, all of which was paid by Jiang Qi.
Chen Jingchen pulled Lin Yushen into a newly formed small group. Lin Yushen changed his note, and then happily pointed at a certain avatar and said, “Who is this? The avatar is a lotus flower. It’s so tacky, like something my sixty-year-old grandma would use.”
“Wait, it’s not Little He, is it? I remember Little He’s avatar is a river.”
Lin Yushen’s mouth was running ahead of his brain. He thought of Shu He’s name, and just as he was about to apologize in frustration, he suddenly felt a gloomy gaze on him.
He trembled, and Lin Yushen turned his head in confusion.
Jiang Qi’s dark eyes were staring at him gloomily, his voice very cold. “It’s mine. What about it?”
Lin Yushen: “…”
Lin Yushen felt as if he had been bitten by a snake. His mind was in a daze, and he stuttered, “No, no, it’s very good-looking.”
“What do you know? This is called romance.”
Jiang Qi sneered, too lazy to talk to this tasteless guy. He turned his head and stuck a fish ball into Shu He’s mouth. Shu He’s cheeks were puffed out from eating, and he glanced at him.
Seeing this, Jiang Qi was a little more satisfied, and he fed him one by one. When it was time, the five of them went to the movie theater to see a movie.
To Jiang Qi, this movie was tasteless.
It wasn’t even as fun as Shu He’s hand, which was always in the popcorn. Jiang Qi lowered his eyes and lazily played with Shu He’s hand, and occasionally picked up a few pieces of popcorn and stuffed them into his mouth. Shu He’s cheeks were puffed out again, and he turned his head and said to Jiang Qi in a muffled voice to slow down, slow down, he hadn’t even swallowed yet and couldn’t finish it.
So cute.
Jiang Qi thought so as he looked at his puffed-out cheeks.
After the movie, it was half an hour before the Spring Festival. At midnight, there would be a timed fireworks display in the fireworks area.
On the way, the few of them bought some small toy fireworks and chatted about lighthearted topics with great interest.
When they arrived at the fireworks area, there were only five minutes left before the fireworks display. Jiang Qi stopped, turned his head, and helped Shu He to light the sparkling sparkler in his hand. Shu He’s eyes were bright as he waved the firework, and he asked the system to take a picture for him.
The system was taking pictures, and Jiang Qi was also taking pictures.
He was taking them very seriously.
Or rather, instead of taking pictures, it was more like he was using the phone screen to focus on Shu He.
The fireworks were very bright.
They bloomed in Shu He’s hand.
In the camera, the boy’s head was lowered, his cheeks pursed with a small dimple. He seemed very happy, and his eyes reflected the dazzling light of the fireworks, his almond eyes so dazzling that they were unforgettable.
When they went out, Jiang Qi had also tied a scarf for him.
Thanks to the inspiration from the young Fang Ziyang, Jiang Qi had later learned to knit himself and often knitted these small things for Shu He, such as gloves, socks, and scarves. Shu He would wear what he made most of the time.
This scarf was the same.
Pink, fluffy, tied around his neck, his soft, pale cheek rubbing against the scarf, very clean and beautiful, revealing a little of his ear.
Jiang Qi stared and took pictures for several minutes, not noticing that someone had been silently staring at this scene all along.
Chen Jingchen.
Chen Jingchen watched their tightly pressed shoulders, and always felt that something was not quite right.
He frowned and looked at Jiang Qi, a little unable to describe Jiang Qi’s eyes and state at this moment.
The lively fireworks area, there were many pedestrians around, and everyone was chatting. Chen Jingchen put away his phone and saw a couple, who were intimately snuggled together, taking pictures. He squinted his eyes, and then looked at Jiang Qi again.
So strange.
So familiar.
What exactly was not right?
After taking the pictures, Jiang Qi walked over and took Shu He’s hand, and then his brow furrowed, and he said, “Why is it so cold?”
When they went out, Shu He had refused to wear gloves, saying that it was inconvenient to eat and would get oily. Jiang Qi had said a few words, but he couldn’t win against him, so he could only let him go with his hands empty.
At this time, his hands were as cold as ice.
Jiang Qi thought of the time he had been sick when he was little, and he frowned, and held his hand in his palm to warm it up, and then held it to his mouth and breathed on it, and put it in his arms to keep it warm.
If it weren’t for being outside, Jiang Qi would have even wanted to lift his own clothes and put Shu He’s hand on his abs to warm it up. Shu He was so warm his eyes blinked a couple of times, and he sniffled, his nose a little red.
He was used to these actions of Jiang Qi’s. Seeing this, his eyes flickered, and he looked at the people who were setting off fireworks with a little boredom.
Five minutes, and as these fireworks slowly faded, there was also a shimmering river nearby, and when the wind blew, it would make a slight rustling sound.
Suddenly, someone started to raise their voice and count down.
“Ten, nine, eight…”
The moment they completely entered the Spring Festival, with a boom, countless sparkling, bright fireworks finally shot up and lit up the sky. The entire night sky was instantly gone, and colorful lights cut through the sky, and the falling starlight was reflected in the river.
One after another, one after another.
Shu He lifted his face and looked at the fireworks, and watched as the fireworks fell like scattered raindrops, making a crisp, crackling sound. He watched the fireworks, and Jiang Qi watched him.
Everything was silent.
At that moment, some conversations from the chat group suddenly flashed through Chen Jingchen’s mind.
—How can you ask Little He about his love letters?
—What right do you have to ask?
—Can a friend ask?
After that, Jiang Qi had suddenly gone silent and stopped sending messages. At that time, Chen Jingchen had thought that Jiang Qi was sarcastically questioning him for being nosy. But now, thinking about it again, he strangely found a different flavor.
Because he had a guilty conscience, he didn’t dare to ask himself, but when he found that others could ask naturally, he was enlightened—thinking of this, Chen Jingchen suddenly understood something, and couldn’t help but let out a “damn it.” He suddenly looked at the little Shu He lamb, who was being chased by a wolf and was unaware.
The brilliant fireworks of the Spring Festival lasted for more than half an hour, and only ended near one o’clock. After the silence, the surroundings were filled with the smell of gunpowder from the fireworks and firecrackers.
Jiang Qi’s heart was still beating quite fast. He lowered his head and stuffed a red envelope into Shu He’s pocket. Shu He stuffed two candies into his, and then the few of them planned to go home.
The Shu family and the Jiang family were close to here, but given their relationship, Chen Jingchen and the others of course still planned to stay at the Shu family’s house.
On the way, Chen Jingchen’s expression was a little ugly. He was afraid that Little He would be deceived by this kid Jiang Qi, and he was also thinking about how to expose Jiang Qi’s thoughts—to be honest, he actually had no right to interfere in this matter, but as long as he thought of someone secretly spying on Little He, he was not happy anywhere.
Chen Jingchen frowned and took out his phone, and in the end, he still chose to send a message to Jiang Qi online.
He was not roundabout at all, and got straight to the point: 【Jiang Qi, do you have a crush on Little He?】