Originally, Jiang Yan did not care about death, as she knew she would go to the next world.
But Ji Chu surprisingly did not care either, which was actually—an indifferent and unconcerned attitude.
Jiang Yan was shocked by Ji Chu's shamelessness, and scolded him with astonishment: "Are you even human? I'm dying and you're thinking of kissing me!"
"Take pity on me," Ji Chu said with bright eyes and clear enunciation. "We're already dating, so why can't I kiss you?"
Wicked men are adept at feigning pitifulness, so he got his way again.
Ji Chu leaned down, slowly pressing against the soft lips he had long dreamed of, staying still. The wind outside howled playfully, rustling the plain white curtains ever so slightly, as if all the past thrills were being answered in this moment.
After a while, Ji Chu pulled back a little, savoring the feeling with an innocent expression, and observed Jiang Yan's reaction.
Jiang Yan remained motionless, as still as an old monk in meditation, teasing: "You've kissed me, so how does it feel?"
"Comfortable," Ji Chu replied without changing his expression.
Jiang Yan found it hilarious, thinking this person was truly innocent—it was just a peck, what's so comfortable about that?
"I want to kiss you again," Ji Chu said bluntly, then leaned in carefully for another kiss. This time, it was for real.
Jiang Yan tried her best to endure, truly afraid of being stimulated to death, for dying from a kiss would be too embarrassing.
The girl's eyebrows furrowed tightly, her eyes glazed over, grasping for something to resist the strange sensation, but unable to use force with the IV in her hand, she could only passively accept it...
Jiang Yan, who had mocked him earlier, was now dazed, lying flat on the bed for a long time before coming to her senses.
Ji Chu had already calmly prepared some warm water, ready to feed it to her. Seeing her pretend to be calm, he smiled and asked, "Wasn't that really comfortable?"
Jiang Yan silently covered her face with the blanket.
It seemed neither of them cared about death.
...
Autumn was approaching imperceptibly, the leaves of the deciduous trees gradually turning yellow, and the girl in the sickbed was becoming more and more frail.
Curled up in a small ball on the bed, she casually mocked Ji Chu for going off-topic in his college application essay, just like she had no care in the world.
Without hesitation, Ji Chu asked directly, "Who only scored in the fifties for math?"
The scores were out. Jiang Yan had done very well. Originally, they could have gone to the same university. Ji Chu had put in a lot of effort for this result, but he could not have foreseen the unpredictability of life.
In his world, this happened so suddenly—suddenly passing out, suddenly falling ill, suddenly having to leave. It was as if all those times before were illusory, unreal.
But what could he do, being black-hearted from birth? He said he wouldn't care whether Jiang Yan lived or died, he only liked her.
Jiang Yan was frank, saying, "Then I'm heartbroken."
But Ji Chu knew that Jiang Yan also hoped he would do well. Jiang Yan repeatedly looked through the university application guide, helping him choose his major.
Jiang Yan tired easily. After ticking the schools she thought were decent, she was already exhausted and slowly closed her eyes.
Perhaps because she appeared too quiet.
Ji Chu suddenly said, "If you're not here, no one will want me anymore."
Jiang Yan heard it and mumbled in response, "Someone will, my parents should want you."
But it wasn't the same. Jiang Yan was the sister he had to please as a child to survive, the female lead in all his fantasies about the future during puberty, his only family in this world.
Yu's Mother covered her nose, watching the two chat and laugh in the sickroom, her eyes stinging terribly. She thought, why does my precious one have to leave so early when they're the same?
Yu's Father sat in the doctor's office, taking on the demeanor of negotiating with the fiercest businessman, logically demanding to know why they said his daughter was beyond saving.
They were both people who did not accept no for an answer in business, dealing with profits every day. They originally had no need to have children—if they wanted someone to inherit their wealth and business, they could have adopted.
But later, Yu's Mother wanted a precious child to enjoy the fruits of her hard work, so they had Jiang Yan, the luxurious mansion, and a house full of attentive servants. They gave birth to her solely to dote on her.
...
On that day, Gu Yuming stood outside the exam hall for a long time until he saw the message in the class group: "Jiang Yan fainted at the exam site."
He stood outside the sickroom, listening to the doctor deliver the test results to Ji Chu, watching him reveal a pained, disbelieving expression, yet remaining numb and emotionless.
That feeling of fate's cruel blow descended upon him again, just like the day he ran back to the mansion only to find the door open, with only hurried footprints left inside.
It seemed in this life, what he wanted, he could never obtain, and what he obtained, he would lose.
At his worst, he had many girlfriends around him, able to smoke, drink and fight in front of them without a care. Because if he didn't indulge and vent, he would be destroyed. He often had severe headaches, staying up all night to find the feeling of being alive amidst the pain, experiencing real emotions through others. He descended into the abyss, becoming utterly disgraced.
Yet he never dared to touch Jiang Yan, not even look at her. The distance between them had become vast, but at the moment of truly losing her, he could not let go.
Resuming his studies was naturally extremely difficult, especially for someone like him who had never studied properly before. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep at night, he would fantasize: he had become a successful businessman, and by then Jiang Yan was still unmarried. If she encountered difficulties, he would casually lend a hand. Jiang Yan would be grateful to him, might even fall for him, and they might end up together—just maybe, by some chance.
His secret hope peaked outside the exam hall, only to be shattered outside the sickroom.
He vaguely thought, it was his own fault for being too greedy, he should not have made so many wishes. Actually—as long as she was alive and well, that would be enough.
Later, Gu Yuming finally became successful in business. The Gu family members who had gone abroad earlier came back to fawn over him, surrounded by a group of wealthy young ladies, sometimes accepting them, sometimes rejecting them, but always wandering through life.
Ji Chu was different.
Ji Chu briefly had the person he loved before Jiang Yan left, savoring that naive yet touching experience of affection for the rest of his life.
Ji Chu, Yu Family's adopted son who had achieved great academic success at a young age, would always boast about his girlfriend in class.
He said they were childhood sweethearts, he called her sister, she had a bad temper but was very cute and pretty, only he could love her so much;
He said she was really bad at math, before the college entrance exam I forced her to do math problems, but she only scored in the fifties, although her other subjects were better than mine, she chose my major for me;
He said after the exam I confessed, but she had known all along, she just didn't say anything because she was afraid it would affect our scores...
A student sighed from below: "Does love like that really exist? I'm so afraid one of them will change their mind one day."
"No way," someone in the know said. "His girlfriend has passed away, she was Miss Yu."
"Ah. I see, it was destined to end."
