Without delay, Jiang Yumo immediately dialed Ning Zhiyu’s number.
Ning Zhiyu had just come out of the dormitory restroom, her hair still wet as she hadn’t even had time to blow dry it. When she saw that it was Jiang Yumo calling, she tiptoed to the dormitory balcony and pressed the answer button, saying, “Yumo?”
“Zhiyu, just now Duan Ye called me. He said Zhou Ji didn’t board the plane at all!”
“He didn’t go abroad, he ran away from the airport to the city where Duan Ye is!”
Jiang Yumo hastily relayed this big piece of news, not pausing for a moment.
Ning Zhiyu subconsciously tightened her grip on her phone, listening in a daze. “What?”
She had been absent-minded all day, occasionally glancing at the time. She had even gone so far as to look up international flights, trying to guess where he might be over the world at this moment. Restless until now, and then she received this message, that he never left the country. He chose to stay.
For a moment, she didn’t know what kind of emotions she should be feeling.
Jiang Yumo still hadn’t fully recovered herself. “Isn’t it strange? He actually went to find Duan Ye. Judging from what Duan Ye said, he seems to be planning to work together with Duan Ye in the future… Oh, I can tell Duan Ye is quite helpless too, but this time,” she paused and cautiously continued, “this time, he seems serious, not just being stubborn or fooling around.”
This time, Zhou Ji was sincere.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fled from the airport.
Ning Zhiyu kept her head down, silent for a while.
Jiang Yumo couldn’t help but console her, “Actually, him staying behind… might not be a bad thing. His family has good conditions, and there’s room for trial and error. Duan Ye told me that his parents probably agreed too, so they didn’t chase after him. Ah, I don’t understand what adults are thinking, but this time, Zhou Ji said it himself. It’s his own choice, something he wants to do.”
“Is that so?” Ning Zhiyu looked up at the night sky. Perhaps even the heavens wanted to test this group of young people. It had been sunny for over a week, not a trace of wind, no sign of rain. The night sky was filled with twinkling stars. She chuckled softly, “I understand now. Yumo, I’m not angry, really. As long as it’s his own choice, I can accept it.”
Jiang Yumo sighed and muttered, “He’s going to annoy Duan Ye to death.”
She was feeling really sorry for her boyfriend!
Ning Zhiyu smiled and the two of them chatted for a while. Before hanging up the phone, she suddenly called out, “Yumo.”
Jiang Yumo was about to press the hang-up button. Upon hearing this, she brought the phone back to her ear and asked, “What’s up?”
Ning Zhiyu murmured, “Over there… Is the weather good?”
Jiang Yumo responded with an ‘Hmm,’ and said, “It’s cloudy today, cooler than here.”
“Alright.”
Duan Ye patiently waited for two days.
During these two days, Zhou Ji’s parents didn’t show up, and there wasn’t a single phone call from them.
However, Duan Ye did receive a text message from Zhou Ji’s father Zhou Chenglei : “Duan Ye, I’m sorry for troubling you.”
After receiving this message signed by Zhou Chenglei, Duan Ye finally felt at ease. While he wasn’t entirely sure about Zhou Ji’s parents’ thoughts, it was apparent that they didn’t intend to get involved in Zhou Ji’s affairs for the time being. So, after finishing work that day, Duan Ye took Zhou Ji to look for a place to live. Here, two single rooms were cheaper than a two-bedroom apartment. Considering everything, Duan Ye rented two adjacent single rooms.
The rooms had beds and wardrobes, as well as separate bathrooms and kitchens. Since Zhou Ji had come, he had mentally prepared himself. When Duan Ye was signing the lease agreement, he didn’t say anything unnecessary and quietly accepted a room smaller than his own bathroom at home.
Duan Ye’s Uncle had been here for many years and had a foundation. Since he couldn’t handle everything alone and also cared for his only nephew, he had made plans for his nephew early on.
Duan Ye’s Uncle had also worked his way up through tough experiences, doing all kinds of dirty and tiring jobs before achieving what he had today. Apart from taking on aluminum alloy window installations for some buildings, he had even bought a van a few years ago to go between construction sites. He partnered with friends to buy equipment and specialized in doing survey work for property developers. He was busy every year and could hire people, but he preferred to give these businesses to his own family.
Once Duan Ye arrived, his Uncle planned to pass on the aluminum alloy window installation work to him.
Little did Duan Ye’s Uncle know, another person, Zhou Ji, would be added to the equation.
After thinking it through, Duan Ye’s Uncle agreed as well. Therefore, for the past few days, Duan Ye and Zhou Ji had been learning how to install windows under Duan Ye’s Uncle’s guidance. Duan Ye learned quickly and was soon able to do it on his own. Zhou Ji had grown up somewhat pampered and had never done this kind of work before. After a few days, his eyes were unfocused, his muscles tired, and he had lost the initial enthusiasm he had.
Zhou Ji lay on the sofa bought by Duan Ye from the second-hand market, too tired to speak.
Duan Ye sat on the side, looking at his phone.
A new message had just arrived on his phone, a bank notification reminding him of a 56 yuan expenditure at 5:40 PM this afternoon.
Jiang Yumo, having received Duan Ye’s card, naturally understood his intention.
She didn’t use it frequently, and the amounts were small, usually just a few tens of yuan…
But somehow, this seemed to become a code between them.
With each use, she was actually telling him, ‘I miss you.’
Duan Ye looked at the number, chuckled softly. Just guessing what she had bought and from where was a moment of contentment for him.
Hearing Duan Ye’s laughter, Zhou Ji turned her stiff neck and asked weakly, “Lao Duan, what are you laughing at?”
Duan Ye could actually laugh.
Over the past few days, Zhou Ji suspected he might be facing facial paralysis; he couldn’t smile or get angry anymore, becoming like a puppet.
Looking at Lao Duan, seemingly carefree, and had even gone to a boutique shop after work today and bought a notebook with a lock.
The most speechless thing was that the notebook was pink…
Once again, Zhou Ji sighed in amazement.
And that Lao Duan said, it was for bookkeeping, to submit report.
Bookkeeping? Keeping track of daily expenses, even noting down the purchase of a two-yuan bottle of mineral water.
Submit report? Report to whom? Even a child could figure it out.
Duan Ye couldn’t be bothered to respond to Zhou Ji, continuing to pick up the pen and record the expenses from yesterday and the day before. He had never kept accounts before this; it was only when he had talked to Jiang Yumo on the phone yesterday that she mentioned her impressive new friend who had been keeping financial records since high school. This gave him an idea. He thought, why not write down all the daily expenses and show them to her later?
Long-distance relationships were like this.
He couldn’t be with her, and she was in the same situation. They could only find ways to let the other person understand their lives as much as possible.
Duan Ye treated Zhou Ji as if Zhou Ji was air, but Zhou Ji couldn’t peacefully be in the background. In a sour tone, he said, “It must be related to that someone, right?”
At this point, he sighed softly and took a deep breath, his hand resting behind his head. “Lao Duan, I miss her so much. I want to call her, but I’m afraid she’ll scold me. Well, she can scold me, I’m just afraid she’ll ignore me, be disappointed in me.”
Duan Ye didn’t even lift his head and replied, “You still have time to regret now, you can go abroad.”
Zhou Ji retorted, “I won’t!”
Zhou Ji got up excitedly, glanced at Duan Ye, and made a bold declaration, “Did I say I regret? No, this is just the beginning. If I can’t handle it and regret now, then I’d be the biggest joke in the world!”
Duan Ye responded with a simple, “Oh.”
Zhou Ji left confidently and returned to his own small single room.
Lying on the small bed, he didn’t even bother turning on the lights. He struggled to turn over and took out his phone from his pocket. The phone screen displayed a photo of Ning Zhuyu. As he looked at it, he felt uneasy and buried his face in the pillow.
Miss! Her! So! Much!!
He couldn’t take it anymore, and it was mostly Lao Duan’s fault. Every day, Lao Duan would smile at him like that, and Lao Duan wouldn’t even avoid making lovey-dovey phone calls with Jiang Yumo in front of him.
Who could endure that? Who could tolerate it?
Scrolling through his phone contacts, he suddenly remembered he had a strategic advisor, Guo Shichao. He could attribute his previous success in getting a girlfriend to Guo Shichao’s advice. And now… Zhou Ji felt like he had a moment of enlightenment. He sent a message to Guo Shichao with hope in his eyes : [Are you there, Military Advisor? Need your help urgently.]
‘Military Advisor’ was his nickname for Guo Shichao, as Military Advisor of love war.
A few minutes later, Guo Shichao replied : [Speak.]
Zhou Ji sat up and earnestly composed his message : [I decided to stay, but I haven’t dared to approach her during this time. Still, I miss her. What should I do?]
Guo Shichao responded : [I have a fee in mind.]
Zhou Ji was puzzled : [?]
Zhou Ji continued : [You’re taking advantage of my situation!! You know I’m still relying on Lao Duan’s support!]
Guo Shichao : [You’re my VVIP user, so I can offer you credit services.]
Zhou Ji agreed : [Alright, on credit!]
Guo Shichao explained, [It’s simple. Just send her a random unrelated message, then tell her you sent it by mistake. That will naturally lead to a conversation.]
Zhou Ji leaped out of bed, excitement coursing through him. He clenched his fist in the air and replied, [That’s a great plan, Military Advisor! You’re amazing!]
After sending the message, he hesitated again : [Wait, what if she doesn’t respond to me?]
Guo Shichao : [Oh, then I congratulate you on being single again. A single noble~]
Zhou Ji was extremely annoyed, losing patience to chat and type with Guo Shichao. He directly dialed Guo Shichao’s number.
As soon as Guo Shichao picked up, he heard Zhou Ji angrily ranting at him : “Damn it, Guo Shichao, did you jinx me?? Being single is not noble at all! Not even a dog would want it!”
Guo Shichao, who was being mocked, clearly fell silent.
He possessed abundant knowledge of romantic theories, but unfortunately, despite being single for eighteen years, he hadn’t encountered a girl who would make him feel a rush of love.
He was deeply influenced by Duan Ye’s attitude, and later, there was also the sincere Zhou Ji in the group. It was difficult for him to be like those other guys, launching a pursuit at any girl who caught his eye, or casting a wide net like his new roommate… It was really, really hard. He had witnessed two pairs of lovers deeply in love, and even as a bystander, he knew how joyful it would be to be with someone you truly liked. He also hoped that his first love would be someone he liked very, very much.
“Give it a try,” Guo Shichao, uncharacteristically not arguing back, said seriously, “Look at Brother Duan, for example. In a relationship, there’s usually one person who’s a bit more proactive. So why can’t you be that proactive person? Give it a shot. Haven’t you always wanted to know whether she likes you or not?”
Zhou Ji tossed and turned, finding it hard to fall asleep.
In the end, he reached for his phone from under the pillow and concocted a message : [Zhao Ge, do you know anyone who could fix air conditioners?]
After sending the message, nervously, he stared at the phone screen.
Please, please.
The next second, Ning Zhiyu responded : [?]
Seeing this question mark, Zhou Ji was ecstatic. She was still willing to engage with him, that’s great!
Trembling, Zhou Ji typed : [Sent to the wrong person.]
In her dorm room, Ning Zhiyu looked at the message he sent, and she couldn’t help but smile. She suppressed her laughter, fearing she might burst out laughing and someone would overhear her happiness.
Of course, Zhou Ji would never know.
In her chat history, she had also edited a similar message that was meant to be sent to the wrong person.
Well, this was a tactic her three roommates suggested to her, to pretend to send a message to the wrong person. She wanted to try it today, but just a minute before she sent it, she received his message.
Ning Zhiyu, both joyful and bittersweet, sent him a message : [Well, how have you been lately?]
The sockets of Zhou Ji’s eyes suddenly became hot, and almost in this instant, he understood the meaning of what Duan Ye had said.
To think about the future before her, to think ahead more than she does.
It turns out to be true.
So he isn’t afraid of hardship, really not afraid. He’s just afraid that she won’t be in that future.
He turned on the light, took a picture of his hand, and sent it over : [Accidentally cut my finger while chopping vegetables today, take a look!]
Zhou Ji : [The wound will be healed in a little while, though!]
omg, these two are really…. so cute