She tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
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Tianjin Station arrived.
This time, Jiarou Xu was truly here to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday, carrying no luggage but a single backpack.
Stepping out of the carriage, a middle-aged man pulled out a cigarette by the trash can, when suddenly a youthful voice rang out beside his ear.
“Thanks, brother, we’ll be going first.”
“N-no problem.”
Seeing Ze Chen turn back and wink at him with a smile, the middle-aged man muttered to himself, somewhat awkward, raising his hand and then lowering it again.
What a social butterfly—it's just a chance meeting.
Why be so polite?
*Click.*
As the lighter flicked and lit the cigarette, the middle-aged man watched Ze Chen and his companion, still prominent amid the crowd, slowly walk away...
Twenty years old, such a wonderful age.
——
“Are we going the same way?”
“Exactly, no one’s route matches ours better.”
Jiarou Xu asked earnestly because Ze Chen wanted to take a taxi to send her home, and out of courtesy, she inquired.
But in the next moment, a rosy blush spread across the young girl’s cheeks. For some reason, she felt he had other intentions. After spending two years abroad, his boldness had only grown.
Before, at most, he had been a bit reckless and mischievous.
Now he seemed much more mature, lacking childish tantrums, yet the words he spoke were...
Jiarou Xu looked at the person beside her, who was engrossed in his phone. The tiny blue-green freckles at his temples resembled innocent scattered stars; his delicate earlobes were like white jade, and his almond-shaped eyes reflected a watery hue.
Having gone to university, she had also matured considerably. Shaking off the strange feeling, she straightened up and said seriously:
“I’m asking you sincerely. I can take the bus home on my own—it’s completely on the way. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself.”
“Completely on the way?”
Ze Chen looked up, meeting those almond eyes like autumn pools beneath long lashes, catching the faint dimples hidden behind her stubborn seriousness, revealing a hint of naïveté.
Don’t blame Ze Chen for his ignorance.
He simply had never taken the bus at a train station before.
“Wait a second.”
Keeping the memory of Jiarou Xu’s most beautiful self at twenty in his heart, Ze Chen glanced back at the screen in his hand.
He really trusted her for once.
Turns out it really was completely on the way.
It was only two hundred meters by foot; the bus went straight there, though it took about an hour.
It was now 11:10. With a plan forming in his mind, Ze Chen reached out and grabbed her hand.
Jiarou Xu was still waiting for his reply, and when he grasped her wrist, she was momentarily stunned.
But the next second, she couldn’t help but be pulled and started running in the opposite direction. Ze Chen muttered:
“We have to go to the south exit to catch the bus. Why didn’t you say so earlier? Now we have to backtrack.”
Jiarou Xu had no response at first, watching Ze Chen stride ahead leisurely, a little flustered.
Inside the exit hall corridor, their somewhat uninhibited figures made a beautiful sight. What amused passersby was that Jiarou Xu had to quicken her small steps to catch up with Ze Chen’s long strides.
Her black, shoulder-length hair swayed gently. Simple and clean in a white T-shirt and skirt, she exuded the essence of youth.
“Honestly, you don’t have to see me off. I’m not a child anymore. You should just head back home.”
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Hearing Jiarou Xu’s playful voice behind him, Ze Chen turned with a smile feigning ignorance:
“But I’m already on my way home, aren’t I?”
Taking a brief pause, Ze Chen showed her the bus route on his phone and asked:
“Look, isn’t this the way home?”
Jiarou Xu was momentarily speechless. She wanted to say it was her home, but something felt off.
They soon reached the bus stop. Seeing the red bus had not yet departed, Ze Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
“We still made it. Let’s go.”
Ze Chen boarded first, then noticed something odd. Jiarou Xu scanned the code and then took two yuan in cash from her bag to put into the fare box.
Again, she ended up paying.
They found seats near the back. Ze Chen sat by the aisle and teased:
“Didn’t expect to make you pay right after we met. Give me your WeChat QR code, I’ll pay you back.”
Holding her white backpack, Jiarou Xu was momentarily stunned but then smiled shyly as she revealed her code:
“Really?”
In 2015, WeChat suddenly exploded into a nationwide social phenomenon overnight, much like TikTok during the pandemic—almost everyone had to have it to keep up.
That year, WeChat surpassed QQ for the first time. Ze Chen registered his first WeChat account but, due to the prevalence of Alipay, he was not yet a staunch WeChat supporter.
Coincidentally, due to the college entrance exam and Li Yao, their paths had drifted apart and they never added each other on WeChat.
He didn’t take the exam and moved early, so QQ remained their only way to chat.
“Really, I’m not someone who owes money.”
Seeing the friend request pop up on WeChat, Ze Chen’s fingers trembled slightly, feeling a bit nostalgic.
In his previous life, many had pushed Jiarou Xu’s WeChat to him, but he never submitted a request.
He had convinced himself.
But in the end, nothing changed.
The nostalgia lasted only a moment. Once they could chat, Ze Chen immediately sent a red envelope:
“I’ll send it, but just so you know, it’s installment payments. You have to accept this money—no face, no deal.”
“All right, all right.”
Two yuan was nothing, and Jiarou Xu didn’t argue. But when she saw the amount was only 0.01 yuan, she was taken aback and recalled his words about installments, laughing and crying:
“Don’t tell me you’re sending one cent every time. At this rate, when will it ever be finished?”
“Maybe not.”
Ze Chen closed his phone, feeling the surrounding noise and gentle jolts, calmly replied:
“In case I’m in a good mood one day, I might pay the rest in one go, maybe with some interest. But if nothing unexpected happens, I’ll pay you back penny by penny.”
“I…”
Jiarou Xu blinked her beautiful eyes, speechless, sensing these two yuan carried more meaning. Before she could speak, Ze Chen added:
“Also, you can’t refuse it. If you don’t accept, I won’t send any more. Not accepting means the debt is cleared.”
“That’s unfair! It’s a one-sided deal.”
Jiarou Xu was annoyed and glared at Ze Chen’s carefree, mischievous grin, shaking her head.
Taking the bus was a bit far, but perhaps that was why Ze Chen chose to ride it.
He and Jiarou Xu had taken buses before, but never alone together.
No one knew how long it had been when a quarrel erupted between someone and the bus driver up ahead.
Page 3/3
Amid the commotion, someone found quiet. Jiarou Xu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear hesitantly:
“By the way, I haven’t asked—when will we get to eat the wedding candy from you and Li Yao?”
“Ah.”
Ze Chen, who had been watching the scene with interest, paused and turned to the girl with blushing lips, smiling lightly:
“Maybe in the next-next-next life.”
Perhaps because of the joking tone, Jiarou Xu calmed down considerably, looking up with eyes full of confusion.
“We broke up.”
“W-why?”
Fast-food romances might be trending, but as of 2024, many still took love seriously.
Online banter and casual gossip aside, most people were earnest in relationships.
It was the complicated romances of a few that became well-known online.
“You know, my family’s wealthy.”
Before turning twenty, Ze Chen rarely flaunted his wealth in front of Jiarou Xu and was careful not to.
After all, they were students then—showing off money only attracted gold diggers.
Li Yao transferred in during second year of high school, was in their class, so Jiarou Xu naturally knew her.
Though not close, she certainly knew her.
After mentioning his wealth, Ze Chen smiled when Jiarou Xu looked puzzled:
“I felt we weren’t compatible. It was mostly money holding us together. I want a girl who loves me for love’s sake, so I ended it.”
“Oh.”
Jiarou Xu said, then looked out the window thoughtfully, her long hair flowing over her shoulders.
The bus stop arrived.
They got off, and Ze Chen looked around at the familiar yet strange surroundings, glancing at the aged gate of the old neighborhood.
This place held most of their youth and was where he had lived for four years.
Anli Community, an old neighborhood built in 1999, filled with low red-brick residential buildings.
Standing at the gate, Jiarou Xu held her backpack in front of her, pointed inside, and smiled:
“Want to come over for dinner?”
“No, my mom made me food.”
Coming back to himself, Ze Chen showed no hurry, gesturing to the gentle girl in the long dress:
“Let’s go in. See you tonight.”
“Okay, be safe on your way.”
“It’s not far.”
At first, Jiarou Xu didn’t understand what he meant by “not far” until he crossed the street and entered the neighborhood across from hers...
She tilted her head, full of puzzlement.