Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My younger cousins dragged me into a room, planning to go out for an all-night karaoke session.

They needed a reliable leader.

My eldest and second male cousins were both married. Only I, their older female cousin, could take on that role.

“Sis, how is the blind date Auntie introduced to you? Is he handsome?”

I thought for a moment and told the truth. “Quite handsome. He was recognized as the school heartthrob of our high school grade.”

The moment they heard that, they became interested.

“Seriously? Do you have photos?”

Naturally, I did not have any recent photos of Jiang Chengzhi. His Moments were only visible for three days, so the youngsters crowded into my room and started digging through my high school graduation photos.

“Sis, this guy is kind of handsome. Almost on my level,” my younger male cousin said with such narcissism that my eldest younger female cousin kicked him. “He hasn’t gotten fat or gone bald now, has he?”

“…”

I took them out to play until after three in the morning before coming back.

Age really did catch up with people. I could not stay up the way I used to.

Before sleeping, I found a message from Jiang Chengzhi on my phone.

[Sorry. I don’t know whether it is appropriate to say this to you, but if you have the intention to marry and are fairly satisfied with my conditions, I think we can start as friends.]

I did not reply immediately, but that sentence still affected my dreams.

I dreamed of our high school days. Jiang Chengzhi’s appearance was very clear. He was flamboyant in just the right way, a promising student favored by the teachers.

And I was the one who always competed with him for first place.

Once, I beat him by two points. During break, the boy passed by my desk and left behind a bright, hearty sentence. “Impressive, top student.”

Youth passed too quickly, covering up so many young girls’ secret thoughts.

There was a little regret, but later life was drowned in studies and work. I also dated other people, and gradually stopped thinking much about him.

Jiang Chengzhi asked me out for dinner.

When I saw him, I still could not help laughing. “What, your family is rushing you badly?”

Jiang Chengzhi’s eyes curved with his smile. “Can’t it simply be that I want to catch up with an old classmate?”

Catch up?

What ghost story was he acting out?

Jiang Chengzhi was a witty and humorous person. Talking with him was actually very comfortable.

With his qualifications, finding someone to marry was not difficult at all.

“I am going back to Huai City in a couple of days. What about you?” Jiang Chengzhi suddenly asked.

I paused. “About the same.”

“Then when we are back, if I ask you out to eat again, will you still be willing to come?”

That sentence made me pause. I looked up and met Jiang Chengzhi’s smiling eyes. He said, “After the New Year is over and there is no longer the excuse of a blind date, will you still be willing to pay attention to me?”

What a man. He really knew how to flirt.

“Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer.”

Jiang Chengzhi gave a soft hum. “You can.”

“How did you and Chen Xueyan break up?”

It was a mood-killing question.

But just as his question about whether he could still ask me out after this was a signal, my question was also a signal.

A signal that I was considering continuing contact.

After a long silence, Jiang Chengzhi answered. His voice was a little heavy. “Our life rhythms were different. The problems we could avoid thinking about while dating slowly surfaced.”

“I wanted a stable marriage. She wanted freedom. We could not reconcile that, so we broke up.”

Jiang Chengzhi’s character was decent enough. He did not speak badly of his ex.

But I could also hear that he had omitted many details.

There had to be boundaries between adults, so I did not press further.

Because the answer was not that important.

We had to respect everyone’s past.