Snowy Night Kiss

Chapter 68 Xiaoyi, I've Always Been Here

Jin Yanchen never even said "I love you" to her.

The love he never talked about was free and easy in coming and going, and the lightness of his movements was like the treacherous night, pulling her into the whirlpool of this dream.

What about Jian Yi?

She is the ferryman in the midst of it, steering a boat and letting it shuttle back and forth.

She had many opportunities to pass through the mountains, but she chose to drown herself just to stay in the green mountains.

The raindrops fell with a crackling sound and the wind leaked in again. Jian Yi took off her sheepskin-soled boots and sat on the bed with her legs curled up.

Rain and fog obscured her vision, the stars disappeared, and the glaring light from the electric lamp above her head hit her thin, protruding wrist bones. Her eyes were expressionless, and her long eyelashes were covered with a layer of light frost, making her look completely calm and detached from the world.

Words like passionate, frank, and crazy seem to have nothing to do with her.

Lin Qingruan was still feeling disappointed: "I really don't understand you..."

"Qing Ruan, let me tell you a story."

When should this story begin?

The surprise of their encounter seemed as unreal as their first encounter. After several times of obscurity, the past that had been deeply buried in her heart finally began to be revealed layer by layer like a scar.

In the end, Jian Yi finally remembered what words to use to describe it.

She pointed to the star-shaped origami box on the windowsill and said, "My love for him is just like Lin Yuan's love for me. It started when we were young, and it was all sincere and open."

Lin Qingruan was slightly stunned, obviously she didn't expect that there was such a connection between them.

After thinking it through, she understood again, "I was wondering why... so that's the case."

Jian Yi smiled, and when she said that, she felt relaxed from the inside out.

"I know many people won't believe me, but Qing Ruan, I think you must believe me."

How could Lin Qingruan not believe it? Jian Yi was usually the calmest and most indifferent person. Her suitors were as numerous as a thousand carps crossing the river, but she just wouldn't even glance at him.

At that time she said: "I don't expect others to love me. Studying, taking exams and making money are enough to keep me busy."

Lin Qingruan smiled slightly: "Jian Yi, you hid it really well."

Jian Yi also chuckled with her. She lifted the hair beside her ear and listened to the sound of rain falling on the rooftop until the second half of the night. Lin Qingruan went to bed early because of her part-time job. Jian Yi picked up the flickering screen in the dark night.

After leaving school, Bai Hongmei called her many times in succession.

Perhaps because he found out that she had taken all the luggage away from home, Jian Yi restrained his expression and silently added all their numbers to the blacklist.

When she blocked the message, her fingertips unconsciously scanned a number in the call bar.

That was Jin Yanchen's number. She seldom called him. Thinking about it carefully, their relationship was simple, just a one-to-one exchange, and it was not worth thinking about deeply.

But perhaps his emotions were too much tonight, and Jian Yi suddenly remembered something he had said.

Jin Yanchen said: "As long as you call, I will always be here."

At three o'clock in the morning on a rainy night, Jian Yi felt like she was going crazy.

She abandoned all the symbols of rationality, calmness and understanding. With the beeping sound of the dial key, she was like a ball of cotton and linen thread, which became a tangle again when pulled in. She was tormented by an extreme emotion between excitement and tension.

The call was answered.

Jian Yi's heartbeat slowed down for a second.

She didn't know what to say for a moment, her mind went blank, and the sound of rain falling at the same frequency came from the receiver. She had the illusion that Jin Yanchen was by her side.

The silence was stretched out in this rainy night. Jian Yi heard the scratching and collision sounds of a lighter, a spark of fire leaping out, and a familiar accent. He could recall his cynical tone in almost a second.

Jin Yanchen asked, "At three o'clock in the morning, our Miss Jian finally thought of me?" Jian Yi pursed her lips and asked, "You are still awake?"

Apart from the unavoidable social events, Jin Yanchen rarely stayed awake so late at night. Jian Yi couldn't help but pinch her palm with her fingertips. When she heard his voice suddenly, she felt like she was dreaming.

It was very quiet on Jin Yanchen's end. There was the sound of wind and the faint sound of electricity entering the receiver. He said half-jokingly, "It's not that I haven't seen you all day today and I can't sleep."

When did their relationship maintain a sense of familiarity that came from habit?
Jian Yi didn't know when it started, she only knew that this familiarity had a strange and affectionate feeling, as if they were born to be together and would never be separated.

"Are you outside?"

"Ah."

Jin Yanchen bit the cigarette butt and spoke vaguely, with the words hidden under his tongue, and his low voice against the receiver sounded like a lover's whisper.

He really made a tender invitation to Jian Yi to spend the night like a good lover.

"Want to meet?"

Jian Yi's eyelashes trembled.

Because of these words, she suddenly felt like crying.

With the dim light reflected from the mobile phone screen, Jian Yi looked down and saw her own swollen eyes and her face still covered with scars.

She shook her head: "It's too late. It's not convenient."

"Okay, if you don't want to meet, then don't meet."

Jin Yanchen responded readily. He was always very patient. He turned on the car stereo and the music player started playing music.
-
I really want to reach out and hug you——
The world is so small, where can we escape to?

She listened to the whole song quietly without saying a word. It was as if Jin Yanchen's presence was by her side every moment.

Jian Yi couldn't help shedding tears. She didn't dare to say anything more, for fear of revealing her emotions and being noticed by him. The clock quietly moved forward, and she closed her eyes, wondering when the day would dawn.

"Go to sleep. I may not be able to go to the East Suburbs these days."

"Well, but Xiaoyi." Jin Yanchen changed the subject, "But you have to understand that if you want to see me, I'm always here."

Jian Yi's heart was shocked.

She almost had a keen intuition, feeling that Jin Yanchen seemed to know it all.

Know her embarrassment, her grievances, and her helplessness.

But he still didn't ask any more questions. He quickly picked up the phone and said only one sentence to her.

"Xiaoyi, I've always been here."
-
The autumn rain continued until early morning and there was no sign of it stopping.

At five o'clock in the morning, Lin Qingruan's alarm clock rang. She grabbed a handful of hair and got up. She saw that a light downstairs was on. It was Jian Yi making breakfast in the kitchen.

There were not many ingredients in the refrigerator, so Jian Yi cut two tomatoes and threw them in to cook a pot of noodles.

While putting on makeup, Lin Qingruan asked, "Where's my aunt?"

"He went out. It seems that he was going to pick wild vegetables with his neighbors."

"Why is she running around again? I don't need her money to subsidize me. The doctor said she can't overwork!" Lin Qingruan sighed and accidentally drew her eyeliner crookedly. She cried out, and seeing that the earliest bus was about to leave, she grabbed her handbag and ran out the door.

Before leaving, he did not forget to give the key to his house to Jian Yi.

Seeing her so impetuous, Jian Yi inexplicably recalled many familiar moments.

When they first entered college, they had no money. The newly opened buffet next door offered a 50% discount at 10 o'clock in the evening, so they had to wait until 10 o'clock on an empty stomach. Lin Qingruan also rushed to grab the first seat at the buffet.

(End of this chapter)