Solitary Toss of Tenderness

Go and fulfill your original dream

On a quiet night, inside the house where Jiang Huaixi and Lu Zizheng reside, darkness enveloped everything except for the study room, where the door was ajar, casting a warm and dim light.

At the desk, Jiang Huaixi sat upright, one hand resting on the keyboard and the other gripping the mouse, earnestly retouching the photos taken on Qingming Festival. Beside her, Lu Zizheng propped her chin with one hand, squinting her eyes slightly, her gaze locked onto Jiang Huaixi’s computer screen, deeply engrossed.

Beneath a sky of deep blue, within a lush forest of bamboo, Lu Zizheng turned back with a smile, her hair flowing… Another fresh and beautiful picture was born.

Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and exclaimed, “So beautiful…”

Jiang Huaixi glanced at Lu Zizheng from the corner of her eye and proudly remarked, “Probably because of good technique.”

Lu Zizheng chuckled softly and retorted, “Isn’t it because the model looks good?”

Jiang Huaixi gave Lu Zizheng a disdainful look, furrowing her brows slightly. She clicked the mouse a few times and brought up a few photos that Lu Zizheng had taken for her. She placed them next to the ones she had taken for Lu Zizheng, creating a clear side-by-side comparison.

Lu Zizheng was tall and had long legs, with a charming smile. Jiang Huaixi, on the other hand, had a broad body and chubby face, often making odd or fierce expressions. The moment Lu Zizheng saw the comparison of their works, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Jiang Huaixi let out a soft snort and said, “Are you sure you’re not trying to mock me? You’ve practically turned my photos into a meme collection.”

Watching Jiang Huaixi’s rare display of self-deprecating annoyance, Lu Zizheng found it increasingly amusing. She laughed so hard that she leaned onto Jiang Huaixi’s arm. Seeing Lu Zizheng’s blissfully unaware and happy expression, Jiang Huaixi angrily closed the images, shook her arm with a disgusted expression, and attempted to free herself from Lu Zizheng’s grip.

Seeing that the situation was not favorable, Lu Zizheng finally managed to stop, her laughter dwindling weakly. She weakly admitted, “I was wrong, I’ll definitely humbly seek your advice in the future.” After a pause, she tried to please Jiang Huaixi by asking, “Huaixi, did you learn photography before? I feel like you’re exceptionally professional and skilled at it.”

Jiang Huaixi responded with a faint “yes” and explained, “When I was younger, my health wasn’t very good, so I couldn’t go on trips with my family. I could only look at the photos they brought back each time to learn about the places they had been, to understand the outside world. Later on, I fell in love with this way of documenting, and I seriously studied photography for a while. I even once dreamt of becoming a photographer who travels the world when I grow up…”

Lu Zizheng leaned on Jiang Huaixi’s arm, pondered for a moment, and asked curiously, “Then why didn’t you pursue it later?”

Jiang Huaixi fell silent for a moment, then after a while, she faintly curved her lips, gazing at Lu Zizheng and said with a smile, “Perhaps it’s because I had other concerns.”

Looking into Jiang Huaixi’s intense gaze, Lu Zizheng’s cheeks instantly flushed, she lowered her head and muttered, “When did you learn to be so smooth-tongued and use sweet words to deceive people?”

Jiang Huaixi let out a soft laugh and gently nudged Lu Zizheng’s head with her chin, her usually cool voice carrying an evident tenderness, “Just tell me, do you like hearing it or not? Hm? Do you like it?”

Lu Zizheng rubbed her smooth cheek against Jiang Huaixi’s arm and softly grumbled, “I don’t like it…”

Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh? Well, then I won’t say it anymore.”

Lu Zizheng, in a slightly displeased manner, used her chin to poke Jiang Huaixi’s arm. Jiang Huaixi chuckled and extended her other hand to gently tousle Lu Zizheng’s hair.

After a moment, Jiang Huaixi suddenly asked Lu Zizheng, “Zizheng, what was your childhood dream?”

Lu Zizheng blinked slightly and then smiled, “It’s been too long since the age when I could dream like that. I can’t quite remember.”

Jiang Huaixi furrowed her brows slightly, displeased, and said, “Well, now, try to think carefully.”

Lu Zizheng looked up at Jiang Huaixi and seeing the seriousness in her beautiful black eyes, her heart trembled involuntarily, and she began to think earnestly. She sighed and said, “Once, I really enjoyed reading books. I think I seriously considered becoming a college language teacher, maybe even a writer. I imagined spending summer and winter vacations traveling around, submitting articles to magazines, living a leisurely and carefree life.”

Jiang Huaixi softly acknowledged with an “hm” and asked, “Then why did you switch to studying economics later?”

Lu Zizheng paused for a moment, then with a slightly self-deprecating smile, she said, “Maybe later I felt that I should be a bit more practical in life. Studying economics meant I wouldn’t need to pursue a master’s degree, I could start working and making money earlier, and the salary might be higher than that of a teacher.” After a moment, she asked Jiang Huaixi with a touch of melancholy, “After my father passed away, I realized more and more that I no longer have the qualification to be naive and dreamy. Huaixi, do you think I’m too practical?”

Jiang Huaixi gently rested her chin on top of Lu Zizheng’s head and softly caressed Lu Zizheng’s face with her hand, speaking warmly, “How could I? Zizheng, I can only feel even more heartache.”

During their senior year, Jiang Huaixi had once heard their counselor express regret about Lu Zizheng. At that time, the counselor held high hopes for Lu Zizheng, believing that she had great potential. The counselor suggested that Lu Zizheng consider studying abroad after graduation, or if she preferred to stay in the country, there was a quota for graduate school recommended by the college. However, Lu Zizheng stubbornly declined both suggestions, firmly stating that she had no intention of pursuing those paths. The counselor didn’t understand the reasons behind her decision, but Jiang Huaixi had a good guess.

How could Lu Zizheng bear the thought of leaving her mother alone in the country? Moreover, studying abroad required money, and pursuing a master’s degree also required funds. Lu Zizheng was so considerate; how could she allow her mother to endure more years of hardship? It was likely that she wished to graduate sooner, find a job, and relieve her mother’s burden as soon as possible.

During that time, Jiang Huaixi had a thousand words in her heart that she wanted to tell Lu Zizheng, to reassure her, to offer financial support for her education, to help take care of her mother, and so much more. But she lacked one crucial thing: the identity that would allow her to help Lu Zizheng so openly.

She knew that Lu Zizheng wouldn’t accept it. So, in the end, all she could do was watch Lu Zizheng with aching heart, giving up a brighter and better future, and seeing her slowly recover, overcoming challenges every step of the way…

And now, she finally possessed the role that could pamper, love, and satisfy Lu Zizheng without reservation.

Jiang Huaixi spoke gently and earnestly to Lu Zizheng, “Zizheng, now you have me. I grant you the privilege of innocence, the privilege of dreaming, the privilege of being willful. Don’t, don’t sacrifice yourself anymore.”

Lu Zizheng lowered her head, unable to look at Jiang Huaixi, her eyes reddening with emotion. Still, she deliberately steadied her voice and teasingly said to Jiang Huaixi, “See, you’re starting your sugar-coated bombardment on me again.”

Jiang Huaixi laughed and said, “Because you enjoy hearing it.” Then she became serious again and said, “Zizheng, when we go back, shall we fulfill your original dream together?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Zizheng raised her head in astonishment, looking at Jiang Huaixi with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Huaixi’s lips curved slightly, and she blinked before asking Lu Zizheng, “Do you still want to be a teacher, to be a writer?”

Lu Zizheng hesitated a bit before questioning her, “Is that still possible?”

Jiang Huaixi smiled, her voice gentle yet resolute, “Of course it is.”

She continued, “If you’re willing, after we return to Linzhou in May, once I’m done with the engagement in Huaichuan and some matters at the company, we can contact the school and mentors to prepare for the exams in December. I’ll accompany you, we’ll go back to school together as students, how does that sound?”

With that, she saw Lu Zizheng’s eyes widen, sparkling with anticipation. Jiang Huaixi’s voice softened even more, her gaze fixed on Lu Zizheng, as she began to outline a blueprint for their future, “We’ll choose the same school and the same mentor, attend classes together every day. This time, I’ll sit beside you, and you shouldn’t be dissatisfied anymore. If you want, we can even try out for the campus radio station again. You write, and I’ll be the announcer. After a few years, once we graduate, you can become a teacher if you want, or a writer if you prefer. You can travel if you desire, and I’ll be with you every step of the way. And when you feel it’s right, we can have a child, and we’ll raise her together, watching her grow slowly. We’ll grow old together, watching time flow slowly…”

Lu Zizheng had been listening with a hopeful expression, but upon hearing the latter part of Jiang Huaixi’s sentence, her eyes suddenly widened in astonishment. She exclaimed, “Wait, wait a minute, having a child?”

Jiang Huaixi furrowed her brow slightly and asked seriously, “Don’t you want to?”

Lu Zizheng bit her lip and stuttered, “No, it’s just… I actually quite like children. It’s just, whether you give birth or I give birth… how can we… how could we…”

Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow, her tone self-assured and calm, “Well, you’re the one who carries the baby, so naturally, you’ll be the one to give birth.”

Lu Zizheng’s expression suddenly became somewhat petrified.

Jiang Huaixi looked at Lu Zizheng’s stunned expression and couldn’t help but let out a gentle laugh. She playfully poked Lu Zizheng’s cheek and reassured her, “Well, that’s something far in the future. We can have a hundred more debates about who’s the attackertop and who’s the defenderbottom. Don’t be disheartened so early, keep up the good work.”

Lu Zizheng was truly at a loss for words.

As the night gradually deepened, Jiang Huaixi continued with her photo editing, while Lu Zizheng opened another laptop, had Jiang Huaixi send her a few pictures, and then opened editing software to work diligently.

The hour hand slowly, slowly moved until it pointed to eleven o’clock. Jiang Huaixi felt it was time to rest, so she organized her files and shut down the computer.

Lu Zizheng seemed to still have some work left, so she asked Jiang Huaixi to go freshen up first and that she would join her shortly. Consequently, Jiang Huaixi left the study, finished her routine, and returned to the bedroom, turning on a small lamp to wait for Lu Zizheng to finish her tasks.

Finally, after about ten more minutes, Lu Zizheng returned to the bedroom, holding her laptop. Like presenting a treasure, she turned the laptop screen toward Jiang Huaixi and said, “Take a look at the results of my evening’s work…”

Jiang Huaixi accepted the laptop with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. As she looked at the screen, her expression instantly turned dark…

It was practically an upgraded version of making fun of her through memes!

In the edited images, Jiang Huaixi was rolling her eyes dramatically, and her clothes had been painted into a poop-yellow armor-like pattern resembling fish scales? Plus, there were colorful blobs of bizarre shapes… clouds?

Just as Jiang Huaixi was about to voice her frustration at Lu Zizheng, saying, “Are you planning to sleep on the couch tonight?” she happened to notice the crudely written line at the bottom of the image:

When I was young, I also had such dreams. I hoped that my beloved would be a peerless hero, who would one day wear a golden armor and step on a rainbow auspicious cloud, coming to marry me in a spectacular event that would capture everyone’s attention.

Huaixi, thank you for fulfilling all my dreams about my beloved.

Jiang Huaixi’s expression finally gradually softened, and a gentle smile appeared at the corner of her lips. She lifted her head, looking at Lu Zizheng, who was standing by the bed, nervously anticipating and shyly gazing at her. She raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “Your skills are truly, unbelievably awful. However, I quite like it.”

Jiang Huaixi paused, then reached out and held Lu Zizheng’s hand, pulling her into an embrace, resting her head on Lu Zizheng’s shoulder. She whispered softly into her ear, “Zizheng, thank you. You’re my peerless hero too. Of course, if this hero’s photography and editing skills could be a bit better, it would be even more perfect…”

Lu Zizheng: “…”