Chapter 13

I took a screenshot of my chat with my mom and sent it to Shen Xianzhi. He was silent for a full ten minutes.

Me: “Care to explain?”

The chat window kept showing that he was typing.

Me: “?”

Shen Xianzhi slowly typed out a line: “How about I come back and tell you in person?”

I agreed.

Around six in the evening, Shen Xianzhi came back.

He didn’t seem bothered by what happened at noon. His expression was calm, and when he met my gaze, he even smiled at me.

“Have you eaten?” I asked.

He sighed softly, sounding a bit aggrieved. “Too busy. I haven’t eaten all day.”

I frowned, turned, and headed for the kitchen. “Let me make you a quick bowl of noodles to fill you up.”

Suddenly, my wrist was grabbed. Shen Xianzhi leaned in, looking down at me with a burning gaze. “I was lying. I’ve already eaten.”

Meeting his eyes, my whole face felt like it was on fire, the heat spreading all the way to my heart.

“Um…”

It took me a while to find my voice again, and I quickly changed the subject. “How do you know my mom?”

He pondered for a moment. “Probably when I was very young.”

I looked at him suspiciously.

Shen Xianzhi’s lips curled into a smile. “Actually, you met me a long time ago too.”

Maybe seeing how dumbfounded I looked, Shen Xianzhi rubbed my palm and finally told me.

“When we were kids, our families lived close by. My mom and your mom were high school classmates, so they saw each other a lot.”

“I remember you very well from back then. My mom often asked me to take you out to play.”

“One time, we lost track of time and didn’t come back until it was dark. I still remember-you were clutching my hand tightly, trembling a little, but stubbornly holding back tears, not making a sound. That’s when I realized you were afraid of the dark.”

My heart suddenly trembled.

I vaguely remembered that there was a neighbor family we were close to, but I was too young then to recall the details.

“Later, we moved away and our families lost touch. Until a year ago, my mom went to a high school reunion and reconnected with your mom.”

“Somehow, my mom gave your mom my WeChat. Auntie sometimes posts your photos on her Moments, and occasionally mentions you when chatting with me. Looking back, I guess she was trying to set us up.”

Finally, Shen Xianzhi looked into my eyes, his tone low but earnest.

“Jiajia, Lu He was right last night. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time.”

I stared at him blankly, feeling something break through the surface inside me.

Before I could react, Shen Xianzhi wrapped his arms around my waist, his fingertips tracing my side, his warm breath falling on my ear. “Jiajia, don’t move out, okay…”

A jolt ran through me, leaving me tingling all over, my heart pounding so fast it felt like it would explode.

Flustered, I gripped his shirt tightly, opened my mouth to say something, but Zhao Yue suddenly called me.

The ambiguous atmosphere vanished instantly.

Zhao Yue said that Lu He came back last night after getting caught in the rain, drank all night, and by noon had developed a high fever and stomach pain.

He refused to take medicine, muttering my name over and over.

She sobbed quietly on the phone, “Jiajia, I really don’t know what to do anymore. Could you… come and see him?”

I turned to look at Shen Xianzhi.

He held my hand. “I’ll go with you.”