Missed You While Waiting in the Rain - Chapter 10

After returning from the music festival, a few days later, Jiang Xingran accompanied me to the cemetery in the suburbs.

It had been two months since my last visit.

Though it was a bright summer day, the tombstone was flanked by pine trees, providing a rare patch of shade.

Jiang Xingran placed the bouquet he was holding in front of the tombstone, bowed solemnly, and said, “Rest assured, for the rest of my life, I will take good care of Xia Min for you.”

“I’ll step aside for now, you can talk to grandpa in private.”

I watched Jiang Xingran walk away, then turned my gaze back and whispered, “Grandpa, I’ve finally met someone worth looking forward to.”

“Blood ties don’t necessarily mean love, nor does my constant retreat and tolerance guarantee what I desire. Now I understand.”

As we left the cemetery, sitting in the car, Jiang Xingran suddenly told me, “Your parents probably won’t bother you anymore.”

I looked at him with slight surprise.

“Regarding what you mentioned before about your village being slated for demolition, I had someone look into it. The city indeed has such plans, but it’s still just at the planning stage with no further action. So we had someone draft a document stating that this demolition is beyond the budget, offering little compensation, and due to the irregular division of the homestead, there might even be fines.”

“Since they’re after money, not getting any and facing fines will surely make them avoid it.”

I keenly noticed the pronoun he used: “We?”

Jiang Xingran lowered his eyes, sighed lightly, “Though I hate to admit it, Han Ze’s involvement was crucial in getting this done.”

I was stunned for a couple of seconds, then said, “I’ll go thank him-”

“That’s not necessary.”

Jiang Xingran turned my face towards him and kissed my lips, “I’ll thank him properly on behalf of senior sister, but you shouldn’t see him again because I’ll get jealous.”

Seeing him like this was rare, and I couldn’t help but laugh, “Still calling me senior sister?”

Jiang Xingran’s eyes darkened slightly, as he leaned closer to my ear, his breath warm, “Darling.”

…

After the semester started, I ran into Han Ze twice at school.

He seemed to have grown up suddenly, walking with a brisk pace, and at certain angles, the light in his eyes could be described as sharp.

And on his hand, he always wore a silver ring.

It looked somewhat familiar, but it was no longer related to me.

Three months after we got together, I went home with Jiang Xingran and met his mother and sister.

Aunt Chi was a gentle woman, who upon learning of my visit, prepared a lot of ingredients in advance and went to the kitchen after greeting us.

Jiang Xingran held my hand, telling me not to be nervous and to play with his sister for a while, then went to help in the kitchen.

His sister, Chi Xingning, was a very lively young girl, who took me to Jiang Xingran’s bedroom and showed me a bunch of his old trinkets.

After we laughed together at the baby version of Jiang Xingran crying in the photo album, Chi Xingning suddenly asked me, “Sister-in-law, my brother said you were the girl from the school sports meeting two and a half years ago.”

I was a bit dazed, “Huh?”

“More than two years ago, I got my first period and was scared, hiding in my room and calling my brother to bring me a sanitary napkin. When he brought it back, we found it had been opened and one was missing.”

“He said it was used to help a girl he liked in an emergency.”

“I was so curious back then, pestering him to find out what the girl he liked was like. Then one day he came home and told me not to mention it anymore, that the girl had started dating someone else and he couldn’t disturb her. During that time, he spoke less and often seemed lost in thought, which worried me, but I didn’t know how to comfort him.”

As Chi Xingning spoke, a fleeting sadness appeared in her eyes, quickly replaced by a smile.

She hugged me, “Sister-in-law, it’s so great that you can be with my brother! Trust me, he’s the best brother in the world and will treat you very well!”

I couldn’t help but smile too, “I believe you, because he’s also the best boyfriend in the world.”