Chapter – 74
Jiang Jian had forgotten when he last opened that door.
Maybe two years ago?
He had a quiet resistance toward that room. He couldn’t explain why. Maybe it was because after his mother passed away, he had imagined countless times that if he pushed open the door, she would still be inside the bedroom. And countless times, that hope ended in disappointment.
Jiang Jian stood at the doorway. Luo Shuxin withdrew his gaze from the master bedroom, turned off the light, and casually closed the door.
“Sorry, I went into the wrong room.”
His expression looked normal.
But for some reason, Jiang Jian felt that with Luo Shuxin’s sensitivity, even if he was drunk, he could probably guess who used to live in that room.
Jiang Jian said, “…It’s fine.”
He led Luo Shuxin to the guest room. “Aunt Zhou cleans this room often. The quilt was just dried in the sun a few days ago. You can sleep here tonight.”
The guest room was usually empty, but it was clean and tidy. It was clearly aired out often. There was no stuffy smell.
Luo Shuxin looked around the room, then suddenly asked, “What about you? Where will you sleep?”
Jiang Jian: “…”
Of course I’ll sleep in my own bedroom…
Jiang Jian felt Luo Shuxin should be able to figure that out himself, so he didn’t say it. He just waited quietly for him to understand.
After Jiang Jian fell silent, Luo Shuxin didn’t ask further.
The two of them followed the strange silence together.
The silence made Jiang Jian feel uneasy. He said, “I’ll go get you a hair dryer,” and turned to leave.
But the moment he turned around, Luo Shuxin grabbed his wrist.
Jiang Jian: “?”
Luo Shuxin didn’t speak.
They fell into silence again.
Something moved in Jiang Jian’s heart. It was like a small tender sprout about to break through the soil, or like a finger pressing against a paper window. It felt as if with just one thought, a whole new world could be opened.
After a while, Luo Shuxin suddenly asked, “Do you have a practice workbook at home?”
Jiang Jian: “…”
…As expected of the study king. Impressive.
Jiang Jian went back to his room and brought a dry towel, a hair dryer, and the workbook that Lord Luo personally requested—he even deliberately brought his unfinished English one.
After delivering them to the next room, Jiang Jian went to take a shower.
For no reason, he felt a little annoyed, like an angry pufferfish.
He didn’t know what he was angry about. After thinking seriously, he realized that when Luo Shuxin grabbed his wrist and stayed silent, he had been expecting him to say something.
But obviously, what Luo Shuxin said didn’t match his expectation. So he got upset.
The question was, what had he subconsciously expected Luo Shuxin to say?
Jiang Jian rubbed shampoo foam into his hair while thinking seriously.
He couldn’t figure it out.
At the moment it happened, it was an emotion he hadn’t even noticed himself. Now that the feeling had passed, how could logic help him guess something he hadn’t been aware of?
Jiang Jian frowned deeply.
After finishing his shower and brushing his teeth, he returned to his bedroom and scrolled on his phone for a while. But no matter what he looked at, he couldn’t calm down. So he put on his slippers and quietly walked toward the guest room where Luo Shuxin was.
He gently pushed the door open a crack and saw Luo Shuxin sitting at the desk, doing practice questions.
Look at that. That’s the difference.
Some people get drunk and pet cats. Some people get drunk and do practice questions.
Jiang Jian sneaked in and looked from behind Luo Shuxin.
Luo Shuxin was completely focused. He almost only needed to glance at the question before circling the answer below.
Jiang Jian: “…”
This is what you call a true exam god, right? I wouldn’t even be that fast if I rolled dice for multiple choice!
As Luo Shuxin was writing, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jiang Jian—just like in class when Jiang Jian secretly nudged him with his elbow. His gaze was calm, but with a hint of inquiry.
Jiang Jian didn’t even know when he had been discovered. He casually said, “How many pages are you planning to finish?”
Luo Shuxin said, “Depends on the time.”
Jiang Jian thought, so until one o’clock?
Luo Shuxin thought for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”
Jiang Jian said, “Go ahead.”
Luo Shuxin asked, “The cup—why is it cracked?”
The question came out of nowhere. Jiang Jian didn’t understand which cup he meant.
Luo Shuxin gestured with his hands. Not perfectly round. Blue to purple gradient. Like a vast galaxy.
While Luo Shuxin gestured, Jiang Jian finally felt that this person was actually drunk.
The movements weren’t exaggerated, but there was something unusually cute about them—something very unlike Luo Shuxin.
Seeing Jiang Jian’s smile growing wider, Luo Shuxin stopped. “?”
Jiang Jian said, “That cup belonged to my mom. It was a gift from her classmate who loved pottery. It was unique, the only one like it. After her accident, when I came home, the cup was on the floor, broken into two pieces. At that time, something felt missing in my head. I kept thinking the cracked cup and my mom leaving had some special connection. So I stubbornly found someone to fix it.”
As if fixing it would make that person come back too.
At this moment, Jiang Jian spoke lightly, as if he wasn’t sad at all.
In fact, right now, he truly wasn’t sad.
Maybe Luo Shuxin’s unexpected cuteness earlier had set a gentle mood. Jiang Jian spoke about it very calmly.
He had never told anyone about the cup before.
Not many people knew about it. Maybe only Aunt Zhou. But with her natural motherly compassion, she kept a silent understanding and never mentioned it.
As for Jiang Zhiyuan, originally he should have been the one to share this grief with Jiang Jian.
But Jiang Zhiyuan… better not talk about him.
Luo Shuxin lowered his eyes and looked at Jiang Jian. In his originally quiet gaze, it was as if a soft piece of moonlight had been scattered.
Jiang Jian thought of a lake under the moonlight, the surface shimmering. Sometimes a fish might jump out from beneath the water, making small, faint sounds in the silent night.
