“I’m indeed quite old.” Duan Jiaxu remarked, unfazed by her words, and calmly added, “So, will you take pity on me?”

Sang Zhi looked up at him, her expression serious as she slowly replied, “I’ll think about it.”

It was all just a joke, so Duan Jiaxu didn’t take it to heart. He pinched Sang Zhi’s cheek, glanced at the time, and asked, “Anywhere else you want to go? How about seeing a movie?”

Sang Zhi thought for a few seconds before shaking her head.

“Then, shall I take you back to your dorm?” Duan Jiaxu asked patiently.

Sang Zhi remained still, her lips hidden beneath her scarf, her wide eyes staring directly at him. She sniffled and suddenly made a request, “I want you to carry me.”

“Too tired to walk?” Duan Jiaxu asked as he turned his back to her and crouched down. “Hop on.”

Sang Zhi climbed onto his back, her arms wrapping around his neck. A moment later, Duan Jiaxu stood up, his voice coming from just in front of her, sounding slightly doubtful, “Are you sure you didn’t drink much?”

“Not even half a cup.” Other than a slight flush, Sang Zhi didn’t feel anything. She rested her chin on his shoulder and earnestly said, “It’s just like drinking cola.”

“Then you should stick to cola next time.” Duan Jiaxu suggested.

They walked for a while.

From her angle, Sang Zhi studied the side of his face and suddenly asked, “Am I heavy?”

“No.” Duan Jiaxu replied.

Sang Zhi seemed dissatisfied. “Then why aren’t you saying something like, ‘How are you so light?’”

Duan Jiaxu paused, then chuckled. “That’s my oversight.”

He quickly complied, “How are you so light?”

“I’m actually heavier today.” Sang Zhi remarked, “This down jacket I’m wearing weighs 80 pounds. If I took it off, it would be like carrying air.”

Duan Jiaxu suppressed a laugh and said, “It’s already pretty close to that.”

They walked a bit further.

Sang Zhi called out to him, “Duan Jiaxu.”

“Hmm?”

“I submitted my project today.” Sang Zhi murmured, sharing her day with him, “It’s for that competition I’ve been working on. I’ve been revising the drawings every day until I felt like I was going to throw up.”

“Did it get through?” Duan Jiaxu asked.

“Yeah.” Sang Zhi replied, “But the results won’t be out anytime soon. I’ll have to wait until next semester.”

“Then take a break for now.”

“I want to win an award. I heard this competition is highly prestigious and a lot of big companies attend the award ceremony. Maybe I’ll get noticed.” Sang Zhi rambled on, “And then after graduation, my life will be clear-cut. A nine-to-five job with a salary of over 10,000 a month.”

“You’re not planning to pursue further studies?”

“Probably not.” Sang Zhi said, her tone a bit gloomy, “But I doubt I’ll win. There are too many talented people. I feel like my work looks like crap.”

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu turned his head to look at her. “Young Lady, mind your language.”

Sang Zhi lifted her gaze and met his eyes. She blinked, leaned in closer, and kissed his cheek. Seeing his surprised expression, she smiled and kissed him again.

“Using your charms on me now?” Duan Jiaxu asked with a low laugh, his eyebrows slightly raised. “Is me carrying you hindering your performance?”

“A little.” Sang Zhi admitted, suddenly realizing how long she had been on his back. “Are you tired? Maybe I should get down. You don’t need to carry me.”

“How far have we walked?” Duan Jiaxu teased, “I’m not so old that I can’t carry you for a short walk.”

Hearing that, Sang Zhi fell silent for a moment before explaining, “I never think you’re old.”

“Really?”

“Mm, I’m just joking with you.” It was unknown what came into her mind. Sang Zhi buried her face in his neck, her voice gradually softening as she repeated, “I never think you’re old.”

Noticing the change in her tone, Duan Jiaxu turned his head slightly to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

Sang Zhi raised her eyes a bit, staring at the side of his face and feeling an unexpected sting in her nose.

Suddenly, she thought of how, no matter what she said to Li Ping, the response was always vague. She remembered the day she and Duan Jiaxu got together and he had said in a self-deprecating tone, “I was afraid you’d mind.”

But it had nothing to do with him.

Absolutely nothing.

Yet he had to put himself in a position lower than anyone else, enduring unfair treatment because of it. If he knew what Li Ping was thinking, he would surely be very upset.

Sang Zhi’s eyes gradually reddened. She bit her lip hard, lowered her head again, and her voice choked as she said, “I never think you’re old. I just feel…… I’m too young.”

Duan Jiaxu didn’t understand. “What?”

Even though she didn’t think so, everyone else believed she was still too young.

They thought that being with Duan Jiaxu was just a momentary impulse on her part, without any consideration for the future. They felt the need to remind her, to make her see that this path might not be right for her.

If she were a little older, if she had graduated from university, secured a stable job and income, achieved financial independence, and was able to rely solely on herself, by then, if she brought up the subject with her parents, would they listen a bit more?

Would they believe that she had actually thought it through?

She hadn’t taken their disagreement too seriously, simply because she believed that those factors they thinking of were all trivial, incapable of shaking her and Duan Jiaxu’s relationship in the slightest.

She had been eager to grow up before, and now, she still was.

The 7-year gap seemed like something she could never catch up to.

“Why am I 19?” Sang Zhi couldn’t hold back and tears began to fall, dripping down one after another. “Why can’t I be 29? I don’t want to be this young.”

At her age, there was nothing she could do besides studying hard and paving a better road for the future.

Feeling the wetness on his neck, Duan Jiaxu frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“When I’m 29, I should be pretty rich.” Sang Zhi sobbed. “I won’t just support you, but I’ll give you all my money to spend……”

“……” Duan Jiaxu’s steps faltered, but he quickly resumed walking. “Why do you always want to give me money?”

“So you can live a bit easier.”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled. “I’m not living a hard life now.”

“Yes, you are.” Sang Zhi’s eyes were still wet and she reached out to touch his head. “You’re always working overtime and staying up late, with huge dark circles and losing so much hair.”

Duan Jiaxu’s tone rose slightly, “What dark circles? What hair loss? Stop making things up.”

Sang Zhi continued on her own, “If I were 29 now, I’d be 3 years older than you. Then my brother wouldn’t hit you and Brother Qian Fei might even scold me instead.”

“That won’t do.” Duan Jiaxu said, “I like someone younger than me.”

“……” Sang Zhi wiped her tears with the palm of her hand and asked, “What about when I get old?”

“You’ll still be younger than me.”

Sang Zhi sniffled and didn’t argue back.

Duan Jiaxu found it amusing and, with a teasing tone, said, “Crying because you’re younger, you’re stabbing me in the heart here.”

Seeing the smile on his lips, Sang Zhi tightened her grip around his neck. She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Duan Jiaxu.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you happy right now?”

“Mm.”

Sang Zhi said seriously, “Then you need to be happy every day.”

In the next moment, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and gently rubbed his nose against her cheek.

“As long as you stay with me every day, I’ll be happy.”

Duan Jiaxu intended to take Sang Zhi back to her dorm, but Sang Zhi had no plans to return. The sudden wave of emotion had mostly dissipated, and she didn’t ask him to carry her any further. Instead, she jumped off his back.

The two of them chatted casually as they walked.

After a brief pause, Duan Jiaxu asked, “Did someone say something to you?”

Sang Zhi didn’t plan to tell him and, still sounding a bit nasal, shook her head, “Today my roommate mentioned that she might break up with her boyfriend after graduation because they’ll be in a long-distance relationship.”

“……”

“And she said there are a lot of uncertainties.” Sang Zhi added, “I don’t even know what’s uncertain, so I thought about us. It seems like the only thing is our age difference.”

“What’s uncertain about our age difference?”

“Well,” Sang Zhi slowly made up an answer, “when you take me out to meet people, would you feel embarrassed to say I’m your girlfriend? Because after you say it, people might react like, ‘Wow, I thought she’s your daughter.’”

Used to her exaggerations, Duan Jiaxu chuckled. “Actually, I think that sounds pretty……”

Sang Zhi asked, “Hmm?”

“Explosive.”

“……”

———pr


Sang Zhi had stayed over at Duan Jiaxu’s place several times and she had left quite a few clothes there, so she didn’t need to go back to her dorm to grab anything. She didn’t have much to do lately, as most of her classes were already finished with only the upcoming exam week left.

After entering the master bedroom, Sang Zhi took out a set of clothes from the closet. Noticing the time, she habitually called Li Ping and chatted with her for a bit before hanging up.

Sitting on the bed, Sang Zhi spaced out for a moment, then let out a breath. She got up, still lost in thought, and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came out, she hesitated before sending a WeChat message to Sang Yan, 【Brother, can you help me with something?】

Sang Yan didn’t reply right away.

She waited for a while, put her phone down, wiped her hair with a towel, and went back to the bathroom to blow-dry it.

It wasn’t too late yet, just past 9:00 PM.

Sang Zhi could still hear the sound of Duan Jiaxu watching TV in the living room. She headed out to spend some time with him before going back to her own room to sleep.

Duan Jiaxu had just finished showering as well.

He wasn’t actually watching TV, just had the sound on while he held his phone, seemingly playing a game.

Sang Zhi climbed onto the sofa and leaned in close to watch. She didn’t quite understand what he was playing, but she caught a faint whiff of mint from him and casually remarked, “I like the scent of your new body wash.”

Duan Jiaxu responded with a hum.

“What brand is it?” Sang Zhi asked again, “I want to buy a bottle too.”

“Why buy another one?” Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu lifted his eyes and drawled, “Can’t you just smell it on me?”

“……”

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. With a smile, he adjusted his position, holding her as he continued playing. “Here, you can get closer and smell it.”

Sang Zhi sat with her back against his chest.

She paused but didn’t say anything and obediently watched his hands as he played the game.

His hands were beautiful, with long, slender fingers and neatly trimmed nails that glistened with a healthy shine. His movements were quick and skillful, and just watching his hands while playing a game looked particularly pleasing.

Sang Zhi had never played this game before, so she didn’t understand some of the moves and occasionally asked him a few questions.

Duan Jiaxu wasn’t playing seriously either. Whenever she asked, he patiently explained.

The small living room was mostly quiet.

Gradually, Duan Jiaxu’s movements slowed down.

After finishing a round, Sang Zhi was just about to get up and head back to her room to download the game on her phone, but before she could move, Duan Jiaxu’s hand loosened, and his phone slipped, hitting her thigh.

It then slid down to the carpet beside the sofa.

Along with it, a warm, lingering kiss landed on the back of her neck.

Duan Jiaxu’s breathing grew heavier. His hand slid down, slipping under her pajamas, kneading the soft flesh of her belly. His breath, warm and ticklish, brushed against her skin as his kisses trailed down, gaining intensity.

Sang Zhi’s mind went blank and she instinctively turned her head.

As if anticipating this, Duan Jiaxu cupped her face, pressing his lips against hers. His tongue slipped in, the force gradually increasing, bringing a slight sting.

After what felt like a long time, his other hand pulled back, subtly smoothing down the hem of her clothes as he slowly regulated his breathing.

Duan Jiaxu held her gaze for a long while, his eyes dark with desire. He said in a low and hoarse voice, “If I weren’t afraid of scaring you……”

“……”

As if unable to vent his frustration, his lips moved down again, biting hard on her collarbone before licking it gently.

“Do you know how many times you would’ve cried by now?”