Chapter 7 – 07

Jiang Siwei had no way to refuse Lou Jia’s suggestion. He wiped away his tears, raised his hand, and said “okay.” Then he looked at her pitifully and asked, “So how long will you think about it?”

Lou Jia flicked his forehead with her fingers and said with a bit of amusement, “Don’t push your luck.”

Jiang Siwei had just cried, and his nose and eyes were red, making him look pitiful. He pursed his lips and whispered, “But I have to go back in a little over a month.”

Lou Jia didn’t think too much and replied casually, “Then I’ll think about it before you leave.”

Jiang Siwei immediately agreed, and his tearful eyes lit up in an instant.

Lou Jia suddenly had the feeling that she had fallen into his trap. “Jiang Siwei, were you just waiting for me to say that?”

“No,” Jiang Siwei muttered, touching his face. “If you hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t planning to… confess to you today either.”

“If you didn’t want me to notice, you shouldn’t have made it so obvious.” Lou Jia vigorously rubbed his head, finding the soft feel so irresistible that she couldn’t help but rub it a couple more times. “Alright, hurry up and get things sorted, it’s almost time to eat.”

“Okay,” Jiang Siwei obediently replied, wishing he could actually turn into a little puppy, jump into Lou Jia’s arms, and act spoiled.

The cleanup wasn’t too much trouble, and Jiang Siwei basically didn’t let Lou Jia help. He managed to finish everything by himself before it was time for dinner.

He even had extra time to tidy up the place once more.

Lou Jia had said she needed time to think, so Jiang Siwei didn’t want to cling too tightly. During dinner, he didn’t even sit at the same table as Lou Jia, but his eyes never left her.

When he saw her get up to return her tray, he hadn’t even finished the food on his plate. He immediately picked up his tray, shoveling food into his mouth as he hurried to walk out of the cafeteria with her.

But he stuffed too much into his mouth with the last bite, and for a moment, he couldn’t swallow, nearly choking himself.

Lou Jia, both speechless and amused, got him a cup of water. “What are you thinking? I’m not going to run away.”

Jiang Siwei didn’t have time to respond right away, but after gulping down the water and finally swallowing the last bite, he asked, completely off-topic, “Do you have anything planned for tonight?”

“I need to work on some lesson plans for a bit, why?”

“After you’re done with your lesson plans, if it’s not too late, can you come out with me?” Jiang Siwei said, “I want to take you somewhere.”

“Sure,” Lou Jia replied, then asked, “Where to? Principal Luo said we can’t go too far at night—there might be wild boars in the mountains.”

“It’s a secret, but I promise it’s safe.” Jiang Siwei smiled. “Just remember to wear long sleeves and pants, preferably black.”

Lou Jia was genuinely curious, but knowing that Jiang Siwei definitely wouldn’t tell her, she could only ponder it on her own. Even her lesson planning speed was faster than usual.

By just after 9 p.m., she had finished everything and sent a message to Jiang Siwei.

Jiang Siwei emerged from a room at the other end of the hallway, waving at Lou Jia. Dressed all in black, his eyes stood out particularly bright in the night. “Let’s go.”

Lou Jia only had a black windbreaker, which she wore over her short sleeves, along with a pair of cargo pants similar to Jiang Siwei’s.

Walking together, if one didn’t look closely, they almost seemed to be wearing matching outfits.

“It’s so late, we can’t go into the mountains, right?” Lou Jia followed Jiang Siwei out of the courtyard, noticing they were heading towards the direction of the back mountain, and couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re not going into the mountains, just staying near the foothills,” Jiang Siwei replied. “I heard about it from a few of the uncles in the kitchen while gathering firewood before.”

“Alright.” Lou Jia didn’t ask further.

After walking for nearly twenty minutes, Jiang Siwei finally stopped and pulled something out of his pocket. “Wait a minute, put this on first.”

“What is it?” Lou Jia looked at him, noticing the blindfold in his hand. “Jiang Siwei, what are you up to?”

“You’ll find out soon.” Jiang Siwei handed over the blindfold. “It’s brand new, I haven’t used it yet.”

Lou Jia couldn’t do anything about him, so she took it and put it on. “If you dare let me fall, I’ll make sure you make the headlines tomorrow.”

“I won’t let you fall,” Jiang Siwei said. “But just in case, can I hold your hand while we walk?”

“…”

Lou Jia could only extend her hand, and in the next moment, her fingertips were suddenly enveloped in warmth. Instinctively, she wanted to pull back, but Jiang Siwei held on even tighter.

“Don’t move, the path here isn’t easy to walk,” he said, sounding close—so close that Lou Jia could faintly catch the light scent of soap on him.

For some reason, she felt a bit nervous, and the warmth from where their fingers touched seemed to grow hotter.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Lou Jia sensed that Jiang Siwei had stopped. Just as she was about to raise her hand to remove the blindfold, he stopped her again.

“Wait a little longer,” Jiang Siwei whispered.

The night in the mountains wasn’t exactly quiet, with the sounds of insects chirping, the wind rustling through the leaves, and occasional unknown calls from the wild.

Lou Jia stood there, listening to their breathing intermingling with the natural sounds, and gradually, her heart began to calm down.

She could smell the scent of grass and trees in the summer night forest, the soft, damp earth beneath her feet, and the ever-present fragrance of soap lingering around her.

“They’re here.” As she was lost in thought, Lou Jia heard Jiang Siwei’s voice. Just as she was about to ask what had arrived, he suddenly raised his hand and removed her blindfold.

Her vision was blurry for a few seconds, but even then, Lou Jia could see many lights floating in the air, like a moving starry sky.

She blinked, and as her vision cleared, she realized those shimmering lights were fireflies—something not so commonly seen anymore.

They fluttered in the grass, hovered midair, and danced across the entire hillside, gradually gathering into a unique “starry sky.”

“So beautiful,” Lou Jia murmured, looking up at the flickering lights, with some even landing on her black jacket.

She reached out to touch them, and the fireflies fluttered their wings and flew away, but soon more of them gently landed on their clothes, one after another.

“I originally wanted to wait for the right moment to bring you here,” Jiang Siwei suddenly said, “but something unexpected happened today.”

Lou Jia turned to look at him, her heartbeat seeming to quicken in rhythm with the fireflies around them.

“Even though this is a bit sudden, I feel like I need to make things clear. I don’t want you to think about me in a confused way,” Jiang Siwei said seriously. “Compared to others, I might not be as outstanding or mature, and I have this habit of acting silly around you. But it seems like I just can’t help it. Whenever I see you, I don’t know how to think straight. When you smile at me, it feels like everything is worth it.”

“You said you didn’t want love that comes after weighing things out. I don’t know if my hesitation and fear count as that kind of weighing, but the truth is, I never even imagined I’d ever be standing in front of you, saying these things.” He smiled, but his eyes reddened again. “But maybe fate took pity on me and gave me this chance, and I don’t want to miss it. More importantly, I don’t want to miss you.”

Jiang Siwei remained standing two steps away from Lou Jia, just like many moments before when he silently followed behind her, waiting for her to turn back.

Lou Jia suddenly felt her eyes grow warm.

“Lou Jia.” These words had been buried in his heart for a long time, and now they finally saw the light of day. Jiang Siwei’s emotions were hard to control.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and in a low, deep voice, he said, “I like you.”

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Author’s Note:

The puppy’s sense of ceremony [throwing confetti/]

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