CHAPTER 16: Marriage is Still a Long Way Off, at Least Three to Five Years

The skating rink had just opened and was running a special promotion, so it was pretty crowded. Su Jiasui and Ji Jing arrived late and couldn’t even rent skates. They could only press up against the big glass wall and watch the others longingly.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiangxue and the rest didn’t feel like skating anymore either. They ended the session early and decided to go eat grilled fish at the place Ji Jing had recommended.

When she heard that Ji Jing was treating, Su Jiahe immediately went against the grain. She suddenly didn’t like fish and threw a fuss about wanting to go home.

Jiang Yan said, “Perfect. We can go back and finish the questions from this morning.”

Su Jiahe: “……”

With so many people watching—especially in front of Ji Jing—Su Jiahe couldn’t suddenly say she was in the mood for fish again. She would rather go home and listen to Jiang Yan explain exam problems than lose face like that.

Watching the two of them get into a cab and leave, Su Jiasui burst out laughing in Cheng Xiangxue’s arms. “Hahahahaha, did you see Su Jiahe’s face? She looked like she was about to explode.”

“Oh my god, your brother’s really hopeless. Someone offers him a free meal and he still drags his feet. Well, serves him right,” Cheng Xiangxue shook her head. “And Jiang Yan, too—can’t believe he actually did it.”

“Jiang Yan had to head home early anyway—he always sleeps early. But he really is a freak. He never stays up late to study. That Thursday night, I burned the midnight oil until one a.m., and he had already showered and gone to bed by eight-thirty. Then in the big exam, he still beat me by more than twenty points.”

“Jealous, aren’t you? That’s the difference between a genius and us mortals.”

Chen Xu rubbed his nose and changed the subject back from Jiang Yan. He asked Ji Jing, “So where’s this grilled fish place?”

Ji Jing was still feeling crushed by the whole “genius vs. mortal” comparison, and replied halfheartedly, “Daxing Road.”

“Then let’s go. I’m starving. This is our growth stage—we can’t afford to miss a meal.”

Chen Xu flagged down a cab. Just as he opened the front passenger door, Cheng Xiangxue darted in like a monkey.

“What the hell?”

“Thanks, much appreciated.”

“You’re so tiny—why are you always fighting for the front seat?!”

“I don’t get carsick.”

While Chen Xu and Cheng Xiangxue were bickering, Su Jiasui had already gotten into the car and taken one of the window seats.

Ji Jing looked at Chen Xu. Chen Xu looked at Ji Jing. They spoke almost in unison: “You sit in the middle!”

Cheng Xiangxue stuck her head out the window and said, “Ugh, can you guys not fight over stupid stuff all the time? Rock-paper-scissors. One round settles it.”

The four of them often went out together, and every single time, they’d argue over taxi seating. Nobody wanted the middle seat in the back, and eight times out of ten, it was Chen Xu who ended up there—and who ended up paying for the ride.

As soon as they reached their destination and the door opened, the others would bolt, leaving Chen Xu behind with no choice but to pay.

This childish game had become a routine pre-meal entertainment. Watching Chen Xu rage helplessly was everyone’s favorite appetizer.

That night, Chen Xu didn’t get home until after nine.

His grandmother was still up, sitting in the living room knitting. “Ah Xu, is the computer fixed?”

“Yeah. I’ll go pick it up after school tomorrow.”

“Have you eaten?”

“I have. Xiao Jing treated us. We had grilled fish over on Daxing Road.”

Chen Xu kicked off his shoes and yawned as he walked in. “Grandma, you’re still knitting this late?”

Though her hair was entirely white, Grandma Chen looked spirited and elegant, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. “Fall’s just around the corner. If I finish sooner, you can wear it sooner. The sleeves on the two I made you last year were too short, right?”

“They were okay. I could make do.”

“Don’t just make do.” Seeing him yawn repeatedly, Grandma Chen quickly said, “Alright, go take a shower. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

“No rush. Grandma, do we still have carrots in the fridge?”

“Probably. What are you doing eating carrots this late?”

“They’re good for the eyes.”

Chen Xu walked over, grabbed a carrot from the fridge, and dashed upstairs.

“You haven’t even—!”

The house they lived in was an old military officer’s building left by his grandfather. It wasn’t large or luxurious, just plain and a bit aged. But every corner was tidy, the reddish-brown wood floors were well-waxed and shiny, and the furniture, though never replaced or repainted, held the marks of time and memory.

Chen Xu used to live in the attic, but after his parents’ divorce, he moved into the master bedroom on the second floor.

Now, the attic was home to his pet—a long-haired, snow-white lop-eared rabbit.

He had been secretly raising it for about half a year. His grandmother, who had trouble walking, still hadn’t discovered it.

The lop-eared rabbit loved eating carrots. The moment Chen Xu handed one over, it began nibbling away with its two little buck teeth, slowly but steadily. In no time, its cheeks puffed up, stretching its chubby face round and full. Occasionally, it would glance up at Chen Xu, a little wary and cautious, but as soon as he moved the carrot slightly toward himself, it would shake its fluffy tail, lift its short little front paws, and leap forward with all its might, desperate to hug the carrot tightly.

Chen Xu chuckled, sat down on the floor, and gently stroked its soft fur. “Good bunny.”

…

Ji Jing spent the night at his girlfriend’s house again.

Even if Old Su and Little Su weren’t fond of him, he genuinely enjoyed staying here.

Before he closed his eyes, his girlfriend would push open the bedroom door and smile at him as she said goodnight.

Su Jiasui had just finished her shower, dressed in pale yellow pajamas, and carried a sweet scent all over her body. Who was that dark, destructive demon girl now? She was practically the most adorable Pikachu ever.

Ji Jing turned to the side, looking at Su Jiahe’s face—seven-tenths similar to Su Jiasui’s—and couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Beside him, Su Jiahe’s hair stood on end. He wanted to kick Ji Jing off the bed but didn’t dare—behind Ji Jing stood Su Jiasui and Ms. Sun. He couldn’t afford to mess with him. All he could do was endure, and it was even more miserable than Goujian sleeping on firewood to nurse a grudge.

He’d thought about sleeping in the study. The sofa in there unfolded into a queen-size bed. But Old Su wouldn’t allow it. From the very beginning, Old Su had laid down a hard rule: if Ji Jing stayed over, he had to share a room with Su Jiahe. His exact words: “So the brat doesn’t sneak around at night pulling any stunts.”

Su Jiahe bore this great mission. There was no way he could abandon his post, but as a result, his sleep quality was terrible. Any slight movement from Ji Jing would wake him. He hated Ji Jing the way people hate an alarm tone they’ve used for eight years—pure instinctive irritation.

Ji Jing knew Su Jiahe was being forced to share the bed, so he didn’t move much. He even avoided drinking water at night to minimize bathroom trips and prevent suspicion.

Honestly, his suffering wasn’t much less than Su Jiahe’s.

Before six in the morning, Ji Jing woke up with a dry throat. As soon as he sat up, Su Jiahe groggily opened his eyes, saw the bright sky outside the window, and promptly rolled back under the covers to go back to sleep.

Ji Jing shook his head and drank a whole bottle of mineral water before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Ms. Sun was very particular about her children’s nutrition. She never skimmed on breakfast. She’d been up since 5:30 a.m. making soup, and as soon as the kitchen got going, the whole house began to wake up.

Dropping the fish into the frying pan, Ms. Sun checked the time and called out, “Jiang-jie, come help me watch the heat—don’t let it burn.” Then she walked briskly to the staircase and called out loudly, her voice full of energy, “Sister Sui, Jiahe, Xiao Jing—time to get up!”

Just as she finished speaking, Ji Jing appeared, already washed and dressed. “Good morning, Auntie.”

Ji Jing had built himself the perfect image in Ms. Sun’s eyes: obedient, polite, well-read, and never arrogant despite being favored. How could she not like him, not trust him, not assign him responsibilities? Without hesitation, she left the task of waking the twins to him.

The twins were both chronic snoozers. Without someone hovering nearby, they just wouldn’t get up.

Ji Jing opened Su Jiasui’s bedroom door and tiptoed to her bedside.

It was still muggy in mid-September. Su Jiasui had kicked off her blanket and lay sprawled out like a starfish. Her pajama top had ridden up, exposing her fair, soft belly.

Blushing, Ji Jing gently pulled her pajamas down to cover her, then lightly poked her shoulder with his finger. “Sister Sui, Sister Sui.”

Su Jiasui frowned and turned over, hugging the soft, fluffy quilt with a groggy mumble. “Don’t bug me… five more minutes…”

Ji Jing’s throat itched. His heart did too. Suddenly, he really wanted to marry her—wanted to wake up to her like this every day, have her cling to him, hear her groggy little whines. The thought sprouted like spring grass after a rain, bursting through the soil in an instant and spreading like wildfire across the mountains.

But marriage was still a long way off. At least three to five years.

Ji Jing sighed, kneeled on the bed with one leg, grabbed her wrist, and tugged her up.

“Ahhh—”

“Time to get up.”

“I said five more minutes—”

People going back to sleep had no concept of time. Close their eyes, and five minutes became half an hour. Ji Jing said seriously, “I already gave you ten extra minutes. I even counted all your eyelashes.”

Su Jiasui squinted open one eye. “How many?”

“One hundred and thirty-six.”

“Bet you didn’t count the lower lashes.”

Ji Jing laughed. “Too dense to count.”

Pleased, Su Jiasui opened her other eye. “What about Jiahe? Is he up yet?”

Ji Jing did a quick mental calculation. “Should be waking up right about now.”

Suddenly, loud, angry footsteps thundered down the hallway. Like a scene out of a Three Kingdoms opera, Su Jiahe burst in like Cao Cao, glared like Zhang Fei, and flushed red like Guan Gong. “Ji Jing! Are you serious?! You set the AC to thirty degrees?!”

The windows and doors had been shut tight with the air conditioner set to 30°C—he’d practically been steamed awake.

Though only fifteen minutes younger, Su Jiahe was fifteen centimeters taller than his sister. But their personalities were worlds apart: Su Jiasui was tough on the outside, Su Jiahe tough only at home.

Still grumpy from being woken up, he spent the whole morning with a scowl.

Ms. Sun was a doting mother and never scolded her son. Old Su saw that Su Jiahe had been studying diligently the past couple of days and let it go too. But Su Jiasui couldn’t stand it. Believing in the principle that “a tree untrimmed grows crooked, and people uncorrected turn rotten,” she raised her hand and gave him a loud, resounding slap.

That sharp smack snapped Ji Jing out of his sweet daydream about married life.

…

As soon as Su Jiasui got to school, Xu Xiaotao leaned over to whisper some intel. “Sister Sui, I heard Wu Yaping’s planning to wait for you around Xinghai. What’s going on?”

“What else? I must’ve beaten her up.”

“Then you better be careful. I asked around—she’s got a terrible rep at the nursing school. Last year she even shaved off a dorm mate’s hair and took… bad photos. That girl had to drop out.”

“…She’s that arrogant and the school doesn’t care?”

“Everyone’s afraid of her retaliating. No one dares report her.”

Su Jiasui couldn’t help but take a deep breath. “What’s her name again?”

“Wu Yaping.”

“Got it. You head back to class first—and bring my bag up while you’re at it. I’m waiting for Ji Jing. He’s outside changing into his uniform.”

Afraid of bumping into Ji Jing again, Xu Xiaotao quickly grabbed Su Jiasui’s bag and made his escape.

Not long after, Ji Jing and Chen Xu walked through the school gates together.

“Morning, Sister Sui,” Chen Xu greeted lazily.

Su Jiasui caught sight of the keychain on his phone and widened her eyes. “No wonder I couldn’t find it—it was with you!”

“This?” Chen Xu dangled the tiny brown bear charm. “I asked Jiahe, and he said it was a freebie.”

“Give it back. I still want it.”

“Why should I? You stingy little thing. Jiahe already gave it to me.”

Ji Jing snatched Chen Xu’s phone and yanked the charm off in two seconds flat. “Would it kill you not to annoy her?”

“Tch. Just you wait. Don’t ask me to bring your uniform ever again.”

“You call her stingy, but you’re not exactly generous yourself.”

“Exactly!” Su Jiasui took the little bear charm back and held it up to Ji Jing, grinning. “Doesn’t it look like your hairstyle when you first started high school?”

Ji Jing: “…”

Su Jiasui added, “Honestly, your little curls were kinda cute.”

Chen Xu jumped in, teasing, “I go to that salon all the time—they’re running a perm special right now. Half price. You should go get it done again. C’mon, curly, hahaha!”

Ji Jing turned to Su Jiasui, a small smirk on his lips. “Did you just call me a nickname? That means you owe the whole class a meal.”

“I did not! He’s the one who said it. I only said your hairstyle looked good. I was complimenting you.” Su Jiasui fiddled with the charm for a while, but couldn’t attach it, so she gave up and shoved both the phone and the charm into Ji Jing’s hands. “You do it.”

Chen Xu chimed in, “You’ve got clumsier hands than an eighty-year-old grandma trying to thread a needle.”

Ji Jing actually agreed with that. Su Jiasui really was all thumbs. Other girls could whip up a ponytail, braid, or bun like it was nothing, but Su Jiasui would be sweating bullets after tying her hair once—and it still wouldn’t look right.

That said—

“Your hands aren’t clumsy. Your brain is.”

Chen Xu slung an arm around Ji Jing’s neck. “Dude, stop ditching your bros for your girl.”

Ji Jing silently attached the charm and handed the phone back to Su Jiasui, completely ignoring Chen Xu. “You eating in the cafeteria for lunch?”

“Nope. I want cold noodles.”

“The ones from that stall by the school gate?”

“What do you think?”

“They’re not clean…”

Su Jiasui shrugged. “You’re not the one eating it. I’m going with Chengzi.”

Ji Jing pressed his lips together, clearly displeased with this arrangement. At school, Su Jiasui was always busy—focused in class, rushing around after. Once night study ended, she went straight home with Old Su. Lunchtime was the only chance he had to see her, and now she wanted to ditch him for Cheng Xiangxue?

“Su Jiasui, could you come here for a sec? The teacher needs a favor.”

“Coming—”

Watching her walk away, Chen Xu didn’t hold back as he mocked Ji Jing, “Some people, I swear. Fawning over her like a lapdog all day—what’s the point?”

“Why do you have such a problem with Sister Sui?”

“Me? I’ve got nothing against her. I’ve got a problem with you.”

“What’s your problem with me?”

“You’ve got no spine. Can’t stand it.”

“You don’t know crap.”

Same old argument. Ji Jing couldn’t be bothered to respond anymore. He shoved Chen Xu aside and strode into the classroom.

Their homeroom teacher, Old Li, walked in right behind him, holding a stack of test papers. “Try to finish this during morning study. Class rep, collect the weekend homework. Oh—he’s out on leave. Ji Mutian, you handle it. Bring it to the office after class.”

Students in the rocket class usually had extracurriculars on the weekend, so homework from the school was minimal—more like a side dish at a full banquet. Even Chen Xu, who hated studying, had Xu Xiaotao help him finish Old Li’s physics worksheet just to avoid getting his parents involved.

As for Ji Jing, he didn’t even have the habit of taking his bag home, and the class rep normally didn’t bother asking him for homework.

So when Ji Mutian stood by his desk, clearly hesitant, Ji Jing said flatly, “I didn’t do it.”

“But…” Ji Mutian looked conflicted. “But the teacher asked me to collect it…”

“I said I didn’t do it.”

“You can still finish it before study ends…”

It was fair for a student to carry out a teacher’s instructions, and Ji Jing knew it was his fault for not doing the work. Technically, he shouldn’t be picking a fight over it.

But Ji Mutian going on and on was seriously getting on his nerves. He pulled out the blank worksheet, scribbled his name on it, and handed it over. “This is it, right?”

Ji Mutian bit her lower lip, eyes welling up with tears.

Ji Jing was speechless. What was with this girl and her overactive tear ducts? He waved his hand impatiently, signaling her to leave.

Sniffling, Ji Mutian returned to her seat with the worksheet.

Tang Shu noticed her eyes were red and asked quickly, “What happened, Mutian? Who upset you?”

Ji Mutian hesitated, then handed her the sheet. “I told him to finish it during study period, and he gave me a blank one… What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tang Shu glanced at the name in the corner and couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe he’s asking you to fill it in for him.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why should I do his work?”

“Well, handing it in like this is worse than not handing it in at all. But hey, his handwriting really is hard to copy. Did you know that the ‘Respectful and Diligent, Earnest and Hardworking’ motto outside our building was written by his grandfather, Ji Ruizhi? Ji Jing’s handwriting is just as beautiful.”

Ji Mutian studied Ji Jing’s signature closely and said with a smile, “It’s just regular slender script. I can do it too.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm! I’ve always been good at imitating handwriting. My old teachers even said I had a talent for it.”

To prove that she really could write in Slender Gold Script, Ji Mutian buried her head in helping Ji Jing make up his homework.

Halfway through, someone knocked on her desk.

Both Ji Mutian and Tang Shu looked up at the same time—and were startled.

Standing in front of them was Su Jiasui, her expression anything but friendly.

Su Jiasui slammed her own homework heavily onto the desk, then bent down and stared at the test paper with Ji Jing’s name on it.

It’s fucking weird.

Even now, the storyline still couldn’t avoid the whole “helping with homework” trope?

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Author’s note:

Xiao Xu’s emotions are a bit complicated, but he’s definitely a good guy, hahahahahaha don’t worry.