Chapter 10 – 10

Jiang Siwei’s intentions were obvious. Even someone as usually oblivious to relationship matters as Jian Rongrong realized something was off after seeing the post he made on his Moments.

She knew Jiang Siwei too well and was aware that she wouldn’t be able to get anything out of him. So, she directly called Lou Jia: “Excuse me, can I go post on Zhihu^[1]Zhihu is a popular Chinese question-and-answer platform, similar to Quora. Users can ask questions on a wide range of topics, and others can respond with detailed answers, often accompanied by … Continue reading now?”

“What?” Lou Jia, confused by her question, sent a few recently edited photos to He Miao and then opened the next one.

Jiang Siwei’s face suddenly appeared on the screen.

It was the photo she had taken of Jiang Siwei alone on the mountain that day. It was a close-up, and when enlarged on the screen, it became even more striking.

For a moment, Lou Jia didn’t even notice what Jian Rongrong was saying.

“Are you even listening?!” Jian Rongrong, eager to get the gossip but receiving no response, became increasingly frustrated.

“I’m listening, listening.” Lou Jia clicked the mouse, zooming in on different parts of the image. There was barely anything that needed editing. “The signal’s not great on my end. What did you just say?”

“…” Jian Rongrong sighed, giving up on subtlety and directly asking, “What’s going on between you and Jiang Siwei?”

Lou Jia’s hand froze on the mouse: “Huh?”

“That post on his Moments, I’m not imagining things, right?” Jian Rongrong asked. “What’s going on between you two? It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already made a move on him.”

Lou Jia laughed, “What do you mean I made a move? This time, I really didn’t.”

“Huh?” Jian Rongrong was a bit surprised, but then quickly found it unsurprising. “No wonder he only acts like a normal person when he’s around you.”

“…”

“So, are you two dating or in love now?”

“Neither.” Lou Jia thought for a moment and gave her a little heads-up, “For now, neither.”

Jian Rongrong snorted and couldn’t help gossiping, “With Jiang Siwei’s personality, even Auntie Jiang can’t handle him sometimes. What exactly do you see in him?”

Lou Jia’s gaze fell on the screen, looking at Jiang Siwei’s dark brows and eyes, and she half-jokingly said, “His face.”

Jian Rongrong exclaimed, “How did I not know you were such a shallow person!”

“Well, now you know.” Just then, there was a sudden commotion outside the office. Lou Jia, still holding her phone, got up and walked over to the window.

It was Jiang Siwei outside.

He was standing by the pool, leading a group of over ten children, their chatter loud and lively.

Jian Rongrong also heard the noise, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, the teacher’s just giving a class.” Lou Jia didn’t chat with Jian Rongrong for much longer. As soon as she hung up the phone, the school bell rang.

She looked outside and saw even more people gathered around the pool—mostly younger students.

Lou Jia, feeling a bit curious, closed her laptop and walked out. The students greeted her, calling out, “Hello, Teacher Lou,” but they continued to crowd around Jiang Siwei.

She walked closer and asked, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Siwei, holding a piece of an old soft rubber hose, looked mysteriously at her and said, “I’m going to show them a magic trick.”

With that, he dragged the hose over to the flower bed and turned his head, saying, “Teacher Lou, could you please turn on the water?”

Lou Jia responded and turned on the faucet.

Water quickly flowed through the hose, and just as it reached the nozzle, Jiang Siwei pinched it shut. He raised his hand, and the hose sprayed a large mist of water into the air.

Amidst the interplay of light and mist, a faint rainbow appeared.

“Wow!”

Rainbows weren’t a common sight in the mountainous area, and for most of the children, this was their first time seeing the rainbow they had only read about in books. They excitedly exclaimed in amazement.

“It really is a rainbow!”

“The rainbow really has so many colors! Teacher Jiang is amazing!!!”

…

As a teacher, Jiang Siwei was quite pleased with the children’s praise. Once the students dispersed, he put away the hose and swaggered over to Lou Jia, clearly expecting a compliment.

Lou Jia, unwilling to let him be too proud, teased him on purpose, “You’re wasting so much water. Be careful, Principal Luo might come after you.”

“I wasn’t wasting it.” Jiang Siwei pointed to the flower bed and defended himself, “All the water went in here.”

The school didn’t have much space, so instead of flowers, the flower beds were planted with fruits and vegetables. The blossoms looked nice, and they could even bear edible produce.

Lou Jia was amused by how serious Jiang Siwei was being. Imitating the children, she clapped her hands and praised, “Wow, Teacher Jiang is really amazing!”

It was only then that Jiang Siwei realized Lou Jia was teasing him. He blinked, and his ears turned red as he silently picked up the hose. “You…”

“Hmm?” Lou Jia raised her eyebrow, looking at him.

“Was the rainbow nice?” He didn’t really know what to say, so he awkwardly changed the subject.

“It was beautiful,” Lou Jia replied, “Teacher Jiang is really great.”

Jiang Siwei’s ears turned even redder, his gaze wandering as he held the hose. He looked like he wanted to run away but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.

Fortunately, the bell rang just in time. Lou Jia had two classes to teach next, and she didn’t want to “bully” him any further. She smiled and said, “I’m off to class. You should call your sister when you have time.”

“What’s up with her?” Jiang Siwei asked.

“That post on your Moments…” Lou Jia replied, “She’s quite curious about it.”

“Oh,” Jiang Siwei said, “Let her stay curious.”

“…” Lou Jia chuckled, not wanting to get involved in the sibling drama. She waved and headed off to class.

Who knows how Jiang Siwei communicated with Jian Rongrong, but as soon as Lou Jia finished her class, she found several WeChat messages from her.

Jian Rongrong had dropped the curiosity and gossip, now earnestly trying to persuade Lou Jia not to make the mistake of dating Jiang Siwei.

This time, it was Lou Jia’s turn to be curious.

She took her phone and went to find Jiang Siwei, subtly probing to find out what he had said to Jian Rongrong.

“Didn’t say much,” Jiang Siwei replied, “just asked about her relationship status.”

“And then?”

“I also casually told her not to be too concerned about mine.”

Lou Jia suddenly understood. She even suspected that the main reason Jiang Siwei hadn’t stayed in touch with them over the years had a lot to do with Jian Rongrong.

After all, she had never seen a pair of siblings so constantly at odds with each other like these two.

Jiang Siwei, knowing Jian Rongrong just as well, asked, “What did she say to you?”

Lou Jia, of course, wouldn’t add fuel to the fire. “Nothing much, just complained about you a little.”

“She didn’t tell you not to consider me, did she?” Jiang Siwei found it hard to believe that wasn’t Jian Rongrong’s style.

“No, she didn’t. Were you hoping she would?”

Jiang Siwei shook his head, then suddenly looked at Lou Jia. “Does what she says affect your decision?”

“What do you think?” Lou Jia met his gaze without backing down, even with a bit of amusement in her eyes.

Jiang Siwei, clearly no match for her, blushed slightly again. His eyes shifted between looking at her and looking away, and after a long pause, he finally muttered, “I don’t think it does.”

“Then it doesn’t,” Lou Jia replied.

“Then, how much longer are you going to think about it?” Jiang Siwei asked cautiously.

Lou Jia smiled at him, “Aren’t you still here?”

“…”

Damn it.

Jiang Siwei suddenly regretted what he had said earlier about considering it until he left. He should have just made his move right away, not waiting even a day.

But since it was his own words, there was no turning back now. All he could do was grit his teeth and let Lou Jia take her time to decide.

Fortunately, time keeps moving forward, and life as a volunteer teacher gradually settled into a routine. Jiang Siwei blinked, and as August arrived, he still felt a bit dazed.

It felt like he had just arrived, yet the countdown to leaving had already begun.

In just over a month here, Jiang Siwei had fully immersed himself in the local life. Not only could he speak the local dialect, but he had also secretly learned some of the local folk songs and dances.

Of course, he didn’t learn these for nothing.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month was a traditional festival in Wutong Village. The village was bustling from morning to night on this day, with activities such as burning incense for blessings, singing and dancing, and feasting at long communal tables.

It was Lou Jia and her group’s first time attending such a gathering, and they were surrounded by the villagers’ enthusiasm. They ate from morning till evening, to the point where they felt like heading off to the side to throw up.

“I really can’t eat anymore,” He Miao said, waving her hand. “I need a break.”

Lou Jia put down her chopsticks as well. “I need a break too.”

Their table was filled with volunteer teachers, and though there weren’t many of them, the villagers were constantly worried they wouldn’t have enough to eat, so they kept bringing more food.

When Ying Xi came over to check on them, there were still a few dishes on the table that hadn’t even been touched.

Seeing this, she wasn’t surprised and smiled, “It’s okay. The communal feast runs all day, and they don’t clear the tables. You can come back and eat if you get hungry later. Just ask them to heat it up.”

“That works,” Fang Jin said. “We really can’t eat any more right now.”

“Drink some of this tea, it’ll help cut the grease,” Ying Xi said as she placed the teapot on the table. After looking around, she asked, “Why are you missing someone?”

“Siwei went to Xiao Dong’s house to change clothes,” Fang Jin answered.

“What happened?” Ying Xi looked toward Lou Jia.

“Some food accidentally spilled on his shoulder while serving,” Lou Jia explained.

Ying Xi exclaimed, “He didn’t get burned, did he?”

“No, it’s fine. It was a cold dish,” Lou Jia smiled.

Just as they were laughing about it, Liu Xiao Dong rushed over, out of breath. “Sister Xi, something happened to Teacher Jiang!”

His words were alarming. Lou Jia’s head buzzed, and she immediately stood up. “What happened to him?”

Everyone else at the table stood up as well. Ying Xi grabbed Liu Xiao Dong, anxiously asking what exactly had happened.

Liu Xiao Dong quickly explained, “He was saving someone and hurt his arm.”

It wasn’t a complicated situation. A child in the village had climbed a tree to reach a bird’s nest, but when he got too high, he lost his footing. Jiang Siwei and Liu Xiao Dong happened to be walking by underneath.

“It was pure luck, or lack of it, I guess. There was a pit at the base of the tree, and Jiang Siwei lost his balance while trying to catch the kid. The child wasn’t light either, so it looks like his arm got hurt under the weight.” Liu Xiao Dong sighed. “Uncle Luo has already taken him to the village clinic. He sent me to let you know.”

None of them had the heart to continue eating or drinking, so they all rushed to the clinic. By the time they arrived, Jiang Siwei was just coming out with his arm in a sling.

Lou Jia noticed a few small scrapes on his face and frowned, asking, “How are you?”

“Just a dislocated shoulder, nothing serious. The doctor already set it back in place,” Jiang Siwei said with a smile. “I just need to avoid moving it too much for a while.”

“Thank goodness nothing serious happened. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain this to Teacher Lou,” Principal Luo sighed. “I don’t know if there’s some kind of bad luck with this position—Teacher Zheng injured his leg, and now you come to fill in and hurt your arm.”

After saying that, he decided he would go to the temple and burn some incense.

Ying Xi added, “Why don’t we head back? The bonfire party is about to start.”

This was the final activity of the Qixi Festival.

At five in the evening, a bonfire would be lit in the village center square. Men, women, and children would gather around it to sing and dance, and passionate young men would sing folk songs, inviting the girls they adored to join them in a dance, creating new romantic stories.

“Yes, yes,” He Miao chimed in, noticing the tense atmosphere and trying to lighten the mood. “Let’s hurry up, or we’ll miss the best spots.”

As they stepped out of the clinic, they could already see smoke rising from the bonfire in the distance, and cheerful songs echoed through the hills.

Jiang Siwei walked alongside Lou Jia at the back of the group. He glanced at her from time to time, noticing her furrowed brows, as if she were a bit upset. In a low voice, he said, “I’m really fine. If you don’t believe me, I can dance for you to prove it.”

As he spoke, he started to move as if he was about to dance.

“Alright, alright, stop messing around.” Lou Jia stopped him, feeling a mix of exasperation and amusement. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m just…”

She pressed her lips together, struggling to find the right words. She was both angry at him for not protecting himself and heartbroken that he got hurt in the process. “You really are—”

“What?”

“A fool,” Lou Jia said.

Jiang Siwei chuckled softly, “Yeah, I’m pretty clumsy. I’ve been learning to dance from Xiao Dong these past few days, but I’m not getting the hang of it.”

“You’ve been learning to dance from him?” Lou Jia was a bit surprised. No wonder she’d been seeing him with Liu Xiao Dong a lot lately. “You’ve never been interested in singing or dancing before. Why the sudden urge to learn?”

“Sister Xi told me that here, if a guy invites the girl he likes to dance on Qixi, they’ll receive the blessing of the Seven-Star Goddess.”

Lou Jia froze for a moment and turned to look at him. He stood there in the twilight, his dark eyes fixed on her unwaveringly.

Her heart skipped two beats, caught between anticipation and nervousness.

“Lou Jia,” Jiang Siwei’s gaze never left her, “would you be willing to dance this dance with me?”

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Author’s Note:

Happy Qixi Festival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If all goes well, the next chapter will be the finale!

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