His stubbornness shocked Su Qing, and a trace of sadness flashed through her eyes. She pursed her lips.
She pressed her entire face against Jiang Sui's shirt.
"Jiang Sui, want me now."
She spoke without shyness, without any extraneous emotion, her voice trembling slightly.
Jiang Sui's spine stiffened, and after his pupils shone, he pursed his lips. His hands dropped to clenched fists.
"Qing Qing, be good. Let me go. Let's eat first."
Su Qing's numb face, hearing Jiang Sui's words, felt his uneasiness and fear, and in an instant, her heart broke.
He rejected her.
"Jiang Sui..."
"Qing Qing, stop messing around. Let me go and eat first."
He always felt that she was too frail, like she could be blown away by the wind.
Su Qing didn't obey, instead hugging Jiang Sui even tighter.
"Why?"
She wanted an answer. They had been each other's light, walking so many paths, spending so much time together, navigating so much hardship. Why had things turned out like this?
Was it simply because of their studies?
Su Qing knew perfectly well that it wasn't entirely true, but why?
Su Qing racked her brains but couldn't find the answer.
She bit her lip, her eyes reddening.
"Why?"
She insisted on the answer, and he could hear the bitterness in Su Qing's voice, even a hint of tears.
Jiang Sui's eyes held a hint of despair. Thinking of the girl's despair, her emotionless words, his heart felt like it had been stabbed, bloody and mangled.
Listening to the girl's sobs, Jiang Sui clenched his fists.
She had hardly cried since the case was solved. She hadn't cried since that summer, after Mother Su passed away. But these past few days, she felt like she had shed all the tears she'd ever cried.
Jiang Sui felt incredibly sad.
"Qing Qing, didn't I tell you the answer a long time ago? Sweetheart, the food's getting cold."
The boy's restrained voice, with a slightly deep, intriguing tone, was largely emotionless.
"What answer? Before, it was because I was too young. Now, am I still young?"
"Why did you reject me?"
He had always answered that way before, but not now.
Jiang Sui's voice was low, "Qing Qing, I don't want to hurt you."
Su Qing found the words ridiculous. She pursed her lips, let go of Jiang Sui, and stood in front him, tilting her head slightly upwards as she looked at the handsome boy.
"Don't you want to hurt me?"
"Then you keep making me cry and rejecting me. You never reject me. Do you know how many times you've rejected me these past few days?"
Su Qing could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes.
She wasn't a crybaby; she hated crying, believing it to be a sign of weakness. But these past few days, she had cried far too much.
Su Qing covered her face, her eyes and face filled with uncontrollable sadness.
She had been spoiled by Jiang Sui.
She had never imagined that he would one day reject her.
It was hard to imagine hearing the young man, who had given her his life, say that he was afraid of hurting her.
Jiang Sui's drooping hand felt like it weighed a million pounds. He lifted it and wiped Su Qing's tears with his fingertips.
Su Qing tilted her head.
"I don't want you to wipe my tears."
Jiang Sui's hand froze, and he looked into Su Qing's red, aggrieved eyes.
"Stop it."
He continued to wipe Su Qing's tears stiffly.
Her skin was so delicate that even the gentle wipe left red marks. Jiang Sui's eyes darkened.
"Be good, don't cry. You can hit me or scold me if you want, but just don't cry. Okay, baby."
Jiang Sui's voice was unlike the boy's, deep and heavy. The last word held a magnetic quality that made Su Qing's heart tremble.
"Don't call me that."
Her eyes were red as she looked at the boy, whose heartbreak flashed through his eyes.
"If you don't want me, then don't call me that."
She spoke bluntly, without a trace of shyness or timidity.
She spoke so openly, her eyes reddening deeply. Jiang Sui clenched his dangling hands into fists.
"Qing Qing!"
His voice was filled with restraint and forbearance.
Jiang Sui's eyes held a storm of fury unknown to Su Qing.
"Are you being mean to me, Jiang Sui?"
Her voice was a low growl, and her eyes, red and rimmed, made her look incredibly pitiful.
"I didn't."
Jiang Sui felt somewhat bewildered. He lowered his voice and tried to tug at Su Qing's hand.
"Don't hold my hand!"
Her refusal was complete and decisive.
"Aren't you trying to push me away? You're forcing me to study abroad."
Su Qing's eyes were red. This was the first time she had spoken harshly to Jiang Sui. She bit her lip and looked at him.
"Qing Qing, I didn't."
Jiang Sui retorted immediately, his voice a little flustered.
"How could you not have it? How could you not have it? Who submitted the documents for me? You know, the admission letter came today, and Professor Rong asked me why I was unhappy!"
"Do you know why I'm unhappy?"
Su Qing closed her eyes, pursed her lips, and her voice became much louder, almost collapsing.
"Qing Qing, I didn't know you were unhappy..."
Jiang Sui was at a loss. He pursed his lips, his entire body sank into a dead silence. His face was expressionless, his lips a pale hue, like a terminally ill person.
"Then don't go..."
Jiang Sui seemed to have given in to something deep within him. His eyes lit up, and he looked at Su Qing, wanting to take her hand again.
But Su Qing quickly moved away.
Her reaction was so swift, so strong. She stared at Jiang Sui.
"Don't touch me!"
"No, why not? You told me to go, didn't you? I'm going!"
Her eyes were firm and cold, and a long-lost sense of strangeness rose in Jiang Sui's heart.
Su Qing stood in the distance, watching Jiang Sui.
It seemed like they hadn't been this far apart in ages.
Jiang Sui's arms drooped, wanting to reach out and grab Su Qing, but he was deeply hurt by the indifference in the girl's eyes.
"Jiang Sui, you don't want me anymore."
"Don't regret it."
Su Qing's eyes were red, and she bit her lip desperately, speaking harshly.
Her eyes were bloodshot and indifferent, and she looked at Jiang Sui coldly.
She turned her head, turned around, and left.
Su Qing bit her lip, trying hard not to cry.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...
She counted past a hundred and was almost upstairs, almost to her room, but still didn't hear Jiang Sui following.
Su Qing could no longer hold back her tears.
With the sound of the door closing, they began to fall.