After Su Qing left, Jiang Sui's back was filled with a chilling sadness.
Jiang Sui looked at Su Qing, seemingly unwilling to turn her head.
She seemed to be avoiding him.
Pursing his lips, he clenched his fists, lowered his head, and went to the kitchen.
Su Qing didn't know how long she had cried. The sadness and grief made her want to hit Jiang Sui. She had thought the young man would come to find her, but he never did.
Until she fell asleep.
What Su Qing didn't know was that the boy had quietly wiped her eyes that evening, tucked her in, and then heated up the food before leaving.
Su Qing was accustomed to taking naps, but it usually didn't last long.
The nightlight was still on at the chosen hour.
Su Qing woke up, still a little dazed, unable to believe they had actually argued.
Su Qing vaguely remembered that after graduation, when she was having dinner with Ranran and the others, Ranran had whispered in her ear, "Jiang Sui is very handsome and very cold, but he would never argue with you."
Su Qing agreed.
Now it's hard to tell if he was arguing with her, or if she was the one who wanted to argue with him.
What had Jiang Sui done wrong?
Back in school, he'd given up on Stanford because of her, then chosen to pursue graduate school at this university, and now he'd given up on pursuing a doctorate directly because of her.
And what about her?
He studied law for her dream.
For her studies, he secretly registered her name and prepared documents without telling her.
He cooked for her, picked her up from school...
He had illuminated her path, so what could she possibly be dissatisfied with?
Su Qing's eyes welled up again. She pursed her lips, got out of bed, put on her shoes, and went downstairs. The dining room was filled with the aroma of food.
After arriving in Beijing, the two of them lived off campus, just like they had in Jiangcheng.
The young man was incredibly thoughtful, having bought a house identical to the one in Jiangcheng, so Su Qing's habit of being so attached to her bed was instantly cured.
The living room was empty. Su Qing entered the kitchen, looked at the warm food, pursed her lips, and walked to Jiang Sui's door.
After standing there for a long time, she raised her arm to knock.
After knocking several times...
There was no movement from inside, and she pursed her lips.
"Come out for dinner."
She knew he hadn't eaten either. The food was freshly made and showed no signs of having been touched. Su Qing could tell.
After she finished speaking...
There was no response from inside the room, and Su Qing pursed her lips.
She opened Jiang Sui's door, and sure enough, there was no one inside.
Su Qing rarely came to Jiang Sui's room.
Like the young man, Jiang Sui's room was bare except for a bed, a table with books on it, and a photo of the two of them.
The young man stood behind her, his eyes filled with tenderness and love.
Su Qing pursed her lips, stepped forward, and examined the photo. It was taken during their autumn outing during their freshman year.
No matter how she tried, she couldn't convince herself that he didn't love her.
Sitting on the boy's bed, Su Qing could even feel his warmth.
Su Qing pursed her lips.
"Jiang Sui, why?"
He insisted on pushing her away.
After sitting for a long time, Su Qing was about to get up and leave when she heard the door in the living room unlock. She pursed her lips, a look of awkwardness on her face. As she left, she happened to meet the young man's gaze as he returned from the doorway.
The young man looked up and saw Su Qing coming out of his room.
A look of surprise flashed across his eyes, and he stepped forward.
"Awake? Have you eaten?"
Jiang Sui's voice was low, with a hint of fatigue, but Su Qing could clearly see his wet hair, still wet.
He looked like he had just gotten out of the shower.
Jiang Sui loved swimming, and whenever he was feeling down, he'd go swimming alone. Su Qing knew this.
She pursed her lips.
He was feeling down.
She was feeling down, too.
Su Qing shook him off that Jiang Sui held onto her fingers.
Her refusal and evasion left Jiang Sui's fingers empty, and then he took the fruit he'd bought.
"I'll peel those lychees you like for you, okay?"
Su Qing pursed her lips and said nothing. She wasn't the type to indulge in gluttony. She looked at the boy.
"I don't want lychees anymore. I want durian."
She was clearly being deliberate. Jiang Sui was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, I'll order take out now."
"I don't want take out. I want you to go out and buy it."
Su Qing was being somewhat unreasonable. She had no idea, or perhaps she had no outlet for the pent-up frustration within her.
"Okay, I'll go get it. You go eat first. I'll be back soon and you can have durian."
The young man was always good-tempered towards Su Qing, and Su Qing pursed her lips.
"Jiang Sui, are you going to do whatever I tell you to do?"
Su Qing's eyes were filled with irritation.
Jiang Sui pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Say something!"
"Qing Qing, it's my fault. If you don't want to go, then we won't go."
Su Qing pursed her lips and looked at Jiang Sui, who was compromising with her. She couldn't seem to be happy.
"Why shouldn't I go? I'm going. Jiang Sui, I said I'm going."
She rarely spoke loudly, rarely exposed her emotions, or perhaps Su Qing had always been a quiet person. She was naturally the quiet type, but these past two days, she had been prone to collapse.
Su Qing pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed to speak so loudly, and pinched her fingertips.
Jiang Sui lowered his eyes.
"Okay, let's go, then."
"Jiang Sui, I'm going, and you can't go. You stay here. I want you to complete your doctorate."
Su Qing pursed her lips, not wanting Jiang Sui to lose any more. Jiang Sui stared at her blankly.
"Qing Qing..."
"Jiang Sui, do you want me to live in guilt forever?"
Su Qing's eyes, a shimmering brilliance, rippled, his expression icy and cold.
Jiang Sui pursed his lips and shook his head.
"Qing Qing, I never wanted your guilt..."
His voice was low, his words labored, as if he was speaking of something serious and sad.
Su Qing didn't understand why Jiang Sui had fallen so deeply.
"Jiang Sui, let's both calm down for a while."
Su Qing pursed her lips.
Jiang Sui looked at Su Qing and, in a deep, heavy voice, uttered the word "ok."
How could be considered calm?
Jiang Sui didn't know, and neither did Su Qing.
Jiang Sui still cooked, still picked her up from school, still did everything he did before. It seemed as if nothing had changed, yet it seemed as if everything had.
They no longer held hands, no longer smiled at each other.
They rarely communicated, either.
Su Qing's smile was gone.
Jiang Sui grew increasingly cold and unsympathetic.
His indifference could hurt anyone.
Time flew by.
Su Qing strongly urged that Jiang Sui pursue a doctorate directly. The teacher was delighted with Jiang Sui's change of heart, though the boy remained aloof.
But the school was unwilling to give up on this promising young talent.