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Twenty-Third Period (2)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Jiang Huihui’s eyes dimmed. On the two rare occasions she had ran away from home, her mom has neither questioned nor cared. Including last time, when she didn’t come home for the entire night, her mom afterwards just pretended as if it’d never happened, even if eventually learning that she wasn’t the real culprit.
But Jiang Huihui never got that apology. Actually, she has never thought of waiting for one. It was something that was never going to happen in the first place.
Her phone rang. Jiang Huihui unlocked the screen and took a glance.
It was a message from Zhan Tong.
——-What’s going on? Your mom suddenly called me and asked if you were at my place. How should I reply?
Jiang Huihui fell silent for a very long time, not knowing how she should explain to her.
——-Just say that I’m at your place today. I’ll explain it to you at school tomorrow.
——-Fine, I’ll tell her that.
Staring at the messages on the screen, Jiang Huihui gripped her phone, motionless.
This pink cellphone was given to her by Zhou Yanli. The one that bought the phone was Zhou Jinwei.
She was just about to look up and explain to him, but the latter didn’t seem to mind.
He held a can of beer in hand and handed her a bottle of milk.
Jiang Huihui put down her phone and took the milk, thanking him.
Zhou Jinwei shook his head and didn’t say anything.
A long while later, he finally opened his mouth again, his voice deep and magnetic. Every time Jiang Huihui listened to him speak, she would always think of some kind of musical instrument.
It carried a faint chilliness, yet strangely alluring.
“Do you believe his words?”
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Perhaps because they’ve known each other for some time now, Jiang Huihui discovered that she actually formed a kind of tacit understanding with him.
Some of the things he said, she could understand without even needing to ask a second time, especially on matters regarding Zhou Yanli.
“I also don’t know.” She lightly stroked her phone screen, “If it’s true, then I still have six years.”
“What if it is true?” He said.
Jiang Huihui didn’t answer him directly. Instead, after thinking for a moment, she told him, “My grandmother always said, everything in one’s fate is predestined.”
Zhou Jinwei slightly lifted his brow: “You even believe in fate?”
This was actually a bit surprising for him.
“Of course.” She smiled, “I do. If this is my fate, then I will calmly accept it.”
Zhou Jinwei’s expression slightly faltered, “But he seems to be unable to accept it.”
“If it’s true, then it actually isn’t that bad. At least….at least, in this world, there exist such a person, who won’t hesitate to cross time to return to the past just to save me.” Her eyes were bright, with a kind of sincerity that Zhou Jinwei couldn’t understand, “What transcends life, death, and fate isn’t time, but humanity’s indestructible love.”
Zhou Jinwei looked at her, as if getting blinded by the brightness in her eyes.
He lowered his eyes, opening the can of beer with one hand and watching the foam pour out. Unknown as to whether it had been shaken beforehand or not, the bubbles gushed out for a very long time without stopping, even overflowing past the tip of his index finger used to pop open the can.
He slightly frowned, a sense of irritation slowly rising inside.
But he couldn’t pinpoint the cause of this irritation.
Was it because of the beer getting on his finger, or because of Jiang Huihui’s words?
Based on common sense, Zhou Yanli’s words were indeed absurd to the point of being unbelievable.
But the data printed in black on white paper made all of this become inexplicable.
So, six years from now, Jiang Huihui will indeed become like how Zhou Yanli said, after suffering through the torment of illness, eventually die of lung cancer?
He took a sip of the beer, “Not everyone has this mindset and awareness of yours.”
She blanked, “What?”
Zhou Jinwei said it in a way that was easier to understand, “Perhaps, compared to death, those who are left behind suffer even more instead.”
Jiang Huihui stared at the side of his face. The outlines of his face were smooth yet sharp. That’s why he gave off a kind of extremely hard to approach feeling.
Her teacher once said that his father was no ordinary man, but didn’t say anything more than that.
Jiang Huihui just knew that ever since they came to Pingjiang, the development and economy here have been advancing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Every day downstairs, she could hear those aunties and uncles in the neighborhood gather together, loudly discussing which areas were being demolished and where new development was taking place.
The places that were once messy and chaotic a few years back were now all fenced off with green tarps, the inside becoming a construction site.
In just a few years, towering buildings will soon rise up from the ground one after another here.
And before long, Zhou Jinwei will leave. Zhou Yanli will also leave.
They don’t belong here. Jiang Huihui has always known this.
They didn’t have the pettiness and worldly-mindset of those from a small place. They were open and upright, and won’t because of moving to this kind of place, feel embarrassed.
Because they’d received the most elite education and seen a broader world, compared to money, their minds were richer.
These things were forever beyond Jiang Huihui’s reach.
They will eventually leave one day, leave this place, and leave her side.
She felt that this fleeting month was just like a dream.
Like the wonderful dream the Little Match Girl had that winter night before she froze to death.
She dreamed of roast chicken, dreamed of a warm house, and also dreamed of her beloved grandmother who loved her.
And for her, could all of this also be a fleeting dream of hers?
She was always getting bullied and always getting neglected. Growing up in a family devoid of love, she became a timid and meek person.
Even her birthday wishes, she would just repeat exactly what her mom told her to say, “Get into a good college and earn a lot of money.”
But in her heart, she secretly hoped that a superhero can descend from the sky and protect her.
It was a ridiculously absurd wish, yet absurdly, it came true.
She reached out and pinched the cuff of the sweatshirt on her, stroking along the spiral pattern.
The material was excellent, clearly very expensive, unlike those in her wardrobe, which will start to fuzz after wearing it twice and shrink after washing it once. Fortunately, those clothes didn’t fit her to begin with. After washing a few times, it actually ended up fitting her.
“Recently, I keep feeling as if all of this has happened before, a feeling of deja vu. I don’t know if it was in my dream, or because there is a past life, perhaps a girl’s sixth sense?”
“Don’t think too much about it.” He took the milk from her, only to hand it back to her after opening it for her, “Even if it’s really cancer, if caught early, in the earlier stages, it can still be cured.”
She took a sip of the milk, then rested her chin on her knees, nodding her head, “En.”
Unknown as to why, when facing Zhou Jinwei, she had an unprecedented sense of stability and security.
Like there was nothing to worry about.
His steadiness and reliability can make all uncertain factors become certain.
He actually wasn’t that scary.
Jiang Huihui suddenly felt that if she can stay with them forever, even if just having six years left, it seemingly wasn’t so bad either.
That night, Zhou Jinwei did stay behind.
His room was next to hers. There was just a simple divider built between them that didn’t reach the ceiling. The sound from next door could be heard clearly.
Jiang Huihui knew the original owners. They were a middle-aged couple with two sons, the older son eight, the younger son just five.
These two rooms were most likely one room divided into two. For the sake of making it easier to take care of the children, they didn’t build a full wall, instead leaving a gap.
Zhou Jinwei heard Jiang Huihui tossing and turning in bed nonstop.
“Can’t sleep?” He asked in a calm voice.
Jiang Huihui hugged the blanket and rolled over again, softly replying, “En.”
“I can’t f#%$ing sleep either.” Right after she responded, an annoyed male voice suddenly sounded from the darkness, startling Jiang Huihui out of nowhere.
When finally realizing that the voice was coming from the room next door, she suddenly sighed.
Looks like the soundproofing here was indeed very poor.
There were three rooms, one of which was a kids’ room. Zhou Yanli had his own room given to Jiang Huihui, so he could only go sleep in the kids’ room.
“This room is way too tiny. I’m a son, not a grandson.”
Jiang Huihui had seen that room before. It was actually a lot bigger than her own room.
But for Zhou Yanli who was tall and burly, it was indeed a bit cramp.
In the dark, she faintly heard the rustling sound of clothes. A few seconds later, the door on Zhou Jinwei’s side of the room got pushed open.
The light from the living room spilled in through the gap in the divider onto Jiang Huihui’s side.
Zhou Yanli stood leaning against the door with a sweatshirt on and a coat over his shoulders, “Can’t fall asleep anyways. There just happens to be a net cafe downstairs. Let’s go start a match together.”
“……..”
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