Chapter 295 - 282: Shattered_3
"Let go of me." Zhu Qinghan shook off his hand irritably, trying hard to make herself look less angry, and sneered, "I know, I’m a hypocritical person, with a strong desire to win, and a bad temper. Over the years, you’ve suffered a lot because of me. I sincerely apologize here, from now on, we should not meet again. Let’s just end everything here!" After saying this, Zhu Qinghan gave a contemptuous smile and turned around to walk forward.
Indeed, no matter who stays by her side, in the end, they will leave because of her family, her bad temper, and her greedy possessiveness. Only loneliness suits her best. Throughout her journey, loneliness has been her only companion—hasn’t she already grown accustomed to it?
Why cry?
Why do these damn tears keep falling?
Growing up, she endured countless disdain and rejection because her mother was an adult film star. Thus, she had a strong possessiveness toward the parts of herself that were missing and worked hard to change herself, making herself look glamorous, striving to become that perfect person in others’ eyes.
"That’s really not what I meant. I just can’t bear to see you living so heavily burdened by these things." Zhu Chen caught up to her again, pulling her over and solemnly holding her shoulders while looking at her, "Qinghan, other people’s opinions don’t matter. The important thing is, are you happy? Is Jiang Baizhou really what you want? We’ve known each other for so many years, why don’t you realize that the one who truly cares for you, loves you, and values you is right by your side?"
Zhu Qinghan was taken aback, forgetting to let the tears in her eyes fall. She just stared at him blankly, her lips moving again and again. After a long while, she fluttered her eyelashes, and a shimmering tear slid down her cheek, "Clearly... clearly it was you who proposed breaking up back then. You said we were incompatible. During that time, you were so distant, so cold to me... clearly..." The more she spoke, the more Zhu Qinghan cried until she was unable to say another word.
Back then, when she dated Zhu Chen, she was wholeheartedly genuine, so she revealed both her good and bad sides to him. But over time, the differences between them grew larger, and it was ultimately Zhu Chen who suggested they break up. She was so helpless and scared then, yet to keep herself from being lonely, not to be afraid anymore, she chose to compromise and maintained a relationship with him as friends.
In her junior year, it happened that during break time, it rained on the way to the cafeteria. She had nowhere to hide, so she covered her head with her hand and ran to the cafeteria. The road was slippery, and she accidentally slipped. Just as she was about to fall, Jiang Baizhou appeared, firmly grabbing her arm and handing her his umbrella.
At that moment, her insecure and anxious heart felt warmth. Later, she learned he was a junior, and she admired him even more. From then on, Jiang Baizhou became an obsession she could not let go.
"I’m sorry..." Zhu Chen hugged her tightly into his arms, "I won’t do it again in the future. So... don’t hurt others, don’t hurt yourself anymore. No one will accuse you or distance themselves from you anymore. You are Zhu Qinghan, you will always be Zhu Qinghan."
***
The next morning, when Cen Jin woke up, she found Jiang Baizhou was not beside her. She stretched lazily, checked the time, and realized it was just past eight. She slowly got out of bed to wash up, suddenly hearing noises from the kitchen. Perplexed, she arched her eyebrows and carefully walked into the living room, where a familiar handsome figure was wearing a gray apron, holding a spatula in one hand and flipping a pan with the other, looking quite comical from behind.
When Jiang Baizhou turned around to serve the plates, he saw her leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, with a gentle morning smile. A hint of surprise flashed across his face, but he quickly returned to normal: "When did you wake up? How come there was no noise?"
"Why haven’t you gone to the clinic today? Shouldn’t you have left by now? And you have the leisure to make... breakfast?" Cen Jin spoke with a smile, looking down at the two fried eggs on his plate. Her expression froze, incredulously blinking before bursting into laughter, though she tried to suppress it upon noticing Mr. Jiang’s grim face: "Pfft... cough... no... this... let me guess, those are... fried eggs!"
"The heat was too high." Jiang Baizhou turned his head, dumped the plates aside, and took off the apron, placing it on the counter: "Go brush your teeth and wash your face. Put on your socks; you’ll catch a cold easily."
Seeing him heading towards the door with his coat, Cen Jin quickly called out, "Hey, where are you going? To the clinic?"
"To buy breakfast." Jiang Baizhou changed his shoes at the door, put on his jacket, left those words, and walked out without looking back.
Cen Jin stood in place, covering her mouth with a chuckle. Tilting her head to look at the slightly messy kitchen, she stepped into the bathroom to start washing up and then returned to the kitchen to help clean up the mess.
By the time she finished tidying up, Jiang Baizhou had returned with breakfast. Seeing her in the kitchen, he raised his eyebrows, placing the breakfast on the table: "I’ll handle the rest later. Come eat first."
"Just a moment, I’ll be done soon. Let me wipe this last part." Cen Jin quickly finished cleaning the counter, rinsed the cloth, hung it on a hook to dry, dried her hands, and came out of the kitchen with a smile, looking at him, "All done."
Jiang Baizhou pulled out a chair for her to sit down, setting out her favorite breakfast items, "Bought it from the old man downstairs at Han’s place."
"Hehe, I could tell just by the soy milk." Cen Jin smiled, picking up a disposable chopstick to taste a small steamed bun. As she bit into it, the soup nearly spilled out, and she instinctively raised her hand to catch it.
Jiang Baizhou took a napkin to wipe her mouth corner: "Are you heading to the studio later?"
"Yes! Why else would I get up so early?" Cen Jin replied, drinking some soy milk, nodding: "Hmm, I have a client at nine-thirty. If it works out, I’ll be a bit busy these days. The client wants their wedding dress rushed, only twelve days including the groom’s outfit. How about you? Is your clinic busy today?"
"Not too busy, the appointment I originally had this morning was canceled by the patient yesterday over the phone."
"Will you be staying home this morning then?"
"I’ll send you to the studio later."
"I can go by myself, why don’t you rest well at home."
"No need, I’ll send you."
Since he insisted, Cen Jin couldn’t say much. She picked up a shumai to feed him, watching him with her starry almond eyes.
Jiang Baizhou raised his eyelids, gazing at her, leaning slightly forward, and took the shumai she fed him with a raised eyebrow: "Hmm, suddenly I feel... shumai is quite tasty."
Cen Jin chuckled: "Then I’ll buy more of what you don’t like in the future, maybe I can change your picky eating habits."
"Sure, I look forward to it."
"Huh, taking advantage and still playing coy." Cen Jin rolled her eyes at him, ate two more dumplings and a shumai, finished her soy milk, and upon checking the time, hastily said, "I’m done eating. You clean up, I’m running late." With that, she returned to the bedroom to hastily apply some makeup, passed through the closet to grab a coat, her bag, and the bag and phone Yun Xi left yesterday, headed straight to the door to change shoes, saw Jiang Baizhou still dawdling, and urged, "Are you ready yet? Hurry up."