CoP 30

Ji Ling hadn’t expected Sui Cannong to counter-question him like that.

It seemed as if Sui Cannong was implying that he should know something, but the problem was that Ji Ling didn’t know what he was supposed to know.

After a moment of contemplation, only one answer surfaced in Ji Ling’s mind.

He felt a bit embarrassed, but after some deliberation, he could only tentatively ask, “Because you… care about me?”

Sui Cannong also realized that he had been a bit out of character.

He averted his gaze, paused for a moment, then switched to a more relaxed tone. “Yeah, because Teacher Ji is important to me.”

“Maybe I’m just a bit cautious,” Sui Cannong said, shifting his gaze to the river beside them and smiling. “So I hope you can always be safe and healthy.”

Ji Ling stared at Sui Cannong’s face for a while. He felt a warmth in his chest and, after a moment, turned his head and softly hummed in agreement.

They had booked the same room in the hotel. After a tiring day, they both took a shower and went to bed together.

However, since the next day was Christmas Eve, Ji Ling resisted his drowsiness before going to sleep. He opened his phone and secretly checked the weather forecast for the next day.

There was a 20% chance of snow.

Ji Ling knew his thoughts were a bit childish, but for some reason, he really hoped it would snow tomorrow. Perhaps because Sui Cannong was there, Ji Ling felt that it would be very romantic if it snowed.

Ji Ling had meticulously planned their itinerary for the next day.

Sui Cannong liked flowers, and Ji Ling knew there was a flower market nearby. Although the market only opened in the afternoon, it had a wide variety of flowers, and even the bouquets wrapped in newspapers looked beautiful.

In the evening, they could walk down a street, buy freshly baked cinnamon rolls, or just hold hands and walk without buying anything.

But after careful consideration, Ji Ling thought that since his excuse was to “see the places where he had lived,” they could also visit his school in the morning.

The next morning, after getting up, Ji Ling shared his plan with Sui Cannong, who didn’t raise any objections.

The campus was open, and returning to the place where he had studied for a few years, Ji Ling didn’t feel much of an emotional stir, as he always felt that his life back then was rather mundane.

But to help Sui Cannong understand more about his past, Ji Ling tried to recall some memories.

Ji Ling said, “I remember… I used to go to the nearby supermarket on Saturdays. The cakes were always on sale, so they were quite cheap. I kind of miss them.”

Sui Cannong pondered for a moment. “True, but I think the supermarkets back home are better. After all, some of the seasonings here are hard for us to get used to.”

Ji Ling said, “Back then, I also really liked the steak from a place near the school. But when we passed by earlier, I noticed it had closed down, which is a bit of a pity.”

Sui Cannong said, “Oh, but steak is pretty much the same everywhere. I remember the place we went to before was quite good. We can always go back there.”

Ji Ling said, “…But the summer temperatures here are quite comfortable.”

Sui Cannong said, “Oh, but if it rains every day, no one can stand it. In terms of climate, the sunshine back home is definitely better.”

Ji Ling felt confused.

He was seriously introducing his past life to Sui Cannong, but for some reason, he felt that Sui Cannong was always countering him.

When they sat down on a bench in the campus, Sui Cannong finally let out a silent sigh of relief.

Ji Ling had been reminiscing about the past all the way, and Sui Cannong had been on edge the whole time, trying his best to remind him of the beauty of real life.

“…I also really disliked my tutor back then,” Ji Ling said. “I felt like he didn’t like me either, and I couldn’t understand his English, so I skipped a lot of his classes.”

Sui Cannong couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re quite capable, Teacher Ji. I should have recorded that and played it back to your students.”

Ji Ling smiled.

“But now, thinking back, I don’t really hate him as much,” Ji Ling said. “A lot of things that seemed complicated back then don’t seem so important now.”

“Hard to say, but you and your tutor just didn’t have the right chemistry,” Sui Cannong said. “Chemistry is a strange thing.”

“Like us, for example,” Sui Cannong thought for a moment. “In such a big game, in such a big city, it’s quite a coincidence that we met.”

Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling pause.

After a while, Ji Ling murmured, “Yeah, fate…”

Sui Cannong wasn’t sure if he had said something wrong or if he had triggered some bad memories. Suddenly, Ji Ling fell silent, staring at a tree across the street with a melancholic expression.

Ji Ling heard Sui Cannong suddenly call his name.

He turned his head and saw Sui Cannong with his arms outstretched. Ji Ling was a bit taken aback and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sui Cannong said, “Give me a hug.”

Ji Ling hesitated, then lifted his hands and hugged Sui Cannong.

Ji Ling didn’t understand what was going on. “What’s wrong?”

He heard Sui Cannong say a bit sullenly, “You were spacing out, and you didn’t respond when I called you.”

Ji Ling said, “Sorry, I was a bit distracted.”

Ji Ling had indeed been distracted. He realized that in Sui Cannong’s eyes, meeting “antelope” in the game was fate.

But only Ji Ling knew that this so-called “fate” was something he had carefully orchestrated.

Sui Cannong felt a weight on his shoulder and realized that Ji Ling had rested his head on it.

Sui Cannong could feel Ji Ling’s hair brushing against his cheek, and then he heard Ji Ling whisper, “Sui Cannong, actually…”

Sui Cannong was taken aback. “What is it?”

Ji Ling paused, struggling a bit.

In many moments, like at the top of the Ferris wheel yesterday when they kissed, looking into Sui Cannong’s eyes, Ji Ling had suddenly wanted to tell him everything.

But perhaps because Sui Cannong had said “we can try for three months,” or because of what Liang Juan and Sui Cannong had said, Ji Ling couldn’t quite gauge Sui Cannong’s attitude.

Ji Ling felt that the risk of confessing everything to Sui Cannong was greater than he had imagined, and these three months were so precious.

But Ji Ling knew he would eventually have to take this step.

“Nothing,” Ji Ling said after a while. “It’s just a small secret of mine.”

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll tell you in a while,” Ji Ling looked into Sui Cannong’s eyes and said, “Can you give me some time?”

After saying that, Ji Ling felt a bit regretful. He realized that he was deliberately piquing Sui Cannong’s curiosity.

He thought Sui Cannong would show curiosity or perhaps laugh and ask more questions.

But Sui Cannong didn’t say anything. He just silently looked at Ji Ling’s face, his expression unreadable.

After a while, Ji Ling heard Sui Cannong say, “Okay.”

It didn’t snow on Christmas Eve.

But Ji Ling knew that wishes don’t always come true.

Ji Ling felt he was already very lucky. He remembered their first meeting at the café, where he had rehearsed many times how to speak and smile, but when they met, Ji Ling was so nervous that he couldn’t even say a proper sentence.

After they parted, Ji Ling thought he had messed up, but the next day at noon, Sui Cannong sat across from him with a tray of food.

The sky was getting dark, and the Christmas lights on the streets lit up, like a beautiful galaxy.

After eating, they walked to the flower market, only to find it closed early because it was Christmas Eve.

So they had to turn back to the hotel. Ji Ling rarely walked such a long distance at once, and by the time they reached the hotel, his legs felt a bit sore.

Ji Ling followed Sui Cannong into the room. He had just put the things he was carrying on the small bar counter by the door when Sui Cannong suddenly turned around.

Sui Cannong was tall, blocking a small patch of light in front of Ji Ling.

Because they had just come in from outside, when Sui Cannong’s kiss landed, it was a bit cool.

Previously, whenever they kissed, Sui Cannong and Ji Ling were mostly gentle, slowly exploring each other.

But this time, Sui Cannong’s kiss was more aggressive. At first, Ji Ling tried to respond, but later, he was struggling to bear it.

Their breathing became disordered, and Sui Cannong’s kisses gradually moved down to Ji Ling’s jaw and neck. He placed his hand on Ji Ling’s lower back, and through the thin fabric, they could feel each other’s body heat.

Sui Cannong’s arms were strong, and Ji Ling felt a strange sense of being overpowered. And for some reason, Ji Ling felt that Sui Cannong’s emotions were a bit off.

The kiss stopped when Ji Ling’s body hit the wall.

Ji Ling frowned slightly, and Sui Cannong let out a breath, standing up and taking a step back. “Sorry, I…”

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong’s face, shook his head, and said, “It’s okay.”

As if sensing something, Ji Ling lifted his gaze, his eyes passing over Sui Cannong’s shoulder to the hotel window.

He saw white, soft snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

It was snowing.

Ji Ling turned his head and, on tiptoe, brought his face close to Sui Cannong’s ear, whispering something.

Sui Cannong was taken aback.

He looked at Ji Ling’s eyes in disbelief and murmured after a while, “…What?”

Ji Ling met his gaze calmly.

“Sui Cannong,” Ji Ling said, “Do you want to…?”