CoP 37

For a moment, a rather absurd thought flashed through Sui Cannong’s mind.

He instinctively felt that this conjecture was too far-fetched, but upon reconsidering, he still felt something was off.

The lemon plant itself didn’t mean much, as Ji Ling was naturally meticulous and gentle, the kind of person who would carefully tend to a plant for years.

But looking at the ticket stub in his hand, Sui Cannong felt a subtle unease. After all, movie tickets, which are usually tossed aside after watching, had been deliberately tucked into a book and preserved.

Sui Cannong felt a strange sensation deep down, and he decided he should find an opportunity to subtly ask Ji Ling about it.

However, Sui Cannong had also recently discovered a piece of good news: Ji Ling seemed to have stopped using the PlanTong app to check in.

Sui Cannong certainly wouldn’t snoop through Ji Ling’s phone, but before this, the app would ring a prompt to check in at exactly seven in the morning and evening.

In the past couple of days, Sui Cannong hadn’t heard that annoying sound anymore.

Sui Cannong felt much more at ease, sensing that everything was slowly improving.

On Saturday morning, the large bookshelf Sui Cannong had ordered online for Ji Ling arrived.

Ji Ling stood in the center of the living room, his expression bewildered, clearly shocked by the height of the bookshelf. Sui Cannong laughed and said, “I guess I bought it a bit too big.”

“Buy more books you like online these next few days,” Sui Cannong said. “We can’t leave it empty; we need to fill it up as soon as possible.”

Ji Ling was still in a daze, and after a moment, he looked at Sui Cannong’s face and slowly nodded.

Ji Ling sorted his books by size and carefully placed them on the bookshelf one by one. Sui Cannong pretended to water the plants nearby, feeling a secret satisfaction.

After Ji Ling had placed all his books, he walked up to Sui Cannong and asked, “Can we go for a walk?”

Actually, it was a cold winter day, and a rare weekend, so Sui Cannong would have preferred to stay home and watch a show with Ji Ling.

But then he thought about how they had been sitting in front of their computers for days, writing recommendation letters for students, and Ji Ling might just want to get some fresh air.

So Sui Cannong agreed.

Ji Ling suggested they take a walk in the nearby park.

The park was a desolate grayish-yellow this season, but fortunately, there was a lake with a thin layer of ice on its surface and a small bridge over it.

They stood by the bridge, and Ji Ling quietly stared at the ice on the lake.

Sui Cannong rubbed his hands, freezing.

He glanced at Ji Ling, exhaled into the air, and finally, hesitantly spoke up, “Oh, by the way, when I was helping you organize your books, a movie ticket fell out of one of them. I took a look, and it seemed to be from a movie we watched together.”

Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling’s body stiffen.

Ji Ling didn’t say anything, and Sui Cannong felt a bit awkward. He had to push through and continue, “Actually… if you like watching movies, we could go see another one these next few days. Besides, I really crave those colorful popcorns…”

After a moment, Sui Cannong heard Ji Ling softly respond, “Mm.”

Ji Ling turned his face, but when he looked at Sui Cannong, he changed the subject abruptly, “Do you remember what topic Sherry and Cindy chose for their science fair?”

Sui Cannong was taken aback, not expecting Ji Ling to divert the conversation so abruptly.

Sui Cannong’s confusion grew, but he thought for a moment and said, “I don’t really remember, but it was something about bridges, right? Those two girls made me take a look, but I can’t recall the specific topic…”

Ji Ling said, “It was about bridge resonance.”

Sui Cannong pondered for a moment and then realized, “Oh, right, right. I remember they drew a lot of pictures of bridges.”

Ji Ling nodded, turned around, and stared at the lake again.

Then Sui Cannong heard him ask, “What do you think of when you see a bridge?”

Sui Cannong didn’t understand the significance of these questions. Ji Ling’s tone was calm, but Sui Cannong felt something was off.

Sui Cannong hesitated but still answered, “Vehicles and pedestrians on the bridge… and the river?”

Ji Ling was silent for a moment, then nodded again.

“They were very passionate about this topic,” Ji Ling said. “But it was a bit challenging for their level, so I wanted to help them more.”

Sui Cannong was confused, not expecting Ji Ling to suddenly bring up their students during their date.

But Sui Cannong still nodded and said, “Those two girls are a bit mischievous, but they study hard. I remember their final project was quite well done.”

Ji Ling was silent for a long time, then asked, “Do you remember when we met at the café that time?”

Before Sui Cannong could answer, Ji Ling continued, “Actually, after we parted that day, I didn’t leave. I walked to a bridge near the café and smoked a cigarette.”

Sui Cannong was stunned.

He didn’t expect Ji Ling to bring up that day, and he didn’t know what expression he should have.

Because at that time, he was sitting in his car, and he not only saw Ji Ling by the bridge but also…

However, the next words Ji Ling said shocked Sui Cannong.

“It’s okay,” Ji Ling looked directly into Sui Cannong’s eyes and said calmly, “I know you saw me that day.”

Sui Cannong’s pupils constricted.

In a state of shock, Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling turn around, face him, and lean casually against the bridge railing.

“Sherry told me they wanted to use some local bridges in C City as examples,” Ji Ling said. “Bridges are quite complex, so I suggested they use a classic suspension bridge as an example, but they couldn’t find a good one.”

“That day, I happened to be standing by the bridge and realized it was a suspension bridge,” Ji Ling said. “So I wanted to help them confirm the height of the bridge and its overall structure.”

“I had to bend down to look,” Ji Ling said. “I leaned out of the bridge to estimate the height and check the position of the piers.”

“Then I realized this bridge would be a very suitable example for them,” Ji Ling said.

Ji Ling continued, “Their final project is still in my classroom. You can take a look; the central part of the display board is actually a drawing of that suspension bridge.”

Sui Cannong’s expression became blank, and Ji Ling’s eyelashes trembled as he looked at his face.

“I thought about it for a long time and realized where I went wrong,” Ji Ling turned his face slightly and said, “It was because of my expression, right?”

Sui Cannong stared blankly at Ji Ling’s face.

“It’s not your fault. I was just in a bad mood at the time,” Ji Ling said softly. “With that expression and that action, anyone who saw it would have had the same thought as you.”

“…But the reason I had that expression was because before crossing that bridge, I had performed very poorly in front of someone I liked,” Ji Ling said. “I felt I had messed up our meeting, and I thought we wouldn’t have any other interactions after that.”

Ji Ling walked up to Sui Cannong step by step and looked up at him.

“That night, when you were drunk and told me a lot, I realized that the past three months must have been very hard and stressful for you,” Ji Ling said.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention,” Ji Ling’s voice was light. “I never thought about suicide or hurting myself, but I did have a plan that I had been working on for a long time.”

“Only my execution… was always very poor,” he said.

Sui Cannong’s throat felt very dry, and he realized he couldn’t make a sound.

“I don’t need any minerals because what I care about is not how to improve my character’s strength, but how to make the house look better for you,” Ji Ling said.

He paused and continued, “I smiled at the wound on my wrist because the person who bandaged it was you.”

“I’ve actually been a good swimmer all along, and I told you I was a beginner just to have more physical contact with you,” Ji Ling said calmly, word by word. “And the purpose of giving you that plant was just to have an excuse to visit your classroom and spend more time with you.”

Ji Ling looked at Sui Cannong, his eyes filled with a firm and clear light.

If you listened carefully, you could hear a slight tremor in Ji Ling’s voice, but his expression seemed very relaxed.

Ji Ling gave Sui Cannong a faint smile.

“Because, Sui Cannong,” he said, “I’ve liked you for three years.”