Shen Moyu is very stubborn. Once he makes up his mind to do something, no matter how much you disagree, it won't change his mind.
Su Jinning sighed: "These game coins are enough for you to buy two."
"What I want is meaning, what do I know?" Shen Moyu focused on his little white dog.
"Alright, alright, you wait here." Su Jinning gave him all the game coins she had, then turned around and went to spend them on his wife.
Su Jinning went to the stairwell to get the coins. Just as he was about to take out his phone to pay, he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. He turned around and met Zhou Xingqi's gaze.
Zhou Xingqi smiled innocently: "What a coincidence."
Su Jinning was no longer surprised. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind her: "What, are you trying to kidnap someone in broad daylight?"
"No, I just wanted to talk to you," Zhou Xingqi said calmly.
"What's there to talk about? All you want is for Shen Moyu to go back?" Su Jinning shrugged indifferently: "Forget it, unless he wants to go back himself, but I don't think the chances are very high."
"Don't worry, I didn't mean to spoil your fun today. I just happened to run into you while I was out with my friend." Zhou Xingqi gestured with his chin toward Jiehe in the distance. Jiehe blinked in confusion and waved to Su Jinning.
Su Jinning rolled his eyes, turned around and pressed the coin-collecting button. As the game coins clattered down, he said, "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"
“I didn’t insist that my brother go back. I know he’s safe with you, but I still want to tell you that his surname is Shen, and he will inherit my father’s company sooner or later. I still hope you can let go as soon as possible.”
Su Jinning fiddled with the game tokens in her hand, smiling casually: "Have you never thought about inheriting the company? Are you willing to accept that?"
“I never thought this would belong to my brother.” Zhou Xingqi said calmly, his nonchalant attitude genuine: “Su Jinning, if you truly love someone, you shouldn’t be so selfish.”
Su Jinning stopped what he was doing, his gaze lingering on the patterns on the game coins for a long time before finally gripping them tightly in his hand: "What you give him, I can give him too. Why do you insist on separating us as soon as you come back?" He raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that selfish of you?"
Zhou Xingqi remained silent.
"In your father's eyes, he's just a pawn to inherit the great cause, isn't he?"
"Speak with some respect." Zhou Xingqi clenched his fist.
“State the facts.” Su Jinning looked up at him, then turned to leave.
“You need to understand, if he went with my dad, he would have gone to a top-tier school. The environment and post-graduation resources there are far superior to what we have here.” Zhou Xingqi gripped Su Jinning’s shoulder: “My brother’s score is more than enough to stay here. You should understand that.”
Su Jinning clenched her fist.
But Zhou Xingqi showed no sign of stopping: "He's so outstanding, yet he insists on staying here for you. Doesn't your conscience bother you?"
"Zhou Xingqi, isn't that enough?" Su Jinning's hand was gripped tightly by him, the game coins digging into his tender flesh, but she felt no pain: "Since he chose me, I'm confident I can give him a good future. Besides, he's so outstanding, the position he can reach in the future through his own abilities might not be worse than what your dad gave him."
He knew that Shen Moyu's brilliance and sharpness were something he had honed himself over the years. Whether in the past or the future, he didn't need to rely on others to grow.
“You’re holding him back.” Zhou Xingqi met his eyes. “My brother has suffered for many years. Now that he finally has a better future, are you going to stop him?”
Su Jinning's eyes turned icy, and she grabbed his collar: "But have you ever really asked him what he wants? You just keep giving him things and forcing him to endure! His definition of the future has never been wealth and luxury, but your constant talk of wanting him to be happy, and your attempts to deprive him of his right to happiness!"
Zhou Xingqi opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
He closed his eyes tightly: "You're right, but he'll leave eventually, you can't stop him." He didn't wait for Su Jinning's reply, but handed her a business card: "This is my dad's phone number. He's been wanting to talk to you. If you're interested, you can call anytime. Don't worry, we won't force my brother to go back anytime soon. You two can still be together for a while."
He gripped the business card in his hand as if he wanted to crush it to pieces: "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is, the rest of your time was stolen by you."
-
After Zhou Xingqi left, Su Jinning's depressed mood lingered for a long time. No matter how crazy and noisy the others were around him, he couldn't muster any energy. But Shen Moyu seemed to be in a good mood. He didn't want to talk and just watched him make a fuss.
Was he wrong? Was it really as Zhou Xingqi said, that he was holding him back? His love had turned into shackles, tightly binding Shen Moyu.
In the past, he would have definitely refused in a firm tone, saying, "I love him, and as long as he chooses me, I will not let go."
But when those words came crashing down on him, he didn't know how long he could hold out.
After playing at the arcade for a long time, Gu Junxiao said he would treat them to dinner. The group eventually decided to have hot pot. While waiting for the food, they chatted about their recent lives and were also very interested in Gu Junxiao's life in Beijing.
"I heard you got into Class A? That's impressive, kid. You've really turned things around!" Gu Junxiao put his arm around Chen Hang's shoulder and praised him sincerely.
Chen Hang waved his hand: "It's alright, it's alright, keep a low profile."
"Come on, your mouth is practically stretched to your ears," Chen Yuanyuan said bluntly.
Chen Hang awkwardly pursed his lips, suddenly realizing that his girlfriend was really good at sabotaging him, and gave her the middle finger.
Gu Junxiao smiled, feeling gratified to see all these old friends she hadn't seen in so long doing so well: "That's great, I almost regretted leaving Shanghai back then."
The cheerful atmosphere suddenly dropped, and a deathly silence fell. Chen Hang grinned and put his arm around his shoulder: "It's alright, come back and visit often. After we graduate, we can get together anywhere."
Gu Junxiao chuckled softly. But after graduation, everyone will go their separate ways, and getting together might be even harder than this.
Chen Hang was good at livening up the atmosphere, and then turned to point at Su Jinning: "Brother Ning is even more awesome, you know he's in the top thirty in the whole city, Lao Gu!"
Gu Junxiao knew from Chen Hang's exaggerated expression that this was a done deal. He couldn't help but gape, suddenly realizing that the Su Jinning in front of him was really different from before.
"Really? Brother Ning..." Gu Junxiao paused, his face full of disbelief: "Did I miss a century while I was gone for the past six months?"
Everyone at the table turned to look at Su Jinning, but he remained lost in thought. Shen Moyu's smile faded slightly, and he patted Su Jinning's shoulder: "I'm talking to you."
"Huh? Ah..." Su Jinning jolted awake, clearly just snapping out of her thoughts, and scratched her head modestly, saying, "It's alright."
Gu Junxiao was a little embarrassed. He pursed his lips and nodded, then changed the subject: "Well, there's still one semester left until the college entrance exam. I wish us all the best for the future and success in the exam!" As he spoke, he raised his glass.
The others cheered and clinked glasses, but Su Jinning was absent-minded. She mechanically clinked her glass and drank it all in one gulp, drinking too quickly, as if she was trying to restrain herself.
After the meal, everyone was flushed from drinking, and Chen Hang drank himself into a stupor, clinging to Gu Junxiao and refusing to let go.
"Old Gu, I... I've missed you so much, you know? When you're not around, Brother Ning always bullies me!" Chen Hang leaned on Gu Junxiao's shoulder, pointing at Su Jinning with trembling courage.
"When did I bully you?" Su Jinning rolled her eyes: "You just deserved a beating."