Su Jinning was stunned and quickly pulled Song Wenmiao to the two young lovers.
Chen Hang had drunk too much and was easily angered. He was so angry that his eyebrows almost stood on end: "I already told you she's a senior from the previous year. Didn't you want that set of English past exam papers? I asked her for one copy. Why are you getting so angry?!"
"Then why won't you let me see the chat history? You two were clearly having so much fun chatting!" Chen Yuanyuan was about to cry.
"I was planning to surprise you. You've wanted that set of questions for a long time, haven't you? Did you even listen to my explanation? And you want to break up with me over this?!" Chen Hang was probably feeling very wronged, and he pointed at Chen Yuanyuan and shouted loudly.
"What are you doing? Why are you shouting? Can't you talk things out?" Su Jinning quickly pulled Chen Hang away and kept pushing him back.
Chen Yuanyuan had never seen Chen Hang so fierce to her. Feeling wronged and scared, she immediately burst into tears. Chen Hang was stunned, and now he was completely sober.
"Yuanyuan, don't be angry, he just drank too much..." Song Wenmiao said helplessly, afraid that Chen Yuanyuan would burst into tears.
But Chen Yuanyuan just looked at him with tears in her eyes, then turned and got into the taxi. Chen Hang subconsciously took a step forward, but then stopped.
"Are you sick, Chen Hang? That's a girl, why are you yelling at her? Are you drunk and acting crazy?" Song Wenmiao couldn't stand it anymore and punched Chen Hang.
Chen Hang, panting heavily, veins bulging with anger, pulled out his phone and shoved it at Su Jinning: "If I really had something going on with that girl, may I be struck by lightning! I was just thinking she'd wanted that set of practice exams for a long time but couldn't buy it. I happen to know a senior who has it, and I was planning to surprise her, but she just...!" Chen Hang shrugged: "Not only will she not listen to my explanation, but she also wants to break up with me? We've been dating for a year, how can she suddenly be so unreasonable!"
Su Jinning slapped him on the forehead, saying with exasperation, "Why are you complaining like an old woman? I know your intentions are good, but are you doing the right thing? If it were you, wouldn't you be angry?"
Chen Hang was speechless at his words, keeping his eyes down and not saying a word for a long time.
"Why don't you just explain it properly? Surprise is important, but you should consider her feelings first." Su Jinning sat down and said earnestly, "You think it's unreasonable for her to do this after dating you for a year, but have you ever thought that it's precisely because you've been dating for a year that she's afraid you've lost interest and fallen in love with someone else?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Hang suddenly raised his head, his eyes clearly showing panic.
"Don't rush to judge right and wrong; first, let her feel your love," Su Jinning said softly.
"Damn it!" Chen Hang rubbed his face and cursed fiercely. He then hailed a taxi and headed straight for Chen Yuanyuan's house.
Su Jinning sighed, as if she had solved a major problem. She glanced at her watch; it was 10:30. If she didn't go back to sleep soon, she might not be able to get up tomorrow morning.
There were hardly any vehicles on the street now. The once bustling food street was suddenly deserted, and his mood calmed down as well.
The early summer evening breeze was still a bit cool, but it felt nice on my face, and half of the smell of alcohol on my body had dissipated.
He thought to himself, why not just walk back? I've eaten so much, I should let it all digest.
Just as he was about to walk forward, Song Wenmiao suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
"You haven't left yet?" Su Jinning asked, somewhat surprised.
Song Wenmiao chuckled twice: "I just finished listening to Teacher Su's little class on love and I have a lot of insights to share. Now I would like to have an in-depth discussion with you."
Su Jinning rolled her eyes: "Stop talking nonsense."
"Chen Hang will have to kneel down and thank your ancestors eight generations back tomorrow."
"Forget it, it's better for him to do less of this in the future." Su Jinning tightened her coat and laughed heartily.
Song Wenmiao tilted her head and looked at him for a long time before speaking: "I often think, how come someone as knowledgeable about grand principles as you can't apply them to yourself?"
Su Jinning suddenly stopped and turned to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of emotion.
"Brother," Song Wenmiao rarely called him that, "Do you regret it?"
Su Jinning remained silent for a long time. Under the dim streetlights, he kept his head down, staring at the tips of his shoes, before finally speaking, "It's getting late, let's go back..."
“You’ve changed a lot lately.” Song Wenmiao interrupted him directly, looking him in the eye: “Actually, looking at your appearance, I really can’t see any changes. Even if there are, they are negligible. But you can’t fool the rest of us.”
He said "the few of us," and Su Jinning already knew that her friends were well aware of her feelings. That's why no one dared to bring it up, and they would even get nervous if they accidentally let it slip.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but I remember when the top student was around, you were never passive in conversations, you didn’t like to stare out the window, and you didn’t study from morning till night. You even secretly asked me to play games a few times.” Song Wenmiao looked at the streetlights in the distance: “You never liked studying, but you studied like crazy and got first place in the grade.”
"It's like you like a top student, but you still force yourself to let go."
"Song Wenmiao, are you bored?" Su Jinning stared at him, her eyes filled with suppressed anger.
“I didn’t actually intend to say these things, but they’ve been bottled up inside me for a long time. Maybe it was because I’d been drinking, and I was looking for a beating.” Song Wenmiao suddenly laughed. “I just missed you two so much.”
He missed Shen Moyu, the days when they spent together every day, and he also missed Su Jinning from back then.
"Chen Hang and Chen Yuanyuan can have minor squabbles and arguments, but you and the academic star are different. If this relationship is gone, it's really over."
Su Jinning's heart tightened, followed by a relentless throbbing pain. He thought that some things, once buried deep inside, would truly be over, but now that someone had brought them up and pointed them out, he still felt incredibly distressed.
"If you want to persuade me or lecture me, you don't need to." Su Jinning said firmly, straightening her back: "Our matter ends here, and I don't want to mention it again."
"The top student is leaving the country in less than a week."
The surroundings were very quiet. Song Wenmiao's words were carried by the wind into the night, echoing in Su Jinning's ears again and again.
He was truly stunned, his eyes staring blankly at Song Wenmiao for a long time.
Song Wenmiao let out a long sigh, as if confessing his previous preparations: "I was chatting with the top student during dinner, and I told him about your two first-place rankings. He was very happy."
Su Jinning instantly felt as if his airway was blocked by something invisible. Song Wenmiao's few words made him begin to analyze Shen Moyu's tone and reaction…
It was only at that moment that he realized how much he wanted that person to praise him and let him know how excellent he was now.
It wasn't about showing off; he had just pushed himself too far, and he almost forgot why he wanted to reach the summit in the first place.
The reason he wanted to give up so many times wasn't because he was too tired from studying. He just wondered if his future without Shen Moyu was really that bright.
It turns out that Shen Moyu could be his motivation to move forward, or he could be the seaweed that pulls him down.
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Author's Note:
The most painful way to break up isn't necessarily the heart-wrenching separation, but rather the calm acceptance of leaving, even though you're nowhere to be found, yet you're everywhere.
(By the way, wouldn't it be easier to immerse yourself in the story if you heard people everywhere talking about it?)
Chapter 99 Summer Limited Edition