Chapter 39

What a terrible question.

Jiang Du looked at him, her face flushed red. After holding it in for a long time, she said, "Wei Qingyue, how could you be like this." She really wished she had two long ears that she could pull down to cover her face.

"Didn't you ask me how my body was yesterday??" A dark glint flickered in Wei Qingyue's eyes again. "Sleep with me, Jiang Du."

Oh my god, this person... Jiang Du felt that not slapping him would be an abnormal reaction. Even her toes and every strand of her hair felt like they were turning red.

The entire city was burning in a raging fire.

Jiang Du didn't know how to curse, let alone hit people. She couldn't bear to hit Wei Qingyue; he had been beaten enough. If anyone dared to lay a finger on Wei Qingyue now, she would definitely be braver than before and rush forward to protect him, even if it meant getting her face beaten to a pulp again.

After struggling to think for a long time, Jiang Du finally got into Wei Qingyue's car because he had said, "It's fine if we just go take a look at my place, right?"

Jiang Du couldn't refuse.

"Have you told your family about us?" Wei Qingyue asked her in the car. "About us being together."

Jiang Du's expression was clearly troubled. 'Doesn't he use his brain?' How was she supposed to explain it? She hadn't even seen Wei Qingyue on August 31st, but started dating him on September 1st?

Wei Qingyue always seemed to know what she was thinking. He quickly said, "Then I'll tell them. I'll visit your home sometime soon."

After speaking, he reached out one hand and patted the back of her hand, as if to comfort her.

"Wei Qingyue, I feel," Jiang Du began with difficulty, "that we don't know each other at all. Don't you think this is too fast? It all feels so unreal. Right now, I don't even know if I'm dreaming or if I've really met you again." Her gaze grew hazy as she looked out the window, as if trying to find proof of reality in the sea of lights, the flow of people, the buildings, and the shops under the night sky.

Wei Qingyue glanced at her, his eyes intense.

He didn't answer right away. There was only the sound of the car driving.

"We're still young, the road ahead is long, we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Jiang Du, you're almost thirty and you've never been in a proper relationship. Aren't you lonely?" Wei Qingyue glanced over again, not needing her answer. "I'm lonely. Maybe. You're immersed in literature, you have your own world and don't need anyone else. But I do. I'm just a common man. I want to be in love with a woman, sleep with a woman, preferably without getting out of bed for three or five days." He subconsciously frowned. "Sometimes, I really feel like I'm becoming a pervert, irritated to the extreme. That feeling of desperately wanting to grasp something, only to wake up empty-handed, is terrifying."

He paused. "Did I scare you? I admit, I'm very anxious. The thought that I'm already twenty-eight and can't even touch the shadow of the girl I love... time is slipping away, bit by bit, impossible to hold back. I really don't want to wait another second." He suddenly let out a long, frustrated breath. "I've had enough of this shit."

Every word struck a huge echo in Jiang Du's heart. The streetlights flickered past inside the car, like dusk on a barren plain. Her eyes grew moist.

"All these years, I've been waiting for you every day. From the day you left, I've been waiting for you, waiting for you to come find me, to come see me." Her voice was very soft. "I cried so many times, but you never came. No one told me if you would ever come back."

Wei Qingyue almost ran a red light. He glanced at her twice quickly. When the red light turned green, he slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.

"How could that be? If you really wanted to find me, you could have asked Zhang Xiaoqiang at any time. I was always trying to find a way to contact you, but I couldn't reach you. I knew you were the Ghostwriter. I figured it out long ago. The first time the language teacher read your essay in class, I knew you wrote the letters. I listened to your essays for a whole semester; I remember what every single one was about. I can recite every one of your letters by heart now." Wei Qingyue's brows were knitted, and he shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand. Why do you say you couldn't find me? I even appeared in science videos just to give you one more chance to see me. I did everything I could. How could you not find me?"

Jiang Du just looked at him with tear-filled eyes, her expression miserable. Wei Qingyue gazed into her sorrowful eyes and stopped questioning her. He said, "Alright."

But Jiang Du murmured, "Why did it take you so long to find me? I've become an old maid."

Wei Qingyue was at a loss for words. "I was looking for you. I never stopped looking for you." He saw her wrinkle her nose, so he forced a smile and gently stroked her small face. "You're not old. Good thing you're not ninety."

Her tears fell on his palm, burning hot. Wei Qingyue's fingertips repeatedly wiped them from her face. Suddenly, he pulled her shoulder and kissed her fiercely.

An authentically masculine build, so powerful. His scent stirred her intensely. Jiang Du drifted in Wei Qingyue's arms, her face turned up to receive his kiss. Her long hair spread across his body.

On this stretch of road, the neon lights grew sparse. After Wei Qingyue let her go, his fingers didn't forget to gently brush her hair as he asked in a low voice, "Feeling any better?"

Jiang Du's face was flushed and hot. She nodded.

Wei Qingyue moved his fingers away and smiled again. "Do you still need me to spit?"

Jiang Du's face was framed by her messy black hair, making her look pale. She said, "I'm not wearing lipstick today."

Wei Qingyue instantly understood what she meant by asking him to spit. He asked her, "Can I drive now?" Jiang Du nodded silently.

His apartment was in a prime location, with convenient transportation and full amenities. Wei Qingyue asked her if she wanted some fruit. He remembered that Zhang Xiaoqiang always liked to eat fruit after meals, so he assumed that girls generally liked fruit.

"I want to eat grapes," Jiang Du said. "The green kind, the really sweet ones."

Wei Qingyue laughed. "Who knows which kind you're talking about? Come and buy them with me." He took her hand and led her into a convenience store.

The fruits were colorful and beautiful. Jiang Du started picking out grapes while Wei Qingyue stood beside her. At the counter, a drunk, middle-aged, pot-bellied man came in and asked, "Hey, do you guys have those condoms with the little bumps?"

The clerk was a young girl who seemed used to such scenes. Unflustered, she asked, "What little bumps are you talking about, sir? What brand?"

"If I knew the brand, would I be asking you? The ones with bumps." The man's voice was so loud that everyone turned to look.

The girl pointed. "Please take a look for yourself and choose which one you want."

"The kind that can fuck a woman senseless, do you sell those?"

Someone in the convenience store laughed out loud. The clerk finally got embarrassed, covered her mouth for a moment, then continued with a straight face, picking out a box for him. "Do you mean ribbed or dotted, sir? Which brand would you like?"

The man at the counter kept muttering.

Wei Qingyue listened with a silent smile. He looked at Jiang Du. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away, flustered, and said, "I also want to buy some blueberries. They're good for the eyes."

When they were checking out, Wei Qingyue casually grabbed a box of something and placed it with her fruit. The cashier couldn't help but glance at Wei Qingyue a few more times, then at Jiang Du, and smiled inexplicably.

When they came out, Wei Qingyue was carrying the bag in one hand and naturally reached for her hand with the other. But Jiang Du pulled away. Her guard went up, and she asked hesitantly, "Have you read Tess of the d'Urbervilles?"

Wei Qingyue hadn't read it. He answered honestly while taking out his phone to search for it. After quickly reading the synopsis, he gave a silent smile. A moment later, he said, "What kind of person do you take me for?"

After a brief thought, he looked at Jiang Du and said, "Should I take you home?"

Jiang Du watched him walk toward the parking lot, but she didn't move.

Wei Qingyue turned back. Jiang Du said without moving, "I want to go up and see your home."

"Aren't you afraid I'll force myself on you?" Wei Qingyue joked. Jiang Du forced a smile, her face pale. He immediately regretted it deeply, remembering her family background, and felt that his joke was truly bastardly. He composed his expression and said, "I'm sorry, don't take it to heart."

Wei Qingyue took her hand again. His palm was dry and strong, but Jiang Du's was covered in sweat.

Inside the elevator, Wei Qingyue gave her a silent smile.

His home was enormous, spacious and bright. Jiang Du stood at the entrance, slightly stunned. Wei Qingyue found a pair of women's slippers for her. She looked down at them, and when she looked up again, her eyes were suspicious and wary.

The slippers were brand new, never worn.

"When I moved in, I bought two of every daily necessity—one for me, one for you. I thought if I ever had the chance to bring you here, it would be convenient." Wei Qingyue explained calmly. This time, Jiang Du was completely stunned. Upon seeing the uncut tag on the slippers, she finally relaxed.

She had always liked him, always missed him, but she wasn't a brainless fool.

After washing her hands, Jiang Du was about to use a paper towel to dry them, but Wei Qingyue handed her a new towel directly.

"Come, let me show you our home." He suddenly said "our." Jiang Du's heart ached at an incredible speed.

"The master bedroom. See that? Your vanity table." Wei Qingyue tapped his phone, and the curtains slowly opened.

Besides the bed and wardrobe, there was a vanity table in the master bedroom, prepared for Jiang Du. All these years, Wei Qingyue had insisted on believing that Jiang Du would come to live in this house. When he was decorating, he had consulted Zhang Xiaoqiang, asking her what girls needed.

He had Jiang Du sit down in front of the vanity. Her reflection in the mirror was blurry. Wei Qingyue coughed in slight embarrassment. "I guess the cleaning lady saw no one was using it, so she never cleaned this spot. I'll have to talk to her about it later."

"Is this mine?" Jiang Du reached back and held his hand which was resting on her shoulder. Wei Qingyue said, "Of course," and then led her on a tour of the open-plan kitchen, the bathroom, and finally, the study.

The study was particularly large, with a long, solid wood desk in the center and two entire walls lined with bookshelves.

In the corner stood a tall plant with fresh green leaves. Although Wei Qingyue didn't like tidying up the house, he took special care of the study and never once forgot to water the plant.

"This wall is for my books, and this one is for yours. When I earn more, we'll get a place with a Japanese rock garden courtyard. Of course, not a pure one, but incorporating some of those elements." Wei Qingyue started talking about his future plans, gesturing to Jiang Du. "There will be a main feature tree around this spot. Right, let me show you the renderings I designed myself. If you have any opinions or ideas, we can discuss them."

He pulled Jiang Du to the living room, turned on the computer, and then took out the sketches he had drawn, his face full of enthusiasm.

The drawings were a bit rough, but the renderings from the software were very clear. Wei Qingyue had spent a long time studying Insights into Japanese Gardening for this.

"Do you like it? If you don't like the Japanese elements, we can change them. My thinking was that a Chinese-style courtyard takes up too much space, which isn't realistic. You'd probably be in a better mood living in a house with a view. I hope I'm not wrong, you like nature, right? We could plant a tree like the one in front of the Meizhong Library?" Wei Qingyue asked for her opinion seriously, then smiled. "When I live with you, I won't be a dark figure scaring you in the dark again."

Jiang Du held his manuscript, not looking at it or the computer. She just quietly looked at Wei Qingyue.

His eyes were radiant. In his plans, she had always been there.

Jiang Du didn't know what sustained Wei Qingyue's fanaticism, allowing him to, for twelve years, day after day, year after year, act as if she were right there beside him, in his life.

Tears slowly welled up in the corners of her eyes. Wei Qingyue had been explaining each design concept to her, but when he looked up, he was taken aback.

Jiang Du just looked at him like that, tears streaming down her face, rolling down in large drops.

The dust from the last time they were on cleaning duty seemed to float in the air. A deep breath would pull it all into the lungs, along with all the regret and palpitations born from that dust, deep into the very core of her being.

"Then let's get married." She sniffled, finally beating him to it and saying the words.

Wei Qingyue was stunned for a few seconds. First, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he laughed out loud. He kept laughing until he started to cough, and the coughing made his eyes moist and soft.

He said, "It's better for the man to say these kinds of things first. Why are you competing with me over it? Silly girl."

That night, Jiang Du stayed. She called her elders in front of Wei Qingyue, pretending to be calm. "I'm at Wei Qingyue's place. I won't be coming back tonight."

She hung up the phone quickly, her ears red and her chest heaving.

Jiang Du stood up from the sofa and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Wei Qingyue's gaze followed her the entire time.

She looked at the lights outside, and also saw the reflection of Wei Qingyue's figure walking over from behind her in the glass, approaching step by step.

Her breath slowly hitched. Jiang Du felt her teeth chattering. It took some incredible force to pull the words from her mouth:

"Wei Qingyue, when are you going to sell your body?"

The night was deep, and it sank deeper, inch by inch.

The figure behind her stopped. His reply was very direct, just like his usual style:

"Tonight."

Of course, the man didn't forget to add:

"If my classmate, the Ghostwriter, is willing."