Jiang Yuekai, at present, was the picture of a young girl immersed in love. Her fondness for Gu Jiang was an undeniable fact, leaving Lan Lan with nothing but regret for Lin Jingchu.
On Monday, Lin Jingchu arrived at class. Shortly after taking his seat, he saw Chen Ao rush over in a panic, looking as if the sky was falling.
Lin Jingchu stopped flipping through his book. "What happened?"
"Something big!" Chen Ao panted. "Your childhood sweetheart is with Gu Jiang!"
Lin Jingchu's expression darkened. Before he could even ask, Chen Ao pulled out his phone. "Look at this, my brother sent me a screenshot."
Lin Jingchu leaned in to look. It was Gu Jiang's Moments. He had posted a picture of Jiang Yuekai's back at Disneyland, with the caption "Looking forward to your guidance," followed by a heart emoji.
Below it, many classmates had liked the post, and someone had commented, "Is this an official announcement?"
Gu Jiang replied, "Yes."
Lin Jingchu's expression was taut, his handsome lips pressed into a straight line. He exuded a chilling aura. Chen Ao, sitting beside him, felt inexplicably cold.
Seeing the photo, Lin Jingchu understood. The day he had taken Jiang Yuekai to meet Gu Jiang, the two of them had officially confirmed their relationship.
To personally pave the way for another's success – it was nothing more than this.
Lin Jingchu remained silent for a long time. Even when the class bell rang and the professor entered, he did not utter a sound. Chen Ao, sitting next to him, felt as if he were freezing to death.
Although Lin Jingchu was usually a man of few words, he was rarely this terrifying. A few minutes into the class, Chen Ao gently nudged his elbow and whispered, "Are you okay?"
Lin Jingchu shook his head at him, indicating he was fine. Chen Ao didn't believe him; he didn't look like he was fine at all.
But Chen Ao admired him. He was actually still listening attentively to the lecture. If it were him, his mindset would have collapsed long ago upon learning that the girl he liked was dating someone else.
The morning classes concluded peacefully. After class, Chen Ao followed Lin Jingchu and asked, "What's your plan?"
Lin Jingchu didn't answer. He had no ideas. If Jiang Yuekai didn't like him, what could he do?
Thinking of this, a hint of defeat flashed in Lin Jingchu's eyes. Chen Ao happened to catch this emotion, and he was surprised. Lin Jingchu, the renowned "high mountain flower" of their academy, with a line of girls interested in him, was actually showing such an expression.
As Lin Jingchu's good brother, Chen Ao couldn't possibly watch him be so sad. While eating at the cafeteria, Chen Ao said to Lin Jingchu, "Don't be sad, I'll give you a few ideas."
Lin Jingchu glanced at Chen Ao. "What ideas?"
"It's not hard to make them break up. They haven't taken their college entrance exams yet. After the exams, if they're not in the same school, they'll naturally drift apart. You just wait and see," Chen Ao said.
Chen Ao's words had some merit, but, "Their grades are similar, they should go to the same university."
Although Lin Jingchu disliked Gu Jiang, he couldn't deny his excellence. Those who could be classmates with Jiang Yuekai wouldn't have poor grades.
"Even if they go to the same university, it doesn't matter," Chen Ao said. "When the time comes, find a few girls to pursue Gu Jiang. Whether they succeed or not, it will cause conflict between them, and you can seize the opportunity."
Chen Ao's method was somewhat unscrupulous but highly feasible. However, Lin Jingchu hadn't considered that if Jiang Yuekai ever found out that he had arranged it, it would definitely cause conflict between them. He was unwilling to take that risk.
But Chen Ao's suggestion did give Lin Jingchu a new perspective: Gu Jiang was very aware of his presence.
If he maintained his previous way of interacting with Jiang Yuekai, Gu Jiang would certainly be displeased. Even if he suppressed it for the time being, he would eventually voice it, and Jiang Yuekai probably wouldn't like such control.
Over time, contradictions would arise between them.
Lin Jingchu initially thought this, but he soon discovered that Jiang Yuekai's contact with him had become less frequent, and she even seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.
When he texted her, she would only reply to one out of three or five messages, and her replies were perfunctory.
Lin Jingchu wasn't foolish; he immediately guessed that this was related to Gu Jiang.
He wasn't surprised that Gu Jiang would make such a request, but he was surprised that Jiang Yuekai would agree. She should have disliked being controlled like this the most. Now, for Gu Jiang, had she abandoned her principles?
Before the Spring Festival, Lin Jingchu went to Kyoto again. He texted Jiang Yuekai once more, "I've arrived in Kyoto, what kind of pastries do you want to eat?"
Normally, upon seeing such a message, Jiang Yuekai would have immediately sent back a long list of things she wanted to eat and flattered him a few times.
But this time, Lin Jingchu waited for a long time, only to receive her refusal. She said, "No, I'm on a diet recently."
Lin Jingchu sat on the hotel sofa, staring at the message on the screen, a self-mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
She got together with Gu Jiang in November, and it had been over three months since then. They hadn't seen each other again, and she had replied to his messages no more than five times. Since Jiang Yuekai was born, this was the longest they had gone without seeing each other. Lin Jingchu didn't know if she could get used to it, but he certainly couldn't.
And all of this was because Gu Jiang was possessive. He had never imagined that Jiang Yuekai would change like this because of a relationship. He was jealous, angry that the person who was special to her wasn't him, yet he was powerless.
At this point, he could no longer confess his feelings for her to Jiang Yuekai; it would only push her further away.
For a moment, Lin Jingchu truly considered Chen Ao's "terrible idea" – finding someone to pursue Gu Jiang and disrupt their relationship.
Although Jiang Yuekai refused, Lin Jingchu still bought a pile of her favorite pastries as usual. It had become his habit.
Jiang Yuekai also didn't get used to not seeing Lin Jingchu for over three months. Perhaps because they usually saw each other often, she hadn't thought meeting Lin Jingchu was a rare occurrence before. It was only this time that she realized she had become accustomed to seeing Lin Jingchu once every week or two.
But she had promised Gu Jiang to keep her distance from Lin Jingchu and didn't want to break her promise. Therefore, when Lin Jingchu asked her if she wanted to eat pastries, she refused.
The day she refused Lin Jingchu, Jiang Yuekai had plans to have dinner with Shen Yujin. Shen Yujin was only in the ninth grade, and Jiang Yuekai was like an older sister to her, taking her out to eat and have fun.
After Shen Yujin heard the news of Jiang Yuekai's relationship, she said, "I thought you would end up with Brother Jingchu."
"Pfft." Jiang Yuekai laughed. "Xiangxiang, you're thinking too much. Jingchu is just like a brother."
Shen Yujin said earnestly, "But you have a childhood betrothal. My dad said that when Brother Jingchu was little, he used to follow you around calling you 'wife'."
Jiang Yuekai knew about this, but she had no recollection of it.