Chapter 15
After receiving Jiang Mi’s assurance, Liang Jinyi was perfectly satisfied.
However, Xu Yang seemed to have gotten addicted to teasing the child. “Hey, Jinyi, if your brother really was lying to you, what would you do? Cry for your brother to see?”
Liang Jinyi stopped drinking his milk. His thin eyelids lifted, and he suddenly stared at Xu Yang.
Xu Yang froze.
How could such an obedient child have such a terrifying look in his eyes?
While he was dazed, Liang Jinyi tugged at Jiang Mi’s sleeve again and pitifully complained, “Brother, he said you… don’t like me that much. He said… what you said just now… was lying to me.”
Jiang Mi looked at Xu Yang helplessly.
Xu Yang quickly raised both hands in surrender. “All right, all right. I won’t tease him anymore. I won’t tease him anymore.”
Liang Jinyi frowned. “I don’t like that kind of joke.”
Jiang Mi soothingly patted his head. “Okay, okay. He won’t make that kind of joke again.”
Xu Yang noticed that this child cared very much about his position in Jiang Mi’s heart. Thinking of what he had just done, Xu Yang tried to make up for it. “Hey, little Liang Jinyi, your brother really likes you. I heard he goes back every week to keep you company. Do you know how colorful university life is? Since he’s willing to spend time with you, he must really like you.”
Those words landed right in Liang Jinyi’s heart. However, his easy coaxing was limited to Jiang Mi. Xu Yang had just done something that made him very unhappy. Even if he was making up for it now, Liang Jinyi still didn’t want to give him even a slightly good expression.
Xu Yang: “…”
He could only give up on teasing the child.
At just that moment, the hot pot began to boil. The seniors and clubmates called everyone to start cooking meat and eating.
One of the Debate Society members was from Xinjiang, and his family was skilled at making grape wine. He had brought two bottles to the gathering so everyone could taste the flavor of his hometown.
Naturally, Jiang Mi also poured himself a glass.
The slightly brown liquid rippled inside the transparent glass. Liang Jinyi leaned closer and said, “Brother, I want to drink that too.”
Jiang Mi refused. “Jinyi, this is wine. Children can’t drink alcohol.”
Liang Jinyi glanced at Brother and said, “Okay.”
Liang Jinyi was already eight and a half now, so Jiang Mi didn’t need to take care of him while eating. During the meal, Jiang Mi occasionally glanced at him, but most of his attention was on discussing the upcoming on-campus debate competition with his senior.
After talking for a while, Jiang Mi felt a little thirsty and reached out for his wine glass, only to discover that it was already empty.
Jiang Mi paused slightly, then turned to look at Liang Jinyi sitting beside him.
Liang Jinyi’s face had flushed an abnormal camel-red, and his grape-like big eyes were watery.
“Jinyi, you drank Brother’s wine.”
Liang Jinyi looked at Jiang Mi, but his gaze had no focus. He gave a soft, dazed “Mm.”
Jiang Mi felt somewhat helpless. “Didn’t Brother say children can’t drink alcohol?”
Liang Jinyi showed a bit of grievance, and the watery light in his eyes grew even stronger. He mumbled unclearly, “I wanted… I wanted to drink… the same drink… as Brother.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Jinyi’s head suddenly dropped downward.
Jiang Mi quickly reached out and supported Liang Jinyi’s face, preventing his head from hitting the table.
“Jinyi, Jinyi.”
But when Jiang Mi lifted Liang Jinyi’s head, he saw that Liang Jinyi’s eyes were tightly shut, his breathing even. He had fallen asleep.
“Huh, that’s all little brother can handle?” Xu Yang asked with a laugh.
Jiang Mi patted Liang Jinyi’s face and received only even steadier breathing in response. Helpless, Jiang Mi could only say to the other club members, “I’ll leave first. I have to send this little drunkard of mine back.”
The club members naturally agreed with smiles.
Jiang Mi hung Liang Jinyi’s little dinosaur water bottle on himself, then bent down to pick Liang Jinyi up. The moment he lifted him, Liang Jinyi smelled the familiar scent and instinctively wrapped both arms around Jiang Mi’s neck. His chin rested on Jiang Mi’s shoulder, and he slept on peacefully.
The hot pot restaurant was near the university town. On Saturday night, people flowed like weaving threads. Jiang Mi didn’t wait long before getting into a taxi.
More than half an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of the Liang family villa’s large iron gate. Liang Jinyi was still drunk. Jiang Mi got out of the car and carried him out.
Uncle Lin also came out to welcome them. Liang Jinyi was full of energy and often had no sleepiness at all even by midnight. Uncle Lin was very puzzled as to why he had fallen asleep when it was only nine o’clock today.
Jiang Mi felt a little apologetic. “He followed me to a classmate gathering today. I didn’t watch him closely enough and let him drink a little alcohol.”
Hearing this, Uncle Lin smiled. “No wonder the Little Young Master’s face is so red.”
After saying that, Uncle Lin reached out, wanting to take the drunk Liang Jinyi from Jiang Mi.
Liang Jinyi seemed to sense that someone wanted to take him away from Brother and subconsciously tightened his arms around Jiang Mi’s neck.
“I’ll carry him up,” Jiang Mi said.
Three minutes later, Jiang Mi carried Liang Jinyi up to his room on the second floor.
Liang Jinyi’s room had changed a lot compared to when Jiang Mi had first met him years ago. Of course, it wasn’t the furniture that had changed, but the many photos now placed in the room. For example, on his bedside table, desk, and coffee table, there were all photos of him and Jiang Mi together.
Jiang Mi placed Liang Jinyi on the bed. Uncle Lin helped take off Liang Jinyi’s shoes and changed him into pajamas. Jiang Mi wiped Liang Jinyi’s face for him, and after covering him with the blanket and seeing that Liang Jinyi was sleeping soundly, Jiang Mi prepared to leave.
But Liang Jinyi seemed to have a sixth sense. As if sensing that Jiang Mi was about to leave, he grabbed one of Jiang Mi’s fingers when Jiang Mi stood up and mumbled insistently, “Brother, you’re not allowed to go.”
“Okay, okay. Brother won’t go.”
Jiang Mi waited for a while. Only after Liang Jinyi sank into deep sleep again did Jiang Mi pry open the hand gripping his finger and quietly withdraw from his room.
It wasn’t easy to hail a taxi near the Liang family villa, but several of the Liang family’s drivers took shifts on duty. Uncle Lin asked Uncle Li to send him back, and Jiang Mi didn’t refuse.
Just as Jiang Mi reached the Liang family’s living room, he saw a man in a dark blue suit walking in. The man was very tall. His appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding, but his eyes were bright and vigorous. Seeing Jiang Mi, he instinctively glanced behind him and asked, “Why isn’t Jinyi following you today?”
Jiang Mi called out, “Uncle Liang,” then answered, “He fell asleep today.”
Liang Hong raised his wrist and glanced at the time on his watch, his expression puzzled. “Jinyi sleeps this early? Lin Heng, didn’t you say Jinyi usually sleeps at midnight? Did I remember wrong?” Liang Hong wasn’t very familiar with Liang Jinyi.
Jiang Mi explained, “Uncle Liang, Jinyi came to a classmate gathering with me today and accidentally drank a little alcohol. He got drunk.”
Hearing this, Liang Hong didn’t pay it much mind. He gently told Jiang Mi to come over often when he had time, then went upstairs.
Jiang Mi returned home that night. The next morning, he went to his grandmother’s house to tutor Liu Peipei. Only in the afternoon did he return to school.
There weren’t many people wandering around campus on Sunday afternoon. Jiang Mi entered through the main gate, and when he passed Weiming Lake, he noticed a girl with a pale face, swaying as she held onto a tree.
Jiang Mi went forward and asked what was wrong, and whether she needed him to take her to the infirmary.
Although the girl felt the world spinning around her and everything swaying, she still forced herself to answer that she was fine. It was just low blood sugar, and she would recover after resting for a while.
Jiang Mi happened to still have two pieces of chocolate in his pants pocket. That morning, Liu Peipei had thought they were delicious and stuffed them into Jiang Mi’s hand for him to try.
He hadn’t had time to eat them yet. Since this female classmate had low blood sugar, Jiang Mi unwrapped them and handed the chocolate to her.
After the girl ate the two pieces of chocolate and rested for a few minutes, the symptoms of low blood sugar gradually eased. Seeing that she was all right, Jiang Mi returned to his dorm.
Jiang Mi was busier than ordinary university students. In addition to joining the Student Union, the Debate Society, and the Tennis Club, he had also taken a minor in finance.
On Tuesday afternoon, there were four finance classes. After class ended and Jiang Mi walked out of the classroom, he saw the girl he had given two pieces of chocolate to on Sunday waiting for him at the door.
She sincerely said that to thank him for the chocolate, she wanted to invite him to a simple meal.
Jiang Mi felt the chocolates had only been a small effort, but the other party said that if not for those two pieces of chocolate, her final outcome might have been fainting and being sent to the hospital.
Seeing that her attitude was firm, Jiang Mi ate a simple meal with this female classmate at the cafeteria.
At six-ten, the moment Jiang Mi returned to the dorm, he was surrounded by his three roommates.
Zhan Peng blocked Jiang Mi in front of his desk. “Hurry up and confess, Old Fourth Jiang. When did you meet the campus belle of the School of Economics and Management?”
“The campus belle of the School of Economics and Management?” Jiang Mi was puzzled.
Zhang Dameng said, “Lin Wan, the one you ate with tonight. Don’t even think about denying it. The three of us were sitting diagonally behind you two. Six eyes saw everything. Don’t even think about getting out of it.”
Jiang Mi could only briefly recount what had happened on Sunday afternoon to his three roommates.
After listening, Zhan Peng looked at Jiang Mi thoughtfully. “Tsk, tsk. Handsome Jiang, your attitude isn’t ordinary.”
“What’s not ordinary about it?” Jiang Mi tossed his schoolbag onto the desk and asked back.
Zhang Dameng said, “Last year, when we went out to eat, a girl suddenly fainted. You performed CPR for seven minutes and saved her life. Later, after that girl was discharged from the hospital, she wanted to invite you to eat, but you refused. You said you were only closer to her at the time, and even without you, other students would have stepped forward. The favor you did Wang Nana wasn’t any less than what you did for the campus belle of the School of Economics and Management.”
“Jiang Mi, admit it. You have a good impression of the campus belle of the School of Economics and Management!” Zhang Dameng declared decisively.
Jiang Mi thought for a moment and didn’t hide it. “Maybe I do have a little good impression.”
Zhan Peng immediately cursed, “I knew you liked girls with gentle looks and obedient personalities.”
“What makes you say that?” Jiang Mi asked with a smile.
Zhan Peng was actually quite observant sometimes. “Haven’t you noticed? When it comes to things you consider important, you always like to make arrangements and plan everything thoroughly in advance. You don’t want the outcome to go beyond your expectations. Your desire for control is pretty strong, and people like that generally prefer obedient, quiet, traditional girls.”
Jiang Mi admitted that he was someone who hoped to control his own life. Life could have some harmless surprises, but when it came to important matters, he didn’t want any accidents to happen.
“Maybe,” Jiang Mi replied with a smile.
Zhan Peng asked again, “Then can you still make time to have dinner with Chenchen’s friend?”
Jiang Mi thought for a moment. “Forget it.”
Hearing this, Zhan Peng didn’t force it either. After all, the classmate from the School of Literature wasn’t the campus belle of the School of Economics and Management.
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.
On Friday, Jiang Mi picked up second-grader Liang Jinyi after school and accompanied him for dinner. The next morning, he tutored Liu Peipei in math for the entire morning. In the afternoon, he returned to school.
Because Jiang Mi was taking an extra major in addition to law, there was a finance-related certificate exam he could take in a while. After returning to school, Jiang Mi took his books and went to the library to study.
After studying for about an hour, Jiang Mi noticed someone sitting down across from his desk.
Jing University had expanded its library and study rooms over the past two years. In addition, today was Sunday, and there weren’t especially many people in the library. Although one library desk could accommodate three or four adults without issue, when it wasn’t finals season or crowded, students usually wouldn’t share a table with strangers.
Jiang Mi lifted his head and saw Lin Wan smiling nervously at him, asking softly, “Can I sit here?”
Jiang Mi casually nodded.
Jiang Mi studied until six in the evening, then prepared to return to the dorm. In the afternoon, someone in their dorm had been gaming, but tonight, two people had dates and wouldn’t be back, and another person had gone to meet fellow townsmen and wouldn’t be back either. He could study in the dorm tonight.
Seeing that Jiang Mi was planning to leave, Lin Wan learned that he wouldn’t come to the library tonight. She licked her lips and mustered up the courage to ask, “Then will you come to the library tomorrow?”
“I should.”
There would probably be people in the dorm tomorrow.
Lin Wan’s right hand, hanging beneath the desk, was sweating. Her heart beat a little faster as she asked, “Will you also be on this floor tomorrow?”
Jing University had several library buildings. This was the library closest to the Law School. But the library had five floors, a large area, and even some blind spots and self-study rooms. If one didn’t know the other person’s exact location, deliberately looking for someone would be no different from searching for a needle in the sea.
Jiang Mi looked at Lin Wan’s slightly flushed cheeks and laughed softly. “Tomorrow, I’ll come a little earlier and try to sit at this table again. If another student gets here first, I’ll choose a table near this one first.”
Lin Wan froze.
Jiang Mi picked up the black schoolbag on the chair with one hand and walked away with a smile.
The next day, Jiang Mi arrived quite early, before eight. However, Lin Wan had arrived even earlier than him and was already sitting in the seat she had sat in yesterday. Jiang Mi sat across from her. The two didn’t exchange words and simply studied with tacit understanding.
At noon, the two of them went to the cafeteria for lunch together, then returned to the library to study.
Jiang Mi was full of energy and didn’t feel sleepy even without a nap. Lin Wan, sitting across from him, read for a while but couldn’t resist eventually. She lay on the desk and took a short nap.
Seeing that the girl was sleeping soundly, Jiang Mi lightened the movement of turning pages.
Lin Wan didn’t sleep for too long either. Twenty minutes later, she woke up. She went to the restroom to wash her face, then continued sitting across from Jiang Mi and studying.
At three in the afternoon, Jiang Mi clarified another piece of economics knowledge. Suddenly, the phone in his schoolbag vibrated. Jiang Mi took out his phone and answered. Before he could ask Liang Jinyi what had happened, he heard Liang Jinyi sobbing.
From the other end of the phone, he said pitifully, “Brother, it hurts so much. Hurry and come see me.”
Jiang Mi froze slightly and quickly asked, “Jinyi, what happened?”
Uncle Lin’s voice came through. “Young Master Jiang, the Little Young Master broke his leg.”
Two minutes later, Jiang Mi hung up and hurriedly stuffed his books into his bag, looking as if he was about to leave. Lin Wan quickly asked, “What happened?”
“My little brother fractured a bone. I’m going to the hospital to see him.”
Fifty minutes later, Jiang Mi arrived at a famous private hospital in Bei City. Just as he pushed open the door to the orthopedic clinic, Liang Jinyi turned his head, looked at Jiang Mi aggrievedly, and said with a pained expression, “Brother, I’ve become… a little cripple.”
Author’s Note
A fracture. He’ll only be lame for a month.
Also, the author is very nervous about this chapter…
