Chapter 31: Don't Move
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
When is a person forced to grow up? It should be when they truly have no one to rely on.
The day her uncle died, Wang Xiaoli said Ji Lianxing was a bad star. She said her husband could have lived a few more days, but the moment Ji Lianxing came home, he passed.
People in the village said her uncle had been holding on with his last breath waiting for Ji Lianxing to come back. That showed the one he loved the most was Ji Lianxing.
Good or bad, Ji Lianxing heard it all, but she felt nothing.
She was busy handling the funeral. Whether to bury or cremate, everyone had their own opinion.
“Cremate? Are you really going to cremate? That’s not our custom here.”
“Xiao Ji, what you’re doing isn’t kind.”
“If they didn’t cremate, would you help pay? You think his son is any use?”
“Cremated or not, isn’t it the same? Who are you to speak up? You really think you’re not an outsider!”
One from the east, one from the west — no matter what they said, Ji Lianxing didn’t care. She used the 30,000 yuan from her uncle’s bank card and handled the funeral by herself.
According to village customs, the dead should lie in state for 7 days — 4 days at the very least. Ji Lianxing chose 4.
Many people came to pay respects. Most brought gifts, a hundred, two hundred yuan. From such a small village, they actually gathered over ten thousand yuan.
Despite some people’s objections, Ji Lianxing still chose cremation. According to her uncle’s will, she scattered half his ashes into Jin’e River, and buried the other half in a grave.
The burial site was picked by the village’s feng shui master. He didn't charge a single coin. In the end, Ji Lianxing only paid 20,000 yuan for the land.
As for the rest — bits and pieces here and there — the few tens of thousands were spent to the very last cent.
Wang Xiaoli was heartbroken at first, but by the third day, she didn't seem that heartbroken anymore—she actually shouted for people to play mahjong at the mourning hall.
The one most criticized was Ji Siyu. He might as well have died out there somewhere. It was as if he wasn't even her uncle’s son.
From the day her uncle passed to the day he was buried, Ji Siyu never showed up once. After nearly a hundred unanswered calls, Ji Lianxing gave up.
Five days later, Ji Lianxing boarded the high-speed train back to A City with the candy box in hand.
She could hardly feel her own emotions. Maybe they were still there, but she no longer had the strength to notice them. After several sleepless nights, she was beyond exhausted.
The train gradually picked up speed. Ji Lianxing rested her forehead against the glass window, looking out at the blurry scenery. Her gaze had no focus.
Those fleeting, untouchable, wind-scattered moments of warmth were all taken away by autumn, leaving only falling leaves filling the sky. The train sped forward, scattering the leaves all over the ground, leaving them abandoned in that little county town.
The view of the small town slowly vanished from her sight, eventually replaced by tall buildings. She had returned to A City.
These past few days, Jiang Shu had been calling her constantly. Ji Lianxing had a lot she could say, but her desire to speak was low. Most of the time, it was Jiang Shu asking questions and her giving short answers.
After getting off the train, Ji Lianxing took a taxi to the Song Homes 3rd Courtyard. The first thing she did when she got home was sleep. She had only one wish—to throw away everything in her head and get a good night’s rest.
….
It had been almost a week since Jiang Shu last saw Ji Lianxing. She could understand—Ji Lianxing had more important things to deal with right now. But even so, she missed her terribly.
She wanted to comfort her, to hold her, to watch her eat. Or even just see her, even just once. That alone would help ease this aching longing.
Jiang Shu had messaged Ji Lianxing at three in the afternoon. Now it was already eight at night, and there was still no reply. Her mood naturally grew restless. Ji Lianxing had mentioned she would be back today, so what did not answering calls or replying to messages mean?
After work, Jiang Shu drove straight home. She had hope—hope that when she opened the door, Ji Lianxing would be there. She had given her a key, after all. But all that welcomed her was the same empty living room.
The little hedgehog wasn't home. So where had she gone?
Jiang Shu set her bag down and lay on the couch. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her chat history with Ji Lianxing.
Only a few brief greetings and some voice calls that never lasted over two minutes. Almost all the recent calls were made by Jiang Shu. Ji Lianxing hardly said anything during them. She had grown quiet and withdrawn, far less lively than before.
Though, come to think of it, she had never been that lively to begin with.
Jiang Shu remembered the first time she met Ji Lianxing. Ji Lianxing had never seemed like the lively type. Dressed in something wild, her eyes sharp like thorns, her whole body carried a sense of distance. That awkward smile she forced—failing to blend in—made it clear she wasn't someone warm or outgoing.
But there were moments. A few scattered moments where she had been lively. Sometimes she smiled—that kind of shy, gentle smile—and paired with her bright eyes, it reminded Jiang Shu of the first snowflake falling in winter. Cold but pure. Melting the moment it touched warmth, but still unforgettable.
Jiang Shu really did miss Ji Lianxing. The longer she went without seeing her, the stronger that longing became. Now, lying on the couch, all it took was closing her eyes and Ji Lianxing’s image would appear vividly in her mind.
Should she call her?
Jiang Shu opened the contact info for Ji Lianxing and stared at it. After several rounds of hesitation, she still didn't press the dial button. Instead, she looked through their text history—the messages were still from the night they first met at the hotel.
Jiang Shu began to wonder: if they were not in this kind of relationship, what kind of girl would Ji Lianxing be?
She rarely asked herself these questions. Arrogant by nature and used to putting herself first, Jiang Shu usually spent more time thinking about herself, not others.
So now that she tried to understand Ji Lianxing, she found herself completely lost, not even knowing where to begin.
Her gaze returned to her phone. After much hesitation, Jiang Shu finally made the call.
The first time, it rang several times with no answer.
Then she dialed again.
And again.
It was as if she wouldn't give up unless Ji Lianxing picked up. Jiang Shu disliked being this way. But she disliked being ignored by Ji Lianxing even more.
Finally, on the eighth try, the call connected.
“President Jiang...” Even through the phone, Jiang Shu could hear the fatigue in her voice. The little hedgehog sounded exhausted.
"Did you make it back to A City?"
"Yeah. Sorry, I’ve been sleeping ever since I got home this morning."
"It’s fine," Jiang Shu replied lightly, her voice not showing any emotion. "Then go ahead and keep sleeping."
"Mm." Ji Lianxing still sounded very tired. "Can I come over tomorrow instead?"
"Of course. Sleep a little more."
After hanging up, Ji Lianxing didn't think too much. She put her phone down and went back to sleep. But after a while, she stirred again, something feeling off. She opened her eyes and looked at the time—it was already 8:30 p.m.
She had completely slept through the day. She had been asleep for almost ten hours.
Half-dazed, she got up and walked to the fridge to find something to eat. But when she opened it, there wasn'thing inside.
The collapse of an adult can happen in a single moment. Ji Lianxing never truly understood what that meant—until now.
She had not cried the day her uncle was buried. She had not cried when Ji Siyu demanded 250,000 yuan from her in front of Jiang Shu. But now, when she was hungry and just wanted something to eat, and found the fridge completely empty, that was when the switch flipped.
She squatted down by the fridge and started bawling.
In the tiny rental room, Ji Lianxing sat curled up in the corner. Her thin body seemed to melt into the dark, like she could be crushed with just a bit of force.
It was too quiet. Ji Lianxing actually wished for some noise. She listened to her own sobbing and felt like it was coming from someone else.
The fridge was still humming, even though there wasn'thing inside.
She unplugged it.
Still squatting on the floor, she hugged her knees tight and tasted her own tears. They were bitter.
Tok, tok, tok—
Someone was knocking on the door. Just three knocks.
Ji Lianxing thought it was her roommate, but quickly remembered—one had already moved out, and the other was on night shift and wouldn't be back tonight.
Tok, tok, tok—
Another three knocks, rhythmic and polite.
Dragging her exhausted body toward the door, Ji Lianxing paused before opening it. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Jiang Shu’s voice.
Ji Lianxing wiped her tears and opened the door. Jiang Shu stood right there.
Tall and slender, that familiar face, and those eyes that felt like falling into the sea.
It had only been a few days, but Ji Lianxing suddenly realized just how much she had missed Jiang Shu. She had a strong, overwhelming urge to hug her.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m hungry.”
Jiang Shu raised one hand. She was holding two takeout containers. “The fried rice noodles from the stall outside your neighborhood. I bought two.”
Seeing those two boxes of fried noodles, Ji Lianxing almost broke again. Her lips pressed tightly together, the corners of her mouth turned down, and her eyes were brimming with tears, but she held it back.
“Come here, little hedgehog. Let me hug you.”
Jiang Shu lifted her free arm, motioning for Ji Lianxing to come into her arms.
This time, Ji Lianxing didn't hesitate. She rushed into Jiang Shu’s embrace, wrapped her arms around Jiang Shu’s neck, and pressed her nose against her cheek, taking a deep breath.
Jiang Shu’s scent was like some kind of plant hidden deep within a distant snowy land. One breath of it cooled Ji Lianxing’s throat like ice, yet burned fiercely through her chest.
Ji Lianxing clung to Jiang Shu’s neck. The gesture made Jiang Shu a little flustered. When Ji Lianxing’s nose pressed against her cheek, Jiang Shu could clearly feel her heartbeat speeding up.
A strange flutter stirred inside her—like an ant crawling across her heart, tickling the very tip.
“Little hedgehog, did you miss me?” Jiang Shu’s voice was low and seductive.
“I don’t know… maybe.”
“I missed you a lot. I haven’t been able to sleep these past few nights.”
Jiang Shu leaned closer and brushed her cheek against Ji Lianxing’s. Their skin touched, warmth passed between them, and that empty space inside her heart was suddenly full.
She finally understood this little canary’s charm—addictive, a soft craving.
One day apart was fine. Two days was tolerable. But after a week, it felt like her heart was being clawed at.
She thought Ji Lianxing was like a pure jasmine blossom. The pistil gave off a sweet scent, and the pollen drifted through the air, filling it with a gentle fragrance.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
But if you reached out to touch those petals, you would find a rose hiding under all that purity—dangerous and alluring.
And suddenly, Jiang Shu really wanted a taste. She wanted to know if this jasmine was tinged with the flavor of roses.
“President Jiang…”
“Don’t move.”
Jiang Shu lowered her head and slowly leaned in, her lips gently pressing against Ji Lianxing’s.
She softly held Ji Lianxing’s lips, tasting their softness and fragrance. It was sweet—with a faint hint of tears and salt.
Ji Lianxing’s hair brushed against Jiang Shu’s face. Jiang Shu tucked it behind her ear, then leaned in closer. Her tongue slipped past Ji Lianxing’s teeth, deepening the kiss.
Jiang Shu felt something striking her heart—maybe it was something that belonged to Ji Lianxing, quietly making its way into her chest.
She didn't know what that something was. She only knew her heart was beating too fast.
Author's Note:
Lately, the pandemic's gotten worse again. Everyone, please take care and stay safe.
[About extra updates: For every 1,000 nutrient solution added on top of the current total, I’ll add 3 extra chapters. There’s no time limit, and no pressure—just do as you like. Thank you all for your support~ Love you!]
