Dating Myself - Chapter 34

When An Mu got her leave and came out, Jian Yixi was staring blankly at her phone. On the bustling street, she had her head slightly bowed. A passing gust of wind swirled fallen leaves around her plaid short skirt. The ends of her ponytail swayed gently in the breeze. The slender, pale curve of her neck disappeared gracefully into her collar. The zipper of her knee-length down jacket was undone, and the fluffy white hood was resting behind her shoulders.

With just a gentle call of her name, Jian Yixi turned her head. Her soft, dark eyes were tinged with a faint light. The moment she saw An Mu, a smile instinctively bloomed, and a single, small dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Her soft, sweet voice was completely different from the anxious tone on the phone earlier, as if An Mu’s presence had alleviated all her worries.

An Mu felt a slight ease in her heart. Maintaining her pace, she quickly reached Jian Yixi.

“The bus is slow. We’ll take the high-speed rail. There’s a train leaving soon, we can catch it. Let’s go home for your ID card first.”

Their new home was just across the road. They had been living there for two months. In less than five minutes, they had retrieved the ID card and returned to the roadside.

“Next time, just keep your ID card with me. That way, when something urgent happens, both of us don’t have to go back together to get it.”

An Mu pulled out a wet wipe and handed it to Jian Yixi. The two of them wiped off the sweat from their hurried run. Before they were finished, An Mu quickly took two steps and waved down a passing taxi.

The taxi stopped, and they got in, heading straight for the high-speed rail station. Only then did An Mu have the time to ask for the specifics of the situation.

Jian Yixi said she received a call from her adoptive mother during the long break between classes. Her adoptive mother said that her adoptive father had broken his leg and was now in the hospital. She couldn’t handle things alone and hoped Jian Yixi would go over to help.

“Your mother cried?”

“She cried,” Jian Yixi’s expression dimmed, and she sighed slightly, leaning against the car window. “It’s the first time I’ve seen my mom cry. I don’t know how my father is doing now.”

“Why don’t you call again?”

Jian Yixi shook her head slightly. “I tried. It’s turned off. My mom mentioned on the phone that her battery was almost dead.”

An Mu slightly frowned. The more she listened, the more she felt something was suspicious about the matter.

Could it be… Wen Qiaoyun planning revenge on the adoptive parents?

No, that couldn’t be. The company was in utter chaos right now; she wouldn’t have the time to deal with such things.

Then… could it be Jian Yihu?

Jian Yihu was currently under “control,” already overwhelmed with her own issues, and her reputation had plummeted. She was in no position to incite injury again. The only person she might contact was Qin Yige, but since he was implicated by her and expelled, he theoretically shouldn’t take orders from her.

As for using money to hire someone for assault, that was even more impossible. Her personal account was under surveillance, and Wen Qiaoyun wouldn’t give her a large amount of money at this time.

If it wasn’t the Jian family, there shouldn’t be anyone else, which would leave only an accident.

A normal analysis would lead to this conclusion, but having experienced too many schemes in her previous life, An Mu still felt that this matter was not simple.

Regardless, caution was the best approach.

They bought tickets, entered the station, and boarded the train without any delay, finding their seats just in time.

Jian Yixi kept her hands on her lap. She looked out the window for a while, then at the train carriage for a while, and then looked down at her toes. Her small head twisted back and forth like an old electric fan, unable to stay still for a moment. The stability she showed upon seeing An Mu had completely vanished, leaving only visible anxiety.

An Mu thought for a moment, took out her phone, found a few difficult math problems saved in her album, and nudged Jian Yixi’s arm.

“I don’t quite understand these few problems. Can you explain them to me?”

Jian Yixi was in no mood to explain problems right now, but she had already delayed An Mu’s lab assessment, essentially causing An Mu to lose 10 points—10 points that would be counted toward her total score!

If An Mu were to be kicked out of the Elite Class, her guilt would be enormous.

Although An Mu would surely say it wasn’t her fault, Jian Yixi couldn’t feel entirely at ease.

Moreover… they were friends, and explaining problems was something she should do.

Jian Yixi reluctantly suppressed the anxiety in her heart and earnestly began explaining the problems to An Mu. At first, she was agitated and stumbled through the explanations. Slowly, her mind became fully immersed, forgetting everything else. With her thoughts focused only on math formulas and solution methods, she calmed down completely.

“Just substitute the values here at the end, and you’re all set. Did you understand?”

—I understood.

“I still don’t quite understand. Why must this auxiliary line be drawn here?”

“I’m telling you, usually when you encounter this kind of situation, and even that problem just now, the first thing to consider is drawing the auxiliary line here, or diagonally works too.”

An Mu deliberately slowed the pace of the explanations. Jian Yixi was very patient, breaking down and thoroughly explaining the concepts. By the time all the stored difficult problems were explained, the high-speed rail was nearly at the station.

Jian Yixi had no time to be distracted anymore. She quickly got ready to get off the train, exit the station, and transfer to a ride to Shunyi.

Transferring was not so lucky. There was no suitable train. An Mu suggested taking a taxi, but Jian Yixi pulled her toward the bus station instead.

The bus would definitely be slower than a taxi, but the price was only one-tenth of a taxi’s fare. An Mu understood that Jian Yixi didn’t want to owe her too much. She was constantly worrying about the property transfer fee and dared not spend a single penny carelessly, let alone let An Mu pay for the ride. The bus was the best choice for her.

Considering that the bus wouldn’t be much slower—only about half an hour slower than a taxi—An Mu didn’t insist and followed her to the bus station.

Jian Yixi was anxious to get on the bus, but An Mu pulled her to a small convenience store at the station entrance first, buying two motion sickness pills and a bottle of mineral water.

She handed the pills to Jian Yixi and gave her the water bottle, with the cap already twisted open.

Jian Yixi only then reacted.

“How did you know I get motion sickness on the bus?”

Jian Yixi didn’t get motion sickness on any other vehicle, only the bus, especially when the heating was on in winter.

She couldn’t explain the reason, perhaps because it was too sealed and the air didn’t circulate, making her easily nauseous.

“You told me.”

“I did?”

At a time like this, a declarative sentence was essential. The calmer the tone, the more authentic it sounded.

Jian Yixi slightly furrowed her brow, seeming to recall when she might have mentioned it.

An Mu pulled her into the station.

She didn’t know the ingredients of the motion sickness medicine, but shortly after taking it, Jian Yixi became drowsy.

An Mu sat on the outer seat, and Jian Yixi was on the inner seat.

An Mu watched as Jian Yixi first leaned against the window, then shortly after, she leaned over the back of the front seat. After a while, she leaned back against her own seat, resting her head. After leaning for a bit, she rubbed her neck and again chose to lean against the window.

Jian Yixi’s legs beneath her were also restless, twisting left and right, changing angles several times within ten minutes.

An Mu glanced at the red mark pressed onto Jian Yixi’s forehead, then looked away. Worrying about her adoptive father, she, too, felt uneasy. She suppressed it, pulled out her phone, searched for essential high school vocabulary, and began to silently memorize them.

She had only memorized a few when there was a creaking sound as the seat shook. Jian Yixi, with her eyes closed, leaned over the back of the front seat again.

An Mu couldn’t quite recall the discomfort of motion sickness anymore. After graduating from high school, she barely rode the bus, but she still retained an instinctive fear of the bus, so much so that she instinctively turned into the store to buy motion sickness pills at the station entrance.

In the past, she had also slept through the ride by shifting around like that until she reached her destination. At the time, she didn’t feel much other than the sleep being very uncomfortable. Looking at it now from a bystand’s perspective, it was more than just uncomfortable; it was a little disturbing.

Creak, creak. Every time Jian Yixi changed her position, there was a burst of noise.

An Mu let out a slight sigh. Unable to bear it any longer, she hooked her hand around Jian Yixi’s head and gently rested it on her own lap.

Jian Yixi opened her drowsy eyes, looked up at An Mu, quickly settled into a comfortable position, and fell into a deep sleep.

An Mu pressed her temple.

—Finally, quiet.

She held her phone and memorized vocabulary for a while. Shunyi arrived. The conductor shouted for passengers to get off. Jian Yixi groggily got up, a red mark from the sleeve button on her face. She yawned into her hand and looked around sleepily.

“Are we there?”

“We’re here.”

Only then did Jian Yixi rub her eyes and stand up. After only one second of standing, she plopped back down, holding her leg. She looked up at An Mu pitifully, her eyes moist and bright, her pink lips slightly parted with a stray strand of hair clinging to them.

“My leg fell asleep…”

An Mu was in a rush to get off and head to the hospital. She glanced at the bus door, then back at Jian Yixi, sighed helplessly, and sat down again, leaning over to massage her leg.

“We won’t take the bus next time.”

—It’s both uncomfortable and a waste of time.

Jian Yixi seemed to give a soft “Mhm,” but the sound was too quiet, and the bus was too noisy with people getting off and tidying up. An Mu wasn’t sure if she had actually made the sound.

An Mu lowered her eyes, firmly rubbing and kneading her thigh and calf from top to bottom. The fleece leggings felt warm with her body temperature in An Mu’s palm. When she finished and looked up, Jian Yixi was staring at her unblinkingly, her cheeks flushed with a peach-pink color, the tips of her ears bright red, and her pink lips slightly parted. Her bright white teeth seemed unable to close, and a small, delicate red tip of her tongue was visible.

Her sixteen-year-old self was truly growing into a beautiful young woman, fresh and vibrant.

Comparing this to her own sickness-riddled body at the time of her death, An Mu felt a mix of emotions. She wasn’t sure if it was relief at being reborn or regret that she hadn’t lived her life well enough before.

She lowered her gaze, withdrew her hands, and stood up, assuming Jian Yixi was just embarrassed to be taken care of. She didn’t dwell on it.

“Let’s go. Everyone else is gone.”

This time, An Mu clearly heard it. Jian Yixi did make a sound, a soft “Mhm,” but the tone was a little strange, floaty, as if she hadn’t fully woken up.

They rushed to the hospital without stopping. They still couldn’t reach the adoptive mother’s phone, but fortunately, Jian Yixi remembered the ward number and successfully found the room.

Both of them were anxious. They pushed the door open and entered. The adoptive mother was wiping the adoptive father’s face and hands. Seeing Jian Yixi, her eyes lit up. But seeing An Mu following behind her, her gaze clearly flickered.

The adoptive mother put down the towel and came over, taking Jian Yixi’s hand and carefully checking her up and down.

“Are you alright?”

“Me? What could be wrong with me? It’s my father! How is he doing?”

Jian Yixi pulled her adoptive mother toward the hospital bed.

“Your father is fine. It’s just a fracture. He’ll recover with rest.”

The adoptive mother glanced at An Mu, her gaze drifting, and asked, “Xixi, is this your classmate?”

Jian Yixi had already rushed to the bedside, looking at her father’s leg in a cast. Seeing that her father looked well, she felt relieved. Hearing her mother’s question, she stuck out her tongue and quickly turned back, pulling An Mu over to introduce her. “This is my classmate and best friend, An Mu.”

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but upon hearing the name “An Mu,” the adoptive mother’s face visibly changed, and she exchanged a look with the adoptive father on the bed.

“An, An Mu… that’s a, a good name.”

Jian Yixi tilted her head, looking at her mother, her brows furrowing again.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

“N-nothing.”

“Are you hiding something about Dad’s injury from me?”

“No! Why would I? You can see it for yourself, can’t you? He accidentally fell while welding an advertising frame.”

—If it were purely that, why was she stumbling over her words just now?

An Mu wasn’t the only one thinking this; Jian Yixi likely was too. She bit her lip, looked at her father, and said, “I’m going to ask the doctor.”

“Oh, you child! Don’t you believe your mother?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just want to understand clearly, like how much longer until he fully recovers.”

Even if the chief physician had gone home, there was an on-duty doctor who could be asked, though the on-duty doctor might not know as much as the chief physician.

As Jian Yixi spoke, she opened the ward door. An Mu was about to follow her to ask the doctor when the adoptive father suddenly called out, “An Mu, I have something I want to ask you. Could you please come over for a moment? My leg is really inconvenient.”

An Mu paused. In her surprise, she vaguely guessed what was going on.

The adoptive father then told the adoptive mother, “Why are you just standing there? Hurry and go with Xixi. She doesn’t know where the on-duty office is.”

The adoptive mother said “Oh” several times. She looked at An Mu, a clear discomfort in her expression, and then opened the door and followed them out.

An Mu watched them leave, then turned to the bedside. She saw the washbasin and towel on the bedside table. She considered taking over for the adoptive mother to continue wiping his face and arms, but she was afraid of startling the adoptive father. She placed the basin under the bed for the moment, then pulled up a chair and sat down.

“What did you want to ask me, Uncle?”

The adoptive father looked at the patient in the next bed, a young man who was engrossed in his phone and paying no attention to them.

The adoptive father sighed, lowering his eyes, as if making a huge decision. Only then did he look up at her. “What I’m about to ask you may be a little presumptuous, but I truly… I truly worry about Xixi. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

With an opening like that, it was obvious that what followed would not be pleasant.

An Mu looked at the adoptive father’s sun-darkened and aged face, the crow’s feet around his eyes that looked like carved lines. In the past, he had always greeted her with a smile, but now, there was a sense of distance, even defensiveness.

She lowered her eyes, suppressing the churning emotions, almost saying the wrong title.

“Fa—… Uncle, please speak.”

The adoptive father glanced at the ward door and said, “I was welding a frame on the street this afternoon. I wasn’t climbing very high, about two and a half stories. While I was welding, my phone rang. I saw it was a Weicheng number, so I answered it without thinking. Who knew…

Who knew it was Xixi’s older sister. Her sister said that everything that happened to the Jian family was… was all designed by you, and that you approached Xixi with an agenda from the very beginning. Is that true?”

So it truly was Jian Yihu playing tricks. Unable to cause physical harm, she resorted to sowing discord.

An Mu looked up at the adoptive father, her amber eyes calm and unwavering. Without any hesitation, she answered: “Yes, it is.”

Perhaps because he hadn’t expected her to admit it so readily, the adoptive father froze. He rubbed the back of his head and was silent for a long time before speaking again.

“Then… now that you’ve achieved your goal, why are you still with Xixi?”

“Friends?” The adoptive father gave a bitter laugh. “I’m a simple man, but even I know that friendship requires sincerity, not just using someone. I don’t think what you’re doing is friendship. At most, you… you feel bad because you used Xixi, so you keep helping her. You’re a wealthy person; Xixi is just a small common person. You two are not in the same league at all.”