Meng Jin’s foul mood was effortlessly soothed by Chen Jiaojiao’s words, “I have a lover,” and he even seemed to radiate a sense of springtime delight.
Even when Chen Jiaojiao returned home very late for several days in a row, he could pretend not to notice. Only in the quiet of the night would he carefully listen to the conversations captured by the eavesdropping device, extracting those sweet words and piecing them together.
Chen Jiaojiao was busy nonstop, painting day and night under immense pressure until his fingers ached. Yet, by chance, this relentless practice strengthened his skills.
Rushing against time, he finally earned enough money a week before the start of the new semester. Carrying his documents and a stack of cash, he went alone to the pre-booked shop.
Walking through a sparsely populated alley, he stopped in front of a quaint store. Though lacking lavish decor, it exuded the charm of an old establishment.
Pushing the door open, Chen Jiaojiao noticed subtle changes in the shop’s interior since his last visit a long fish tank now stood in the corner.
Only an elderly couple, warm and friendly, were inside. They clearly remembered him. “You’ve finally come. Several customers have asked about this watch, but I saved it for you.”
Chen Jiaojiao quickly thanked them, handed over the pre-counted money, and turned to examine the semi-customized watch. It featured a reversible dial the front looked like an ordinary watch, while the back could be flipped open to reveal a calendar.
He inspected it carefully. Though mentally prepared, he was still taken aback when he opened the back. Besides the calendar, there was a small photo he had specially requested. Call it selfish, but the photo was identical to the one in his pocket watch.
“Thank you, I love it,” Chen Jiaojiao said, carefully handing the watch back. “Could you please wrap it for me?”
While waiting for the packaging, he glanced at other watch straps displayed in the window and unconsciously drifted toward the fish tank.
“Splash ”
For some reason, the two small fish in the tank suddenly collided, sending water splashing everywhere.
The faint sound caught Chen Jiaojiao’s attention. He looked over. Perhaps due to haste, the tank hadn’t been fully decorated yet it appeared empty and dark in the corner, with the small fish seeming lost in the oversized space.
The splashing water continued, each wave pounding against his eardrums.
Suddenly, Chen Jiaojiao’s vision blurred. This time, fragments flashed before his eyes a sea so blue it was nearly black, a suffocating sense of weightlessness, and sharp, agonized cries echoing in his ears: “Help! The boat is leaking!”
“Brother, I’m going to Japan. My flight is the day after tomorrow.”
“…”
Dizziness and chaotic noises overwhelmed him once more, assaulting his mind. Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead, and he could no longer hold himself up, collapsing to the ground as darkness clouded his vision.
The shopkeeper, seeing Chen Jiaojiao fall, immediately put down her work and rushed to help him up. “Call an ambulance!”
Perhaps because someone intervened, the fragments before Chen Jiaojiao’s eyes vanished. Yet his body continued to tremble uncontrollably, his lips devoid of color. “Thank you, Auntie. I’m fine.”
Knowing he had once fallen into water and had an accident, this was likely a lingering effect. With a private doctor at home, he didn’t want to go to the hospital alone.
Under the nanny’s worried gaze, he politely declined the suggestion to go to the hospital, asking only for a cup of warm water. He sat on the sofa, trying to calm his irregular heartbeat.
As the warm water settled in his stomach, it dispelled the inner chill, and his intense emotions gradually eased, his breathing steadying.
“Buzz!”
The familiar ringtone of his phone sounded. Chen Jiaojiao’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone. The deep voice on the other end of the line washed away the last trace of unease. “Jiaojiao, when are you coming home?”
“I’ll be home in half an hour,” Chen Jiaojiao replied, glancing at the time. He pursed his lips, his tone carrying a rare note of dependence. Sensing something unusual in Meng Jin’s voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
On the other end, Meng Jin was already seated in a car at the airport. His expression was troubled, and he let out an almost imperceptible sigh, filled with reluctance and worry. “Something urgent came up. I have to go on a business trip, at least for three days.”
He had just received a call from his father, saying his mother, Liang Yu, had suddenly collapsed and was now in the intensive care unit undergoing emergency treatment. He needed to return immediately.
Given the urgency, he hadn’t had time to say a proper goodbye to Chen Jiaojiao and could only explain and remind him over the phone, his tone as gentle as possible. “Take good care of yourself, my dear. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Hearing Meng Jin’s words, Chen Jiaojiao’s hand holding the gift box paused slightly. A sense of reluctance welled up in his heart another business trip, and each one seemed to last so long. Would Meng Jin make it back in time for his school opening? His thoughts swirled, but when the words reached his lips, all he said was, “Come home soon.”
He would tell Meng Jin about the gift when he returned.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, listening only to each other’s breathing. Then, Chen Jiaojiao heard the boarding announcement from Meng Jin’s end and quickly whispered, “I’ll miss you.”
Meng Jin was taken aback for a second before a smile spread across his face. He lowered his gaze to the phone and gently pressed a kiss onto it, filled with tenderness and reluctance.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and looked back, his thoughts drifting. His restless heart finally found its anchor in that moment. No matter where he traveled in the world, there would always be a place waiting for him to return.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Jiaojiao felt an emptiness in his heart. He wandered aimlessly along the streets outside, no longer in a hurry to go home. What should have been a half-hour walk stretched into an hour.
When he finally returned home, Nian Gao, the sticky rice cake, came over affectionately. He picked it up and carried it to the bedroom. It was quiet too quiet. He didn’t like this feeling.
“Sir, will you come down for dinner?”
Not long after, the butler knocked on the door to ask.
At that moment, Chen Jiaojiao was lying on the bed, staring blankly into space. Hearing the butler’s voice, he straightened his clothes and sat up, his spirits low. “I won’t eat,” he replied softly.
Outside, the butler frowned but said nothing more. He instructed the servants to keep the food warm and tapped a few times on his phone, sending an email to Meng Jin.
[Lester: On the evening of September 8th, Mr. Chen did not come downstairs for dinner. Perhaps due to your absence, he has lost his appetite.]
Lester shook his head. Every time the master went on a business trip, Mr. Chen would “lose his appetite” for a day or two. This time was no different.
Chen Jiaojiao slept restlessly, drifting in and out of sleep, constantly picking up his phone to check if Meng Jin had called or if he had landed safely.
It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that he saw a text message on his phone, finally setting it aside and allowing himself to sink into sleep.
When he fully woke up, it was already broad daylight. He first reached for his phone and directly dialed Meng Jin’s number. Listening to the busy tone, Chen Jiaojiao faintly furrowed his brows no one answered.
This was the first time Meng Jin hadn’t picked up his call. Well, maybe he was genuinely busy this time.
Having skipped dinner the night before, Chen Jiaojiao’s stomach was now growling. When he went downstairs, he saw Myers in the living room playing with Xiao Di and Nian Gao.
Hearing the sound, Myers raised a hand in greeting, squinted his eyes, and after a pause, asked, “Has Mr. Meng gone on a business trip?”
“How did you know?” Chen Jiaojiao asked in surprise, rubbing the heads of the two little ones before sitting down at the dining table. “Did Lester tell you?”
Myers wore an “I knew it” expression and shook his head. “I could tell just by looking at your face.”
Hearing this, Chen Jiaojiao touched his own face. What expression was he making?
“There’s a saying: ‘a walking corpse,'” Myers remarked, placing pet treats on the floor with a click of his tongue. “Whenever Mr. Meng isn’t around, you’re like this.”
Chen Jiaojiao: R-really?
Myers had come today for a reason. Chen Jiaojiao was the first friend he’d made since arriving in Switzerland, so whenever there was an event or activity, he wanted to bring Chen Jiaojiao along.
“I heard Japan’s fireworks festivals are quite famous. The three of us are planning to go together. Do you want to come?” Myers clapped his hands, patting Xiao Di’s head. “It’s a trip before school starts.”
Chen Jiaojiao instinctively wanted to refuse, but he hesitated for a moment upon hearing the destination. Yesterday, when he was struggling with a headache in the watch shop, the memory of that sentence remained vivid the place he had originally intended to go was Japan.
“I need to discuss it with Meng Jin,” he said, putting down his chopsticks. “When are you leaving?”
“What if Mr. Meng doesn’t agree? Then you won’t go?” Myers looked at him incredulously. “Oh no, Chen, don’t tell me you don’t even have that much freedom?”
Chen Jiaojiao instinctively defended Meng Jin, a hint of displeasure flickering in his eyes. “No, Meng Jin is very good. I’m sure he’ll agree, but I need to let him know. Otherwise, he’ll worry about me.”
Myers immediately raised his hands in surrender. He had seen it clearly the two of them had each other wrapped around their fingers, and neither could be criticized. “Alright, alright. We have tickets for tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Myers,” Chen Jiaojiao said sincerely. Though he defended Meng Jin, he wasn’t ungrateful. “You’re my first friend.”
The two of them were already familiar with each other, with no barriers between them.
When Chen Jiaojiao was left alone at home, he stared at the number on his phone but hesitated to press the call button.
He remembered Meng Jin once saying that before the accident, they had had a fierce argument. Afterward, he had stubbornly insisted on going abroad, only to meet with an accident on the ship. Though Meng Jin hadn’t explicitly said it, it wasn’t hard to guess that the country he had been heading to was Japan.
So… would Meng Jin still agree to let him go now?
But Meng Jin had also said he was free to go anywhere, that he didn’t have to stay cooped up at home all the time. Meng Jin… should agree, right?
“Beep, beep”
Just as he was wrestling with his thoughts, his phone rang, and the name “Meng Jin” flashed on the screen.
Chen Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up. She pursed her lips and quickly answered the call, but once connected, she found herself at a loss for words.
“Sweetheart, I’ll be very busy these next few days. I might not be able to answer your calls right away.”
Meng Jin’s voice was as steady as ever, but today it carried an unmistakable weariness that made Chen Jiaojiao’s heart tighten.
She gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles turning white. “Is the client this time particularly difficult to deal with?”
Meng Jin gave a low hum of affirmation. It wasn’t until he returned home that he learned his mother hadn’t suddenly collapsed she had attempted suicide and was rushed to the ICU. She had just been stabilized and transferred to a regular ward.
After softly comforting him for a while, Chen Jiaojiao hesitated before speaking again, her tone tinged with cautious hope. “Meng Jin, Miles and a few others are planning a trip together. You’ve met them all before.”
“Would that be okay?”
Meng Jin’s heart softened. He asked gently, “Where to?”
Chen Jiaojiao bit her lower lip, her voice barely above a whisper. “Tokyo.”