I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 88 - 84: Ji He’s Past

Chapter 88: Chapter 84: Ji He’s Past

In the afternoon, Xie Ying’an was still dragged out by Li Qingmo.

When it was 5:30 PM and they hadn’t returned, Qingran took the cat food and went out, as it had been a long time since she last fed the cats.

Perhaps for fear of stirring up memories of Ji Yanchen, or perhaps to reminisce about the fleeting moments of heartbeat she once had, on the last day before the evening self-study, she still made time for a visit.

The stray cats had survived the harsh winter, and by this time, one by one, they had grown noticeably fatter thanks to Aunt Liu’s feeding.

Qingran didn’t know how long a cat’s memory lasted, but clearly, these stray cats were a bit timid when they first saw her.

It took a while before they gathered around her, and with the arrival of summer, the branches of the old tree had become denser. Qingran stood up and looked up at the old tree.

The scene of the young man in black skillfully jumping down from the tree seemed as if it had happened just yesterday.

But now, under the dense leaves, there was no trace of that black shirt.

The setting sun sank to the west, and a few satiated stray cats were not in a hurry to leave, rolling around on the warm sunlit ground.

Qingran could no longer tell if the momentary palpitations she felt were an illusion, as people always tend to like beautiful things.

Ji Yanchen was untainted by the dust of the world, his personality as clean as a blank sheet of paper, his emotions undoubtedly pure, liking is simply liking, without any impurity.

Qingran knew she was different from him; she hoped for a love where input and gain were proportional, life is long, how long can simple likings last?

Therefore, the budding interest sparked by the youth’s looks and talents had barely shown its tip before she personally snuffed it out, plunging headlong into her studies without even sparing a moment of regret.

Qingran bent down to pick up a small dish from the ground, and when she looked up, she saw Ji He striding towards her.

It had been a long time since Qingran last saw Ji He, especially after the message that day. With the college entrance exam imminent, their senior year studies were even more burdensome, and Ji He spent most of his time studying.

Ji He had long legs and walked quickly, he greeted her from a distance: "Junior Qingran."

Qingran stood still and waited for him to come closer before replying: "Senior Ji He, long time no see."

"It has been quite a while, more than a month." Ji He smiled lightly and then said: "God Ji also left more than a month ago, time flies."

Qingran was momentarily stunned.

Then she heard Ji He say, "Do you have time? I suddenly want to share a long, cliché story that might stink."

Qingran knew this story must be inevitably linked to Ji Yanchen, she lowered her eyes to the cat food in her hand, and after a long while, she gently responded.

There were benches and stone seats for resting everywhere around.

Qingran and Ji He sat on a long bench, and at nearly six o’clock in April, the sky was still not dark.

Ji He looked at the distant frolicking crowd, seemingly unsure of how to start. He took a deep breath, turned his head, and asked Qingran, "Do you remember the last time we had a meal together?"

Qingran nodded.

Ji He’s gaze towards the distance became distant, and his voice carried a hollow tone: "Last time, you might not have noticed, but Xie Ying’an uncovered my scar before he left..."

Qingran frowned and tried to remember what Xie Ying’an had said to Ji He before leaving.

Too much time had elapsed, and she could no longer recall.

Ji He gave a bitter smile: "He said, he would treat me to the meal, and that’s my scar."

Qingran didn’t understand, how could such a seemingly kind statement become his scar?

The sun had already sunk into the sea, and Ji He slowly began to speak: "I will always remember when I was twelve years old, I was just in my first year of junior high, and my father’s company ran into problems, and our family went bankrupt that year."

Ji He slightly bowed his head, his eyes slightly closed shielding all his emotions, seemingly to highlight his indifference, he forced a slight smile.

You could imagine, that smile was both bitter and ugly.

"It’s rather shameful to say, I had always been pampered since childhood, and facing such a drastic change, the ones who couldn’t bear it were my mom, and me. There was a period, my mom could not even afford my school fees or meals, I couldn’t bear to see her tears, so I chose to stay at school. And my dad was particularly busy during that time, almost having no time to come home."

"At school, without food, I would just drink water desperately, and gradually, being hungry became a habit. It’s not that bad actually; what truly saddens me, my friends who used to play well with me, kicked me while I was down."

"Too much time has passed, and I can’t remember exactly what they did to me, only a few particularly vile deeds still linger in my memory."

"One of which was, they took me to a restaurant to eat. Being young, I didn’t suspect their intentions. I just thought since I had treated them before, they pitied me for not having food and wanted to treat me, and to be honest, I was so moved I almost cried."

This time, Ji He laughed out loud.

Qingran pursed her lips, unsure how to comfort him, but fortunately, Ji He didn’t need her comfort.

As he mentioned before, the story he was about to tell was indeed long, foul, and cliché. He continued.

"That meal, two months after my family went bankrupt, was the most full and satisfying meal I had. I even thought of taking the leftovers home for my mom. It was when I was nearly full that those people suddenly made excuses to go to the bathroom, to find the waiter, with each one crafting an excuse to leave. Just like that, I didn’t sense anything wrong, not until the waiter came over to ask me how I would pay the bill."

"That day, I stayed in that small restaurant until past eleven at night, I cried all the tears I had in my lifetime, no one knew the helplessness and despair I felt, wishing I could just vanish from there. My dad hurried over to settle the bill and then took me home."

"After that day, I never went back to school; I locked myself in my room for many days, unwilling to step outside even once. My dad, with red eyes, told me more than once, that as a boy, if I couldn’t even bear this little setback, how would I face bigger storms in the future?"

Ji He lifted his head, paused for a long time, and his gaze gradually returned to normal: "Fortunately, it took me half a month to walk out of that shadow. I was able to study in school as if nothing had happened, but I would never interact with that group of people again."

"In those few years as my family declined, I gradually got used to being hungry, and sometimes didn’t even drink water as a meal."

Ji He glanced sideways at Qingran, this time his smile was somewhat genuine: "Qingran, it was during that time that I met Ji Yanchen. Back then, his talents and intelligence hadn’t surfaced yet, in the eyes of teachers and classmates, he was an oddity. We were desk mates, but we barely spoke a word to each other, we two, in the corner of the class, were the quietest presence."

"On the ninth day that we were desk mates, during lunch break, a few classmates at my front and back desk maliciously ate in front of me, even making loud chewing sounds with their mouths. I didn’t engage with them, but Ji Yanchen, who was always immersed in his own world, glanced at them indifferently, and then turned his gaze to me."

"After that, Ji Yanchen threw me a card, didn’t say a word; at that time, I was full of malice towards the world, and wouldn’t easily accept things from others, I threw the card back to him."

"He looked at the card, then at me, seemed puzzled by the situation. Later, even I can’t remember how I accepted that card."

"Qingran, do you know how much money was in the meal card that twelve-year-old Ji Yanchen gave me?"