I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 89 - 85: The Past of God Ji

Chapter 89: Chapter 85: The Past of God Ji

Qingran didn’t know how generous a twelve-year-old God Ji could be, so she shook her head.

Ji He retracted the trace of a smile from his lips and stretched out two fingers: "Over twenty thousand yuan."

That must have been all the money twelve-year-old Ji Yanchen could offer.

Qingran became curious: "Did senior accept it?"

Speaking of this matter softened Ji He’s brows and eyes: "That was after my family went bankrupt, the only kindness I encountered. Maybe because I was at my wit’s end, I accepted that gesture of kindness and never regretted it in the years that followed. I am grateful that I accepted Ji Yanchen’s kindness, and even more grateful that because I accepted it, I gained a friend like God Ji."

The sky gradually began to darken.

On the way home, Qingran seemed to still hear Ji He’s voice echoing in her ears.

"Junior Sister Qingran, Ji Yanchen is a loner. To be honest, over all these years, I’m the only friend by his side, and that’s after my relentless efforts to get close to him."

"In the first year of high school, he was called ’God Ji’ by his peers. Since then, the eyes that fell on him inside and outside the school became numerous. He couldn’t adapt, and during that time his autism would act up repeatedly, making it impossible for him to attend school. I don’t know how he managed to get by on his own, but since then he’s taken to covering his face with his hair."

"Maybe he thinks that way others can’t see him? His world is indeed very simple, and he wants to live like a normal person through such self-deception."

"Junior Sister Qingran, you’re the only person who has ever approached God Ji on your own in all these years. I don’t know if you’ve helped him before this?"

"But I figure, we are after all schoolmates. Now that his old illness has relapsed, trapping himself in the dark, can you... try to help him again?"

Qingran’s steps were heavier than they had ever been before. During this period when Ji Yanchen disappeared without a word, at first she may have occasionally wondered in silence just how serious Ji Yanchen’s condition was this time? To require three years of treatment?

But before she could come up with a result, much of her time was again taken up by studying. Perhaps Ji Yanchen wasn’t that important to her after all, and gradually she put the matter out of her mind.

The distance to her home from here wasn’t too far. The street lights along the road had already lit up. Qingran hadn’t brought her phone when she left, so she had no idea what time it was now.

When she saw her home, the first thing Qingran noticed was Xie Ying’an outside the door.

Xie Ying’an was leaning against the wall next to the door, looking down at his phone. From too far away, Qingran couldn’t see his expression.

Hearing footsteps, Xie Ying’an looked up, his gaze falling on the cat food in Qingran’s hands. When Qingran approached, he asked, "Went to feed the cats?"

Qingran nodded and asked him, "What are you doing here?"

Xie Ying’an didn’t respond but opened the door, gesturing for her to go home.

Li Qingmo was half-lying on the sofa in the living room, probably too hurt by Qingran’s earlier words to be playing on his phone now.

When Qingran came in, Li Qingmo didn’t even lift his eyelids but didn’t forget to ask her, "Where did you go?"

While changing shoes, Qingran answered, "Went to feed the cats."

"Huh!" Li Qingmo let out a cold laugh as he got up from the sofa. He gave Qingran a sidelong glance and asked, more loudly, "Feed the cats? Where did you feed them?"

Qingran put down the cat food and looked at him with furrowed brows, puzzled: "Over by the old tree, what’s wrong, brother?"

"By the old tree?" Li Qingmo became even more angry: "Half an hour ago, Xie Ying’an and I went there twice to find you, where were you?"

Qingran was stunned, suddenly not knowing how to explain.

How could she say, she was talking about God Ji with Ji He just now?

And Li Qingmo was in no mood to let it go, clearly aiming to avenge the hurt from the afternoon. He demanded Qingran to give a full account.

Qingran had no choice but to look for help from her only savior, Xie Ying’an.

Xie Ying’an watched her for a long while until Qingran began to feel guilty. He then turned away and firmly pulled Li Qingmo upstairs.

Li Qingmo kept nagging: "She’s become so rebellious, don’t you think she’s been up to no good behind my back?"

Xie Ying’an’s voice was somewhat cold: "Shut up!"

And Li Qingmo fell silent.

Qingran followed them up the stairs stealthily, not because she couldn’t tell a lie to Li Qingmo, but because she never had the habit of lying over the years.

As soon as Qingran got back to her room, she heard the vibrating sound of a WeChat notification on her phone. She went to wash her hands in the bathroom first before coming over to pick up her phone.

She was really startled to see 32 missed calls on the screen. The last missed call notification was from 19 minutes ago, probably when she was on her way back. The caller was Xie Ying’an.

It seems Xie Ying’an might have been waiting for her at the door?

The next were a bunch of silly photos of Song Shize shared by Ruan Ruan, along with several texts.

Soft Girl: Song Shize, that flirt, I just accompanied him on a shopping stroll and we actually ran into two of his ex-girlfriends!!!

Soft Girl: Ranran, I feel like kicking him to the curb right now.

Soft Girl: No no no, I should torture him a while longer...

Qingran was utterly speechless and replied: Just make sure it doesn’t turn real when you do that.

Ruan Ruan replied astonishingly fast.

Soft Girl: Hahahaha, my Ranran, what kind of joke is that???

Soft Girl: With a dork like Song Shize, if I really fall for him, I’ll walk on my hands for two kilometers for you!!!

Harsh, thought Qingran.

Her finger scrolled down and paused on the page that mentioned ’God Ji’.

God Ji’s profile picture was pitch-dark, and WeChat didn’t indicate whether someone was online or not.

Their chat history was still on the day they had studied together, and Qingran faintly wondered if the sudden exposure to many new faces that day might have caused God Ji’s old ailment to flare up?

Her fingertips hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she still sent a message.

Maybe God Ji won’t even look at it, she thought.

----

In a dark room far away in another country, the screen of a mobile phone lying on a table suddenly lit up.

A young man in black clothes lay on the bed shrouded in darkness, and the phone’s notification sound didn’t distract him at all.

Cui Yu sat with him in the dark room, slowly feeling her way towards the suddenly illuminated phone.

No one knew what Ji Yanchen was thinking during this period; they only knew he immersed himself in darkness day after day, never giving himself a break.

The screen briefly lit up for a moment and soon the room returned to darkness.

Cui Yu fumbled for a long while before finally finding the phone on the desk. Her fingers pressed to light up the screen, and she nearly cried with joy upon seeing the sudden message.

She walked over to Ji Yanchen with the phone, lowering her voice as much as possible: "Xiao Yan, look!"

Ji Yanchen remained unresponsive, his eyes still downcast.

"Look!" Cui Yu insisted, pointing at the screen repeatedly: "It’s a message from your junior sister Qingran. She’s asking about you. Look, she says: God Ji, are you okay?"

The young man’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Cui Yu bit her lower lip hard to hold back her tears, still holding up the phone: "Xiao Yan, look, your Qingran is asking: are you okay?"

She repeated it countless times until finally the young man raised his eyes, his stare somewhat vacant as he looked at the phone screen.

The brightness of the screen did not reach into the young man’s tea-colored eyes. He moved his lips as if he wanted to smile.

But he couldn’t quite manage it.

"Qing... Qingran..."

A hoarse and rough voice, barely recognizable, echoed in the air.