Chapter 26: Where To?

The sound of the car door closing was heavier than Jiang Yueming had expected.

The inside of the car was very quiet.

The air conditioning blew out a faint warm breeze.

They hadn’t been driving long when a light rain began to fall outside, pattering against the car windows with a soft rustling sound.

The middle-aged man driving the car glanced at Jiang Yueming through the rearview mirror.

His gaze was completely calm.

Then he silently looked away.

“Where did you go?”

Xia He was sitting right beside him.

The back seat was dark, and Jiang Yueming couldn’t quite make out her expression.

“I didn’t go anywhere,” Jiang Yueming said. “I stayed in the classroom for a bit.”

Xia He turned her head to look at him.

“What were you doing there?”

“Reviewing lessons,” Jiang Yueming answered honestly.

Xia He let out a soft scoff, as if she had heard a not-very-funny joke.

“I wasn’t even there. What were you reviewing?”

“Uh,” Jiang Yueming hesitated, his fingers unconsciously tapping twice on his knee. 

“The class representative from our class helped me.”

Xia He stayed silent for a few seconds.

The car drove over a speed bump, jolting the interior.

Jiang Yueming’s body swayed with the motion.

His shoulder nearly brushed against Xia He’s, so he instinctively shifted away, putting a bit more distance between them.

The driver glanced into the rearview mirror again.

This time, his eyes quickly swept across the Young Miss of the Xia Family’s face.

After confirming her expression, he silently slowed the car down.

The vehicle glided through the rain.

“How come I didn’t know you liked studying so much?”

Xia He’s tone was even, but Jiang Yueming somehow felt like there was something off about her words.

It sounded a bit sarcastic, as if he was completely someone who never tried to improve himself.

“The college entrance exam is coming up soon,” Jiang Yueming explained. 

“Even I have to put in some effort occasionally.”

The atmosphere inside the car felt a little oppressive.

Maybe because of the rain, all the windows were closed.

The air wasn’t circulating, and combined with the faint scent of perfume, it created a stuffy feeling, like being wrapped up in something.

Jiang Yueming wanted to open the car window for some fresh air, but it was still raining outside and raindrops would blow in.

At that moment, he suddenly felt something moving closer, pressing toward him.

He turned his head and saw Xia He leaning forward, her face almost touching his.

“Do you think that just me tutoring you isn’t enough?”

Jiang Yueming looked at the face right in front of him and swallowed. 

“No, not at all.”

“Then why did you find someone else?”

“I…”

Jiang Yueming hesitated for a moment before answering tentatively.

“I… I still need to get into a university, right? With my current grades, if I don’t work hard, I might not get accepted anywhere. So I thought I’d find someone to help me review…”

Xia He studied his expression carefully.

Her gaze traced from his eyes that had shifted away out of guilt, to his unconsciously tightened lips, outlining his features again and again.

That stare actually made Jiang Yueming feel scrutinized, like he was being hit by the bright interrogation lamp in an interrogation room, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

“Which university do you want to get into?”

Jiang Yueming remembered what Wen Xiaoyu had said before she left and answered almost instinctively.

“Linxiang University.”

“Linxiang University?”

Xia He’s voice rose at the end, carrying clear doubt.

No.

That’s not right.

“I think that university is pretty good. It’s close to home, and it’s a 211-tier school.”

No, it shouldn’t be Linxiang University.

“If I can get in, it would give me some face when I talk about it, right?”

Jiang Yueming forced a couple of dry laughs.

Xia He didn’t respond.

Not Linxiang…

Qingyuan University is our alma mater.

You should be getting into Qingyuan University.

We would meet at the freshman orientation there. That was our first encounter…

Xia He closed her eyes.

The memories she couldn’t erase flooded her mind once again.

The first time they ate together.

The first time they went out.

The first fight, the first makeup.

The first time on a late-night phone call, hearing the other person sounding so sleepy but unwilling to hang up.

They had walked along the riverbank at Qingyuan University.

It was raining just like today.

Jiang Yueming had gently taken off his jacket and draped it over her, and then they had huddled together under an old tree to take shelter from the rain.

Meeting.

Getting to know each other.

Falling in love.

The century-old tree at Qingyuan University had witnessed all four years of their joys and sorrows, had heard every “I like you” and every “Me too.”

“Xia He?”

Jiang Yueming’s bewildered voice pulled her back to the present.

Xia He snapped out of it and realized that, without noticing, she had almost completely pressed herself against Jiang Yueming.

Her face was so close to his that she could see her own reflection in his pupils.

She could smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on him.

If she moved just a little further, she would be able to kiss his lips.

Jiang Yueming had been pushed all the way to the other side.

He was awkwardly pressed tight against the car door.

If the door hadn’t been closed, he would have fallen out by now.

He was doing his best to avoid her body, his eyes filled with cautious nervousness.

Looking at him like this, Xia He slowly sat back.

She turned her head to look out the window.

The rain was still falling.

Her fingers slowly clenched on her knee, wrinkling her skirt.

No matter what, she couldn’t smooth it out.

She was a little angry.

Not just because of the way Jiang Yueming had dodged her—that look made her feel like some kind of ferocious beast that he wanted to avoid at all costs—but more because he said he wanted to go to Linxiang University.

Linxiang University.

Going to a place other than the one that held countless sweet memories of them.

If he really went to Linxiang, what would happen to Qingyuan?

That old tree was still there.

That river was still there.

The classroom where they had attended classes together, the bench they had sat on together, every path they had walked together—everything was still there.

Nothing had changed.

The one who had changed was him.

He didn’t remember anymore.

He had forgotten all of it, wiped it completely clean like an eraser, and then he told her he wanted to go somewhere else, to a place that had nothing to do with them.

Xia He closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The car continued on.

Ahead was an intersection.

The middle-aged man didn’t hesitate.

As soon as the light turned green, he made a quick left turn.

Jiang Yueming watched for a moment and then froze.

“Hey, driver, my house isn’t this way. Going this direction is a detour.”

The middle-aged man didn’t answer.

He kept driving in silence.

He knew that since the Young Miss hadn’t said anything, he was going the right way.

He pressed down on the accelerator a little harder, and the car sped up in the rain like a sailboat slowly gaining speed on the sea.

Seeing the car going farther and farther in the wrong direction, Jiang Yueming started to panic.

“No, driver, my house isn’t this way.”

Seeing that the driver was ignoring him, Jiang Yueming turned to Xia He, his voice clearly anxious. 

“Xia He, your driver took the wrong road. My house isn’t in this direction.”

Xia He didn’t turn her head.

She continued looking out the window.

Raindrops traced messy paths across the glass, like someone had randomly scratched it with their fingers.

Her side profile flickered in and out under the alternating light and shadow of the street lamps.

After a while, under Jiang Yueming’s anxious gaze, she finally spoke.

But what she said made his heart jump in alarm.

“Uncle Lin, keep going.”