TSDT - 31

The scene instantly froze.

Even Meng Jingshu, with all his arrogance, felt a touch of collapse at that moment.

The girl who had just initiated the conversation visibly flinched, deeply regretting wading into muddy waters, and quickly left in embarrassment.

Only Meng Jingshu and Wei Zhanfeng remained, standing stiffly. They exchanged a glance, and both felt a wave of disgust. The latter quickly withdrew his hand, shaking it vigorously in distaste; while the former, as if defiled, impatiently patted away non-existent dirt from his hair.

Meng Jingshu asked coldly, “What are you doing?”

Wei Zhanfeng retorted, “Saw you being bothered by a woman, so I helped you fend her off!”

Meng Jingshu: “Unnecessary.”

Wei Zhanfeng snorted: “Good deeds go unrewarded. I sacrificed myself like that, do you know how to be grateful?”

Too lazy to argue further, Meng Jingshu simply said, “I’m leaving.”

Wei Zhanfeng was naturally also there to work out. The friendship between these two men, lasting from university until now, certainly meant they shared similar habits in certain aspects, such as self-discipline in appearance management. They went to the same gym but rarely together, arranging their own times, not interfering with each other. Occasionally they would run into each other, like today, but there was no need for pleasantries.

Meng Jingshu was about to leave but was called back. After being stopped twice, he showed some impatience.

“What now?”

Wei Zhanfeng scratched his eyebrow, pondering, “Let me ask you something. When did you two get together, you and your current one?”

His friend rarely asked him such serious questions. Meng Jingshu frowned: “Something wrong?”

“Not really anything wrong...” Wei Zhanfeng kept him guessing, “Do you know who I ran into today when I went out?”

Meng Jingshu didn’t respond, waiting for him to speak.

“I ran into Fu Xuan, she was with Hong Binyu and their group of people.” He said sarcastically, “Looks like she found another sucker.”

Meng Jingshu’s lips twitched slightly: “No wonder.”

Back when they had just broken up, that time he met Jiang Ying at The One, Hong Binyu had casually mocked him a few times, only to be shut down by Jiang Ying. So, Fu Xuan and Hong Binyu knew each other. But then again, it wasn’t surprising; the influencer circle in Zebian was small, and Hong Binyu and his crew were often involved in it.

Wei Zhanfeng continued, “You really didn’t expose her ugly deeds in the end, letting her spread rumors outside. When she saw me, she was still being sarcastic, asking, ‘Is Meng Jingshu doing well? He must be, enjoying his freedom, can play however he wants. But what about the women around him? Why doesn’t he bring them out? Or are they guilty, knowing they can’t be seen?’ I swear to god, if I didn’t hit women, I’d really teach her a lesson. You say she... hey, are you even listening?”

“...” Meng Jingshu was a little distracted, or rather, he had a sudden realization.

Why Jiang Ying so decisively rejected the movie invitation, why she wouldn’t hold hands outside, why she ignored him last time when he suggested having dinner with Wei Zhanfeng.

Everything had an answer at this moment.

No matter how innocent he felt, to others, the timeline was indeed ambiguous.

It was a miscalculation, choosing such a meaningless way to end things. He hadn’t thought then that there would be a day like today.

His deduction was logical, but it only showed that there was a discrepancy between men’s and women’s thinking.

“Could it be... this current one, is the same as that time?” Wei Zhanfeng suddenly had an epiphany, “The one... when you didn’t come home all night, and Fu Xuan was looking for you all evening?”

Meng Jingshu paused, then gave him a faint glance, not answering his question, only saying, “Got it, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Hey...” Seeing him about to leave, Wei Zhanfeng still wanted to detain him for a discussion, as he had never seen him like this before.

It had been two months, right? And he was still hiding the girl so tightly. Every time he asked, Meng Jingshu could barely squeeze out a few words. It wasn’t like this before; he’d get a girlfriend, and within a few days, she’d be eating, studying, and playing with him everywhere, practically meeting everyone he knew.

So this time, it was truly intriguing. Wei Zhanfeng was dying of curiosity, itching like ants crawling on him.

Meng Jingshu completely ignored him, leaving with a parting shot: “I’m not a lone wolf like you, I don’t have time to waste chatting.”

With his tall figure striding away, Wei Zhanfeng glared at him furiously. Before putting his belongings into the locker, he resentfully changed the name of their group chat to: “Crusade Against Scumbag Meng Jingshu.”

________________________________________

In the small apartment, Jiang Ying finished a few sets of Chloe Ting’s workout, then took a comfortable shower.

Her wet palm wiped away the mist on the bathroom mirror, revealing her naked body. She applied body lotion in front of the mirror, the smooth lotion spreading from her shoulders and neck to her arms, then to her chest and abdomen, not tight, but also without excess fat. Downward were her hips and legs; her slender ankles were the end of her grooming. The mirror only showed her upper body, and her self-examination concluded that she hadn’t gained weight, which was good.

Lately, with Meng Jingshu, she hadn’t controlled her diet much and ate more than before. Whether eating out or cooking at home, Mr. Meng would definitely prioritize taste, and calories wouldn’t be taken into consideration. When Jiang Ying was alone, she could control her appetite a bit, but once she was with someone else, she would become undiscerning.

Who can refuse delicious food?

Every time she ate and drank to her heart’s content, especially at dinner, Jiang Ying would feel an immense sense of guilt. Meng Jingshu himself had a muscular physique and a strong metabolism; he could burn off everything he ate. But she couldn’t. She was of average height, with a modest bust, only her proportions were good. Her slender legs had been complimented by many, but if she gained weight, lost her waist, and her legs became thick... she would look like a plump ball next to him.

Fortunately, though she ate a lot, she also exercised a lot in a certain way.

So Meng Jingshu could be considered neither good nor bad, and she wouldn’t secretly curse him anymore.

Goodness knows how relieved she felt every time Meng Jingshu said he had plans and wouldn’t have dinner with her.

Jiang Ying hummed a tune as she came out, turning on the air conditioner for heating. Zebian City was in the south, so there was no central heating in winter. Air conditioning was barely enough; the warmth was light and always floated upwards, often leaving her forehead hot but her feet cold.

It was the first time the air conditioner was used for heating this year. The whooshing hot air emitted a slight burnt smell. In the small apartment, the cold air was quickly pushed out, giving rise to a feeling of coziness.

________________________________________

When Meng Jingshu arrived, Jiang Ying was amusing herself, swaying her head to the mesmerizing instrumental music on her phone. She opened the door for him with one hand and held a small fruit knife in the other, skewering a piece of orange fruit.

He came in and closed the door. She watched him change his shoes, took a bite of the diced fruit, her mouth full, and even leaned in to smell his neck while eating, clearly in a good mood.

“You took a shower... Either you went to someone else’s place, or you went to the gym.”

As she spoke, he also recognized the scent of papaya.

He asked, “Then guess, did I go to someone else’s place or the gym?”

Jiang Ying scoffed lightly: “Not guessing.”

She turned back to the counter to continue poking and eating papaya. She chewed another piece; the sweet juice filled her mouth. In contrast, there was a cold gaze from the person beside her.

He was expressionlessly emitting ferocity again.

Initially, seeing him like that would have scared her, but now, she inexplicably felt like laughing.

The knife tip speared another piece. The ripe papaya flesh was soft and smooth. Jiang Ying supported it with her other hand, bringing a medium-sized piece to his mouth, opening her mouth to say, “Ah—”

Meng Jingshu couldn’t hold back his smile. He ate it from her hand, his tongue filled with the fruit’s sweetness.

He wondered if everything touched by her hand tasted this good.

Then he thought, she really isn’t afraid of him at all.

Standing in the kitchen, they ate the small plate of papaya bit by bit, finishing it quickly.

Meng Jingshu, being closer to the sink, instinctively washed the dish. After drying his hands, he said he was going to shower.

“Again?”

“Yeah, I always feel unclean after showering outside.”

Alright, a fastidious person.

When he emerged from the steamy bathroom, Jiang Ying was still facing away from him at the counter, clinking and clanking, concocting something. Meng Jingshu smelled a very refreshing sour scent and... the fragrance of mint? He walked over and looked down from above her head. There were several small liquor bottles.

“Mojito?” he asked.

Jiang Ying was stirring with a chopstick: “Bingo~”

She stirred happily, then poured soda water into the glass. The ice cubes rose with the water level to the rim of the glass, clinking against the glass wall. Jiang Ying inserted a straw for him: “Taste it.”

Meng Jingshu took a small sip; it was refreshingly cold going down.

He said, “It’s a bit sweet.”

“Is it? I think it’s okay,” Jiang Ying tasted a sip herself, then used the chopstick to poke the small lime at the bottom of the cup, “The lemon’s sourness will be more pronounced after a while of soaking, so this is good.”

She declared it finished, placing the remaining mint leaves on the ice as decoration, which made it look quite authentic. She had tried to select the freshest green leaves, but the edges of a few larger leaves still showed a yellowish tint.

Meng Jingshu observed them, then suddenly sighed deeply: “Is it Panda or Piggy?”

Jiang Ying was amused by his mournful tone: “Both.”

The temperature had noticeably dropped in the past few days; Zebian had truly entered winter. The mint was no longer as vibrant green as it once was, gradually yellowing, and the layers of leaves closest to the roots had begun to wither. Jiang Ying, following online advice, had pruned them once, but it hadn’t stopped their decline. Seeing the yellowing leaves increase day by day, she wanted to make the most of them, using them for something, anything.

Hence, tonight’s Mojito.

Jiang Ying came to the bedside. The small table board, with its two legs extended, became a makeshift dining table, and the Mojito was its sole guest.

A blatant obstruction lay on the bed, leaving Meng Jingshu speechless for a moment. He had showered and emerged naked, his physique still impressive from his recent workout. But she didn’t even look closely at him; her eyes were only on the drink, and now she was letting that thing occupy the bed.

He watched her fiddle with the projector, connect the tablet, adjust the angle, casting a square of light onto the white wall opposite the bed, not giving an ounce of attention to anything else.

Sometimes, a woman being too passionate about life could be a drawback.

Jiang Ying carefully burrowed into the quilt, instructing Meng Jingshu, “Turn off the light.”

Only then did she notice that the man was naked.

The bright white light overhead vanished. He walked from the darkness towards the blue light of the projector, the light and shadow delineating his body, the changing lines with every movement and breath, every millimetre precisely measured.

Truly a treasure.

Too bad... well, nothing to regret.

She chuckled softly, throwing his pajamas at him, “Put them on. Let’s watch the movie, didn’t you want to watch a movie?”

Meng Jingshu remained silent, put on his clothes, got into bed with her, leaning back against the headboard with a pillow behind him. The projector was connected to the tablet. Jiang Ying gave him a few options, none of which he had seen. After a quick glance, he instinctively chose “Inside Out.”

A cool name, but when it opened, it was...

“An animated film?”

His disdain was palpable.

Jiang Ying rolled her eyes at him: “Don’t underestimate animated films. Their ratings are very high, you know.”

“Oh.”