Secretly, Secretly; But Unable to Hide it (偷偷藏不住) by Zhu Yi (竹已)~ Chapter 68

Sang Zhi doesn’t know what happened between these two men, she also doesn’t know why Qian Fei is so furious. She could only try to shift the topic of conversation.

“Qian Fei Ge, why are you the one that picking us up? Where is my Ge?”

Qian Fei just suppress his anger: “Your Ge has something to do.”

Sang Zhi nods and asks nothing else.

Three of them exit the airport and get on Qian Fei’s car.

Sang Zhi is sensible so she sits down on the backseat, Duan Jia Xu gets on the front passenger seat. Sang Zhi opens up her phone and continues to find a hotel for Duan Jia Xu. She finds one and sends the link to his WeChat.

This time it’s already early morning 01:00 a.m., but Sang Zhi is not sleepy because she slept when she was on the plane.

The radio is on and playing a soft music, Duan Jia Xu and Qian Fei are chatting. Perhaps because Qian Fei is worried that Sang Zhi would feel awkward, he doesn’t mention about the relationship between Sang Zhi and Duan Jia Xu.

After forty minutes, the car stops in front of Sang Zhi’s apartment.

Duan Jia Xu also gets off the car and says something to her. He watches her disappears and gets on the car. He fastens his seatbelt again and hears Qian Fei asks: “Ay, where would you live?”

Duan Jia Xu looks at his phone and says a hotel’s name.

Qian Fei: “Why are you reserved a hotel, you should stay at my house.”

“Forget it.” Duan Jia Xu smiles: “It’s inappropriate.”

“Why is it inappropriate? But it’s right.” Qian Fei laughs, “Letting you hearing something for a week, it wouldn’t be great. Oh right, I heard from Sang Yan that moved to another place?”

Duan Jia Xu: “Em.”

Qian Fei frowns and chatters away like an old grandma. “How many times have you move these several years? You should just buy one and settle down? If not, you want to bring your money to the coffin?”

“I don’t want to stay at one place for a long time, I also don’t plan to stay at Yi He forever.” He says: “Speak of this matter, could you help me to go and take a look around Nan Wu, whether there is a newly-built apartment, just around this area.”

Qian Fei is startled: “Nan Wu?”

“Em.”

“You plan to return back here?” Qian Fei seems to understand his action, “Because of Sang Zhi?”

Duan Jia Xu smiles and says “Em, Xiao Gu Niang is “tied to home”.”

“I’ll help you to ask around later on.” Qian Fei says: “But, are you sure? How about your work? Haven’t you invested your energy and idea for that company? You also have grown a lot there, how about your contract with them?”

Duan Jia Xu doesn’t answer his long questions, he suddenly says: “Recently, I’m considering a matter.”

Qian Fei: “What?”

The car arrives in front of the front lobby of the hotel, Duan Jia Xu doesn’t say anything more. He unfastens his seatbelt and opens up the car door. He says: “Its nothing, I am still considering.”

—–

Sang Zhi is afraid to disturb Sang Rong and Li Ping so she moves cautiously. She takes off her shoes slowly, she even doesn’t wear her own slipper. She doesn’t turn on the light and just uses the light of her phone to go to her room.

Sang Zhi thinks that she is moving cautiously, but at last Li Ping still wakes up. She just closes her door, but in a next moment, Li Ping opens up the door.

Li Ping is still in daze, she looks tired. Looking at Sang Zhi, she seems to turn energetic. “You surprise me, you little girl, didn’t you say that you’ll come back tomorrow?”

“……..” Sang Zhi scratches her head, “The flight is too late, I’m afraid that you guys would wait for me.”

“Have you have your dinner? Your Ge sent you home?”

“I have eaten, but Ge Ge didn’t pick me up.” Sang Zhi doesn’t lie, she says honestly, “He seems have something to do, he asked Qian Fei Ge to pick me up and send me back home. I’ll take a shower and go to sleep. You should go and sleep again.”

It’s been sometime since Sang Zhi was home, Li Ping looks at Sang Zhi’s face and strokes her face. She sighs: “Why do I feel that you look so skinny? It’s been almost six months……”

Sang Zhi shakes her head. “I’m not turning skinnier, I gain almost 1 kg.”

“I always worry that you’ll live a difficult life there, I’m afraid that you would not tell Mama.” Li Ping says: “Now you are here, I feel a bit relieved. In the future, if you want to find internship, just find one nearby okay?”

Li PIng is afraid to disturb Sang Rong so Sang Zhi just consoles Li Ping in a low voice. Then she asks Li Ping to go and take a rest.

Sang Zhi takes a quick shower and returns to her bedroom.

She asks for Duan Jia Xu’s condition through WeChat then she chats with him for a while, then she throws her phone away.

She closes her eyes to sleep, but after a while, Sang Zhi opens up her eyes again.

She suddenly remembers something, she suddenly gets off her bed and takes a cardboard box from under her bed.

The box is sealed with an adhesive tape.

Sang Zhi takes a box cutter and opens it up.

Under the dim light,Sang Zhi takes out the things inside it. There are few dolls inside, she places it on her table, she plans to wash it tomorrow.

Sang Zhi also takes out the milk bottle that she used to stuff in her stars. Sh places it near her window.

She takes out the photo of Duan Jia Xu, which she took secretly. The photo has turned yellow, the pixel is low, yet she could still his appearance clearly.

That time Duan Jia Xu was youthful, he was wearing a white sweater. He was looking at his game console. His skin was white, his smile is still the same as now.

Actually Sang Zhi could still remember her feeling the time she took that photo.

It’s a magical feeling.

She falls in love at first sight with that man.

From her young age till now, she keeps on liking the same man.

Since the time she tried hard to find a reason to get close to him, she secretly concealed her feeling, she wanted to leave a mark on his life till the time she tried to cut off tie with him, used her power to forget him.

Till now because of meeting each other once again, everything starts to light up again.

It’s quite a fine memory.

She could be with her first love and her long-time crush together.

But Sang Zhi feels that probably this lifetime she wouldn’t tell him about it.

She doesn’t want to let him know.

She used to try hard, she wanted to fearlessly to give her heart to him yet that time she was timid and powerless so at last she just hid it.

She hid it till it seemed to be disappear.

She even thinks that the feeling had disappeared.

He could make her heartbeat so quick just by hooking his finger.

In front of him, she feels that she couldn’t conceal it.

—–

The next day, Sang Zhi returns to her bedroom after the breakfast. She notices the toys on her table, she suddenly remembers something. She carries up everything and comes out her bedroom again. She yells: “Mama, I want to wash all of these.”

Li Ping and Sang Rong are sitting down on the sofa and watching TV.

Hearing Sang Zhi’s voice, Li Ping lifts her head and looks at the things on her arm. “Ah? Didn’t you keep inside the box? Why do you want to take it out again now?”

“Suddenly I find this again.” Sang Zhi doesn’t know how to explain it, she just says: “But I don’t think it occupies too much place.”

“Just put it inside the bucket, later on I’ll wash it for you with washing machine.” Li Ping doesn’t ask too much and just pats the seat beside her. “Come here, accompany Papa Mama to come over and watch TV.”

Sang Zhi nods and goes over to sit down.

Other than watching TV, Li Ping and Sang Rong are asking questions to Sang Zhi. Sang Zhi answers them honestly, except the matters that she couldn’t go home.

In between the chat, Sang Zhi takes out her phone and notices there is a message from Duan Jia Xu.

[You are awake?]

Sang Zhi: [Yes.]

Duan Jia Xu: [1532]

Sang Zhi: [?]

Duan Jia Xu: [Room number.]

Sang Zhi: “……”

Duan Jia Xu: [If you are free, you could come and patronize me.]

Sang Zhi feels speechless but she couldn’t help but to laugh. She answers: [Let’s wait after two days.]

She still wants to reply him but suddenly she hears Li Ping calls after her. Sang Zhi turns off her phone and lifts up her head. She says: “What is it?”

Li Ping smiles and asks: “Who are you chatting with? You are so happy.”

Sang Zhi answers: “My classmate.”

Hearing this, Sang Rong also looks over: “Zhi Zhi is dating someone?”

“……..” Sang Zhi licks her lips and acts awkwardly: “Em.”

Li Ping isn’t too shocked to hear it as she thinks that Sang Zhi’s age is suitable for dating. She just asks: “When do you start dating? why did you never mention it on the phone?”

Sang Rong frowns: “You are really dating someone?”

Sang Zhi says with a low voice: “Not long.”

Seeing that she is shy, Li Ping comforts: “It’s okay to date, but you should be more careful, you should take care of yourself.”

Sang Zhi nods.

Li Ping asks again: “What is the name of your boyfriend? Where does he come from? He is from your school too? What is his course? His personality–?

Sang Rong waves his hand to Sang Yan, he seems to disapprove: “Zhi Zhi, just wait till you are graduated. This time if you date then wouldn’t you stay there? Would your boyfriend be willing to follow you back to Nan Wu?”

Sang Zhi is somewhat unable to withstand, she suddenly stands up and runs toward her bedroom. “I’ll not talk anymore about it, I want to sleep again!”

Then she hears Sang Rong asks: “Who is your boyfriend?”

“How could I know.” Li Ping laughs. “He should be one of her classmates.”

—–

For this matter, Sang Zhi wants to tell them in an orderly way and step by step.

Sang Yan’s response had somehow made her have a lingering fear.

But Sang Zhi thinks that Sang Rong and Li Ping wouldn’t act like him. They should be able to be persuaded. Moreover she feels that nothing is wrong with Duan Jia Xu.

Sang Zhi stays at home for several days and accompanies her parents. If she isn’t taken to stroll around by Li Ping, she would be taken to their relatives’ house to visit. She couldn’t find a time to accompany Duan Jia Xu.

But these few days, he is asked to join and play with his old classmates so he isn’t that free too.

These days of her coming home, Sang Yan also doesn’t go home.

From time to time, Sang Zhi hears Li Ping talks over him. She says that Sang Yan is indecent, now he is so ruthless. Li Ping feels that she gave birth to a thankless wretch. She says that when she meets her friends, her friends just thinks that she only has a daughter. If they know that she has a son, supposedly they would be so surprised and ask whether he is adopted.

Hearing Li Ping’s chatter, Sang Zhi sends a caring message to Sang Yan to force him to find a night to come home.

Because of this, on the dining table, Sang Zhi is not the centre of attention. She doesn’t need to rack her brain to answer questions from Li Ping and Sang Rong.

Sang Zhi is silent and eating her food. She finds it is interesting to hear Sang Yan be scolded by Sang Rong and Li Ping.

This happens for around ten minutes, Sang Yan finally couldn’t bear it anymore, he says without any feeling. “Would you guys let me eat?”

Li Ping starts to scold him again. “Now I even couldn’t talk few words toward you?”

“…….”

Sang Yan takes a deep breath and uses his elbow to poke Sang Zhi, he is asking her to help him.

Sang Zhi glances at him and sighs: “Ge Ge, you couldn’t do this, it’s hurting Mama’s heart.”

“…….”

Sang Rong: “You are older but you are not as sensible that your Mei.”

Sang Yan lifts up his eyes and says cooly: “She is sensible, then supposedly for her last holiday she would come home and accompany you guys.” He pauses and looks at Sang Zhi: “Right.”

Sang Zhi chokes.

Li Ping and Sang Rong look at Sang Zhi. The attention is shifted to her.

Sang Zhi feels a bit regretful for her act to inflame the anger of her parents. “………”

She tries to be bold and say: “Let’s eat.”

—–

After the dinner, Sang Yan doesn’t stay for a long, he gets a call and wants to go outside.

Li Ping is sitting on the sofa and looking at his action. She starts to chatter again: “Didn’t you plan to stay here? How could you leave after dinner?”

“Ma.” Sang Yan has no bad temper: “I’m a big guy, how could I stay at home all day and do nothing?”

Li Ping is unhappy: “You just get home? How could you say you stay at home for a whole day?”

“….”

Li Ping continues to ask: “Where would you go?”

Sang Yan goes to the shoe rack to change his shoes. “Qian Fei looks for me, we plan to go and eat midnight snack.”

“Would you drink?”

“No.”

Sang Zhi is eating fruits on the sofa. Hearing this, she lifts her eyes and pretends to be random. “You guys will eat barbecue? I also want to eat.”

Sang Yan makes out her intention, he smiles and reminds kindly: “You could call a takeaway.”

Sang Zhi pretends to not hear him, she jumps from the sofa and runs toward her bedroom. “Wait for me a while, let me change my clothes.”

As she expects, Sang Yan indeed doesn’t wait for her. The time Sang Zhi is out of her bedroom, she notices Sang Yan is gone.

Sang Zhi runs toward the shoe rack and changes her shoes. “Pa, Ma, I’ll go out first.”

Li Ping is startled and looks puzzled; “Zhi Zhi, you really want to go?”

“Yes.”

“You could call a takeaway, if not I and your Pa could accompany you to eat.” Li Ping feels this is strange: “In the past didn’t you dislike to go with your Ge and his friends?”

Sang Zhi doesn’t know how to explain, but she acts like she is rushing. She says quickly. “I’ll be back soon. You guys should rest early, no need to wait for me!”

Then Sang Zhi just goes out.

Sang Yan is waiting for the elevator, looking at Sang Zhi, he laughs coldly: “Eat barbecue?”

“……”

“Why do I feel that this is familiar?”

Sang Zhi doesn’t feel guilty, she says boldly: “It’s not the first time I had barbecue with you.”

“I just remember something and feel this is weird.”

“What?”

“The time I was in my third-year, you said that you want to help me to move out to a dorm.” Sang Yan looks at her and asks: “That time is it for “eat barbecue” too?”