Secretly, Secretly; But Unable to Hide it (偷偷藏不住) by Zhu Yi (竹已)~ Chapter 71

Sang Zhi is quiet for three seconds: “I even have forgotten about my account.”

Duan Jia Xu also stands up and takes the suitcase. He says gently “Then try to remember it.”

“……”

Duan Jia Xu holds Sang Zhi’s hand and goes to queue.

Actually Sang Zhi is not playing that game much. When she was in the junior high school, she was instigated by Yan Zhen Ru to make an account. She had played it for several times but she wasn’t interested so she just deleted the game.

She even couldn’t remember the game’s law or appearance.

Sang Zhi glances at him and then lowers her head like she doesn’t pay attention to his words.

Duan Jia Xu takes out their boarding passes and reminds her: “Do you hear me?”

Sang Zhi just replies: “Oh.”

Duan Jia Xu passes her boarding pass to her and acts like hard-to-deal dogskin plaster. He continues: “After you have a divorce, take a photo and send it to boyfriend as evidence.”

“……..” Sang Zhi says: “I really don’t remember the account.”

Hearing this, Duan Jia Xu raises his eyebrow and says: “Em.”

“What happened to you?’ Sang Zhi isn’t sure whether he is happy or not, she says with a low voice: “I even don’t remember the account, it shows that I completely don’t care about that person.”

“……..”

“If you didn’t mention it, I even wouldn’t remember him.”

“Xiao Peng You.” Duan Jia Xu calls after her and says calmly: “Commit a bigamy is breaking the law.”

They both enter the boarding gate.

Sang Zhi blinks her eyes and feel that his words are stupid. But at the same time she also feels that his action is very cute. She lifts up her hand and pokes the corner of his mouth. She smiles: “How could you say that I commit a bigamy?”

Duan Jia Xu looks at her: “That time how old were you?”

“What?”

“The time you had an internet boyfriend?”

“………” Sang Zhi mumbles to herself: “I couldn’t remember it.”

Duan Jia Xu tries to count the time like he is considering a major problem. “The first time I heard it is the time I came and helped to give you tutorial. I heard from your Ge. That time I was in my third-year’s winter holiday, it’s also when you were Grade 8….”

Sang Zhi pinches his cheek lightly and cuts him off “Don’t mention it anymore.”

“When you were in Grade 10, you came over to Yi He.” Duan Jia Xu doesn’t feel affected. He says slowly: “Then to be precise, your internet dating life lasted for two years.”

“…..”

“Two years.” Duan Jia Xu repeats the words and smiles gently: “It’s quite okay.”

“………”

—–

Two of them find their seat. Sang Zhi’s seat is a window seat. She fastens her seatbelt while she watches Duan Jia Xu puts the suitcase on the cabin rack. She thinks about what Duan Jia Xu said at the airport lounge then she sends Sang Yan a message: [Ge, yesterday why did you call Jia Xu Ge?]

After she sees the message is sent out successfully, she doesn’t wait for his reply and just switches off her phone.

Duan Jia Xu sits down beside her. He doesn’t see anything, he just leans over and comes to check on her seatbelt. Then he sits down quietly.

He doesn’t act like he used to, he doesn’t lean closer and tease her.

Sang Zhi feels a bit strange.

Sang Zhi thinks that he should be unhappy for that basically inexistent man.

Sang Zhi never sees him be jealous so his response somehow makes her happy. She smiles and extends her arm to hold his arm, she acts like she is pampering him.

Duan Jia Xu just sits back on his seat, he holds her fingers and just plays with her fingers.

“Though it’s two years,” Sang Zhi blinks and starts to plot the story: “yet I never really talked to him, we just played the game. We just talked for the game.”

Duan Jia Xu is still quiet.

Sang Zhi stresses: “So I never have any deep feeling toward him.”

“It’s okay.” Duan Jia Xu clearly doesn’t believe her, he just smiles: “It’s not wrong for Xiao Gu Niang to date several times.”

“……”

Sang Zhi recalls the first time she came to Yi He, how she cried so miserably at the airport.

She turns quiet for a while and rake for a reason. She speaks up quickly: “That time the reason I cried, actually because of my ex-internet boyfriend disliked me.”

Duan Jia Xu: “Em?”

“It’s just I feel that ‘the bubble bursts as the reality becomes apparent’.” Sang Zhi looks at him “Have you heard that phrase?”

“Em, why?”

“The actual reason why I cried is my ex-internet boyfriend looks too ugly.” Sang Zhi says seriously and sincerely.

“……”

Sang Zhi keeps on saying that kind of thing.

“He is old and ugly.”

—–

Duan Jia Xu actually isn’t very angry, though he feels a bit jealous but most of the time he would only tease her about it.

Looking at how she tries to calm his mood, how she is willing to belittle the man that she liked, in a moment Duan Jia Xu’s mood turns better.

Duan Jia Xu smiles and gets closer to her ear: “He is really that ugly?”

Sang Zhi nods.

“He is that ugly that he could make our Zhi Zhi cry?”

“…..Em.”

“Then take more frequent loo at Ge Ge.” Duan Jia Xu strokes her head and teases her: “You definitely would smile and laugh and not cry.

This moment Sang Zhi feels somehow his words are too unreasonable, she just straightens her lips and says seriously: “Why?”

Duan Jia Xu says: “Look at me.”

Sang Zhi lifts her head obediently and looks at his face.

In a next second, Duan Jia Xu smiles and pinches her dimple lightly.

“See, you are smiling.”

—–

After several hours, the plane lands at Yi He airport.

Sang Zhi opens up her phone to take a look, yet she notices that Sang Yan still hasn’t replied her message. She doesn’t really mind it. She just takes a bus with Duan Jia Xu, then transfers to use the subway to get to Yi He university.

She eats dinner with Duan Jia Xu near the university then she just returns to her dorm.

For this holiday, only Yu Xin stays in the dorm and not goes home. Sang Zhi comes back early so this time there’s only Yu Xin, two of her other roommates are still not yet returned.

Sang Zhi greets her and then she tidies up her things.

Yu Xin is watching drama while she chats with Sang Zhi: “If I know it earlier that I’ll be bored to be at the dorm alone for a week, I’d go home too. How was your summer holiday?”

“It’s tiring.” Sang Zhi wipes her sweat and says: “Everyday after I got off the work, except laying down on the bed, I didn’t do and couldn’t do anything. I even didn’t have time to be bored.”

Yu Xin: “Your internship makes me somehow feel frightened of being an intern.”

Sang Zhi sits down and takes out her phone. “Actually it’s quite okay, but I just felt it’s hard to adapt the first time. Afterwards it’s okay.”

Duan Jia Xu doesn’t look for her, but Sang Yan has replied her message.

It’s a voice note.

Sang Zhi opens it up.

Sang Yan: “Nothing, I was too lazy to say anything. I didn’t have that kind of energy.”

Sang Zhi is a bit stupefied: [You didn’t say nothing?]

After a while, Sang Zhi sends another voice note: “I know, it’s Duan Jia Xu that chased after you.”

“……..”

Are they in the same channel?

—–

Since Sang Yan doesn’t say anything clearly, it shouldn’t be that serious.

Sang Zhi doesn’t mind him, she just forgets it.

After the long holiday, Duan Jia Xu works again. He starts to finish his pile up work so he needs to work overtime.

Except going to the class, Sang Zhi also continues to prepare for her competition.

Because of their own business, they decreases the frequency of meeting each other. Sometimes they would meet up for dinner, but during the weekend they could stay together for longer time.

The time Duan Jia Xu is free, he would accompany her to go to her class. He would accompany her to attend several gatherings. He would pretend like he is a student from another university and greets her friends.

The time Sang Zhi has less classes, she would come to Duan Jia Xu’s office building. She would wait for her in the near coffee shop to wait him to get off the work.

She doesn’t know whether it’s coincident or not but Sang Zhi meets Jiang Ying nearby for several times but she seems to be just passing by. She never comes over to talk with her. Afterwards, they would only meet rarely.

After some time, she frequently comes over to the coffee shop near Duan Jia Xu’s office. Sang Zhi now could count the time precisely so she could finish a glass of coffee the same time Duan Jia Xu comes out.

They frequently would go and have dinner nearby Yi He university.

Sometimes they would stroll at the small snack stands. Duan Jia Xu sometimes would take a chance when she is unfocused to suddenly bites her snack and then laughs to make her happy again.

There’re several times that Duan Jia Xu recalls his past.

In the past in his life except earning money and studying to the extent of earth-shattering pressure, he didn’t think of anything else. Now he doesn’t really need to think about how should he earn for his tuition fee of living cost or thinking of his father’s hospital fee.

He didn’t live being so pressured.

The day passes in peaceful way.

Summer, spring, then winter.

In the end of December, under her tutor’s advice, Sang Zhi sends her final design to her tutor’s inbox. She stretches her body and releases a heavy breath. Then she goes to eat out with her roommates.

Today Duan Jia Xu needs to work over time so Sang Zhi also doesn’t disturb him. She just sends her location to him.

No one brings their boyfriend today so it’s all women. They are chatting about their boyfriend or gossips about their classmates or about the popular male celebrity.

Sang Zhi listens to it with full interest.

When Sang Zhi is done eating, she notices her phone lights up. She glances at it and notices Li Ping’s message. She is asking when would Sang Zhi come home for the winter holiday.

Sang Zhi takes it and tells her about approximate time.

Li Ping just says “okay.”

Sang Zhi then tells her about her current condition and chats with Li Ping for a while.

Yu Xin notices her action and laughs. She leans closer and asks: “Are you chatting with your Duan Ge Ge?”

Sang Zhi shakes her head: “With my Ma.”

Wang Ruo Lan also asks: “Because your Pa Ma disapprove you be with Duan Jia Xu?”

Because every night Sang Zhi would give a call to Li Ping, she frequently would tell her about her condition, to the extent of her relationship with Duan Jia Xu.

One of the time her roommate asked her about it, Sang Zhi mentioned about it once but she didn’t say anything specific, she just said a reason that their age gap is too huge that her parents disapprove.

“No.” Sang Zhi says: “She asked when would I go back.”

“I feel you don’t need to mind about this matter.” Wang Ruo Lan continues to talk: “After al now you are in your second-year, there’s no use to talk about it now. You wouldn’t marry soon right. Moreover you are at Yi He, if they don’t like it, then you could just hide it from them.”

Sang Zhi: “Ah”. Then she says serious: “We are far away so that’s why I don’t want them to be worried. Moreover, it’s no use to hide it…..”

She pauses and licks her lips: “In the future I definitely want to marry with him.”

Yu Xin smiles: “It’s still long way to go.”

Wang Ruo Lan sighs: “Right, I also think that is long way to go, there’re lots of external factors that should be considered.”

“……..” Sang Zhi is startled and mumbles: “Aren’t you guys date for getting married?”

“But it’s just dating right. I feel that I wouldn’t be together with my boyfriend. Once I mentioned to my boyfriend that after graduation that I want to go home, I asked whether he is willing to come with me, he said nothing.”

Ning Wei: “I think you should discuss again with him.”

“But I think there’re lots of undetermined factors. You don’t need to consider a lot of things, just seize what is now.” Wang Ruo Lan takes a tissue to wipe her lips and says: “If not, you would be too tired.”

Four of them chat for a while.

The time they are about to leave and going back to the dorm, Duan Jia Xu has arrived. This time he is standing near the restaurant. Sang Zhi blinks and says goodbye to her roommates and walks toward his front.

Duan Jia Xu frowns: “You are drinking?”

Sang Zhi just answers honestly: “Just a bit.”

“Xiao Jiu Gui (Little drunkard).” Duan Jia Xu helps her to tidy up her scarf and says: “Why do you like to drink?”

“Because we ordered a big pint, if I didn’t drink that I wouldn’t able to finish it.” Sang Zhi clutches his coat and says cautiously. “Then it’d be wasteful. Moreover my roommates were drinking, It’s not good if I didn’t drink. So I drank a bit.”

He understands her thought so he just says: “I’m not lecturing you.”

Sang Zhi is held by him, they walk together.

After a while, she suddenly says; “Duan Jia Xu, in three months, I’ll be twenty years old.”

Duan Jia Xu looks at her: “Em?”

Sang Zhi doesn’t continue to say: “Nothing.”

Duan Jia Xu stops walking and looks at her face. He takes a look at her red face. He smiles: “What is it? Finish your words.”

Sang Zhi: “Nothing.”

“Say it.”

“NO.”

Duan Jia Xu turns quiet for a while and kisses the tip of her nose. “Okay, I agree.”

“…….” Sang Zhi says, “What did I say that you are agreeing?”

“Em, do I misunderstand?”

Sang Zhi nods and raises her fingers like she is counting. “I just wanted to tell you. I have three months to be twenty, I’m so young.”

Looking at her dim-witted act, Duan Jia Xu laughs; “So.”

“So you have four months, then you would be twenty seven years old—“

“……”

Sang Zhi hiccups and says sadly: “You are so old.”