The next morning, Xia Jing sleepily opened her eyes at seven o’clock. She sleepily picked up her phone to check the ti and was startled by what she saw. She had always thought that if anyone was going to be late, it would definitely be Zhang Zhentian, never herself. But how could she have expected that this ti, it would be her who was late? This made Xia Jing feel a bit embarrassed.
Xia Jing thought to herself, "How could Zhentian possibly be there waiting so early? No big deal, no need to rush. By the ti I’ve finished what I need to do, he’ll probably just be getting there!"
With that thought, Xia Jing leisurely got up to find her clothes. It took her half an hour just to pick out an outfit before she leisurely began to get dressed. By the ti she was done dressing and had slowly made her way to wash her face and brush her teeth, it was already past nine in the morning. Only then did she leave the house, slowly making her way to Cambridge.
Xia Jing was taking her ti, in no rush, but Zhentian was freezing as he waited. To wait for Xia Jing, he had not taken a single step away from the bridge, enduring the cold wind there. He had wished for daybreak to co sooner the previous night, but dawn was tardy in its arrival. Now that the day had finally brightened, Xia Jing was nowhere to be seen, and he stood there, dumbly waiting for her. Passersby looked at Zhentian, and so didn’t refrain from whispering, "Hey, do you think this guy is crazy?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? This man looks totally normal to !" Bystander A retorted.
"Don’t tell I’m talking nonsense. I’m telling you, I saw this man standing here when I was going ho from work last night. It’s so late now, and he’s still standing here. Doesn’t that look like the behavior of soone who’s unwell?" Bystander B said to Bystander A.
"And how do you know he didn’t go ho last night and only ca back this morning? Really, if you don’t know, you shouldn’t spout nonsense. Be careful not to bring trouble upon yourself," Bystander A cautiously warned Bystander B.
Dissatisfied, Bystander B said to Bystander A, "Now I suspect not only that this guy’s out of his mind, but also that there’s sothing wrong with yours."
Upon hearing Bystander B talk about him like that, Bystander A got a little upset and asked Bystander B, "You don’t believe what I’m saying, then tell , how do you know he’s been standing here all night? Are you so sure he’s been here just because you saw him here last night when you were going ho from work?"
"Do you have a problem with your eyes? Don’t you see how pale his face is? And his eyes are all bloodshot. Tell , how could he look like this if not for standing here all night?" Bystander B argued his point of view to Bystander A who, upon taking a closer look at Zhentian’s complexion and eyes, indeed noticed that Zhentian was truly pale, and his eyes were full of bloodshot lines, looking as if he hadn’t slept in a long ti.
After seeing Zhentian with his own eyes, Bystander A believed what Bystander B had said and spoke up, "I didn’t notice before, but now that I take a good look, it’s indeed as you said."
"If this guy’s brain is sick, why doesn’t his family take care of him?"
"How would I know? I’m not his dad."
......
One after another, comnts about Zhentian being ntally ill bombarded him. He couldn’t take the whispered words of these people any longer and shouted at them, "Shut up, all of you! What’s it to you what I do here? Is this road yours? Calling sick once is enough, isn’t it? Again and again, you must really hope others are sick..."
Bystander A and Bystander B were dumbstruck as they watched Zhentian, both of them speechless in the face of the spate of words he had just unleashed. They had always thought of him as soone with a ntal issue, but suddenly the man they believed to be ill spoke up, and he did not stop talking, leaving them at a loss for words. They felt pretty ashad, mistaking soone who was perfectly healthy for soone with an illness...
"Ah, sorry about that, big brother. I didn’t know. I saw you standing here all this ti, so I mistakenly thought you had so ntal issues. Please don’t mind," Bystander B said, awkwardly touching his nose as he spoke to Zhentian.
Zhentian, not the least bit appeased, said, "If you don’t know soone else’s business, don’t talk nonsense. I’m here waiting for soone, not because I’m out of my mind."
At Zhentian’s words, Bystander B felt even more embarrassed and could only pluck up the courage to ask him, "May I know who you’re waiting for, brother? Could you tell ?"
Thinking of their words, Zhentian felt uneasy inside. He answered coldly, "Do I need to report to you whom I’m waiting for? And calling ’little brother’—hah, anyone with a ’little brother’ like you is just unlucky."
These two no longer said anything and just nodded at Zhang Zhentian.
"Yes, big brother’s lesson is well noted; I’ll be taking my leave first!"
Zhang Zhentian didn’t speak but waved his hand to indicate that the two could go.
Zhang Zhentian didn’t realize that Xia Jing had been watching everything he did today with utmost clarity.
Zhang Zhentian wasn’t angry that Xia Jing hadn’t arrived yet. He kept comforting himself in his heart, "Don’t worry. Since Xia Jing has promised to et, she will definitely co. If she hasn’t arrived yet, there must be sothing that’s delayed her. It’s okay, as long as you keep waiting here, you will definitely see her."
But Xia Jing thought that Zhang Zhentian lashing out at the passersby was because she was late and that he was taking out his dissatisfaction with her on innocent people, which made her feel terrible.
Xia Jing quietly approached Zhang Zhentian from behind and clapped her hands in approval: "Good, not bad."
When Zhang Zhentian turned around and saw that Xia Jing had arrived, he excitedly took hold of her hand, but Xia Jing pulled her hand away, and she said, "You’ve finally co. This whole day and night, my wait wasn’t in vain."
Zhang Zhentian spoke excitedly, but Xia Jing gave him a cold look. Seeing her attitude, he thought that she was still angry about the previous matter and quickly tried to pacify her, "Xia Jing, don’t be angry anymore; I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken like that, you’re not that kind of person, and I apologize for the things I said to you before, please forgive ." Zhang Zhentian bowed at a ninety-degree angle to Xia Jing.
If Xia Jing hadn’t seen Zhang Zhentian lose his temper at the passersby, she would have been moved by his words now, but instead, she had misunderstood him because of that outburst.
Xia Jing didn’t say anything about forgiving Zhang Zhentian; instead, what she said left him utterly perplexed.
"Forgive? Why should I forgive you? Zhang Zhentian, if you have grievances against , you can tell . If I did sothing wrong, you can point it out, but how could you involve innocent people?"
Zhang Zhentian asked with a baffled face, "Xia Jing, what are you talking about? When have I ever held any dissatisfaction towards you?"
"Zhang Zhentian, I admit it was wrong of to be late for our eting today, and you have every right to be upset, but why would you lash out at innocent bystanders?"
Once he heard this, Zhang Zhentian finally understood that Xia Jing was upset that he had unfairly lashed out at the passersby.
Zhang Zhentian grabbed Xia Jing’s hand, and although she tried to break free, he held on even tighter and said, "Xia Jing, it’s not what you think, this matter is actually..." Zhang Zhentian recounted the whole incident to Xia Jing.
Zhang Zhentian thought this explanation would appease Xia Jing, but he didn’t anticipate her words catching him off guard.
"Zhang Zhentian, it’s wrong for them to insult you, but why are you so petty? To lash out over sothing like this? I have really misjudged you." After saying this, Xia Jing turned to leave. Zhang Zhentian chased after her, and she turned to say, "If you dare to follow , you’ll never see again!"
Zhang Zhentian stopped in his tracks when he heard Xia Jing say this, standing there, watching her. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to hold her tight, never letting her leave his side again. But he was afraid that if he did so, he might never see Xia Jing again.
As Xia Jing walked away, Zhang Zhentian just silently watched her figure getting further away, until she was out of sight. His heart ached drastically, unsure of what he could do to please Xia Jing.
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