At night, nestled in her bed covers, Wen Man turned on her flashlight and quietly pulled out the letter from the brown envelope.
On the red-lined paper with dark stripes, the free and easy penmanship was just like him:
"Hi, Manman, my dear Manman,
What should I do?
Because of that bowl of instant noodles, I think of you day and night, dreaming only of that bowl of instant noodles.
In my thirty years, Jiang Yan, I've never longed for something so much. I fear I'm poisoned, that something's wrong with me. I rushed to the hospital, and the doctor diagnosed me saying, 'You're in trouble; you've been poisoned. If you can't find the antidote, it will invade your vital organs.'
I thought to myself that this doctor's words sound just like the symptoms of a poisoned martial arts master from 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.' It couldn't possibly be true.
But when I think of you, there's an ache right here in my heart.
Even if it hurts unbearably, I've never thought I'd die from it; it might just be the proudest aspect of being Jiang Yan. But I do fear, fear that you might despise me—
Being disliked, I, Jiang Yan, have certainly tasted before, but tasting the disgust of someone I like, that's a first for me, and it's you, Manman.
Manman, I like you.
Will you blush at this sentence?
I fantasize about this question every day, intoxicated yet terrified that if I were to ask you in person, you might disdainfully say to me:
Mr. Jiang, how much I loathe that handsome face of yours."
At this sentence, Wen Man's lips curled into a smile.
Wen Yuan, sleeping on the bottom bunk, turned over in her sleep.
Wen Man quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes uncontrollably scanning down the letter, reading each word:
"Actually, you don't understand me.
Manman.
There's a scar at the back of my neck, it's quite ugly.
Manman,
Can you not despise me that much?
I like you so much.
I, Jiang Yan, swear to the heavens,
this is my first time confessing to a woman in my life,
glorious,
sacred,
great.
So, getting to know me is not hard, Manman, let's meet again and again and again... to the Nth degree.
Maybe then, you might say to me:
Mr. Jiang, although your handsome face can irritate me, I don't loathe you at all."
After reading the entire letter, the smile at the corners of her mouth spread to her heart, warming it.
If his intent was to make her laugh, to please her, he had achieved it.
She folded the letter neatly and put it back into the brown envelope. Suddenly, Wen Yuan from the bottom bunk said, "Sis, aren't you asleep?"
She turned off the flashlight instantly.
But Wen Yuan had already realized she wasn't asleep and started a series of complaints: "You go to work at nine, and I have to go to class at seven-thirty, don't you know?!"
Wen Man furrowed her slender eyebrows and looked at the pitch-black ceiling, saying, "Sorry, Yuanyuan, I just couldn't fall asleep just now."
With a loud thump, Wen Yuan turned over violently on the bottom bunk, shaking the whole bed, and with a furious roar exclaimed, "It's fine if you don't get into a good university, but do you want me to fail too?!"
Biting her lower lip until it showed a white line, Wen Man calmed the tumult in her chest, "Yuanyuan, if you really have the ability, get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts and then talk to me like this!"
She waited for a long time, but Wen Yuan below didn't dare to make another sound.
The smile that had appeared on the corners of Wen Man's mouth gradually faded and sank into the darkness. As she thought of his letter, she suddenly pondered in her heart:
"Mr. Jiang, if you knew our family was like this, would you still fall for me?"
——Wedding Night——
After sending out the first love letter he had ever written, Jiang Yan felt as joyful as a little bird taking flight. That night, he suffered from insomnia and called Du Yu, asking if he could arrange to meet Manman again.
"Met today and meeting again tomorrow?" Chun Xia was surprised.
"Seeing his enthusiasm, I think he is quite sincere," Du Yu had a lot of confidence in Jiang Yan.
After pondering, Chun Xia said, "What you're saying isn't wrong. To this day, no one has ever pursued Manman in such a way."
"I think," Du Yu turned to his wife to discuss face to face, "why don't we find some time for the four of us to go out to the countryside? On one hand, we haven't had a romantic outing in a long time, and on the other, it would create an intimate opportunity for them."
"Sounds good." Chun Xia truly thought it was a great idea; Manman should indeed go out more often to breathe some fresh air, or she'll be suffocated by the Wen Family sooner or later.
When Wen Man heard Chun Xia inviting her out for the weekend, she became somewhat guarded: "Besides you and me, who else will be there?"
"You're in charge of preparing the picnic for the countryside, and I'll handle the rest," Chun Xia played dumb.
Wen Man really didn't know what to say, perhaps because that letter had taken root in her heart. When she saw Jiang Yan turn up as expected, she did not feel aversion.
Jiang Yan borrowed Mo Wenyang's east wind. Du Yu was driving, Chun Xia wanted to sit in the front with her husband, leaving the remaining two to sit in the back seat.
The luggage was picked up and all gathered at the company entrance to set off.
Sitting in the back seat, leaning against the window, Wen Man almost pressed her face against the cold glass.
It was her first time being so close to a man, her heart was restless, and so was her face.
Seeing her restrained and nervous, Jiang Yan kept laughing quietly to himself, his hand sneaking over, fingertips touching the white tips of her fingers.
Wen Man was startled and was about to draw her fingers back when they were caught by his.
Following that, his fingers slid between hers, intertwining like vines, with a warm current flowing through the fingertips and into her chest.
In the reflection of the tea-colored car window, the smile at the corner of her mouth was visible. Wen Man saw it and felt all sorts of emotions overtake her as if a jar of them had been knocked over.
"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Yan noticed the bewildered look on her face and involuntarily leaned closer.
Wen Man's little heart started pounding again, the scent of him slowly filling her nose, smelling of fresh and clean soap, like a freshly cut lemon. Her cheeks, influenced by the lemon fragrance, blushed like a tide rising.
In Jiang Yan's eyes, the beauty in front of him resembled a delicious red apple, tempting him until even his throat felt ticklish, and his lower abdomen warmed. His lips dry, he licked them yet seeing the girl's shyness, he dared not transgress.
Their fingers remained entwined all the way to their destination.
The scent of spring was thick, the weather neither too cool nor too warm, perfect for an outing.
Along the road, they saw many young people out for an excursion, and there were numerous couples.
When climbing the mountain, Du Yu and Chun Xia held hands.
Manman followed them, her heart beating fast with nervousness.
Such a scene reminded her of her college days.
So youthful, so unrestrained, it seemed like a dream, not real at all—as that morning she was still at home, calculating her finances for living expenses in the north.
"Manman?"
A voice wound around and whispered in her ear, its warm breath tantalizing.
Manman, like a startled bird, made a small jump to the side.
Jiang Yan had never seen a girl so, so self-conscious before. The smile in his heart involuntarily spread to his lips as he pointed to a flower beside the road, "Do you like it?"
"I like it—" Seeing his gesture to pick it, she hurriedly exclaimed, "Ah!" stopping him, "It's not good to pick flowers."
Her bashful hands then gathered the courage to grab his arm that was rolled halfway up his sleeve.
When she realized what she was doing, her hand swiftly retreated, faster than if she had touched electricity.
Unable to hold back any longer, truly at his limit.
He grabbed her elbow in one swift motion, raising his prominent eyebrows at her, his eyes shining like starlight, "Comrade Manman, you must believe that a gentleman would never behave indecently."