Chapter 9 The Snow Painting
Jiang Zeyu stayed unconscious for three full days and nights.
After I had cared for him without changing out of my clothes for three days, he finally woke up.
"You're awake?" I stepped forward in delight.
But to my surprise, he did not look at me with the same gentle expression as before.
Jiang Zeyu glanced at me in shock, then quickly put his cold face back on.
When he seemed to realize what he had done over that stretch of time, his face darkened at once.
"Damn it. How could I have done something so stupid?" The tips of his ears turned faintly red. Shame and anger filled his whole face.
Looking at him like that, I understood he had probably returned to normal.
Relief washed through me, and at the same time I could not help feeling hollow inside.
From then on, he might never come close to me again.
After all, one look at me would only remind him of every black mark from these past few days.
I pressed my lips together and forced down the sudden sour ache.
"I'll take responsibility." He spoke.
I stared at him in surprise.
After seeing that expressionless face, I tugged at the corner of my mouth and managed a strained smile. "Forget it, Older Brother. You don't like me. There's no need to force yourself."
After saying that, I did not wait for his answer. I turned and ran out of the room.
Once I was outside the door, the more I thought about it, the more unwilling I felt.
Why should I be the only one hurting, while this guy walked away clean?
The more I thought, the angrier I got. So I turned around and stepped back into his room.
At the very least, I would hit him a couple of times and vent first.
Holding on to that thought, I stormed back in.
To my surprise, the moment I walked through the door, I saw Jiang Zeyu looking completely lost.
He sat leaning against the head of the bed. His long hair fell loosely over his chest. Tear tracks covered that face as fair as white jade.
His dark blue lashes blinked once, and a tear fell in silence.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
When he saw me, he wiped his face in a panic and forced a cold expression back on.
"Didn't you leave? Why come back?" He lowered his eyes and spoke coldly.
I stood before his bed and looked him over in surprise.
So all that icy aloofness was an act. Behind closed doors, he was actually a crybaby.
So during this whole time, it was not that hitting his head had made him stupid.
"What are you crying for? Shouldn't I be the one crying?" I crossed my arms.
Jiang Zeyu pressed his lips shut and turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.
After a long while, I called softly, "Jiang Zeyu."
He paused, then turned to look at me.
Under his gaze, I looked at him seriously. "I like you."
The moment the words left my mouth, his eyes went wide with shock.
A moment later, he suddenly smiled.
It was like early spring arriving, snow about to melt on the branches—soft warmth and gentle light.
"I like you too, Jiaojiao." Jiang Zeyu said softly.
Hearing that, I froze.
"Do you really like me? Then why are you always cold to me?" I could not help doubting him.
Before hearing those words, I had never once thought he liked me.
Jiang Zeyu gave a cold snort. He took a painting from a hidden compartment at the head of the bed and unrolled it in front of me.
On the painting was the back of a young man. Snow, red plum blossoms, and the youth formed a breathtaking scene.
In the upper left corner was a line of poetry: The young man alone is peerlessly radiant; there is none other like him in this world.
Jiang Zeyu pointed at the painting and gave a cold laugh. "Does this painting look familiar?
"This is your sweetheart, isn't it.
"And you say I put on a cold face toward you. The girl I have treated as my Wife since childhood falls for someone else—am I supposed to smile about that?"
I went stiff. My expression grew complicated.
Of course the painting looked familiar. I had painted it myself.
The young man in the painting looked familiar too.
Years ago, on a snowy day, I had been strolling through the residence with an umbrella when I happened to see Jiang Zeyu standing alone in the snow. Snow had settled all over him.
In that moment, a line rose unbidden in my mind.
"The young man alone is peerlessly radiant; there is none other like him in this world."
The scene was too beautiful. After I returned to my room, I could not help painting it.
Later the painting had suddenly gone missing.
I had thought I had simply forgotten which corner I left it in. I never expected Jiang Zeyu had taken it.
Looking at Jiang Zeyu's dissatisfied face, I suddenly laughed out loud. "Jiang Zeyu, look again carefully. Who is this painting of?"
Jiang Zeyu paused, then lowered his head and studied it carefully.
After a long moment, he said in a hoarse voice, "This is... me?"
"You finally recognize it?" I gave a soft laugh.
This stubborn prideful man would rather tough it out alone than come ask me a single question.
"I was too angry at the time. I only glanced at it roughly, then put it away."
"I didn't look carefully." He tried to argue.
"And now? Do you believe I like you?" I leaned down and stared into his eyes.
"I believe you."
"I like you too. I have since we were little." He nervously pressed his lips together. The tips of his ears had gone completely red.
"Wait. Since we were little?" I eyed him with suspicion.
"I don't believe it. When you were little, you never gave me a pleasant look."
The moment I finished, shame and anger rose on Jiang Zeyu's face. He could not help grabbing my wrist.
"You're one to talk. Who was it that used to freeze in place the second she saw a good-looking man? I pulled at you and you still wouldn't move."
"How was I supposed to not be angry?" He gritted his teeth as he looked at me.
Well. Now it was my turn to feel guilty.
My gaze drifted. I did not dare look at him.
No wonder he had said before that he was always fretting over me, terrified some bad man outside would trick me away.
So that was the root of it.
I had thought I hid it well. I never expected he had still discovered that I was a sucker for good looks.
"My fault. My fault." I admitted honestly.
"Hmph." He gave a light snort.