Chapter 31: An Old Friend

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Zhao Jiawen didn’t respond, her small fists raining down on Zhuo Nan’s chest like raindrops, her voice quivering as she whimpered, “You’re the worst. When we were kids, you kissed me and hugged me, and even said you’d marry me when we grew up. I only left for a few years, and you’ve already forgotten me. You have to remember...”

Zhuo Nan’s mind went blank. “When we were kids? Did I already have that kind of charm back then? Kissing and hugging? Damn... that can’t be right...”

He quickly pushed Zhao Jiawen away and said seriously, “Zhao Jiawen, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I didn’t even know you when we were little...”

Zhao Jiawen stared at him in disbelief, about to burst into tears. Zhuo Nan glared at her and shouted, “Stop crying and talk!”

He put at least eighty percent effort into that shout, and just as Zhao Jiawen was about to wail, she swallowed the tears and quietly asked, “You really don’t remember?”

Zhuo Nan shook his head helplessly. In his memory, he had never been involved with this Zhao Jiawen as a child. Seeing his expression, Zhao Jiawen lowered her head sadly and muttered, “Boys these days are all the same. They don’t take responsibility after they’re done.”

Zhuo Nan thought to himself, “What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do anything, so what responsibility do I have?” He snapped angrily, “Zhao Jiawen, explain clearly—what responsibility am I supposed to take?”

This time, Zhao Jiawen seemed to steel herself. She glared at him and said angrily, “Alright, Zhuo Nan, I’ll tell you what responsibility you have. When we were little, in the steel factory kindergarten, it was my first day there and some kids bullied me. You chased them away, and since then we became good friends. After that, you played with me every day, held my hand, kissed me, and said you’d marry me when we grew up. Now you’re denying it.” Tears welled up again, falling with a sense of grievance.

Zhuo Nan’s mind raced, connecting the keywords: childhood... steel factory... kindergarten... hero saving the beauty... Could it be her? He remembered—it all came rushing back.

Zhao Jiawen looked anxiously at Zhuo Nan’s changing expression and asked hurriedly, “Zhuo Nan, you remember now? You know who I am?”

Zhuo Nan suddenly understood, pointing at her, “You’re Zhao Baowen... the crybaby?”

“You’re the crybaby...” Zhao Jiawen smiled shyly, happy he remembered but dissatisfied with the nickname.

Zhuo Nan rubbed his forehead and said, “Oh my, it really is you. Didn’t you transfer back to your hometown? Why are you back in Deqing?”

Zhao Jiawen smiled and explained, “My dad was transferred for work, so we followed him. Now he’s back, so naturally, we came back too. I’ve been in Deqing for a year already; I transferred back in my third year of junior high.”

Zhuo Nan quickly said, “Why didn’t you come find me then?”

Zhao Jiawen replied shyly, “Deqing has changed so much over the years. I don’t recognize many roads anymore. Besides, the third year of junior high is very demanding, and my family didn’t want me wandering around.”

Zhuo Nan nodded; he could understand that explanation. Not everyone’s third year of junior high was as easy as his.

“Come on, Zhao Jiawen, lunch is on me.” Saying this, he warmly took her hand just like when they were kids.

“Brother Nan, I’m a grown girl now. You can’t treat me like when we were in kindergarten, eating tofu whenever you want.”

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Sure enough, a faint blush rose on Zhao Jiawen’s cheeks. Seeing this, Zhuo Nan immediately felt he had gone too far and quickly let go of her hand, apologizing, “Sorry, I thought it was still when we were kids.”

Zhao Jiawen lowered her head and shyly shook it, “It’s alright.”

“Come on, it’s dirty ahead—let me hold your hand again.” Without waiting for her response, he took her hand once more. Zhao Jiawen didn’t resist and let him pull her along.

Zhuo Nan recalled that back then, Zhao Jiawen was called Zhao Baowen, a very crybaby little girl. On her first day at kindergarten, some older boys bullied her. Zhuo Nan couldn’t stand to watch and fought those boys. Naturally, he showed the leader’s aura, beating them thoroughly, though he was also injured.

After Zhuo Nan heroically chased the boys away, Zhao Jiawen took out a handkerchief, sat beside him, and gently wiped his wounds. That’s how their childhood friendship was born. In kindergarten, Zhao Jiawen only played with Zhuo Nan. Even when other children, including girls, invited her to play, she refused and followed wherever Zhuo Nan went.

This continued for a year. Their friendship changed drastically until one day Zhao Jiawen, with red, swollen eyes from crying, told Zhuo Nan, “Zhuo Nan, I’m leaving. My dad’s job transfer is taking us back home, and I’ll be leaving with my family. I’m going to miss you so much.”

Zhuo Nan was sad too, but adults’ decisions were final. He remembered holding her hand that day, promising, “Baowen, we’ll see each other again. When that time comes, I’ll definitely marry you, okay?”

Zhao Jiawen didn’t know what marriage meant and asked curiously, “Zhuo Nan, what does marry mean?”

With a small adult’s seriousness, Zhuo Nan said, “It means you become my wife. Do you want to?”

Zhao Jiawen thought for a moment and asked, “If I’m your wife, can we be together every day?”

Zhuo Nan scratched his head, “I think so...”

Zhao Jiawen happily said, “Then I want to be your wife, so we can always be together...”

This memory flashed through Zhuo Nan’s mind—it had been almost ten years. Zhao Jiawen appeared before him again, and the childhood promise was just a childish joke, not to be taken seriously.

“Zhao Jiawen, weren’t you called Zhao Baowen? Why did you change your name?” Zhuo Nan, holding her hand as before, asked curiously.

“Because I like singing and dancing, and I want to apply to the Beijing Film Academy or Central Academy of Drama. My mom said Baowen sounds too rustic, so she changed it to Jiawen, like names from Hong Kong.” Zhao Jiawen blushed as she spoke.

“Oh...” Zhuo Nan couldn’t understand what was going on in her mom’s head. Does becoming a star really have anything to do with a name? What about the unspoken rules? Oh, right, those hadn’t been exposed yet.

Zhuo Nan led Zhao Jiawen to the restaurant where he had eaten with Xia Qianrou that day and walked right inside without hesitation. The landlady was standing in the hall and immediately greeted him politely, “Oh, you’re here! Please come in, come in.” She called out to the waiter, “Bring the tea quickly.”

Zhuo Nan chuckled, “Landlady, no need to be so formal.”

The landlady winked at him, sending a shiver down his spine, and coquettishly said, “Of course, of course. Last time you chased away Chang Mao here, I was so happy. Today’s meal is on me, don’t be shy.” Her eyes flicked to Zhao Jiawen sitting beside Zhuo Nan, and she paused slightly, instinctively saying, “A different one this time...”

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That comment made both Zhuo Nan and Zhao Jiawen awkward. Realizing she had said too much, the landlady quickly fled.

Zhao Jiawen grinned and stared at Zhuo Nan, asking, “Zhuo Nan, do you have a girlfriend now?”

What’s meant to be said must be said; there was no need to hide anything from Zhao Jiawen. He nodded, “I have two girlfriends. One is a policewoman, and you probably know the other—Fu Xinxin.”

Although Zhao Jiawen knew he had girlfriends, hearing it from his own mouth still pained her deeply, especially since there were two. She fought back tears and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of hurting both girls’ feelings by playing both sides?”

Zhuo Nan waved his hand, “They both know about each other. The three of us get along very well.”

This was the first time Zhao Jiawen had heard such a thing—two supposed rivals living harmoniously. She looked at Zhuo Nan twice, wondering if he really had that much charm. But if there were two of them, what about her?

Zhao Jiawen asked, “When did you start this?”

Zhuo Nan thought for a moment and casually said, “About half a year ago...”

Hearing this, Zhao Jiawen hated herself. She was a believer in fate. She had left Deqing for ten years. After returning, the person she most wanted to see was Zhuo Nan. She wanted to find him, but Deqing had changed drastically, and her parents didn’t allow her to go out alone. She planned to wait until high school to look for him. But in the one year she hesitated, Zhuo Nan found two girlfriends. How could she not hate herself?

As if making a firm decision, Zhao Jiawen summoned her courage, looked straight into Zhuo Nan’s eyes, and asked, “Zhuo Nan, do the things you said back then count?”

Zhuo Nan knew exactly what she meant. Clearly, the girl had taken their childhood jokes seriously. If he didn’t handle this well, it would be troublesome...

He braced himself and said, “Jiawen, those were just childish words when we didn’t understand things...”

“Enough, I know. You don’t want to take responsibility...” Zhao Jiawen interrupted him bluntly, her voice loud enough to draw all the attention of the customers in the hall.

Looking at Zhuo Nan, her eyes were full of disdain. They probably thought this kid was irresponsible after getting a young girl pregnant, that he deserved to be dragged outside and beaten to death...

Zhuo Nan was utterly embarrassed, his mind racing. Seeing the satisfied smile on Zhao Jiawen’s lips, he realized she was doing this on purpose. The ignorant customers all looked ready to tear Zhuo Nan apart. He sighed helplessly, picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and wondered how he could manage to settle things with Zhao Jiawen.