“Are you on leave?”
Around two in the afternoon, Yun Su grabbed a small woven basket and followed a number of villagers to the seaside to go clamming.
The tide had just gone out, leaving the beach wet and glistening.
Yun Su walked along the shore in straw sandals, the fine sea sand beneath her feet and the blazing sun overhead. For some reason, she felt unusually excited.
Having been transported here for several days, this was her first real trip to gather seafood from the beach. The last time she ended up in the sea didn’t count.
The beach was vast, and everyone quickly dispersed, each finding a spot to start collecting seafood.
It was literally a matter of picking things up! Digging a hole at random would yield crabs or whelks. Yun Su thoroughly enjoyed this cost-free activity.
It was at that moment that Ji Xiangtian appeared before her.
“Are you on leave?”
Yun Su looked at the handsome man standing in front of her—crisp, clean white shirt, black trousers, genuine leather sandals—and asked very naturally.
Of course, she had to ignore the joyful aura radiating from him.
She had no idea what good thing had happened. The man who in her memory was a bit cool and aloof today looked very happy. And this happiness wasn’t just on his face—it showed in his body language.
Yun Su wasn’t sure how to describe it. But somehow, she could tell from Ji Xiangtian’s expressionless face that he was in a great mood.
Ji Xiangtian, who had just been acting very cool, suddenly had ears turning crimson at Yun Su’s simple greeting.
Yun Su’s attention was on something by her feet—a large, aggressive crab was scuttling sideways straight toward her!
Seeing this, Ji Xiangtian suppressed the words he was about to say, reached down, and grabbed the crab.
His movements were very quick. But the crab was utterly uncooperative. Even though it was caught, it flailed its pincers and flung a bunch of sand onto Ji Xiangtian’s clean trousers.
The action was so fast that Yun Su was momentarily stunned. She thought to herself, This crab sure has an attitude! Even when caught, it still wanted to get back at him on the spot.
Suppressing a laugh, she took a few strands of straw from her basket and quickly tied up the crab.
Ji Xiangtian noticed her suppressed smile. For some reason, his nervousness suddenly melted away.
He reached up and touched the tip of his nose, took a deep breath, and said, “Yes, I’m on leave. I have something I want to tell you.”
Yun Su was still being rather oblivious. Hearing this, she didn’t suspect a thing. Remembering that she wanted to ask Ji Xiangtian about the day he fell into the sea and the gold bars that had appeared on the boat, she immediately nodded. “Okay, okay! Let’s go over there. It’s cooler.”
Near the beach was a small mangrove forest. It was a seabird habitat and quite shady.
——
“You see…”
“I wanted to say…”
Amid the cool sea breeze, the rustling of the trees, and the occasional bird calls, Yun Su and Ji Xiangtian spoke at the same time.
Meeting this situation again, Yun Su widened her eyes slightly. She suddenly realized that she and Ji Xiangtian really did have a strong connection. Every time they talked, they wound up speaking in unison.
But for some reason, this time she felt a shiver run down her spine.
“You go first…”
“No, you go first…”
After another round of speaking at the same time, Ji Xiangtian felt his nervousness completely disappear. He broke into a wide smile, his eyes sparkling brightly, and said, “How about I go first?”
Seeing that smile, Yun Su instinctively straightened her back. She thought to herself, How strange! Usually when Ji Xiangtian acts cool, she doesn’t feel anything special. But now, seeing him smile, she felt a tingling sensation all over.
“This is a gift for you.”
Ji Xiangtian took out a wooden box from his satchel.
The box was about the size of a palm, carved with beautiful patterns. Yun Su’s intuition told her this was something nice.
“What’s the occasion for giving me a gift?”
Ji Xiangtian said, “Open it and see if you like it.”
Yun Su nodded, opened the box, and found a gorgeous golden pocket watch inside.
The golden casing of the pocket watch was engraved with intricate patterns—one could tell at a glance that the inside would be equally magnificent.
And indeed, when Yun Su snapped open the casing, a dazzling gleam of gemstones met her eyes.
The watch face was inlaid with a circle of brilliant rubies. The combination of the golden casing and red gems might look tacky to some, but Yun Su found the design particularly luxurious.
The hands of the watch were moving, showing that the current time was 2:50.
That number suddenly made Yun Su think of the time 5:20—which sounded like “I love you” in Chinese. She shuddered violently and immediately snapped the cover shut.
“This gift is too precious. I can’t accept it.”
Ji Xiangtian smiled, the light in his eyes growing even brighter. “This is a thank-you gift for saving my life. Besides, this pocket watch isn’t expensive. The moment I saw it, I felt it would suit you perfectly.”
Yun Su also felt it suited her well. She had always loved the colors red and gold. Before being transported here, people often called her taste tacky. But she loved this color combination. Moreover, her features were bright and striking, so these colors suited her very well.
“Although I really like this pocket watch, I can’t just accept it.”
Ji Xiangtian had already anticipated this possibility, so he wasn’t particularly discouraged. Instead, he said, “Actually, there’s something even more important I need to tell you. Let’s set the pocket watch aside for now. May I ask you to listen to what I have to say next?”
His tone was so serious that Yun Su realized the pocket watch wasn’t the main issue. The real matter was yet to come.
“Alright, go ahead. I’m listening.”
“Comrade Yun Su, I, Ji Xiangtian, like you. I want to be with you. Would you be willing?”
“What…?”
Yun Su felt her ears buzz, and goosebumps erupted all over her back. A wave of heat surged to her head from somewhere unknown. She was certain her entire head had turned bright red.
This was an unfamiliar emotion, leaving her—a lifelong singleton—utterly at a loss.
Just as she didn’t know how to respond, she looked up at the culprit and noticed that his entire ears and neck had turned crimson.
He looked practically bashful.
Suddenly, Yun Su felt she could handle this.
“Calm down, calm down, Yun Su, you’ve got this,” she repeated to herself several times. Only when she felt her ears and cheeks had cooled down a bit did she speak. “Why… why do you like me?”
Ji Xiangtian said, “There’s no specific reason. I can’t really explain it. It’s just that when I’m with you, my heart beats really fast. And I often think of you. When something good happens, I want to share it with you. When I buy something tasty at the cafeteria, I want to take you to try it. When I saw this pocket watch at the store, I thought it would be perfect for you.”
This explanation was plain and unadorned. But after hearing it, Yun Su found that she couldn’t control the corners of her mouth, which kept turning upward.
This… In her previous life, she had been busy studying and working. Quite a few people had confessed to her, but she had never felt such strange emotions as she did now.
It was a tingling, warm feeling in her heart—almost inexplicable…
But this feeling, Yun Su decided, wasn’t bad. In fact, it was damn wonderful!
If this had been her previous life, Yun Su would have weighed the pros and cons and said she’d think about it. But in this life, Yun Su had already decided to live according to her heart. And with Ji Xiangtian’s character assured, she felt she should agree.
So Yun Su nodded very directly. “Alright, let’s be together!”
Although Ji Xiangtian’s straightforward confession had been sudden, Yun Su decided to listen to the voice within her heart.
“If you’re not willing, that’s okay too. I hope you’ll give me a chance…”
While waiting for Yun Su to consider, Ji Xiangtian grew nervous again. In his nervousness, when he heard Yun Su speak, he instinctively assumed she was about to refuse. He hadn’t expected to succeed on his first confession. So upon hearing Yun Su’s voice, he blurted out all the words he had prepared.
Only after finishing did he register what had actually been said. Wait a minute! Yun Su had agreed to be with him!
Realizing Yun Su had said yes, Ji Xiangtian did something that made Yun Su laugh out loud.
He jumped up on the spot. This man, over 1.8 meters tall, bouncing around under the mangroves, soon bumped his head on the branches. When he landed, there were a few leaves tucked into his collar.
Such a childlike reaction made Yun Su laugh endlessly.
Ji Xiangtian also realized his reaction wasn’t very manly. He touched the tip of his nose again, embarrassed. Then, amid Yun Su’s laughter, he burst out laughing along with her.
The two young people, whose ages added up to nearly forty, stood under the mangroves on that summer afternoon, laughing so hard they couldn’t stand straight, just like a couple of schoolkids.
——
“You actually rehearsed it!”
After they had calmed down, the two sat under the trees, chatting as the sea breeze blew. Unexpectedly, Ji Xiangtian voluntarily admitted that he had secretly rehearsed his confession in his dormitory for several days.
It was only then that Yun Su learned Ji Xiangtian had already completed his transfer paperwork. He had even moved back to the island from Yangcheng. In a couple of days, he would start working at the military hospital on the island.
And he had made this decision solely because he wanted to be closer to her.
This deeply moved Yun Su.
And then came the happiness.
That there was someone in the world willing to do so much for you—what a joyful and gratifying thing it was.
Ji Xiangtian gazed at Yun Su, unable to look away. He was still very excited.
“Yeah, I rehearsed it many times. I was mainly afraid I’d mess up my words from nervousness.”
“So you’ll be staying on the island for good now?”
“My plan for the next three years is to marry you and stay working on the island. If you have any plans of your own, my work arrangements are quite flexible.”
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