Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Chapter 49

After taking a shower, Sang Zhi sat back down and fiddled with the camera for a while. She transferred the photo of Duan Jiaxu to her computer and created a new folder to store it.

She also added a photo of the two of them taken at Duan Jiaxu’s house.

After thinking for a moment, she logged into QQ on her computer and retrieved the old photo of Duan Jiaxu she had secretly taken which was stored in a private album.

The three photos had different tones and resolutions.

Placing them together, the passage of time they represented became strikingly clear.

Sang Zhi stared at them in a daze for a long time, suddenly recalling her third year of high school.

During that period, her condition inexplicably worsened. She started making careless mistakes in physics, a subject she usually excelled in, and her overall grades plummeted, causing her ranking to slip.

On the day she received Duan Jiaxu’s coming-of-age gift, the results from the first mock exam in Nanwu City were also released.

It was her worst performance throughout her senior year.

Because of that, after the evening self-study, her teacher called her in for a talk.

The homeroom teacher had noticed the incident involving her and the sports student from the neighboring class, so when her grades dropped, the teacher assumed she was in a relationship and that it was affecting her performance.

During the conversation, the teacher’s words were especially harsh.

Sang Zhi quietly listened to the lecture, only repeating, “I’m not in a relationship”, before returning to her classroom, picking up her bag, and taking the bus home.

In her third year, they only had half a day off each week.

After classes ended on Saturday afternoon, they had to return the next day for evening self-study. Most students would leave home at noon and arrive at school in the afternoon.

The day she went home happened to be her birthday.

Li Ping and Sang Rong were in the kitchen preparing a meal.

Perhaps because it was her birthday, Sang Yan, for once, was also at home, sitting on the sofa watching TV. When he saw her return, he merely raised his chin and said in a flat voice, “Duan Jiaxu sent you a package. It’s in your room.”

Sang Zhi nodded and silently headed to her room.

She closed the door, placed her heavy schoolbag on the desk, and looked down at the sender’s name on the package. Then, she slowly opened the box.

Inside was a set of cosmetics, along with a greeting card.

Sang Zhi opened the card.

The man’s handwriting was bold and neat, with only one line written.

「Happy adulthood, little Sang Zhi.」

Those were words she had longed to hear for a long time.

All her emotions surged at once.

The pressure from her studies, from the teacher’s relentless scolding, and from the overwhelming sense of grievance.

Sang Zhi stared at the words, her eyes gradually reddening. After a moment, she couldn’t suppress a sob and tears started streaming down her face.

It felt unbearable.

She didn’t dare let anyone hear her, so she crouched on the floor, using all her strength to stifle her cries. Her whole body was trembling and she began to hiccup through her sobs.

It felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

In that instant, Sang Zhi truly realized what it meant to grow up.

It meant no longer daring to cry freely, considering it shameful to express oneself.

It meant no longer treating willfulness as a habit, clearly understanding what should and shouldn’t be done.

It meant no longer dreaming wildly, no longer viewing fairy tales as real life, making her days orderly yet dull.

It was something not worth looking forward to at all.

……

A notification sound from her phone interrupted Sang Zhi’s thoughts. She snapped out of it, blinked hard, and reached for her phone, glancing at it.

It was a message from ‘Suitor’.

Sang Zhi clicked in to take a look.

【Suitor: Are you free tomorrow?】

Sang Zhi thought for a moment. 【No.】

【Suitor: How about the day after tomorrow?】

【Sang Zhi: Still no.】

【Suitor: The day after that?】

【Sang Zhi: No.】

【Suitor: Not even in the evening?】

Seeing that, Sang Zhi checked her class schedule and replied, 【I have no classes on Wednesday night.】

【Suitor: What a coincidence.】

【Suitor: I’m free too.】

【Sang Zhi: But I have homework to do.】

【Suitor: I can keep you company?】

Sang Zhi smiled and typed 【Okay】, but quickly deleted it and changed it to 【We’ll see】. She set down her phone to go to the bathroom and then returned to bed.

It was already lights-out time and her dorm mates were also in bed.

Only her phone screen remained lit.

She continued chatting with Duan Jiaxu until she unknowingly fell asleep. Perhaps because she hadn’t replied for a while, the screen lit up again after a long pause.

【Suitor: Good night.】

The time on the phone had already passed midnight, marking the start of a new day.

Sang Zhi bid farewell to her eighteenth year.

On the first day of her nineteenth year, she revived the dream she had at thirteen.

But this time, it felt different.

That time, it had been hopeless.

But this time, she was certain it could be achieved.

———pr

The next day, after the morning class ended, Sang Zhi went to the cafeteria with her dorm mates, listening to them talk about something, “I heard in another group chat that the school is hosting the 5^th Digital Media Arts Competition soon. Do you guys want to join?”

Wang Ruolan asked, “Do we need to form teams?”

Ning Wei answered, “Yes, no more than six people per team.”

Yu Xin inquired, “Can students from other departments participate too?”

Ning Wei said, “Yeah, it’s open to the whole school.”

Wang Ruolan asked again, “Are you guys planning to participate?”

Yu Xin, showing little interest, replied, “Forget it, I’m too lazy.”

Sang Zhi took out her phone and checked the class group chat. “Let me see, the categories for the competition include animated short films, microfilms, game design, interactive design……”

Ning Wei commented, “Animated short films sound pretty good. What’s the theme?”

“There are a few.” Sang Zhi replied as she scrolled through the list. “Commemorating the 100^th year of the founding of Yihe University, advocacy, and Yihe folk culture.” She paused and added, “The game design doesn’t have to match any of the themes.”

Wang Ruolan said, “But for game design, wouldn’t we need to team up with someone from the software department?”

Ning Wei responded, “Not necessarily. We could ask the teacher first.”

Wang Ruolan asked, “How to participate?”

Sang Zhi explained, “We need to find a mentor first, then form a team and sign up.”

Yu Xin asked them, “Are you guys joining?”

Wang Ruolan shrugged, “I was just asking. Honestly, I’m too lazy too.”

They chatted a bit more about it, but soon, the conversation naturally shifted to other topics.

Sang Zhi, who always had the attitude of joining any competition, happened to hear that a senior from her department, Liang Jun, was also planning to participate. She mentioned it to him, and they decided to team up.

They were joined by Ning Wei, one of Liang Jun’s classmates, and another girl from their class, making a group of five.

To accommodate everyone’s schedule, Liang Jun arranged a dinner on Wednesday night for the five of them to discuss the project. As a result, the plans Sang Zhi had with Duan Jiaxu earlier fell through.

Knowing she had her own commitments, Duan Jiaxu didn’t say much about it and simply arranged to meet her over the weekend.

The competition allowed two months from registration to submission. Their group had already chosen a theme and found a mentor, deciding to create an animated short film. However, they struggled to come up with a creative idea and couldn’t settle on one.

After some discussion, one of the group members had to leave for class, so Liang Jun didn’t waste any more time. He assigned tasks to everyone and told them to think about it on their own.

Ning Wei didn’t return to the dorm with Sang Zhi but instead went to meet her boyfriend after the meeting.

Sang Zhi checked the time. It was just past 8:30, still early. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and slowly sent a WeChat message to Duan Jiaxu, 【What are you doing?】

【Suitor: Working overtime.】

【Sang Zhi: Oh.】

The next second, Duan Jiaxu called and asked, “You’re free now?”

“Just finished the meeting.” Sang Zhi replied. “Why are you always working overtime?”

“No other plans, so I just stayed late.” Duan Jiaxu said with a faint smile, “If you’re free, I can leave now.”

The temperature in Yihe had started to rise recently, but the nights were still a bit chilly. Sang Zhi tucked her other hand into her pocket and kicked a small stone in front of her. She reminded him, “It’s already 8:30.”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “Is there a curfew at your dorm?”

Sang Zhi answered, “Yes.”

“What time?”

“Midnight.”

“Then you still have three and a half hours.”

“Yeah.” Sang Zhi said softly, “But I don’t stay out that late.”

There was some rustling noise on Duan Jiaxu’s end before he slowly said, “I’ll take you for a late-night snack and then send you back to your dorm. How’s that?”

Sang Zhi considered it for two seconds. “What will we eat?”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “What do you feel like eating?”

“I can’t decide yet.”

“Then let’s decide when I get there. Find a place to sit for a while,” Duan Jiaxu continued, “I’m driving over now.”

As Duan Jiaxu walked into the parking lot and found his car, he unexpectedly saw Jiang Ying, whom he hadn’t seen in months. His eyelids twitched slightly as he glanced at her before quickly looking away.

Seeing him, Jiang Ying stepped in front of his car. She pulled out her wallet from her bag, turned it upside down, and seriously said, “I don’t have any money left.”

Duan Jiaxu unlocked his car and got in.

Jiang Ying stood still, staring at him as he sat in the driver’s seat, and demanded, “Give me some money.”

“……”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Duan Jiaxu, have you really started dating someone?” Jiang Ying asked, taking the initiative to speak again, “Is it that college student from the hotpot place last time? College students are easy to fool, aren’t they?”

Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes to look at his phone and replied to Sang Zhi’s message.

Jiang Ying continued talking on her own, “I’ve already told others that you’re going to marry me. I even told my mom and she agreed.”

“……”

“You better not think about finding another woman. I won’t let you go in this lifetime. You know I’ve liked you since middle school.” Jiang Ying said, pointing at him with red eyes, “Do you still dare to find a girlfriend?! You dare?!”

Hearing her words, Duan Jiaxu looked up.

He remembered his middle school days.

Compared to then, the woman in front of him had shed her childlike appearance, grown more mature, and seemed a bit older. Yet, in some ways, she hadn’t changed at all.

She was still hysterical, filled with hatred.

In front of everyone, she accused him, saying he was the son of a murderer. Whenever she saw him, she was always agitated and angry, her eyes full of resentment as if he were Duan Zhicheng himself.

The most serious incident was when she pushed him down the stairs from the second floor of the school building. As she watched his forehead bleed from the impact, she showed not a hint of remorse but instead a twisted smile.

“Your father killed my father, so you should die too.”

……

Duan Jiaxu rolled down the car window and the corners of his lips tugged down. “Let me tell you something.”

Jiang Ying stared at him intently.

“If you think the matter isn’t over, go find Duan Zhicheng.” Duan Jiaxu said calmly, with no emotion in his voice, “If you want him to marry you and be my stepmother, I have no objections.”

Jiang Ying was so disgusted by his words that she immediately walked to the side of the driver’s seat, cursing furiously, “You mother*cker!”

In the next moment, Duan Jiaxu started the car and, with a gentle tone, said, “Then, let me congratulate you on your upcoming wedding in advance.”