28 Graver realization
Central library.
Jian sighed. “Isn’t she taking too long?”
Nian bumped his forehead on the table. “Surrounded by so many books feels as if my brain would explode.”
Just then Ai came quickly walking in. She took her seat, feeling breathless. Her mind was unfocussed.
The twins tilted their heads at the same time. Jian took this chance and tried to get closer to her. “What happened? Your face is a little red.”
Ai patted her cheeks, startled. “Really?”
“Yeah. You are breathless too. Were you running?”
Well, yes she was. She didn’t know what she should think about, so she just kept running to keep her mind occupied.
“M-My break went on for a little longer, so I rushed back.”
Nian chuckled. “So what? You are not in a school where you have to be back by the bell ring.”
She just smiled.
A few minutes later, Jun returned too. Their eyes met, but they quickly looked away. He stood frozen for a moment before he went back to his desk.
The twins exchanged suspicious glances.
What’s with him?
As the day came to an end, Jian whispered before leaving. “Um.”
Ai looked up.
He looked flustered. “A-About my confession…I hope you think about it.”
She widened her eyes.
I completely forgot…
“That-“
“Bye.”
“…”
Around closing time, there were only the two of them. Usually before leaving, Ai would always say to Jun, ‘Thank you for your work.’
But today’s incident had made it awkward between them.
Tomorrow. I will say tomorrow.
She just bowed and left.
Jun’s head softly collapsed on his desk.
He was furious. But whether at the situation or at himself, he didn’t know.
For just a moment, he felt as if he had betrayed Shui. But then a sad chuckle escaped his lips.
What am I thinking? Everything has ended between us.
Jun emptily stared ahead.
At first, he thought that he despised himself for not pushing Ai away. But then he realized a graver matter.
The thought about Shui never once crossed his mind during the whole accidental kiss. She wasn’t just there at all.
He felt shaken by this revelation. He had dedicated his whole past life to Shui. But now kissing another woman and not feeling disgusted took him greatly aback. If it was the past, he would have fed the woman to the sharks.
But Ai…
Her eyes…Her eyes always mess up everything in my head!
What is there in Zhou Ai? Just because we died at the same time in my past life means there is a connection between us?
That’s stupid!
A connection between us…can never be there.
—
The next day was pretty much the same. Ai came in and saw Jun at his usual seat early in the morning. He noticed her but didn’t react.
The ‘Good morning’ from her lips never came out either. She pursed her lips and silently went to her work.
“Zhou Ai!” The twins exclaimed.
“Hello,” she politely greeted them.
Jian seemed to be a little nervous. “Hey.”
Ai remembered his confession. But she already knew what to say. She felt sad about it, but there was no choice but to reject him. She was just waiting for the right moment to break it to him.
But the moment never came because Jian kept avoiding her requests to meet her. Just like that, the whole day had passed without her getting to talk to Jian.
In the end, she waited for him in the corridor in the evening only to see Nian stepping out.
He cleared his throat. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
Ai thought that maybe he knew about Jian’s confession so he came to talk to her about it.
“Yes.”
“Actually…” he scratched his head and looked embarrassed. “I…I have been observing you for two days and I…”
Ai blinked.
Why am I getting a sense of Deja Vu?
“I-I really like you!”
“…”
“I know it’s a little hasty. Please listen to me before you think it’s weird. Until now, all women were only attracted to my money. But you didn’t care about it. I felt so…at peace after a long time. It was suffocating to be with those types of women. But you are different. I had even lost hope that I would find someone who wouldn’t be interested in my status. But then I met you. I know it’s too soon to judge, but I feel that I can trust you.”
Ai was at a loss.
Both of them confessed to me?
“You…”
“No, no!” He covered his ears. “I don’t want to hear your answer. I mean, I do but ugh! I am too nervous! My heart was only ready for the confession. So, don’t say anything today! I just h-hope you think about it.”
He breathed hard and turned. “B-Bye!”
Ai was left alone in the corridor, speechless.
The twins high-fived and laughed.
“Hoho, that was some good acting. Ever considered becoming an actor, Nian?”
He smirked. “Nah. It’s only fun when it’s for fun, not real career.”
Jian peeked at Ai. “She looks so troubled.”
“Wonder who she would choose?”
“Well her answer is her final test~ Let’s see what Ai has to say tomorrow.”
—
The following day was even worse between Ai and Jun. The little bit of what conversation they used to share had also vanished. It was as if they had become strangers again.
Jun glanced at her, and a feeling of annoyance welled inside him. For two days straight, she hadn’t given him her customary greetings, and it was beginning to irk for a reason he didn’t understand.
Ai, on her side, also felt a little unsettled by this distance. She quietly took her seat.
The twins were upto no good again. They looked at her, expectant and embarrassed.
First day, she met the twins. Then she was confessed by them back to back and even shared an accidental kiss with Jun.
What is with my luck these days? She seriously pondered.
The twins were quite fidgety the whole day or at least pretended to be.
Finally around closing time of the fourth day, she called Nian outside the library. The twins winked at each other, and he eagerly came out.
“Hey…Have you thought about us?”
Ai seriously said, “First, I would like to tell you that Jian had confessed to me the day before yesterday.”
Nian looked ‘shocked.’
“What?”
“Yes. But-“
“A-are you choosing him over me?” He looked hurt. “Zhou Ai, please don’t do this!”
Ai was startled. “Can you listen to me?”
“No, no! I know what you are gonna say! You want Jian, right? It’s…It’s always like that! We always like the same things. And now we like the same woman too! It’s as if being twins is like a curse to us. But you know what? Whenever it’s like this, it’s always Jian who gets it. So…p-please choose me over Jian!”
He nervously laughed. “It doesn’t matter, right? We are twins, after all. We look the same. What difference would it make if it’s me or him?”