The warm yellow light outside came in and dyed a different light on Jacob's face.
The underside of his eyes was shadowed by his eyelashes, the color of his pupils was light, which was born with tenderness.
He coughed softly, as if putting up with a smile, and gave a thoughtful hum.
Ashley added rigidly, "You should hang up."
"Wait a minute."
Liam's voice was a little softer and sounded elusive. "Jacob, are you older than me?"
Jacob calmly said, "What?"
Liam, "My sister's boyfriend is also older than me."
"Mm-hmm."
Jacob turned the steering wheel without moving his eyelids, "As older as I am."
Silent for a moment.
Liam seemed to laugh angrily, "Don't tell me...”
As if she guessed his next words, Ashley didn't have the courage to confess for a moment.
"No, absolutely not," she interrupted hurriedly. Brother, what are you thinking? "
Liam said coldly, "What did I say?"
Ashley reluctantly calmed down and said angrily, "I can guess what you're going to say."
Liam, "You two go out for dinner together?"
"Yes, today is brother Jacob's birthday, I asked him for dinner. I can't be like you, with no feelings at all, and have the nerve to say that the gift I bought was from you. "
Jacob listened quietly to the quarrel between the two.
It seemed that his guess was a little out of line, and Liam did not mention what had just happened, "Then you continue. And, kid, remember to go back to school early. I'm hanging up. "
The car quieted down instantly.
She didn’t know if it was her psychological effect.
Without Liam's voice, for a moment, she felt as if the awkward atmosphere had risen to the top.
Ashley pretended to be dead in her position, playing with her cell phone.
According to what they had just said, it should be what she said to Liam every time was already told Jacob by him.
The old man pretended to know nothing in front of her.
He may probably laugh at her every day.
‘Annoying!’
Sure enough.
It didn't take long.
With questions in Jacob's words, he said slowly, "What boyfriend?"
Ashley didn't want to lose her momentum, so she sat up and explained seriously, "What I told my brother was that I might have a date, not that I had already had a boyfriend."
He chuckled, "Graduate student?"
"..."
Jacob, "Is it too late for me to take the exam now?"
Ashley felt humiliated and continued to play dead.
"If I don't take the exam, what are you going to say on your brother's side in the future?"
Jacob spoke slightly, and his tone was not very serious. "Can you say that you broke up with that graduate student boyfriend and have a date with me?"
Ashley held back for a long time and said, "I have nothing to do with you."
Jacob smiled, "You've all had a showdown with your brother, but you still don't admit that you have that feeling to me?"
Ashley, "Can't I really have a crush on that graduate student?"
Jacob rasied his eyebrows and said leisurely, "I really only have a bachelor's degree."
"..."
Every word implied that the person she had a crush on, even if the appearance, age, and background she described didn't match mine. It was still him.
Ashley stared straight at him, suddenly feeling a little frustrated, and whispered, "Did you know that already?"
Jacob glanced at her, "Know what?"
Ashley was silent.
While waiting for the red light, Jacob looked in her direction again.
With her head bowed, her lips slightly down and her eyelids drooping, he could not see what she was thinking, but she could clearly feel that she was unhappy.
It was so obvious.
He had to pretend not to notice it.
Jacob thought it was funny, "Ask you something."
Ashley whispered, "What?"
Jacob, "You really don’t have any feelings for me?"
Ashley turned her head and looked at him and her eyebrows slightly stretched out.
After several seconds of silence, she looked out of the window, and this time she finally said vaguely, "A little bit."
"All right."
Ashley said in a strange tone, "That's your reaction."
Jacob, "Hmm?"
"Why don't you say that I obviously like you, but I don't accept you, and I'm waiting for you to chase me every day.” Ashley murmured, feeling a little hypocritical.
"Didn't you say a little bit?"
Jacob didn't care much and thought about the reason for her. "It's probably not enough."
Ashley didn't say anything.
The car arrived at the supermarket near Jacob's home. He found a place to park and joked by the way, "It’s our Ash’s first love. You have a lot of worries. Brother can understand."
Ashley couldn't help saying, "What if I don't agree all the time?"
Jacob unfastened her seat belt, picked an eyebrow, and said, "Then wait for me to chase you every day."
"..."
Jacob thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "You will probably be with me for the rest of your life."
Ashley did not deny it, and she felt a little awkward.
Jacob looked at her, then he spoke in a soft voice as if to coax her, "So our Ash should have..."
"..."
"what other girls have."
The two entered the supermarket.
Jacob just wanted to buy some vegetables and meat, so he could make dinner at home.
He went to buy some meat, but Ashley did not follow him and went to the snack area.
And then went back to him and threw the snacks in the shopping cart.
When Ashley appeared in front of Jacob for the fourth time, the shopping cart was already filled with more than half of the things, which she basically picked out.
He put a box of chicken wings he had just taken into the shopping cart and casually said, "Are you going to stay in my house?"
Ashley choked, "I took them for you."
Jacob took the pudding in her hand and said, "For me?"
"When you are hungry, you can eat it. If you don't eat, you can keep it. I'll finish it when I'm at your home. "
Ashley said, "I also like those snacks. I won't waste them."
Jacob laughed.
"What?"
Ashley said, "I've never seen you eat snacks, and I don't know what you like, so I can only take what I like."
Jacob lowered his eyes, scanned around, and commented, "Those are for the girls."
Ashley was quiet for two seconds and said reluctantly, "Then I'll put them back."
Jacob pushed the cart and walked in the direction of the vegetable area, "Why?"
Ashley followed him like a little tail and muttered, "Didn't you say those are for the girls?"
"Well, I happen to have one girl." Jacob said calmly.
Ashley was stupefied, stopped in an instant, and soon followed.
Instead of running to the snack area, she followed Jacob to pick out vegetables.
Jacob raised her eyelids and asked her, "Don't pick snacks anymore?"
Ashley, "I’m done"
"Then we leave?"
"Mm-hmm."
Ashley looked at the things in the shopping cart and asked, "Brother Jacob, do you know how to cook?"
Jacob, "A little bit."
Ashley thought for a moment, "I'll cook you some longevity noodles later."
"Do you know how?"
"..."
Ashley innocently said, "Just boil the water and throw the noodles in."
“Will it be eatable?”
"It's just a ritual."
Ashley then turned to walk in the other direction. "You wait in line first, and I'll take some noodles."
"..."
Out of the supermarket, the two returned to Jacob's residence.
Fearing that the cake would break, Ashley put the cake box in the refrigerator after changing into indoor slippers.
Jacob sorted out the things he had just bought and then went into the kitchen to wash and make rice.
Ashley followed in to help.
Jacob, "Are you hungry?"
Ashley shook her head and said, "I’m good."
Jacob washed some strawberries, stuffed one into her mouth, and then gave her the fruit plate in his hand, "Take this and go out and watch TV."
Ashley refused, "I'm going to make you longevity noodles."
She took out her cell phone and looked up recipes on the Internet, "Don't worry about me."
"..."
Staring at her serious appearance, Jacob did not stop her and bent the corners of his lips.
The two did their own things. Ashley only occupies the induction cooker in the kitchen and occasionally uses the chopping block and knife.
Jacob wants to come and help and will be driven away unhappily by her.
It didn't take long to cook noodles.
But Ashley has never cooked, not even instant noodles since childhood.
She dawdled for a long time and cut vegetables carefully lest she would see blood on this good day.
When the rice was done and Jacob's three dishes and one soup were ready, Ashley awkwardly completed a bowl of longevity noodles that didn't look very good.
Ashley, who had never tasted it herself, nervously brought the noodles to Jacob.
Jacob smiled slightly, "Let’s have dinner."
Ashley, unable to imagine the taste of this noodle, hesitated and said, "Don't eat this noodle, just treat it as a sense of ritual."
Just, I heard my classmate say that you all seem to have it in birthday. "
Jacob said, "I'll try. If it doesn't taste good, I won't eat it. Is that all right?"
Ashley sat down on the chair and reluctantly agreed, "OK."
The narrow living room, the cold white light, appeared to be extremely warm.
Ashley took a bite of rice and kept her eyes fixed on Jacob to see his expression after eating the noodles.
She watched him pick up the noodles, stuffed the noodles into his mouth, and chew politely.
His expression hasn't changed much.
For a moment, Jacob smiled and said, "It's delicious."
Ashley didn't believe it at all. She wondered, "Really?"
Jacob made a hum.
Ashley, "Then let me have a try."
Jacob raised eyebrows, "Indirect kissing?"
"..."
Ashley said inexplicably, "I'll take a new pair of chopsticks to eat."
"No," Jacob gently refused. "Don't take advantage of your brother."
"..."
After dinner, Ashley took the cake out of the refrigerator.
She opened the bag containing the candle and said with a smile, "Brother Jacob, take out the cake yourself. There are words on it."
Jacob pulled out the cake and read, "Happy birthday to Jacob, who is 26 years old."
Ashley winked, "I specially asked the clerk for an extra pack of candles."
"Oh, right."
Ashley picked up another plastic bag. "There is a birthday hat. Put it on."
Jacob said with a laugh, "What?"
Ashley looked at it and put it on his head, "This is shaped like a crown. You will be a queen today."
"Hmm?"
Jacob laughed and said, "Why not a princess?"
"How can you be a princess at your age?"
The word "26" has been written on the cake, and Ashley did not insist on placing 26 candles.
She lit the candle, sang him a birthday song according to the procedure, and then said seriously, "Make a wish."
Jacob thought for a moment and said quietly, "I wish it will be the same next year."
Then he blew out the candle.
Before Ashley realized it, it fell into darkness, "What do you mean?"
Jacob got up and turned on the light and said, "Next year, you will also come to pick me up for my birthday."
"What kind of wish is that? I can't pretend I don't know your birthday."
Ashley felt that his wish was a little inexplicable and handed him the prepared gift. "Your gift."
Jacob took it over, "Thank you."
After a few seconds of silence, Ashley paused and suddenly thought of a possibility.
She looked up and said dryly, "Brother Jacob, let me ask you something."
"Hmm?"
"If, I mean, we're really together, and if we don't feel right, then we break up."
Ashley asked softly, "There will be no more contact after that, right?"
Hearing this, Jacob raised his eyebrows.
Soon, Ashley reacted and felt that it was not appropriate to say this on this occasion, so she hastened to add, "Forget it."
Jacob cut the cake and said with a clear and smooth voice, "Don't trust me?"
"..."
Ashley was quiet for a moment. "Yes."
Jacob, "Is my usual behavior too indecent?"
Ashley was silent.
Jacob smiled, "I’m right."
"I didn't mean that," Ashley said.
"Ashley, it's really inappropriate if you think we're going to break up in the future. If you don't agree, I can't force you. "
Jacob lowered his eyes and looked down at her, "but if you say yes, if you still bring up the breakup thing..."
"..."
His voice stopped, his eyes ticked slightly, and he smiled, "Have you ever seen brother lose his temper?"
Ashley grabbed the corner of her coat and looked up at him.
Jacob lowered his voice and pinched her face affectionately.
"It's scary."
This topic ended here.
After that, Jacob did not mention it again, and Ashley took it as if she had not asked about this matter.
It was like an episode that can't afford a splash, and no one cared.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Jacob sent Ashley back to school.
After washing, Ashley returned to her position and continued to do her own thing.
Her mind was so empty that she could not concentrate and recalled the idea that she had suddenly floated.
She actually knew exactly what her concerns were.
Ashley was not worried that Jacob would be bad for her.
She knew what kind of man he was.
But she worried that he may not like her for long.
Even if he didn’t like her anymore, Jacob would not break up with her, but would only treat the relationship between them as a kind of responsibility.
It would become a result that made both sides very painful.
‘Am I being too hypocritical?’
Ashley had obviously been waiting for being with him for a long time, but when it was going to happen, she felt worried about gain and loss and was extremely uneasy.
So upset that she didn’t even have the courage to accept it-.
Ashley tried to put aside these thoughts and still get along with Jacob in the previous way.
Most of the time, she finally made up her mind to be with him, but she took it back then.
Jacob seemed to be aware of something wrong with her, so he came to see her a lot more times than before.
Ashley didn't know how to tell him what she thought.
After all, she didn't want to tell him that she had liked him since she was thirteen.
She also didn't know how she could stop such a thought.
In the twinkling of an eye, it reached the end of May.
After Friday, at seven o'clock in the evening, Ashley made an appointment to have dinner with people from the department.
She was talking arm in arm with a girl in the department. As soon as she left the school gate, she noticed Kathy standing under the tree.
Ashley was stupefied for a moment and stared at her questioningly.
It happened to match her eyes.
Soon, Ashley withdrew her sight, completely without the idea that she had come to find herself. She just felt inexplicable.
She continued to chat with her friends in the department and went to a barbecue restaurant outside the school.
There were a lot of people in the restaurant.
Someone in the department came to occupy the seat in advance, and Ashley went over and sat down.
After a while, she noticed that a table for two had been cleaned, and then there was only one customer sitting on it.
It was Kathy.
Ashley looked at her hesitantly, and at this moment she had the feeling that Kathy had come to find her specially.
But what did Jiang Ying come to see her for?
And how did she know she was here?
Ashley couldn't figure it out, didn't care about her anymore, and bowed her head and drank the water in the cup.
It seemed that Kathy just came over for dinner and did not take the initiative to trouble her.
But her eyes were on her from time to time, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Ashley simply changed places with the friend on the other side, and gradually forgot the existence of this person.
After dinner, Ashley got up and went to the bathroom.
She just wanted to come in and wash her hands and fix her makeup.
Before she got to the sink, she saw Kathy coming in.
Ashley glanced at her, said nothing, and squeezed some hand sanitizer into her hand.
Kathy took out a lipstick from her bag, and she took the initiative and said, "Are you the new girlfriend of Jacob?"
Ashley was silent.
"Yes, college students are really gullible."
Kathy smiled and said, "I happened to meet you here. I just want to remind you that he has been on blind dates hundreds of times before. Do you know why they don't match?"
Ashley said with a straight face, "It's not you happened to. You just came to me to say these words on your own initiative."
"I don't want to see a little girl like you go astray."
Kathy spoke calmly. "Do you know he has a vegetative father who is still lying in the hospital?"
The movements of Ashley's hands stopped.
"It seems that he didn't mention it to you at all," Kathy's lips hooked up when she noticed her reaction. "Telling you another secret, his father is also a murderer."
"..."
"He has to pay nearly 100,000 dollars a year to support that bastard," Kathy said. "Which girl has so much money to live with him? And he doesn't even have a house."
Ashley raised her head and was not affected by her words at all. "I have money."
"..."
Obviously could not believe that she would have this reaction, Kathy was shocked, "His father killed someone, is a murderer, didn't you hear me?"
Ashley spoke slowly, "Am I going to marry his father?"
"..."
Ashley didn't want to stay with her any longer and was not even in the mood to fix her makeup. She pulled out a piece of tissue and went out.
Kathy could no longer maintain the surface of calm, suddenly threw the lipstick on Ashley, "Are you stupid or deaf? Are you out of your mind?"
The lipstick was so small that it didn't hurt.
But her behavior instantly ignited Ashley's anger.
Ashley stared at the lipstick rolling on the floor, and then looked up at her.
With a sneer, she ripped off her bag and threw it hard into Kathy's face.
She moved her neck and said in a very impolite tone, "Who spoiled you to be such a shrew?"
"..."
Jiang Ying was smashed and took a step back. After a few seconds of silence, she smiled, "Who do you think?"
"..."
"Of course it is Jacob."
Stalemate for a while.
Ashley stared straight at her with her dark eyes, "Madam, if you are really spoiled, you still need to come to me today?"
"..."
"If you have this spare time to do this kind of thing," Ashley said harshly, picking up the bag on the ground, "you might as well spend some time on maintenance, otherwise, I thought you were his mother's friend when you stand with Jacob."
With that, she went out of the toilet.
Kathy was serious and followed her out immediately.
She grabbed Ashley's arm and raised her hand, shaking with anger.
It so happened that Lucas also came to go to the bathroom.
Seeing this situation, he was stunned for a moment, immediately grabbed Ashley's hand, protected her behind him, and shouted angrily, "What are you doing?"
"..."
Kathy was silent, stared at Ashley, and soon turned back to her position.
Lucas asked a few questions, and Ashley vaguely made up several reasons.
She also returned to her position and looked at her mobile phone absent-mindedly, her mind constantly reverberating with what Kathy had just said.
After the end of the dinner, the people in the department decided to go to a nearby bar to play games.
Ashley had no opinion and went over together.
But she couldn't concentrate and somehow recalled the picture of Jacob smoking alone on the balcony the night he stayed at her home.
She remembered that he took a lot of part-time jobs when he was in college.
She remembered that he didn't go to the hospital when he was sick and spent all his time alone during the holidays.
Thinking of his recent life, it seemed clear.
Thinking of his bent eyes and his smile and said to her, "Our Ash should have what other girls have"
The hurdle that has been unable to get through seemed to be suddenly enlightened at this moment.
Ashley suddenly got up and said goodbye to the others, "I have something to do. I'll go first."
When she arrived downstairs at Jacob's house, someone happened to open the door.
Ashley followed in, got into the elevator, went up to the floor of Jacob's house, and then stood at his door.
She exhaled and rang the doorbell.
The door was opened quickly.
Jacob seemed to have just taken a bath with water in his hair and a very strong mint aroma.
He looked a little stupefied as if he had no idea that she would come at this point.
Staring at her expression, Jacob bent down and asked hesitantly, "What are you doing here?"
Ashley also stared at him, did not answer his question, like impulsive, but also seemed to endure for a long time, she finally said, unusually bluntly, "Can you always like me?"
‘Anyway, I liked you first.
I like you more.
So I want to be there for you all the time.
Even if you really don't like me in the future.
I don't seem to lose.’
Jacob still didn't react to it, and even had a feeling that he fell asleep and had a dream.
He lowered his eyes and subconsciously said what he thought, "Yes."
Ashley sniffed and said, "Then--"
"Wait a minute," Jacob smiled. "What are you doing?"
Without waiting for Ashley to speak again, Jacob grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the house, "Come in first."
"..."
"Tell me," Jacob said patiently, "what happened?"
"I just think today is the right day."
Ashley whispered, "So I don't want to wait."
Jacob stopped breathing and realized that she didn't seem to be joking, "Are you drunk?"
Ashley, "No."
Jacob, "Agree to be my girlfriend?"
"Mm-hmm."
Be silent for a few seconds.
Jacob suddenly pinched her chin and lifted her face up.
His eyes were deep, staring at her clear and nervous eyes, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down, he confirmed again, "Have you made up your mind?"
Ashley did not move her eyes, also stared at him, and nodded.
Finally got the affirmative answer.
The distance close at hand, the ever-heating ambiguous atmosphere, like a dream scene.
Jacob's eyes darkened, he stared at her lips, suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "Open your mouth."
Ashley didn't react to it. She made an ah and opened her lips.
The next moment, his voice fell.
With an extremely hot and warm touch.
"Brother will teach you how to kiss."