This hauntingly familiar scene made Cen Jin feel disoriented for a moment. She had known Jiang Baizhou since childhood; their families were also very close, and their rooms were adjacent. In their younger years, they stood countless times on their balconies, gazing at each other. However, at some point, she became hesitant to stand on the balcony and look out, as if she were timid or even fearful.
"Message."
Watching his softly moving lips, Cen Jin snapped back to reality. But because of the glass door between them, she didn't hear clearly. So she reached out, pulled open the glass door, and walked out to ask, "What did you just say?"
"Did you see the message?"
"Message?" Cen Jin was momentarily stunned, then suddenly understood: "Do you mean the WeChat message?"
Jiang Baizhou looked directly at her, as if waiting for her answer.
"I saw it."
Upon hearing this, a deep expression appeared in Jiang Baizhou's eyes. The sunset's afterglow spilled over from his side, adding a bit of warmth to his cold aura. His tone was neither angry nor indifferent: "You saw it and didn't reply?"
Cen Jin didn't expect him to ask this, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
"Come over." Seeing her silent and a bit baffled, Jiang Baizhou pursed his lips and threw down these two words coldly before turning back into the house, pulling the glass door shut behind him, disappearing from view.
Cen Jin was dumbstruck. She raised her hand to touch her nose. As she was about to turn back inside, she inadvertently saw a paper ball on the balcony, bent down to pick it up, and found nothing written on it. She pursed her lips, went back inside, and casually tossed the paper ball into the trash can, tidied up a bit, and went downstairs with her phone.
At the neighboring villa, Cen Jin rang the doorbell, and before the second chime ended, the door opened. It was Jiang Baizhou who answered. Cen Jin was about to raise her hand to greet him, but Jiang Baizhou didn't give her the chance, walking inside with a cold expression, making her swallow the words back.
"Cen Jin is here, come in quickly." As Cen Jin entered, Miss Yu Hui, wearing an apron and holding a handful of chives, warmly greeted her.
"Ah!" Cen Jin replied with a smile, walking over: "Aunt Hui Zi, do you need any help?"
"No need, no need, your mom and I are almost done. Are you hungry? The food will be ready soon. You sit in the living room for a bit." Miss Yu Hui smiled, glancing at her son, standing in the living room: "Bai Zhou, chat with Cen Jin."
Hearing this, Jiang Baizhou turned his head slightly, glanced at her, then sat on the sofa: "Come here."
Cen Jin walked over and sat on a single sofa, looking at him confusedly: "What for?"
"Chat."
Cen Jin nodded, waiting for him to speak. But after waiting a long while, she still didn't hear a sound from him. Curiously, she asked: "Aren't we supposed to chat? If you don't talk, are we to chat silently?"
"You talk, I'll listen."
"..."
Cen Jin looked at him, speechless, thinking to herself, since when did Jiang Baizhou change his nature and actually take the initiative to chat with others? Apparently, she expected too much.
"What's wrong?" His peripheral vision caught her slightly helpless and speechless expression, Jiang Baizhou lightly moved his eyebrows, questioning.
"Nothing." Cen Jin gave him a not quite genuine smile, shook her head, suddenly remembering something, and her gaze swept around the room: "By the way, is Uncle Jiang not home? I haven't seen him."
"He's gone to Lu Mountain with the archaeological team."
"Oh, does Uncle Jiang know you've come back?"
"No." Jiang Baizhou replied curtly with three words, then after a few seconds' pause, added: "The signal in the mountains is bad."