My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Under the thick concern of those watery golden eyes, Jiang Jinyan fell into a trance.

When he came back to his senses, he found that many pedestrians were sneaking glances at them, half of them wore the same uniform as the girl in front of him. He recalled the rumors about Shi Nian and frowned.

Jiang Jinyan's fingers exerted strength and held her hands, pulling her ahead. "Come on, let's go."

His palm encased hers fully, amidst the cold and chilly weather, it was very warm, broad and comfortable, making her heart skip a few beats. Shi Nian was taken aback as her body moved along with the force, trailing behind him closely.

Her eyes fell upon their hands, one big and one small, with similar degree of fairness but his joints were well defined, the knuckles strong, long and slender, it looked very pleasing to the eye. Shi Nian recalled that Jiang Jinyan had shot a wristband advertisement before and for a period of time, his hands became a widely discussed topic as the favorite for those hand fetishes.

Jiang Jinyan suddenly stopped and the not prepared Shi Nian bumped onto his back, her nose aching and red..

He turned sideways, scoffing. "What are you daydreaming about?"

Shi Nian didn't dare to say that she was entranced by his hand, scared that Jiang Jinyan would remember that they were still holding hands. He felt so warm that she didn't want to let go. Thus, she mouthed. "Where are we going?"

Due to their close distance, the breath she puffed out grazed across his cheek softly. Jiang Jinyan's pupils deepened as he reached out his hand to stop a taxi. "You don't think that we can ride the subway in weather like this, do you?"

Oh. Shi Nian nodded, whatever Jiang Jinyan said, she would agree.

A taxi halted in a timely manner and Jiang Jinyan opened the passenger seat, their hands naturally loosening. Unprecedented sense of loss came over Shi Nian as her palm suddenly grabbed nothing, the chill from the air came back in full force. She was brooding over her oversensitivity when her nose was pinched all of a sudden.

Shi Nian looked up, dumbfounded with her nose reddened like a confused little deer. Jiang Jinyan was holding onto the door, jutting his chin. His expression was obscured due to the mask, only a pair of dark eyes could be seen staring down at her.

"Get on," he grunted.

Shi Nian touched her nose as she got into the taxi, still marveling at the slight pain lingering there.

Compared to when she bumped her nose against him earlier, the heat from Jiang Jinyan's fingers seared into her skin down to her heart, immeasurably hot, causing her whole face to heat up. Shi Nian took a breath to calm herself down as Jiang Jinyan sat beside her and put the umbrella against the door by his leg.

"Where do you want to go?" the taxi driver asked with a smile.

"Lingzhe Apartment District, thank you." He answered and took off his mask.

Shi Nian stole some glances at him and inadvertently saw a puddle formed beneath the umbrella. Jiang Jinyan's pants were getting soaked due to that. She tugged on his sleeve, attracting his attention. 

"What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.

Their eyes met in midair. Narrow space, rainy days, dim light above their head. She subconsciously lightened her breathing. Shi Nian didn't know when the atmosphere between them started to change, especially when they were alone. The kind of uncertain atmosphere, the subtle border between proprietary and ambiguity. The kind where made her mind turn blank and her heart thundered against her ribcage.

Just that, Shi Nian had no idea where she stood right now.

Perhaps the taxi driver felt that the atmosphere was too silent and cold, he turned on the radio and a soft, melodious male voice rang out, singing—

      The pencil in my hand

      Moves back and forth on the paper

      I use a few lines of words to

      describe who you are to me;[1]

Jiang Jinyan's Adam apple moved and her eyes were enticed by that faint movement.

She didn't know why it seemed a bit hard to breathe right now.

He asked again, his voice deeper this time. "What's wrong?"

Shi Nian came to her senses and pulled on his arm gently, pointing at the wet umbrella and his dampened pants.

Jiang Jinyan raised a brow but in the end, he still scooted closer. The taxi was cramped to begin with and Jiang Jinyan—even though he looked thin—was actually very tall. His legs devoured a lot of space and when he came closer, the tip of their knees almost touched. Shi Nian's hands above her knees stiffened as she tried to make herself as still as possible.

The taxi turned without warning and the delicate balance broke off as her body tilted to his direction, their legs instantly stuck together like two pieces of puzzle.

      Rain falls for the whole night

      My love overflows like the rain;

Shiver ran through her whole body like electric shock. She panicked and tried to create some distance. But Heaven seemed to go against her as the taxi once again made a sharp turn, taking over the slow SUV in front and Shi Nian's effort came to nil as not only were their legs touching, but their arms also.

For God's sake, Shi Nian was almost sprawled into his embrace.

Jiang Jinyan reached out to hold her shoulder, his voice never sounded so magnetic and soul hooking in her ears before. "Calm down." The man's burning palm fell onto her shoulder, fixing her in place. "Sit properly."

How could she?! Shi Nian was so mortified that she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.

However, under his strong presence, Shi Nian tried her best to stiffen her back so as to not lean bonelessly onto him, her calf almost got a cramp and the tip of her fingers trembled ever so slightly.

      I then write

      I write my eternal love for you into the poem's ending

      You are the only understanding I want—

During the half an hour ride, Shi Nian experienced how it felt to walk through thin ice with the roaring ocean beneath her feet. One slip, and she would be swept away in an instant. Honestly, it was the most arduous, heart-stopping and exhausting ride in Shi Nian's life, even though she did nothing but sit.

Until they got off the taxi, Shi Nian's brain was still fuzzy and she couldn't think straight at all, her whole body feverish, as if she had got a low grade fever. She didn't even realize that once again, her hand was on Jiang Jinyan's hold as he pulled her into the apartment building.

…Only when Shi Nian faced the receptionist lady's smile and soft complaint about the weather did she snap out of her reverie.

The warmth on her hand made her halt comically as she stared at their hands in shock.

Since when were they holding hands? Why didn't she realize it?

She tightened the hold unknowingly, causing Jiang Jinyan to turn toward her. A tinge of amusement in his tone. "Sobered up now? I thought you're going to daydream until we reach your floor."

Shi Nian: "!!!"

Aaaah, how embarrassing!

Jiang Jinyan let go of her hand, much to her reluctance. Shi Nian finally got enough freedom to type. [Your hands, what happened?] Fortunately, she still remembered what she wanted to ask.

"Nothing, just bump into a wall." He put his hands into the pocket and answered, his tone couldn't be more casual.

Bumping into a wall and the skin bruised and scraped unevenly like that? Did he mean to fool a three years old child?

The elevator dinged open in front of them and Jiang Jinyan stepped in. Shi Nian trailed after him angrily, demanding an answer. Jiang Jinyan pressed onto the twentieth floor, the corner of his lips curled up in a faint smile.

He patted the fuming golden-eyed girl's head gently. "Don't worry. I am not hurting myself."

If he did that and the girl found out in the future, would she put the sharp edge of the broken mirror against her fair and thin arm again? 

Such a stupid little thing, it was better for Jiang Jinyan not to do it lest she got a scar.

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[1] A song by Jay Chou - Common Jasmine Orange (Qi Li Xiang) oh I love this song very much and it suit the atmosphere hahaha

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A/N: 

Taxi driver: don't thank me ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)✧

Holding hands check (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ