CHAPTER 333: 319, GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE, SANGSANG.

Jiang Jinghuai glanced at the night, his deep gaze swept across her, "Where are you going?"

"Just going for a walk outside." She didn’t turn back.

"Come back early."

Why listen to him? She’d come back late.

The winter night streets were eerily quiet. Tian Sangsang felt she’d gone mad to even think about coming out here. Leaving the Military District behind, she walked past long stretches of empty roads. She had no idea how long she’d been walking, her feet felt like they were giving out, and finally, she saw a sparse sign of human life.

Surprisingly, it was the city!

The truth was, the distance from the Military District to the city might as well be from one city to another, very far indeed. And yet, here she was, walking it all on foot. When people walk with their thoughts elsewhere, they strangely tend to move faster.

Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but think back to her early days after graduating from college, the days spent job hunting.

Maybe every graduate goes through the same process—job hunting. Submitting resume after resume, interviewing one company after another. Being directionally challenged added to the ordeal, sometimes wandering for ages unable to find the right place, staring at maps for half an hour. She’d practically walked every corner of the city.

Back then, none of the destinations were right at the transit stops; after getting off, you’d have to find them on your own.

From that period onward, she could accurately recite the names of the city and even several neighboring cities.

One particular memory stood out. At the time, she’d just bought two new pairs of shoes. After a month of job hunting, one pair had its soles worn out, and the other had a hole at the front.

During that time, she’d spend nearly all her days downtown. Meals were just simple bowls of noodles at small diners—graduates didn’t have much money to spare. Between transportation and food costs, a month could drain her finances in no time. To save money, sometimes she wouldn’t even ride the bus, she’d walk instead.

Once, she took what was, by far, the longest walk of her life—no doubt about it. She walked from one district in the city to another. Back then, each district had a distinctive landmark, and she was heading to an office building at one of those landmarks for an interview. From one XX Fashion Plaza to another XX Fashion Plaza, across two districts. She couldn’t recall the exact distance but knew only an idiot would walk all of it.

A chilly breeze swept by, and Tian Sangsang sniffled. She raised her head—it was a school, East Sea Film Academy. Exhausted, she looked around, found the base of the campus wall, squatted, and sat down.

She really wanted a cigarette. On this cold night, who could gift her a box of matches?

The campus was lively at night; even at this hour, students were milling about. Shadows swayed under the trees, casting figures on the ground.

Tian Sangsang’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up abruptly.

"Tian Sangsang?" The person called out and bent down to get a closer look. "It really is you, Tian Sangsang!"

The voice was familiar. Tian Sangsang peered closely—it was Zhao Chun. She relaxed and patted her chest. "What are you doing, sneaking up and scaring people at night?! Don’t you know your face is scary enough?" Good grief... nearly gave her a heart attack. She’d thought she was about to encounter the trope of a gangster or thug.

"I should be asking you that." Zhao Chun scratched his head innocently and sat down beside her. Turns out, he was just hungry and had gone out to buy a bowl of wontons.

They fell into silence.

Zhao Chun placed the late-night snack on the ground, glanced at her, and pursed his lips, dry from the night breeze. "Where’s Jinghuai? Why would he let you wander off alone?" Seriously, what kind of man wasn’t worried about his beautiful wife being snatched away? He muttered to himself.

"Don’t mention him!" Tian Sangsang shouted.

Zhao Chun blinked weakly. "Did you two fight?"

Here we go again—this was starting to sound just like Chen Ying. Tian Sangsang rubbed her stomach. "I’m in a bad mood. Do you have any alcohol? Let me drink a little."

Zhao Chun shook his head decisively, lifting his bag. "No alcohol, but do you want some wontons?"

"Thanks, bro." Tian Sangsang took the wontons without hesitation. Removing the bag, the rich aroma of wontons rushed into her nose, making her squint in pleasure as her stomach growled audibly.

"Should I share half with you?"

Zhao Chun said, "Go ahead and eat. I bought it for my roommate. I’ll go grab another serving later."

The wontons were divine. One bite, small yet brimming with shrimp and mushrooms. One swallow, and warmth spread through her whole body. Tian Sangsang suddenly felt the urge to cry. "Do you ever think I seem like a crazy person, Zhao Chun?"

"If you’re a crazy person, then I’m a fool," Zhao Chun replied.

"Bro, who knew you were so good at comforting people." Tian Sangsang chuckled with slightly blurry vision. "Can I ask you a question? In your impression, what kind of person is Jiang Jinghuai?"

"Him." Zhao Chun paused, pondering. "A bit cold."

"Ha!" She couldn’t hold back her laughter. After laughing, she took another bite of wontons, her voice thick with emotion. "Not just a bit cold—he’s freezing, so damn freezing! You know what? I think he makes people feel totally insecure..." Like a disappointed child, she kept eating and ranting, repeating much of what she’d previously vented to Chen Ying. By the time she finished, even the wonton broth had turned cold. "To sum up, to me right now, he’s nothing but a jerk!"

Zhao Chun silently listened to her the whole time, muttering internally. Dayum, jerk. What kind of term was that? It didn’t sound like a compliment.

He stayed quiet for a moment, his eyes fixed ahead, never looking at her. He didn’t comment on the matter but instead asked, "Well, do you still want to keep going with this jerk?"

Tian Sangsang was baffled. "Huh?"

"If you want to, then maybe try giving him another chance?"

She froze. "Why didn’t you say I’m being unreasonable?"

"You do look like someone who’d be unreasonable." Zhao Chun shrugged and shook his head. "But you’re not someone who’d be unreasonable for no reason." You’re just too insecure and deeply conflicted. When you vent to others, you’re just hoping for an answer. Maybe even if others give you an answer, you won’t fully accept it—because you already know deep down. But knowing doesn’t mean you can change. At that point, it doesn’t mean you disagree; you’re just undecided. If others tell you the same thing enough times, you might eventually change your mind.

By now, he hadn’t realized how well he understood Tian Sangsang.

"Sangsang," Zhao Chun tilted his head to look at her and sighed. "Give him one more chance. Jinghuai does care about you. Maybe you can try to be a bit more understanding of him."

Ever since Jiang Jinghuai and Zhao Chun had fought last time, she hadn’t seen Zhao Chun again. Tonight was the first time they’d met since then, and she was struck by his words, by the serious furrowed brows that seemed to lay bare her thoughts. "You’re getting less and less cute," she quietly muttered in a voice only she could hear.

She stood up, placed things on the ground, adjusted her clothes, and blinked back her tears. "I think I should go now." If she stayed any longer, she feared she’d break down.

Huh? Leaving so abruptly? Zhao Chun hadn’t fully processed it.

Just then, a figure darted out from the school entrance, accompanied by Yao Yu’s voice: "Boss, we thought you were lured away by that Nie Xiaoqian. Weren’t you saying you were starving and going to buy wontons? Why the long delay—we were really worried."