After She Fell for Me, I Lost My Memory (GL) - Chapter 55

Around noon the next day, Jian Mu returned from the company. Looking at the tightly closed door next door, she hesitated for a moment, preparing to knock. However, she was informed by Zhang Ming, who happened to be coming out, that Cen Luo had left with two suitcases.

Jian Mu froze for a few seconds, a wave of disappointment washing over her. Was it because of what happened yesterday? With suitcases… was she going on a trip or moving away?

All day long, Jian Mu was absent-minded. She wanted to ask but didn’t dare to; she opened the chat window only to close it again.

Yang Qing, who had been standing in front of the desk waiting for Jian Mu’s response, saw her sigh softly and was so startled she didn’t dare breathe loudly, fearing she had made a mistake in her work.

After a while, noticing that Jian Mu kept checking her phone every now and then, Yang Qing cautiously asked if there was something wrong with the files.

Jian Mu shook her head and handed the reviewed documents back to Yang Qing.

However, the moment the documents were returned, Jian Mu’s expression changed like a break in the clouds, suddenly brightening as the corners of her lips curled upward.

Yang Qing rarely saw Jian Mu have emotional fluctuations, and a smile was an even rarer sight.

Curiosity was one thing, but Yang Qing knew her place; she wasn’t in a position to ask for the reason.

Before leaving the office, Yang Qing took one last look back at Jian Mu. She saw that the smile on her face hadn’t faded at all, and her fingers were sliding across the screen as if she were refreshing something.

Yang Qing couldn’t make sense of it. She shook her head and left. Just as she reached the secretarial office, she ran into the assistant, Xiao Mi, and couldn’t resist asking if she thought President Jian had been acting strange lately.

Xiao Mi, who was coming out of the pantry with a cup of hot water, stopped in her tracks and answered without hesitation: “You noticed too? Before, President Jian would spend every day either in the R&D lab or the office processing files, basically only caring about product-related things. But now, she actually looks out for us, and even asks about our love lives.”

Yang Qing became thoughtful. The current Jian Mu indeed felt much more human.

“But Secretary Yang, why are you asking?” Xiao Mi belatedly realized she had just been casually discussing her superior behind her back.

Although the company didn’t have a rule against discussing superiors, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t report it.

Even if she felt Yang Qing wasn’t that kind of person…

She probably wasn’t.

“I ask and you just answer? I was just testing to see if your lips were sealed. As the President’s assistant, how can you answer everything I ask? Fortunately, I’m a good person; what if another colleague decided to give you a hard time?” Yang Qing cleared her throat and put on an act. “Don’t do it again next time.”

Xiao Mi had only been working for a little over a year and couldn’t match Yang Qing’s experience. She was stunned by the lecture.

She kept nodding, saying she would be careful next time.

Yang Qing didn’t actually mean to scare her. Seeing her reaction, she patted her shoulder, looked at the thermos in her hand, and comforted her: “Not many young people drink hot water nowadays. Drink more, drink more.”

Jian Mu had no idea what was happening outside. At that moment, she was staring at Cen Luo’s newly posted social media update.

Because she didn’t dare to “like” or comment, she just scrolled up and down, repeatedly reading that short line of text.

[As expected, Miancheng is still my favorite. (Image)]

Cen Luo had attached a landscape photo featuring mountain streams and clusters of wildflowers and grass.

It felt as though one could smell the fresh, natural air right through the screen.

So she went back to Miancheng.

Taking two suitcases meant she would likely stay there for a long time.

Jian Mu vaguely remembered having a trip to Miancheng on her schedule. She pulled out her itinerary and saw it was scheduled for half a month from now.

Half a month… such a long time.

The house was exactly as it was in her memory: a small single-story house with a large garden, only quite a bit older and more worn. Because the garden lacked care, the plants inside were quite overgrown and messy.

Cen Luo suddenly remembered that as a child, she had made a wish to become a florist and even told Cen Xi to be her assistant.

She vividly remembered one time after an exam. Because her grades weren’t ideal, Cen Xi had been lectured by her parents for a long time, saying she’d have no future like this and wouldn’t be given the company to manage.

Even though Cen Xi was always fierce toward her, Cen Luo couldn’t bear to see her being scolded and would always pull her away.

That time, the two of them went back to Miancheng while their grandmother was still around.

Grandmother was in the garden pruning the flowers and branches. She and Cen Xi would take the discarded flowers and learn to wrap them in pretty paper, just like they saw on TV.

“Grandma has such a big garden. I’ll be a florist in the future; you come and be my assistant.”

“No way, I’m going to be a reporter. You come be my assistant.”

“How about this: Grandma grows the flowers, I’ll be the florist, and you come to interview us. Deal?”

“Alright then.”

The past was vivid in her mind. Familiar scenes easily evoked old memories, even though she had prepared herself mentally before coming.

She still couldn’t escape the sadness of things being the same but people being gone.

Cen Luo took out her key and opened the door. She was met with a thick layer of dust and a few subtle spiderwebs.

Cen Luo covered her nose and mouth, grabbed the broom from behind the door, and cleared a path.

Standing before the familiar rooms, Cen Luo paused. On the right was Cen Xi’s room. Cen Luo thought for a moment and decided to go into Cen Xi’s room first.

The layout inside was exactly as she remembered, completely unchanged, as if Cen Xi were still there.

The crystal ball on the desk was covered in dust, no longer as clean and eye-catching as it was in her memory.

Cen Xi had bought that after smashing her piggy bank that year. Later, when Cen Luo returned to Miancheng, she brought it back with her.

Cen Luo let out a long sigh, exited the room, and returned to her own. After a simple cleaning and tidying session, she finally put her luggage away.

The whole house was silent, with no sound other than her own breathing.

If only they were still here.

Suddenly, the phone rang, pulling Cen Luo back from her thoughts.

It was her friend in Miancheng—Yu Jiao.

Cen Luo had contacted her before coming. Before reaching out, to ensure she didn’t make a mistake, she had specifically confirmed with Qin Ran that she actually did have a friend in Miancheng.

Because Cen Luo had returned once every year over the last few years, she and Yu Jiao had stayed in touch.

The gist of the call was for Cen Luo to wait at home; Yu Jiao was coming over immediately.

In the past, Qin Ran would often come to Miancheng with Xu Fengwan to visit her, so Qin Ran also knew her friend here.

According to Qin Ran, Yu Jiao was now a mathematics teacher at a junior high school in Miancheng.

The girl who used to ask Cen Luo to buy novels and magazines for her, who borrowed her pass to sneak out of campus, and who used to say she’d rather die than be a teacher, had actually ended up as a junior high teacher.

A short while later, Yu Jiao arrived.

The first thing Yu Jiao did upon seeing Cen Luo wasn’t to greet her, but to claim credit:

“See the plants in your garden? Aren’t they less messy than you imagined? It’s all thanks to me coming by whenever I’m free to walk around your garden.”

Cen Luo burst out laughing.

Yu Jiao hadn’t changed much from her memory, her appearance was just a bit more refined; she wore framed glasses and had long hair draped over her shoulders.

Anyone looking at her would see a “good teacher.”

Cen Luo thought so too—until Yu Jiao spoke her next words.

“I can’t stay at this job for another day. As soon as I finish with this batch of students, I’m resigning.”

“What’s wrong? Is it uncomfortable?”

Thinking that Cen Luo had just returned from Yuncheng, and knowing that the first place she usually went upon returning was the outskirts, Yu Jiao led Cen Luo toward the countryside. It was far from the town, with plenty of mountains and rivers, perfect for sightseeing.

“No, the job is fine, I’m just not suited for it,” Yu Jiao sighed. “Do you remember your old deskmate, Deng Die? She seems to be traveling everywhere now. I’m quite envious.”

After saying this, Yu Jiao remembered something and added: “Are you not in touch with her? Didn’t she used to like you?”

Cen Luo was stunned. She thought back and replied: “No, you must have remembered wrong.”

Cen Luo’s memory of junior high was quite sharp. She remembered Deng Die didn’t like to talk much. Although they were deskmates, they rarely spoke; their relationship mostly existed during the daily handing in of homework.

There was only one time they had a slight friction. Deng Die cried for a long time, which scared Cen Luo half to death.

After that, Cen Luo learned to be cautious with her words and tried her best to avoid conflict with Deng Die. After they changed seats, they spoke even less.

However, when they graduated junior high, Deng Die had sent her a message wishing her a happy graduation.

Most classmates sent such messages to each other, so Cen Luo hadn’t taken it to heart, and they had no further contact after that.

“Then I must have remembered wrong.” Seeing that Cen Luo wasn’t faking her reaction, Yu Jiao didn’t dwell on it.

The two reached a small stream. Cen Luo looked up at the blue sky, then thought the wild flowers by the stream were quite beautiful. She found an angle, snapped a photo, and posted it to her social feed.

“People usually post selfies, don’t they? Why don’t you post one?” Yu Jiao happened to see her screen, then took out her own phone and stood in front of Cen Luo. “Let’s take one together, I’ll post it.”

Cen Luo agreed.

The two took a photo. Yu Jiao picked a filter and joked with Cen Luo while adjusting the image: “I’ll show you something fun in a bit.”

Cen Luo: “Hmm?”

After adjusting the photo, Yu Jiao posted it to her circle.

Then she pointed her screen toward Cen Luo so she could clearly see the changes.

At first, Cen Luo didn’t understand what she meant, but the next moment she saw the “likes” and comments suddenly piling up.

The sound of notification pings rang in her ears one after another.

Yu Jiao pulled the phone back and chuckled: “Look at how neat the comments are. They’re all asking where you are, haha.”

Not hearing an answer from Cen Luo, Yu Jiao even slid her screen over to her chat interface to show her:

“Look, everyone is asking where you are and when you’re coming back. Tsk tsk, someone is even asking wasn’t it supposed to be March when you return to Miancheng?”

“This group of people remembers exactly when you’re supposed to be back. See how popular you are.”

Cen Luo remembered most of the names; they were all classmates from junior high.

Cen Luo thought for a moment and asked in confusion: “Am I really that popular?”

Yu Jiao smiled and answered without the slightest hesitation: “Of course! You were the little goddess of our junior high department.”