My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

It wasn't without reason or a mere coincidence, just because Jiang Jinyan suddenly felt a smothering hot gaze directed at him that he instinctively turned his head to find out where it came from. He was a public figure, but because of his introverted personality, there weren't many people who recognized him when he went out.

Mainly because his skillful manager had a good photography skill, he would always take a picture in an aesthetic way, thus covering a part of Jiang Jinyan's face. Sometimes, only his lower jaw was seen, sometimes only his eyes, sometimes only his side profile and sometimes, it was a video that was shot in a distance so that his face couldn't be seen clearly.

That's why, only a handful of people who came to his fan meeting could see his face wholly.

As long as Jiang Jinyan wore a mask, then he would be safe even though he walked in a crowded street.

Because of that, he was quite sensitive to people's gazes.

When he found those pair of golden eyes of a messy haired thin girl clad in hospital gown who stood in a distance while staring blankly at him, a sentence automatically popped up in Jiang Jinyan's mind.

…a child who was being abandoned by her parents.

Upon realizing that Jiang Jinyan didn't react to him, Si Zhening lowered his head to find him looking at something else. "Young Master?" He simply followed Jiang Jinyan's sight and found Shi Nian who was circled by a nurse and two men. "Is there something wrong?"

Jiang Jinyan blinked and lowered his eyes. "…no."

They didn't have any relation to each other, maybe he could only be counted as an unfamiliar acquaintance. So why did the girl look at him like he was going to abandon her soon?

Even Si Zhening found something wrong about it. "Do you happen to know her? Should you say something to her before leaving?"

These past few weeks, Jiang Jinyan felt too tired to deal with anything. He didn't do anything, but his spirit was exhausted and the only thing he wanted to do was to hole himself up in his room and didn't meet anyone else. Even the slightest louder sound was enough to irritate his nerves and triggered the violent impulses inside him to destroy everything. He knew that this kind of mindset wasn't healthy, but he just simply couldn't care less.

He lost interest in everything and the sight reflected in his eyes became dull and gloomy.

Only that pair of golden eyes that were burning brightly, so bright like molten and flowing lava. Amidst the hustle and bustle in the hospital lobby, Jiang Jinyan could find it with a turn of his head.

His temple suddenly throbbed in a dull ache and the pale joints on his fingers cracked.

He too, didn't know why he hesitated in answering Si Zhening's simple question.

Less than ten meters away, Shi Nian, whose adrenaline finally receded, felt the nerves in her calf strain so painfully that her legs trembled and she swayed. Instantly, she was supported by the panicked Nurse Zhang. "Shi Nian, are you okay?"

Xu Binchen's subordinates: "Should we carry her up?"

Nurse Zhang shook her head, she knew what's wrong with Shi Nian. With a soft voice so as to not scare Shi Nian, she whispered. "It's Mr. Jiang up front. Do you want to say something to him?"

Shi Nian snapped out of her stupor and once again, her instinct rushed up to her head as she shook off Nurse Zhang and walked with her trembling leg, step by step, to him who was still looking at her silently. She licked her chapped lips, heartbeat thundered inside her chest.

Jiang Jinyan was looking at her, her mind buzzing. She had to say something, had to do anything.

"Hello, Miss." It was Si Zhening who broke the silence between them. "We meet again. Do you have something to say with Young Master Jiang?"

Shi Nian lifted her eyes to look at him and within those eyes, there was actually a little bit of fear, nervousness and apprehension which made Si Zhening confused as to why the girl was looking at him like that. Shi Nian nodded at him in acknowledgement and shook her head in the next moment.

…she didn't know what to say now that she was in front of him.

Even though Si Zhening didn't understand what she meant, he still maintained the perfect gentle and polite smile as he stepped back. "I am going to get the car first, Young Master Jiang." This way, he had the perfect excuse to leave the two alone.

Jiang Jinyan nodded his head briefly.

Shi Nian swallowed to moist her dry throat. Sweat trickled down her face and her hair stuck to the side of her cheek. She did not need a mirror to see how much of a mess she was right now. But her eyes could only reflect him. He looked much paler and thinner than the last time she saw him and the light in his eyes had dimmed considerably, so much that his eyes were a pair of placid calm lakes, indifferent and cold even if a huge rock was thrown into the surface.

Shi Nian clenched her fist and only then did she realize that she was still holding her cell phone.

She sucked in a deep breath and inadvertently caught sight of her phone screen. It was still showing the WeChat interface with her mother, Qiang Fei. A light bulb emerged in her head and without thinking, she offered her phone with both hands to him, her back bent slightly.

Her meaning was; please tell me your WeChat ID!

It could be said that this kind of seeking death movement drained all of Shi Nian's courage and her back was soaked in cold sweat. The people in the hospital were looking at the both of them, discreetly and openly, and hushed discussions sounded around them which was instantly dispersed by Xu Binchen's men. But Shi Nian was so nervous that she couldn't hear any of them.

Jiang Jinyan looked at the cell phone that was less than twenty centimeters from his eyes. He caught sight of the girl's WeChat interface and then, his sight was instantly diverted at how her hands, up to her arms and shoulders were all trembling ever so slightly. Even her pale cheeks were dotted pink in color, just like the fallen cherry blossom on the asphalt road outside.

"Are you my fan?" he finally asked the question which he had always wanted to ask and the girl answered with a startled look. She blinked as if she couldn't follow his question.

Jiang Jinyan patiently waited and Shi Nian nodded, her eyes were earnest and straight, pure and clear, so transparent that he could read what she was thinking about just in one glance.

His eyelashes lowered, creating the faint shadow of a pair of butterfly wings on his thin and pale cheeks. The man's features were profound and sharp, and because he was at the age where his body was maturing, his facial features had started to open up, forming an image of gentle yet exquisite beauty that could take people's breath away. It was a pity that he was too thin and pale, it added a tinge of fragility and melancholic to it.

Jiang Jinyan's hands that were placed on his knees squeezed slightly as if reminding himself of his broken and disabled body. "Just forget me. I am not an athlete anymore," He murmured, "...not the Jiang Jinyan you like anymore." He was already like this, so what else could she like about him? A hint of self deprecation and mockery flashed through his eyes.

In a timely manner, a black benz drove to the drop off area and Si Zhening appeared out of the driver seat. "Have you finished talking?"

Jiang Jinyan nodded. Si Zhening just gave a glance toward the girl who seemed like her soul had been sucked dry and pushed Jiang Jinyan's wheelchair away.

When Shi Nian came to her senses, Jiang Jinyan had climbed up to the back seat and the door closed behind him. Si Zhening folded his wheelchair and put it on the trunk then circled around and got into the driver seat. Only after Si Zhening slammed the door closed did Shi Nian react and ran to the car, but it was too late. The slick, black car had driven away, leaving a billow of exhaust gas behind and the silhouette of Jiang Jinyan's head who never turned around.

The rims of Shi Nian's eyes reddened.

The Jiang Jinyan she liked wasn't the athlete Jiang Jinyan, also not the image that netizens created for him. She really, really wanted to say that she just liked him. Simply Jiang Jinyan and no one else. But he had left with such a cold and nonchalant sentence, brushing her off so directly and cleanly without leaving any room for rebuttal.

Nurse Zhang—seeing her antics—immediately caught up to her and held her back. "Shi Nian! You can't chase after him, he has left already!"

He has left…

Tears blurred Shi Nian's eyes as the black Benz drove past the security post in the entrance and disappeared into a throng of cars in the stream of traffic. Strength left Shi Nian's body and she slumped down, her weight leaning into Nurse Zhang.

For two lifetimes, she hadn't forgotten him.

Then, how could a curt sentence of 'just forget me' be able to dismiss her?

A string of intangible and breathless groaning escaped Shi Nian's throat as Nurse Zhang forcefully hauled her inside. "I won't forget..." she mouthed as she stared at the corner where the car disappeared into. "I won't forget you."

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