reignition

But after hearing Jiang Mian read out the contents of the previous messages, it was as if I was instantly pulled back to that feeling, and then the title seemed too inadequate.

That's not enough to describe even a fraction of the emotions he felt.

Lu Bozhou's thin lips trembled slightly, and he called out another name in a hoarse voice, "Wife..."

Jiang Mian, sitting in the back seat, suddenly looked up at the rearview mirror.

Lu Bo didn't intend to say much; just uttering that one address seemed to weigh heavily on his heart.

Jiang Mian could see the pain in his eyes. She paused for a few seconds and asked softly, "How does it feel to not get a response to your messages?"

Jiang Mian's voice was calm, and there was no sarcasm in her words. It sounded like she was just asking a very calm question.

How does it feel to send a message and not get a response?

She didn't even need to say much; Lu Bozhou knew that when she loved him, she sent him many messages every day.

Sometimes, even after it's dark and the lights are on, if I've taken a good photo, I'll send it to him.

But she rarely received a response; she sent him more than four thousand messages before her death.

I doubt even one in ten people received a reply.

Lu Bozhou's throat tightened, and he couldn't speak for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Lu Bozhou said softly, knowing in his heart that the last thing she needed was an apology.

Jiang Mian simply looked up at his profile and after a moment asked, "Why didn't you post it?"

Lu Bozhou was taken aback. "...What?"

"Because not receiving a reply after reading is more painful than not reading or replying at all, so you're not sending it anymore?"

Hearing her words, Lu Bozhou's gaze showed slight surprise. "I thought I wasn't qualified to continue sending..."

“I wasn’t qualified back then, which is why I never got a response, but I persisted for so long.” Jiang Mian looked at him quietly, and stopped there. She lowered her eyes, took out a stylus, opened the tablet, and started drawing.

But Lu Bozhou instantly understood what she meant.

She could persevere hopelessly for so long, so why did he stop posting?

Lu Bozhou didn't say anything more, but half an hour later, he finally entered the highway service area.

Jiang Mian led Lu Chaochi, who was still sleepy after using the restroom, and they planned to go to the small supermarket in the service area.

Jiang Mian's phone rang as soon as she entered the supermarket.

As soon as I took it out, I saw a message from Lu Bozhou on the screen.

It's nothing special, just a simple emoji: a cartoon goose in a simple line drawing, holding a small flower, with three words on its head: "I'm here!"

Jiang Mian's expression didn't change much after reading it; she just stared at it for a moment before locking her phone screen.

Lu Bozhou's profile picture is the logo of Dingsheng, which looks very business-like. That kind of profile picture, paired with such a small expression, seems to be out of place.

But after that initial step, Lu Bozhou's style became increasingly off.

Jiang Mian and her child had only been browsing in the small supermarket for a short while when another message came in.

It was still sent by Lu Bozhou, but when Jiang Mian first saw it, she thought it was sent by someone else.

Because in such a short period of time, Lu Bozhou's profile picture has changed. It is no longer the previous Dingsheng logo, but a simple cartoon goose.

It's from the same series as the previous emoji, except the one he used as his profile picture is a silly goose.

This is a set of emojis drawn by Jiang Mian. If he had only used it once just now, she could have thought it was a coincidence, but now he has even changed his profile picture to this.

Lu Bozhou definitely knew that she had drawn it.

The message Lu Bozhou sent this time was still an emoji, a GIF of a cat peeking out, with the text: "Where is my wife?"

Jiang Mian stared at Lu Bozhou for a long time, probably never expecting him to have such a style.

Lu Chaochi's attention was drawn to the noisy electronic toys in the service area store. Seeing Jiang Mian standing there, the little guy came over and asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Hmm? It's nothing." Jiang Mian shook her head.

Seeing the faint smile on her lips, Lu Chaochi continued, "Your father is urging us."

Lu Chaochi chuckled, "It's his own fault for not coming in with us."

Jiang Mian patted his head and pointed to the singing insect, "This one is quite cute, let's take this one."

Lu Chaochi also liked it, but he was a little worried, "Won't it be too loud or noisy?"

Jiang Mian scanned the code to pay, "It's okay, it'll save Lu Bozhou from driving while fatigued."

Lu Chaochi thought about it and agreed that it made sense. He happily held the singing bug, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

He was born into a very wealthy family and had seen all kinds of high-end toys, yet he was all smiles because of the noisy toy he bought at the service area. It was simply because he bought it while traveling with his parents.

The meaning is more important than the intrinsic value.

"So happy?" Jiang Mian asked, seeing him carrying the singing bug the whole way and humming the same tune as the bug.

"Of course." Lu Chaochi gently squeezed Jiang Mian's hand, and couldn't help but ask softly, "Mianmian, are you happy?"

The child is sensitive; while she is happy, she also worries about whether Jiang Mian will be unhappy.

"I'm doing alright too." Jiang Mian touched his little face.

Hearing Jiang Mian say this, and seeing that her expression was indeed quite bright, Lu Chaochi pondered for a moment and then said, "I think Dad did alright today?"

Jiang Mian could hear the tentative tone in her child's voice. No mother could bear to hear her child so cautiously probing.

Jiang Mian immediately replied, "I think he's been behaving quite well lately."

Upon hearing Jiang Mian's words, Lu Chaochi's expression immediately lit up, and he almost wanted to dance on the spot.

Lu Chaochi, holding the singing bug, happily went to find Lu Bozhou. Lu Bozhou was quite annoyed by the toy's excessive chatter.

She wanted to throw it away, but then she heard Lu Chaochi happily say, "This was chosen by Mianmian, and Mianmian bought it for me!"

Lu Bozhou couldn't even muster the slightest intention to throw away the toy.

Jiang Mian found it somewhat amazing that he, who preferred quiet to noise, could tolerate the noisy insects all the way.

Upon arriving at her destination and getting off the bus, Jiang Mian's phone vibrated. She opened the screen and saw a message from Lu Bozhou.

[Please, boss, don't buy such loud toys for the little one anymore!]

When Jiang Mian saw the way the child addressed her and the child, she couldn't help but smile.

That smile caught Lu Bozhou's eye.

Lu Bozhou's voice came from the side, "Laughing?"

When Jiang Mian turned her head, she saw a very gentle emotion in his eyes.

His deep voice was as rich and complex as a fine wine, "So that means you agree?"