“It is no trouble.” Keith walked to the roadside, stopped a taxi and asked about the fare. After he had decided that the fare was reasonable, he called Jasmine and Boyce over, politely opened the front door and said to Jasmine, “Your friend should sit on the front passenger seat. He has injuries. If we sit with him, we might knock into him, and as a result, his injuries might worsen.”
Jasmine thought that what he had said made sense. When she was about to agree with him, Boyce spoke, “I am not so delicate. These small injuries mean nothing to me.” After he had finished talking, he pulled Jasmine down on to the back seats.
Keith didn’t say anything.
Boyce and Jasmine were sitting on the back seats. If he sat on the back seat, it would be a tight squeeze. He could only sit on the front passenger seat.
During the journey, Keith looked back from time to time. Boyce didn’t say anything and only looked out the window.
After the taxi had travelled half of the distance, Boyce suddenly asked, “Is this place far from City B?”
“It is not very far away. The distance is around one hundred kilometers,” Jasmine answered.
Boyce nodded.
Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of the village. Jasmine wanted to pay the driver, but Keith didn’t let her, “Let me pay.”
Jasmine decisively refused, “You don’t have a lot of money. A few days later, you will return to school. You will need to pay for your expenses. I had a lot of online classes last month, so I have extra money now.”
While speaking, she paid the driver.
Boyce had nothing except for a set of dirty clothes. When the two of them were insisting on paying the driver, he could only watch from the sidelines.
He was the oldest of the three of them. At the moment, he was the poorest and the least capable of having a say in the matter.
“Let’s go,” Jasmine said to Boyce.
Boyce nodded.
There were no paved roads in the village. All of the roads were dirt roads. It was still very easy to walk on if it was not raining.
Jasmine pointed at a school that was in front of them, “That is the school in the village. I am a teacher in the school.”
Boyce looked in the direction pointed by Jasmine and saw a cluster of tile-roofed buildings. There were six or seven of them. There was even a field at the entrance.
It should be recess time. There were a lot of students.
“Teacher Jasmine! Teacher Keith!” A sharp-eyed student saw them and shouted loudly. Soon, a few children who could run fast ran up to them.
Jasmine pointed at Chris and said to Boyce, “He found you that time.”
Chris scratched his head and smiled, “I thought that you were dead.”
“I have learned something from television. If you want to check whether a person is dead, you need to touch his nose. You definitely didn’t touch his nose,” a student said.
Chris suddenly realized that he should have done that, “That is true. Next time, I must first touch his nose to check whether he is breathing.”
“All of you are so silly.” Jasmine wiped their sweat, “There are not that many dead people for you to touch their noses. Go back and attend the lessons.”
“We want to attend Teacher Jasmine’s lessons. Are you giving us lessons today?” Chris and two other students looked at her eagerly.
Jasmine gave it some thought, “Later. When I am free, I will come over here. You can first ask Teacher Keith to give all of you lessons.”
Keith was unhappy with the idea, ‘If I go and give them lessons, isn’t Boyce going to spend time with Jasmine without me?’
That man seemed to have feelings for Jasmine, but sometimes, he looked very serious. It confused Keith. Keith could not figure out whether Boyce had feelings for Jasmine.
In his mind, he still rejected the idea of the two of them being together.
“Then, the principal can first give them lessons. Your friend is still wearing dirty clothes. He has almost the same height as me. I will go and take a set of my clothes for him to change.” Jasmine nodded, “Sorry to trouble you.”
She didn’t know why she forgot that Boyce was still wearing dirty clothes. He definitely felt uncomfortable wearing them.
“You go home and take the clothes. We will first go back,” Jasmine said.
Keith nodded.
At that moment, the school bell rang. The children ran back to school.
Jasmine brought Boyce to her house. There were two rooms that had cement floors. In the outer room, there was a gas stove. She could cook meals using the stove. There were also a folding table, two stools and a bookshelf that was against the wall. Although there was only a limited variety of furniture, everything was clean and tidy.
In the inner room, there was a bed. Beside the window, there were a study desk and a computer. In the back of the room, a shower curtain was hung there. A small water heater was installed behind the curtain. It was the shower area.
“Although this house is simple, I am living a stable life here.” Jasmine stood by the door.
Although there were two rooms, one could see everything in a glance.
Boyce pursed his lips. The facilities were basic. If she continued her studies, she would have a bright future ahead of her.
He turned around and looked at Jasmine, “Jasmine, you are still very young and have a bright future ahead. This place should not be where you belong.”
Jasmine answered casually, “What’s the meaning of the future to me if I lost the one I love? Will I be able to have a happy life despite graduated university and having a good job?” Boyce looked up at Jasmine. The sunlight shone from her back and she looked like a silhouette picture standing by the door.
He couldn’t see her expression. All he saw was a slim figure in front of him.
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life here?” he asked, clenching his fists.
Jasmine turned her body, facing him with her back, sat beside the door, and looked afar, “I’m not sure, perhaps I will marry someone and leave…”
“Who will you marry to?” Boyce interrupted suddenly.
‘She’s getting married? To whom? That guy?’
“Don’t get married.” He was stunned by his own words, what right did he have to stop her?
“I mean…” he tried to look for an excuse, “I mean you are still young.”
“I know, thank you for your concern, I’ll make my decision.” Jasmine rested her chin on her hands, “This is a good place, people here are nice and pure, it’s a peaceful place.” Boyce was speechless.
“Will you get married?” Jasmine asked.
Boyce couldn’t see her face, just her back. “Yes,” he answered honestly.
Jasmine knew Boyce couldn’t be single for life, he was such a good man that women liked. If he wasn’t this naïve in a romantic relationship, he could have been a husband or a father now. It pained her thinking about him getting married.
She wiped her tear off while she stroke her hair and asked in a low voice, “Not bad, with Wendy?”
Boyce lowered his gaze and said yes.
Jasmine clasped her hands, suppressing her tears, and then said in a calm voice, “That’s good, she has a good family background, pretty and about your age, she can even help with your career, both of you are a couple made in heaven, you’ll be happy.”
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.