Chapter 60. A Long-Awaited Reunion

In September, filming began for Alan Howard's new film "Hometown". After carefully studying the script, Song Huai had an in-depth conversation with Howard, and then officially began the production of the soundtrack for "Hometown".

Before Song Huai could recover from his adjustment problems, he began a busy life that lasted day and night.

Once he starts working, he becomes highly focused, often skipping meals. Now he lives alone and no one supervises him anymore.

Over time, his stomach problems, which had finally started to improve, became serious again.

When the pain in his stomach became unbearable, he went to the clinic and hastily got some stomach medicine. Once the pain subsided a little, he forgot all about the pain and threw himself back into the music score.

After finishing work that day, he glanced at his phone casually.

Unexpectedly, Bai Xiao sent him a message.

Upon seeing this long-unseen name, Song Huai was stunned, as if it were a lifetime ago. Recently, he had been completely focused on his work, and without realizing it, he seemed to have forgotten about Bai Xiao for a long time.

But even just seeing those two familiar words makes him feel hot-headed and his heart pound.

He couldn't wait to click into the chat box.

Bai Xiao: [I'm sending you the piano from home, along with other things you left behind. Give me an address.]

My mind went cold again in an instant, and my heart began to sink.

He couldn't help but give a bitter smile. Was she in such a hurry to sever ties with him?

He sent Bai Xiao his current address, thought for a moment, and then slowly typed a few words: "Sorry to bother you, how much is the postage? I'll transfer it to you."

If we're going to cut ties, then we should cut them off completely.

After waiting for a long time, Bai Xiao still did not reply.

He had no choice but to put down his phone and get back to work—only when he was working could he control himself from thinking about Bai Xiao.

Two days later, the package arrived.

Along with the piano came a large box containing a bunch of odds and ends, including several watches that Bai Xiao had given to Song Huai, and several sets of clothes that were specially made for Song Huai—these items were too valuable, so Song Huai had deliberately left them at Bai Xiao's house when he was packing his luggage.

Song Huai took the items out of the box one by one. Among them were his old water cup and even the succulent plant on his windowsill. Song Huai was absolutely certain that there was no trace of him left in Bai Xiao's house now.

As he rummaged through the box, his gaze suddenly stopped. At the very bottom of the box was a red scarf—the very same red scarf that Bai Xiao always wrapped around his neck when the weather was cold.

He gently stroked the scarf in his hand. It was soft and didn't feel prickly at all when wrapped around his neck. It was also thick, so even in the coldest weather, Song Huai would feel warm and cozy just by wearing it.

The weather in Country Y is cold and often windy, so wearing a scarf before going out is the perfect thing to do.

--

A few days before Christmas, Bai Xiao went on a business trip to Country Y.

In reality, he didn't need to come to this small project in person, but he insisted on taking over the project director's job, making the director feel extremely anxious, thinking that either the sun had risen in the west or his own job was in jeopardy.

Following the address given by Song Huai, he arrived at Song Huai's home.

He didn't dare to go forward, he only dared to watch from afar.

This is a small, dark red house with a small courtyard outside. It is clear that the owner of the house usually neglects to maintain it, as the courtyard is overgrown with weeds.

At this moment, the house was completely dark, so the owner of the house was probably not at home.

The streetlights here are very dim, almost nonexistent, and the pitch-black night makes the biting cold wind even more piercing.

The winter in Country Y is only a few degrees below zero Celsius. After standing there for just a short while, Bai Xiao's body became a little stiff. He stamped his feet, pulled his coat tighter, and worriedly wondered if he could adapt to such cold weather.

In the dark, people are prone to overthinking, and Bai Xiao was no exception.

Will he come back tonight? If not, where will he go? Has he... met someone new here? The thought of Song Huai possibly being intimate with someone else in bed, just like they used to, made Bai Xiao's heart ache terribly.

I don't know if it was because the night was longer, or if a really long time had passed, but it felt like a century had gone by before a figure gradually appeared outside the house.

No, Bai Xiao used his extraordinary eyesight to take a closer look and realized it wasn't one person, but two people.

Song Huai was seen lying motionless on the back of another man, who was carrying him slowly home. At first glance, the two seemed very close.

Suddenly, the person on the back turned around and looked back, seemingly searching for something.

Bai Xiao's gaze briefly met Song Huai's before she immediately hid behind a tree trunk.

In the brief moment when the man turned to close the door, Bai Xiao saw his face clearly—it was Liu Weitian.

He refused to believe what he was seeing and stubbornly waited in the same spot for a long time. He didn't know what he was thinking or what he was supposed to do—just like the night before Song Huai left.

As dawn broke, the gate remained tightly shut, and no one came out.

The cold wind continued to howl, its whistling sound as desolate as a sob.

Bai Xiao finally gave up, turned around and left with stiff legs, never looking back.

--

"What are you looking at?" Song Huai had drunk too much and was still restless on Liu Weitian's back, prompting Liu Weitian to complain.

Song Huai's voice was low: "It's nothing..."

After numerous social engagements in the past two years, his alcohol tolerance has greatly improved compared to before. He is no longer the Song Huai who would pass out after just one sip and then go on a drunken rampage against Bai Xiao.

But tonight, unable to resist the crew's hospitality, he drank far too much. Although he was still conscious, his legs became unresponsive, and he could barely walk.

It was really difficult to hail a taxi in this area, so Song Huai had no choice but to ask Liu Weitian for help.

There was still a distance from the parking lot to Song Huai's home, but Song Huai started to stagger as soon as he started walking. Liu Weitian had no choice but to carry Song Huai on his back.

As Song Huai reached the door, he inexplicably looked back, and in that instant, he saw Bai Xiao.

But in the blink of an eye, Bai Xiao's figure disappeared.

So he was already so drunk he was hallucinating? Song Huai chuckled self-deprecatingly.

After placing Song Huai on the bed and helping him remove his coat and the red scarf tightly wrapped around his neck, Liu Weitian prepared to leave.

But after taking a couple of steps, he thought it wasn't a good idea to leave a drunkard at home, so he turned back.

Song Huai lay on the bed, clutching a white shirt tightly in his arms, already fast asleep.

--

Three years later, at the cemetery.

A large patch of dark clouds pressed down in the sky. Although it was still daytime, the whole world was shrouded in gray. Torrential rain poured down from the sky, pounding against the stone slabs, and was occasionally accompanied by rumbling thunder.

On the anniversary of Song Boyu's death, Bai Xiao visited the cemetery to pay respects to her deceased friend, just as she had done in previous years.

He held a bouquet of white lilies in his left hand and a large black umbrella in his right, walking slowly along the mountain path. The path was slippery due to the rain.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

On Song Boyu's tombstone, a bouquet of vibrant red roses rests, and in front of the tombstone stands a person standing upright.

The man didn't even use an umbrella, letting the raindrops fall on him. His hair and clothes were soaked, but he was completely oblivious, staring blankly at the tombstone in front of him, unaware of how long he had been standing there.

Song Huai got up very early that day, went to the flower shop to buy freshly picked roses, and headed to the cemetery.

Unfortunately, the weather turned against him. When he arrived at his destination, it started to rain heavily. Going back to get an umbrella at that point was obviously not a practical option, so he had no choice but to continue walking up the mountain in the pouring rain.

It was springtime, and the weather was already a bit chilly. His clothes were soaked with rain, and he soon began to shiver. But his younger brother was just ahead, and he had to go see him. He zipped up his thin jacket, though it didn't really help.

He slipped and fell, his knees hitting the stone steps hard.

"Hiss!"

The sharp, stabbing pain in his knee made him gasp.

But after only a couple of moments of rest, he got up again and limped forward.

Finally arriving at the grave, he stared blankly at his brother's photo on the tombstone for a while, then took out a handkerchief that had been soaked by the rain and wiped the dusty tombstone. He then carefully arranged the red roses in his hand.

After doing all that, he sat down on the ground, leaned against the tombstone, and chatted casually with Song Boyu.

"I haven't come to see you for the past few years, have you missed me?"

"I know you find white boring, so I brought you red roses, which were just picked. Are you satisfied?"

"I'm leaving again in two weeks. After that... I probably won't have many chances to come see you again. Please take good care of yourself."

"...Will you be angry with me?"

"Let me tell you, I worked with Alan Howard. The music I composed for his movie was nominated for Best Original Score. How about that, isn't your brother amazing?"

"I wish you could see me receive the award in person."

Having finally seen his younger brother, he had a lot to say. He reminisced with his brother for a while and told him all about the big and small things that had happened over the years. When he finally ran out of things to say, he patted his bottom and stood up.

By this time, he had lost consciousness due to the combined effects of the cold wind and rain.

"Alright then... goodbye."

After saying that, he wanted to turn around and leave, but for some reason his legs felt like they were filled with lead, incredibly heavy.

He gazed at Song Boyu's tombstone, staring into his amber eyes that were so similar to his own, and became mesmerized without realizing it.

Suddenly, the rain stopped falling on him. He looked up in surprise and saw a black umbrella.

He turned his stiff neck to look back, only to see Bai Xiao staring at him without blinking, her gaze deep and unfathomable.