14. Farewell

◎Oral Care Patch◎

Good times don't last forever.

The second meaning of this sentence is: Li Chi and Li Xun are leaving.

Not too surprising, Li Chi spends half a year in China and half a year abroad, like a migratory bird following its migration pattern.

With the preliminary videos for the competition finalized, there will be a long period of waiting and preparation before the results are announced next March.

Most of Li Chi's students and resources are overseas, so it's time to temporarily shift his focus back to the United States. Li Xun naturally follows suit; his international school has a smooth connection with its partner schools in the US, and the procedures are all in place—this has always been the model.

Li Chi had no concerns about Liang Chuling.

This little genius is incredibly self-disciplined. The teachers at the affiliated high school keep a close eye on her piano practice, and they also conduct occasional video interviews to assess her performance, so she's unlikely to make any major mistakes.

Liang Chuling first learned of this news from Li Xun.

Given Li Xun's personality, he certainly wouldn't let Liang Chuling receive the notification directly in the music room. He couldn't bear to see Liang Chuling put in any passive position, so he would definitely mention it to her first.

When Li Chi learned of this, he said that Li Xun was indecisive. Li Xun replied that it was good, as it was not appropriate to be heartless in the face of Liang Chuling.

On Friday afternoon after school, Liang Chuling walked out with her schoolbag on her back, thinking about which paragraphs she should focus on when she went to Li Chi's place for extra practice that evening.

The school gate was bustling with activity, and vehicles picking up and dropping off students were stuck in a traffic jam.

Liang Chuling lowered her head, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the crowd, but suddenly saw Li Xun.

Li Xun stood outside the school gate, wearing a hoodie and jeans, carrying a bag, and holding nothing in his hands, just waiting.

The evening light made him look charming. The wind subsided, and the school bell rang. Fortunately, it was the bell, otherwise Liang Chuling would have thought it was her own heartbeat.

Liang Chuling ran over in a few steps, somewhat surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Li Xun first took out something tightly wrapped from his hoodie pocket and handed it over.

Liang Chuling took it and opened it; it was a roasted sweet potato, still steaming. Li Xun had been keeping it warm by using his own clothes as a thermal bag.

"I saw it on the way, thinking you might be hungry after class," Li Xun explained.

Liang Chuling was indeed a bit hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony and broke it open to eat.

The sweet potato was very sweet. As she ate it, she asked, "Did you come all this way just to bring this?"

Seeing that she was eating with relish, Li Xun hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "My mom and I are going to America next week."

Liang Chuling almost choked on a mouthful of sweet potato and coughed violently.

The sweet potato that I thought was sweet just now suddenly felt like a lead block, stuck in my chest, impossible to swallow or spit out.

Li Xun quickly reached out and patted her back: "Eat slowly."

Liang Chuling caught her breath, looked up, her eyes slightly red from coughing: "Next week? So soon?"

"Okay, the plane tickets are booked." Li Xun withdrew his hand, looking at her expression, a little worry began to surface, and he involuntarily became more talkative. "Our courses are moving online, the schedule will be coordinated, you can prepare as usual. Remember to eat on time here, and eat more vegetables. When practicing the piano, get up and move around every forty or fifty minutes, rotate your wrists and neck, don't stay stiff. Remember to use the massage ball I gave you last time. Also, the weather is still cold, wear more clothes when you go out, don't catch a cold. I noticed you had a bit of an allergic reaction to those clams last time, so be careful with seafood, especially shellfish..."

He talked on and on, about everything, big and small.

After saying that, she took out a transparent medicine packet from her bag and handed it over. "This contains some commonly used medicines: fever reducers, cold medicines, medicines for stomach upsets, allergy medicines, iodine swabs, and band-aids."

As Liang Chuling listened and watched, she grew increasingly uncomfortable. She forcefully interrupted, her tone sharp, trying to mask her panic: "I know, I know! I'm not a three-year-old! You don't need to worry about these things!"

Li Xun stopped when she interrupted him, looked at her impatient face, and sighed deeply, a sigh filled with helplessness, "How can I not worry?"

It sounded like he was talking to himself. He then went around behind Liang Chuling and stuffed the medicine packet into her schoolbag.

Liang Chuling either didn't hear the last sentence clearly, or she did hear it but didn't know how to respond.

Seeing her looking dejected, Li Xun looked up and around. He spotted a balloon vendor on the other side of the school gate, walked over, and quickly returned with a round, silly-looking yellow smiley face balloon in his hand.

He shoved the balloon string into Liang Chuling's hand: "Take this and play with it."

Liang Chuling was both amused and exasperated: "How old do you take me for?!"

“Eight years old.” Li Xun said without changing his expression. “Let’s go eat first, then go to class.”

We went to eat at a shopping mall near the music room, taking a familiar route.

Liang Chuling held the balloon in one hand and put the other in her pocket, showing little desire to speak.

My mind was a mess. To stop myself from thinking about Li Xun leaving, I forced myself to think about other things, and then I thought about my parents.

Suddenly I realized they really were a family, both obsessed with those "break times".

Outside of his regular family life, Liang's father sought extramarital affairs to provide him with a sense of novelty.

Ms. Ma was also distracted from the serious lessons of marriage, and was more interested in finding her sun and moon outside.

And what about herself?

For her, is Li Xun also a kind of break time, a ten-minute break that brings her peace and happiness?

What about the reverse?

To Li Xun, was she just a break between classes outside of his regular life of practicing piano and studying?

Now that the school bell has rung, his break time has naturally ended.

This realization made her feel even more depressed.

The restaurant was quite crowded and noisy, and balloons were left at the front desk.

The food they ordered took a long time to arrive.

Li Xun was handling some things on his phone: coordinating procedures between the two schools and preparing some travel documents.

Liang Chuling was sitting opposite him.

The lights were bright, and the surroundings were bustling. But she felt a sense of quiet.

Because Li Xun didn't speak.

Li Xun didn't speak; no matter how noisy it was outside, she felt very quiet.

The dish finally arrived: braised chicken with potatoes.

Li Xun put down his phone, picked out the pieces of green peppers one by one with his chopsticks and put them into his own bowl, then found some chicken leg meat and put it into Liang Chuling's plate.

“Eat,” he said.

When we went to the front desk to get the balloon after dinner, a child was crying and demanding it. The staff was at a loss; the child's crying was incredibly disruptive and severely impacted business. So, we asked Liang Chuling if we could give her some snacks in return, and she would give the balloon to the child.

He said he was trying to negotiate, but he held onto the thin string of the balloon tightly, refusing to let Liang Chuling touch it.

Liang Chuling didn't really want the balloon, but it was a gift from Li Xun, it was hers, she was the owner, and now she was being made to act so passively.

I'm a little unhappy.

But she was afraid she would make a scene, so she wanted to just grab the balloon directly.

Just as she was about to reach out her hand, the waiter misunderstood her intention and handed her the snacks. Liang Chuling immediately pulled her hand back.

In the midst of their exchange, Li Xun preemptively refused: "I'll buy her whatever snacks she wants. Give the balloons back to us; they're ours."

Now it was the child's parents' turn to be unhappy: "These balloons aren't worth much. How much did you pay for them? I'll give you the money, okay?"

Li Xun said, “Whether it’s valuable or not, it’s our stuff. Taking it without asking is stealing.” He said this to the service staff, then turned to the parents and said, “Forcibly taking it is robbery.”

The two men, one labeled a thief and the other a bandit, were both furious.

Li Xun ignored it, and reached out to signal the staff to bring the balloon over.

After receiving it, he led Liang Chuling outside.

A complaint hotline was posted on the first floor of the mall. Liang Chuling pointed to it and said angrily, "Let's complain about them!"

It was hot while eating, so Liang Chuling unzipped her coat. Now that they were leaving the mall, it was already dark outside and the temperature was dropping.

Li Xun turned to the side and zipped up Liang Chuling's coat for her, saying as he did so, "Never mind, he was just worried about affecting the shop's business. I guess he won't do things like that again."

Liang Chuling glanced at the intact balloon in her hand, thought about how the staff looked pale when she left the store, and decided, "Okay then!"

The two walked towards the small building leading to the music room. Li Xun asked, "Are you still angry? Should I buy you some snacks? Do you still want some milk tablets?"

Liang Chuling shook her head. She wasn't angry to begin with, just a little unhappy. But Li Xun turned her unhappiness into excitement. She skipped and hopped along, pulling on the balloon, and poked Li Xun's shoulder, saying, "Persuade with reason! I want to learn that too!"

Li Xun found it funny, but then he thought about the impending separation and couldn't laugh anymore.

Passing by a roasted chestnut shop, Li Xun looked at the warm, cozy atmosphere. He always felt Liang Chuling was cold, and he knew she was always hungry. So he asked, "Want some chestnuts?"

Liang Chuling had no objections.

Li Xun went to buy chestnuts. Liang Chuling stood outside the shop holding a balloon. There was a cardboard box at the shop entrance, lined with old clothes, and a white tabby cat was curled up inside, sleeping soundly.

The shop owner was busy roasting chestnuts when he saw Liang Chuling squat down to look at the cat. He casually said, "You like it? Take it if you like it."

Liang Chuling looked up, smiled, and shook her head.

As the shop owner stirred the chestnuts in the pot, he continued, "It came in by itself yesterday, and I couldn't get rid of it. I'm transferring ownership of this shop at the end of next month, so I can't keep it. I don't like this stuff; it's too much trouble."

Seeing that Liang Chuling did not answer, the shopkeeper looked at Li Xun and repeated his words: "Young man, do you want it or not? If you do, take it with you, so I don't have to worry about what to do later."

Li Xun shook his head: "We can't afford to raise them. I won't be in the country next week."

Liang Chuling stood up; she had long since given up on the idea of ​​keeping a cat.

Li Xun looked at the kitten and felt that it was cold and hungry. He took out his phone and said, "Boss, can we add each other on WeChat? I'll ask around on my WeChat Moments to see if any of my friends would like to take care of it."

The shop owner was quite straightforward; he wiped his hands and added me on WeChat.

When they arrived at the music room, Li Chi was already waiting.

They announced the move to online classes and their upcoming trip to the United States.

Liang Chuling stood there, her face no longer showing any trace of her earlier dejection: "Okay, I understand."

Li Chi nodded: "Let's begin the lesson."

——

The day Li Xun and Li Chi set off was a beautiful Saturday.

Liang Chuling suffered from insomnia the night before, tossing and turning, and only managed to doze off for a short while just before dawn. When she woke up, she felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Her tongue pressed against the wall of her mouth and touched an ulcer. It hurt a little, a kind of addictive pain. Liang Chuling was always good at resisting temptation, so she ran downstairs and found some oral ulcer patches.

She had told Li Xun in advance that she wanted to see him off at the airport, so Li Chi called a car that took a detour to pick her up at the entrance of Liang Chuling's residential area.

Li Chi and the others picked up Liang Chuling and went to see her off at the airport. Li Chi almost laughed.

But her son had made her promise the day before that she would never laugh at Liang Chuling because of this, so Li Chi was holding back well at this moment.

On the way to the airport, Liang Chuling kept looking out the window, and when she touched the oral cavity strip with her tongue, she felt something.

Beijing was already showing signs of heat; the sun was shining brightly, and the trees along the roadside were a pale green, like unspoken thoughts, like sticky notes, but not like farewells. Farewells should be heavy, but they always just flow by lightly—this artificial lightness was something Liang Chuling didn't like.

Outside, life was vibrant and full of life, but inside, she felt a jumble of emotions.

Li Xun, worried she might get carsick, peeled an orange for her to smell, then noticed her chapped lips and opened a bottle of water for her to drink. Liang Chuling only took a sip, felt sleepy, and inexplicably fell asleep.

Upon arriving at the international departure hall, the crowds surged, and a mix of languages ​​created a hurried and anxious atmosphere.

Liang Chuling stood at the entrance, somewhat bewildered.

She had never seen someone off at the airport before, so the process was unfamiliar to her.

He stood there, staring blankly into space.

"What are you spacing out for? Still sleepy? How about I take you home to sleep..." Li Xun's voice was clear. He glanced at the time and thought that if he rushed, he could make it in time. "Should I call a car now?"

"Are you crazy?! I'm not going back!" Liang Chuling snapped out of her daze, and after cursing once, she wanted to curse again.

But Li Xun had already reached out and grabbed her wrist: "Okay, okay, don't be angry. There are fewer people here. Come with me."

His palms were dry and warm. Liang Chuling was led by him like a puppet through the bustling crowd. As he walked, he shielded her with his body to prevent her from being bumped by luggage carts or other passengers.

"Have you had breakfast?" Li Xun asked her, looking down at her.

"No."

Liang Chuling answered softly, and Li Xun didn't hear her, so he bent down and put his ear close to her mouth, asking, "What did you say? I didn't hear you."

“I told you I didn’t eat. I overslept and didn’t have an appetite,” Liang Chuling whispered in Li Xun’s ear.

"Can you eat now?" Li Xun remained in that position.

I'm a little hungry.

Li Xun stood up straight and gently patted her head: "Great job, you know how to listen to your body. I'll go buy you breakfast."

Li Xun went and bought a sandwich and a carton of milk: "Just something to tide me over."

Liang Chuling took the food and ate it slowly, her mind elsewhere.

Li Xun looked at her and said, "You look terrible. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"I slept well," Liang Chuling said stubbornly.

He didn't call me out on it, his gaze wandering aimlessly for a moment before he exclaimed, "Hey, what's that stuck in your mouth? Do you have a mouth ulcer?"

Liang Chuling nodded, and Li Xun went to the convenience store to buy her a bottle of orange juice.

After entering the airport terminal, Li Xun felt a bit hot due to the crowds and high temperature, so he took off his denim jacket and draped it over one arm.

Just then, Liang Chuling finished eating and suddenly reached out to take it. Li Xun quickly said a few more words, thinking that he didn't need her help, but he didn't dare to dodge too hard for fear of accidentally pushing her. Liang Chuling had already taken it.

He felt a pang of sadness, wondering why she was suddenly being so thoughtful, only to find that Liang Chuling had taken it and put it on herself...

Li Xun couldn't help but laugh, then remembered something and reached out to touch her hand; sure enough, it was ice-cold.

I can't laugh anymore.

He lifted her hair to look at her neck, and sure enough, she was wearing only a single layer of clothing. At first, Li Xun thought she was wearing another layer underneath, and he hadn't noticed since her hair was down. He hadn't expected that she was only wearing one layer.

How could he not worry? Li Xun thought to himself.

But Liang Chuling really didn't need to worry about that, and it wasn't intentional that she wore too little clothing.

I didn't sleep much last night, which caused me to wake up late this morning. When I opened my eyes and saw the time, I was in a bit of a rush, so I put on the mouth mask, changed into my pajamas, and ran out without even having time to think about anything else.

Li Xun reached out and buttoned up her coat one button at a time, then flipped her hair out and pulled on the sleeve of the coat—which was also pulling Liang Chuling along.

Walk to a nearby cultural and creative shop, and you'll find a dazzling array of products.

Liang Chuling was being pulled by his sleeve, and she followed him slowly.

The sleeves of the denim jacket were way too long, enough to cover an entire hand with room to spare, but Li Xun had folded the cuffs over, so only half of the back of her hand was covered, revealing just a little bit of her fingertips. There was a very faint scent of his on the clothes, like a blanket that had been sun-dried. This scent enveloped her, like being wrapped in sunlight, hard to escape, and made her feel a little drowsy.

Liang Chuling's drowsiness dissipated when she realized her heart was beating very fast.

Thump, thud, bang...

The jumping made her feel a little sore.

Unaware, Li Xun led her by the hand as if they were strolling leisurely in a garden.

I picked up a model airplane, fiddled with the propeller, found it quite sharp, and put it back. Then I spotted a box of magnetic bookmarks, colorful and lively.

"How about this?" He picked up the box of bookmarks and turned to ask her.

Looking at the pile of brightly colored small iron pieces, Liang Chuling thought that it didn't match Li Xun's temperament at all, but she still nodded: "It's alright."

Li Xun bought a box of bookmarks.

He stopped at a snack shop, picked out several bags of dried fruit, chocolate and beef jerky, and finally picked up a jar of mints and waved it in front of her: "Take one when you feel carsick or uncomfortable."

"Huh? You bought this for me?" Liang Chuling realized belatedly.

"yes."

As Liang Chuling watched him select and pay, then carry away the stationery and snacks, the strangeness in her heart grew stronger.

Who gave this to whom?

It feels like she's about to go on a long trip, and he's arranging her luggage and snacks for the journey.

She couldn't help but say, "Li Xun, I've come to see you off."

Li Xun was picking up a fluffy, ugly-cute toy that looked like a frog when he turned to look at her. Liang Chuling had the illusion that there were tiny, flowing lights, like streams under the sunlight. She quickly looked up, but couldn't find the source, so she had to look down again. After looking down, she turned to look into Li Xun's eyes.

Li Xun handed her the ugly-cute frog plush toy: "I know. This is a farewell gift."

Liang Chuling stared at the frog in her hand with a blank expression, speechless for a moment.

Li Xun, however, found it enjoyable and began to unleash his full potential.

I saw a stall selling local specialties, so I went in and bought a box.

I saw a stationery store again, so I bought a stack of letter paper, a few boxes of pencils, and a few notebooks with cats printed on them.

At a counter selling aromatherapy products, I carefully smelled several and finally chose one that was said to calm the nerves and help with sleep.

Liang Chuling felt like she wasn't there to see someone off, but rather to buy goods.

Watching Li Xun's retreating figure, he was no longer wearing a coat, only a hoodie, as he calmly moved through the crowd, searching for things that he felt she might like.

I remember she would occasionally have low blood sugar, I remember she would get carsick, I remember she liked to scribble and draw, I remember she liked to chew on something when she was tired from practicing the piano, I remember she would have insomnia, I remember her curiosity about those little gadgets, I remember many details that even she herself might have overlooked.

The black and white wasteland in my heart seems to be gradually colored by these scattered fragments.

Li Xun finally walked back to her side. "That's about enough," he said. "That should keep you occupied for a while."

Liang Chuling looked up and met his eyes. They were no longer calm and still, but rather brimming with something she couldn't immediately decipher.

She noticed her heart was beating very fast again.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker, urging passengers to complete the check-in process.

Time is up.

Li Chi had already walked over, dragging his suitcase, and stood a few steps away. Li Xun took a deep breath, gently squeezed her wrist again, and quickly let go.

"We should go." He looked into her eyes and said each word clearly.

All the words Liang Chuling had prepared beforehand, such as "Have a safe trip" and "Let me know when you arrive safely," she couldn't squeeze out at this moment. She could only nod, until her neck ached.

Li Xun looked at her for a few more seconds, then raised his hand. This time, instead of patting her head, he gently rubbed her cheek with his fingertips.

"I've called a car for you, and I've sent the license plate number to your WeChat. Don't wander off, see? Over there, yes, over there. Go out that door, turn left, and you'll get in the car. Send me a message when you get home. I'm leaving. We're leaving."

After he finished speaking, he made sure Liang Chuling had heard the route clearly before turning around and walking towards Li Chi.

Liang Chuling stood there, watching their backs disappear into the crowd and head towards the security checkpoint. She kept watching until their figures disappeared at the end of the passage and could no longer be seen.

The surroundings were still noisy, filled with farewells, reunions, and hurried moments.

But she stood there, wearing his coat, holding a bunch of things.

It was as if he wasn't going on a long journey, but rather she was about to embark on a long one.

Parting is always quick, like a gust of wind.

She raised her hand, waved again, and said, "Goodbye."

Ah, I remember now, I used oral hygiene patches this morning. They contain dexamethasone, which can cause a rapid heartbeat.

"I see," Liang Chuling thought to herself as she walked out.