Old photos

On the way home from the stadium, the snow fell more heavily. Qi Sheng drove, Ren Qin sat in the passenger seat, and Luo Yan sat in the back by the window, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the frosted glass.

Ren Qin looked at the road sign and suddenly said, "It must take at least three or four hours to get to Suyi, right? Xiao Qi, you must be tired from the journey from Suyi."

Qi Sheng paused on the steering wheel, glanced at Luo Yan in the rearview mirror, and said in a lower voice, "Yeah, we set off at six in the morning. There was a lot of snow on the highway, so we were a bit slow."

Luo Yan's heart trembled slightly. Lin'an was not a short distance from Su Yi, and he had traveled such a long way for this "alumni reunion." His camera bag was on the back floor mat, the zipper not fully closed, revealing half of the black strap.

“Speaking of which,” Ren Qin suddenly said, “when Yan Yan was in high school, there was a student teacher at her school, also surnamed Qi, tall, who taught physical education. Was it you, Xiao Qi?”

Qi Sheng's eyes met Luo Yan's in the rearview mirror, then he quickly looked away: "It's me. I taught physical education during my junior year internship, and then I returned to school after the internship ended."

"No wonder!" Ren Qin laughed even harder. "So it was you!"

Luo Yan's face instantly turned bright red, and she secretly pinched Ren Qin's arm from the back row. Ren Qin slapped her hand away and continued to ask, "Are you going back to Su Yi to study after your internship ends?"

"Yes, I studied at the Sports Academy for my undergraduate degree, and later I was recommended for postgraduate studies. I haven't been back to Lin'an since," Qi Sheng's voice carried a hint of nostalgia. "I didn't expect that the winter plum blossoms would still smell so sweet when I came back this time."

When they got home, Ren Qin rushed into the kitchen, leaving only the two of them in the living room. Luo Yan's hand trembled slightly as she poured tea for Qi Sheng, and hot water splashed onto the coaster, leaving a small, dark stain.

Ren Qin's words on the way had stirred up Luo Yan's long-forgotten memories.

“The ball-passing motion you taught me,” she recalled something, “I still remember it now, the wrist should be turned outwards, like holding a bowl.”

Qi Sheng smiled, his eyes as soft as melting snow: "Looks like I taught you alright."

“Not just okay,” Luo Yan looked up at him, as serious as if she were giving a system report, “You are the only teacher who will squat down and explain to the girls how many degrees their knees should bend.”

He paused for a moment, then lowered his head, tracing circles on the rim of the teacup with his fingertip: "You were all still young then, and it was easy to get hurt if you did it wrong."

Ren Qin's voice came from the kitchen: "Yanyan, bring in that box of wintersweet pollen from the living room!"

When the winter plum blossom pastries came out of the oven, their sweet aroma filled the room. Ren Qin pushed a plate of freshly fried pastries in front of Qi Sheng: "Try them. They're made with last year's dried plum blossoms. They're not as fresh as this year's, but they're sweet enough."

Qi Sheng picked up a piece, took a small bite, and the flaky crust fell onto the plate: "It's better than the snacks in the school cafeteria."

“Of course,” Ren Qin raised her eyebrows proudly. “Our Yan Yan has always loved sweets since she was little, just like me.” She changed the subject and said to Luo Yan, “Let’s go to the winter plum garden to take pictures this afternoon. Let Xiao Qi take some for you, so that your trip home won’t be in vain.”

The afternoon sun pierced through the clouds, casting a thin layer of gold on the snow. They walked along the stone path at the alley entrance toward the plum garden, the snow crunching under their feet, as if counting the passing moments. As Luo Yan opened the system to measure the parameters of the winter plum blossoms, Qi Sheng held up his camera, the lens aimed at her profile.

"Don't move," he whispered.

The shutter clicked softly.

"Why did you become an intern teacher back then?" she suddenly asked, looking at the petal parameters jumping on the screen.

“It’s a required course at the Sports Academy,” Qi Sheng put down his camera, his gaze falling on the depths of the plum garden in the distance. “Back then, the provincial competition was held in Lin’an. I wanted to come back here for my internship to relax.”

Luo Yan knew that the provincial competition he was referring to was the one where he parted ways with Su Yu, so she didn't ask any more questions.

As the sun set, the snow began to fall again. Qi Sheng transferred the photos from his camera to Luo Yan's phone. The last one was a candid shot he took of her, standing under a wintersweet tree, holding her phone up to measure parameters. Her profile, backlit, was as soft as a watercolor painting.

“I’m going back to Suzhou next week,” he suddenly said. “The system debugging at the sports school branch might require your remote assistance.”

“I can go back early,” Luo Yan blurted out almost without thinking.

Qi Sheng shook his head, reached out to brush the snowflakes off her shoulders, and the warmth of his fingertips came through the scarf, as warm as a promise: "No need, stay with Auntie for a few more days."

Ren Qin was waiting for them at the alley entrance. Seeing the flower petals on their clothes, she smiled and called out, "You're back! I made chicken soup. Drink it while it's hot."

Snowflakes fell on the winter plum branches, making a soft, rustling sound. Luo Yan watched Qi Sheng's retreating figure as he walked into the courtyard.

The snow stopped, and the last wisp of cloud was swept away by the wind, revealing a bluish-gray sky. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting dappled patterns of gold on the snow, like stars scattered on the ground.

It turns out that the star she was following was never about clearing away the thick clouds, but about waiting for the wind to come, for the snow to melt, and for that obscured star to finally let her see the light it had hidden for so long.