Wutong Avenue is still there today

At the end of August, the huge suitcase was spread out in my room, like a hungry monster with its mouth open, waiting to be filled.

My mother kept on rambling on, checking the list as she stuffed things into the suitcase.

"I heard it's humid in the south, so I put a dehumidifier bag in there for you... Take this bag of red dates with you to replenish your qi and blood... Wait, is this overweight?"

She hurriedly took out the local specialties she had just put in, her brows furrowed.

My dad paced the room silently, occasionally stopping to watch me fold clothes.

After I zipped up the suitcase, he bent over to test the weight, then picked it up. "Go to bed early. You have a train tomorrow."

The next morning, we set off at daybreak.

The train station was bustling with people, filled with students like me who were going to distant places and their families who were seeing them off.

My father walked in front of me, dragging the suitcase with great effort, and my mother held my arm, repeating over and over again the words she had already told me countless times last night.

"Call home when you get there"

“Don’t settle for a meal”

“Remember to put on more clothes when it’s cold”

“Get along well with classmates”

“…”

"I know, I know. You're so nagging." I turned my face away and pretended to be choked by the smoke, but my nose felt sore.

"Train No. KXXX--" the broadcast sounded.

My dad handed the suitcase to me and gave my arm a firm shake. "Go ahead, and be careful on the road."

My mother's eyes instantly turned red. She quickly turned her face away, wiped it with the back of her hand, turned back and smiled at me, "Go quickly."

I took the suitcase and the wheels made a gurgling sound on the ground, like the drumbeat of my heartbeat.

Go through the ticket gate, walk onto the platform, and find your carriage and seat.

The whistle blew long, the car body shook slightly, and slowly started moving.

The train began to accelerate, and the familiar city scene flashed by frame by frame like a faded scroll.

The bookstore I used to visit every week, the street corner I'd visited countless times with Lulu, the delicious noodle shop near the school, then Hanchuan City's iconic clock tower, and finally, the empty area in the distance that once belonged to the Hanchuan Normal University family compound but is now a construction site...

The view gradually widens, replaced by suburban farmland, rivers and rolling hills in the distance.

Green began to become the main color, the hustle and bustle of the city was left behind, and the world suddenly became strange and vast.

The moment of leaving home is a complete farewell to the stable life of the past eighteen years.

I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes, and listened to the regular and monotonous sound of the wheels hitting the rails, "clang, clang, clang..."

The sound hits the eardrum, again and again, as if saying: Forward, forward, forward.

————

During my first summer vacation in college, I returned to Hanchuan.

As the train pulled into the station, I barely recognized the place.

I had heard from my parents a long time ago that the old railway station was being renovated, but I didn’t expect the changes to be so drastic.

The dim and noisy old station in my memory has been replaced by a bright and magnificent modern building with glass curtain walls reflecting the sunlight.

"Let's go to the former site of the Hanshi family housing estate." I got in a taxi.

The driver was stunned for a moment, then looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Miss, that place has been demolished a long time ago. It's a new building called 'Xuefu Garden' now. It's nothing to see."

"Let's just go over there and take a look." I insisted.

The car stopped beside a brand new avenue.

This is the former Wutong Avenue, I almost dare not confirm it.

The road has been widened several times and is very impressive, but the lush and leafy plane trees on both sides that accompanied me throughout my childhood and youth are no longer there. Instead, they have been replaced by carefully planned green belts.

The familiar mottled walls, the old breakfast shop with the aroma of fried dough sticks, the small shop with a "Public Phone" sign, and Aunt Chen's studio with the constant smell of turpentine...

All traces have been erased and replaced with uniformly planned shops, chain supermarkets and bank branches.

I walked aimlessly, trying to find the shadow of the past in the steel and concrete.

At this time, a familiar figure came out of the supermarket next door carrying a basket of vegetables.

It was Aunt Wang who used to live downstairs from Lu Xingye and had the best relationship with Lu Xingye's family.

She had fashionable curly hair and was wearing a brand new down jacket.

"Ah! Isn't this Nian Nian?"

Aunt Wang recognized me and said, "Are you back from winter vacation? You're a college student now, and you look even more handsome!"

"Hello, Aunt Wang." I hurried forward to greet her.

"Good, good, it's good to be back. Are your parents in good health?" Aunt Wang sighed, looking me up and down.

"Everything is fine, how about you, Auntie?"

"I'm fine! It's just that this new place is more convenient for buying groceries, but it's not as lively as before with all the old neighbors visiting."

"Aunt Chen...is she okay?" I asked.

"Teacher Shen, she's doing well! Xingye is a filial child. I took her to her hometown in the countryside to recuperate. The air is good and the food is fresh. I heard that she is in a much better mood and her old illness has not recurred. She even plants some flowers and plants in the yard from time to time."

"That's good, that's good"

Things are not what they used to be, and neither are people.

The melancholy that once lingered in my heart now quietly dissipated like the receding tide. Even the obsession that lingered on the ruins was diluted by the scent of this brand new city.

Hanchuan is no longer their bond, nor is it completely mine anymore.

————

In the evening, several high school classmates from Class 7 also invited me to a small gathering.

During the meal, they inevitably talked about their respective universities and future plans, and someone suddenly mentioned Jiang Yuanzhou.

"Hey, I went to Tsinghua University for an exchange program last semester and ran into Jiang Yuanzhou from Class 1. Wow, he's still as handsome as ever. I heard he's doing very well in the Physics Department."

"That's called strength. He's a top student."

"I heard he has a girlfriend at National Tsing Hua University, also a talented woman from their department, a perfect match."

I held the warm teacup, listened to the news, and subconsciously touched my chest, and only faint ripples spread across the lake of my heart.

I can even picture that clearly.

On the campus of a top university, Jiang Yuanzhou is still handsome and tall, holding a book, walking side by side with an equally outstanding girl under a sycamore tree.

I curled my lips slightly and agreed softly, "Really? That's good."

I really think it’s good.

The boy who grew up together finally reached the other side of his dream and started a new chapter in his life.

I am truly happy for him.