Chapter 116 Not a First Meeting, But a Reunion

The plane landed at Beicheng Airport.

However, after spending a few days in Jiangcheng, my state of mind was completely different when I returned to Beicheng.

Qu He felt a sense of bewilderment and confusion.

The Maybach merged into the city traffic.

When we passed a familiar section of road, we stopped at the traffic light for quite a while.

In the back seat, Qu He looked out the window listlessly.

A group of primary school students wearing yellow hats and carrying small backpacks got off the bus and chattered away. Under the guidance of their teachers, they lined up to cross the road.

Across the street is Huancheng Amusement Park, one of the landmarks of the northern part of the city.

"Huh?"

Zhuang Bieyan turned around at the sound, his voice gentle: "What is it?"

Qu He shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed on the lively figures outside. With a sigh, she said, "It's nothing. I'm just curious that elementary school students can now participate in summer study tours at the city's amusement park."

Her memories were stirred up: "I remembered the first time I came to the city park, it was during the summer vacation after my junior year of high school."

Qu He sighed, with a hint of regret, "I fell as soon as I entered the park that day and scraped my elbow. I couldn't go on many of the exciting rides and could only watch others go."

Zhuang Bieyan's fingers twitched slightly, and he subconsciously touched his thigh.

A complex emotion instantly welled up in his originally gentle eyes.

He lowered his eyes to hide the turbulent emotions within them, then looked up again, his tone deliberately suppressed and gentle, "Wouldn't that be a great pity?"

"Yes, I was really frustrated at the time."

As Qu He spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lit up, and with a hint of pride, she turned to him and said, "But, my study tour diary got the highest score in the whole school!"

Zhuang Bieyan's heart suddenly raced, then paused for a moment, feeling a dull pain mixed with excitement as if it were being torn apart.

Seeing the radiant look on Qu He's face, he had a premonition of what she was about to say.

He tried to make his tone sound like mere surprise, "Oh? That's amazing?"

Qu He was lost in her memories and did not notice his unusual behavior.

"Of course. Although I didn't get to do many of the rides that day, I helped a young man in a wheelchair and watched the castle fireworks show with him."

As she spoke, Qu He also found it amusing, "That wheelchair was quite heavy. I was injured at the time, and I don't know where I got the strength to push it up that slope."

Every word she uttered at that moment became a key, unlocking the layers of memory.

Zhuang Bieyan listened quietly without interrupting, his gaze fixed on her profile, his eyes filled with increasingly intense emotions, like ink that could not be dissolved.

At that moment, no one knew that a turbulent storm was brewing in his heart.

That night, which he had treasured for more than ten years, suddenly became clear because of her words.

The hustle and bustle of the crowd, the loneliness of the wheelchair, the dazzling fireworks, and the summer night breeze she brought when she suddenly appeared.

"...Oh right, it seems that day was also that guy's birthday, and I also gave him the new keychain I bought."

The girl's clear voice, transcending the years, once again reached his ears.

"...Later, I wrote about this experience in my study tour diary. My teacher said it was very heartfelt and even won the best essay award. Actually, after that, every time I went to the amusement park, I would subconsciously look at the spot where the fireworks were... I always thought that if I could meet that boy again, I would definitely tell him about it..."

It turns out that she had always remembered it, and even regarded it as a proud memory.

Sunlight streamed through the car window and fell on her fluttering eyelashes; everything seemed so beautiful and unreal.

More than a decade has passed, and the long, turbulent journey he has undertaken alone has finally come to an end, with the echo of its source resounding.

He won his bet...

That intense impulse almost burst through my chest, a mix of bitterness and ecstasy washing over my entire body.

Ah He.

That was never our first meeting.

It was a reunion.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

The car crossed the main road and entered the tunnel.

The lights inside the car suddenly dimmed.

Taking advantage of the dim light, Zhuang Bieyan finally stopped hiding the emotions that had been building up in his eyes.

He reached out and gripped Qu He's hand even tighter, almost greedily, and pressed it against his thigh.

His fingertips trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

His voice was deep and tender, yet very certain: "Ahe, he is very happy."

Qu He turned to look at him, somewhat curious about his confident tone.

Zhuang Bieyan met her gaze, his voice gentle and certain: "He is very... very happy. To be remembered by you for so many years and to have participated in a part of your life in this way is definitely the best birthday gift for him."

Qu He smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Really? Haha, I hope so. I also hope that young man can stay happy now."

Zhuang Bieyan looked at her bright eyes and brows, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He will.

Because from that night onward, all his joy, expectations, and even the most memorable and brilliant moments of his life were related to you.

......

That night.

Qu He couldn't sleep soundly.

She was taken into a series of bizarre and fantastical dreams.

Every scene in my dream was shrouded in a thin mist, seemingly within reach but unattainable.

In the long, narrow alley, the seashell wind chimes under the eaves tinkled.

The little girl with pigtails ran very fast, her rosy cheeks smeared with mud.

She didn't care at all, holding a basket of freshly picked bayberries high, her clear voice echoing in the alley, "Brother Yanzi, I brought you the biggest and sweetest bayberries!"

From deep within the alley came a clear, cool, and deliberately indifferent young boy's voice: "...I didn't say I wanted to eat."

The little girl laughed even more happily.

She waved her little arms and ran even faster, but accidentally bumped into a protruding stone by the roadside, causing her small body to stumble.

Almost the instant she stumbled, the voice from the other end of the alley tightened immediately.

The boy's deliberately maintained indifference was broken, replaced by a hard, worried tone, "Slow down! If you fall... if you hurt yourself, if you cry... I won't help you up, I won't come over."

The little girl steadied herself, completely ignoring his words, and shouted, "I know, Ahe is fine. Hehehe, Yangmei is fine too!"

After saying that, she ran even faster, her pigtails swinging back and forth behind her head.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows that gently fell upon the boy in the wheelchair.

He was wearing a clean white T-shirt, which was a little dazzling in the sunlight, making his skin look even whiter and more fragile.

The sunlight seemed to be deliberately playing tricks on him, constantly blurring his face, revealing only his slightly tense jaw and his lips that were slightly pursed as the girl approached.

Qu He wanted to get closer to see his face clearly, but the sky suddenly darkened.

The scene before my eyes shattered instantly.

The next second, she was standing in the City Park.

Amidst the bustling crowd, she sat alone on a bench, sullenly eating fries.

She twisted her injured wrist and suddenly saw a boy trying to push his wheelchair uphill by himself not far away.

He was wearing a clean white shirt, but the veins on the back of his hand, which was pushing the wheelchair, were bulging from the force, and his movements were stiff but stubborn.

Qu He jogged over, her voice clear and crisp, "Hello, big brother, let me help you."

The boy's back stiffened even more at that moment. He quickly lowered his head, his bangs obscuring his eyes and eyebrows, but revealing the birthday badge pinned to his chest.

Qu He helped him push onto the platform.

The boy turned around, seemingly wanting to say thank you.

Just then, fireworks burst into the sky in the distance.

She subconsciously looked up at the dazzling sky, only to catch a "thank you" that was drowned out by the sound of fireworks.

The voice was clear and crisp, but... it felt strangely familiar.

That sound...

Qu He suddenly opened her eyes.

My chest still heaved slightly from the dream.

The sky outside the window was bright with sunlight.

She was stunned for a while before she snapped out of the dream.

Was it because I mentioned the City Park to Zhuang Bieyan yesterday that I dreamed about that young man?

But who is that wheelchair-bound boy under the tree?

She remembered that she had also dreamt of this blurry figure before.

But why do the two voices in this dream sound so alike?

It also carried an indescribable sense of familiarity.

"woke up?"

A familiar voice rang in my ears.

Qu He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhuang Bieyan standing at the foot of the bed changing into a suit, his tie not yet tied.

"Breakfast is ready. Let's eat first, then go to the hospital to see Siyue. Okay?"

His voice...

It was strangely consistent with the words in my dream.

Qu He subconsciously looked at his legs...