Reunion dining table

In the largest private room of Yijiangnan Restaurant, a festive red tablecloth covered the round table, and a turntable slowly rotated, filled with a variety of dishes. Lin Weixi sat by the window, her eyes inadvertently passing over the familiar figure opposite her.

Chen Wang sat beside his homeroom teacher, listening intently. Five years had left their mark on him, fading his youthful immaturity and bringing a more composed demeanor. He occasionally raised his hand to adjust his glasses, the ink scar on his ring finger still clearly visible.

"Wei Xi, try this glutinous rice lotus root," Shen Siyu picked up a piece of vegetable and put it on her plate. "I remember you loved eating this during the autumn outing in your senior year of high school."

She whispered a thank you, the tip of her chopsticks poking the sticky rice. In her peripheral vision, Chen Wang was holding up his teacup, the watch with the nebula pattern visible from his sleeve. She remembered that watch on his wrist on graduation day, the dial reflecting the sunlight.

Zhou Xu held the child and came to Chen Wang. "Dr. Chen, can you tell us about your research at Princeton?"

Chen Wang smiled, his dimple faintly visible: "It's just some basic research, nothing special." His voice was a little lower than he remembered, but his tone was still as calm.

Lin Weixi lowered her head and took a sip of tea. The tea was warm, and the lingering heat blurred her vision. Through the mist, she saw Chen Wang's fingertips tapping lightly on the wall of the cup. The rhythm was so familiar that it made her heart tremble - it was a little habit he had when thinking, exactly the same as when he solved math problems in high school.

When the turntable swung toward her, it held a dish of steamed fish. She remembered Chen Wang's love for eating fish eyes during their spring outing in their second year of high school. As if by some strange coincidence, she gently turned the tabletop, bringing the dish of fish to a stop in front of him.

He seemed stunned for a moment, then picked up a piece of fish belly and nodded slightly in her direction in thanks. At that moment, fireworks happened to be exploding outside the window, reflecting a dazzling light in his eyes.

"Wei Xi is now a well-known photography editor," the homeroom teacher said, looking at her with a smile. "I saw the aurora you took in a magazine last time. It was so beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off it."

She shook her head modestly, but felt a gaze on her. When she looked up, she met Chen Wang's gaze. He raised his teacup, a faint smile on his lips. She also raised her teacup, and across the noisy crowd, they exchanged a silent greeting.

The private room was bustling with activity, with classmates toasting each other and reminiscing about their youth. Lin Weixi sat quietly, listening to those familiar names and stories, as if she were back in the classroom five years ago. However, the boys and girls back then had lost their childishness and had become adults.

When they cut the cake after dinner, Chen Wang was pushed to the front. He held the knife, his eyes sweeping through the crowd, finally landing on her. The candlelight flickered across his face, and in that moment, he looked both strange and familiar.

"Make a wish!" the classmates cheered.

He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes casting shadows under his eyes. When he made a wish and blew out the candles, he looked at her again, his eyes so complicated that she couldn't read them.

As the party ended, snowflakes began to fall again. The classmates said goodbye to each other at the entrance of the restaurant and agreed to meet again next time. Lin Weixi stood under the eaves, watching Chen Wang surrounded by several classmates talking. His scarf fluttered gently in the wind, and a few snowflakes fell on it, like stars dotting the deep blue night sky.

He suddenly turned his head, his gaze meeting hers through the swirling snow. Snowflakes danced between them, like dust particles of time, separating them by five years. He nodded slightly, a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth, then turned and walked back into the snow.

Lin Weixi stood there, watching his back gradually blur in the snow. In her palm, there was still the warmth of the teacup from when she raised her glass just now.

Back home, she opened the box of high school mementos. On top was a photo from graduation day. In the photo, they were three classmates apart, each looking toward the camera. Now, separated by a dining table and five years, they still maintained a perfect distance.

She gently closed the box. Outside the window, snow was still falling. This winter, because of a class reunion, became a little different.