Zhuang Yan took out his phone and scrolled through it. There were a few text messages, but none of them were from Lu Yan, and she hadn't called him either.
What is Lu Yan doing now? Has she eaten? What did she eat? When will she come home, and what clothes was she wearing when she left?
Zhuang Yan took out two pieces of chewing gum from his pocket and put them in his mouth; they had a strong blueberry flavor.
A dark cloud gathered on the horizon, looking like it was going to rain. Zhuang Yan took out his phone and sent Lu Yan a text message: "Did you bring an umbrella? It looks like it's going to rain."
After sending the text message, Zhuang Yan waited for a reply, but after half an hour he still hadn't received one. He felt strange and a little panicked at the same time.
Zhuang Yan promptly called Lu Yan, but no one answered.
Jiang Ning came out and saw Zhuang Yan pacing back and forth in the yard with his phone in his hand.
She was momentarily dazed, as if she had returned to five years ago.
Are people who reminisce about the past all dissatisfied with the present?
In the years since they separated, Jiang Ning often dreams of Zhuang Yan, dreaming of them playing and laughing in the courtyard, setting off fireworks during the New Year, putting up couplets together, watching the adults slaughter chickens and ducks and prepare New Year's goods, and the two families eating together during the festival.
Before she turned 18, Jiang Ning never imagined that she and Zhuang Yan would drift apart. In those years, they spent every birthday together. She included Zhuang Yan in her wishes, hoping that they could be together every year, for a long time, in peace and happiness.
The smile of an old friend is like the tree in the courtyard, growing thinner with each passing autumn wind. He will always be a vivid and colorful stroke in her youth, someone she can give up on but can never forget.
"Zhuang Yan." A gentle breeze ruffled her skirt, which Jiang Ning pressed down with her hand. Her gaze fell on his phone. "Are you waiting for Lu Yan's call?"
"Yeah, I called her just now but she didn't answer." He was worried that something might have happened to her.
Watching the person she liked worry about another woman in front of her, her heart clenched, as if a crack had opened up, and a sour feeling kept seeping out from the crack, but she forced a smile.
"Nothing should happen."
Zhuang Yan kept his head down, not looking at her, still fiddling with his phone, muttering, "She usually replies to my texts very quickly..."
"They probably didn't check their phones. At this time, they should still be eating or taking a nap."
That's possible. Lu Yan is very lazy at home. After lunch, she curls up on the sofa and falls asleep soon. She sleeps in a very docile position, curled up with her hands clenched into fists. Sometimes she rests her head on her face, and sometimes she presses her hands against her heart. It is said that people who like to sleep in a curled-up position lack a sense of security.
"Do you want to go back?" Jiang Ning asked him, seemingly calm on the surface, but secretly hoping that she was more important than Lu Yan at this moment, and that Zhuang Yan would stay for her.
Zhuang Yan looked inside: "Aunt Jiang, over here..."
Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally broke. Jiang Ning forced a smile and said, "I'll talk to my mom. It's not easy for her to see you, so she'll definitely miss you and try her best to keep you here a little longer." She knew her own mother well enough.
Jiang Ning turned and went back into the house: "Mom, Zhuang Yan and I are going out for a walk."
"You two go ahead. Young people should go out more. Don't go too far. Come back later and we'll eat some watermelon." Aunt Jiang hadn't given up on the idea and was always thinking of creating opportunities for the two of them.
"You have a long afternoon, so you can drive back to your alma mater. It's not far from here, only about 40 or 50 minutes away."
Returning to a familiar place is most likely to evoke fond memories.
Jiang Ning wanted to get away with it and have Zhuang Yan sneak away after they left.
Let's go.
Zhuang Yan took a few steps. Although he didn't turn around, he could feel the gaze behind him.
Zhuang Yan suddenly stopped and turned around, seeing Aunt Jiang standing at the door watching him leave. When he turned around, she waved and smiled at him. He remembered that when he was in school, his grandmother would stand at the door and watch him leave with longing eyes every time he left home.
Zhuang Yan turned back and said, "Aunt Jiang, I have to go back now. I won't eat the watermelon. I'll come to visit you again when I have time."
"Going back so early? Since you drove here anyway, have dinner before you leave. We'll eat early tonight, at five o'clock. Auntie will make you some fried skewers. The last time you had my fried skewers was when you were in your senior year of high school, right?"
Despite her earnest attempts to persuade him to stay, Zhuang Yan shook his head firmly and said sincerely, "No, I have to go back to buy groceries and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with Lu Yan."
He knew what the other person was expecting, so the more direct he was at this moment, the better. He couldn't give her hope, and he couldn't let her think that he and Jiang Ning still had a chance. Hesitation would be irresponsible.
Aunt Jiang wanted to persuade Zhuang Yan to stay, but she couldn't get the words out. It was as if she had a wad of cotton stuck in her throat. She looked at Jiang Ning, but Jiang Ning avoided her gaze.
In the end, she had no choice but to agree: "Then be careful on your way back, and come again when you have time."
"Okay, Aunt Jiang, I'll be going now. Take good care of yourself." Who knows when the next time will be?
After saying goodbye to Aunt Jiang, Zhuang Yan walked with ease. Aunt Jiang couldn't persuade him to stay for a meal, so she simply packed some leftover chicken and duck from the refrigerator for him, and also picked some vegetables she had grown herself.
These things are worthless, but the sentiment is priceless. Zhuang Yan accepted them.
After watching Zhuang Yan leave, Aunt Jiang looked at Jiang Ning helplessly: "Why didn't you try to persuade Zhuang Yan to stay? He finally made the trip."
Jiang Ning said wearily, "Don't interfere in my affairs with him."
Aunt Jiang said anxiously, "I won't interfere. You'll be the one who regrets it. Mistakes can be corrected, but once you miss your chance, you'll never meet someone like that again."
Jiang Ning's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably: "He and I missed our chance long ago. Some mistakes simply don't deserve forgiveness." Old places can be revisited, old stories can be revisited, but can old lovers be rekindled? What can't be returned to is more than just time.
...
Zhuang Yan drove off, and then sent Lu Yan a text message to tell her that he was on his way back.
"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll take it home."
Ten minutes later, Lu Yan finally replied to his text message, sending two short voice messages.
"You're back so early? Shouldn't you spend more time with your elders?"
"Let's go to the supermarket together. You come back first, and we'll change our clothes."
Her voice was hoarse, as if she had been crying, or as if she had just woken up.
Zhuang Yan stepped on the gas and increased the car's speed. What used to be a journey of more than an hour took less than fifty minutes to get back.
Standing in the hallway, Zhuang Yan looked at the two doors in front of him, and finally took out his key and opened his own door, betting that Lu Yan was in his house.
Sure enough, as soon as the door opened, Lu Yan was there. She was wearing an apron in the kitchen. After hearing the door open, she turned around and said, "Oh, you're back so soon?"
Zhuang Yan suddenly remembered a classic saying.
Who comes from mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, yet is confined to day and night, the kitchen and love?
A warm feeling spread from my chest, gently soothing every organ in my body.
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