Chapter 12 Tombstone: "Cheng Shiyun and I were childhood sweethearts."...
Mother.
For a fleeting moment, Cheng Shiyun felt that Ran Hongyin recognized her.
She pushed through the crowd and walked resolutely toward me.
Cheng Shiyun kept scratching at the cat carrier with her paws, trying to break through the transparent plastic shell.
Ran Hongyin moved extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Xie Shijin, her outstretched hand almost touching the cat carrier.
Cheng Jinghua stopped her in time, grabbing her arm: "Hong Yin, you can't go over there!"
He then turned to Xie Shijin and pleaded, "Xiao Xie, please keep a close eye on the cat and don't let it out."
The kitten in the cat carrier was meowing.
Xie Shijin looked down at the impatient little tabby cat, who wanted to run into her mother's arms. That familiar bittersweet feeling spread little by little, starting from the deepest part of her heart and invading her limbs and bones through her blood vessels.
Cheng Shiyun, you miss your mom too, right?
"Little Cloud! My Little Cloud!" Ran Hongyin was still calling out.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
She struggled violently, her nails almost digging into Cheng Jinghua's arm, her eyes defiant as she questioned him, "Cheng Jinghua, that's your daughter! Can't you recognize her? Look at her!"
Cheng Jinghua closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her eyes were filled with suppressed pain and helplessness: "Hong Yin, look closely... that's just a cat."
"It really is... just a cat."
Ran Hongyin seemed to suddenly realize something, her struggling movements abruptly stopped, and her eyes became blank and strange.
She stared blankly at the cat carrier, muttering to herself, "Cat? Why a cat... Where's our daughter? Where's our daughter?"
Tears welled up in her eyes like a burst dam.
"My daughter is missing, my daughter is missing..."
Ran Hongyin started crying, her sobs growing louder and louder, her body going limp as she slid down, almost fainting.
Ran Hongyin's mental state fluctuates.
When she was in a good mood, she knew who she was and remembered that she had a daughter. She would put on an apron, go into the kitchen, cook a big meal, and then call Cheng Shiyun out to eat over and over again.
When things get bad, he doesn't even recognize Cheng Jinghua.
"The person has been found. Songshan Cemetery. We can call it a day."
Not far away, a smartly dressed policewoman put away her walkie-talkie.
Ni Jiaqi raised his hand and greeted the other person: "Officer Yang!"
Yang Shengnan is a policewoman in charge of investigating the traffic accident case involving minors at Yichuan No. 7 Middle School.
For two years, the case remained unsolved. Whenever there was a clue, Cheng Jinghua would rush to the police station, and Ni Jiaqi would also come occasionally.
"We meet again." Yang Shengnan walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and looked him up and down. "You've grown quite a bit taller this year, haven't you?"
Ni Jiaqi stood up straight, placed his hands neatly at his sides, and answered seriously: "I'm 182cm tall, and I plan to enlist in the army during my freshman year of college."
"You? You want to join the army?" Yang Shengnan raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.
Two years ago, shortly after the accident, Ni Jiaqi assisted the police in investigating the vehicle involved in the accident, but after more than two months of investigation, there were still no results.
In a moment of impulse, Ni Jiaqi smashed more than a dozen white and silver cars that the police had investigated as suspects, and his family ended up having to pay a large sum of money in compensation.
The youthful spirit of yesteryear has given way to composure.
“Yes, I’ll join the army,” Ni Jiaqi said, straightening his back. “To train myself and serve my country.”
Yang Shengnan laughed and said, "Good, that's ambitious. I'll see you off when you enlist."
On the other side, Ran Hongyin's emotions had stabilized a bit, and Cheng Jinghua led her over to express his gratitude: "Officer Yang, Xiao Xie, Jiaqi, thank you all for your help."
Ni Jiaqi said, "Uncle Cheng, don't be so polite. It's cold in the mountains, and Auntie might have caught a chill. Please take her to the hospital quickly."
"And you? How are you planning to get home?"
Yang Shengnan looked at the two teenagers in front of her.
One stood silently, a faint sense of detachment and sorrow lingering between his brows and eyes; the other was full of life, his words flowing like a swarm of bees.
Yang Shengnan: "Since you've driven, do you need a ride?"
"Great! Riding in a police car, that's so cool!" Ni Jiaqi's eyes lit up, and he turned to ask, "Xie Shijin?"
Xie Shijin shook his head, his voice cold and aloof: "You all go first."
Ni Jiaqi glanced at Xie Shijin, then turned to Yang Shengnan and smiled, "I'll take the bus with him, no need to trouble Officer Yang."
As the group walked away into the distance, Cheng Jinghua walked at the front, and Ni Jiaqi felt as if he were seeing himself two years ago again.
Not long after Cheng Shiyun left, Ran Hongyin fell ill, and the entire school donated money.
Upon learning this, Cheng Jinghua carried the heavy donation box and returned it from classroom to classroom.
...
The wind is picking up.
A mountain breeze swept by, startling flocks of birds in the mountains into flight. A dark mass of birds flapped their wings and flew upwards in a whooshing sound.
Birds fly to the sky; people should also look forward.
Ni Jiaqi took a deep breath of the slightly cool air and glanced to his side; no one was there.
He turned around and looked.
Xie Shijin squatted down next to the tombstone, unzipped the cat carrier, and let the little tabby cat out.
Cheng Shiyun jumped onto her own tombstone.
The granite is cool and smooth, square in shape, with white lettering on a black background.
My daughter, Shiyun, has lost my love forever.
I am deeply saddened in this life, and I only wish that in the next life, we can continue our kinship.
July 10, 2000 – July 12, 2016
Born in summer, died in summer.
Her parents' only wish for her to be safe and sound year after year was that she be safe and sound.
Unfortunately, life is short, lasting only sixteen years.
Cheng Shiyun gently stroked the words on the paper with her kitten paws.
Every single word was carved by Cheng Jinghua himself.
When Cheng Shiyun first wrote her own name, it was Cheng Jinghua who taught her to write it word by word.
"This cat is looking at it quite intently," Ni Jiaqi joked. "Does it even understand what's written on it?"
Cheng Shiyun turned to look at him and impatiently meowed, "Meow."
I don't understand, but you do?
Ni Jiaqi sat on the stone steps next to him, staring at the kitten's round eyes and smiling: "It's not very big, but its eyes are quite large, and it's even glaring at me."
Suddenly, he noticed the little tabby's bald tail and half of its back, and exclaimed in surprise, "Xie Shijin, why doesn't it have any fur?"
I hadn't noticed before because the kitten was wearing clothes, but now I realize that it only has fur on its head.
"Little bald cat." Ni Jiaqi poked the little tabby cat's head.
Cheng Shiyun rolled her eyes: "Meow!"
This is a time for sadness, are you looking for a beating?
Xie Shijin scooped up the cat, held it in his arms, and without even glancing at him, turned and walked down the mountain.
Ni Jiaqi called out from behind, "Xie Shijin, why are you walking so fast?"
...
The bus stop at the foot of the mountain.
The cemetery is in the suburbs, in a remote location. Only bus route 73 goes there, once an hour. You might have to wait.
Ni Jiaqi caught up.
Ni Jiaqi's mother was also a teacher at Yichuan No. 7 Middle School, and his father worked in foreign trade. Before high school, Ni Jiaqi lived in Cheng Shiyun's house, one upstairs and the other downstairs. They would go to the house of whoever's parents didn't supervise evening self-study.
Cheng Shiyun was a month older than him, but Ni Jiaqi never called her "sister" and always provoked her.
He stole her completed summer and winter vacation homework, causing her to be punished by the teacher, stuck funny faces on the back of her school uniform, and made her carry her schoolbag. Cheng Shiyun had never seen such a shameless boy.
This situation continued until Ni Jiaqi entered high school, when Ni's father made money in business and Ni's mother resigned from her teaching job and moved out of the teachers' apartment.
However, Ni Jiaqi still attended No. 7 High School, majoring in humanities, and achieved excellent grades, becoming the top humanities student in the city in the college entrance examination.
Ni Jiaqi, holding a basketball, stood beside Xie Shijin and said, "The bouquet of gardenias next to the tombstone, was that a gift from you?"
Pure white and flawless, a neatly bundled bunch, its fragrance can be smelled from afar.
Ni Jiaqi suddenly curled his lips in self-deprecation and said in a low voice, "I... I didn't even know she liked gardenias."
She was also very happy when she received lilies and sunflowers.
At this time last year, a bunch of gardenias were also placed next to Cheng Shiyun's tombstone.
He came to pay his respects to her early in the morning.
The cemetery is located in the mountains, with many trees and heavy fog.
From afar, Ni Jiaqi saw a person in the mountains, his back to the viewer, alone and forlorn among the pine needles and forest.
Even though it wasn't raining, he was carrying a blue umbrella.
He walked up the steps and finally stopped halfway up the mountain, where he bent down and put down a bunch of gardenias.
Ni Jiaqi knew immediately that it was Xie Shijin.
Xie Shijin always arrived earlier than him.
He was always late.
He didn't even get to see her one last time.
Ni Jiaqi: "So this year, I also brought gardenias."
"Where are the flowers?" Xie Shijin lifted her eyelids to look at him.
Ni Jiaqi smiled shrewishly: "I was afraid the flowers would wilt, so I planted them in the soil behind."
Xie Shijin: "..."
Cheng Shiyun: "..."
Below is Cheng Shiyun's ashes.
Flesh and blood can nourish gardenias.
It could also cause his head to explode.
The kitten leaped up and punched him twice on the head.
...
The bus is here.
The car door opened, Xie Shijin boarded, and inserted the fare.
Ni Jiaqi followed, then checked his pockets and found them empty. He grabbed Xie Shijin and said, "I just ran out of money for a taxi. Can you lend me two yuan?"
He took it for granted that he was entitled to demand it.
Xie Shijin turned his head to look at him, his expression indifferent as if he were looking at a fool: "Why take a car if you don't have money?"
"I was just worried that something might happen to Aunt Ran, so I was in a hurry," Ni Jiaqi said, turning his pockets inside out to show him. "I didn't even take my phone, so I can't make a call. You want me to walk back?"
"More than 20 kilometers..."
Xie Shijin lent him two yuan.
After Ni Jiaqi finished inserting the coin and turned around, Xie Shijin had already taken the cat to the back row and found a window seat to sit down.
There was a cat carrier on the seat next to him, and Ni Jiaqi sat diagonally behind him: "Could I borrow your cat for a couple of days?"
"No." Xie Shijin refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation.
“You have to ask the cat’s opinion, what if it wants to come with me?” Ni Jiaqi reached out to pet the cat in his arms. “Mimi, come with your brother, okay? I’ll buy you canned food.”
"Brother, my ass!" Ni Jiaqi reached out his hand, and Cheng Shiyun was about to bite him when a cold snort came from above her head:
"Don't touch her with your dirty hands."
The voice was icy and chilling, as if Ni Jiaqi wasn't petting a cat, but some precious treasure of his.
His tone was too cold and hard, even carrying a hint of hostility, which startled Ni Jiaqi and Cheng Shiyun.
Ni Jiaqi had just played basketball, and his hands were covered in dust and very dirty.
But she wasn't exactly clean either.
It's not to the point where you can't even let anyone touch you.
Cheng Shiyun licked her paws.
"You can't even touch it. If you're that germaphobic, you might as well not go out at all." Ni Jiaqi chuckled, withdrew his hand, leaned back on the seat in front of him, and asked again, "Do you know why Aunt Ran mistook this cat for Cheng Shiyun?"
"Why?" Xie Shijin finally reacted.
Ni Jiaqi said, "Because this cat, although it has no fur and is a bit ugly...cute, looks a lot like the one Cheng Shiyun used to have."
Xie Shijin tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over at her sideways. Although his look was still indifferent and cold, he was clearly more interested now.
Ni Jiaqi continued, "It's also a tabby cat, but... a little bigger than this one."
He made a comparison.
"It's that big, a little over two months old, and it's called Jelly."
“When I was in the second year of junior high school, Cheng Shiyun found it on the side of the road. Aunt Ran was allergic to cat fur and couldn’t keep it, so she gave it to me.”
Xie Shijin's lips twitched slightly: "How's the cat?"
Ni Jiaqi: "Dead."
The boy's voice lowered: "One day I forgot to close the window, and no one was home. The cat ran out and got run over by a car."
"When Cheng Shiyun found out, she cried for a long time and couldn't be comforted no matter what I did. She even wanted to break up with me."
The kitten kicked wildly a couple of times, and Xie Shijin almost couldn't hold her.
Cheng Shiyun: "Meow!"
He lied.
The cat died of illness.
Jelly had feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which Cheng Shiyun had before she adopted it.
The doctor said that if it had been discovered early and timely intervention and treatment had been given, Jelly could have survived. However, by the time Ni Jiaqi took over, it was too late, and even after spending all of his New Year's money, he still couldn't be cured.
Cheng Shiyun stared at him blankly.
Ni Jiaqi's eyes suddenly turned somewhat sad as he said earnestly, "Xie Shijin, why don't you take pity on me? I feel like I have a special connection with this cat... I think I can take good care of it."
"We were destined to meet but not to be together," Xie Shijin said.
Ni Jiaqi was slightly taken aback.
They were destined to meet but not to be together.
Not only cats, but people are too.
Sometimes, he really wanted to ask Xie Shijin to help him ask if Cheng Shiyun was still blaming him for not taking good care of Guodong, otherwise... why didn't she ever come to his dreams?
Aside from that, he was still very lucky.
Ni Jiaqi said, "Cheng Shiyun and I have been playing together since we were little."
He looked out the window.
A gust of wind rushed in, causing the azure curtains to flutter.
Two years later, the five-needle pines were cut down again and again, but the branches still grew wildly the following year.
Some people, once gone, are gone forever.
The sound of the wind whistling in his ears couldn't drown out the thumping of his heart.
He chuckled softly: "Me and her..."
"I'd say we're... childhood sweethearts."
A note from the author:
----------------------
The second male lead makes his appearance!
Actually, it was mentioned once in the first chapter. [Let me see]
Please leave lots of comments! [Sprinkling flowers]
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