Longing
The destination was nearing the outskirts of the city, and the scenery outside the car window gradually changed to self-built houses and fields. After driving for about thirty minutes, the driver stopped by the roadside and said to Si Mucheng, "Young man, we can't go any further, so I'll drop you off here. Just follow this road, and you'll reach Cuiping Village."
"Okay, thank you, brother." Si Mucheng agreed and got out of the car with Wen Ya.
After getting off the bus, I discovered that there was a market by the roadside. It happened to be the local morning market, which was bustling and lively.
Si Mucheng exclaimed excitedly, "Wow, it's so lively! Xiaoya, do you want some cat ear noodles? They look freshly made, and they look delicious!"
Wen Ya stepped aside to let an uncle carrying a live chicken pass by, and said, "No need."
Si Mucheng then turned his gaze to the other side: "Where are the pancakes? Heh, these are layered pancakes, they smell so good! Everything at the morning market is freshly made, want to try some?"
Wen Ya was speechless: "I've already eaten a lot for breakfast."
Rejected twice in a row, Si Mucheng's enthusiasm was not dampened. He saw the smoke rising from the roadside and his eyes lit up: "Hey, it's not even September yet and there are chestnuts? They're roasted chestnuts! It's a bit hot now, but I haven't had them in a long time. Xiaoya, do you want some chestnuts?"
This time, Wen Ya didn't say anything. Si Mucheng turned his head and saw her glancing at the roasted chestnut stall again and again, and he understood. He smiled and said, "I really want to eat some! Let's go buy some!" With that, he pulled Wen Ya straight to the stall.
On a hot summer morning, the temperature was already high, and the steaming roasted chestnuts weren't selling well. Seeing Si Mucheng and Wen Ya approach, the stall owner was very enthusiastic: "Young man, want to buy chestnuts? They're freshly roasted and smell delicious!"
Looking at the glossy chestnut shells, Si Mucheng could tell at a glance that the chestnuts were of good quality and roasted perfectly, so he asked, "How much per pound?"
Wen Ya stood to the side, watching Si Mucheng haggle with the stall owner, looking around listlessly.
She actually disliked crowds; the market was too crowded, and the weather was hot, which made her feel irritable.
But Si Mucheng was different. Despite his usual spoiled and pampered manner, as his friends had mentioned, he hadn't complained once while following her around. He'd stayed in five-star hotels and humble Taoist temples, explored skyscrapers in the city, and showed great interest in rural markets. He was like a vibrant plant, able to thrive anywhere.
Wen Ya listened to him chatting and laughing with the stall owner, slightly lost in thought, her gaze wandering aimlessly through the bustling market.
Suddenly, she perked up, her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and almost instinctively strode forward to follow.
Si Mucheng had just finished paying when he saw Wen Ya walking ahead on her own, so he quickly followed her: "What's wrong? What's wrong!"
Wen Ya frowned and looked around, as if searching for something.
"What are you looking at?" Si Mucheng looked around as well, but didn't find anything unusual.
Wen Ya said in a deep voice, "I think I just saw Wen Yongjie."
Si Mucheng was startled and quickly looked around: "Where is it? Where is it?"
A dense crowd of people, all sorts of people, flashed by, and Wen Ya wasn't sure: "It looks a bit like him. But..."
She and Wen Yongjie were not familiar with each other, and it was difficult to confirm their identities based on just a side profile and a back view. However, this place was near Wen Yongjie's home, which made people suspicious.
"Let's go to his house and take a look." We can't find him here anyway, so we might as well go directly to his house.
The two then walked along the road, through the market, and into the residential area.
Upon seeing the words "Cuiping Village" on the road sign, Si Mucheng said, "This should be it. Xiaoya, do you know which household it is?"
Wen Ya had seen the address Wen Tianyan had used in a letter to Wen Yongjie before, so she had a general idea of what it was.
Finally, after asking for directions twice, Si Mucheng finally found the place.
After confirming the address, Si Mucheng stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The wait was short; the door opened quickly, and a woman's face peeked out. She looked at Si Mucheng and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Si Mucheng flashed his standard smile: "Hello, is this Wen Yongjie's house?"
The woman was taken aback: "You're looking for Yongjie? Isn't he at his cousin's house in Xiqiao Village?"
Hearing this, Wen Ya frowned. Hadn't news of Wen Tianyan's death reached them?
Wen Ya stepped forward and stood beside Si Mucheng: "Wen Yongjie hasn't returned?"
The woman then noticed Wen Ya. She stared at Wen Ya's face for a while before exclaiming in surprise, "Is that Xiao Ya? I remember you, you've grown so much!"
Clearly, Wen Ya didn't remember her, but since the other woman's tone was warm, she couldn't remain completely cold. Her expression softened slightly before she said, "It's me. Hello, I don't quite remember..."
The woman seemed used to her not remembering her, and waved her hand with a smile: "I'm Yongjie's older sister, you have to call me aunt!"
Wen Ya nodded and greeted her, "Auntie."
"Hey! Come in, come in! It's hot outside, come in and sit for a while!"
Once seated on the sofa, Wen Ya frowned. It seemed that the plan didn't include the small talk step. But this was precisely what Si Mucheng excelled at. Before Wen Ya could say more than a few words, he was already chatting with Wen Yongjie's sister.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Si Mucheng managed to extract the information Wen Ya wanted. Wen Yongjie had indeed not returned, and he hadn't contacted his family for a long time. The Wen family here didn't know much about Wen Ya's maternal grandfather's affairs either.
Finally, the woman asked curiously, "Xiaoya, why did you come to Changshi to find Yongjie? Did something happen?"
"No." Si Mucheng's smile remained unchanged. "We haven't gone back yet. We're just in Changshi to exorcise a spirit. Xiaoya said that Uncle Yongjie's family is also here, so we said we'd go and pay them a visit."
Hearing this, the woman didn't think much of it and just smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness. How is the old man's health? I haven't visited him for several years."
"The same as always," Si Mucheng said with a smile.
Having received the news, Si Mucheng and Wen Ya made an excuse to leave. The woman politely offered to have them stay for lunch, but Si Mucheng politely declined. However, after leaving Wen Yongjie's house, Wen Ya's face darkened.
She clearly saw Wen Yongjie at the market; she didn't think she was seeing things. But his family said he hadn't come home at all. What's even stranger is that he disappeared after his grandfather passed away. Where else could he have gone if he wasn't going home?
Si Mucheng knew Wen Ya was still pondering this matter, her brows furrowed in worry, so he waved the roasted chestnuts in front of her: "Since things have come to this, why don't you eat some chestnuts? I'll peel them for you."
The sweet aroma filled her nostrils, and as Wen Ya gazed into his moist eyes, she suddenly felt as if there was nothing to worry about at all.
Wen Ya's brows relaxed, her expression softened, and her eyes became gentler. She nodded: "Mm."
Suddenly, a clucking sound rang out, and a brightly colored chicken descended from the sky, landing directly on Wen Ya's shoulder. Wen Xiaofeng had arrived.
Si Mucheng exclaimed with delight, "Xiao Feng!"
Wen Ya smiled and reached out to pat its head.
Wen Xiaofeng made two cooing sounds and rubbed her hair against Wen Ya's cheek.
Although Wen Yongjie was not found, having chestnuts to eat was still quite good, and Wen Xiaofeng was safely reunited with her, so Wen Ya stopped worrying.
Three days passed quickly, and Wen Ya met Zheng Miao again with the little wooden puppet.
Zheng Miao arranged to meet at a place in the suburbs. When they were on their way there by car, Si Mucheng pointed to the familiar scenery outside the window and said, "Wow, this must be Cuiping Village."
Before Wen Ya could speak, Zheng Miao said, "Yes. You've been here?"
Si Mucheng nodded: "I came here a couple of days ago to visit a relative."
Zheng Miao asked curiously, "You have relatives in Changshi? Where are you from?"
Si Mucheng pointed to himself: "I'm from Qicheng, but my hometown and Xiaoya's hometown are in the same place, Xiqiao Village."
Zheng Miao suddenly realized: "No wonder. This road leads to Xiqiao Village, and further on is Qicheng. They're all in the same direction."
Si Mucheng exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Wow, I didn't know that."
No one noticed that Wen Ya's expression shifted, but she said nothing.
Upon arrival, they found themselves at a wetland park. Zheng Miao got out of the car carrying a small cake and smiled at Si Mucheng and Wen Ya: "Xiao Huan and I used to come here to play on weekends."
Gossip was rampant, and You Huan didn't want Zheng Miao to be friends with her and be talked about, so in public they pretended not to know each other. The town was too small, and during holidays they could only go to sparsely populated places to play together. So this wetland park on the outskirts became their secret base. You Huan had spent her birthdays there with Zheng Miao since she was twelve.
Zheng Miao, familiar with the area, arrived at the lakeside. She introduced the park to Si Muchengwenya, explaining that it was built when she and You Huan were ten years old, more than ten years ago. She hadn't been there for several years, and it was clear that the park was not well maintained. The lake was full of dead branches and decaying leaves, and some garbage had not been cleaned up. The trees and vegetation on the shore had not been trimmed and were left to grow wildly.
There was a pavilion by the lake with a stone table and benches. Zheng Miao swept away the fallen leaves on the stone table before placing the cake on it.
She smiled and said, "It's Xiao Huan's favorite mango cake."
Si Mucheng watched her chat as if it were a casual conversation, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.
They all knew that after today, You Huan would disappear without a trace.
Wen Ya took out the little wooden puppet, made a hand gesture, and You Huan was freed from its restraints and crawled out of the little wooden puppet.
Although Zheng Miao couldn't see anything, she could still sense Si Mucheng's gaze, and You Huan floated in front of her.
“Xiao Huan, you’re here, aren’t you?” Zheng Miao smiled. “Look, it’s your birthday today. I bought you a cake from that cake shop you’ve been wanting to try.”
"During those years in Beijing, you always talked about so many cake shops and dessert shops, and the cakes they made were all very exquisite and beautiful, but they still didn't taste like the ones we used to buy in Changshi."
"I wish you could taste it. I secretly tasted it yesterday when I ordered it, and the taste was the same. It was delicious, and the mango was very fresh."
"You say nothing is static, even the old Chang snacks have changed, but look, there are still things that remain unchanged, like this little cake."
"I won't change."
"I will listen to you, live a good life, and live my own life. I may make friends again in the future, but you will still be my best and favorite friend."
"Xiao Huan, don't worry about me."
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