Big Tail Wolf
The next day, Taipei's early northwest rain washed the sky clear and azure. The sun wasn't as intrusive as it had been the day before, but the mid-spring warmth was mild and tepid. The luxury department stores in Xinyi District were still drowsy, and the streets were bustling with people, the pace of the city unusually languid.
Jin Cang met Xiang Yang downstairs in the hotel.
Xiangyang was wearing a casual jacket with simple lines, which made him look dashing and respectable like a young master from Beijing who was "as handsome as jade and unparalleled in the world". He casually tousled his hair before going out, but it still looked stylish.
Jin Cang himself was wearing his signature "authentic" T-shirt and jeans. He looked unchanged, yet he exuded a youthful aura.
The two were preparing to visit Jin Changan at the sanatorium, walking side by side in the spacious, clean alley, chatting about the differences between Taipei and Beijing, a topic they could never tire of. Jin Cang's face lit up as he talked about his favorite Taiwan snacks, and Xiangyang listened with a smile, a tenderness in his eyes.
The sunlight was bright and bright, stirring people's hearts in a comfortable and free manner. Ah Cang unconsciously stretched out his hand and gently hooked Xiangyang's fingers. Xiangyang shook hands with him in return, and his palm was dry and warm.
Just as they were chatting happily, a clear and loud female voice with a thick Beijing accent sounded from behind them: "Lord Beile, are you taking a walk?"
Xiangyang shuddered like a cat that was suddenly electrocuted, and almost jumped up on the spot.
Jin Cang also stopped and looked back in surprise.
I saw a pretty woman standing not far away with a smile on her face.
She has a boyish super short straight hair, a loose bohemian linen smock, khaki overalls, and a pair of Martin boots on her feet. She exudes a free and unrestrained energy.
"Big-tailed wolf!" Xiang Yang whispered, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. Without saying a word, he grabbed Jin Cang's wrist and ran away, "A Cang, run!"
"Big tail...?" Jin Cang was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand what "big tail wolf" meant. Before he could wrap his mind around it, his feet had already started running obediently following Xiangyang.
"It will eat people! Run!" Xiangyang didn't have time to explain and fled in panic.
The girl didn't chase after them. She stood there, watching them with amusement, like they were moving quickly in an animated film. Then she slowly took out her phone and put it to her ear. Her voice was neither loud nor low, but every word floated over clearly: "Uncle Xiang, I took a picture. I'll send it to you right away..."
Xiangyang's footsteps suddenly seemed to be nailed to the spot. He pulled Jin Cang and slowly turned around, with an expression on his face that was hard to describe.
The girl continued talking into her phone, her tone deliberately exaggerated. "...Yeah, I'm in Taipei! I caught him red-handed! That worthless Xiang Xiaoyang was seducing a beautiful, innocent young man from Taiwan..."
She lowered her phone, glared at Xiang Yang, deliberately raised her voice, pretended to be angry, and shouted, "Xiang Xiaoyang, you shameless man, why don't you let me go? You're pulling and tugging at me, does it look good?" As she said that, she took a few steps forward and pretended to slap away Xiang Yang and Jin Cang's still holding hands.
Xiangyang's sharp eyes caught sight of her phone screen being completely dark, so how could she be on a call? This girl was playing tricks on him again! This was the encumbrance he'd been unable to shake off or fight since childhood.
"Xia Xiaochan, what are you doing?" Xiangyang said unhappily, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness towards his own sister. "The lingering ghost is referring to people like you."
Xia Xiaochan put away her phone with a playful grin and made a face at him: "I'm so wronged, Xiang Xiaoyang, I finally caught you! Didn't I miss you? I came here as a human courier to bring you warmth!" She practiced on the spot, speaking in a somewhat funny Hong Kong and Taiwan accent.
Later, in a Western buffet restaurant near the hotel.
Jin Cang was in the beverage area of the buffet bar, holding a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and looking at the window seat in the corner of the restaurant from afar.
Xiangyang and Xia Xiaochan sat side by side. Xia Xiaochan was talking about something in a cheerful tone. She almost leaned on Xiangyang, her arms affectionately around his shoulders, and she looked at him with a smile on her face.
Sunlight poured in through the large glass windows like a stage searchlight, framing them like silhouettes in a top fashion magazine, with a layer of blinding golden edges.
Jin Cang felt a strange and unusual feeling in his heart for no reason.
The girl named Xia Xiaochan is bright, gorgeous, and graceful. She and Xiangyang have a kind of familiarity that no one else can understand.
Who was she? What was her relationship with Xiangyang? He was shocked to realize that he knew almost nothing about Xiangyang's past. Watching their intimate interaction before him was like a tiny needle, gently pricking Ah Cang's eyes.
He took a deep breath and walked back to his seat with his drink.
Seeing him return, Xia Xiaochan naturally took her seat across from Xiangyang. She was still chattering away, her silvery laughter radiating. Xiangyang didn't interrupt, simply listening intently. Jin Cang's heart stirred again, a feeling he couldn't quite put into words.
Jin Cang didn't hear their previous conversation clearly. He only heard Xia Xiaochan's tone turn serious as she said to Xiang Yang, "Your father has had a heart stent placed. Do you know how many stents this is? You didn't even know Uncle Xiang had heart surgery, right?"
Xiangyang tightened his fingers holding the coffee cup. He looked up at Xia Xiaochan with a complicated look in his eyes and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something. But in the end he said nothing. He just lowered his eyes silently, his gaze falling on the dark brown surface of the coffee in the cup.
Jin Cang had never seen Xiangyang like this before. The usually elegant, confident, and occasionally romantic and casual Xiangyang was now completely shrouded in a shadow, and even his broad shoulders seemed to have slumped a little.
Xia Xiaochan sighed, her tone slowing down, her words less rapid-fire than before, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "I came here on my own, no one knew. I just think, with so many things, we just don't understand them immediately. Over time, we just get stuck there, and the more we dwell on them, the harder it becomes to untie them. Some obstacles can only be overcome face to face. You can hide from them for a while, but not forever. You know this."
Xia Xiaochan's eyes fell on the cup that Xiang Yang was holding tightly, and she continued, "Uncle Xiang...actually, he misses you a lot."
Xiangyang still lowered his head. The soft music in the restaurant now sounded distant and distorted. The veins on the back of his hand, which held the cup, were faintly visible.
Jin Cangku sat aside, feeling like an extraneous figure. This suddenness of being overshadowed left him bewildered. He suddenly thought of Jin Changan in the nursing home, and his heart tightened. Every family has its own problems. So, even the bright and cheerful Xiangyang had this hidden burden? But what exactly was that situation? He actually knew very little about it.
Xia Xiaochan said this without further ado. She turned to Jin Cang and gave him a friendly smile, deliberately making her tone sound comical. "Brother Cang, I saw a stall selling strawberries at the corner of the alley. Are strawberries actually sold on the street like this in Taipei? So cute! Can you go with me to pick out a box? Let him be alone for now."
Xia Xiaochan stood up and signaled Jin Cang to follow with her eyes. Her movements were very quick and decisive, without any delay.
Jin Cang looked hesitantly at Xiang Yang who was still silent, and followed Xia Xiaochan out of the restaurant quietly.
Xiangyang sat there alone, Xia Xiaochan's words, "It's always twisted there, the more tangled it is, the harder it is to untie," howled in his ears like the north wind blowing the clouds all over the sky.
When exactly had this knot been tied? And how had it become so tight, so suffocating? It had been so long, so long that even he himself was a little blurry.
He took a slow sip of coffee, the bitter taste stinging his tongue.
If we really want to solve it, the first person who needs to reconcile is probably the awkward and stubborn self, right?
He stared out the window at the endless stream of traffic on Taibei Street after waking up. Everyone was rushing endlessly. What were they rushing to? What kind of waiting would they face at the end of their rush? For a moment, there was no answer.
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