Meet
It was the head of the Literature Department who called, and he called Xu Changjia.
Ou Liyao's small head came closer, and her hand held hers tightly. If you looked closely, you could see some fine beads of sweat on her fingers. "Hurry up and answer it."
"Didn't you two say you were coming? Why aren't you here yet?"
"We're already at the airport, but we haven't seen you..."
Ou Liyao snatched the phone and continued, "Senior Wenxue, didn't you say you were in Zone C? We've gone around twice already and still can't find you. We were worried you might have left."
He immediately sensed something was wrong. They hadn't moved from check-in counter area C. Zhang Yuning's relatives and friends were all there, so how could they have gone to the wrong place? He greeted the person next to him and then took the phone to find a ground staff member.
Upon hearing this, the staff member immediately realized that the two women had gone to the wrong place.
Normally, if you take a taxi to the airport, unless you specifically ask, they will take you to Terminal 1, which is for domestic flights. But Zhang Yuning is going abroad, so she will be at Terminal 2, which is not with them.
The two girls followed the staff's advice and went down to the second basement level to catch the last subway train towards Terminal 1.
However, I still couldn't catch up with the farewell team; I only saw a lone figure sitting at the check-in counter in Zone C.
Beads of sweat from running were clearly visible on Ou Liyao's face. She looked around but didn't see the person she wanted to see. Although she already knew the answer in her heart, she couldn't help but ask, "Senior Liberal Arts, where is Zhang Yuning? Has he already left?"
The atmosphere of parting was hardly pleasant, and even the senior's tone was not melodious, revealing a deathly aura: "Yes, just five minutes before you arrived, I went through the security checkpoint and waited inside to register."
But she and Xu Changjia hadn't even had a chance to give him the bag of gifts they had prepared, so why did he leave? If they hadn't left the terminal, would they have had a chance to see him again?
She held her head in her hands, squatting on the ground in deep regret. She should have known better than to sleep so long this afternoon. She was like a dead pig, impossible to wake up, and it even delayed her important business.
Xu Changjia felt just as disappointed as the two of them. When he sent Zheng Ruoqian to H country, at least he got to see him.
But now another person close to me has passed away, without even seeing his face. Isn't this a missed opportunity from an idol drama?
She silently squatted with her friend for a while, wanting to say something to comfort her, but not knowing where to begin.
But when you see her slap her forehead, you know she's probably come up with some crazy idea again.
Sure enough, with a wave of her hand, she pulled both her and the senior student over and chattered away.
Xu Changjia looked troubled, still making his last desperate attempt as the author, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Without a second's hesitation, she nodded, and the two of them had no choice but to cooperate. They rummaged through their bags for paper and pens, quickly wrote down what they wanted to say to Zhang Yuning, and stuffed it into the gift box they had bought.
Then, he stood at the place where he was about to enter the security checkpoint and struck up a conversation with passersby, asking them if their flights were close to 211. He asked several people in a row, but they all refused.
But Ou Liyao didn't give up and continued to ask. Wenxue Chang stood aside, fiddling with his phone, and confirmed with Zhang Yuning that he hadn't boarded the plane yet, which was only a dozen minutes away. He then urged the two of them to hurry up, because if they couldn't find the person soon, they would really miss their chance.
Xu Changjia had never done anything like this before. He rehearsed in his mind how to start the conversation. Should he ask, "Hello, is your gate closer to gate 211?" or "Sir/Madam, could you please take this to the gate inside for my friend?"
She was getting anxious and sweating profusely as she made no progress. She noticed that her companions were being rejected repeatedly, and she felt like she was about to break the strap of their backpacks.
Finally, with her eyes closed and no longer caring, she bravely took the first step forward, reaching out to stop someone. "Excuse me, could you please help me take a gift into gate 211 for my friend?"
The sound wasn't loud, just enough for the passersby who were stopped to hear.
The young woman in her early twenties standing in front of them hadn't expected to be stopped so late at night. Looking at Xu Changjia's delicate features and noticing his fingers constantly fiddling with the strap of his backpack, she seemed a little nervous. "Sure," she said.
Xu Changjia, who had been keeping his head down with little hope, suddenly felt a surge of longing and asked in disbelief, "Really, really?"
Seeing that she nodded firmly, Xu Changjia quickly pulled his two friends over, put all the things into a tote bag for her, and explained the whole story to her.
The young woman added Xu Changjia on WeChat, saying she would let her know once it was done. She also wanted to send her a red envelope as a token of her gratitude, but Xu politely declined.
Ou Liyao sighed, "There are still many good people in this world." The three of them each had a grilled sausage and sat in front of the counter in Section C, waiting for good news. Then her phone lit up again. A young lady named Wen Linglan replied with a photo and the caption, "The items have been handed over."
The three of them walked out of the airport. The night at midnight was so quiet, except for the cars coming and going. I wonder how many of them were cars saying goodbye.
For Hsu Chang-chia, the next farewell is fast approaching.
Ou Liyao only took a few days to come back and catch up on the classes she was supposed to attend, finish some of the homework she missed, pick up a few test papers and some PowerPoint presentations she needed to prepare, and have a simple meal with her best friend.
Then, with a taxi farewell, they would return to the stage of "Youth Dream Factory".
Since they all found what they wanted to do, her time was no longer in sync with theirs. The former four-person team went their separate ways, and she didn't know when they would meet again.
Every brief reunion heralded a farewell, like the desolation following a grand celebration. Yet, these fleeting moments of togetherness gave her a true sense of life and meaning.
Xu Changjia finally understood the true purpose of the memory book: her rebirth was to live, to truly live, not to be a walking corpse.
After seeing off her loved ones once again, she wanted to have a good chat with the memory book, but it only gave her simple words, either "hmm" or a mechanical "ding-dong," refusing to say another word to her.
Helpless, she picked up the book "Twenty Lectures on Ethnic Minorities Studies" next to her and continued to study. After studying for a while, her phone rang.
It was her mother calling. A bold guess was forming in her mind, and she couldn't help but breathe faster. When she answered the phone, her voice sounded a bit shaky and uneasy, "Hello, Mom."
Just as she had guessed, her parents came to Nan'an to see their daughter, who had been studying away from home for more than three years.
My parents just got off the plane and are already on their way to school. They've arranged to have dinner at a private restaurant outside the school, and they still have some time.
She couldn't wait to change out of her pajamas. She tried on more than a dozen outfits but wasn't satisfied with any of them. Finally, she looked at the cardboard box on the bedside table. It was a gift that Yao Yao had brought her when she visited her not long ago.
Let's stick with this one; Yao Yao's judgment is always right.
Sure enough, when Hsu Chang-Chia appeared in front of her parents wearing a light yellow dress, her mother quickly stepped forward and hugged her daughter.
She felt a little lost, her hands clenching and unclenching, before finally gently wrapping her arms around her mother's back. It had been so many years since she had felt her mother's embrace again, and it truly felt warm.
Mr. Xu stood aside watching the beautiful scene of the mother and daughter embracing. Even though his hands were full of gifts for her, he couldn't help but take out his phone to take a picture before laughing and saying, "Don't let anyone see this and laugh at us."
She gently pushed her mother away and saw that her eyes were full of reluctance and an unusually gentle gaze. Her mother's hand stroked her hair and then her body. This was clearly her biological mother, but now she felt a little unfamiliar with her.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Xu shook her head, turned around and wiped away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Her precious daughter, whom she had raised with love and care, how could she not dare to tell her parents when she was bullied outside?
They are such a failed pair of parents. They hardly ever see their daughter throughout the year, and they don't even know that she has changed so much in terms of clothing and appearance.
When Mr. Xu noticed his wife's movements, he took two steps forward, gave the gift to his daughter, and asked her to show his parents the small apartment she was living in and what the school looked like.
She readily agreed.
The apartment isn't big, but after living there for a while, it's been decorated to her liking. As soon as you turn the key, a refreshing green color greets you, making you feel very at ease.
Mr. Xu carefully noted down the apartment's floor and location, and then strolled around South Bank University, noting down his daughter's major and class, as well as Professor Xu, whom she mentioned several times.
Her parents are both very busy people, and the fact that they could take two days to spend with her eating, drinking, and having fun touched her deeply. However, she didn't dare to mention the separation, fearing that it would all just be a dream when she woke up.
On her third day of school, when she left the school gate on the south bank, her parents were waiting for her at the school gate just like the previous two days, as if they had returned to the time a few years ago when they sent her to Junzhou No. 1 Middle School.
She took her parents' hands and went to the private restaurant where her senior had treated them to their first meal at Nan'an University of Arts.
There, Xu Changjia received the most significant gift she had received in many years—the property certificate for the small apartment she lived in.
Little did she know that this would be the last gift she ever received, and this family reunion became a testament to the countdown to their separation.
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