Reunion by the River
As dusk settled, the orange-red sunset gilded the continuous silhouette of Qinan Mountain with a warm, yet soon-to-disappear, golden edge. The off-road vehicle slowly drove along the last bumpy stretch of dirt road into the town nestled against the mountains and beside the water. The air was filled with the scent of firewood, damp earth, and a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance of plants, a stark contrast to the city.
Lu Ziang had booked the best hotel in town; the conditions were still basic, but it was clean and tidy enough. While checking in, he asked the kind-looking middle-aged landlady behind the counter, "Excuse me, has a young man surnamed Jiang recently arrived in town or the nearby villages? He's about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, very tall, and doesn't talk much."
While registering the information, the proprietress tried hard to recall, then shook her head: "Jiang? I didn't pay much attention. But recently some young people have come to town, saying they're doing something about rural revitalization. They're setting up computers in the village across the river and teaching kids to take online classes. The one leading them is a girl surnamed Li, she's quite capable."
Although the clues were vague, the keywords "online classes" and "computer" instantly ignited a light in Lin Wanxing's eyes. This aligned with Jiang Chen's abilities!
"How do I get to the village on the other side of the river?" Su Xiao immediately asked.
"It's not far. Just follow the road at the west end of town, walk to the riverbank, and there's an old ferry crossing. Take a boat there," the landlady enthusiastically pointed out the direction.
Without pausing, the three put down their luggage and immediately headed towards the west of the town, following the directions. The road grew narrower and narrower, lined with old wooden houses and scattered lights. Before even reaching the riverbank, the powerful roar of the water could be heard, carrying a damp mist that rushed towards them.
Finally, a wide expanse of river came into view. The water was a deep, muddy yellow, flowing ceaselessly in the twilight. On the opposite bank, villages were nestled among dark green forests, their lights twinkling like stars. A simple wooden ferry stretched into the river, with several small wooden boats moored there, swaying gently with the waves.
However, a handwritten wooden sign stood by the ferry crossing, the words blurred by the wind and rain: "The last ferry has departed, please come early tomorrow."
Hope seemed to be instantly severed by the icy river.
"What should we do?" Su Xiao looked at the vast river and felt anxious.
Lu Ziang surveyed the surroundings and calmly analyzed, "The current is swift, and sailing at night is too risky. We'll take the first boat tomorrow morning. Tonight, we can inquire about more specific information in town."
Lin Wanxing stood at the edge of the ferry crossing, gazing at the hazy lights on the opposite bank. The river breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, bringing a chilling sensation. So close, yet so far. Jiang Chen might be under one of those lights on the other side, while she was blocked by the surging river.
She was unwilling to give up. Her gaze wandered along the riverbank, suddenly landing on a relatively flat mudflat not far away. There, several blurry figures seemed to be busy, as if they were fixing some kind of equipment.
"I'll go take a look over there." Lin Wanxing pointed in that direction, and without waiting for Su Xiao and Lu Ziang's response, she walked along the riverbank, her steps uneven. An inexplicable pull made it impossible for her to wait peacefully for dawn.
Su Xiao and Lu Ziang exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
The closer you get, the clearer the scene on the mudflats becomes. Several young people wearing volunteer vests are packing up their equipment, and next to them stand several display boards with words like "Drowning Prevention Awareness" and "Cybersecurity Knowledge" faintly visible. The event seems to have just ended.
Lin Wanxing's heart raced involuntarily, her eyes searching eagerly among the figures.
He wasn't there.
Disappointment, like icy river water, washed over her once more. She stopped, panting, her chest rising and falling slightly from her hurried steps and fluctuating emotions.
Just then, a volunteer looked up and saw these unfamiliar faces, especially the outstanding Lu Ziang and Su Xiao, and greeted them warmly: "Are you here to find someone? The event just ended, and most people have gone back to the village on the other side."
Lin Wanxing, as if grasping at a last straw, hurriedly stepped forward, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "Excuse me, do you have someone here named Jiang Chen? About this tall, not very talkative..." She gestured with her hands, describing what she remembered.
The volunteer tilted his head and thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Jiang Chen? Are you talking about 'Teacher Jiang'? He doesn't live with us, and he's usually quite quiet, but he's a really nice person, and his skills are amazing! He helped us set up the internet and computers here!"
Teacher Jiang!
This name was like a ray of light, instantly piercing through the fog before Lin Wanxing's eyes! It was him! It must be him!
"Where is he?" Su Xiao asked urgently.
The volunteer pointed upstream: "He doesn't seem to live in the village. He found an old house to live in upstream, saying it's quiet. I just saw him pack his things and head upstream." He paused and added, "If you walk upstream along this path by the river for about a mile or two, you'll see a small hill with a lone wooden house on it. That should be it."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Lin Wanxing said repeatedly, her voice choked with emotion. Without pausing, she turned and ran along the winding riverside path that the volunteer had pointed out, which disappeared into the twilight and vegetation.
"Wanxing! Slow down! The road is slippery!" Su Xiao called out anxiously from behind her, and she and Lu Ziang immediately chased after her.
The path was rugged and uneven, strewn with loose stones. On one side was a steep mountain wall, and on the other, the river flowed ceaselessly. Lin Wanxing couldn't care less about anything else. Chen Yu's guidance, the heart-wrenching words on the tablet, the "Teacher Xiao Jiang" mentioned by the volunteers... all the clues pointed to this place! She ran, her lungs burning from the strenuous exercise. The river wind whipped at her face, carrying moisture and coolness, but she only felt burning hot all over.
As dusk settled, the last glimmer of light was about to be swallowed by the valley. The roar of the river drowned out her hurried footsteps and panting.
Just around a bend in the path, not far ahead, a slender and upright figure came into her view.
The man was wearing a worn-out dark coat, and his figure appeared thinner than I remembered. He was walking alone along the riverbank in silence.
He bent down and carefully picked up a plastic bottle from a crevice in the rocks with long tongs, placing it in the trash bag in his hand. The afterglow of the setting sun gilded his figure with a blurry golden edge. His back was lonely and focused, blending into the flowing river and the vast distant mountains, like a frozen, melancholic painting.
Even from a distance, even in dim light, even just a silhouette—Lin Wanxing was absolutely certain that it was him!
It's Jiang Chen!
At that moment, all the longing, regret, heartache, and the relentless pursuit across mountains and rivers transformed into an almost uncontrollable sob in her throat. The days of running around, anxiety, fear... all the emotions surged forth like a river bursting its banks, overwhelming all her restraint.
With all her might, she screamed the name she had suppressed a thousand times in her heart towards that retreating figure—
"Jiang Chen—!"
Her voice sounded so sharp, so broken, and so reckless amidst the river wind and flowing water.
The figure in front of him seemed to be frozen in place, suddenly stiffening! His hand holding the bag tightened abruptly, his spine straightening as if a string had been suddenly pulled taut.
He turned around very slowly, with an unbelievable stiffness.
In the twilight, his face was somewhat blurred, but Lin Wanxing clearly saw the extreme shock on his face. His pupils suddenly contracted in the dim light, as if he had seen the most impossible phantom. The color drained from his face in an instant.
Their eyes met.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The roar of the river and the howling of the wind became distant background noise.
The bag containing a few bits of trash in his hand fell to the ground on the rocky beach with a "thud".
Lin Wanxing looked at him, tears welling up and blurring her vision. She wanted to speak, to apologize, to tell him everything, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't make a sound. She could only look at him like that, using all her remaining strength.
However, Jiang Chen's reaction the next second was completely unexpected.
He didn't approach her, didn't ask any questions, and showed not even a trace of the complex emotions one might feel upon reuniting with an old friend. After that utter shock, what flashed quickly in his eyes was panic, resistance, and an almost instinctive fear of wanting to escape!
He turned around abruptly, almost staggering, as if being chased by something terrifying, and ran along the riverside path upstream without looking back!
His retreating figure was resolute, without the slightest hesitation.
"Jiang Chen! Don't run!" Lin Wanxing's heart was instantly torn apart. She screamed and chased after him without thinking. The gravel under her feet almost made her fall several times, but she didn't care. Her eyes were only on that receding figure.
Su Xiao and Lu Ziang also arrived at the bend and witnessed Jiang Chen running away and Lin Wanxing desperately chasing after him.
"Jiang Chen! You bastard! Stop right there!" Su Xiao shouted angrily and chased after him.
Lu Ziang frowned and quickened his pace, but he remained calm, his sharp eyes observing the terrain and the situation of the two men.
"Jiang Chen! Stop running! Listen to me!" Lin Wanxing cried out, her strength rapidly waning. She lost her footing, stepped on a loose stone, and fell forward violently!
"Ah!" she cried out in pain as a piercing pain shot through her ankle. Her hands and knees slammed heavily against the rough stone, burning with pain.
The fall was so severe that she instantly lost all strength, collapsing onto the cold riverbank, tears mingling with dust, utterly disheveled. The excruciating pain in her ankle prevented her from standing; she could only watch helplessly as that figure receded further and further into the twilight. Despair, like the icy river water, completely overwhelmed her.
"Jiang Chen! Please! Stop!" Lin Wanxing, lying on the ground, propped herself up and looked at Jiang Chen in front of her. Her voice was filled with desperate cries, and her lungs burned from the intense running and emotional agitation. A piercing pain shot through her knees and elbows; the skin was scraped and bleeding.
However, the next instant, she saw the running figure in front of her and suddenly stopped.
His figure stood frozen in place, his hands clenched into fists, as if he were undergoing an extremely intense inner struggle. The roar of the river could not drown out the heavy, painful breathing coming from his direction.
He stood a dozen meters away, shrouded in the twilight. In the end, he couldn't remain unmoved by her utter wretchedness and pain.
Lin Wanxing gritted her teeth, ignoring the excruciating pain in her knees and arms, and used her hands to support herself as she stubbornly and inching her way up from the cold ground. Blood seeped from the wound on her knee, flowing down her calves and leaving glaring red marks on her pale skin. But she stood up, her eyes fixed on the frozen figure, filled with an unwavering determination to never give up.
"Jiang Chen..." Her voice was broken and gasping for breath due to pain, but it pierced through the river wind with unparalleled clarity and reached his ears, "This time... even if you run to the ends of the earth... I will definitely catch up with you! I will never... let you leave alone again!"
Dragging her injured leg and enduring the excruciating pain, she walked towards him step by step, determined. Each step felt like stepping on a knife's edge, and also like stepping on the tip of his heart.
Jiang Chen's back trembled violently. Finally, very slowly, he turned around.
He looked at her disheveled state—messy hair, legs covered in mud and blood, bruised knees and elbows, and eyes brimming with tears, yet burning with a flame that seemed capable of incinerating all obstacles.
The panic and avoidance on his face were gradually replaced by an immense, unbearable heartache and helplessness. He watched her walk towards him so stubbornly and recklessly, and the cold wall he used to protect himself collapsed in that moment.
He could no longer escape.
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