The hall of Terminal 2 at Jingjiang International Airport was brightly lit, with passengers coming and going frequently, and the empty hall echoed with various electronic announcements of flight numbers.
Pei Xi retrieved her suitcase at the baggage carousel, pushed it in her cart, found a spot, and sat down to wait for Jiang Cheng.
More than ten minutes had passed since the call ended, and Jiang Cheng should arrive in about twenty minutes.
It was a bit cold inside, so she wrapped her down jacket tighter around herself and curled up into a small ball.
She took out her phone and called Pei Zhi and Pei Ruoyun to let them know she was safe.
Then she exited WeChat and opened another app.
It's the social media platform of her "Feiyi" account.
The red dot notifications for new comments and likes immediately caught Pei Xi's eye. He cleared them with a single click and then swiped to the recently visited section.
The top-ranked account is one with no profile picture and a nickname consisting of a string of initial numbers.
Pei Xi opened his homepage.
He has zero followers and only one person.
It's her account, Fei Yi.
At first glance, it looks so simple and desolate that it seems like she bought zombie followers and online trolls.
But beneath his unassuming default ID and profile picture are his posts, many of them.
Pei Xi scrolled down through them one by one.
He has no fans, but every post he makes is written in the third person, as if he is talking to himself.
The first post was in September of the year before last, shortly after Pei Xi created this account.
[It seems like she let me know on purpose, I'm so happy. She's not angry with me.]
Then another week or so passed.
Her drawings are so cute, just like her. I've saved every single one.
Then comes October.
I saw her on her brother's WeChat Moments today. She hasn't lost weight; it seems she's been eating well.
She drank Want Want milk again, and I wanted to buy some for her. But I can't now.
Then comes November.
It seems my birthday wish won't come true, but thankfully she doesn't know what I wished for.
She wished me a happy birthday... Turns out, what she said would come true really did. It's not gods or Buddhas that make wishes come true, it's her.
December.
She hasn't posted anything for a week. Is she very busy? I haven't heard from her lately, and I'm starting to miss her.
I'm having trouble sleeping again; I've been having insomnia a lot lately.
If I don't see her soon... I think I'm going crazy.
January of the following year.
I couldn't resist going to see her. It was snowing, and she was buying roasted sweet potatoes. Snowflakes fell on her hair, covering it with a thin layer of white. I wanted to reach out and brush them away for her. But I was too far away.
She probably never knows that I once secretly touched the ends of her hair.
February.
Work has been very busy, but I've earned some money. I can afford to buy her a nicer gift now.
March.
It's been so long since I've seen her. Only when I'm working can I stop thinking about her.
April.
I'm happy for her when she says she did well on the mock exam. I just don't know if she'll go to the same university as me. But her brother is here too, so even if it weren't for me, she probably would have come.
May.
I suddenly realized I could recite every single one of her posts from memory; I don't know how many times I've read them.
Another year is almost over. It's only now that I realize how slowly a year can go by. This year and last year seem to be different lengths.
In June, on the day of the college entrance examination, he posted two messages in a row.
I hope she does well on her exams and everything goes smoothly.
I bought her a birthday present, but I don't know how to give it to her. I wonder if she still wears the present I gave her last year. I think it suits her very well.
July.
She really is coming to Peking University. It's what she promised, nothing's changed.
August.
It's so hot, I can't sleep, I'm having insomnia again. For some reason, I suddenly thought of the basketball court two years ago. Actually, I lied to her about something. I had my phone with me that day, but I said I didn't, because I just wanted to spend some time alone with her. I never told her that I got a whole day's pay docked for being late. I didn't argue with my boss; I figured it was punishment for my dishonesty.
I'm a little nervous about school starting soon.
September.
She actually came to the studio and even called me... My heart was pounding. It felt like a dream.
Pei Xi reached the top of the stroke and stopped there.
Since then, he has not posted any updates.
Until early yesterday morning, he updated his status with a single sentence.
Pei Xi looked at that sentence, tapped the screen of his phone, and then pressed forward.
-
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Cheng quickly got dressed and went out. His mind was still blank until he got into a taxi.
Along the way, looking at the bright call history on his phone, he finally realized that the call he had just made wasn't a dream.
The driver, urged on by him, sped all the way to the terminal. Jiang Cheng got out of the car and walked into the bustling hall with long strides and a hurried figure.
The hall was so vast that he instinctively started running, leaving behind a chilling gust of wind and snow.
He searched for Pei Xi's figure in the crowd, his gaze sweeping across every passerby. Just then, the phone he was holding suddenly chimed.
Jiang Cheng raised his hand and looked at the screen. A pop-up window appeared, and his hand suddenly froze.
Then new messages kept popping up.
You have a new follower.
You have received a new like.
[Your account content has been reposted by @非衣.]
You have received a new comment.
Jiang Cheng suddenly felt short of breath, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
His muscles tensed instantly, but he steadied himself and tapped his phone screen.
Then he saw that his latest post had been shared.
The text for forwarding is very simple, only three words.
[User: I wonder if we can still watch fireworks together this year.]
[Feiyi: Of course.]
A jolt of electricity surged through Jiang Cheng's chest. He subconsciously looked up and saw Pei Xi standing not far away, pushing a luggage cart in the flow of people, smiling and waving at him.
He lifted his foot and strode towards her, stopping in front of her.
"You see..."
Pei Xi smiled and spoke, but before she could finish, Jiang Cheng raised his arm and silently pulled her into his embrace.
Tightly, forcefully, as if it were being embedded into the chest.
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