0007 Make a Wish
The footsteps behind Song Ning followed her all the way, but did not get close, maintaining a certain distance.
The two walked for a while until they reached the park that Song Ning had mentioned.
This is a community park with the most common fitness equipment and children's play equipment. The only difference from other parks is that there is a small circular artificial building in the center of the park.
At the center of the building is a stone tablet inscribed with "Anning Town". Around the stone tablet, a 30-centimeter-wide pool is encircled by black marble, with a small water column about 5 centimeters long spraying from the pool.
Song Ning sat down on the marble floor of the fountain.
Shen Yuxiu sat down about a meter away from Song Ning.
Water flowed into the surface, making a gurgling sound as it splashed. The two sat there for a long time until a pale yellow tinge appeared in the inky sky.
Song Ning turned her head and looked at Shen Yuxiu sitting under the landmark. He turned his head slightly and looked in Song Ning's direction. His gaze fell on the morning light behind her. His long ankles were crossed, and the moon had not yet completely disappeared to the side.
His gaze would occasionally fall on her, sweeping back and forth between her and the morning light. Several times, Song Ning noticed that he opened his mouth, as if to speak, but then closed it again.
Song Ning stared at Shen Yuxiu for a long time, her expression conflicted, before finally making a decision. She took out a hundred-yuan bill from her wallet and walked towards him.
"I'll pay you back for the fare." Song Ning stood beside Shen Yuxiu, holding banknotes in her hand.
Shen Yuxiu looked at Song Ning at eye level, seemingly wanting to say something, but then seemed to change his mind at the last minute. He looked down at the banknotes and asked, "Do you have any coins?"
Song Ning opened her wallet and looked around: "I don't have that many coins."
“One will do,” Shen Yuxiu said.
Song Ning took out a coin.
The coin landed in Shen Yuxiu's outstretched hand.
Shen Yuxiu stood up and held the coin between his fingers: "Did you know that if you make a wish in this kind of fountain, it will come true?"
Song Ning looked at the pool, but there was nothing in it, and it wasn't even particularly clean. She shook her head: "I've never heard of it."
"Give it a try." Shen Yuxiu turned to look at Song Ning. "What is your wish?"
“I…” Song Ning pondered for a moment, her eyes slightly red, “I have no wish.”
Shen Yuxiu paused, then made a praying gesture, closed his eyes, and said devoutly, "I hope Song Ning's greatest wish can be fulfilled."
Small fountains are arranged in a circle, spraying water into the pool. The water curtain falls in curved mercury under the still-on lights, splashing up sparkling water droplets.
Song Ning looked at Shen Yuxiu, somewhat unable to understand why he wanted to help her make a wish.
She said she had no wishes, and even if she did, they wouldn't come true. She knew all of this was a lie.
After making his wish, Shen Yuxiu flicked his thumb.
The coin in his hand followed a parabola as it fell into the small circular pool of water in the first rays of dawn, making a "plop" sound before sinking to the bottom.
“It’s impossible.” Song Ning stared at the only coin in the water, her voice very soft.
"Do you have any coins left?" Shen Yuxiu asked.
Song Ning stared at Shen Yuxiu, and in the morning light, a smile appeared on his face. "Just give me one more."
Song Ning opened the bag, rummaging through it while muttering, "Can't you count? 100 is clearly bigger than 1."
Shen Yuxiu was amused by Song Ning's childishness: "I don't have any change to give you. Consider the first coin as payment for your bus fare, and this coin as a loan from me. I'll return it to you tomorrow."
Song Ning took out a coin and placed it in Shen Yuxiu's palm: "No need to return it."
Shen Yuxiu smiled, not dwelling on it too much. He imitated the action from the first time and made a wish: "This is my second wish."
"I hope to become an astrophysicist when I grow up, to pursue the truth in a down-to-earth manner, and to contribute my efforts to the cause of astrophysics faithfully."
When Shen Yuxiu made his wish, his profile was bathed in the bright morning light, and the tips of his long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly in the wind. His expression looked as devout as the first time.
Song Ning's gaze shifted to the coin beneath the rippling surface of the pool.
Will it really happen?
Shen Yuxiu tossed the coin back into the pool, then turned to look at Song Ning and said solemnly, "I don't know what your biggest wish is, or perhaps you don't have a wish yet, but if one of my wishes comes true, it means this wishing well can grant wishes, and then my other wish will definitely come true as well."
Song Ning muttered, "Why is it my biggest wish? Can't it be everything?"
Shen Yuxiu was taken aback, then said apologetically, "Because I don't know if you have any wishes, or how many. If you have too many wishes, I'm afraid I'll be too greedy and it won't grant them for me."
Song Ning said angrily, "I didn't. You're the one with too many desires."
"Two isn't many," Shen Yuxiu laughed.
Song Ning was silent for a moment before asking, "What if it only achieves one thing and forgets the other?"
“Then why don’t you come and make a wish yourself? If more people make the wish, it might come true faster,” Shen Yuxiu said.
Song Ning bit her lip, staring at the two glowing coins beneath the water's surface: "If it can be achieved, then I'll give it a try."
Shen Yuxiu gave a bright smile: "I'll come with you then."
“Who said it’s guaranteed to happen?” Song Ning looked slightly annoyed. She opened her wallet and looked inside. “But could you secretly bring me here again in the future? I can pay for your ride.”
"Are we going to sneak around? Actually, riding a bike down the mountain is quite tiring, and it's dangerous to go down at night." Seeing Song Ning's displeasure, Shen Yuxiu immediately explained, "Next time I'll persuade my parents to send us over, how about that? If it's here, I think they'll agree."
Song Ning pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Just have them deliver it, and then we'll kick them out," Shen Yuxiu coaxed. Seeing that Song Ning still didn't speak, he gave in, "Okay, next time it'll just be the two of us."
“Let them take you to a taxi stand, that’s fine.” Song Ning looked up at Shen Yuxiu, “But you can’t tell them about tonight, or I’ll never talk to you again.”
"Okay, thank you for your understanding," Shen Yuxiu said with a gentle smile.
The sun rises from the horizon, illuminating the ground.
The police car's engine roared at high speed, the tires slid sideways and drifted, kicking up dust, before the car came to a stop after skidding for a distance.
Several police officers got out of the car and rushed towards Shen Yuxiu's direction.
Shen Yuxiu sat on the ground next to an outdoor chair, where Song Ning was lying asleep.
He held a large cardboard box he had found in his hand, placing it about 10 centimeters above Song Ning's head to shield her from the glaring sunlight.
Upon seeing Shen Xiaoyue and his colleagues in police uniforms, Shen Yuxiu quickly lowered one hand and gestured for them to be quiet.
Shen Xiaoyue looked at the sleeping Song Ning and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're alright."
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