1 Chapter 1
◎There's someone special here tonight, don't be late◎
When the phone rang, Sang Xinqi was sweeping the dust on the studio floor with a broom.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the drawings she had designed on the display shelves. She put down the broom in her hand and took out her cell phone from her apron pocket.
The screen displayed the words "Jiang Xun". The corners of her mouth rose unconsciously and she swiped the answer button. "Hello, Boss Jiang, how come you are free today?"
"It's been three months since I returned to China, and there's really no news at all." Jiang Xun's voice was filled with obvious complaints.
Sang Xinqi tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder, tidying up the messy drawings on her workbench. "I'm busy, aren't I?"
"You're the only one busy," Jiang Xun said, his tone making her almost imagine him rolling his eyes. "Is the studio renovated?"
"Yeah, I just finished cleaning," Sang Xinqi looked around. The sunlight filled the space of more than 100 square meters. The sewing machines, mannequins, and fabric racks were all in order. The "Duxiu" sign at the door had been hung up yesterday.
It has been eight years since she graduated from high school, and she has also been abroad for eight years. When she returned to this city, she finally realized her childhood dream and owned her own clothing design studio.
There was the sound of shuffling papers on the other end of the phone. Jiang Xun seemed to be looking up information, but he kept talking, "Do you remember what day it is today?"
"What day?" Sang Xinqi asked absentmindedly, smoothing out a wrinkled drawing with her fingers.
"We grew up together, how could you have forgotten such an important day?" Jiang Xun's voice suddenly rose, and the assistant's voice calling "Mr. Jiang" came from the background.
Sang Xinqi glanced at the date on her phone: September 6th. Suddenly, memories flooded back. Growing up, they'd celebrated their birthdays together on this day every year. Jiang Xun would use his pocket money to buy two small cakes, one for each of them, and they'd make a wish and eat them. Even when she went abroad, he'd still text her on time, "I ate your cake."
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot today is your birthday," Sang Xinqi apologized sincerely, and heard Jiang Xun's smug hum on the other end of the phone.
"Shunde Fishing Village, 7pm," Jiang Xun spoke faster. In the background, he heard his assistant's urging voice again, "Mr. Jiang, it's time for the meeting."
He quickly added, "By the way, dress nicely."
Sang Xinqi was about to ask what he meant when a busy tone came from the other end of the line. She shook her head and put the phone down. Jiang Xun had been like this since he was a child, speaking and acting as if he were catching a late train.
The sun shone obliquely on the workbench. Sang Xinqi picked up a pair of scissors to trim the threads of a piece of sample cloth, but her thoughts drifted back to high school. They were a group of six, eating, drinking, playing and studying together. Sometimes they would work together until midnight on a problem. Although the schoolwork was heavy and studying until midnight was tiring, they were very happy.
The happier times were probably those few months when I was in love with him.
The tip of the scissors accidentally pierced her finger, and Sang Xinqi gasped. It had been eight years, and she thought she should have forgotten it long ago, but those memories were like needles hidden in the fabric, which would prick her and cause pain if she wasn't careful.
On that sunny afternoon, she heard a strange and cold voice and saw a figure turning away resolutely.
But these were her own choices, she couldn't blame anyone else.
The phone rang again. It was a text message from Jiang Xun: "There's someone special coming tonight. Don't be late."
Sang Xinqi's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Someone special? She stared at her phone screen until the sun caught the screen and made it gleam.
During the past eight years, she had heard a lot of news about him. She heard that he had been admitted to a prestigious university and that he had opened a company together with Jiang Xun.
Her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of her apron, Sang Xinqi walked to the window. Across the street, in front of the bookstore, several high school-aged boys and girls walked by, laughing and joking. She seemed to see them in a trance.
Jiang Xun and the others always walked in the front, and she and he walked between them, holding hands blatantly. They stood in front and behind to block them. If there was any sign of trouble, they would remind them to prevent the school teachers and parents from knowing that they were in a premature relationship.
At 6:30 in the evening, Sang Xinqi stood in front of the wardrobe, hesitating.
Her fingers slid across each piece of clothing, finally stopping on a dark green dress, which she designed after graduating from high school. The color was very similar to the leaves of the old banyan tree in her high school.
He once waited for her under that tree after school, the sunlight filtering through the leaves casting mottled shadows on his white shirt.
"If it's him..." Sang Xinqi muttered to herself in front of the mirror, then shook her head violently, "No, he probably doesn't want to see her. After all, he knows she has a good relationship with Jiang Xun. If she returns to China, she will definitely go to Jiang Xun's birthday party."
The alarm on her phone rang, reminding her that it was time to leave. Sang Xinqi took one last look at herself in the mirror. Eight years had worn away the baby fat on her face, and her eyes no longer had the fearless look they had at eighteen.
As she locked the door, Sang Xinqi took a deep breath. The September evening breeze carried the fragrance of osmanthus flowers, and the setting sun dyed the entire street orange.
She wasn't sure if she was ready for a possible reunion, but she knew that some stitches would eventually have to be mended with her own hands.
Sang Xinqi had just returned to China and hadn't bought a car yet. She hailed a taxi on the side of the road. The streetscape outside the car window receded rapidly, and neon lights cast long streaks of light on the glass.
She looked down at the navigation on her phone. The restaurant Jiang Xun mentioned was not far from her temporary apartment, about ten kilometers away. There were quite a lot of people at this time. Normally, it would take twenty minutes to get there if there was no traffic jam, but there was a little traffic today, so it took about thirty minutes to get there.
The taxi slowly stopped in front of the restaurant. She scanned the code to pay the fare, pushed the door and got out. The early autumn evening breeze blew towards her, bringing a hint of coolness.
She subconsciously looked up, and her eyes happened to meet Jiang Xun standing under the gilded plaque. He was wearing a crisp dark gray suit, but his tie was loosely ripped, giving him a slightly cynical look.
"Sangsang, here!" Jiang Xun suddenly raised his arm, and his watch drew a silver arc in the light of the lantern.
His shout caused all the guests waiting at the door to turn around and look. Sang Xinqi immediately wanted to escape from here. She quickly walked through the revolving door, pretending that she was not familiar with him.
Jiang Xun uttered an "Ah," caught up with her in a few steps, and gently pulled her wrist. "What do you mean?"
Sang Xinqi glanced sideways, a smile flickering in her eyes. Her voice was low, yet she couldn't hide her teasing: "Shameful."
Jiang Xun snorted, loosened his grip, and waved his hand in disdain, "Go away."
Sang Xinqi smiled and ignored him, and the two of them walked towards the private room.
"By the way, who is that special person you mentioned?" The closer she got to the private room, the more nervous she became. Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the phone in her hand, and her heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws. In the end, she couldn't help but ask.
She has never been able to keep things secret and wants to get to the bottom of things immediately.
Jiang Xun raised the corner of his lips slightly and deliberately cleared his throat, "Guess?"
Sang Xinqi glanced at him sideways, her fingers tightening around the phone, "I don't want to guess."
"Meng Qiqi," Jiang Xun uttered the name, but his eyes were still locked on her face, as if trying to capture every subtle reaction of hers.
Sang Xinqi was stunned, and the serious and reliable face immediately appeared in her mind. He was the most capable one among the six of them. After all these years, she wondered if he was still as reliable as before.
"Why...is he special?" She couldn't help but ask, with a barely perceptible hesitation in her tone.
Jiang Xun didn't answer directly, but continued slowly: "Chen Yanyan, Tao Wen, which one of them is not a special person?"
Sang Xinqi was speechless and stared at him: "Are you kidding me?"
Jiang Xun chuckled softly, his shoulders trembling slightly, but before the laughter died down, he seemed to suddenly remember something, "Oh, right, I missed one."
Sang Xinqi's breathing stagnated, and the heartbeat in her chest suddenly became louder, pounding against her eardrums.
Jiang Xun leaned forward slightly, staring at her with burning eyes, trying to find a flaw in her calm face, but her expression seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost, and even her eyelashes did not tremble.
He suddenly felt bored, leaned back in his chair, and said lazily, "When the time comes... you'll know, right?"
Sang Xinqi: “…”
The door opened softly, and the chatter in the private room came to an abrupt halt. Jiang Xun stepped in first, making room for the others. Warm yellow light streamed down from his shoulders, revealing Sang Xinqi's full figure before everyone.
"Look, who's here," Jiang Xun said with an unconcealable smile in his voice.
Tao Wen's phone fell to the table with a "clack". She stood up suddenly, and her skirt knocked over the teacup in front of her. "Sangsang!"
This call seemed to turn on a switch, and Chen Yanyan also stood up, with a glint of surprise in her eyes, "When did you return home?"
Sang Xinqi stood at the intersection of light and shadow, her fingertips unconsciously clenching the strap of her bag. She had originally planned to contact everyone after she was settled, but now, being stared at by four pairs of eyes, her throat suddenly tightened. "Indeed...long time no see."
"Wow, you're so beautiful now I can't even recognize you," Tao Wen said as she walked around the long table, reached out and pinched her cheek, then stepped back two steps to look her up and down. Sang Xinqi was amused by her exaggerated gesture and glanced at everyone, "You guys too, you're all getting better and better."
"What are you all standing for?" Meng Qixiang knocked on the glass turntable. The crisp sound instantly livened up the atmosphere. "Sangsang, come sit down. Let me take a good look at what the little girl who used to stuff snacks into my mouth has become."
As everyone smiled and took their seats, Sang Xinqi's gaze lingered on Meng Qiwang for a moment. The tall, thin boy she remembered, often teased for "holding a telephone pole during a typhoon," now had broad shoulders, and even his once tanned skin had faired considerably.
"Brother Wang now..." she chose her words carefully, "looks very... taller and a lot whiter."
"Of course not," Meng Qixiang said, smoothing his shirt sleeves proudly. "Thanks to my girlfriend who feeds me with different kinds of food every day and forces me to apply a facial mask."
"When did you get a girlfriend?" Sang Xinqi looked at the others in surprise.
Chen Yanyan laughed when she heard this and said, "This guy kept it a secret so well that he only treated us to a meal last month."
Meng Xiangqi touched his chin and sighed deliberately: "I'm just afraid of irritating you single people."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xun laughed out loud, "Who cares? The girls chasing me can line up from here to the city center."
Everyone exclaimed in unison, "Ah!" Tao Wen even gave a goosebump-like gesture. Amidst the laughter, Sang Xinqi felt the weight of eight years weighing on her chest slowly melt away.
"I never thought..." Tao Wen suddenly whispered, her fingertips unconsciously drawing circles on the rim of the cup, "We can still sit together like this."
Chen Yanyan nodded, her eyes sweeping across everyone's face: "I thought..." She didn't finish her words, but everyone understood what she had left unsaid.
Four pairs of eyes fell on Sang Xinqi at the same time.
She looked at the distorted smiling faces reflected in the glass turntable, thinking of how everyone had scattered to different cities after the college entrance examination, and how she rarely contacted them.
"I'm sorry..." She said softly, but the room suddenly became so quiet that she could hear the hum of the air conditioner vents. "I won't leave this time."
The moment she raised her head, she saw smiles blooming on four faces at the same time, like stars that suddenly lit up.
Tao Wen held her hand across the table. "What nonsense! We made a promise back then," she said, rubbing her thumb gently against the back of Sang Xinqi's hand. "We'll be good friends forever, remember?"
Sang Xinqi suddenly felt her eyes warm. It turned out that some promises could truly transcend eight years of time, remaining intact and waiting exactly where they were.
Just as the warm atmosphere was flowing through the private room, the sudden vibration of a cell phone broke the silence. Jiang Xun took out his phone, and the caller ID flashing on the screen made his brows frown slightly.
"Answer a call," he shook his phone with his usual casual smile on his face, but he stood up a little faster than usual.
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