Chapter 71 The summer evening sky is often...
Summer evenings often feature spectacular fiery clouds, quietly painting the stagnant traffic with color.
"It's summer vacation now, and there are some events going on, so there are a lot of people lately," the driver said.
Wang Kan echoed this sentiment.
He originally planned to come in the morning and leave the same day, but something came up during the day and he was delayed. He should have come another day, but he still came. He didn't drive, but took the high-speed train. He called the guesthouse to ask if there were any rooms available. Grandpa Zhao answered and readily said yes, no problem.
When they finished talking and went back to the guesthouse, the sky was only a wisp of pigeon blood red on the horizon. Just then, they met Granny Zhang, who was returning from the fields, carrying several bags. Wang Kan went up to help her take them.
"Oh, Old Zhao told me, but he said you wouldn't be coming until very late," Grandma Zhang said happily to see him. "Have you eaten yet?"
"not yet."
"If you had called earlier, I could have saved some food for you. There's not much left; would you like noodles?"
"For food, anything will do."
"Okay, okay, I'll cook for you. Here are some snacks for you to eat now so you don't go hungry. There are fireworks over the river tonight. If you want to go and watch after you finish eating, you can ask Minzhou to take you there."
"……good."
Shuangxi Town is surrounded by mountains and fields, making it much cooler than the city. But it is summer after all, and the evening breeze still carries the lingering heat. The cicadas chirp noisily, one after another, pausing for a moment as they enter the house, where a delicate fragrance of jasmine fills the air.
In the front hall, Fang Minzhou squatted on the ground and put a string of flower-woven beads on the wrist of a little girl who looked about three or four years old.
On the table to the side was a bamboo basket filled with jasmine flower bracelets, as well as some leftover materials. Fang Minzhou was wearing a white dress, the hem of which touched the ground carelessly, with some small petals scattered on the ground.
The little girl curiously tugged at the bracelet on her wrist, then grinned and giggled. The girl's mother had taught her to say thank you. Fang Minzhou smiled, but the moment she saw him, her smile seemed to falter for a moment, only to quickly return to normal.
She stood up and patted her skirt.
"Would you like one, Xiao Wang?" Grandma Zhang said. "It smells very nice, and boys can wear it too, it's okay. We just picked the flowers this morning, we'll make a wreath and take it to the village for everyone later."
Wang Kan naturally extended his left hand toward Fang Minzhou.
Fang Minzhou looked at him with a strange expression, then silently took a bracelet from the basket and handed it to him. He didn't take it. Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. She looked at him again, like a circus trainer holding a ring, avoiding physical contact, and then looped the bracelet around his wrist.
After Wang Kan withdrew her hand, she said thank you again. Fang Minzhou replied that she was welcome and tidied up the table.
The little girl was eager to help, but after Grandma Zhang went into the kitchen to cook noodles for Wang Kan, she curiously followed her. The girl's mother apologized, and Fang Minzhou quickly said it was okay.
Only she and Wang Kan remained in the front hall.
Wang Kan squatted down and picked up the flower petals from the ground together.
After picking up everything visible to the naked eye, Fang Minzhou heard Wang Kan say to her, "There's still some on your skirt."
Fang Minzhou felt inexplicably embarrassed and annoyed. She looked down and tugged at her skirt, when a small petal drifted down from somewhere. Wang Kan picked it up before she could.
After standing up straight again, the two were a little closer, and Wang Kan smelled an even stronger fragrance of flowers.
"Where should I throw it?" he asked, holding a handful of flower petals.
Fang Minzhou pointed to the trash can in the corner.
After throwing it away, Wang Kan turned into the restaurant.
After the meal, Grandma Zhang took him to his room, the same single room he had stayed in before. "Next time you need to come, just let us know earlier, and we'll save you a bigger room."
“It’s alright, this one is just fine,” Wang Kan said.
He put down his bag, tidied up his luggage haphazardly, and walked out of the room. Just then, the door opposite him was opened from the inside.
They locked eyes for a second, then Fang Minzhou walked downstairs first, followed a beat later by Wang Kan.
Grandma Zhang and Grandpa Zhao were enjoying the cool air in the courtyard when Grandma Zhang waved to him, "Are you going out? Yangyang took the others ahead, Minzhou, you show Xiao Wang around, he's not familiar with this place."
Fang Minzhou seemed to respond, or perhaps he said nothing at all, and reached for the bamboo basket. Wang Kan said, "I'll take it."
She withdrew her hand again.
Wang Kan then asked Grandpa and Grandma if they weren't going. The two of them laughed and waved their palm-leaf fans, saying, "Oh, you two go ahead. It's more comfortable for us to stay at home."
Fang Minzhou: "I'm gone."
Grandma Zhang and Grandpa Zhao said to their granddaughter, "Go on, go on, be careful."
Watching Fang Minzhou walk straight ahead, compared to her previous stern and impartial demeanor, she seemed to have some personal emotions today, and it seemed that she didn't really want to see him.
Wang Kan thought to herself, in a rather morbid way, that's more like it. How could anyone possibly get along with their ex without any resentment?
Her old habits haven't changed; she still adheres to statements that go against human nature in order to always stand on the moral high ground.
Walking down the slope and forward, there's a stretch of road that's quiet. Flowers in the courtyards of houses on both sides are clustered under the dim streetlights, with only the chirping of insects. It's not until you're almost at the bridge, when your skin starts to sweat, that you gradually hear voices.
Both sides of the river were lined with stalls selling food, toys, and local specialties. Unlike the bustling pedestrian streets of big cities, it wasn't crowded, making for a more leisurely stroll.
Fang Minzhou walked ahead on her own. Wang Kan would occasionally stop to look at a stall. When he went to find Fang Minzhou again, he would see her standing not far away, expressionless but actually glaring at him with suppressed anger, because the basket was in his hands.
After he caught up again, she turned around and pulled away.
Finally, Wang Kan followed Fang Minzhou to a large banyan tree, which served as a temporary volunteer service area. Behind two long tables sat three aunties. Wang Kan placed her bamboo basket on the table, and one of the aunties recognized Fang Minzhou and started chatting with her. Fang Minzhou responded very politely.
With nothing to do, Wang Kan saw a food stall nearby, queued up, and got two cups of shaved ice. When he came back, he saw Fang Minzhou looking left and right, as if she was looking for him.
This reminded him of a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, when they were in a night market, each in their own queue. There were so many people that they couldn't find each other even after buying their things. Later, they realized that the other person was actually right across from them. When he found her then, she was just like now, spinning around in place like a little elephant.
When was that?
But he still remembered that he had said when she was little that her parents must have taught her a saying, "If you get lost, just stand there and wait for me to come back to find you," and then Fang Minzhou stepped on her foot. At that time, she was angry but smiling, but now, after seeing him, she seemed to be closing a drawer and suppressing her expression.
He walked over and handed one of the shaved ice cups to Fang Minzhou, saying, "Buy one get one free."
Fang Minzhou was a little annoyed, but she still accepted it as a formality.
"Come on, show me around."
"Didn't you just go shopping?"
"I just glanced around." As he said this, Wang Kan stopped in front of an old man's stall with a bushy white beard and white hair.
It was called a stall, but it was really just a piece of nylon cloth spread on the ground, covered with various woven items. An old man sat on a small bamboo chair, weaving a toy for a child with great skill, casually inviting other customers to look around and choose whatever they wanted.
Wang Kan took a fancy to the bamboo-woven cricket and asked Fang Minzhou if she wanted one, but Fang Minzhou said she didn't.
Wang Kan bought two, but didn't give the other one to Fang Minzhou; he kept it in his hand.
The mountain ridge blended into the deep blue sky, the gurgling water and the buzzing voices echoing each other. Wang Kan walked to Fang Minzhou's right, half a step behind.
This wasn't exactly a habit left over from before; it was just the most convenient distance. Although she didn't turn her head to speak to him, she kept walking along the river, seemingly leading him somewhere.
The night breeze that swept across the river was damp and cool. Perhaps she felt that by taking him to the end of the stream and then returning, she would have completed the task assigned to her by her grandparents.
"Aren't you going to show me around without even explaining anything?" Wang Kan asked.
Fang Minzhou replied: "There's nothing much to introduce."
"Or do you not want to introduce yourself to me?"
Fang Minzhou stopped, and Wang Kan almost bumped into her. Fang Minzhou turned to look at him, her eyes subtly scrutinizing him. Wang Kan raised his right hand, along with the shaved ice and cricket in his hand, as if in surrender: "Let me make it clear beforehand, I'm not being sarcastic, you can tell."
“That’s how it is in the countryside, and I’m not being sarcastic,” Fang Minzhou said calmly, then turned around and continued walking forward.
She was probably cursing him in her heart, and Wang Kan guessed it.
"Where's Guan Yang? Shouldn't we go look for him?"
Fang Minzhou turned to look at him a second time, but Wang Kan didn't seem to care.
That night, after she finished speaking, she left him alone in the room, saying she was going to find Guan Yang. Wang Kan didn't remember how long he stayed in her room afterward, until the ice pack melted, completely soaking the towel, just like the shaved ice that wets his palms, before he went downstairs, drove away, and left.
I'm just giving you a friendly heads-up.
Fang Minzhou paused for a moment. Wang Kan said he wasn't being sarcastic, but he was clearly deliberately bringing up a sore spot. She tried to remain calm, "I've already talked to Guan Yang..."
Wang Kan interrupted, "Does he dare to tell you the truth?"
Fang Minzhou took a deep breath and managed a forced smile: "He didn't say it, but it has nothing to do with whether he dared or not. It's normal for him to feel embarrassed, so let it go. I told you that you were fine, and Guan Yang said he would apologize to you."
Wang Kan chuckled. "You said we knew each other back then, but does he know how well we know each other now?"
"I told you, you are my ex-boyfriend."
Wang Kan suspected that Fang Minzhou had deliberately chosen the wrong words, so he asked again, "Isn't this just corroborating what I said? Can he understand that you're rejecting him?"
“I’m just explaining things to him, just like I’m explaining things to you now,” Fang Minzhou said. “No matter what, it was wrong of him to hit someone, but after he apologized to you, I hope you won’t say anything else that’s meant to provoke people.”
"for example?"
"For example, your current 'for example'."
Wang Kan fell silent and swallowed a mouthful of sweet, icy shaved ice.
I continued walking silently through the night, the number of vendors on both sides gradually decreasing until only the shadows of the trees remained.
When you reach the bridgehead without railings, there is a wide, open pebble beach below. The current is a bit faster than the later section, but it is not the flood season, so there is no danger if you don't get too close.
Fang Minzhou finally stopped. "Let's look here; there are fewer people here."
Wang Kan remained silent.
While waiting for the fireworks, they were suddenly blinded by a bright light.
"Sorry, sorry!" Two voices rang out at the same time. It was a young couple who looked like college students. They had accidentally flashed their camera while taking pictures.
"It's nothing," Fang Minzhou said, walking a few meters to the side, and Wang Kan followed.
When the wind stopped, fireworks burst in the indigo night sky, leaving long trails, while on the ground, the river flowed day and night without distinction.
Wang Kan raised her head, her eyes shifting from the bright sky to Fang Minzhou's profile. Light and shadow fell on her face, and her quiet eyes held another small patch of sky.
Being with Fang Minzhou always reminds him of many things he has forgotten.
They had planned to go to Japan together to watch a fireworks festival, but the date was never set; it was just a future plan that ultimately didn't happen. Later, he went to Japan himself, but he didn't see the fireworks. He didn't know if Fang Minzhou remembered, or if she had even seen them.
Fang Minzhou noticed his gaze.
The sounds of water, wind, exclamations, and exploding fireworks mingled in the humid summer air. They glanced at each other under the dazzling display, then simultaneously looked up again at the fireworks.
The fireworks show in the small town wasn't grand and ended quickly, leaving a quiet night with a touch of melancholy after the excitement. Everyone started walking back. Wang Kan followed Fang Minzhou, one in front and one behind, as usual.
“Um…” someone called out to them.
The couple from before came over, and the girl showed them her phone a little shyly, "We took a picture of you when we were taking photos just now... I think it looks pretty good. If you want it, I can send it to you?"
The phone screen glowed faintly in the darkness, displaying a live image of those few seconds when they made eye contact.
They were mistaken for a couple.
Fang Minzhou instinctively wanted to explain, but Wang Kan didn't say anything. Seeing Fang Minzhou's embarrassment, she felt a little happier. But the next second, she calmly replied, "Okay, thank you."
The photo was sent to both of their phones remotely, but Fang Minzhou put her phone away without looking at it closely. Wang Kan didn't need to provoke her further; she just couldn't be bothered to explain.
The idea that "the innocent are innocent" was applied to him.
On the way back to the guesthouse, Wang Kan threw the completely melted shaved ice into a roadside trash can. The jasmine wreath was still in his hand, and a cricket hopped along with his steps.
Neither of them spoke for the first half, but in the second half they chatted casually. It was Wang Kan who started the conversation again. Like a break after a heated debate, the two suddenly chatted like long-lost friends, catching up on each other's lives. Fang Minzhou joined in.
As she walked up the slope in front of her house, Wang Kan called her name from behind.
Fang Minzhou stopped to look at him. Wang Kan stood a few steps away, his face as blurry as it had been in his youth. "What if I don't want to just be friends with you?"
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