In the shadow of the railing on the side of Qinglan Bridge near Riverside Park, a hunched figure was holding onto the hot stone railing, breathing hard.
Sun Guixiang was still wearing the old dark gray cotton-padded jacket that had been washed white and had frayed cuffs. Her gray hair was wet with sweat and stuck to her forehead and temples.
The dull pain in her chest and the scorching heat made it almost impossible for her to breathe. She could only rest for a while in the narrow shade of the bridge railing.
Her cloudy eyes stared blankly at the river water under the bridge, which was shining white, and her mind was in a daze.
I've been feeling a bit empty lately, like I've lost something incredibly important, but I can't quite place it. What is it? It seems... related to the hospital?
Is it related to a... kid? The vague name was stuck in my throat, about to come out but blocked by an invisible barrier.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of several familiar figures on the bridge.
She was about to raise her hand to say hello, but her eyes were attracted by the dark blue figure coming against the light from the other end of the bridge.
The sunlight was too glaring, so she squinted her cloudy eyes, trying hard to see the outline of the figure.
Dark blue school uniform...clean short black hair...tall and straight...the figure took steady and precise steps, step by step onto the top of the bridge, like a silhouette walking out of a halo.
An extremely sharp and inexplicable pain suddenly pierced Sun Guixiang's heart.
Her skinny hands instantly gripped the scorching stone railings, her knuckles turning white, and she was unaware of the pain from the burns on her rough skin.
So familiar... too familiar!
This figure... this walking posture... this cold aura that keeps people at a distance...
She must have seen it before! She must have seen it somewhere!
Who is it? Who is it?!
Sun Guixiang's heart was pounding in her chest, not because of the heat, but because of an incomprehensible panic and a huge, empty sadness.
Her cloudy eyes stared at the increasingly clear figure, trying to dig out some clues from the ruins of her memory.
The figure completely stepped onto the top of the bridge, and the details became clear in the strong light: cold white, almost transparent skin, delicate silver-rimmed glasses, and behind the lenses, those gray-blue eyes!
Gray-blue!
These three words burned like a red-hot iron, searing into the surface of Sun Guixiang's chaotic memories! A strong sense of familiarity surged over her, nearly tearing her soul apart!
She took a deep breath, her body shook, and her vision went black.
Mung beans… mung bean cakes… a sweet aroma… the washed-out aluminum lunch box… the pale, quiet face on the hospital bed… the cold glass… the weakly raised, slightly waving hand…
Fragments! All of them were illogical and flashing by at a rapid speed! The vague outline of a pale boy lying on a hospital bed flashed through her mind, accompanied by a huge heartache and an urge to rush over!
She wanted to see the boy's face clearly, but the image was like a reflection in the water, shattered at the touch of a finger, leaving only a strong instinct to protect him.
"Xiao... Xiao..." She opened her mouth, but a vague name was stuck in her throat and she couldn't make a complete sound.
What is it? What is that name?! Why does my heart ache and my eyes burn when I think about it?
At this moment, Ning Xiwan and the others met the dark blue figure at the highest point of the bridge.
Sun Guixiang saw Ning Xiwan turn around suddenly and called out to the man anxiously.
She saw the boy in the dark blue school uniform stop and turn slightly sideways.
The sunlight outlined his perfect profile, cold and delicate, like a statue without warmth.
Sun Guixiang's heart seemed to be gripped tighter by that invisible hand! She stared at the profile, the high nose bridge, the tightly pursed thin lips... familiar!
Unforgettable familiarity! She must... must have wiped the cake crumbs from the corner of her mouth on this face! She must have held that cold hand! This thought, for no reason, yet so intensely, struck her heart!
"Is there something wrong?" A cold and clear voice penetrated the hot air.
Sun Guixiang's body trembled again! This voice... this calm tone... where had I heard it before?
In the monotonous ticking of cold instruments? In the silent ward? Her cloudy eyes were filled with great confusion and a feeling of suffocation like drowning.
She saw what Ning Xiwan was saying, saw Duan Shuce tense like a fully drawn bowstring, saw Bai Zhiye swaying and about to cry, and saw Hua Jinyue dodging in fear.
Then, she heard the cold, final judgment-like answer:
"No."
No?
What no?!
Sun Guixiang felt a chill running through her body from the soles of her feet, chilling her to the bone even more than the scorching sun in midsummer!
Why did she feel such overwhelming despair when she heard those two words? As if the thing she cherished most had been completely denied, crushed to dust?
She saw the dark blue figure turn around without any reluctance, the hem of his clothes drawing a cold arc, and he walked away towards the old town under the bridge, as lonely as if he was walking to the end of the world alone.
Ning Xiwan froze in place, Duan Shuce's face was as pale as paper, Bai Zhiye's tears silently fell, and Hua Jinyue cried fearfully in Ning Xiwan's arms.
Time seemed to freeze at the top of the bridge, with only the dark blue figure moving away.
Sun Guixiang stood in the shadow of the bridge railing, watching the figure that was about to disappear around the corner of the street under the bridge, her heart beating wildly and desperately in her chest.
No!!! Can't let him go!!! No!!!
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