Chapter 23
The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the dormitory curtains, casting a bright band of light on the floor. Lü Xiaoyan woke up a little later than usual. At the start of the holiday, even his biological clock seemed to have relaxed. He lay in bed, not getting up immediately, listening to the faint chirping of birds outside the window and the indistinct sounds of traffic in the distance, feeling a rare, light emptiness in his heart.
Today, he is going home with Qiu Yayu.
This realization brought a slight, involuntary smile to his lips. He picked up his phone from beside his pillow; the screen was clean, with no unread messages. She was probably still asleep, or clumsily packing the last of her belongings. The thought of her possibly frantic efforts brought a barely perceptible smile to his eyes.
He got up, washed up, and gave the luggage he had packed the night before a final check. His gaze swept over the small square box containing the photos. He paused, but didn't open it. He simply ran his fingers lightly over the rough edges of the box before carefully placing it back into the compartment of his suitcase.
Everything was ready. He glanced at the time; it was just past eight. There was still an hour until the agreed-upon nine o'clock.
He wasn't in a hurry. He liked the feeling of having a clear expectation, knowing that at a certain time and place, she would appear, running towards him with her signature, sunny smile.
He sat at his desk, casually flipping through a photography book he'd brought to school but hadn't finished reading, his mind not entirely absorbed in the images of those masters. His thoughts drifted to the upcoming summer vacation—the small town with its low-hanging stars, the beach caressed by gentle waves, and the smile that might radiate from her face when she received that rare camera, a smile more dazzling than the starry sky. He even started thinking about what gift he should give her for her birthday (he vaguely remembered her mentioning it was in early autumn, but she always mysteriously refused to reveal the exact date). A necklace with a small camera pendant, one she'd occasionally mentioned? Or perhaps a professional portrait shoot together?
Time flowed by in quiet anticipation. At 8:40, he closed his book and stood up. It was time to leave.
He pulled his suitcase and walked out of the dormitory building. The summer sun was already scorching, and the air was filled with the smell of asphalt heated by the sun and the fresh scent of grass and trees. The campus was even more deserted than yesterday, with only one or two figures occasionally seen hurrying by with their luggage.
He walked along the familiar tree-lined path, his steps steady and unhurried. His heart beat calmly in his chest, carrying a peaceful joy for the upcoming two-month vacation and a subtle, persistent excitement at the prospect of seeing her again.
He arrived at Qiu Yayu's dormitory building five minutes early. He put down his suitcase, leaned against the trunk of a large tree, and naturally looked towards the dormitory entrance.
Time passed second by second.
It was exactly nine o'clock. No one came out of the dormitory.
Lü Xiaoyan wasn't surprised. She was occasionally a few minutes late, especially when she needed to pack. He waited patiently, imagining her frantically zipping up her suitcase or debating whether to bring a certain piece of clothing.
9:05. The entrance is still quiet.
He frowned slightly, took out his phone, and saw no unread messages or missed calls. He dialed her number.
All that came through the receiver was a monotonous, drawn-out busy tone. No one answered.
A faint, almost imperceptible unease, like an undercurrent beneath the surface of water, gently touched his nerves. Maybe his phone was on silent, or maybe he hadn't heard it because it was in his bag. He told himself that.
It was 9:10. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light at his feet, and the cicadas' chirping seemed to have become somewhat noisy.
He was starting to get a little anxious. This wasn't like her usual self. Even if she was late, she would usually send a message to explain.
He dialed her number again. It was busy again.
That unease began to grow, like a drop of ink spreading slowly in clear water. He remembered the feeling of his heart clenching when she had that accident last time. No, he immediately told himself. This was the dorm, it was safe. Maybe she just… overslept? Or maybe she encountered some unexpected little problem?
It was 9:15. He decided not to wait any longer. He picked up his suitcase, strode into the girls' dormitory building, and explained the situation to the dormitory supervisor.
The dormitory supervisor recognized him and remembered Qiu Yayu. Seeing his anxious expression, she agreed to help him go upstairs to check.
Lu Xiaoyan stood in the lobby downstairs, watching the aunt's figure disappear around the corner of the stairs. Time seemed to stretch out infinitely, each second feeling like an eternity. The lobby was unusually quiet; he could clearly hear his own heartbeat, pounding against his eardrums.
A cold, familiar sense of panic, like vines, quietly grew from the depths of his heart, coiling around his limbs and bones. He gripped the suitcase handle tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
No, nothing will happen. He tried to calm himself with reason, but the image of her pale, terrified face in the rainy night, the bruises on her wrists, flashed inappropriately through his mind…
Just as he was about to be consumed by his own wild thoughts, the dormitory supervisor came downstairs with a look of confusion and sympathy on her face.
“Classmate,” the aunt walked up to him, her tone hesitant, “her roommate, the short-haired girl, said… Qiu Yayu went home last night.”
"Last night?" Lü Xiaoyan looked up abruptly, her pupils contracting sharply, her voice trembling with extreme surprise. "Impossible! We agreed to leave together at nine o'clock this morning!"
The aunt was startled by his strong reaction and quickly said, "It's true. That girl said there seemed to be an emergency at home. She received a phone call last night and hurriedly packed her things and left. It was quite late... Didn't you receive any messages from her?"
Was there an emergency at home? Did you leave last night?
These words struck Lü Xiaoyan like a heavy hammer. He froze on the spot, his blood seemingly freezing in an instant.
He immediately took out his phone and frantically dialed Qiu Yayu's number.
Busy tone. Busy tone. It was still that cold and drawn-out busy tone.
He opened his contacts, found her home phone number, and his fingers trembled as he pressed the dial button.
The receiver beeped repeatedly, each beep striking his taut nerves.
Answer the phone! Answer the phone! He silently cried out in his heart.
The call was finally answered.
"Hello?" came a slightly tired middle-aged woman's voice; it was Qiu Yayu's mother.
Lü Xiaoyan's heart was pounding in his throat. He forced himself to speak in as calm a voice as possible, "Hello, Auntie, I'm Lü Xiaoyan. Excuse me... is Ya Yu home? We arranged to meet today..."
His words came to an abrupt end.
Because from the other end of the phone came an uncontrollable, broken sob.
Immediately following, a man's heavy and sorrowful voice replaced Qiu's mother's, coming through the receiver like a judgment from hell:
"Xiao Yan... Ya Yu... she... was in a car accident on her way back to school last night... she... is gone..."
"..."
At that moment, the world completely lost all sound and color.
Lu Xiaoyan stood there stiffly, holding his phone, as if he had turned into a lifeless stone statue. The dormitory supervisor looked worriedly at his face, which had turned deathly pale and bloodless, and his eyes, which seemed to have been emptied of their soul.
The phone slowly slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a sharp "crack," its screen shattering into a spiderweb pattern. It was completely shattered.
But he couldn't hear anything anymore.
It's holiday time.
What awaited him was not a morning when they would go home together.
Rather, it was goodbye forever!
It's a goodbye that's forever, forever, forever...
(Parallel universe)
The August breeze, carrying the lingering fragrance of gardenias and the sweet scent of newly ripened osmanthus, gently caressed the cobblestone streets of the small town. Lü Xiaoyan stood on the terrace of her guesthouse, adjusting the angle of her tripod. In the distance, the layered mountains appeared as dark silhouettes in the twilight, while a touch of orange-pink glow lingered on the horizon.
"Is it ready yet?" Qiu Yayu's voice came from inside the house, filled with excited anticipation. She came out carrying a plate of sliced watermelon, her skirt fluttering in the wind.
"Almost there." Lü Xiaoyan didn't turn around, focusing intently on calibrating the camera parameters. "The direction the Milky Way rises is over there." He pointed to the increasingly deep blue above the distant mountains.
This was their summer vacation destination—the town famous for its starry skies. After several hours of driving, they arrived in the evening. The fatigue from the long journey vanished the moment they opened the window of their guesthouse and saw the distant valley and the rustic rooftops nearby.
Qiu Yayu placed the watermelon on the small table on the terrace, walked to his side, and looked in the direction he was looking. "I heard that you can see the bridge of the Milky Way from here," she said softly, as if afraid of disturbing the stars that were about to appear, "like... a bridge across time."
Lu Xiaoyan finally finished adjusting the settings and turned around. Dusk was falling, but her eyes shone brightly, reflecting the last rays of light on the horizon and his silhouette. A surge of emotion welled up in his heart, a swelling, almost bittersweet happiness filling his chest. He reached out and, with remarkable ease, brushed aside a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the wind from her cheek.
"Mmm," he murmured in response. The very concept of being with her under the stars was enough to make any scenery incomparable.
Dinner was a simple farm-style meal, yet it was filled with the fresh flavors of the mountains and fields. Qiu Yayu, like a curious child, would study a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables for ages, constantly asking the guesthouse owner what kind of dish it was and how it was made. Lü Xiaoyan ate quietly, but her gaze mostly lingered on Qiu Yayu's radiant face, finding it more appetizing than any delicacy.
After dinner, it was completely dark. Only a small, dim floor lamp was left on the terrace so as not to interfere with stargazing. The two lay side by side on the deck chairs. The summer night breeze was cool, and Qiu Yayu subconsciously moved closer to him. Lü Xiaoyan unfolded a thin blanket and covered them both.
Then, the stars began to appear.
At first, a few scattered stars timidly dotted the inky blue sky. Then, as if receiving a silent command, countless stars surged forth, growing denser and brighter until they filled the entire field of vision. Finally, the hazy, magnificent Milky Way, like a giant band of light, stretched clearly across the sky, seemingly within reach.
"Wow..." Qiu Yayu was speechless, her eyes wide as she greedily gazed at the breathtaking scene that defied words. Starlight shone on her face, softening her features, and her eyes, which were always full of smiles, were now filled with pure shock and awe.
Lü Xiaoyan didn't look at the starry sky; after the initial awe, his lens turned to her. He quickly adjusted the camera, capturing her profile as she gazed at the stars, capturing her slightly parted lips in amazement, capturing the entire Milky Way reflected in her eyes.
"Stop taking pictures of me!" Qiu Yayu finally noticed his camera and turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly. "Take pictures of the stars! They're so rare!"
“The stars are always there,” Lü Xiaoyan said, looking at her through the viewfinder, her voice particularly deep in the quiet starry night, “but you, like this, don’t come often.”
Qiu Yayu's face flushed rapidly in the darkness, but thankfully the night concealed her embarrassment. Her heart, however, felt like a jar of honey had been overturned, overflowing with sweetness.
Just then, as if suddenly remembering something, Lü Xiaoyan put down his camera and sat up straight. Under Qiu Yayu's questioning gaze, he took out a small box, about the size of a palm, wrapped in dark blue starry sky paper, from the side pocket of his backpack and handed it to her.
“This is…” Qiu Yayu was stunned.
"Happy birthday." Lü Xiaoyan's voice was soft, yet it blended clearly into the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind on a summer night.
Qiu Yayu was completely stunned. Her birthday was at the end of August, and she thought he didn't know the exact date, or at least wouldn't remember to make special arrangements for this trip.
She carefully took the box and, under the starry sky, slowly opened it. Beneath the starry paper was a small velvet box. She held her breath and opened it.
Inside wasn't the necklace or jewelry she had expected, but a key. An antique-style brass key, gleaming warmly in the starlight.
"What is this...?" She picked up the key, even more confused.
“My grandfather’s old house in our hometown,” Lü Xiaoyan looked at her, his gaze as deep as the sea under the starlight, “had a very large osmanthus tree in the yard. He said that when the osmanthus blossoms in autumn, the wind will blow them down onto the stone table, like golden rain.” He paused, his voice carrying a solemn promise, “That key can open that yard gate.”
Qiu Yayu held the slightly cool key, feeling its immense weight. This was no ordinary gift; it was an invitation, a promise leading to his past and to their shared future. He had opened up a precious part of his memory to her.
Tears welled up in my eyes without warning, not because of sadness, but because of the weight of the gift and the deep affection he expressed in silence.
“When autumn comes,” Lü Xiaoyan said softly, looking at the tears glistening in her eyes, “we’ll go there together, and I’ll take your picture.”
I'm taking your picture amidst a shower of golden osmanthus blossoms. This is a more concrete vision of eternity than the starry sky.
Qiu Yayu nodded vigorously, tears finally streaming down her face, but a smile played on her lips. She gripped the key tightly and also took his hand.
“Lü Xiaoyan,” she said, her voice trembling with tears, yet her smile was incredibly bright, “thank you. This is the best birthday gift I’ve ever received….”
He didn't speak, but tightened his grip on her hand and looked up at the dazzling Milky Way.
The camera sat quietly to one side, recording the trajectory of the stars. And at this moment, without a lens, everything before him—the vast Milky Way, the summer night breeze, the warmth of the person beside him, and the key in his palm symbolizing countless autumns to come—was already the most perfect and most treasured scene in his life.
Summer vacation is still long, and the starry sky is at its most brilliant.
And they have a whole lifetime to fulfill all the promises they made about autumn, about the osmanthus rain, and about each other.
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