Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Just like before
He said the future is promising
/Jian Muchun
/First Release
2025.5.19
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the noise of primary and secondary school students broke the silence of the old city. The rows of snack stalls on the street were surrounded by half-grown children, and the sound of their voices startled the birds on the old telephone poles.
Xu Sui dragged her 24-inch suitcase along this street and couldn't help but walk slower. There was little flat ground in Chongqing, so the taxi driver could only drop her off on this street, and she had to walk the remaining one kilometer by herself.
Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Xu Sui took a day off and flew back to Chongqing from Shanghai. She hasn't spent the Dragon Boat Festival with her two elderly parents for many years, and she needs to come back this year no matter what.
Her eyes passed by the groups of children walking by. These students were not wearing school uniforms and were most likely students of Nanjing University of the Arts.
"Want to play basketball? Let's meet at the North Playground!" Several boys aged thirteen or fourteen passed by Xu Sui. Because the road was too narrow and they ran very fast, one boy was pushed into Xu Sui by his companions. Xu Sui couldn't hold on and staggered a few steps.
"You hit someone, idiot, and you still don't apologize."
"I'm sorry, Auntie." The boy in black turned around and smiled apologetically at Xu Sui while running, then ran away following his companion's back.
Xu Sui
An alarm interrupted her confusion. Xu Sui took out her cell phone from her black low-waist jeans. It was a call from Shi Miao, her colleague at the newspaper.
"Sui Sui! As soon as I got to work today, I heard that you had taken a leave of absence. There is no one to accompany me for dinner." She complained in a low voice on the other end.
Xu Sui didn't fall for it and directly exposed it: "Don't pretend. How many times have you had dinner with me since we started dating?"
Every day at lunchtime, he disappears, and even if I try to catch him for years while working overtime to write reports, I still can't catch him.
"Woo~" she hummed, then suddenly said seriously, "Sui, at the team meeting today they said the station is planning a big interview. Did Editor-in-Chief Zhai tell you?"
Xu Sui knew about this matter. It was a report about people's livelihood. Some time ago, the country issued a document expressing strong support for the research and development and market launch of drugs for rare diseases. The leading hospital in Shanghai specially invited overseas scientific research doctors to conduct an exchange and promote talks.
Their station attaches great importance to this interview and requires real-time reporting from the initial coordination of rare drugs to their successful research and development and market launch.
The exchange meeting will be held in a few days, and the station will send one or two reporters to participate.
"The editor-in-chief mentioned it to me." Xu Sui paused here. The tires of the suitcase kept making noises on the bumpy road, covering up her hesitation to speak.
"It's so noisy over there, Sui Sui, it's okay for you to know that. Come on." After saying that, he quickly hung up. Xu Sui smiled and looked up at the surroundings.
Many of the shop signs are very old and look gray and dilapidated. Some of the words are fading and turning white, and the edges are curling up.
But at the same time, Xu Sui could also see the towering buildings and office buildings in the new city area not far away, decorated with high-end silver, white and gray.
There have been some changes, but not much. The surrounding facilities are newer, and the road surface is older. Like an old man, it has not changed with the times, but slowly flows with time in a corner.
**
It took Xu Sui about ten minutes to carry her half-dead suitcase to the old residential area where her grandparents lived. She stood at the door, adjusted her clothes, and took out a mirror from her bag to look at herself.
Ok, everything is OK.
She was neither too fancy nor too haggard, which met her grandparents' consistent requirements for her.
After two taps, the old lady's voice came from the inner room, "I'm coming."
Then came a relatively young female voice, sounding about forty years old, with a hint of complaint: "Please come one by one, don't rush yourself, okay? I'll go open the door."
"Oh, I don't want you to come. I will go to greet my precious granddaughter by myself."
"What did you say?" The woman's voice suddenly became sharp and surprised.
Xu Sui was stunned when he heard the strange female voice. The voice didn't sound like his aunt's. He was even more stunned after the door opened, and his fingers curled up unconsciously.
When the door opened, Xu Sui saw her expression which she had not had time to retract - a look of resistance and disgust.
The little old lady first gave her a warm hug and said with relief: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
"Come in and say hello to mom and sister." She pulled Xu Sui but couldn't move him.
There was a slight and silent silence, which was awkward for a moment.
"Mom, who is she?" A little girl who was obviously of Chinese and European descent sat on the sofa where she often sat in high school and pointed in the direction of Xu Sui and asked with innocence and ignorance.
The woman with outstanding temperament had a hint of uneasiness on her face when she saw Xu Sui, but she finally took the little girl's hand and walked over. She didn't wear any makeup, but her facial features were naturally beautiful, and she had a very leadership temperament when she didn't smile. She pointed her hand slightly at Xu Sui and said, "Call me sister."
She said, her tone stiff.
The little girl burst into tears and said in a fuss, "I am your sister." Her Mandarin was not standard, but the meaning could be understood.
"You." She pretended to lecture him, but ultimately stopped herself and compromised, saying, "This is your cousin." She looked at Xu Sui, who lowered his eyes and didn't look at her. She continued, "Xu Sui, just like Sister Shu Siyun."
Shu Siyun, the daughter of Xu Sui's aunt, had always been Xu Sui's nightmare before she was eighteen years old.
Wherever there is Shu Siyun, adults will mention Xu Sui, using Xu Sui's mediocrity to highlight Shu Siyun's excellence.
But in the college entrance examination, Xu Sui is the winner.
The girl wiped her tears and pouted in grievance, saying, "Sister." Her pronunciation was not very standard, with a distinct English accent.
The old lady called her, with a hint of pleading on her face: "Renren, this is mom and sister."
Xu Sui's fingertips had already sunk deeply into the flesh in the dark, and she suddenly understood why the old lady insisted on her coming back this time.
What the elderly want most when they get older is to be reunited with their family.
But she was really not familiar with Zhou Xiaoling, and she could not cross the passage of time to "get along well" with her on behalf of the teenage Xu Sui.
Xu Sui felt her throat was dry. She released the handle of the suitcase, walked in, and slowly squatted down on her knees. The white shoulder bag slid down her slender arm and fell to the ground, but Xu Sui didn't care. She just smiled softly and asked her:
"May I have your name?"
"Zhou Shisui." The girl answered softly. This was her Chinese name.
Xu Sui smiled, then stood up and looked at Zhou Xiaoling's back as she walked towards the kitchen and said softly, "Hello."
The old lady was obviously overjoyed at this scene. She patted her apron and grinned, saying, "Renren, go play with Zhou Zhou. Dinner will be ready soon."
The wrinkles on her face were gathered together from laughing. She couldn't help but rub the heads of the two sisters as she left. After looking around and not seeing her grandfather, Xu Sui couldn't help but ask: "Grandma, where is the stubborn old man?"
"Him? He went to play chess with Grandpa Zhao in the community. You remember Grandpa Zhao from Unit 6, right? I remember his grandson went to the same high school as you." The grandmother was old but had a very good memory. After hearing this, Xu Sui fell silent again. She opened her mouth to ask again, but Zhou Xiaoling's voice made her hold back her words.
"I told you to go out to eat, but you insisted on doing it yourself. It's really something that can be solved with a few hundred dollars."
"What do you know, girl? I'm happy that my two granddaughters are eating the food I cooked."
Everything was so sudden for Xu Sui.
The sudden appearance of mother and sister.
So sudden.
Xu Sui was caught off guard.
"Hey, put your things in your room and then go find Grandpa. He didn't bring his cell phone and he was so engrossed in playing chess that he forgot the time." The old lady's tone was filled with disdain.
Xu Sui had just dragged in her suitcase and closed the door. She was stunned for a moment after hearing this. Grandpa Zhao's house was also a very unfamiliar place to her. When she was in high school, she would occasionally go there with her grandfather and pretend to learn Go.
Only she herself knows the actual purpose.
That person... probably won't have time to come back, right? Xu Sui thought. A few days ago, someone in the class group brought up the idea of a class reunion during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, but he didn't respond as usual. In the end, it was a close friend from high school who came forward to answer the question.
Research doctor.
National key training target.
Still studying abroad.
Living in the laboratory every day and every moment, I am afraid I don’t have time to take care of the trivial matters of the world.
When her grandmother called her again, Xu Sui finally came back to her senses and replied, "Okay, I'll go later."
"Hey, I don't know if the young man from the Zhao family has returned from abroad. I heard from your Grandpa Zhao that he hasn't been back for a few years. You young people really don't miss home when you grow up."
Xu Sui heard his grandmother say this when he entered the room, followed by Zhou Xiaoling's voice, "Who? Why don't I know this family?"
"It's strange that you knew that. Do you think you are the only one going abroad?" the old lady complained.
"Mom! Why do you say that?"
After Xu Sui threw the suitcase in the corner of the room, he turned around and prepared to leave, glancing around the room briefly.
No one has ever lived here.
**
Grandpa Zhao's house is not far from Xu Sui's house, just across an apartment building. Xu Sui hasn't been there for a long time and almost went to the wrong place. She couldn't remember which floor she was on.
"Ding"
"Ding"
"Ding"
Xu Sui's cell phone screen kept lighting up and then making a sound.
Xu Zhiyao: [What? You said your mother, whom you haven't seen in over ten years, is back? And she brought a step-sister with her?]
Xu Zhiyao: [Where's your stepfather? Didn't he come back with you?]
Xu Zhiyao: [What was the old lady thinking? What did she do? She didn't even tell you.]
Xu Sui counted the floors while looking up at the house number. This was an old residential complex with no elevator, so she kept sending voice messages while climbing the stairs.
"I didn't see any foreigners. The old lady is old and probably wants to have a complete family."
"Zhou Xiaoling has a house in the new city. They'll leave after dinner. Don't worry."
Based on his limited impression, Xu Sui found Grandpa Zhao's house with a high probability and knocked on the door politely.
With a "click", the door lock was opened from the inside. Xu Sui adjusted his facial expression and smiled.
Look up and prepare to say hello.
stagnate.
Although Xu Sui has experienced many big scenes and has a strong ability to respond to emergencies, she feels that her expression at that time was probably out of control.
It's impossible to be normal.
Song Shiyang.
Standing in front of her,
It’s the living Song Shiyang.
It has been seven years since we last met.
She didn't know why people who should have been in Baden-Württemberg at this moment appeared here out of nowhere.
This is unreasonable.
Xu Sui felt that it was probably not a good day to go out, as he kept running into old friends.
Her eyes felt a little sore, and she blinked hard before she could look directly at the man in front of her who had grown from a teenager to a young man.
The man was wearing a white short shirt buttoned up tightly from top to bottom, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his high nose bridge. He had the air of an academic elite, but he also revealed a sense of careless laziness, which somewhat disrupted his formality, but it was not abrupt, and instead made people more curious.
His black hair was scattered between his eyebrows, his eyelashes were long and curled, and his deep eyes were cold and distant.
Xu Sui looked up, met his cold gaze, and then dodged it. She thought he might not remember her, because they had not had much contact in high school, and after the college entrance examination, they went their separate ways and had no intersection. After hesitating for a few seconds, she decided to say hello politely. She said dryly, "Hello, I'm looking for Grandpa Zhao."
He stood at the door and glanced at Xu Sui before turning his head inside and saying, "Old Zhao, someone's looking for you."
Xu Sui followed behind him and tapped on the keyboard.
Xu Sui: [I met Song Shiyang.]
"Who is it?" The old man's deep voice came into Xu Sui's ears. Xu Sui wanted to answer, but when she saw Song Shiyang's fingers curled up and unable to loosen, she would always feel uncomfortable in front of him.
He didn't answer, but bent down to pick up a pair of shoes and placed them in front of Xu Sui, nodding at her: "Come in."
Grandma Zhao in the inner room heard this and peeked out, "Why? Don't you know him?"
Seeing Xu Sui, she first reacted, then smiled, and then went back and said: "Hey, Old Man Zhou, your granddaughter is back."
Xu Sui greeted the two elders politely, and somehow the two old people started talking and kept asking her questions.
Life, career, and emotions.
Xu Sui smiled faintly, pursing her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she accidentally saw him leaning against the wall, his hair hanging slightly on his forehead. His eyes fell lightly on the screen of his mobile phone, and he tapped the screen twice from time to time.
Xu Sui suddenly felt as if he was back in high school, with the following gazes and casual observations.
So useless.
She sniffed and tugged at the corner of her old man's clothes, preparing to say goodbye. After all, Zhou Xiaoling was still at home, and she was afraid that if she waited too long, some conflicts would arise again.
"Oh, Suisui has been a pretty girl since she was young, and now she is getting prettier and prettier." Grandma Zhao sighed.
After saying that, he glanced at Song Shiyang beside him and slapped his head and said, "I forgot to introduce my introducer. Sui Sui, this is my grandson Song Shiyang. You should have met him a few times before."
More than just a few times, Xu Sui thought to himself.
Grandma Zhao tugged at Song Shiyang and said, "Yangyang, this is Xu Sui, Grandpa Zhou's granddaughter."
Hearing the noise, Song Shiyang put away his phone. He raised his eyes and looked at Xu Sui for a long moment before speaking slowly. His voice was like ice beer on a summer night, cool but soothing and refreshing: "Hello, Song Shiyang."
What caught my eye was a pair of hands with distinct joints, like white jade, with blue veins faintly visible, and the joints even had a light pink hue.
Xu Sui was startled, then extended his hand as well. "Hello, Xu Sui. The Sui as in time and years."
They shook hands briefly and then quickly released each other.
Feelings forgotten by time cannot withstand a meeting.
On the way back, Xu Zhiyao sent another WeChat voice message to Xu Sui.
Xu Zhiyao: "Sui Sui, I've found out that the male god was specially hired back to China to develop new drugs. The male god is indeed a male god... so awesome."
The stubborn old man kept saying something in Xu Sui's ear, but she didn't listen. Xu Zhiyao's words were still lingering in her ears. It turned out that after so long he was still chasing his childhood dream, just like he was back then.
Not far away, the red brick teaching building of South Affiliated School stood in the old city of Chongqing, making her feel as if she was back to that summer.
The author has something to say:
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Feelings forgotten over time cannot withstand a meeting. —Source from the Internet
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