Chapter 57
The changes in all things in the world are always a cruel twist of fate.
Guan Nan spent four years of university in this city surrounded by the sea.
Those signs of improvement suddenly turned into a fleeting, painful bubble of prosperity.
In 2020, the year Guan Nan started her internship, it happened to be the critical period when the COVID-19 pandemic finally became severe, and there was an uproar and fear of the virus both at home and abroad.
At that time, domestic study abroad agencies, which were barely hanging on, saw a glimmer of hope in this situation. It was at this point that they began to vigorously promote the idea that Hong Kong residency could change one's fate, claiming that the domestic environment was too harsh and that only studying abroad and taking the postgraduate entrance examination could offer a way out or at least a glimmer of hope.
Their efforts to create significant anxiety are ultimately futile.
From 2021 to 2023, China significantly relaxed its policies, and these institutions achieved success by creating anxiety, resulting in a sharp rise in their performance.
In the first half of the year, the institution began to experience financial difficulties and was subsequently shut down by relevant authorities.
The study abroad crisis ultimately turned out to be a fraudulent bubble.
After this incident, just as Guan Nan was preparing to participate in a teacher interview at a middle school, her former college roommate Chen Fei contacted her and also brought along Ye Na, who was also working at Green Camphor.
As for Ye Na, Guan Nan and Guan Nan reconnected during Guan Nan's junior year when Guan Nan was an exchange student in Russia.
After learning that she was at Green Camphor Tree, I moved there to work after graduating from university.
The two hit it off immediately and decided to start their own business in the internet industry.
So, they pulled Guan Nan, who had passed the written test, along.
In the internet economy, short videos, live streaming, and e-commerce are booming. Guan Nan followed them to study how to quickly enter the internet market and carve out a niche for themselves.
Because they were unfamiliar with the industry and the procedures were complicated, there were other people besides the three of them who invested.
When starting a business, all aspects are very promising, and the income is quite considerable.
In the second year, due to unequal contributions and unfair profit sharing, all the conflicts gradually emerged. This was not only due to other investors and shareholders, but also because other contracted live streamers of the company started a wave of contract terminations.
The principle that "one whale falls and all things come to life" applies to every industry.
A large number of people flocked to the same track to reap the rewards. The hot and innovative content, after being processed by writers, screenwriters and filmmakers, has become a good sheep's head that is "old wine in new bottles". While reaping the rewards under the old name, they also criticize and slander their old employer.
A large number of netizens, unaware of the truth, were influenced by preconceived stereotypes and their reluctance to speak out.
Immediately following, names, schools, addresses, reports, complaints, verbal abuse, and personal attacks came one after another, leaving them with no choice but to apologize.
After two years of struggling, the entrepreneurial venture ended in failure.
After two years of hard work and still struggling in her career, Guan Nan once again turned her attention to the teaching profession.
She thought that being an English teacher would be a good option, something stable and peaceful.
"It's impossible for me to work." Chen Fei said jokingly in an awkward accent, "If I don't take risks while I'm young, who would work? I'm not going to."
"······"
"··········"
Yena's expression was indescribable. She glanced at the pile of empty bottles on the ground and couldn't help but ask, "Is she drunk?"
Is this even necessary?
Guan Nan can't drink alcohol, so watching the two of them chug bottle after bottle was making her eyes hurt. She had just come out of the bathroom when she saw this scene again, and she couldn't help but take a picture and post it on her WeChat Moments.
"Don't take pictures," Yena hurriedly grabbed a pillow to cover her face, "You have to save face."
After she sent the message, Yena opened WeChat and couldn't help but complain, "I didn't know you were so mean."
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan stared blankly, as if she had remembered something.
She forced a smile and looked down at her phone.
Guan Nan: [Are you drunk? @Princess Feifei]
It's 2:55 now, and there are still people liking the post. One of them is named "It's Hard to Explain Reason," a PR person who had previously discussed collaboration with me.
There are many night owls who don't sleep at this time, and this person is no exception.
However, after seeing that profile picture, she didn't notice Yena's furtive glance.
Guan Nan specifically instructed that she didn't want others to know where she was about their meeting.
Ye Na glanced at the likes section, then at Guan Nan, and finally opened a chat window. She quickly scrolled through the chat history, her eyes darting around nervously.
After putting down her phone, Yena took another swig of her drink and, emboldened by the alcohol, asked her, "What are your plans?"
"Move out first." The landlord had been harassed so much lately that she was urging Guan Nan to move out as soon as possible, otherwise she wouldn't have a peaceful life in the future. Guan Nan replied, "The landlady has urged me several times already, and I don't want to cause her any more trouble."
Hearing this, Yena nodded and asked, "What about after we move?"
"What should I do?" Guan Nan stared at the unsteady bottle on the coffee table that had fallen to the ground. She suddenly felt a little lost and couldn't answer the question for a while. After a long while, she finally said, "Become a teacher."
"Isn't there anything else you want to do?" Yena persisted, pressing her for an answer.
Guan Nan shook his head and bent down to pick up the wine bottle.
It's not that I wanted to be a teacher, but the teaching profession is more stable than other jobs, and there are winter and summer vacations, so the classroom became my first career choice.
If you ask her what she really wants to do, she doesn't know herself.
"otherwise······"
"What?"
Yena tentatively asked, "Will you come back to Fuling with me?"
Hearing the place name again, Guan Nan felt as if she had been in another world, as if she had been standing in space for too long and was finally getting a sense of reality.
A few seconds later, Guan Nan gripped the aluminum bottle tightly and declined, "No, thank you."
"I also want to go to Fuling." Her words were drowned out by Chen Fei's voice. Some sensitive word must have triggered her drunken soul, causing her to start singing "The Song of Fuling".
Startled, Yena, who was about to say something, quickly covered her mouth.
Chen Fei struggled like a carp leaping out of its shell.
Guan Nan coaxed her to drink honey water.
However, it was too late. The downstairs neighbor had already come up and knocked on the door to complain, sounding very angry. Guan Nan sincerely apologized and accepted the barrage of insults.
As the conversation turned to recent troubles, the man grew increasingly angry, and Guan Nan repeatedly apologized, acknowledging his mistake.
After the man left, Guan Nan returned to the house and saw Chen Fei crying uncontrollably, hugging Ye Na's neck. She sobbed and complained, "Why do I have to get married? Why can't I start my own business? She lost so much money, and they didn't say a word. But if my business has any problems, they try to undermine me."
"Why? Am I not their biological child?"
"······"
Chen Fei cried for a long time.
I can't tell if I'm full from eating, crying, or drinking.
She turned her head and said, "Nana, I feel like throwing up."
"What?" She seemed perfectly lucid; if you ignored the tear stains on her face, Yena would be startled and turn around to shout, "Quick! Guan Nan! The trash can!"
After a night of fussing, Chen Fei, being who she was, left the two of them to clean up.
Under Chen Fei's tantrums and insistence on going to Fuling.
Guan Nan couldn't resist being half-pushed and returned.
On the plane the next day.
The pomegranate flowers in Hecang Garden in my dream have bloomed.
Waking up amidst a shoving, Guan Nan frowned and slowly opened her eyes. She found herself in Fuling, where the two women had already packed their things and were waiting for her.
Seeing this, Guan Nan took off her backpack and went to get her luggage.
Before she could ask, their whereabouts had already been arranged. Chen Fei went to see an old friend, while the other two went back to their own homes to find their own mothers.
"Huh?" Guan Nan was astonished after hearing her arrangement.
Chen Fei was also surprised: "Are you kidding us?"
“How could that be, beautiful lady?” Chen Fei smiled slyly. “I’m just transferring here.”
"······"
"······"
Machine, huh?
Machine my ass.
Yena's expression was very bad.
Guan Nan wasn't much better off.
For some reason, she always had the feeling that she had been fooled.
"Going to check in now, I'll come visit you guys again sometime." Chen Fei said and then ran off, so fast that only a blur remained.
Suddenly, Guan Nan had the urge to buy a plane ticket and fly to Green Camphor again.
With that thought in mind, she naturally didn't go back.
Back to Hecangyuan.
In the kitchen, Guan Nan grabbed an old piece of clothing to use as a rag and quickly and simply tidied up the area.
At twelve o'clock, the clock tower rang precisely, and the aroma of food spread everywhere.
At exactly one o'clock, the neighbors finished their lunch and called out to their children to take a nap.
At 1:30, there was a light knock on the door twice, followed by the faint sound of a key being inserted into a lock.
The next second, the door was carefully pushed open inward, and Guan Nan turned around to see Qi Yang.
"Let's eat first." Qi Yang carried a bag of food and closed the door behind him. "See if there's anything else you need to buy. I'll bring it all over for you later."
Guan Nan pursed her lips: "Thank you, Brother Qi Yang."
Qi Yang lowered his head, unpacking the box and taking out the bowls and chopsticks, still with that gentle and considerate older brother-in-law demeanor. Hearing Guan Nan's words, he paused, his tone somewhat helpless, "Why are you still so polite?"
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan smiled but remained silent.
The two met last night on Renmin Branch Road. Qi Yang happened to be out picking up goods, and Guan Nan happened to be returning home alone.
Qi Yang didn't say anything, and there was no basic small talk. He simply said, "You're back," which dissolved the awkwardness of not seeing each other for six years.
He thoughtfully refrained from asking any inappropriate questions, even deliberately choosing not to mention or inquire about why Guan Nan had suddenly returned to Fuling. To protect her, he also kept the information about her return home from the neighbors.
After lunch, just as Qi Yang was about to leave, Guan Nan finally spoke up after several attempts: "Brother Qi Yang, could you please not mention my return to Fuling yet?"
"Hmm," Qi Yang asked again, "Are you leaving again this time?"
Guan Nan stared at the fan for a long time, then looked up and met those clear eyes, and said hesitantly, "I don't know."
Qi Yang nodded, and before leaving, he added, "Send me a message if anything happens."
There were few people around at noon, and this minor commotion went unnoticed by anyone.
......
After Qi Yang left, Guan Nan took a long nap until 7 p.m. When she woke up again, it was already completely dark outside. The huge banyan trees blocked out the sky, and only a few streetlights were dimly lit.
On my phone was a message from Chen Fei letting me know she was home safely.
Before she could reply, a cheerful humming sound drifted in from the doorway again. Guan Nan instinctively turned off her phone and held her breath. The room was pitch black without the lights on; the only source of light was pressed against her chest as she curled up on the sofa.
Not long after the sound disappeared, there was another knock on the door, this time with the same sound as at noon.
In the brief moment she was stunned, Qi Yang had already opened the door and entered with practiced ease, carrying a large bag. Guan Nan stepped forward to take it, but Qi Yang stepped aside and gestured for her to close the door.
Everything was laid out, a complete array of odds and ends, from top to bottom and inside to outside.
Guan Nan glanced at the things on the ground, silently took out her phone, and tapped on the profile picture of the new friend she had added last night. "Brother Qi Yang, how much is it in total? I'll transfer it to you."
"Huh?" Qi Yang looked a little confused.
“These,” Guan Nan pointed to the pile on the ground, “how much are they? I’ll give them to you.”
This time Qi Yang heard clearly and shook his head: "No need, they're all our own stuff, it won't cost much."
Seeing this, Guan Nan didn't insist, put her phone in her pocket, and said, "Thank you, Brother Qi Yang."
After putting everything away, Guan Nan, who had learned that there were still things downstairs that hadn't been brought up, wanted to go downstairs with Qi Yang, but was refused by his uncompromising attitude.
While Qi Yang was downstairs, Guan Nan took out a stack of banknotes of varying sizes from the inner pocket of her wallet and silently put them into the pocket of Qi Yang's coat, which he had casually draped over his shoulder.
......
The sound of bells rang out again at the end of Hecang Street.
Guan Nan took out her phone and checked the time; it was 9:00 PM.
After delivering the items, Qi Yang showed no unusual behavior, only reminding her not to go out at night.
Guan Nan doesn't like going out, has no social life, and spends all her free time working.
Now that she had lost her job, she was extremely bored and had nowhere to go, so she naturally didn't take Qi Yang's words to heart.
······
Guan Nan is shy and introverted, while Qi Yang is considerate, warm, and doesn't talk much.
The two, who were both quiet, got together but couldn't find anything to talk about without trying to find topics.
Guan Nan heard him say that not long after Ran Mingju passed away, her uncle came to Fuling again and, on his own, overcame all opposition to buy a burial plot for Ran Mingju in Qingshan Cemetery and erect a tombstone.
This continued for a week until the night before May 26th, when Qi Yang noticed that Guan Nan was unusually absent-minded.
After the meal, as she hesitated with her lips pursed, Qi Yang spoke first: "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
Guan Nan lowered her eyes slightly, unsure how to tell Qi Yang that she was going out that night, or what reason to give.
"Is it related to work, or..." Qi Yang asked.
Hecang Street isn't exactly quiet; the sounds of people playing cards downstairs are deafening, and a gentle breeze rustles the leaves across the concrete walls. It's lively and vibrant.
Guan Nan raised her head, her eyes meeting his, her expression calm as if devoid of any emotion: "My mother."
Suddenly, Qi Yang, who was usually so composed, looked surprised and bewildered.
He never expected that, six years later, he would hear Guan Nan say that word again.
He always thought that woman was just a burden, or more accurately, a "burden," that prevented Guan Nan from escaping this place. He even thought that with that woman gone, Guan Nan had long since been "liberated" and would never return. He also thought that without this burden, Guan Nan should be "heartless" and decisive.
After a moment, Qi Yang suppressed his surprise, glanced at her silently again, deliberately lowered his voice, and asked in a low voice, "When?"
"I'm not sure yet, let me think about it," Guan Nan said vaguely.
“Well,” Qi Yang paused for a moment, then said in the same tone, “what do you want to do? Send me a message, and I’ll take you.”
"······"
Guan Nan lowered her head, and the soft light made it difficult to see her expression.
After two seconds, she said, "No need, I'll go by myself."
Qi Yang looked at her, nodded understandingly, then left the key and politely said goodbye.
For some reason, Guan Nan noticed that after she said those words, Qi Yang's forced smile looked very strained.
"By the way," Qi Yang turned back at the door and said calmly, "Try not to go out at night. There's a strange person near the Bell Tower lately, and I'm worried about your safety alone..."
He kept repeating this, and Guan Nan nodded in reassurance, "Okay, I'll remember."
After hearing her words, Qi Yang stood at the door, his eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness.
"Brother Qiyang," Guan Nan noticed his strange behavior, "What's wrong with you?"
Qi Yang tugged at his brow, regaining his usual gentle demeanor, and shook his head, saying, "It's alright. If anything happens, remember to call me."
······
The night was hazy, and the moon hung in the sky.
Guan Nan, dressed in all black, wearing a hat and mask, covered herself up completely and successfully left the house.
I was in a hurry when I came back that day and didn't have time to look around carefully. Hecang Street has changed a lot.
The bulletin board was replaced by a stainless steel glass partition, the streetlights were changed from short, old-fashioned covers to tall, slender, drooping sugarcane-shaped ones, and the pomegranate trees were transformed from plump, bare trees into wishing trees covered with red ropes and wooden plaques.
Gazing at everything before him, Guan Nan stood at the crossroads, lost in thought.
At twelve o'clock, the clock tower rang.
Guan Nan looked dazed, and at the moment the bell rang, she subconsciously turned her head back.
Suddenly, I noticed a person standing inside the railing of the clock tower at the crossroads. At the moment the bell rang, the person, seemingly immersed in some kind of melancholy mood, suddenly raised their head.
The man had one hand in his pocket, and his shadow stretched long on the ground, falling in small, fragmented pieces.
The background... it seems...
But in this situation, Guan Nan's mind was filled with Qi Yang's repeated and solemn words of advice, which were out of place. She subconsciously ignored that slight sense of familiarity and hid behind the bushes, causing the branches and leaves to tremble.
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