Chapter 58
Now, the sky is bright and the air is clear.
Guan Nan returned to Hecang Garden, still radiating morning air. Looking at the pomegranate blossoms bursting open from their full buds, she seemed to be thinking of something, and a rare smile appeared on her face.
After several sleepless nights, Guan Nan sat on the bench, leaned back, and drifted off to sleep.
She was completely covered up by a hat and a mask.
No one recognized her.
She slept soundly for some reason, without having any dreams.
When Guan Nan woke up again, she realized that she had put on a coat at some point.
The thin denim jacket, with a faint scent of sea salt, was loose and warm. For a moment, it seemed to overlap with a familiar smell from my memory.
Guan Nan clutched her clothes and looked around, but couldn't find a single person.
She waited for a long time, but no one showed up.
People walked and took photos on the street.
In recent years, the banyan trees and pomegranate flowers in Hecangyuan, the Bell Tower, and Renmin Road have suddenly become popular tourist attractions in Fuling, attracting the attention of many entrepreneurs and leading to a series of related developments.
Rent a shop, renovate it by combining old and new elements, create a buzz, and open for business.
As Guan Nan strolled along the street and passed the grocery store downstairs, she noticed that it too hadn't escaped the "internet celebrity economy."
I stayed home the other day and didn't pay close attention, but there were portable tables and chairs under the banyan tree.
Standing on the side road, gazing at the long and endless avenue, she inexplicably began to miss those hurried, disheveled, and embarrassing, yet rare and precious moments.
Perhaps it's because we haven't seen each other for a long time, or perhaps it's because we're no longer deliberately suppressing our feelings.
At the same time, Qi Yang recognized her and came over to greet her in a paternalistic manner: "Have you eaten?"
"I've eaten." Seeing that there were many people at his door, Guan Nan nodded, not wanting to cause him any trouble. "Brother Qiyang, you go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me."
Considering there were too many people around, she would be recognized as soon as she opened the door upstairs. Qi Yang pointed to an entrance and whispered, "That's the newly built Hecangyuan Commercial Street. Not many people go there. If you don't want to stay here, go inside and have a look around."
"Okay." Guan Nan nodded again.
As he turned around, Qi Yang noticed that the clothes she was holding were clearly not the right size for her. He offered, "Should I put the clothes here?"
Without thinking, Guan Nan immediately refused: "Forget it."
A second later, realizing his mistake, he added, "I don't know whose clothes were left on the bench, maybe they forgot to take them, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Guan Nan slowly shut her mouth under Qi Yang's gaze.
Actually, no one would believe that, because she is not that kind of person. She wouldn't touch other people's things without reason, wouldn't get too close to people casually, and wouldn't let others get close to her easily.
Her clumsy lies were full of holes in the eyes of Qi Yang, who had watched her grow up.
Fortunately, Qi Yang did not choose to expose her.
However, after Guan Nan left the scene, he seemed to be trying to verify some kind of conjecture in his heart, so he looked around the benches in the outer garden, but he couldn't find that person.
Qi Yang stood in front of the bench, staring at it for a long time with an ambiguous expression, before leaving.
......
Guan Nan did not go to the commercial street.
Relying on her hat and mask so no one would recognize her, she wandered aimlessly around the park, eventually reaching the vicinity of the clock tower. Standing at a distance, she gazed at the men and women sitting on the benches of the clock tower.
"Wow, the clock tower is here! Come over and take a picture for me!" The girl stood under the clock tower and waved from a distance.
The boy, carrying his things, adjusted the angle as he listened: "Is this okay? Like this? Do we need to get down? Okay, like this? Okay, 1, 2, 3."
The girl checked it over and said, "Okay. Don't move, I'll try a different position."
Guan Nan saw her change to a prayer-like gesture, and the boy, not understanding, asked while taking a picture, "Why are you praying to it?"
People say that if you make a wish under the clock tower, your wish will come true.
"So what did you promise?"
"I want to be with you forever."
After taking the photos, they wanted to take a group photo. Seeing Guan Nan, which was not far away and not in the distance, the girl smiled and walked over to ask it to take a picture for her. Guan Nan agreed.
After they left, Guan Nan stood under the clock tower, looking up to try and see the time.
But the light was too bright, and I felt dizzy.
Unconsciously, she recalled that night she had spent under the clock tower.
The boy, dressed as Santa Claus, asked her the same question, asking what wish he would grant for her.
But is it really still possible to achieve this?
After a moment, Guan Nan came to her senses, chuckled softly, and laughed at her own naive and delusional thoughts. Now that person was radiant and admired by everyone; how could a little ant like her possibly covet him?
She reached for her phone, intending to send a message to Chen Fei, only to realize that she hadn't replied to her last night.
Guan Nan hesitated for a second, took a picture of the clock tower, and posted it in the three-person group chat, immediately receiving a reply.
Chen Fei: "I heard that wishes made at this clock tower are very effective."
She sounded regretful.
Yena: [Then you're leaving?]
Chen Fei retracted a message.
Guan Nan: 【······】
Yena: [······]
Yena: [Have you ever heard of the saying "burying one's head in the sand"?]
Chen Fei: [No]
Yena: [This is it!]
Chen Fei: [Let me get rich @Guan Nan]
Ye Na: [Let me be stunningly beautiful @Guan Nan]
After chatting with them for a while, Guan Nan smiled as she replied to the last message, put away her phone, and looked up.
A person was sitting on a bench under the clock tower.
The couple taking photos had disappeared.
The figure looked very similar to the one from last night. Guan Nan stood under the tree and stared at him for a long time, unsure of how to react. Just as she came to her senses, a girl suddenly ran towards her from a distance.
The woman naturally stuffed everything into his arms and then affectionately took his arm.
“Jiang Li,” the girl said cutely, swinging her legs as she took his hand, “I’m so hot. I want to eat ice cream. I want the Double Happiness ice cream you bought last time. Hmm, Cornetto will do too.”
Jiang Li put the bag aside and said expressionlessly, "I'm not buying it."
"Then buy me an ice cream cone," the girl huffed unhappily, settling for second best.
"Why are you eating an ice cream cone? Don't you know how old you are?" Jiang Li pulled his hand away and said coolly, "Also, don't you know there's a difference between men and women? Stop touching me like that."
The girl nudged his arm, and he smiled helplessly, seemingly trying to coax her with something else.
Not far away, Guan Nan stared at the scene before him, motionless.
She had imagined countless times what it would be like to reunite with him.
But when the scene she had imagined countless times actually came to life and assaulted her eyes, she suddenly realized that she couldn't convince herself and couldn't accept this fact.
In that brief moment, Guan Nan did not react at all, or rather, she didn't have time to react, and her emotions didn't even show up on her face or brainwaves in that instant.
They just left her there, standing there in a daze.
Unbeknownst to her, a gentle breeze brushed against her face, clearing away the blur before her eyes.
She was completely flustered when she realized what was happening.
From blankness and confusion to fear and anxiety.
A wave of soreness washed over her. She looked up at the clock tower in front of him and remembered that naive and ridiculous wish. Her last remaining hope was shattered in that instant.
That head, which had been held high and stubbornly held on, finally bowed.
if······
If she hadn't left then, if she hadn't gone to Fuling, but instead gone to Beijing, wouldn't there have been a tiny, sliver of a possibility, even if only?
But... why should it be her?
Guan Nan suddenly realized that she was indulging in wishful thinking.
She also knew that there would never be another person as good as Jiang Li in this world, and there would never be another Jiang Li as good as her.
Once she realized this, the weight that had been hanging over her for half a year was lifted instantly.
This was the first time Guan Nan had regretted leaving Fuling in the sixth year since.
On one hand, she felt conflicted, thinking that as long as he was happy, that was enough.
Even without such blessings, how could anyone not be happy with someone like Jiang Li?
That wonderful boy was the very embodiment of happiness.
On one hand, she had a contradictory fantasy that if she waited a little longer, she could appear in front of him openly and generously. But before she could prepare herself mentally, it was already too late.
Guan Nan was covered in dust and dirt. Just as she hesitated and turned to leave, someone called her name from behind.
"Guan Nan." Qi Yang's voice rang out from behind on Renmin Branch Road, calm and gentle.
In an instant, Guan Nan hurriedly looked away and gave him a haphazard reply.
"I noticed you didn't go to the shopping street," Qi Yang walked over, handed her some ice water, and asked with concern, "It's so sunny right now, you couldn't find anywhere to take shelter."
"Mm." Guan Nan took the water bottle, thanked her, and lowered her eyes. "Just looking around."
“It’s normal to feel a bit unfamiliar after not being back for so long.” Qi Yang nodded understandingly. The two had each other’s contact information, but they had only communicated a handful of times in the past six years, at most exchanging polite greetings on holidays.
There was no other communication.
Worried that she was stuck in the past, Qi Yang didn't deliberately say anything to her, maintaining basic neighborly courtesy.
Guan Nan followed up by saying, "The changes are quite significant."
"Yes," Qi Yang said with a smile, "We need to develop and eat, and everyone is under a lot of pressure. Hecangyuan has just developed into a popular tourist spot, which has solved a lot of employment problems."
Guan Nan nodded hesitantly in agreement.
Whether it was because Qi Yang had sharp eyes or something else, he recognized the person as soon as they stood up on the bench and greeted them.
The man came at the sound, but didn't seem to see her, his gaze sweeping across her face.
It had been a long time since I'd seen him; he'd grown taller and his hair had grown longer.
Her wispy hair, as always, cascaded lazily across her forehead, and her eyes and brows looked sleepy and languid, as if she hadn't woken up yet. But when she lifted the corner of her eye, the hook that hadn't been used for many years came into play once again.
Guan Nan pondered and considered, trying to find the right words to greet him and create a relaxed and natural atmosphere.
But the man just stood there, tall and straight in front of her, his eyes indifferent and completely oblivious.
She seemed like a complete stranger, as if I had never met her before.
Guan Nan opened her mouth but then closed it again, lowered her head and looked down at him with a silent sadness. As she looked down, she saw the girl's bag in his hand.
He's always surrounded by so many people; he probably doesn't even remember that drab, unremarkable female classmate from his middle school days.
He gave Qi Yang a brief greeting.
A moment later, the little girl from before ran over, shielding her forehead from the sun with her hand, holding an ice cream cone in her hand, and looking up at Jiang Li, chattering and complaining—
"It's so hot! It's so hot!"
"Why did we have to travel so far just to buy ice cream?"
"What kind of trendy photo spot is this? They didn't even set up a stall."
"Are you stupid for not knowing how to make money even when you have it?"
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