Chapter 117 Thank you. Now his sky is truly getting bluer and bluer. ...
"Stop." Jiang Yueming stepped on an empty wine bottle, flattening the tin can, which immediately dented and made a loud noise.
"Don't force me to take action." He tapped the wall with the wooden stick he was holding.
Upon hearing the sound, Li Yong initially intended to run away, but now he could only turn around cautiously. His hair and clothes were a mess.
"I didn't look for him!" Li Yong quickly waved his hand.
Jiang Yueming clicked his tongue, thinking to himself: You dare to try and find her.
He didn't want to get entangled with Li Yong any longer, so he threw a wad of cash at Li Yong and said, "I'll transfer the money to you on time. Haven't I made myself clear? I've had people watching your every move."
Li Yong quickly checked the money, his eyes shining, and nodded hurriedly, "I understand, I understand."
He felt that the person in front of him was much better than Li Leshan. He didn't resist and would give money if asked. Although he was a bit crazy, he was fine as long as he got money.
“I’m warning you,” Jiang Yueming slowly approached him, her voice low, “If I find out even once, whether it’s true or not, you’ll either go to jail or I’ll kill you. I’m not kidding.”
Li Yong swallowed hard and quickly agreed. He really didn't have that kind of guts. He'd witnessed firsthand how crazy this guy was; he was truly fearless. This kid dared to stab himself, so who wouldn't he dare to do the same?!
I don't know where that kid Li Leshan got his hands on, he's such a tough nut to crack.
In a panic, fearing something might happen if he stayed, he hurriedly disappeared into the alleyway, stumbling and running.
Jiang Yueming narrowed his eyes at the departing figure. In fact, he should have gone to find Li Yong a long time ago. If he had done so earlier, wouldn't Li Leshan have avoided what happened later? Would he have been spared so much suffering? Unfortunately, there are no "ifs," and Li Leshan wouldn't let him go to find him.
Even this matter, Jiang Yueming could only keep from Li Leshan. He had no choice but to keep it a secret; it was the best way.
Time was tight and the task was heavy. When the day of farewell finally arrived, Jiang Yueming realized he wasn't ready. There were still many people he hadn't seen, many people he hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to, and most importantly, Li Leshan. He hadn't figured out how to tell Li Leshan.
Some words are too heavy to utter. Some people are too fragile to bear saying goodbye.
The Lijiang River shimmered in the night light, flowing westward. Jiang Yueming, who was bad at geography, couldn't figure out whether it was going to join the Yellow River or the Yangtze River, or which river it was a tributary of. He just watched it flow and flow, not knowing where it was going, just like time, which never stops for anyone.
This bridge witnessed his entire growth, from his first steps to his awkward teenage years. Jiang Yueming still remembers climbing up the outside of the bridge arch with Han Jiang when he was a child. Looking back now, he was really lucky to be alive.
There were few people on the bridge late at night. Shengping is not like a big city; there is not much nightlife. At night, except for the central area, the rest of the city is basically deserted.
He found a step to sit on and quietly looked at the river across the way through the gaps in the marble railing.
He went to see Yin Guiying the day before yesterday. Yin Guiying had been transferred to work in the city in recent years and lived in the staff quarters of the No. 1 Primary School in the city. She rarely came back to Shengping. Jiang Yueming still managed to run into her by chance.
Time has left its mark on her. She has some gray hair at her temples and fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but her smile is still the same as it was a few years ago, now more serene and less serious.
She jokingly teased Jiang Yueming, "Why do you still look like teenagers after six years?"
Jiang Yueming replied with a smile, "Because I'll only be twenty-three in six years."
He told Yin Guiying that he was going to the south. Yin Guiying praised him for being sensible and growing up, knowing how to share the burdens of his elders. The conversation then returned to her most pressing concern: her studies. She hadn't changed much over the years; this was still her biggest worry.
"According to you, if I don't get into any good school, I'll be too embarrassed to come back and see you." Jiang Yueming laughed heartily.
“No way, no matter what, you are still my student,” Yin Guiying said earnestly. “Actually, I just want you to have a better life.”
His thoughts returned to this place, the summer night breeze blowing gently, bringing something and taking something away.
Jiang Yueming gazed quietly ahead, recalling what Yin Guiying had once told him: "If you have something on your mind, look up at the sky. The sky is vast and can hold all your worries." At that time, Jiang Yueming was still young and had just lost his mother, so he often felt that the sky was gray.
Looking at it now, the night sky is dotted with stars, so deep and endless. I don't know how to express my gratitude; his sky is truly getting bluer and bluer.
Sensing the approaching footsteps, Jiang Yueming turned his head and saw Li Leshan standing not far away, staring at him.
"Le..." Jiang Yueming stood up abruptly, a little nervous, "Why are you here?"
He hadn't figured out how to tell Li Leshan that he had come here today simply to say goodbye to the Lijiang Bridge, which had been with him for over ten years. Although it was time for him to say goodbye to Li Leshan, he just couldn't bear to part with him. He hadn't thought it through and didn't know how to say it.
Li Leshan slowly approached him, sat down next to Jiang Yueming, and gestured to him, "Auntie said you went out for half a day and didn't come back, so I came to look for you."
"How did you know I was here?" Jiang Yueming asked, dumbfounded.
Li Leshan glanced at him, his eyes darting around, "Try your luck."
Jiang Yueming belatedly realized what was happening, and after a long pause, asked softly, "Did your aunt tell you everything?"
She told you I was leaving, didn't she?
Li Leshan nodded, his expression unchanged, showing no sign of sadness, and even a faint smile on his lips. "When you go over there, take good care of yourself, and take good care of Auntie and Tiantian."
Looking at him like this, Jiang Yueming felt a tightness in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She could only manage to say with difficulty, "Lele, I'm leaving. Will you hate me?"
I hate that I didn't tell you beforehand; I hate that I was so heartless as to leave you and go alone?
Looking at his red-rimmed eyes, Li Leshan shook his head firmly, "If you're leaving, how could I hate you?"
"But what will you do all by yourself?" Jiang Yueming suddenly threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "What if someone bullies you?"
He whispered "I'm sorry" and "I'm sorry" in Li Leshan's ear over and over again, and all these apologies fell on Li Leshan's shoulders.
Li Leshan moved a little further away from him, touched Jiang Yueming's cheek, and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me. You should study hard, but don't overwork yourself."
“I will…” Jiang Yueming lowered her head, holding back her tears, “I will, I will try harder and be more diligent. I promise you.”
He looked down at Li Leshan's well-defined hands, and tremblingly touched the wound on his wrist. The scar felt like it was burning hot, and just touching it made Jiang Yueming burst into tears.
"I...please, please." Jiang Yueming couldn't even finish a sentence. "Stop hurting yourself, okay? Don't hurt yourself anymore. I know it hurts a lot, please hang in there a little longer, okay? Just for my sake..."
People always have attachments, love, thoughts, and hates in this world, which is why they can persevere when they encounter difficulties. It is precisely because of these that he has survived until now.
Li Leshan looked at the faint scars hidden in his sleeve on his wrist, then looked up at Jiang Yueming's eyes. After a long while, he nodded.
"Thank you, thank you." Jiang Yueming began repeating "thank you" again, overwhelmed by extreme pain and the pain of separation, making him incoherent for a moment. "Don't take the harsh words I said to you before seriously, don't take them to heart. I didn't mean to say them. You're such a good person, and I just... I don't know what came over me back then..."
Li Leshan's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes began to redden. He nodded to himself, indicating that he knew everything and that Jiang Yueming should stop talking and stop feeling guilty.
Li Leshan used sign language, his hands trembling slightly, "You always say I'm good at everything, thank you."
"Because you are so good, so very good." Jiang Yueming's eyes were blurry with tears. He didn't know how many times he would repeat "so good," but he would repeat it as many times as Li Leshan wanted to hear it. He would always be by his side to tell him and affirm him that Li Leshan was a very good person.
“You are also very, very good,” Li Leshan looked into his eyes, “Thank you for all these years.”
He never imagined he would meet someone like Jiang Yueming. He thought he would be a loner for life until that boy appeared in his life, completely unexpectedly.
This was his luckiest thing. He may have used up all his luck on meeting Jiang Yueming. But even so, and despite the torment and hardship he had endured, if this was the price he had to pay for meeting Jiang Yueming, Li Leshan was grateful.
Jiang Yueming took a deep breath, his voice choked with emotion, and looked at Li Leshan again and again, trying to etch the man's image into his very being. The thought of possibly not seeing him again for a long time made his heart ache terribly.
“Lele, I will come back to see you, I definitely will…” Jiang Yueming touched Li Leshan’s cheek, stroking it carefully, and continued, “Will you blame me? Blame me for leaving like this? Blame me, it’s okay…”
Li Leshan gripped his hand tightly, his eyes also brimming with tears. He smiled and shook his head at Jiang Yueming, his expression seemingly puzzled. "How could I possibly blame you? I won't blame you no matter where you go."
"Don't forget me, don't forget me." Jiang Yueming buried her head in Li Leshan's shoulder, her voice a little hoarse.
"I won't," Li Leshan thought to himself.
He will never forget it.
As long as he lives, he will remember. In this small county town, there was someone who treated him so sincerely; he will never encounter another person who treats him with such kindness in his lifetime.
The night breeze ruffled their hair, a rare gentleness in this summer night. The river beneath the bridge continued its silent westward flow, neither of them knowing whether a wider river and sea lay ahead, or whether more treacherous rapids lay ahead.
Jiang Yueming put one arm around Li Leshan's shoulder and held up her phone with the other.
He wanted to take a photo with Li Leshan to forever commemorate this unforgettable 17-year-old. He might have many photos in his life, but he would never have one like today again.
"I'll count to three, two, one," Jiang Yueming said, looking at Li Leshan on the screen. "Shall we laugh together?"
Although laughing right after crying might not look good, and could even look a bit funny, Jiang Yueming was determined to keep this photo.
Li Leshan nodded slightly.
In the moment the photo was captured, Jiang Yueming's lips curled into an extremely bright smile, as if this parting, in which they might not see each other again, did not exist, as if they were about to embark on a brighter future together, though no one knew what that future would hold.
But Li Leshan did not look at the camera.
He smiled and gave Jiang Yueming a kiss.
The bittersweet taste of tears and the youthful courage to gamble everything are forever etched in the summer when Jiang Yueming was seventeen.
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