Chapter 142 Even a train can't turn back. "Seeing this will remind me of..."
In the math competition, Li Leshan won his first battle and advanced all the way to the national competition. He didn't think he could go that far. He thought it was just good luck.
As finals week approaches, things get even busier. Papers, career planning, all sorts of tasks pile up at once, and I'm reviewing major courses and general courses—I'm incredibly busy.
The good thing is that after these two weeks, I can go home for the Chinese New Year. Doesn't the phrase "going home for the Chinese New Year" sound exciting? It certainly does. Several months have passed since I last saw Jiang Yueming. Although we've had many video calls during this time, it would be a lie to say I don't miss her. Actually, I really miss her.
He left the library at 8:30 pm and the cafeteria at 9 pm. His dinner was usually just something quick and easy from the cafeteria, maybe some porridge if they had it. The food at university was better, but Li Leshan felt it was no different from high school, because he usually ate the same two things.
The day before yesterday, Xue Ang and Zhuang Jie said they wanted to take him to the food street outside the school, but he didn't go. In the end, the two of them went by themselves, and came back with a huge pile of fried skewers, barbecue and other snacks. They even forced Li Leshan to eat a couple of bites.
It was December, and the weather was already quite cool. Almost all the leaves had fallen. A while back, people were constantly blowing leaf-blowing toys around campus, making a huge racket and disturbing the peace. Now the trees were bare, and it felt rather desolate.
"Lele!" Jiang Yueming's face appeared on the screen, a little blurry, and it was also a bit dark over there.
"Hey, where are you?" Jiang Yueming asked. "Outside? Aren't you cold?"
Li Leshan shook his head. He was sitting on a step, video chatting with Jiang Yueming. His backpack was placed to the side, which was just enough to prop up his phone so he could use sign language to communicate with him.
"I'm not cold. I just ate and I'm planning to go back to my dorm."
"It's not cold yet. Your face is all red from the cold," Jiang Yueming said with concern.
"No." Li Leshan touched his nose and cheeks and found that they were indeed a bit cold. He had probably been outside for a long time and hadn't noticed. "Aren't you cold? Wear more clothes."
“Okay,” Jiang Yueming smiled, revealing her teeth, “I know. But can I just stay silent? Wouldn’t that be stupid?”
He chuckled twice, grinning to himself, and then raised one hand, saying, "Look what this is?"
Li Leshan took a closer look and realized that they were the gloves he had sewn for Jiang Yueming a few years ago. In the past two years, he had been going to the south and attending university, traveling here and there. He thought that Jiang Yueming had left in Shengping or had simply lost them. He never expected that he would still be wearing them.
"It's too small." Li Leshan looked at his hand, and his heart swelled up for some reason. It was something from many years ago, and now, looking at it again, the workmanship was a bit rough, and some parts were even coming undone.
“No problem,” Jiang Yueming swayed a couple of times, beaming, “I can use it to write, it’s not cold at all.”
Li Leshan felt that what he said was still too exaggerated. It's no wonder he thought that way. Going to university is different from high school. He wouldn't need gloves anymore. He guessed that Jiang Yueming was just saying it to comfort him.
"Do you have that many words to write?" Li Leshan joked, thinking that it was already quite an achievement for Jiang Yueming to just touch the book.
Jiang Yueming was indeed stumped by the question. He touched his nose and said, "So what? I can't wear it if there aren't enough words to write on it?"
He lowered his voice, looked at Li Leshan on the other side of the screen, and whispered, "I told you. Seeing this will remind me of you."
Because his voice was too soft and the surrounding environment was noisy, Li Leshan didn't hear him. He then asked, "When do you get your holiday?"
"Hiss..." Jiang Yueming looked a little puzzled. He thought for a moment, "I don't know. It should be about the same as yours, probably a little later."
Li Leshan nodded, "Okay, try to study a little during finals week, don't fail."
Failing a course is quite different from failing a grade in high school. They had a rather strict teacher for their general education courses that year.
Without highlighting key points or offering preferential treatment, and with participation and final grades split 50/50, Zhuang Jie was in a real bind. He begged and pleaded with the sports department to get a syllabus for the course, but Zhuang Jie said that the syllabus varied from department to department, and everyone had their own version. To this day, he still doesn't know which one is true, but there's nothing he can do; something is better than nothing, so he had no choice but to try anything.
Jiang Yueming was taken aback, then laughed again, looking somewhat unconvinced. "No, Li Leshan, what kind of image do I have in your mind?"
“You have a very good image in my mind,” Li Leshan quickly explained.
"You're kidding me." Jiang Yueming didn't believe him at all. He raised his chin at Li Leshan and said, "Hurry up and go back to the dormitory. Don't freeze outside. You're acting silly."
Li Leshan really wanted to tell him that it wasn't particularly cold, but he couldn't resist Jiang Yueming's urging, so he had no choice but to pick up his schoolbag and head towards the dormitory.
To be honest, he's undeniably handsome from every angle. Even a casual snapshot of his face with his phone, an angle that would be a disaster on most people, looks incredibly dashing on Li Leshan.
The jawline is clearer than some people's future jawline.
He's now counting down the days, and thankfully, time is indeed passing quickly. Every day is filled with classes, part-time jobs, and studying; these are the things that occupy his life. Li Leshan hasn't really experienced the vibrant campus life he once did, but he's content with this, and he doesn't ask for anything else.
"Okay, you've arrived at your dorm, right?" Jiang Yueming saw the background behind him and guessed that he had arrived at his dorm. It wouldn't be good to keep playing. "Then I'll hang up. You get some rest."
Upon hearing the sound, Li Leshan quickly held up his phone. He shook his head and gestured, "Gloves..."
"Huh?" Jiang Yueming raised her hand in confusion. "What's wrong with the gloves?"
“I’ll sew you another one.” He continued gesturing. “I’ll sew you an even better one. We don’t need this old one.”
Jiang Yueming smiled at the camera and winked, "No need, Lele, don't bother."
"It's not troublesome at all..."
“Really, there’s no need,” Jiang Yueming waved his hand. “You should get some rest, Lele.”
These gloves may have been worn for two or three years and were indeed a bit old, with some seams coming undone, but when Jiang Yueming saw them, he was reminded of a few years ago on a slightly chilly night when Li Leshan took them out of his bag and carefully handed them to him.
This was the first pair of gloves Li Leshan sewed. No one knows how long he sewed them under that dim light or how much effort he put in. In any case, through them, the image of that sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy still shines brightly in Jiang Yueming's memory.
No matter how many years pass, Jiang Yueming will never let it go. Just as no matter what happens, he will never forget this memory.
In late January, Li Leshan finished his final exams. None of the four people in the dormitory stayed behind; they all went home. He took a few changes of clothes and set off on his journey back to Shengping.
The last time I called Jiang Yueming to ask him when his vacation would start, he said it would also be at the end of January, three to five days later than Li Leshan. As for when school would start, Li Leshan wasn't in a hurry. His winter vacation lasted for more than a month, which was much better than high school.
Li Leshan also took the train back to Shengping. He didn't bring much luggage. The train journey took several hours. He dozed off for a while and heard the aunties sitting next to him speaking their hometown dialect. He felt a strange sense of peace in his heart.
Finding a sense of familiarity in Beijing is incredibly difficult. Everything feels unfamiliar—the towering buildings, the massive structures, so many things I've never seen before, or barely even seen. Some things Li Leshan has only seen a few times in his eighteen years, others he's never seen even once. This place is so different from Shengping.
Sister Qiuxin was the first person she had met in the past six months, and they were practically from the same place. Although she had classmates from the same province, the distance was still too great, and Li Leshan could only exchange a few words with them.
Sister Qiuxin occasionally spoke in her local dialect. When Li Leshan called home, hearing that familiar accent made him feel a sense of belonging in this vast city. If he hadn't accidentally met Sister Qiuxin, he thought he might have been alone here for four years.
Four years might not be enough. Li Leshan calmly looked out the car window, unsure where the future would lead him, or rather, unsure where he wanted to go for the time being.
Maybe he'll stay in Beijing, maybe he'll go south to find Jiang Yueming. It's hard to say; it depends on what Jiang Yueming says. You don't have a choice when filling out college applications, but you won't have one once you start working, will you? This time, he wants to follow Jiang Yueming's lead. Following Jiang Yueming's lead is, in fact, following his own heart.
The train slowly came to a stop, and Li Leshan followed a group of people out of the carriage. He gripped the handle of his suitcase and stared blankly at the "Shengping Station" sign on the platform for a long time. It had been almost half a year since he last met Shengping, and in those six months, the station seemed to have remained unchanged.
After being apart for so long, shouldn't he at least say "long time no see"? But the station won't answer him, and neither will Shengping. And here, no one will answer him anymore.
The train roared past his ears and slowly moved on to another destination. The platform gradually emptied out. Li Leshan pulled his collar up, glanced back at the train rushing past, listened to its whistle, and watched it grow further and further away.
"Don't stand there," the old man on duty next to him reminded him after seeing him standing there for a long time. "Just walk forward and you'll get off the train. Look at the train; it can't turn back."
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