Final whistle
It was nearing late autumn, but the weather had strangely warmed up for a few days. The sun shone brightly, like a false backdrop, and the air was filled with a golden, languid warmth. The leaves of the sycamore trees on the street below Ye Shu's apartment were turning yellow and falling at an incredibly slow pace, like a carefully calculated slow motion scene in a movie.
Chen Xu had been running more frequently lately, but that diligence carried with it an inexplicable, sticky feeling, a sense of wanting to speak but not being able to. He no longer chattered endlessly about fragments of his life. Sometimes, when he came, he would just curl up on the sofa, watching Ye Shu brew tea, sit quietly, and stare out the window, his eyes complex, as if he was trying to remember something.
Until this afternoon.
He brought not the usual snacks and drinks, but a slightly heavy, professional-looking silver insulated box. He placed the box on the long table and opened it. Inside was not food, but several bottles of champagne in unique shapes, with tempting frost on the bottles and a stack of crystal clear glasses next to them.
"Today... let's drink something different." Chen Xu's voice was a little tense. He tried hard to look relaxed and happy, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly uncontrollably.
Ye Shu's gaze returned from the window to the overly grand champagne tower, which seemed out of place in this apartment. His eyes slowly scanned Chen Xu's hands, which were trembling slightly with nervousness, before finally settling on his flickering eyes.
He didn't ask "why" or comment on the abruptness of this behavior. He just watched calmly, as if he already knew everything.
Chen Xu was practically invisible under his gaze. He avoided his gaze and frantically attempted to open a bottle of champagne. With a soft pop, the cork popped out, and the frothy liquid threatened to burst from the bottle. He quickly poured two glasses, and the golden liquid bubbled happily in the crystal glasses.
He handed one of the cups to Ye Shu, picked up the other one, and took a deep breath, as if he was about to make some important announcement.
"Ye Shu," his voice was a little dry due to nervousness, but he forced it to rise, trying to create a celebratory atmosphere, "Congratulations... on wrapping up!"
He almost shouted the last two words with a determination to burn his boats, but they were quickly swallowed up by the huge silence in the room.
"Finish?" Ye Shu repeated the word, his tone steady and calm, without question or surprise. He took the glass of champagne but didn't drink. He simply watched the bubbles rise and burst in the glass, as if observing an interesting natural phenomenon.
"It's... it's..." Chen Xu was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to explain this term in the film and television industry to someone who seemed to be outside of all conventional narratives. "It's... your story has come to an end. Temporarily... take a break." He chose to say it as gently as possible, but his eyes revealed an unconcealable complex emotion mixed with reluctance and relief.
Ye Shu raised his eyes, his gaze resting on Chen Xu's face once again. That look seemed to penetrate all disguises, reaching the essence of his being. "My story," he whispered back, as if confirming a fact, "has always been only with me."
He swirled the glass slightly, causing the bubbles to rise even more densely. "Beginning, end, paragraphs, chapters..." He paused, his voice soft as a sigh, "These are all categorizations made by others."
Chen Xu held his wine glass, frozen in place. All the prepared words, all the emotions, seemed so pale and ridiculous at this moment. Yes, for Ye Shu, what was the true meaning of "wrapping up"? He was like the silent tree outside the window. Seasons changed, people came and went, he simply existed, following his own inner rhythm. To him, the glances or departures of others were perhaps just the passing of the wind.
A profound sense of loss and inexplicable relief gripped Chen Xu simultaneously. He suddenly felt like a lousy actor, futilely attempting to be sentimental in a play whose ending he had already foreseen.
He put down his glass awkwardly, the bubbles of the champagne still surging tirelessly.
"That's true..." He lowered his head, touched his nose, and smiled self-deprecatingly. "For you, maybe every day is the same." He paused, his voice lowered. "It's just that... in the future... I may not be able to come and bother you like this all the time."
After he said his final words, he felt like a piece of space was empty in his heart, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Ye Shu finally lifted his gaze from his wine glass and returned to the window. The setting sun was tinting the sky a gentle orange-pink. The light filtered through the glass, casting a soft halo on him.
"The doorbell is there," he said calmly, as if stating an objective fact that had nothing to do with him. "It will ring when you want to."
Chen Xu suddenly raised his head and looked at Ye Shu's calm profile. There was no attempt to retain him, nor any promise in these words, but they strangely soothed his restless heart.
Yes, the doorbell is there. Stories may have a so-called "ending," but the sounds of life never truly cease. Whether he comes or not, Ye Shu is always here. This silence, too, remains here.
He suddenly laughed, a genuinely relaxed, relieved smile this time, and picked up his glass again.
"Whatever! We have to drink this wine today!" He said loudly, as if to dispel the last bit of hypocritical atmosphere, "For... for this beautiful autumn weather!"
Ye Shu looked at him, then at the wine in the glass that was about to calm down. Finally, he picked up the glass and gestured forward very slightly.
The two glasses clinked gently in the air.
"bite--"
An extremely crisp and subtle sound, like dewdrops falling or ice crystals breaking.
It’s short, but the aftertaste is long.
Chen Xu drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. The bubbles stimulated his throat, bringing a slightly astringent yet refreshing feeling.
Ye Shu took a tiny sip and put the cup down. The golden liquid swayed slightly in his cup, reflecting the last rays of sunlight outside the window.
The setting sun completely sank into the horizon, and the light in the room quickly dimmed.
There were no words of farewell and no sad atmosphere.
Chen Xu carefully put away the remaining champagne and put it in the refrigerator. "Save it for next time... I don't know when I'll drink it again." He said with a smile, his tone much more relaxed.
Ye Shu nodded slightly.
When leaving, Chen Xu stood at the door and turned back to take a last look at this empty, quiet, yet extremely familiar apartment, and the figure who sat back by the window, as if about to blend into the twilight.
"Let's go, Ye Shu." He said softly.
"Yeah." A monosyllabic response, as always.
The door closed gently.
The apartment was completely dark. Only the city lights outside the window began to light up one after another.
Ye Shu didn't turn on the light. He sat quietly in the darkness for a long time without moving.
Then, he raised his hand very slowly, and his fingertips moved very slightly in the air, as if brushing away an invisible speck of dust.
The final whistle blew and the curtain fell.
But for a being that is essentially alienated and has inner divinity, it may just be a brief pause in the wind.
Silence is the eternal protagonist.
And the story never really ends.
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