Preface to the Spring Equinox
The bitter cold's reign was finally showing its weariness. Though the mornings and evenings remained chilly, the midday sun had acquired a real weight, no longer the pale, feeble comfort of winter. The wind had also changed, shedding its harsh edge and carrying the moisture of thawing soil, the fresh, lush aroma of revitalized vegetation, and an indescribable, stirring warmth, flowing through the city buildings.
The winter silence was broken. A subtle, yet widespread clamor was resurfacing. The clatter of traffic on the street seemed denser, the pounding of piles at the construction site had regained its former vigor, and even the sounds of children playing downstairs had become especially clear and loud.
Ye Shu noticed this change. He still sat by the window, but the view was no longer the clear and quiet winter days. Though the treetops hadn't yet seen much new green, a closer look revealed buds swelling, revealing a faint green hue, like countless tiny, determined fists, ready to beat the drums of life. Countless invisible particles of dust and pollen floated in the air, dancing in the slanting sunlight, stirring the once clear beam of light.
An invisible, vigorous, almost noisy vitality is surging out from deep within the earth and from every corner, trying to fill all the gaps.
That day, Chen Xu arrived in a hurry, stripping off his heavy down jacket and wearing only a hoodie. There was even a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He didn't have any food in his hand, but he held up a phone, the screen almost touching Ye Shu's face.
"Yeshu! Look! The magnolia flowers are blooming! The one downstairs from your building! It was bare yesterday, but today it's all blooming! White! A big tree!" His voice was full of excitement as if he had discovered a new continent, and his speech was as fast as jumping beans.
On the screen, there are several magnolia flowers blooming against gray branches. The petals are large and thick, dazzling white, with a reckless and almost reckless vitality, forming a sharp contrast with the background behind them that has not yet awakened.
Ye Shu's gaze stayed on the screen for a moment, then moved to the window, trying to locate the specific tree.
"Yes. I see," he said calmly. The flowers were indeed blooming vigorously, but in his eyes, perhaps it was more like a violent release of life energy, in line with the laws of the solar terms.
"Just 'saw' it?" Chen Xu was very dissatisfied with his reaction. He put his phone away and admired it again. "It's so beautiful! Just looking at it makes me feel good! Spring is finally here!"
Like a dog finally free after a winter of cooping up, he paced around the room for a few steps. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and wrinkled his nose. "Huh? Do you smell that? There seems to be a... faint fragrance? Is that the scent of the magnolia wafting up?"
Ye Shu also took a deep breath. Besides the inherent city dust and car exhaust, the air was indeed mingled with a faint, cool, sweet fragrance, almost imperceptible and difficult to capture.
"It's the smell of it," he confirmed.
"It smells so good!" Chen Xu took a few more deep breaths, as if trying to absorb all the spring air into his lungs. His energy seemed even more overflowing than usual, almost overwhelming. "Come on! Let's not sit here anymore! Let's go downstairs and take a closer look!"
Ye Shu's brows furrowed slightly. Go downstairs? Blend into the rapidly recovering, increasingly bustling life?
Chen Xu didn't wait for him to refuse and reached out to pull him: "Just for a moment! Bask in the sun! Look at the flowers! Look at your face, it's so pale, almost the same color as the magnolia. You need to supplement your calcium!"
Ye Shu was half-pulled, half-dragged to his feet. The sun was shining brightly, and through the window, a distinct warmth could be felt.
In the end, he was pulled out of the door by Chen Xu.
As soon as I stepped outside, the vibrant energy of life hit me even more vividly. The sun beat down overhead, warm and inviting. The breeze was gentle, carrying the complex scents of budding plants. In the distance, the hum of mowing the lawn reached me, and the air was thick with the fresh, succulent scent of cut grass.
The magnolia tree was not far away, and indeed, it was in full bloom. Its pure white petals, pointed upwards, looked especially pure and proud against the blue sky. Groups of people were already taking photos beneath the tree.
Chen Xu ran over excitedly, walked around the tree, looked up and admired it, and took out his phone to take pictures from all angles.
Ye Shu followed him, keeping a few steps away. He looked up at the flowers. Up close, the petals seemed thicker and more lustrous. They were indeed beautiful, but he also felt a surge of vitality, almost overflowing, with a sense of undeniable clamor.
His gaze swept across the excited crowd beneath the tree, past the smiles on their faces and their raised phones, and finally returned to the flowers themselves. He wasn't looking at the overall splendor, but at the form of each individual flower, the texture of its petals, the subtle structure of its stamens, and how they grasped the branches, drawing energy and striving to bloom.
"Life is truly miraculous," Chen Xu sighed after taking enough photos. "It was buried in the earth and frozen for a whole winter, and then it blossomed instantly, and it blossomed so vigorously!"
"It's not magical," Ye Shu corrected calmly, "It's a law. When enough is accumulated, it will explode. That's all."
Chen Xu choked and glared at him angrily: "Can't you say something romantic? This is called heralding spring! It's called hope!"
Ye Shu stopped arguing. His gaze was drawn to a faint movement in the soil beneath the tree. A tiny, weak weed, barely breaking through its brown seed shell, poked out two tender, almost transparent, yellow-green cotyledons. Beneath the massive magnolia tree, beside the footsteps of the crowd, it seemed insignificant yet incredibly tenacious.
He squatted down and his eyes fell on the small wild grass.
Chen Xu came over curiously: "What are you looking at?...Oh, a blade of grass." His tone suddenly lost interest.
Ye Shu, however, watched intently. Compared to the loud and dazzling magnolia above him, this silent, almost ignored weed seemed more appealing to him. Its life, too, stemmed from accumulation and explosion, but it was quieter, less noticeable, and more resilient.
"Will it bloom too?" Chen Xu asked casually.
"I don't know." Ye Shu replied, "But it is growing."
As long as it keeps growing, there are endless possibilities. Whether it blooms or just grows into an ordinary green leaf, it is a complete expression of life.
Chen Xu seemed to understand, but he also calmed down and looked at the weak but vibrant weed.
The sun grew warmer, burning my back. The fragrance of the magnolia flowers seemed even stronger in the warm breeze.
Chen Xu suddenly sighed, his voice becoming softer. "Actually... sometimes I envy these flowers, plants, and trees. Year after year, they wither when they're supposed to, and bloom when they're supposed to. It's simple and straightforward, without all the worries."
Ye Shu stood up and shifted his gaze from the weeds to the more budding life in the distance - the willow branches were turning light yellow, the grass was sprouting tender tips, and even in the cement cracks in the corners of the wall, unknown green was peeking out.
"They fight too," he whispered, as if talking to himself, "for sunlight, for water, for space. But it's silent."
"That's better than human fighting." Chen Xu muttered.
"The essence is the same," Ye Shu said, "only the form is different."
As the spring breeze blew, the magnolia petals trembled slightly, and a few snow-white petals swirled and fell, landing on the soil and on Chen Xu's shoulders.
Chen Xu picked up the petals on his shoulder. They felt soft and delicate, with a lingering fragrance. "Well, they are beautiful, but they bloom for a short time. A rain might wipe them out."
"There's a time for perfection, and a time for withering." Ye Shu looked at the falling petals. "The falling petals now make room for new leaves to grow. There's no need to regret."
There was no sadness in his tone, only a calm acceptance that came from seeing through the cycle.
Chen Xu looked at his expressionless face in the spring sunshine and suddenly felt that Ye Shu might be the one who truly understood spring. He didn't rejoice when flowers bloomed, nor did he lament when they fell. He simply watched and felt the reality of every moment in this vast cycle of life, including the noise and silence, the birth and the death.
On the way back, Chen Xu was much quieter. He stopped shouting and just observed every little sign of spring along the road, occasionally pointing it out to Ye Shu—a clump of forsythia sprouting, a beetle scurrying by, a bird chirping on a branch.
Ye Shu's gaze would follow the direction he pointed, and he would say "hmm" very lightly.
The warm sunshine falls on my body, and the spring breeze blows on my face, bringing the breath of distant places.
Life is waking up, noisy and persistent.
And they walked in it, one felt quietly, the other tried to understand.
Back at the apartment, Chen Xu stamped his feet at the door, wiping off the fresh dirt on his soles. He took a deep breath, almost as if he could still smell the cool fragrance of the magnolia and the scent of green grass.
"It seems... to have brought back a little bit of spring." He said with a smile, his eyes shining.
Ye Shu didn't answer. He walked to the window and looked at the still lush magnolia tree downstairs.
After a moment, he whispered so softly that his voice almost disappeared in the spring breeze:
“It’s always there.”
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