Warm and soft time in old things
The autumn sun streamed through the apartment's floor-to-ceiling windows, casting tiny specks of light across the floor. Lu Ye squatted on the living room carpet, clutching an open cardboard box filled with the old finds they'd brought back from Jingyuan and Wangchuan Garden—Su Qingyuan's brass music box, a fragment of Su Manqing's blue and white porcelain vase, and the annotated volume of Lord Byron's poems. The sunlight fell on the gardenia engraving on the music box, reflecting tiny golden rays like a scattering of stars.
"Be careful, don't break it." Qi Chen came over with two cups of hot milk, placed them on the coffee table, and bent down to pick up a piece of blue and white porcelain shard on the carpet. He had sanded the edge of the shard with fine sandpaper, so it was no longer sharp, but a corner of the lotus pattern on it could still be seen. "Put these pieces together, and you can even make out half a lotus flower."
Lu Ye took the milk, and the warmth from his fingertips touching the wall of the cup spread from his fingertips to his heart. "Do you think Su Qingyuan, when he listened to this music box back then, would have been like us, basking in the sun?" He unwound the music box, and the melody of "Songstress of the Ends of the World" slowly flowed, spreading through the quiet living room, with a tenderness unique to the Republican era.
Qi Chen sat beside him, his fingertips gently brushing the marks on the music box. "Yes. She loved this song so much, she must have written a diary one afternoon, basking in the sun, listening to the melody." He paused, took out the "Byron Poems" from the cardboard box, and opened the page with her long hair - the black hair still retained its former softness, tucked next to the poem "I will always love you, love you as at the beginning". "Look, she also drew a small sun next to this poem, just like the weather today."
Lu Ye leaned over to take a look. The edges of the pages bore faint fingerprints, as if they had been repeatedly rubbed. He suddenly felt that those people, once separated by time, weren't so distant after all. Su Qingyuan would be moved by a line of poetry, Su Manqing would weep over Kunqu opera. Like him now, they both genuinely loved the little beauties of life.
"By the way, yesterday the Cultural Relics Bureau said they're going to make a replica of Su Qingyuan's diary and put it in the museum's interactive area so visitors can flip through it." Lu Ye's eyes lit up as he recalled yesterday's call. "They also asked if we would like to write a message and put it next to the diary."
Qi Chen nodded, took out a pen from the drawer, and wrote on a piece of paper: "May every upright soul be treated gently by the world." The handwriting was clear and elegant, unlike his usual cold demeanor. Lu Ye looked at the words and couldn't help but smile: "You can be so gentle sometimes."
Qi Chen's ears turned slightly red as he folded the note and put it in the envelope: "I just think they are worth it."
By the time the two had finished sorting out the old things, it was already afternoon. Just as Lu Ye was about to put the cardboard boxes into the storage room, his phone rang. It was Zhou Mingyuan, whom he had helped before, calling. He sounded a little embarrassed, "Mr. Lu Ye, could you please come to Wangchuan Garden? I was cleaning Manqing's grandmother's dresser and found a small box. It looks like there's something inside, but I'm afraid to open it. I have a feeling something's amiss."
"Wangchuan Garden?" Lu Ye glanced at Qi Chen. Qi Chen nodded, and he agreed, "We'll go there now."
Driving to Wangchuan Garden, Lu Ye watched the plane trees passing by outside the window. Their leaves had turned yellow, like gold foil scattered along the road. "What do you think Mr. Zhou found?" he asked.
Qi Chen gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "It could be Su Manqing's Kunqu opera fan, or fragments of her costume. She loved Kunqu opera so much back then, she would definitely have left these things behind."
When they arrived at Wangchuan Garden, Zhou Mingyuan was already waiting for them at the entrance. He held a small rosewood box with lotus patterns carved into it, the same pattern as Su Manqing's porcelain vase. "This is it," he handed the box to Qi Chen. "I found it in the back of the drawer when I was cleaning my dresser yesterday. I opened it a crack and it felt chilly inside. I didn't dare to move anymore."
Qi Chen took the box and gently tapped the lid with his fingertips—no resentment rippled, only a faint coolness, like the warmth of an old object stored too long. He opened the box, revealing a small Kunqu opera fan paved with dark red velvet. The fan depicted the scene from "The Peony Pavilion" depicting Du Liniang standing amidst peonies, her eyes gentle. The handle was made of yellowed ivory, inscribed with the small characters "Manqing."
"It's her fan," Lu Ye said softly. Although the paint on the fan had faded, the delicate brushstrokes could still be seen. "She must have looked very beautiful when she performed with this fan."
Just then, a faint sound of Kunqu opera emanated from the direction of Wangchuan Pavilion. It was the line "A brilliant riot of colour and beauty is in full bloom" from The Peony Pavilion. The melody was gentle and carried a touch of warmth. The three of them looked up. There was no one in the pavilion, only the wind blowing through the railings, carrying the delicate fragrance of lotus flowers.
"It's Grandmother Manqing," Zhou Mingyuan said, his voice choking with sobs. "She's thanking us. Thank you for finding her fan and clearing her name."
Qi Chen put the fan back into the box and handed it to Zhou Mingyuan: "Keep it well, it is her most precious thing."
By the time they left Wangchuan Garden, the sun was already setting. Lu Ye sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window at the sunset glow. He suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction—not the relief of having freed himself from his obsession, but the daily joy of being with Qi Chen, moved by other people's stories. It was like a cup of warm tea, slowly warming his heart.
"Are you hungry?" Qi Chen suddenly asked, "Let's go eat the soup dumplings you mentioned last time."
Lu Ye was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he had casually mentioned last week that the xiaolongbao downstairs from the company were delicious. He hadn't expected Qi Chen to have remembered it. He smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll have two!"
The Xiaolongbao restaurant was doing good business, so they found a seat by the window. Qi Chen pushed the vinegar dish in front of Lu Ye and poured him a glass of warm water. "Be careful, it's hot. You burned your tongue last time."
Lu Ye's face flushed slightly as he lowered his head and took a bite of the steamed dumpling. The broth was rich, the meat filling was tender, and it was just as delicious as last time. He looked up at Qi Chen, who was eating slowly and leisurely. The sunlight fell on his profile, softening his usually cold and hard features.
"Oh right," Lu Ye suddenly remembered something, "Shall we go see Chen Zhe tomorrow? Last time he said Lele missed us and said he wanted to show us his paintings."
Qi Chen nodded, picked up a steamed bun and put it into Lu Ye's bowl: "Okay, let's buy his favorite strawberry cake tomorrow morning. Lele likes it."
After finishing their dumplings, the two of them walked slowly back home. The evening breeze was a bit chilly, so Qi Chen took off his coat and draped it over Lu Ye. The coat carried Qi Chen's body temperature, as well as a faint sandalwood scent, a common scent on him. Lu Ye wrapped his coat tightly around him and secretly leaned closer to Qi Chen. The streetlights stretched their shadows very long, and the two shadows pressed tightly together, as if they would never separate.
After returning to the apartment and washing up, Lu Ye found Qi Chen fiddling with the brass music box in the living room. He walked over and saw Qi Chen using fine cotton thread to repair the gears in the music box. The music box would occasionally get stuck before, but now that Qi Chen had fixed it, the melody played smoothly.
"Is it fixed?" Lu Ye sat beside him, resting his head on Qi Chen's shoulder.
"Well," Qi Chen handed the music box to Lu Ye, "You can listen to it anytime you want in the future."
Lu Ye took the music box and placed it to his ear. The melody of "Song Girl of the End of the World" flowed through his ears. He looked at Qi Chen's profile and suddenly felt that such a day was really good - no terrifying ghosts, no difficult obsessions, only sunshine, dumplings, and the people around him.
At this moment, the soul-calming bell in Qi Chen's pocket suddenly shook slightly, making a very soft "ding" sound. They both looked at the soul-calming bell at the same time - the bell itself was not hot, but only vibrated slightly, as if it was affected by some distant aura.
"What's wrong?" Lu Ye asked.
Qi Chen picked up the Soul-Calming Bell and gently stroked it with his fingertips: "It's nothing, there might be some minor resentment nearby, it will soon dissipate."
Lu Ye nodded, not caring anymore. He placed the music box on the bedside table and lay down on the bed with Qi Chen. Moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains, falling on the two of them. Lu Ye closed his eyes, listened to Qi Chen's breathing beside him, and slowly fell asleep - he didn't know that the slight ringing sound was not a coincidence, but a sign of the awakening of a huge shadow, slowly approaching them from the depths of the city.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
