Xiang Wan shook her head. "We'll leave sooner or later, so what's the point of staying for two more days?"
She took out the ledger and He Yang's salary card and handed them over.
"The rent has been paid until the end of the year, and the property management fee is due next month. All our expenses for living together are basically recorded in this account. Most of them will be split equally, and the rest will be paid by you as if it were my earnings over the years. Don't worry, it's less than half of your salary. If you feel it's unreasonable, you can ask me for it."
“No need,” He Yang put the things aside. “I trust you.”
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Remember to buy some food and put it in the fridge."
As evening approached, she opened the door and dragged her suitcase out, but the handle was grabbed by a hand.
"I'll see you off."
"No need, you have to go to work soon, I'll take a taxi myself."
With her back to He Yang, Xiang Wan walked away without looking back.
"Xiang Wan, can I still come to see you in the future?"
One sentence made Xiang Wan's heart tremble, but she quickly calmed down and turned back to joke, "If you ever find out I'm your true love, come find me, and maybe I'll come back. Goodbye!"
She waved and smiled goodbye, but as she turned away, tears welled in her eyes. Perhaps He Yang would be the only person she had ever loved wholeheartedly in her life, but so what? Love that cannot be reciprocated is better left unrequited.
Having experienced so much of the world, her mindset is far beyond that of the naive girl she once was. Having seen so much, she has gained a clearer understanding. Persistence is probably no longer suitable for her now.
In the taxi, she submitted her resignation to her supervisor, who accepted it without hesitation, seemingly with a hint of joy in his voice. Perhaps it would be better for her, someone insignificant to the company, to leave.
One person silently bought a train ticket, one person waited quietly in the waiting room, and one person stared blankly out the window.
The sun shines brightly outside the window, and large swathes of golden wheat ripple in the wind across the flat land. This is a characteristic of the North; bungalows and wheat fields are part of the scenery along the way.
"Hey girl, where do I get off?" A middle-aged woman with a kind face asked somewhat awkwardly, holding a cell phone. "My son bought me a cell phone, but I don't know how to use it. Could you teach me? Here, have some oranges; I brought them from my hometown."
"Auntie, no need to trouble yourself. It's not easy for you to go out with so many bags and packages. You should leave them to your son."
As she spoke, Xiang Wan got up and sat down next to the woman.
"Auntie, you see, it's actually very simple. Press this to turn it on, then do this, then this, press this, and you can make and receive calls."
"Oh, oh, so if I want to see my son, what do I use? My son said that I can see him with that letter or something."
"Auntie, you mean WeChat, right? Let me demonstrate for you."
Xiang Wan taught her step by step, and finally the woman learned how to make and receive phone calls and video chats, and even talked to her son for a while.
Seeing the happy smile on the woman's face, Xiang Wan thought of her own parents. Did they also want to see her every day, just like her?
A wave of guilt washed over her. To this day, Xiang Wan hadn't even considered buying her parents a smartphone. They were still using their old-fashioned feature phones, which they mostly used for making calls.
When she arrived at the station, Xiang Wan had withdrawn all the money from her salary card, but it was still less than a thousand yuan. Penniless, she could only buy some fruit and instant noodles to fill her stomach before boarding the train.
The woman was talking to her son, and she even mentioned Xiang Wan in her words. She held out the phone and said enthusiastically, "Sister, look, this is my son. He's tall and handsome. He's in the army, and I only see him a few times a year."
Xiang Wan was embarrassed; she didn't know whether to answer or not. On the phone, a young man with tanned skin was looking at her.
"Hello, this is my mom's first time going out by herself. She doesn't know how to use a mobile phone. Thank you for teaching her."
Since the person on the other end had already spoken, Xiang Wan couldn't refuse any longer. She waved at the camera and said, "Hello, it was nothing, no need to thank me. The auntie is very kind and hospitable."
"Right? That's one good thing about my mom. She brings a lot of local specialties with her when she goes out. If my mom gives them to you, don't be shy. Eat them if you want. She'll feel uncomfortable if you don't."
Xiang Wan didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and pushed the phone back to the woman.
"Let me tell you, you're just a soldier, you don't have time to go home, how are you going to find a girlfriend? This time, listen to your mother, you have to seize the opportunity, you understand?"
"Okay, be careful on the road, I'm going to training now."
"Hey, hey!"
After hanging up the video call, the woman placed the local specialties one by one on the dining table in the middle of the sleeper berth, inviting Xiang Wan to eat whichever she wanted. Xiang Wan felt embarrassed, so the woman insisted on putting them in her hands.
Such hospitality was hard for Xiang Wan to refuse, so she took out the fruit she had bought and invited the woman to eat with her.
“Let me tell you, you young people don’t know how to manage money. Where else can you buy fruit? The ones at the station are ridiculously expensive. Listen to your auntie, save them! The ones I brought are enough for the two of us to eat on the way.”
What else could she say? Xiang Wan forced herself to eat a lot with the woman, until her stomach was full. Seeing that the woman's complexion was not good, she said, "Auntie, you don't look well. Perfect timing, I know a little about traditional Chinese medicine, let me take your pulse."
“That’s great! My son also said he wanted to take me to the hospital this time. But if you ask me, why go to the hospital? It’s just a waste of money. Girl, take a look at me. If there’s nothing seriously wrong, I’m not going to the hospital. It’s a waste of money.”
Xiang Wan smiled and, while taking her pulse, said, "Your son is worried about you; it's out of filial piety. Whether you're sick or not, go to the hospital for a checkup. If you're sick, get treatment; if not, just have peace of mind. Consider it a way to ward off bad luck."
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