Chapter 10 Heartache
Chapter 10
Yu Pan was awakened by the sound of rain outside the window.
The rain in early spring is always like this, lingering and endless, sometimes pouring down like the sky has leaked, and sometimes just a light drizzle.
In the darkness, Yu Pan lay on her side, one hand supporting her head, her eyes fixed on Shen Yanzhou beside her.
The room was too dark, and you could hardly see anything. You could only make out the outline of Shen Yanzhou lying flat.
Shen Yanzhou has a high nose bridge, high brow bones, and a sharp jawline; even his breathing has a steady rhythm.
Thinking of this, Yu Pan couldn't help but reach out and place her hand on Shen Yanzhou's straight nose, her fingers sliding down from the tip of his nose to his brow like a slide.
Shen Yanzhou's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. He didn't open his eyes, but habitually grabbed the mischievous hand and pulled it to his mouth.
She brushed her lips against his fingertips, then rolled over and pulled Yu Pan into her arms, resting her chin on the top of his head, her voice muffled: "Stop fooling around."
Yu Pan snuggled against him, burying her nose in the crook of Shen Yanzhou's neck, her breath filled with a comforting scent.
Just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard the rain outside the window getting heavier again. The wind was blowing raindrops against the window, making a constant pattering sound.
Breakfast was egg porridge, which Yu Pan ate very slowly, her eyes glancing at Chen Yanzhou's shoes from time to time.
Just as Shen Yanzhou picked up his coat to leave, he suddenly put down his bowl and grabbed Shen Yanzhou's sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yanzhou looked down at him.
Yu Pan looked at Shen Yanzhou's face, noticing the slight dark circles under his eyes. He shook his head and simply gestured, "Be careful on the road, don't fall."
Shen Yanzhou smiled and pinched his cheek. "Okay, brother's leaving."
Once the door was closed, Yu Pan immediately got up, took out his small wooden box, inside which was a neatly stacked wad of money.
This is the wages that Shen Yanzhou usually gives him to keep for safekeeping. Next to it is this small blue cloth money bag, which is bulging.
The money in the purse was money he had saved himself.
It's not quite accurate to say that he saved the money himself. Back in Xishan Village, he hung this money bag by his bedside, and it contained the money he made selling bamboo baskets. Shen Yanzhou would occasionally slip him a few coins as pocket money.
Yu Pan poured out all the money and counted it. The banknotes and a bunch of small bills and coins added up to a total of forty yuan.
He wanted to buy Shen Yanzhou a bicycle.
The incident started last night when the old lady asked Shen Yanzhou to help her move some things. At that time, the two of them had just finished showering, and Shen Yanzhou put on a coat and went downstairs.
Yu Pan thought she should soak the dirty clothes first, and then she noticed that there were several mud spots on the legs of the pants that Shen Yanzhou had taken off.
He suddenly understood that back in Xishan Village, in order to make it easier to get to and from work on rainy days, the workers had spontaneously built a stone road, just wide enough for one person, along the mountain road to the artillery factory.
The path was just a few layers of loose stones, very simple, but when it rained, there was no mud on it, and your shoes and trousers always stayed clean going up and down the mountain.
But the mountain roads here are different; they are muddy and difficult to walk on.
Shen Yanzhou always came back clean every day, not because the roads were easy to walk on, but because he always found a place to wipe the mud off before going home.
Normally, it was Shen Yanzhou who did the laundry, so Yu Pan wouldn't have noticed unless she specifically went to look.
Yu Pan gripped the money in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
He put the money in his pocket and waited until it was fully light before walking towards the supply and marketing cooperative with an umbrella.
He doesn't usually go out much, but he has a good memory. When Shen Yanzhou is on vacation, he will take him out for a stroll, and he has become quite familiar with the roads in the town.
But when he arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative and saw the price tags hanging on the bicycle rack, he was stunned.
The cheapest bicycle here costs 120 yuan, and there's a piece of paper next to it that says "Supply by ticket".
The clerk at the counter noticed his embarrassment and said with a smile, "Young man, buying a car? You'll need a receipt for that. If you don't mind, go check out the used car dealership at the end of town. They don't require receipts there, and the prices are reasonable."
Yu Pan quickly bowed to him, then held up her umbrella and hurried towards the end of the town.
There are many stalls in the area where the bicycle shop is located, and most of the stalls sell shoes and farm tools.
There was a small shop in the corner that sold used bicycles. Three bicycles were hanging on the wall by the door, and the shopkeeper was an old man with gray hair.
Yu Pan had noticed it when he came to buy shoes with Shen Yanzhou before, so it wasn't hard for him to find.
"Young man, buying a bicycle?" The old man looked up at him, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Yu Pan nodded, her gaze falling on the black bicycle by the door. The seat was dark brown and looked quite new.
He pulled a small notebook out of his pocket, pointed to the car, and wrote in it: "How much is this car?"
The old man couldn't read, but he guessed what he meant and pointed to the bicycle, asking, "You mean how much this costs?"
Yu Pan nodded quickly.
"This bike is a Baishan brand, about 70% new, the chain was just replaced," the old man patted the seat, "If you really want it, it's thirty-five yuan, no bargaining."
Yu Pan breathed a sigh of relief. The price was within his budget. He took out his money, carefully counted out five yuan to keep, and gave the rest to the old man.
Thirty-five yuan almost emptied his small coin purse.
The old man counted out the money, smiled, unlocked the car, and pushed it out, saying, "Alright."
Yu Pan took the handlebars, touched the seat, and the thought that Shen Yanzhou could ride the bike to work in the future made her feel no pain at the expense disappear instantly.
He couldn't ride a bike, so he had to push it back. The bicycle was also harder to control than he had imagined, and his arms ached terribly halfway there.
The rain was getting heavier, and I had to choose between using an umbrella and pushing the stroller.
Yu Pan simply tilted her head and held the umbrella handle between her legs to protect her head from getting wet.
They don't usually enter or leave through the bookstore's main entrance; the old lady opened a door on the side.
Inside, there's a small courtyard and a well, which provides light and connects to the stairs. Further in, through another door, is a drying yard.
Yu Pan pushed the bicycle into the courtyard, locked it to the water pipe with the chain lock given to her by the boss, and then went upstairs to get a cloth to wipe the rainwater off the bicycle.
He only went upstairs last night to clean his trouser legs, which were soaked with water.
For the rest of the day, Yu Pan couldn't sit still. After having dinner at the old lady's house, she didn't rush home but instead sat at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor.
With such a large bicycle parked across the courtyard, it was impossible for the old lady not to notice it. Upon learning that Yu Pan had saved up money to buy it for Shen Yanzhou, she immediately praised it endlessly.
Yu Pan scratched his head sheepishly and wrote in his small notebook, "Actually, most of the money came from my brother, so I only saved a little bit."
To everyone's surprise, the old lady laughed even harder and patted him on the shoulder: "If he gives it to you, then it's yours. The fact that you thought of buying a bicycle for your brother is more precious than anything else."
In the evening, Shen Yanzhou, still damp from the rain, pushed open the door and saw Yu Pan standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yanzhou stumbled as he was pulled.
When Yu Pan pointed to the gleaming bicycle, Shen Yanzhou was completely stunned.
"You..." He turned to look at Yu Pan, his voice trembling, "Where... did this come from?"
Yu Pan proudly gestured, "I bought it, it's secondhand, not expensive." He patted the seat and gestured again, "You can ride this to work from now on, you won't have to walk anymore."
Shen Yanzhou's gaze fell on the car, then shifted to Yu Pan's face, which was slightly flushed with happiness, and his heart felt both sour and swollen.
"Fool." Shen Yanzhou pulled Yu Pan into his arms, his voice hoarse. "Aren't you worried about the money?"
Yu Pan snuggled against him and gestured, "I don't mind spending money on you."
Shen Yanzhou didn't say anything, but just hugged him tighter.
The rain was still falling, and the damp chill seeped into one's bones, but the person in his arms was warm, like a small stove, able to dispel all the coldness from his body.
Upon returning to his room upstairs, Shen Yanzhou saw Yu Pan's pants hanging to dry on the small balcony and silently cooked a bowl of ginger soup.
Watching him finish drinking in small sips, Shen Yanzhou pulled him to sit down by the bed, while she squatted in front of him, looking up at him.
"Panpan, there's something I need to tell you."
Yu Pan raised her head, her face slightly red from the spiciness of the ginger soup, but her eyes still held a hint of warmth.
“The boss called me today,” Shen Yanzhou said, holding Yu Pan’s hand and stroking his knuckles. “The factory plans to send me to Jiang City with a truck to deliver a batch of goods and learn the medicine dispensing techniques there.”
Yu Pan was taken aback, pulled her hand away from Chen Yanzhou's, and slowly gestured: "How long will it take?"
"Half a month." Shen Yanzhou's voice was even lower as he pulled him to sit on his lap.
Half a month. The longest they had ever been apart since they were little was only five days, until Shen Yanzhou went to high school...
They've never been apart for this long before.
Yu Pan's eyelashes trembled, she lowered her eyes, and after a long while, she raised her hand: "I bought you a bicycle..."
He was trying to say, "With a bicycle, you can come back tonight, right?"
But halfway through the gesture, he couldn't continue; he knew it was impossible.
Seeing the disappointment in his eyes, Shen Yanzhou kissed Yu Pan's earlobe and said softly, "When I come back, I'll ride the bicycle you bought to work, okay? I'll ride it every day."
Yu Pan shook her head, wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Shen Yanzhou quickly felt the warm liquid soaking into the skin of his neck.
He patted Yu Pan's back, saying over and over again, "I'm sorry, Panpan, I'm sorry..."
Yu Pan just cried, cried silently, but with unspeakable grievances.
He couldn't understand it. Shen Yanzhou had clearly said that he would take him with him wherever he went, so why did he go back on his word so quickly?
As she cried, the person in her arms gradually became still, and their breathing became even.
When Shen Yanzhou looked down, he saw that Yu Pan had already cried herself to sleep, with tears still clinging to her long eyelashes, and her brows furrowed, as if she was still feeling wronged in her dream.
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