See you tomorrow
The morning light was softer than usual, filtering through the gaps in the curtains onto the desk, illuminating the history book with two ginkgo leaves between them.
It was just past seven when Xu Yang woke up. The moment he turned over and sat up, he remembered the agreement with Lu Jinyu, and his movements became faster. Last night, he specially placed the bread, milk and small notebook he was going to take with him next to his schoolbag, so he could just pick them up and go.
As soon as I got downstairs, I saw Lu Jinyu standing under the old locust tree.
He was wearing a light brown jacket, carrying a bag that was a bit bulgier than usual, and holding a picnic mat with cartoon designs on it. When he saw Xu Yang, he waved and ran over, the ginkgo leaf pendant hanging on his bag swaying non-stop. "You're actually faster than me! I thought I had to wait ten minutes for you. I folded the picnic mat very neatly, look—"
He unfolded the picnic mat like a treasure. The off-white fabric was printed with tiny ginkgo leaf patterns. "My mom picked it out for me yesterday. She said it would match the leaves we picked up today."
Xu Yang looked at the light in his eyes and took the hot soy milk handed to him - it was the familiar sugar-free variety. When his fingertips touched the warm packaging bag, he remembered the warmth he felt on a rainy day last week.
"Why did you buy soy milk again?" he asked, glancing at the apple sticking out of the side pocket of Lu Jinyu's schoolbag. "Didn't you say you'd bring some fruit?"
"I bought some soy milk on the way. It's hot and comfortable to drink in the morning," Lu Jinyu scratched his head and refolded the picnic mat and stuffed it into his schoolbag. "The fruit is inside. I also brought wet wipes and tissues. If there's dust on the leaves, I can wipe it clean and put it in the book.
Oh, and I also brought some small scissors. If we come across a particularly beautiful leaf with a small chip, we can cut it neatly.”
The two walked towards the bus stop. The morning light fell on the sycamore trees on the roadside, dyeing the half-yellow leaves into warm gold.
Lu Jinyu kept talking, sometimes talking about how tall the ginkgo tree in Chengdong Park was, sometimes about the last time he passed by and saw someone taking pictures under the tree. Even his tone was full of anticipation: "I checked the weather forecast, and it won't rain this afternoon. We can stay a little longer and try to pick up enough leaves for a book. Then we can put them in your history book so you can remember today when you turn the pages."
Xu Yang hummed "hmm" and turned his head to look at the corner of his mouth that raised when he spoke. He suddenly remembered how Lu Jinyu asked him to do physics problems during the break yesterday - he only got one out of five wrong, and he carefully wrote the reason for the mistake next to the wrong question. He even circled the easy-to-make mistakes points with a red pen.
"You did very well on your physics problems yesterday," he said. "The problem you got wrong had the right approach, but you accidentally missed a decimal point in your calculations."
Lu Jinyu's ears instantly turned red. He paused before continuing on his way. "I calculated it three times last night before I found what was wrong. I was afraid you would call me stupid." He looked up and smiled. "But now that you've said that, I will definitely not make the same mistake again next time. From now on, I will find two problems to practice every day and strive to catch up with you in physics."
The bus arrived quickly and the two found a seat by the window.
Lu Jinyu took out a transparent bag from his schoolbag. Inside was an apple cut into small pieces with two toothpicks stuck in it. "My mom cut them this morning and said it would be convenient to eat on the road. Do you want to have a piece? It's very sweet. I've tried it."
Xu Yang took a piece, the sweetness of the apple spreading in his mouth, with a hint of the warmth of the morning sun. "Delicious," he said, "sweeter than the oranges you brought last time."
"Of course!" Lu Jinyu immediately became proud. "My mom specially picked out these sugar-coated apples. She said they are sweeter than ordinary apples. Next time I'll ask her to buy more. We'll bring some with us when we go out to play."
When the bus drives into the vicinity of Chengdong Park, you can see ginkgo trees on the roadside.
The golden leaves swayed in the morning light, like little suns hanging on the trees. Lu Jinyu pointed out the window excitedly: "Look! Those trees are even more yellow than the last time I saw them. They must have a lot of beautiful leaves."
After getting off the bus, the two of them walked quickly towards the park. As soon as they entered the park, they saw a row of ginkgo trees. The sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting tiny spots of light on the ground.
Lu Jinyu put down his schoolbag and spread the picnic mat on the grass next to a ginkgo tree. He then took out a small notebook and a plastic bag from his schoolbag and said, "Let's pick up some leaves first. When we get tired, we can sit here and rest and have something to eat."
Xu Yang squatted down and picked up a ginkgo leaf that had fallen at his feet. The leaf was intact, with no chips at the edges. Its golden color was tinged with a hint of light orange, and its veins were so clear that they looked like they were painted. He handed the leaf to Lu Jinyu: "This one looks great. It will definitely fit in my notebook."
Lu Jinyu took the leaf and carefully put it into the plastic bag. He squatted down and searched in the grass again: "I want to find a leaf bigger than yours. Last time I saw someone pick up a leaf bigger than the palm of their hand. I'm sure we can find one too."
The two of them scattered under the tree to pick up leaves. The morning light slowly rose higher, shortening the shadow of the ginkgo tree.
Lu Jinyu would occasionally run over to Xu Yang, holding up a leaf and asking, "Do you think this one is pretty? It's a little bigger than the previous one, but the edges are a little curled." Or, "This leaf is a very dark color, like caramel. It will definitely stand out in the book."
Xu Yang would examine them carefully, occasionally pointing out which leaves looked fuller or more evenly colored. Lu Jinyu listened, placing the leaves he mentioned as good in a separate plastic bag and writing "Xu Yang's favorite" on the bag, his handwriting crooked but conscientious.
After picking for almost an hour, the two sat on the picnic mat to rest.
Lu Jinyu took out a small notebook and flattened out the good leaves he had picked up and put them in the notebook one by one. Every time he put a leaf in the notebook, he would say to Xu Yang, "I picked this one up under the thickest ginkgo tree. That tree must be decades old." "I found this one in the grass. It's still covered with dew. It took me a long time to wipe it clean."
Xu Yang looked at his serious expression and took out some bread and milk from his schoolbag: "Eat something first, or you'll be hungry later."
Lu Jinyu took the bread and took a bite before remembering something. He took out a small box from his schoolbag and said, "My mom baked some chocolate cookies yesterday. Would you like to have one? They're a little sweeter than the cranberry cookies I had last time."
Xu Yang took a piece. The aroma of the cookie was mixed with the sweetness of chocolate. It was delicious. "It's better than last time," he said. "Your mother's cooking is really good."
"My mom said that if you like it, she'll bake it for you next time," Lu Jinyu's eyes lit up. "She said you're a good student and asked me to learn more from you. She also said that next time we go out to play, she can prepare lunch boxes for us."
The two chatted while eating. Lu Jinyu talked about his improved historical timeline applet, saying that he had added a wrong question book function and divided the knowledge points into categories. He said that he would bring his mobile phone to show Xu Yang next time.
"I've also added a redo feature for wrong questions. If I miss a question, it'll automatically remind me to do it again," he said. "I'm still working on the difficulty level of the test questions you mentioned last time. I'll show it to you when it's finished. Then you can help me see if there's anything I need to correct."
Xu Yang nodded: "Okay, I'll help you take a look when the time comes. If there's anything that needs to be changed, we can change it together."
After finishing their meal, the two continued to pick up leaves. Lu Jinyu suddenly stopped under a ginkgo tree and pointed at a leaf on the ground: "Look at this one! It's bigger than the palm of your hand, and it's very complete, and the color is beautiful too. It's simply a perfect leaf!"
Xu Yang walked over and saw the leaf lying on the grass. It was golden with a hint of light yellow, with neat edges and clear veins. It was indeed better than the ones he had picked up before. "It's really good," he said. "It will definitely be suitable as a bookmark in a book."
Lu Jinyu carefully picked up the leaf, wiped the dust off it with a wet towel, blew on it gently, and then put it in a separate plastic bag: "This leaf should be placed on the first page of the history book, together with the previous two leaves, so that you can see it every time you open the book."
After they had gathered enough leaves to fit in their notebooks, Lu Jinyu suggested going to the park's small lake. There were several willow trees by the lake, their branches hanging over the water. Occasionally, a breeze blew, creating ripples.
Lu Jinyu squatted by the lake, picked up a small stone and threw it in, looking at the ripples caused by the stone and smiling: "When I was a child, I often came here with my mother, and we always played with stones. My mother said I could play with it all afternoon."
Xu Yang stood beside him, looking at the ripples on the lake, and suddenly remembered the first time he went to the cinema with Lu Jinyu. The other person's bright eyes in the rain were as warm as the sunshine at this moment.
"Did you often come here to play when you were a child?" he asked.
"Yeah," Lu Jinyu nodded.
"My home was close to here at the time, so my mom would bring me here on weekends. Sometimes I'd even bring a kite, but I could never fly it well. Every time, it would get stuck in a tree, and my mom would have to help me get it down."
He laughed as he said this, "Thinking about it now, I was pretty stupid back then."
"Not stupid," Xu Yang said, "I never flew a kite when I was a kid. Next time we can bring our kites and fly them together."
Lu Jinyu immediately looked up at him, his eyes shining like the light on the lake: "Really? Then let's come next time. I'll buy a kite that's easy to fly. I'm sure I can fly it. Then I'll show you my skills."
The two stayed by the lake for a while, and Lu Jinyu suggested that they go to the pavilion in the park and sit for a while.
There was a stone bench in the pavilion. Lu Jinyu took out a small notebook from his schoolbag, took out all the leaves he had picked up, and sorted them out one by one with Xu Yang.
"This one's for you," he said, picking up a leaf with a hint of red on the edge. "It's a unique color, different from the two leaves in your history book. They'll look great together."
Xu Yang took the leaf, his fingertips touching the veins. He suddenly remembered the hot soy milk Lu Jinyu had given him that morning, and the way he had carefully selected the leaves. His heart felt filled with something. "Thank you," he said. "I like this leaf very much."
The tips of Lu Jinyu's ears turned red again, and he lowered his head to continue arranging the leaves: "You're welcome, as long as you like it."
Xu Yang felt his eyes getting hot. What he liked was not only the leaves, but also the person who accompanied him to pick leaves.
As the sun began to set, the two packed up their things and prepared to go home.
Lu Jinyu folded the picnic mat neatly, put the remaining apples and biscuits into his schoolbag, and carefully put away the plastic bag of leaves. "Don't crush the leaves. Let's put them between our books when we get home and show them to you tomorrow at school."
The two walked towards the bus stop. The setting sun stretched their shadows very long, falling on the path covered with ginkgo leaves, making a rustling sound when they stepped on it.
Lu Jinyu walked a little slowly, looking back at the ginkgo trees in the park from time to time. "How about we come back next time? By winter, the leaves here may have fallen off, but they will sprout in spring and turn green in summer. I'm sure it will look beautiful."
"Okay," Xu Yang nodded. "In spring, we'll come to see the new leaves, in summer, we'll come to enjoy the cool air, and in winter, if it snows, we'll come to see the ginkgo trees in the snow."
Lu Jinyu immediately laughed, his steps becoming lighter. "Great! Then it's settled. We'll come every season and pick up leaves from different seasons and put them between books. It'll be like saving up a whole year."
The bus arrived and the two of them got on and found a window seat.
Lu Jinyu took out a small notebook from his schoolbag, opened the page with the leaves, and looked at it with Xu Yang: "Look at this one, this one, and this one. They are all the most beautiful leaves we picked today. Tomorrow I will put them in the history book and put them together with the two leaves you picked earlier."
Xu Yang looked at the leaves in the notebook. Some were golden, some were light yellow, and some were tinged with red. It was as if the entire autumn was contained in it. "Okay," he said, "We'll pick them together tomorrow."
When the bus arrived at Xu Yang's house, Lu Jinyu got off and said, "I'll take you to the gate of the community. It's getting dark quickly and it's not safe."
"No need, my house is just up ahead, very close," Xu Yang said, "You should go back quickly, or you won't miss the last bus."
"It's okay, I'll just walk you to the door and leave," Lu Jinyu insisted. "My mom told me to get you home safely or she'll scold me."
The two walked side by side towards the residential complex. The road was very quiet, with only the sound of footsteps and the occasional chirping of insects. When they reached the gate of the residential complex, Xu Yang stopped and said, "That's it. Go back quickly and be careful on the road."
"Okay," Lu Jinyu nodded and took out a plastic bag filled with leaves from his schoolbag. "Here are the best leaves I picked up today. Put them in your book first, and we'll put the rest in tomorrow."
Xu Yang took the plastic bag and said "thank you"
"You're welcome!" Lu Jinyu waved his hand. "I'll be waiting for you under the old locust tree tomorrow morning. I'll bring you hot soy milk and some cookies baked by my mom. Remember to come down early."
"Okay," Xu Yang nodded. "Be careful on your way and send me a message when you get home."
"Got it!" Lu Jinyu turned and ran towards the bus stop. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to wave at Xu Yang. "See you tomorrow!"
Xu Yang watched his back disappear into the night before turning around and walking into the community.
When he got home, he put his schoolbag on the table, took out the leaves from the plastic bag, flattened them one by one, and put them in the history book - together with the previous two leaves, the four leaves were of different shades, as if the different times of autumn were frozen in the pages of the book.
He took out his cell phone and sent a message to Lu Jinyu: "I'm home, are you there?"
Soon, Lu Jinyu's message came back: "I'm home too! I had so much fun today. Those leaves are so beautiful. Let's put the rest into the book together tomorrow.
By the way, my mom said she will bake your favorite cranberry cookies tomorrow. I will bring some extra for you and make sure you have enough."
Xu Yang looked at the message, his lips curled up, and replied: "Okay, see you tomorrow."
Putting down his phone, he walked to the window and watched the sky gradually darken outside. The street lights slowly lit up, and the warm yellow light sprinkled on the street, like a layer of gentle gauze.
He remembered Lu Jinyu's excitement when he was picking leaves today, the moment when he handed him the apple, and the promise they made by the lake to come every season. His heart seemed to be filled with something warm.
He returned to his desk, opened the history book, looked at the four ginkgo leaves sandwiched inside, and couldn't help but touch them lightly with his fingertips.
The moonlight shines through the window onto the pages of the book, making the veins on the leaves particularly clear.
He remembered what Lu Jinyu said, "Save up the whole year's time," and suddenly felt that this autumn was just the beginning. There would be many more seasons, many more leaves, and many unfinished problems in the future, waiting for them to experience and complete together.
And these stories about autumn, about ginkgo leaves, and about the thoughts of young people will be carefully sandwiched between the pages of time like these leaves, becoming the warmest memories of youth.
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