Chapter 17: Memories of Spring Outings...
"how so?"
"Yanzhao, what are you talking about? Xu Yongqing is really fine. I saw her contact information in our high school class group before. Why don't you add her and make a video call to verify?"
Hearing Jing Yiran's words, Ning Yanzhao quickly found her phone, downloaded QQ (Tencent's instant messaging service) which she hadn't used since graduating from university, and found the long-dormant class group of Class 2, 2016 in M City. There really was an account in it with the ID name Xu Yongqing after modification.
So, if Ning Yanzhao believed her dream was not only real, but that the past had also changed, then why did she suddenly return to nine years later? Does she have another chance to go back?
Ning Yanzhao added Xu Yongqing's QQ account, but Xu Yongqing did not accept her friend request for quite a while. Now that everyone has graduated from university, they use WeChat more, and it is not impossible that the QQ app might be uninstalled like her.
"Still, besides the class QQ group, is there any other way to contact Xu Yongqing?"
"Yeah, I think so. We didn't create a WeChat group when our class graduated. Unless you ask the homeroom teacher, she might know. But at most, she might be the only one who doesn't know a parent's contact information. It seems that the class monitor added her contact information on her QQ account before she left, but it seems she hasn't been online much since. Every time I see her, she's not online. Maybe she just gave up on everything here. After all, that incident left her with too much psychological trauma."
"That's true." If it were Ning Yanzhao, if she could start her life anew after being left with such a traumatic experience, the first thing she would definitely do is forget the things that caused her pain.
"By the way, how are you getting back later?"
"Me? I'll take the bus. I've spent a lot of money lately, so I'd rather not take a taxi and save some money."
"Then let's go together."
"Okay, then we can chat a little longer."
"There's one more thing. Since I didn't know when you'd be available, and my boss sent me to another place after I returned to China, the gifts I bought abroad were sent to your house during my layover at the airport. It's too much trouble for me to carry them around, so the courier should arrive in the next couple of days."
"Why did you go to such lengths? Thank you anyway."
"We're not that close, so there's no need for words of thanks."
Even though they both worked in the same city after graduating from university, they didn't have many opportunities to get together last year because they each had their own lives and Ning Yanzhao's work hours were not fixed. They cherished this time even more.
The two currently live in different parts of the city, one in the south and the other in the north, dozens of kilometers apart. Because of the distance and their busy work schedules, they can't meet often, but if they see something that suits each other, they usually send it by courier.
For example, sometimes when Ning Yanzhao sees a new magazine featuring a celebrity that Jing Yiran is a fan of, she will buy the magazine and give it to Jing Yiran; or sometimes when Jing Yiran sees clothes that suit Ning Yanzhao, she will buy one and give it to her.
Ning Yanzhao was surprised that Jing Yiran was still thinking of her even while she was abroad; she was truly a good friend.
After having dinner, the two of them strolled around the mall for a bit. Jing bought a few albums at the album store, and Ning Yanzhao bought some postcards. Since they had to go to work the next day, the two of them prepared to head back.
As the two of them waited for the bus at the bus stop, the rain stopped, and Ning Yanzhao couldn't help but recall the scene from that day.
"Yan Zhao, what are you looking at?"
When Jing Yiran called her, Ning Yanzhao just smiled and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing, the rain has just stopped."
"Yes, thankfully the rain has stopped. I was worried something had happened to you; your expression suddenly turned so serious."
"I'm really fine. Maybe I've just been too tired from work lately."
"It's good that you're alright. Your work schedule is sometimes irregular, so please remember to take care of yourself. Don't think that you're immune just because you're young. Many minor illnesses and pains are caused when you're young..."
"Haha, when did you become so health-conscious? This is so unlike you."
"I only came to this realization when I got older."
"What a joke, you'll always be young in my heart."
"You're making me sound even older. Thank you, but I have to go now. My car's here, so I'll be going now. We can talk again another time."
"Okay, bye-bye."
After Jing Yiran boarded the bus and left, Ning Yanzhao once again looked at the surrounding scenery and fell into deep thought.
Although Ning Yanzhao said it was nothing, she actually remembered the bus stop near her home that day when she got off at this bus stop.
That day, Ning Yanzhao only caught a glimpse of the bus's headlights and inexplicably returned to nine years ago. She still finds it very magical, so now, for some reason, she wonders if this bus stop will also take her back to nine years ago.
Unfortunately, Ning Yanzhao waited and waited in her heart, but nothing came. In the end, she returned home with a sense of disappointment.
For the next few days, Consort Ning Yan continued to go to work as usual, and returning to that month nine years ago felt like a dream.
Today is a few days after meeting Jing Yiran. She is off work at her usual time, which is rare for her, so she plans to go to the supermarket to buy groceries and cook herself a healthy and affordable meal.
These past few days, Xu Yongqing still hasn't accepted my friend request. Assuming she is indeed alive, as Jing Yiran said, aside from the fact that Xu Yongqing doesn't want to add me, perhaps it's true, as Ning Yanzhao guessed, that she really stopped using the QQ app after graduating from university.
Ning Yanzhao also asked her high school homeroom teacher, who gave her a number. However, when she called, the number was not in service. After so many years, it's perfectly normal for someone to change their phone number.
Since she couldn't contact Xu Yongqing for the time being, Ning Yanzhao had no choice but to give up and focus on the task at hand. She thought that cooking a big meal today and then watching a good movie while eating would be a wonderful thing.
Ning Yanzhao pushed her shopping cart into the supermarket and headed towards the section of goods she needed, following the shopping list she had prepared on the way.
"Fresh meat and vegetables, a few kinds of sauces, and I'll also buy a few bottles of drinks. I heard there are some new flavors of soda..." Ning Yanzhao muttered to herself as she pushed the shopping cart, bending down slightly to look for what she needed.
"Where is your class planning to go for team building this week?"
"We'll probably go eat barbecue, barbecuing."
"Our class is planning to have hot pot."
"That's pretty good too. Actually, I'd rather have hot pot than barbecue, but barbecue got more votes in our class."
"How about this, I'll talk to the class monitor of Class 1. We can go to a restaurant that offers two different ways of cooking food. There should be a discount if we go together as a group, but we can also sit separately."
"Well then, tell me, wouldn't this be considered 'bending the law for personal gain'?"
"How can you use such words? Besides, even the students in Class One might not agree. I'm just offering a suggestion."
"You'll definitely have a chance if you go. The class monitor of Class One seems quite approachable."
"What? You've been observing the class monitor of Class One quite closely?"
"..."
Ning Yanzhao's attention was immediately interrupted by this somewhat cheerful conversation. She stood up and looked at the college students in front of her, who were probably shopping at the supermarket and discussing where to go for team building on the weekend.
It seems only students look forward to this kind of team building. According to Jing Yiran, the thing she hates most after starting work is team building. She is already exhausted from work, and during her short break after get off work, she has to have dinner with her boss. She feels like she is living a life worse than death.
Ning Yanzhao rarely participates in team-building activities due to the nature of her work, but if it involves taking up her rest time, her first thought is definitely not to participate.
When Ning Yanzhao came to her senses, she saw that the couple had already disappeared with their shopping cart. She thought to herself, "Young people are indeed more agile."
Compared to university team building activities, Ning Yanzhao still felt that the campus activities that the school squeezed out of the life-or-death study time during high school were more memorable.
There's a saying that goes, "Before the exam, all sorts of beautiful things come your way," meaning that the more urgent the situation, the more exciting the things you do.
Back then, spring outings were the only free time of the year besides sports meets, and students could even leave the school without wearing school uniforms. This made the boarding students who lived on campus for a long time and couldn't go home because of the long distance especially excited. However, the school also had many shady practices, such as insisting on using weekdays for spring outings and then making up for it with weekend classes.
There was no other reason; it was just that the spring outing was before an important monthly exam. Of course, if it were any other time, the school might have had a reason to hold extra classes.
But none of that is the key point. Speaking of which, Ning Yanzhao remembered the spring outing in her second year of high school, where Class 1 and Class 2 participated together, and their main food was also barbecue.
Memories suddenly appear like spilled paint, spreading across what was once a blank sheet of paper and adding a complex array of colors.
I remember it was in a sunny valley, with a spring breeze blowing. Ning Yanzhao looked at the person opposite her, with countless words hidden in her heart that she never said.
Ning Yanzhao had mentally prepared herself to act calmly and casually, planning to say a few words she already knew by heart when she passed by An Nianyu, who was grilling meat alone: "Oh, it's you. What a coincidence to see you grilling meat here. You must be An Nianyu from Class 1. I've seen you in PE class before, and our Chinese teacher said you write very well. I've heard so much about you, but today is the only time I have the chance to formally greet you. I'm from Class 2, and my name is Ning Yanzhao."
However, Ning Yanzhao hesitated briefly and missed the perfect opportunity to greet An Nianyu when he was temporarily alone. Because he was never short of friends, he was soon surrounded by classmates who wanted to chat with him, so there was no room for her to join in.
In this world, anyone can pretend to be nonchalant and greet An Nianyu openly and honestly, except for Ning Yanzhao.
In the end, Ning Yanzhao, lacking courage, could only secretly record An Nianyu's smile and hide this crush among the group photos and landscape photos she took of her classmates. But now, everything has changed, the memories have faded, and youth is gone.
Ning Yanzhao sighed, then went to the supermarket checkout to pay, picked up her purchases, and prepared to take the bus home.
...
"Miss, Miss, wake up. You should get off the bus now. Everyone else has already gotten off, and you're the only one left."
However, Ning Yanzhao was probably too tired during the day and actually fell asleep on the bus. When the bus driver woke her up, she found that she had ridiculously slept all the way to the terminal station.
"Thank you." Ning Yanzhao hurriedly got off the bus. She glanced at her phone and thankfully, there should still be one last bus to take her home.
But when Ning Yanzhao arrived at the bus stop, she suddenly lost consciousness...
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