Chapter 77 Searching for him among the crowd, wanting to see him, even if only from afar…
The autumn morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. Standing on the escalator, following the crowded flow of people down the steps, Zhu Liushuang turned her head and tucked the pale yellow silk scarf tied around her neck into the collar of her sweater.
On the second-to-last day of the National Day holiday, she embarked on her journey to Yunhe.
"Attention passengers, the G1257 train from Haishi to Yunxiangbei is about to arrive at the station. Passengers of the G1257 train, please note that boarding will close in five minutes."
The wheels of suitcases traced arcs on the concrete, echoing announcements that mingled with the whooshing sound of high-speed trains. Standing in the queue on the platform, Zhu Liushuang's gaze involuntarily drifted to the ground. The middle-aged man in front of her was burly, wearing shiny black low-cut leather shoes. Further ahead was a woman carrying two large woven bags, her feet in blue-gray cloth shoes…
After two sharp, long whistles, the carriage doors slowly opened, and passengers disembarking at their stops filed out in a stream of various shoes. Then, the waiting queue began to move. Zhu Liushuang snapped out of her reverie, carefully stepped across the doorway, and entered the high-speed train.
Yunxiang is not a popular tourist city, and even during the peak National Day holiday, it's possible to buy a window seat. She followed her ticket stub to find her seat: carriage 7, seat 05D. The seat wasn't hard to find; she walked in sideways and leaned down to sit.
The morning light slanted in, making the high-speed train window look like a frosted glass with a blurry halo. Zhu Liushuang turned her head and breathed out a small patch of clear light onto the window.
With only three minutes left before the train's departure, passengers were still rushing past the window, pushing their suitcases. On the gray-blue ground, a few osmanthus blossoms had somehow gotten stuck, swirling like stars in the platform's draft.
"Little girl, can you lend me a hand?" A request with a northern accent drifted into my ears.
Zhu Liushuang turned around in response; it was the woman who had been in front of her in line. She had boarded the bus before her, but had taken several minutes longer to find a seat.
What help do you need?
"These two bags of mine are really heavy; one person can't put them up there," the middle-aged woman said with a simple smile, pointing to the overhead luggage rack.
Zhu Liushuang understood immediately and quickly got up to help. The two of them worked together to lift the bag and carefully stuff the woman's luggage inside.
"Finally, it's all put away. I went into the wrong carriage earlier, and it took me ages to find it." The middle-aged woman took out a blue handkerchief from her pocket and casually wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Auntie, are you going back to your hometown?" Zhu Liushuang asked, trying to make conversation.
“No… I’m not working.” The middle-aged woman laughed, a ring of fine lines spreading around the corners of her eyes. “My child needs money to buy a house, so I can earn more by going out to work.”
"Oh." Realizing she couldn't find a reply, she responded indifferently.
The middle-aged woman put down the table and bent down to fiddle with her phone. A moment later, a WeChat voice message came out on speakerphone, reaching her ears directly. She didn't understand the dialect the other person was speaking, only vaguely recognizing the two characters "Yunhe".
Someone else was heading to the same destination as her!
Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, are you going to Yunhe?"
The woman put away her phone and said with a smile, "Yes, it's a job introduced to me by a sister from the same village. The location is a bit remote, but the salary is higher than in Gucheng! Are you going to Yunhe too, young lady?"
Zhu Liushuang nodded: "Yes, it's quite a coincidence."
"Young lady, what's in your bag? I smelled a fragrance as soon as I sat down, it smells really nice. Like... yes, the scent of osmanthus." After chatting for a while, the other person suddenly leaned closer and asked curiously.
"Osmanthus cake." Zhu Liushuang loosened her clenched fist and opened the insulated bag somewhat embarrassedly. "I made this osmanthus cake myself. Auntie, would you like to try some?"
The middle-aged woman craned her neck to peek into the bag, then said shyly, "No...no need. Miss, you brought such a big bag of osmanthus cakes, are you going to eat them yourself or give them away?"
Of course, it should be given away.
She lowered her eyes in silence. The insulated bag was opened, revealing a corner of the neatly stacked osmanthus cakes, which were decorated with honey-coated osmanthus flowers.
The faint, sweet fragrance lingered around her nose, constantly reminding her of the person she was about to meet.
"It's a gift." Her voice was barely audible.
"Is this a gift for your boyfriend?" The woman knew exactly what was going on as she looked at the girl's slightly flushed cheeks. "When I was dating my husband, I used to cook him delicious meals from time to time. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
Silence is taken as consent.
Zhu Liushuang twisted her fingers together, pretending to bend down to pick up something that had fallen to the ground.
The train accelerated away from Gucheng East Station, and warm yellow spots of light danced gently on the carriage floor.
The thought of going to Yunhe to find He Ming had been building up in her mind for a long time. She originally wanted to wait until he had processed more of his grief over the loss of his loved one before bothering him.
Until the music festival ended that day, I unexpectedly received a WeChat message from him, and the longing I had been feeling deep in my heart could no longer be hidden.
Only one thought remained in her mind: she wanted to see him, even if it was just a glimpse from afar.
The train ticket was bought at the last minute, and the rice cake was handmade by her over a day. She hadn't had time to make the osmanthus sugar this year, but luckily she made a few extra jars last year, which came in handy.
"What are you looking for, young lady? Do you want me to help you find it?" the woman asked kindly, putting down her phone.
Zhu Liushuang casually took off an earring and held it in her palm, then straightened up in the narrow, dimly lit corridor.
"Found it, it's my lost earring." She opened her palm, revealing a faint smile.
"Oh my, something this small is really hard to find."
The train entered the tunnel, and it was pitch black outside the window. A sudden roar echoed deep in her ears, cutting off the unfinished words of the person beside her. The dark glass window reflected half of her serene profile, and Zhu Liushuang raised her hand to put a pearl earring into her left ear piercing.
The tiramisu and sandwiches look delicious. Is your stall doing well? It's raining in Yunhe today; I've finished work and am going to rest.
That's how he replied to her that day. She had a vague feeling that perhaps—his state of mind had changed slightly.
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"Ladies and gentlemen, the train is about to arrive at its final destination—Yunxiang North Station. Please prepare to disembark. When you disembark, please be mindful of the gap between the train and the platform..."
Accompanied by melodious and soothing music, the announcer's reminder came over the radio again.
The middle-aged woman beside him began to pack her luggage bags. Zhu Liushuang got up after her and paused for a moment when she walked into the aisle, helping the woman carry the heavy woven bag off the luggage rack.
Thank you!
When thanked, she shook her head very lightly: "It's nothing. It's an hour's drive from Yunxiangbei to Yunhe. How will you get there, Auntie?"
"It'll only take two buses, just four yuan," the woman said effortlessly as she walked, carrying a woven bag in each hand. "By the way, young lady, there are a lot of unlicensed taxis at this exit. Auntie's just reminding you, it's best not to take them. Many of them will overcharge you..."
"Thank you, Auntie." Zhu Liushuang silently kept the advice in mind.
Since her mother's surgery, she had hardly left Gucheng, and this was Yunxiang's first time back, let alone Yunhe. Traveling alone in an unfamiliar place inevitably brings moments of worry and fear. She had originally planned to travel with this kind-looking and seemingly kind aunt, sharing a ride to Yunhe.
Since the other person had decided to take the bus, she couldn't very well force them to share a ride with her.
After saying goodbye to the middle-aged woman at the exit, Zhu Liushuang carried her bulging bag to the taxi stand outside.
The sky over Yunxiang was gloomy, and the air was filled with the damp smell of earth.
"Little sister, need a taxi? Get in and we'll go..."
"100 yuan per person, where would you like to go?"
"Come on, we've been waiting for you..."
Sure enough, as soon as she arrived at the taxi stand, men holding signs and wearing sunglasses approached her to solicit passengers. They enthusiastically invited Zhu Liushuang to ride in their cars, as if each of them was only missing her as a passenger.
This sight frightened her so much that she kept backing away.
After declining the "illegal taxi driver's" enthusiastic invitation, Zhu Liushuang opened a ride-hailing app on her phone.
Gu Xufeng told her that He Ming was currently living in the staff dormitory of the "Zhejiang-Tongzhou-Anhui-Jiangsu Intercity Railway Co., Ltd." in Yunhe County. She looked down and entered her destination; several train models appeared on the screen, with estimated prices ranging from 165 yuan to 190 yuan.
So expensive! She sighed inwardly.
However, the cheapest ride-sharing service is not always available; you need to book in advance.
She reluctantly pressed the button, and the software started searching for a vehicle for her. Soon, a driver accepted the order.
A few minutes later, a new energy taxi stopped at her feet.
Zhu Liushuang repeatedly checked the license plate number, opened the back door, and got into the car. She shut out the shouts and calls of the unlicensed taxi drivers behind her.
The sky outside the window grew increasingly gloomy, and tall plane trees lined both sides of the road.
Yunxiang is a few degrees colder than Gucheng, and the leaves of the sycamore trees are already turning slightly yellow.
Having gotten up early and spent most of the morning fussing over things, Zhu Liushuang was exhausted. Watching the trees and buildings rushing past the window, her eyelids drooped constantly. Her head was pressed against the windowpane, pecking at the glass like a pecking motion.
"Hiss—" To clear her groggy mind, she pinched her thigh hard.
As her dazed eyes gradually cleared, Zhu Liushuang hesitated as she took out her phone.
Should we send He Ming a message beforehand?
She actually wanted to give him a surprise.
What if he's not even at the company? Wouldn't that be a wasted trip?
She quickly rejected the so-called "surprise" and honestly sent He Ming a WeChat message.
[Senior, I'm visiting relatives in Yunxiang these past few days. Since Yunhe is quite close to Yunxiang, I took a bus to see you. I'll arrive in about half an hour. Are you at the company?]
As you tap your finger on the screen, the interface slowly dims.
A sudden surge of anxiety welled up inside Zhu Liushuang, and she impatiently turned on the screen.
She stared at He Ming's WeChat profile picture for a few seconds, then resolutely dialed his voice call. She dialed several times, but the call remained unanswered. What a pity, all those words she had rehearsed in her mind.
"Bang bang bang—" Zhu Liushuang slammed her head against the windowpane as if no one else was around, feeling a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent it.
Is it really going to be a wasted trip?
The driver, who was sitting in the front and focused on driving, glanced strangely at the rearview mirror upon hearing the noise, revealing a worried expression.
"Cough cough—"
An unexpected cough interrupted her thoughts. Zhu Liushuang looked at the rearview mirror with a mournful expression, then looked away and leaned back in her chair with a "what's the use" attitude.
Oh well, what's done is done.
She has two days. At worst, she can just wait until he gets back!
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Author's Note: We're meeting soon! Happy Holidays, my darlings! [Milk tea emoji]
The high-speed rail announcement scripts appearing in this chapter are from the internet.
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