Sometimes I feel like that sandwich you've read but never replied to, and which you've already taken out of the fridge.
74.
Summer winds seem to act as a ripening agent, because people always seem to graduate, say goodbye, and experience typhoons during this season.
Meng Lanjian's maternal grandmother, Ke Xiuyun, was struck on the head by a Vanda orchid trellis during a typhoon in the summer. She gradually lost her life amidst the swaying wind and rain and blood in the orchid valley, and died unexpectedly.
After Ke Xiuyun's death, Ke Wandai once wanted to change her name, believing that Wandailan was responsible for her mother's death. However, the Wandai robot developed by her team was already a well-known companion robot in Beiluan, and its code name could no longer be changed.
Every summer after Ke Xiulan left, Ke Wandai was not the only one who looked listless.
During her final semester at Nanjing University, Meng Lanjian made up for the internship hours that had been interrupted in the previous semester. She then packed her bags and planned to return to Beiluan for a while. She would only return to Nanlu after she obtained a visa to fly to Country X.
Chongming noticed something was wrong with her a few days before she left. She was depressed, often staring out the window in a daze, and no longer chatted with the android "Xiuyun." He knew she was missing her grandmother.
Chongming subtly brought up her mother's story. The last time Lanjian spoke freely about her mother was when she had a bad cold and mentioned that she had mumps as a child and that her mother had also been infected.
When Lan Jian heard Chongming bring up the old story again, she didn't dare to elaborate on her mother's avoidance of the topic after learning of their marriage. Instead, she continued her previous conversation, "When I was sick, Mama would show me videos of agricultural robots to cheer me up. While others listened to 'The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms,' I watched videos of robots picking mushrooms. Sometimes I wonder, if humans can distinguish between robots with different functions—companion robots, agricultural robots, and domestic robots—can humans clearly distinguish their feelings for different people?"
“Of course.” Chongming put his arm around Lanjian’s shoulder, letting her lean on his shoulder and look up at him as he spoke. Otherwise, with her constantly tilting her head and turning her neck to look at him, he always felt that her beautiful neck and shoulder line made her look like a swan with its neck outstretched, about to fly out of this magnificent house and disappear into the forest of birch trees... He gathered his wandering thoughts and said seriously, “You see, today we went to attend the graduation ceremony of those students on the twelfth floor. What are your feelings towards the graduating students?”
Meng Lanjian thought about the wording carefully, "It's probably the feeling of pride that comes from being young and full of vigor."
"And what about Guan Shaoxiao and Zhuang Huiting?"
“The feeling of ‘reluctant farewell, wishing each other well’.” Meng Lanjian felt a little sad when she talked about this. She was about to go overseas to complete her doctoral degree, and Zhuang Huiting and Guan Shaoxiao would also go to Europe and America for an exchange semester. In a sense, everyone on the 12th floor would be scattered to the ends of the earth.
"When Lao Guan took our photos today, I looked at that dark lens and it felt like I was being transported to another universe, as if I could see us in a parallel universe through the lens..."
Meng Lanjian felt a lump in his throat, and his words trailed off halfway through.
“Look, even though we’re both students on the twelfth floor, you can still distinguish your own feelings. So, the thing about humans differentiating their feelings for different people isn’t that difficult, right?” Chongming chimed in at the right moment. “You used to always struggle with whether my feelings for you were those of a junior sister or a husband and wife. For me, it’s not that complicated. In the lab, I had to maintain proper etiquette with you as a fellow student, but outside the lab, we went from being senior and junior to husband and wife. I gradually adapted to this transition and distinction in our relationship. Although I can’t perfectly separate the other identity in different environments, I think I like you no matter which identity I’m in.”
When Chongming was still just a senior student, how adorable was Meng Lanjian in his eyes? When she was in a bad mood, she would say that she was about to lose her ability to clear up her cloudy days. When eating oranges, she would eat them slowly, segment by segment, like sucking on jelly. When she was picky about food and asked for help to eat or change dishes, she would act coquettishly. Her mouth would puff up like a squirrel with almonds stuffed in it, and she would stare at people with longing eyes—that was the adorable aura she exuded when she treated everyone equally.
But he is her senior from Chongming University, someone she would call "senior brother" without hesitation, and he has many different and adorable sides to him.
She would pester him to take a detour to buy red bean cakes, and only when he gave her a ride would she sit on the back of his electric scooter, facing the whistling evening wind, and shout at his back, "Could you please ride a little faster, senior brother? Speed up, speed up!"
When she gets stuck and can't figure out a solution, she'll subtly switch her address to "Senior, can you help me with this?"
She would remind him not to forget to take away the sandwiches in the refrigerator that were about to expire, and she would always be around him, light and graceful.
Later, Chongming became her husband.
She would often give him a fierce look and act jealous for no reason. She would forget herself and hide in the game room that used to be his alone to play games, and also play games with him.
All her sudden bad temper tantrums were caused by his indulgence; she was humble.
Her soft, ambiguous pleas for mercy were only made beneath him.
He had seen her at her most charming and alluring, and he had also seen her looking like a dejected puppy after being soaked in the rain.
How could he not like Meng Lanjian?
Just hearing the name "Meng Lanjian" softened Chongming's heart like a foaming canister dropped into a glass of water. Numerous tiny bubbles rose rapidly, the fruity foam frothing and dispersing its original form with an unwavering resolve. Only when the surface of the water became completely still, and all his tangled, anxious, and petty worries vanished in the boundless love, did he realize that his love for Meng Lanjian was like vitamins dissolved in water, already filling the entire glass.
"It turns out that my love is not a fish that needs water to live, but a water-soluble vitamin that can be found everywhere as long as there is water."
— Later, Chongming couldn’t help but express this sentiment in his letters to Lanjian.
The evening breeze of June rustled away a shower of tung blossoms, and before the phoenix flowers in the Nanlu University campus had all fallen, Meng Lanjian was about to leave.
Before she returned to the Meng family in Beiluan, Guan Shaoxiao and Zhuang Huiting came to her apartment in Chongming Senjing to see her off. The three of them drank on the balcony, but Chongming had to go out unexpectedly and missed the fireworks that suddenly soared into the sky along the coastline late at night. It wasn't until Chongming returned home in the early hours of the next morning that Lanjian learned that the fireworks display was orchestrated by Guan and Zhuang, who had Chongming drive to the beach in the middle of the night to set them off for Meng Lanjian.
Chongming is not the type of person who is easily swayed by others, but he intentionally gave Meng Lanjian and her good friends space and time to say goodbye.
On the surface, Meng Lanjian will go to Beiluan to get her visa and then depart for Country X; she will not return to Nanlu. However, privately, because she has married Chongming and become the spouse of a Nanlu citizen, she can also choose to take off from the Nanlu airport.
Therefore, after she returned to Nanlu after obtaining her visa in Beiluan, she would not meet with Guan Zhuang and the other person again.
Chongming knew she was upset, so he took her back to his parents' house. With Ms. Ming Zijuan there, Meng Lanjian's playful nature was distracted. Meng Lanjian had a summer vacation, but Chongming was stuck at school every day because of the administrative procedures for his job transfer.
After Lan Jian goes abroad, Chongming will return to the Fourth Nuclear Science Department as an associate researcher. He will no longer be affiliated with the Heavy Particle Laboratory, but will become a reactor researcher in charge of the nuclear reactor center in the Fourth Nuclear Science Department.
With Chongming gone from being the "backbone" of the heavy particle laboratory, Xue Xiang insisted on squeezing him one last time before he transferred to another position. Chongming was busy, and Lan Jian was obedient; she didn't even ask him to see her off on the day she returned to Bei Luan.
Chongming, however, managed to squeeze out time to drive from Nanjing University, stopping his family's driver along the way to switch people into his own car.
Before boarding the plane, Chongming gripped Lanjian's wrist tightly. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he felt too embarrassed to kiss her goodbye. He could only glance at Lanjian from time to time, reminding her not to forget to have their marriage notarized when they got back, so that he could openly visit his parents-in-law in Beiluan.
"You're so busy during summer vacation, when will you have time to pick me up?" Lan Jian touched Chongming's chin tenderly. "Did you forget to shave today? You've grown stubble!"
“I didn’t go back to the Forest yesterday. I slept in the duty room of the Fourth Nuclear Division all night and haven’t had a chance to shave yet.” Chongming casually flicked Lan Jian’s nose with his finger. “Don’t worry, when I visit your parents, I’ll make sure I’m all clean and tidy before I go. I won’t let you embarrass me!”
Lan Jian reached out and hugged him, burying her face in his chest and whispering, "Then you have to finish your work quickly and come pick me up. I'll take you to Beiluan to enjoy the scenery, and I'll take you to Lan Valley to see the orchids and Lan Valley Creek, which used to be called 'Lan Jian', okay?"
"Okay, I'll come see you soon, Lan Jian."
Last time Lan Jian went home for the Spring Festival, Chong Ming drove her home. Before she left, she specifically reminded him to take the sandwiches that were about to expire from the refrigerator. This time, before Chong Ming drove away from the airport, he also received a message from Meng Lan Jian.
She said, "Chongming, sometimes I feel like that sandwich that you've read but never replied to, and that you've already taken out of the refrigerator."
When Chongming saw this sentence, he felt a pang of pain in his heart for a moment.
At that time, Meng Lanjian knew nothing. She knew nothing about him, yet she was always waiting for him.
But a few seconds later, Meng Lanjian's new message popped up: "Chongming, this time you can't make me wait like a sandwich again!"
Chongming tapped the screen with tears welling up in his eyes. This time, no matter how noisy the honking of the cars behind him was, he remained unmoved and sent the message: "Okay, I will definitely go to Beiluan to pick you up and take you home. The flowers in Shenhuali are all in bloom. I will accompany you to sketch when you come back."
Chongming has always been a man of his word.
I never easily agree to things I can't do.
This time, however, he broke his promise.
@Draft Box: Tantai-kun has been extremely busy lately. She apologized to everyone and asked them to wait for her. / This chapter is a transitional one; the plot will accelerate dramatically later on.
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