Chapter Twenty-Six: Old Letters and Tears
Chen Kan helped Lin Tang into the rickshaw.
The rickshaw rumbled along, carrying them through the old streets of Jiangcheng.
The setting sun dyed the bluestone path a honey color, and the sycamore trees along the road cast shadows like scattered gold.
At first, they sat awkwardly, like two strangers who didn't know each other well.
Chen Kan pulled her close, letting her lean against him. Her waist was a little stiff, but the scent of ink on his body reminded her of Bai Mu's scent back then, like the smell of old books in the school, like all the warm past she thought had disappeared.
They arrived at the gate of Tongji Academy.
Chen Kan helped Lin Tang down from the rickshaw.
He gently stroked Lin Tang's back before lowering his head to rub his chin against the top of her head, his voice as soft as the wind falling on flower petals: "Jin Tang, I'll take you somewhere."
Lin Tang's eyes were actually dry, but her rims were still red. She looked around and realized that this was the old schoolhouse. "...Here..."
"At the foot of the old wall of Tongji Academy," he said with a smile, but there was a hint of icy coldness in his eyes, "we used to always chat here. Look at that ivy we planted back then, isn't it already growing tall and shady?"
Lin Tang looked around and paused in breathing.
The vermilion paint on the school gate has mostly peeled off, and the four regular script characters "Tongji Academy" on the lintel are somewhat blurred by wind and rain.
Tongji Academy... that was the place where she first met Bai Mu in the spring of her seventeenth year.
She remembered that the wind was strong that day, making the classroom windows creak. Bai Mu walked in carrying a stack of "New Youth" magazines, looked at her and smiled, his smile as warm as the sunlight.
He said, "Lin Jintang, I heard that you write beautiful articles and can also draw Western cartoons? Would you like to join the 'Awakening Lion' Society? We want to make a newspaper that can awaken people."
Lin Tang's eyes lit up with memories of the past, but then dimmed again in an instant.
It turns out that six years ago, Bai Mu's death not only took away her lover, but also her passion and hope for life.
Her hand gently touched the old wall. Sure enough, the wall was covered with ivy, its dark green leaves overlapping the light green ones, like a soft velvet carpet.
Chen Kan stood beside her, his gaze fixed on the cracks on her fingertips, his voice filled with nostalgia: "That day you wore a moon-white cheongsam, with your hair in braids, the ends of which were tied with the red string Aunt Gu gave you. Manqing was still pulling on the ends of your braids, calling out 'Sister Jintang,' and ended up smearing the osmanthus cake you had just bought all over your cheongsam. You chased after her, and in the blink of an eye, it's all been more than ten years ago."
"Yes, it's only been a little over a decade in the blink of an eye..."
Lin Tang stood by the wall.
At the age of thirteen, she followed her father to Jiangcheng.
At that time, her mother had just passed away, and her father was a private school teacher who had studied the new learning. Although she was his only daughter, he wanted to raise her to be even stronger than any boy. He brought her to Jiangcheng and said that he wanted her to study at Mingde University and go to Tongji University. He wanted her to be a college student and, more importantly, the first female architect.
My father rented Aunt Gu's house.
Aunt Gu was the mistress of a warlord. The warlord kept her in Jiangcheng and bought her a house in Hongkou.
Later, it's unclear whether the warlord died or forgot about Aunt Gu, but he never came back. However, he left Aunt Gu with this house, a few gold bars, and a daughter named Gu Manqing.
Although Aunt Gu always had her eyes darting around, saying that she was a beauty in her youth, and so many people wanted to cross her threshold, and that she didn't know whose child this daughter was, but she was registered under the name of that warlord, she was such a vibrant person, Lin Tang always felt that if a woman lived like her, she would also be full of life and fragrance, but her father always covered her ears and said, "Don't look at what is improper, don't listen to what is improper."
“Aunt Gu said,” she wiped away her tears, her voice softening, “that when she was reading those Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School books, she would get tired and doze off, and her father would always pick up the books she dropped on the ground. I never thought… that they had feelings for each other, but I never realized it.”
Chen Kan gently placed his hand on hers; his palm was warm, just like it had been years ago.
Lin Tang's tears fell again.
“I know, Uncle always says, ‘Some words, once the opportunity is missed, can never be said again.’ But we are different, Jintang, we didn’t miss it, right?”
They walked along the old wall until they reached the entrance of the Huang Family Garden.
The locust tree in the garden is still there, its canopy like a large umbrella, with locust blossoms scattered all over the ground.
Lin Tang squatted down, picked up a flower, and found that the petals were still the same as they were back then, snow-white and with a faint fragrance.
She remembered that Manqing always put locust flowers in a cloth bag, saying she wanted to make locust honey for her. But then ants crawled on the flowers, and she came crying to her. Bai Mu smiled and helped her pack them in a new bag, saying, "Manqing's locust honey is definitely sweeter than the ones in the store."
“Manqing…”
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Manqing, Aunt Gu's daughter, was five years younger than her. The little girl with pigtails always followed behind her and Bai Mu like a little tail.
But when she was twelve, the little girl went missing. It's unclear whether she died in an accident or was kidnapped by human traffickers, but this perfectly healthy girl was never seen again.
"Manqing...where are you now?" she asked, her voice choked with emotion. "That year she wanted me to go buy honey with her, but I insisted on reading, so I let her go alone...If I had known the ending, I would never have let myself go..."
Chen Kan's eyes darkened. "Life is unpredictable; how could you possibly know?"
"If I had gone with her back then, would she not have been kidnapped? And Aunt Gu wouldn't have been so heartbroken that she forgot everything..."
"Jintang, that's not your fault."
The afterglow of the sunset fell upon them, casting long shadows of the locust trees.
Chen Kan helped Lin Tang sit on the stone bench under the locust tree, then slowly knelt down, took her hand, and said with deep affection in his eyes, "Jin Tang, do you still remember? Our dream back then was to travel all over the country together, to record every old house, every city wall, and every wheat field with our pens and sketchbooks. We said we wanted more people to see that our country is not the 'sick man of East Asia' that others call it. She has five thousand years of history, the most beautiful mountains and rivers, and the bravest people."
He pulled an old notebook from his pocket. The cover was printed with the logo of "The Lion Awakens." The pages were yellowed and the edges were curled, as if it had been read many times.
Lin Tang took the notebook, her fingertips tracing the words on it. Suddenly, she remembered Bai Mu sitting by the classroom window, sunlight shining on his face, writing the editorial for "Awakening Lion," the pen nib scratching across the paper. Her heart pounded, just like when she first met Bai Mu.
“Jintang,” Chen Kan said earnestly, “I haven’t forgotten, I’ve never forgotten. All these years, I’ve been waiting, waiting for an opportunity to realize our dreams together. Now, the opportunity has come. We can leave here, leave Qiaoyuan, leave all the pain and hatred, and go to Beiping, to Xi’an, to all the places we want to go. We can start over, just like we did back then, okay?”
Lin Tang looked into his eyes, and her reflection was in them, just like back then.
Something was stirring in her heart, like a tender bud in spring breaking through the frozen soil.
"Okay," she said softly, her voice firm yet trembling slightly.
A smile appeared on Chen Kan's face, seemingly warm, yet also as if he had rehearsed it many times, as if he already knew that what he said would definitely move this fragile and helpless woman. He stood up and hugged her.
Lin Tang leaned against his chest, inhaling the scent of ink emanating from him.
The fragrance of locust blossoms, mingled with the scent of the setting sun, filled her nostrils. She felt as if she had returned to the summer of her seventeenth year, without Qiao Yuan, without pain, only Bai Mu, only dreams, only boundless hope.
In the distance, the setting sun slowly sank, turning the sky orange-red.
In the shadow of the locust tree, the two figures embraced tightly, just like back then, as if they had never been apart.
...
Lin Tang, holding a bouquet of crape myrtle blossoms, the petals still glistening with the dew of dusk, followed Chen Kan into the courtyard of the old house in Hongkou.
However, this brief tranquility froze instantly when she looked up and saw the figure standing under the eaves.
Ah Chen.
He stood like a silent stone statue, blocking the moon gate leading to the inner courtyard. His tall figure cast a long, heavy shadow in the setting sun. His face, which usually carried a hint of affability and a smile, was now taut and his eyes were frighteningly red as he stared intently at Lin Tang and Chen Kan, who stood beside her.
The disappointment, anger, and indescribable sadness in his eyes pierced Lin Tang like icicles.
"Madam," Ah Chen's voice was terribly hoarse, "you're divorcing Mr. Qiao... so you're going to leave with this Mr. Chen? Just because... he's back?"
Lin Tang's fingers unconsciously tightened around the bouquet, leaving marks on the delicate petals.
Ah Chen took a step forward, and the heavy pressure made Lin Tang subconsciously take a small step back. Her back bumped into Chen Kan's outstretched arm, which helped her regain her balance.
Chen Kan remained silent, but took a half-step forward without making a sound, shielding Lin Tang to his side, and calmly met A Chen's angry gaze.
"Madam! You can't do this!" Ah Chen's voice suddenly rose, filled with uncontrollable trembling and heartache. "Think about Master Qiao! How has he treated you? Don't you really have any idea?!"
"Ah Chen..." Lin Tang finally found her voice, with a hint of weakness that was barely perceptible.
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