Chapter 89
After saying goodbye to Pei Yanxi, Yun Zhan went home with Shi Mingyue.
In the evening, Yun Zhan sat alone in a wicker chair. The nightlight cast a warm yellow glow on the study, but Yun Zhan huddled in the chair, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the armrest: "Where can I find Song Yuan?"
She had absolutely no way of contacting Song Yuan...
Pei Yanxi is currently investigating Pei Ying, so she probably can't help her right now.
Furthermore, it might be better for her to handle the matter of the time traveler.
Yun Zhan scratched her head in frustration, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her. She sat up abruptly, the back of the chair making a soft "click" sound.
"The yellowed document in Pei Yanxi's basement seems to contain records about Song Yuan."
Yun Zhan tried hard to recall, and the words popped into his mind between the lines:
In 1968, Wen Ran, the eldest daughter of the Wen family, sang for a living at the Songhelou Restaurant. A wealthy young lady, dressed in luxurious attire, frequently came to support her; her name was "Song Yuan"... Afterward, the two abandoned worldly life and lived in seclusion in the mountains, enjoying a peaceful and tranquil existence.
Wen Ran should be Wen Sixue's elder; Song Yuan is Wen Ran's sugar daddy and wife.
The clues unfolded before Yun Zhan's eyes like dominoes falling one after another.
"Perhaps... we could ask Wen Sixue."
The next day, Yun Zhan went to Wen Sixue's coffee shop.
At 10 a.m., a gentle ray of sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling window at the corner of the street.
Yun Zhan saw Wen Sixue sitting by the window in the coffee shop across the street.
The girl's apricot-colored cardigan covered her shoulders, the hem hanging down naturally. She lowered her head to turn the pages of a book, a loosely braided long braid hanging down her left shoulder, the ends of her hair gently brushing against the pages, swaying slightly with her breath, as quiet as an oil painting forgotten by time.
People come and go outside the window, but she has her own little universe.
A faint white mist rose from the rim of the coffee cup. She took a sip, her lips glistening slightly from the steam, then lightly tapped the pages with her fingertips and continued reading.
Sunlight fell on the tips of her eyelashes, casting a very light shadow. She was surrounded by light and the scent of books, and she was so gentle that she was almost transparent.
Yun Zhan paused as he pushed the door open...
"She seems a little different..."
Yun Zhan sighed, then looked at Wen Sixue and began discussing with 21.
"Yes, I feel like I've matured a lot."
The figure was thinner than I remembered, yet it exuded a quiet resilience, like a plant quietly sprouting in early spring, solitary, but not fragile.
Yun Zhan took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and entered. The wind chimes tinkled softly, breaking the tranquility.
The wind chimes rang very softly, as if someone had touched a part of their breath.
Almost at the same instant, Wen Sixue looked up. Her movement was too hasty, and the blood essence necklace on the side of her neck was brushed by the sunlight, flashing a very thin red light, like a spark of a candle wick in the dark night being stirred by the wind.
Wen Sixue and Yun Zhan met eyes unexpectedly.
Yun Zhan's eyes were so clear and pure that they reflected her own image. In just a moment, Wen Sixue felt a throbbing sensation in her heart, as if a deer had struck her.
Her knuckles tightened unconsciously, creating a small crease on the page, and she even forgot to catch her breath.
In just a few seconds, her thoughts were churning more chaotically than the wind outside the window.
That was Yun Zhan, the Yun Zhan she hadn't seen for a very, very long time.
Every cell in her body was agitated, trembling, and roaring with longing. Like a floodgate suddenly opened, a torrent of emotions surged up, making her eyes burn.
Wen Sixue took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and forced herself to calm down.
Her fingertips gently caressed the spine of the book, as if pressing a mute button on her out-of-control heartbeat.
"It's probably because we were too much like family before... that we wanted to get closer to each other."
After breaking up with Yun Zhan, she went through a period of great suffering, similar to withdrawal symptoms...
Withdrawal symptoms are a group of symptoms that occur when dependence on addictive substances is suddenly stopped or reduced after long-term use.
She was in so much pain even though she wasn't taking any medication.
In the days immediately after leaving Yun Zhan, she could smell a very faint scent of fir trees emanating from the cave when she slept at night. Wen Sixue didn't know if this was a "scent illusion," since Yun Zhan had clearly been gone for a long time.
Wen Sixue reached out in a daze, but nothing came out as her fingers slipped through the air.
Later, she began to fear closing the door.
The lock clicked, the echo lingering in the empty living room, as if someone was standing behind her, their breath brushing against her neck.
She turned around and saw only her reflection in the glass. Her face was frighteningly pale, and there were two bluish-gray circles under her eyes, as if someone had gently scratched them with their fingernails.
Sometimes when I'm home alone, the wind sneaks in through the window cracks and makes the doorbell ring softly.
She would also suddenly look up, simply because the voice sounded so much like Yun Zhan's habit: knocking twice, pausing, and then knocking again...
One evening, while she was organizing cardboard boxes in the warehouse, she suddenly heard the sound of her own heartbeat. It wasn't a hallucination; it was a real heartbeat, rapid and disordered.
Wen Sixue stopped what she was doing, clutching her chest. For the first time, she clearly realized that it wasn't Yun Zhan's footsteps or his call, but her own heart, pounding wildly in the abyss of withdrawal.
At that moment, Wen Sixue finally admitted it—
She wasn't sick; she just missed Yun Zhan too much.
She was in so much pain during that time, crying all night long. Her dreams were filled with Yun Zhan, but in her dreams, Yun Zhan didn't love her... When she woke up, Yun Zhan still wouldn't love her.
She got together with Shi Mingyue.
Wen Sixue will never forget that phone call.
My thoughts were interrupted.
When she looked up again, Wen Sixue had already curved her lips into a gentle and graceful smile, as if she had never lost her composure for a moment. Only she knew that the page in her palm was already damp with sweat.
"Would you like something to drink? It's on me."
Wen Sixue asked softly, her voice as gentle as the white mist rising from a coffee cup, almost inaudible.
"Juice, please," Yun Zhan replied.
Wen Sixue raised her hand to call out to the waiter: "A glass of orange juice."
The waiter quickly brought the juice; tiny water droplets clung to the glass. She remembered that Yun Zhan liked it chilled.
Yun Zhan didn't touch the cup, but looked directly into Wen Sixue's eyes: "I'm here today because I need your help with something. Um...may I ask, who is Wen Ran? I think, perhaps you...know her."
Wen Sixue's hand trembled slightly, as if struck by an invisible electric current.
She rubbed her temples, her voice becoming somewhat hoarse: "She is my...great-aunt, that is, my grandmother's older sister. I haven't been in contact with her for a long time."
Wen Sixue paused, recalling a long-forgotten story: "When I was little, my grandmother said that she was a very irresponsible person. The world they were born into was very chaotic. My great-aunt left with a woman before she even came of age and never came back."
"I only found out when I grew up that they had gone into seclusion and had only given my grandmother an address."
Wen Sixue's voice grew softer and softer. When she was isolated and helpless and struggling to survive, she had fantasized about whether she could seek refuge with Wen Ran.
But obviously, that was impossible... She never managed to get through to Wen Ran on the phone.
Therefore, Wen Sixue's impression of her was not very good.
He abandoned all his family members just to live with one woman.
She was upset at the time, but she didn't hate anyone.
Now, she no longer felt sad, because she understood Wen Ran.
The heart that loves its loved ones is its hometown.
If she could, she would probably make the same choice.
After all, the Wen family was thriving at the time, and her departure had no impact on the large family. However, as time passed, the Wen family declined.
The eldest daughter of the family is struggling to make ends meet...
"To live in seclusion? That would be even more troublesome..." Yun Zhan pondered, looking down.
If she went to a remote place where there was no signal, how long would it take her to find it...?
Wen Sixue originally intended to lower her head and take a sip of coffee, but as soon as the rim of the cup touched her lips, her gaze involuntarily drifted upwards, bypassing the cup wall, passing through the rising white steam, and quietly landing on Yun Zhan's brow.
Wen Sixue herself was unaware that her gaze had lingered there for quite some time.
Yun Zhan frowned slightly, watching that faint trace of worry float in the sunlight.
Yun Zhan was still alive, still vibrant, and still sitting within her reach. This discovery made her unconsciously tighten her grip on the cup handle, while her heartbeat quietly slowed down.
“I’ve kept that address, but I’ve never been there because I didn’t have the money… I didn’t have the fare.”
Yun Zhan remained silent, offering no further questions, but simply nodded gently.
Under the table, her hands clenched her thighs.
Yun Zhan: I deserve to die... I brought up someone's painful memories again.
21: Eating melon seeds.
After Yun Zhan stopped, Wen Sixue stopped talking, but picked up her coffee cup, took a small sip, and felt the bitter taste spreading on her tongue, as if she was trying to suppress certain memories.
The shop assistant handed over plain paper and a fountain pen. Wen Sixue lowered her eyes and wrote a few lines, the pen tip scratching across the paper.
Once the ink had dried, she folded the note in half and handed it to Yun Zhan, her voice gentle: "It should be here. If you find her... please check on her condition for me. If nothing unexpected happens, she should be in her sixties or seventies."
Wen Sixue relaxed her brows and eyes, and the corners of her lips curved into a very shallow arc. The storms of the past... no longer need to be stirred up.
I'm doing well now. I have some savings, I can continue my studies, the troublemakers are gone, and Yun Zhan is still alive... Everything is fine.
Wen Sixue picked up her coffee cup, the white porcelain obscuring half her face, revealing only her eyes, her gaze subtly sweeping over Yun Zhan...
Yun Zhan's complexion was more radiant than a few days ago, and the weariness between his brows had dissipated, suggesting that his cold had subsided.
This discovery brought her a quiet sense of relief, as if someone had gently placed an unspoken stone down her side.
The bitter coffee flavor melts on the tip of the tongue, but unexpectedly has a slightly sweet aftertaste.
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