The scent of incense on him
Shuixi dodged Song Shiwen's kick, but couldn't avoid the kitten's pounce. He retreated three meters and touched his neck, finding blood on his hand. Cang Yue seemed stunned, remaining motionless in her trapped position until Song Shiwen ran over and tears began to fall. The white cat perched on Cang Yue's shoulder, licked her face, and once again looked over with wariness.
"Shuixi, what are you doing?" Hui Zifeng didn't understand why Shuixi would bully the weak, and he didn't bother to ask. Whatever his reason, it was wrong. As a friend, he would take responsibility. After this, he would no longer be Shuixi's friend.
At this time, Song Shiwen was furious because of Zang Yue's condition. He raised his fist and was about to rush towards Shuixi, but was stopped by Zang Yue.
"Wait!" Hui Zifeng stood in front of Shuixi, "Calm down! Shiwen, calm down. Don't make things worse. Calm down!"
His persuasion was useless. The person who actually stopped Song Shiwen was Cang Yue. She hugged Song Shiwen, crying bitterly, "I thought I was leaving again, I thought I wouldn't see you again! I finally found you..."
Song Shiwen was obviously not used to this situation. He turned around carefully and hugged Cang Yue. The cat then jumped onto Song Shiwen's shoulder, still staring at Shuixi and Hui Zifeng with its hostile eyes.
"I won't leave you, don't worry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here. I will protect you from bad people in the future." Song Shiwen said this embarrassedly, quietly enjoying the moment. Hui Zifeng spoke at an inopportune moment behind him, attracting Song Shiwen's threatening and warning gaze.
"We'll apologize properly someday," Hui Zifeng said, pulling Shuixi away. He didn't want to go to the rare opera performance, and the deductions didn't matter. Hui Zifeng didn't feel like doing anything else. He thought of the cat, and the tiny fragments in his mind—the girl next to Song Shiwen.
"We don't need to be friends anymore." Hui Zifeng, sprinting down the alley, suddenly stopped and turned to speak to Shuixi, noticing he was equally distracted. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I told you, bad behavior is unacceptable in our family. Besides, being around someone like me, you must be feeling wronged, right?"
"I'm sorry." Shuixi lowered her head, her apology sincere. She raised her head again, looking down at Hui Zifeng with a look of superiority and condescension. "Can you listen to my explanation?"
"No need to explain." Hui Zifeng turned around and said, "Losing a friend is not a big deal for anyone. Let's leave it at that. Remember to go to the hospital for an injection for the wound on your neck." He remembered that Shuixi seemed to be scratched by animals often, so he should be clear about the handling procedures. Why should he say more?
Shuixi quickly followed, "That woman destroyed our family and kidnapped my brother. I haven't seen him for more than 20 years."
"Really?" Hui Zifeng couldn't help but point it out. "I noticed that the look you gave that girl just now wasn't innocent! According to what you said, she destroyed your family and kidnapped your brother for over twenty years. She doesn't look more than twenty years old. Are you saying that she kidnapped your running brother right after he was born? And you should hate her, so why do you have love in your eyes?"
"What?" Shuixi grabbed Hui Zifeng's arm, shocked but refusing to acknowledge his words. "If you want me to leave, of course I'm willing to, but I need your father's consent. There's no other job like this in the world, and I definitely won't give it up. If you really want to break up with me, then do it yourself!"
Now it was Hui Zifeng's turn to beg for mercy. Shuixi's powerful backing was entirely due to the fortune teller who had read Hui Zifeng's fortune. When Hui Zifeng was fourteen, he returned home one day to find the fortune teller feasting in his home, accompanied by a tall, thin, and smiling boy. Though the boy looked much older than Hui Zifeng, the fortune teller insisted they were the same age. From then on, Shuixi became Hui Zifeng's inseparable friend. According to the fortune teller, this was the perfect way to decipher Hui Zifeng's doomed fate.
Ridiculous superstition and ridiculous fate trapped him in a net.
Shuixi was born in a small mountain village, but a natural disaster left him orphaned and sent to a welfare institution. He would have remained there his entire life, never leaving. He was a man of great ambition. Hui Zifeng's father initially offered to adopt Shuixi, sharing his home and schooling with his son. Shuixi declined, offering to stay with Hui Zifeng and pay him a monthly salary sufficient for his survival. Hui Zifeng suspected that the salary his father had voluntarily provided was substantial, which was why Shuixi was willing to treat his friend like a slave.
But Shuixi had long been unwilling to play this role. Just like just now, Shuixi despised him.
"Really?" Hui Zifeng didn't dare tell his father that he wanted to stay away from Shuixi. "I'll count to three, and you stop right there! One..."
"Have you forgiven me?" Shuixi stopped and turned around to ask.
"Who told you to walk in front of me?" Hui Zifeng feigned slight anger, ran ahead of Shuixi, and continued walking. "I don't care what personal grudges you have, but you can't do bad things, no matter how bad they are. You made a big mistake today. Even if someone does something wrong to you, always remember to choose the right way. You have the right to protect yourself, not to punish others. Do you understand?"
"knew."
Listening to Shuixi's obedient answer, Hui Zifeng could only choose to forgive. Little did he know that Shuixi looked at him with an extremely cold gaze and a sneer on her lips.
It was late, the city lights on. Cang Yue loved this scene. People came and went, cast a hazy yellow light on them, and then disappeared in a flash, leaving nothing to be grasped. She took Song Shiwen's hand and walked together in the summer evening breeze.
"Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat something delicious!" Song Shiwen observed Cang Yue's expression the entire time, trying every way to cheer her up, but he found she only managed a forced smile. "What's the name of this kitten? It's quite protective of its owner, a rare sight." Song Shiwen teased the cat, which lay on Cang Yue's shoulder, then grabbed it and lifted it over his head. The kitten meowed softly.
"Don't you dislike cats anymore?" Zang Yue didn't want to answer, and said casually, "You seemed afraid to touch it before, but now you like it again."
"Before?" Song Shiwen's mind went blank for a moment. He suddenly couldn't remember when he met the girl next to him. What was her name? When did he dislike cats? Perhaps it was true, he didn't like small animals, but when did he show it in front of her? He would definitely hide this in front of the girl he liked. He knew that most girls would think that boys who liked pets were caring.
"Can you walk with me a little longer?" Zang Yue turned to look at Song Shiwen. She smiled happily when he answered her affirmatively without hesitation. If it was the man she was looking for, he would definitely be attracted to her. Zang Yue firmly believed this. Now, she could remember Song Shiwen. Tomorrow, perhaps she would still remember the love and joy in his eyes as he looked at her today. Tomorrow, perhaps he would forget her name, her appearance, and everything that happened to them today—that hug, that long walk hand in hand. His hands were so warm.
"Meteor!" Song Shiwen placed the cat on his shoulder and pointed to the sky. Sure enough, a star streaked across the night sky. He glanced at Cang Yue and grinned widely. "I'm so lucky to have met you! This is the first time I've ever seen a shooting star."
"Really?" He was kind and liked him very much. Who else could it be but him? But why was such a good person the one I had been looking for? "But, I have seen him many times."
So, is it my luck to meet you?
"Is this your first time meeting me?" Song Shiwen pulled Cang Yue over, put one hand behind her, supported the back of her head, and asked her in a slightly forced manner, asking her to look into his eyes.
Cang Yue's heart was beating rapidly. She quickly held it down, afraid she would be unable to resist and leave the place in the next second. She felt the anticipation in his eyes. It was definitely him, there was no doubt about it. Cang Yue was sure that he also had feelings for her, otherwise why would he ask if it was his first time meeting him.
How many times had it happened? She herself couldn't remember. When encountering things related to living things, the memory would become blurred over time, sometimes after a sleep, sometimes overnight, and sometimes in an instant. But she also had a way to train herself to remember some things that could not be forgotten, just like a child memorizing a text. If it didn't work the first time, then the second time, the third time, one day she would remember it, and by then a relationship would be established. If she left this time and place, then everything would start all over again. Fortunately, there would always be some fragments of forgotten things left in the mind, and she would remember them when they were accidentally triggered at a certain point.
It's like searching for a target in the abyss, building an unreachable point of light in despair.
"I don't know..." Zang Yue stood on tiptoe, closed her eyes, and faced the starry sky above her head and him, waiting for a beautiful feeling to be stored in her mind. "We just need to seize the present moment."
Song Shiwen was stunned. He couldn't figure out many things, and now, the girl's action made his heart pound. His hands trembled with nervousness. He hurriedly pushed the cat away and lowered his head to kiss her...
It was like a dream. Nothingness, nothing at all. No way… he thought.
"I'm sorry, what's your name?" He didn't know why he asked this question at this time. But he felt that he had to ask it, and he had to recite her name in his heart while kissing her.
"Fawn, call me Fawn."
She seemed angry, immediately letting go of his hand and walking away with her cat without another word. Song Shiwen panicked, constantly repeating the word "Xiaolu," thinking about Xiaolu's appearance. Strangely, the more panicked he became, the more he tried to recall, the more hazy his memories became. For a second, he thought he'd forgotten the face of the girl walking less than five meters in front of him. What was her name? I'd just asked her... Oh, Xiaolu! Feeling like something was wrong with him, he ran after her, promising to take her home.
"No need. My father will come pick me up." Without even looking up, she pointed across the street. Song Shiwen saw that there was indeed a white car parked on the roadside, and a middle-aged man in military uniform was looking over there. He stopped, and just as the traffic light turned green, Xiaolu continued walking forward.
After taking two steps, she turned around and said goodbye with a smile, "Song Shiwen, goodbye! We must see each other tomorrow!"
"I'll just watch you go. See you tomorrow!" He immediately realized he'd made a huge mistake. He didn't have her contact information, so where could they meet tomorrow? He wanted to chase after her, but the officer across from him was her father. He was afraid. What was he afraid of at this moment? Even after the passing cars blocked his view, he still couldn't figure out what was stopping him.
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