See you tomorrow
Feeling... so tired...
I woke up before the alarm went off and heard the sound of rolling suitcases downstairs.
Today is the day to leave the island.
When I got up to change clothes, I accidentally touched the straw hat on the bedside. To me, it is more reluctant to put down than any brand name.
I stuffed it in the innermost layer of my backpack...
When we went downstairs, there were already a lot of luggage piled up in the lobby of the B&B. Jiang Li was holding a shell ornament and acting coquettishly with Xiao Chen, saying that this was a treasure she had picked up on the beach three days ago, and insisted that Xiao Chen help her put it into the suitcase. Zhao Yin was sitting on the sofa in the corner with an open book on his knees, but he didn't read it much. His eyes fell on the pomelo tree outside the window, and I don't know what he was thinking.
"Awake?" He looked up at the sound, closed his book, and moved aside to make room for me. "Breakfast is in the kitchen. Auntie left some porridge."
"Yeah." As I sat down, his eyes swept over my backpack and he said nothing.
I went to the kitchen to get some porridge. Auntie was packing up the remaining pickles. When she saw me come in, she smiled and stuffed a glass jar into my hand: "Wenxi, take this back home. It's delicious with porridge."
"Thank you, Auntie." I took the jar.
Time seemed to pass quickly, yet also seemed to stop at a certain moment.
When I returned to the lobby, I saw Zhao Yin helping the staff move a large box.
I walked over to lend a hand, but he held my shoulder and said, "No, it's not heavy."
"Brother Yin, where is your suitcase?" I saw only a black backpack at his feet, as simple as when he came.
"The assistant will come get it." He stood up and dusted off his hands. "The production team's car will be here in half an hour."
I murmured, lowering my head to stir the porridge in my bowl. The porridge was thick, the aroma of rice blending with the saltiness of pickled vegetables a familiar flavor for the past two weeks. But today, as I drank it, I felt like something was missing.
Jiang Li suddenly came over and put a tea egg into my bowl. "Brother Wenxi, you've lost weight these past few days. Eat more. You need to make up for it when you get home. I heard that your next film is going to be a period drama."
"Well, it will start next month." I took a bite of the egg.
"That's perfect. Didn't Brother Yin just finish filming an action movie? You can ask him for some advice."
Jiang Li winked at Zhao Yin, "Right, Brother Yin?"
Zhao Yin was looking down at his phone. He raised his eyelids when he heard this: "If he dares to ask."
“Who wouldn’t dare?” I almost choked on the egg yolk. “I’ll ask you on WeChat when the time comes.”
The corners of his mouth curled up, and he didn't respond. He just peeled the untouched tea egg in his bowl and placed it on the plate in front of me.
When the production team's car arrived, it was drizzling. The staff asked everyone to get in the car. I stood at the door, hesitant, holding the pickle jar given by my aunt.
Zhao Yin was walking behind me and suddenly said, "The umbrella is in my bag."
"No need, it's just a light rain." I shook my head and got into the car first.
The seats were arranged in the order we arrived. I sat by the window and he sat next to me. When the car started, I looked back at the roof of the B&B.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." I turned back and looked at him, "I just feel... a little reluctant."
He was silent for a while, then suddenly took something out of his backpack and handed it to me.
It's a bracelet made of shells.
"This is……"
"I found it at the beach the other day." He looked straight ahead. "I saw a kid stringing it together, so I learned from him."
I pinched the cold shell and suddenly remembered that one afternoon I saw him sitting on the reef, fiddling with a red rope in his hand. I thought he was in a daze at the time, but it turned out that he was doing this.
"It's not pretty." He seemed a little uncomfortable. "If you don't like it..."
"I like it." I interrupted him quickly, "I like it very much."
He turned his head and looked at me, his eyes stayed on the bracelet for two seconds, then looked away again.
The rain outside the car window was getting heavier and heavier, making crackling sounds as it hit the glass.
When we arrived at the pier, the rain had stopped.
The ferry loomed in the fog, like a giant white water bird. As everyone lined up to board, Xiao Chen ran over, camera in hand. "Brother Xi, Brother Yin, can we take one last photo together?"
I stood next to Zhao Yin. He was half a head taller than me and had broad shoulders. I felt safe standing there.
When Xiao Chen shouted "three, two, one", I couldn't help but turn my head towards him and just touched his arm.
"Alright!" Xiao Chen smiled proudly, holding up the camera. "I guarantee this will be the sweetest photo shoot ever!"
Zhao Yin glanced at the camera screen, said nothing, and just moved closer to me.
When I was boarding the ship, I tripped over my suitcase. Zhao Yin reached out and helped me up. He helped me stand firmly and didn't let go immediately. He whispered, "My car is in the parking lot after you get off the ship."
"Um?"
"I'll take you home." He looked at me. "Didn't your assistant say he had something to do today?"
It took me a moment to realize that he was indeed there when I spoke to my assistant on the phone last time.
"Okay." I nodded.
The ferry moved very slowly, getting farther and farther away from the island, and finally became a blurry dot.
Everyone was taking pictures on the deck. I leaned on the railing and watched Zhao Yin standing not far away making a phone call.
He was facing me sideways, and I couldn't tell what he was saying.
He hung up the phone and came over, handing me a bottle of warm water. "My assistant just said that there's road construction at the entrance of your community, and cars can't get in."
"It's okay, I can walk back by myself."
"I'll take you to the intersection." He didn't mean to negotiate, but his tone was gentle. "The luggage is heavy."
I looked down at the box at my feet. There was actually nothing in it, except a few sets of clothes, the pickle jar and the straw hat that my aunt gave me.
But after he said that, I suddenly felt that the box was very heavy, as if he had to deliver it.
It was already evening when we got off the boat.
Zhao Yin's car was parked at the entrance of the parking lot. It was a black SUV, which was very consistent with his style. He put my box in the trunk.
There was soothing instrumental music playing in the car, completely different from the rock music he usually listened to.
I looked at the street view outside the window and thought of my first night on the island. At that time, we were still strangers and hadn't even spoken a word to each other.
"Are you hungry?" he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
“A little.”
"There's a noodle shop up ahead. It's delicious." He turned on the turn signal. "Want to go get something?"
I didn't object. The noodle shop was small, with only a few tables. The owner knew Zhao Yin and greeted him with a smile: "Xiao Zhao, is it the same as usual today?"
"Well, add another serving of tomato and egg noodles with less green onions." He turned to look at me, "Is that okay?"
I was stunned for a moment before nodding.
How did he know I liked tomato and egg noodles but didn't like onions? I think I told my aunt about it once in the kitchen of my homestay.
When the noodles came, they were steaming hot.
His bowl contained beef noodles with red oil floating on top, which looked very spicy.
"Oh, right," I remembered something, "what did you say to me in lip language last time you were in elementary school?"
He looked up at me.
After a few seconds of silence, he put down his chopsticks, looked into my eyes, and said word by word: "I said, you are suitable to stay by my side."
The chopsticks in my hand almost fell on the table. I opened my mouth but didn't know what to say.
He seemed to find it a little funny and handed me a tissue: "Why are you blushing?"
"Who's blushing?" I took the tissue and wiped my mouth, not daring to look at him. "The face is too hot."
He didn't expose my mistake, but just put a few pieces of beef from his bowl into mine: "Eat more, it will replenish your body."
When I came out after finishing my noodles, it was already very late at night.
When the car reached the intersection of the residential complex, it was stopped. He parked the car on the side of the road, unbuckled his seat belt and said, "I'll take you in."
"No, it's very close."
"obedient."
We are walking on the road.
"Brother Yin," I hesitated for a long time before asking, "Can we... meet again in the future?"
He stopped and turned to look at me.
"Do you want to meet?"
"I do." I blurted out, but then I felt it was too blunt, so I quickly lowered my head. "What I mean is, if there's a job..."
He chuckled and rubbed my head with his hand. "Are you free tomorrow morning?"
"have."
"My refrigerator is broken," he said seriously, "Can you come and help me take a look?"
It took me a moment to realize that he was looking for an excuse to ask me out.
"Okay." I raised my head, looked into his eyes, and nodded seriously.
When we got downstairs, he handed me the box and said, "Go up."
"Yeah." I took the box but didn't turn around immediately.
Me: “Bracelet…”
He looked at my wrist and said, "Don't take it off."
Me: “No.”
He: “See you tomorrow.
Me: “See you tomorrow.”
I carried the suitcase upstairs, and when I reached the third floor, I couldn't help but look down from the window.
He was still standing there, and when he saw me sticking my head out, he waved at me.
When I got home, I took out the straw hat and put it on the desk.
My phone vibrated. It was a WeChat message from Zhao Yinfa: "Go to bed early."
I stared at those three words for a long time, tapped and deleted them on the screen, and finally replied with just "Yeah".
Lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
I remember what he said in the noodle shop, the warmth of his hair when he kneaded it, and the way he stood under the street light.
It turns out that some goodbyes are not the end, but a new beginning.
I pulled out my phone, opened my fake account, and edited a new Weibo post: "The weather is great today, perfect for a meeting."
After thinking about it, I added a star emoticon before clicking send.
Put down the phone, close your eyes, but it is always him.
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