Chapter 123 ...
Lin Zhiyi's wedding was held in an art space converted from an old Western-style building. The ivy on the red brick exterior wall had long since withered into a dark brown, but it added a sense of age to the whole building.
Lin Zhiyi's studio is nearby. Today, she wore an ivory-white satin dress with a gray-beige wool shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hair was loosely tied up, and the pearl earrings swayed gently with her movements. The groom was a university professor whose research focused on art history and visual culture; he possessed a quiet, scholarly air.
The guests were quite a diverse group: half were their peers, artists, curators, gallery owners, and professors, and snippets of conversation about exhibitions or residency programs could often be heard during their chats; the other half came from Lin Chih-yi's parents' side, mostly acquaintances in the investment world, who raised their glasses to talk about stocks and energy, their words both composed and worldly-wise.
Zheng Xiaotian looked up at the old Western-style building. He was wearing a dark gray suit, which they bought in New York the year Lin Zhiyi went to study in the United States.
At that time, he had no interest in choosing clothes; she picked them out for him one by one. She held up the clothes hangers in front of the mirror, asked him, "Do you like them?" and then smiled and said, "This one makes you look slimmer."
He remembered the scent of perfume that filled the store, and the bright look in her eyes when she looked up at him under the dim light. Finally, she patted his shoulder and said with a half-joking smile, "You look quite respectable in this." At this moment, that joke felt like it had been scraped out of his bones by time, chilling him to the bone.
A stack of gold-embossed autograph books sat before the registration table. He bowed his head to write his name, and after finishing the last character, he took a deep breath, raised his head, and his face regained that perfectly appropriate smile. "This is a wedding gift. Please give it to the bride and groom for me." His voice was soft and steady, polite and appropriate.
Xia Zhiyao and Zhou Yue were right behind him, watching his calm demeanor. "Do you think he might...?"
Zhou Yue's gaze fell on the straight back in front of him, and he said in a calm tone: "No, he himself said that he wants to be presentable today."
Dignity was his last armor.
Zheng Xiaotian ultimately didn't watch the wedding. Before the music started, he stood up and silently walked towards the exit, straightening his cuffs as he went, as if trying to maintain a sense of order. The staff at the door thought he was going to answer a phone call and nodded at him. He smiled politely back and didn't stop walking.
As he pushed open the door, a gust of wind rushed into his collar, making him shiver. The winter sun reflected a blinding white light off the snow-covered paving stones, and he instinctively squinted.
He didn't go too far. The garden was on one side of the villa. The branches of the trees were bare in winter, and there were only a few evergreen shrubs in the flower bed. A thin layer of snow covered the wrought iron bench. He patted it and sat down.
The wind blew by, carrying the string music coming from inside the room. He closed his eyes, and the sounds around him were gradually amplified: the rustling of guests taking their seats, the light shining through the glass roof, the wind rustling through the gauze curtains and petals, and the white balloons swaying gently.
In his mind, he could almost see the scene: the groom standing at the end of the red carpet, impeccably dressed in a suit, his expression calm and resolute.
The bride walked slowly, arm in arm with her father. He could almost smell that familiar scent, clean to the point of being cruel. She walked through the crowd and headed towards another person without the slightest hesitation.
The wind brushed against his cheek, his fingers unconsciously curled up, and his palms felt cold. He knew he wouldn't go in, nor could he go in.
The music in the auditorium gradually rose, and applause came from afar, intermittently broken by the wind. He sat on a bench in the garden, listening quietly, as if listening to a dream that had nothing to do with him.
He suddenly felt that the world was too quiet, so quiet that he could hear the sound of his own heart breaking clearly.
Xia Zhiyao remained seated, motionless, until the last spotlight dimmed, at which point she snapped out of her reverie. "Is he still outside?" she asked softly.
Zhou Yue raised his wrist to check the time and nodded: "They probably haven't left yet."
They walked out of the auditorium one after the other. As they followed the path, they saw that familiar figure. Zheng Xiaotian was sitting on a bench, covered with a thin layer of snow. The cigarette beside him was half-burned, and the embers flickered in the wind.
Xia Zhiyao slowed his pace. He seemed to have heard a noise, but he didn't turn around. He just looked up at the brightly lit Western-style building, where faint laughter and piano music could be heard coming from the auditorium windows.
Zhou Yue stopped beside her, his voice low: "He's listening."
Xia Zhiyao looked at him, her eyes momentarily moist. She said softly, "From beginning to end, he still couldn't bear to leave completely."
Zheng Xiaotian finally stood up slowly, nodded, and looked as calm as if nothing had happened. "Is it over?" he asked.
“It’s over,” Zhou Yue replied.
He hummed in agreement, then said, "Then I should go too."
He took a few steps and suddenly stopped, turning around. His expression remained calm, but after a moment's hesitation, he smiled. "You two..." His voice was a little hoarse, and he paused, "Could you come with me somewhere?"
Xia Zhiyao was taken aback: "Where to?"
"The seaside," Zheng Xiaotian blurted out without thinking. "It's not far, just over two hours by car. I want to... feel the sea breeze." He smiled, but the darkness in his eyes hadn't faded; instead, it had deepened. "There's really... nowhere else to go."
Zhou Yue glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded: "I'll drive."
The car was quiet on the way from Beijing to Tianjin. Zheng Xiaotian sat in the passenger seat with his head resting against the window and his eyes half-closed.
No one spoke; only music played softly.
After driving for more than two hours, they stopped their car next to a breakwater. In the distance, the port lights were visible, and the outlines of containers could be vaguely seen. Waves were crashing against the concrete embankment.
As soon as Zheng Xiao got out of the car, the wind hit his face almost immediately. He pulled his coat collar tighter and walked towards the sea. He didn't speak or look back, but just walked along the embankment, step by step, the soles of his shoes making a soft sound as they rubbed against the sand.
Xia Zhiyao looked at his retreating figure. The wind was too strong, and her hair was blown into a mess, sticking to her face. "Is he alright on his own?" she asked in a low voice.
Zhou Yue closed the car door and stood beside her: "He doesn't want to be disturbed."
The two of them stood there in the wind, watching him walk further and further away. The gray sky, the gray-blue sea, the gray embankment—everything was worn smooth by the wind, losing its edges. He walked on that thin line.
Zheng Xiaotian walked for a long time before finally stopping. He faced the sea, head bowed, the wind scattering his words, leaving only a lonely figure, swallowed up little by little by the sound of the waves.
They waited quietly as darkness gradually fell, the harbor lights came on one by one, and the wind continued to howl. But on this desolate seashore, the wind sounded like a sound that allowed people to live for a while.
Zheng Xiaotian stood on the embankment, quietly watching the sea. After some time, he turned around and walked back. The wind made his hair a mess and his face was a little red, but his eyes were clearer than before.
When he reached them, he smiled a little wearily: "Since we're already here," he said, his voice broken by the wind, "let's eat some seafood before we go back."
Xia Zhiyao paused for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Okay, I'll follow your orders."
Zhou Yue looked at him, the worry in his eyes finally easing: "Are you sure you're not just looking for an excuse to drink a couple more bottles?"
Zheng Xiaotian squinted as the wind blew, and asked with a smile, "Are you afraid I can't outdrink you?" His voice was hoarse, but it carried a long-lost vitality.
As Xia Zhiyao fastened her seatbelt, she turned to look out the window. The car turned around and headed towards the old street in the Binhai New Area.
In the seafood restaurant, Zheng Xiaotian poured himself a glass, then another, and drank it quickly, as if afraid that if he stopped, the evil things pressing on his chest would rush out.
The liquor burned down his throat, the heat churning in his stomach, and his eyes were slightly red from the heat. He smiled as Zhou Yue sat opposite him, keeping him company. They drank glass after glass, clinking them together lightly.
There were no unnecessary pleasantries or persuasion. They both knew that this wasn't something that could be solved by simply saying "Don't drink anymore." It was a deeper understanding, a sense that "I know you don't want to be dragged back to reality."
Xia Zhiyao sat to the side, not saying much, just quietly eating a few bites of seafood.
After drinking for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Zheng Xiaotian suddenly stopped. He lowered his head, his forehead pressed against his arm, and muttered, "Damn it," he muttered, "love is all bullshit."
After a long while, he finally raised his head, his eyes red as if he had stayed up all night, and a smile that seemed about to burst out on his lips, half drunk and half crazy.
"Damn it..." he shouted hoarsely, "Xia Zhiyao, Zhou Yue."
He stared at them, his eyes filled with a childlike stubbornness, and his tone suddenly became ridiculously serious, "If you dare to abandon me, I'll die right here in front of you."
He stood up, staggered a couple of times, and braced himself against the edge of the table, barely managing not to fall. He grabbed Zhou Yue's arm with one hand and reached for Xia Zhiyao with the other, holding on tightly as if afraid that the two of them would also leave at any moment.
"Even if you two get married in the future..." he gritted his teeth, tears welling in his eyes, "you still have to come out and drink with me."
He took a breath and continued shouting, "You have to be available at a moment's notice! Anyone who dares not to come..." He paused, then gestured with a baseball bat: "I'll smash your windows in the middle of the night!" His words were both harsh and stupid, aggressive, yet like a teenager who had been hit hard by the world but still wanted to act tough.
Xia Zhiyao couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Alright, alright," she replied while laughing, "If Young Master Zheng says one word, we'll be there any minute. Anyone who dares not to come is a coward."
Zhou Yue shook his head, raised his hand and ruffled his messy hair, his tone half helpless and half indulgent: "If you get drunk in the future, the two of us will have to take responsibility for picking you up and taking you home."
Zheng Xiaotian didn't say anything more; he just hugged their arms even tighter, as if holding onto the last bit of warmth in the world.
He laughed, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "You guys are still the best."
In the end, Xia Zhiyao drove back. Along the way, Zheng Xiaotian and Zhou Yue chatted about all sorts of things in the passenger seat and the back seat, from embarrassing stories from their childhood to the messy things at work. Their laughter was intermittent, mixed with some vague sighs.
When they took Zheng Xiaotian home, it was almost midnight. Almost all the city lights were off, with only a few dim streetlights at the intersection flickering in the wind.
As soon as Zheng Xiaotian entered the door, he collapsed onto the sofa, muttering something like "I'm at your beck and call," before falling into a deep sleep. Xia Zhiyao took off his coat, covered him with a blanket, and then turned off the light.
As the two went downstairs and walked towards the car, Zhou Yue was still drunk. His steps were unsteady, his center of gravity was unstable, and his whole aura was filled with the smell of alcohol.
Xia Zhiyao reached out to help him: "Slow down."
"It's okay." He smiled, his voice low and a little hoarse. "I can still walk in a straight line."
They walked to the parking lot. Xia Zhiyao took out her keys to drive, but her finger slipped and the keys fell to the ground. Zhou Yue also bent down to pick them up, and in that instant, something slipped out of his coat pocket.
The thing rolled a few times on the ground. He paused for a moment, then instinctively reached out to pick it up, but the alcohol tripped him. The small object rolled off the ground and stopped at Xia Zhiyao's feet.
Xia Zhiyao bent down. It was a dark blue velvet box. Her fingertips hovered over the box, and after a few seconds of hesitation, she gently picked it up. The moment her fingertips touched it, she almost immediately recognized what it was.
Zhou Yue stared at her blankly, his eyes suddenly clearing up a bit, but also becoming somewhat flustered. "...That's not something I'm giving to you now." His voice was hoarse, his tone so soft it was almost swallowed by the night wind.
Xia Zhiyao looked up and asked, "When?"
He smiled, a hint of drunkenness in his eyes, as if trying to hide something, "I originally wanted to give it to you today... taking advantage of the wedding atmosphere,"
He paused as he spoke, raising his hand to scratch his head, the movement clumsy, but his eyes were incredibly tender. "But then Xiaotian was like that, so I thought, let's just let it go, don't make this day even more chaotic."
Xia Zhiyao looked down at the small box, her fingers gently stroking the outer velvet surface. "You really know how to pick a day." She chuckled softly, her voice low, making it impossible to tell whether she was teasing or feeling sorry for the girl.
Zhou Yue laughed along, a self-deprecating smile on his face: "I thought a wedding would make people believe in something, but... it just made me realize who I should cherish more."
Xia Zhiyao looked at him, her eyes reflecting that light. After a moment, she walked up to him, still holding the dark blue ring box in her hand. The car headlights shone from behind her, casting a soft glow on her profile.
"Zhou Yue," she called softly.
He gently lowered his head to look at her, his eyes still slightly intoxicated.
She reached out and placed the ring box in his palm. "Don't wait any longer."
At that moment, Zhou Yue froze. He looked down at the box and suddenly understood everything.
He looked up, a smile slowly emerging from his eyes, as if he were finally waking from a long dream. "Do you remember?" his voice was low and husky, tinged with amusement, "that Coke tab ring you gave me back in New York?"
Xia Zhiyao was slightly taken aback, then smiled: "Of course I remember."
“I’ve kept it all this time,” Zhou Yue said. “I told you back then that when I was able to, I would definitely get you a real diamond ring. And now I’ve done it.”
He paused, his gaze settling steadily on her. "Xia Zhiyao, will you marry me?"
The lights, the wind, and the night faded into the background, leaving only the two of them: one waiting for a response, and the other finally ceasing to run away.
Xia Zhiyao simply extended her hand, looked up, and smiled, "Don't you already know the answer?"
Zhou Yue looked at her, a smile slowly spreading in his eyes, and he placed the ring on Xia Zhiyao's ring finger.
At this moment, all the wandering, hesitation, and waiting quietly settled in the light. They drove through empty streets, the wind rustling the shadows of the trees, and the gray sky slowly brightened, as if the world was slowly awakening.
Xia Zhiyao suddenly smiled: "You know what? It seems like we've walked more roads than most people do in a lifetime."
Zhou Yue turned his head to look at her, his eyes gentle. They had indeed been through so many places, from the narrow alley where they were children, to the playground where they chased kites together, to the streets of New York when they grew up. They had gone through separation, reunion, missed opportunities, and reunion.
In those years, they traversed classrooms, office buildings, airports, and coastlines, growing from teenagers to adults, from uncertainty to finally daring to be certain.
Time is like a long river, and they have always been waiting for each other on the other side.
They walked through wind and snow and crowds of people, and it took them half a lifetime to learn not to separate again. All the roads will eventually lead them back to each other. For each other, they are the direction for the rest of their lives.
End of main text.
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