Chapter 57
The light from the fitting room shone diagonally from behind, landing squarely on Zhou Yiheng's shoulder. The navy blue fabric of his clothes, illuminated by the white light, seemed even more composed. His once-messy hair had somehow become more tidier, falling softly, some of it covering his eyes and adding a touch of gentleness to his appearance.
Xiao Xiao ran to where she was just now and took out her phone. She said to Zhou Yiheng, "Just stand there and I'll take a picture of you."
"Do you want to take pictures again?" Zhou Yiheng had an unnatural expression on his face.
"Of course I have to take a picture. You look so good in this outfit, it would be a shame not to take a picture." Xiao Xiao raised her phone and pointed the camera at him.
Zhou Yi stood horizontally with his hands placed neatly at his sides, but his shoulders unconsciously hunched slightly forward, and the muscles in his back were a little stiff. His eyes were wandering and he didn't dare look directly at the camera.
"Look at me," Xiao Xiao was still directing.
Li Cheng saw his expression and remained silent.
Xiao Xiao pressed several times in a row, flipping through the photos one by one. The people in the photos were good-looking, and the clothes were suitable, but she felt that something was missing. She always felt strange, but she couldn't put her finger on the specific strangeness. She looked at the photos on her phone and said to herself, "I always feel that something is missing."
"Don't move yet, I'll find an angle and take two more pictures," Xiao Xiao said. But no matter how she found the position or how she composed the picture, there was always that little thing missing in the shot.
It seems that without that point, he is incomplete.
The clerk came over at the right time and saw Zhou Yiheng dressed up. "This suit has matching glasses and a fan. Do you want to try it on?"
"Yes," Xiao Xiao responded almost immediately.
"Hold on"
The clerk brought a few fans, gold-rimmed glasses, and some jade rings, Buddhist beads and other ornaments. Xiao Xiao's eyes moved back and forth between the folding fan and the glasses. After thinking about it, she chose the gold-rimmed glasses and said, "Try this one."
"Why don't we just grab a fan?" Zhou Yiheng smiled. He unconsciously stepped back a little, as if trying to avoid the glasses. He simply wasn't used to having something on his nose. When his eyesight started to deteriorate in high school, he'd gotten a pair, but he couldn't stand wearing them for more than two months. Even though squinting was a struggle, he didn't want to wear them again. He had corrective surgery during the summer vacation. He still remembers the discomfort of the glasses pressing against his nose, the way it felt like the base of his ears was being pulled, and the discomfort all over his body.
"Hey" Zhou Yiheng just said no, but before he tried to escape, Xiao Xiao had already tiptoed and quickly put the glasses on his face.
He raised his hand and pushed the glasses Xiao Xiao was wearing onto his nose.
Xiao Xiao stepped back, looked at him carefully, and nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, it looks more like the real thing now."
The gold-rimmed glasses accentuated his already sharp features, making them appear even more profound, like jade immersed in ink. His stillness radiated a warmth, imbuing every gesture with a restrained elegance. He seemed like someone who had stepped out of a bygone era, even his breath carrying the serenity of timeless years.
"Just like that, don't move." Xiao Xiao raised his cell phone, and Zhou Yiheng stood stiffly.
For a moment, Li Cheng noticed that Zhou Yiheng seemed to have changed. His inward-turned shoulders relaxed, the curve of his shoulders perfectly matching the cut of his clothes. Li Cheng stared at him in surprise, but when Zhou Yiheng glanced over, he subconsciously held his breath. The eyes hidden behind his glasses seemed to have a calm and noble air he had never seen before.
He took a step forward, "Zhou Yiheng, you..."
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yi turned his head to look at him. His eyes were clear behind his glasses, as if he was just distracted and dazed just now.
"No, nothing." Li Cheng shook his head. "This suits you very well."
Xiao Xiao had already taken several photos. She flipped them over for Zhou Yi to look at. "Isn't this much better than before? I just realized that you look completely different with and without glasses."
Zhou Yiheng stared at the photo for a long time, and a strange sense of familiarity came over him.
Li Cheng looked at him and hesitated, "It's quite cold outside, how about changing into something else?"
Xiao Xiao said: "Why change? This outfit is so good. We'll only be shooting for two or three hours. Just bear with it and it will be over. If it doesn't work, I have a few hot packs. If you stick them on your back, you won't feel cold."
"It's quite troublesome to change it, so let's just leave it this way," Zhou Yiheng also said.
"Okay, okay, let's go quickly," Li Cheng urged, stepping out. He pretended to be calm, but his voice was a little higher than usual, "Don't dawdle, it will be dark soon if you don't leave."
"I understand." Xiao Xiao took her bag and camera.
It was just past four o'clock, and the sunlight was already showing signs of fatigue. The bright light was squeezed into thin strips by the gray walls on both sides of the alley, slanting down onto the mottled pavement. An old cat, its dark gray fur fluffy, curled up at the base of the wall, its tail tip occasionally sweeping across the frozen, hardened asphalt. Just before a few white pigeons flew overhead, the sunlight just caught the branches of the old locust tree at the alley's entrance.
After walking and filming for a while, before the light and shadow in the camera could be adjusted, Xiao Xiao suddenly looked up and saw a round arch made of blue bricks not far away, which looked like a full moon.
"What is that?" She stopped and squinted to see.
"Let's go check it out!" Before Zhou Yiheng could react, she pulled him forward. Zhou Yiheng was checking a message on his phone when she suddenly tugged at him, nearly throwing him off balance. But before he could even steady himself, Xiao Xiao dragged him to the Moon Gate and thrust his phone and camera into his hands.
Xiao Xiao turned half a circle in the doorway and said to Zhou Yiheng: "Help me take two pictures quickly."
Zhou Yiheng put the extra things in his hand on the ground beside him. He looked at Xiao Xiao in the camera and said, "Move to the left a little bit."
Xiao Xiao took two steps and posed again, "How is it?"
"Raise your hands a little more and turn your face slightly away."
"May I?"
"Come and take a look." After taking a few pictures in a row, he called Xiao Xiao over to show her the pictures he had just taken.
"It's a bit strange," Xiao Xiao pondered. The people and scenery were clear, and there was no strange deformation or pulling, but something was missing.
She said: "Well, you walk forward, don't take a picture of me in my entirety, just take a picture of half of me."
"Stand here?" Zhou Yi asked after taking a few steps sideways.
Xiao Xiao nodded, "Yes, remember to take a picture of my half body, not my whole body"
Zhou Yi squatted horizontally, his camera focused on Xiao Xiao standing in front of the Moon Gate. She leaned slightly to the side, half her body enveloped by the dappled light and shadow cast by the moon. The cool evening breeze blew the hem of her skirt, and the blue bricks behind her only served to accentuate her vividness.
Press the shutter button continuously.
Hearing that it was almost done, Xiao Xiao walked back to look at the photos she had just taken, swiping her fingers back and forth on the screen, nodding with satisfaction. Sure enough, taking half-body photos was more interesting than full-body photos. "Take a few more photos for me at this angle."
Zhou Yiheng took some more photos of her.
"It's your turn"
After Xiao Xiao looked at the photos at the end, she took the camera away on her own initiative.
"Me?" Zhou Yiheng was stunned, smiled and waved his hands, "Forget it, I don't look good on camera"
"No," Xiao Xiao said without hesitation, pushing him to the Moon Gate. "Since we're here, we have to take two pictures. Professor Li will take them for you later."
She spoke to Li Cheng behind her.
Adjusting the angle and position of the camera, she instructed Zhou Yiheng, "Relax a little, don't stand so stiffly. If you don't have a place to put your hands, you can put them in your pockets. It's okay to put them in your pockets."
Zhou Yiheng had no choice but to cooperate and strike a pose. However, Xiao Xiao frowned when she saw his expression. "You are too serious. Move back. Don't look at the camera. Hey, stand at the opening. Look ahead and don't look at me."
He stood where the stray sunlight fell perfectly. Passing through the doorway, it cast a perfect circular spot of light on the ground. Its edges were tinged with the warm yellow of a winter evening, and even his body was immersed in that lingering, warm light.
Li Cheng stood two or three steps behind Xiao Xiao, opening and closing his folding fan. His gaze remained fixed on Zhou Yiheng, never moving away. He stood there, following Xiao Xiao's instructions and striking the corresponding poses. He didn't say anything, and his stance was even a bit comical. But for some reason, just that alone was enough to shock Li Cheng.
So similar.
He kept turning these three words in his mind.
"You haven't actually met him, so why do you all remember him?"
As the sun gradually set, the surface of Shichahai was dyed golden by the evening sunlight. The shimmering waves swayed gently in the breeze, and the shadows of the trees on the shore were lengthened by the setting sun. Xiao Xiao checked the time, took out her phone, and called Yang Ye.
"We'll be there in a minute" she hung up and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.
Zhou Yiheng heard the voice and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Xiao turned to him and said, "The boss said she is in the old house, not far from here. Let's go find her first and then go to eat."
Zhou Yiheng was surprised. "She still has a house in Beijing?"
Xiao Xiao chuckled, "The boss has lived in Beijing for many years, so it's not surprising that he has a house."
Zhou Yiheng took a deep breath, his voice a little shaky, "North, Beijing, Third Ring Road"
Xiao Xiao nodded calmly, "Well, I heard it's an old house and no one has lived in it for many years."
"No matter how many years it has been, it's still a house in Beijing." Zhou Yiheng was stunned and it took him a long time to find his voice. Even when he said it, his tone was a little confused.
Li Cheng came over, frowned and glared at Xiao Xiao, complaining, "Why did you call her? Why don't you just arrange a meeting place when the time comes? Why do you have to go there first?"
"We are dressed so beautifully, of course we have to show it to her," said Xiao Xiao.
"We'll just look at the photos when the time comes. If the clothes aren't returned, they'll charge extra money," Li Cheng said. He really didn't want Zhou Yiheng and Yang Ye to meet dressed like this.
"Don't worry, I just asked the clerk, and there's no charge before nine o'clock. It's not even six o'clock yet, and I want to take two more pictures after dinner," Xiao Xiao said, not noticing Li Cheng's reminder at all.
The streetlights in the alley lit up one after another, casting patches of light on the asphalt. These patches of light formed a path leading forward. Zhou Yiheng walked in front, his dark Mao suit merging with the gradually darkening dusk.
The further he walked into the alley, the steadier his steps became, his shoulders straightening slightly, as if supported by something. Passing by the house on the corner, where the radio was playing an old tune, Zhou Yi glanced at the closed window without stopping.
The wooden door in front was getting closer. A small courtyard with mottled gray bricks stood quietly at the end of the alley. Dead leaves were floating on the steps in front of the courtyard gate, and the paint on the door had long since peeled off.
Zhou Yiheng stood at the door, the afterglow of the setting sun lengthening his shadow.
He was just about to knock on the door, but his raised hand paused in mid-air. I don't know what he was thinking.
The door opened from the inside.
Yang Ye stood inside the door. The first thing he saw when he looked up was the familiar silhouette standing in the twilight.
The Zhongshan suit, the gold-rimmed glasses, and even the angle at which he looked up seemed so familiar.
Time seemed to overlap at this moment. Decades ago, at dusk, Xue Shangyang also stood at the door and said to her with a smile: "I'm back."
"Shangyang" Yang Ye blurted out, and she rushed over and hugged him tightly.
Tears wet Zhou Yiheng's chest, and Yang Ye seemed to smell the familiar smell of him, a mixture of gunpowder and a hint of tobacco.
Zhou Yiheng froze in place, bewildered. He looked down and saw Yang Ye crying in his arms. He wondered, "Who is Xue Shangyang?"
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