In her letter, Wen Ruan carefully wrote about her longing for Jiang Yan and her request for a photograph of her.
It did not mention Song Heng or anything about her time in mainland China.
Wen Ruan pretended not to know about the stories Song Heng had told her, and wrote the letter as if she were just talking about her friendship with Jiang Yan, mainly because she was afraid of being too forward.
At the end of the letter, Wen Ruan also invited Jiang Yan to visit Beijing if she had time, and offered to be her tour guide, showing her around the beautiful landscapes of China.
Song Yan had just delivered the letter to the post office by bicycle; the rest of the time was just a long wait.
Song Heng's holiday is very short. By the time the letter arrives in Hong Kong and is sent back, the holiday will probably be over very soon.
That evening he decided to buy a ticket the next morning and return to Haishi to rejoin his unit.
He was afraid that if the letter really came back and confirmed that Jiang Yan was indeed Yan Yan, he wouldn't have enough time to take a vacation and go home, so he decided to end his vacation early.
Seeing Song Heng's eagerness to return to his unit, Song's mother and father roughly understood his thoughts and did not interfere. They only hoped that Wen Ruan's previous guess was true, as no one wanted to see Song Heng living in the memories of the past.
Besides, it was a young, vibrant life. Song's mother silently prayed that the girl named Yan Yan would be alright.
After the letter was sent and Song Heng returned to his unit, Wen Ruan and Song Yan had to go back to work in a few days. Their annual leave was over quickly, and the two of them had to return to their previous busy state of living apart.
Wen Ruan couldn't say for sure when the two of them would be able to end their long-distance relationship. She could only focus on doing her job well and wait for an opportunity to be promoted or transferred so that they could live in the same place. But she estimated that it would be quite a while before that happened.
More than a month passed quickly. Wen Ruan had just returned home from get off work and sat down to rest when the phone in the living room rang.
Wen Ruan quickly got up and answered the phone: "Ruan Ruan, the postman is coming to deliver a letter today. He said it's from Gangcheng and I need to pick it up at the post office with my ID. Is it from that little girl named Jiang Yan?" Song's mother's voice came through the phone, and Wen Ruan could hear the excitement in her voice.
Wen Ruan calculated the time and figured it was probably a letter from Jiang Yan. The post office closed half an hour later than regular offices, but luckily it wasn't far from the small courtyard house; it would probably be about a five-minute walk. By the time she picked up the letter, it would be right around closing time, so she still had time.
Without saying much to Song's mother, he simply said, "Mom, we'll talk about other things at home later. I'm going to the post office to pick up the mail first, and I'll be home in a bit." After saying that, he hung up the phone, quickly put on his clothes, and rushed to the nearest post office.
Finally, at the end of the workday, after verifying all the procedures, I received the letter from the port city.
Upon seeing that the recipient was Wen Ruan and the sender was Jiang Yan, Wen Ruan breathed a sigh of relief.
He picked up the letter and, without thinking of returning to the small courtyard, headed straight for the main compound. Song Yan could only come back from work on weekends, and it wasn't time for him to return yet.
I imagine Song's mother is currently at home, feeling anxious and uneasy.
As soon as Wen Ruan entered the door, Song's mother hurriedly came out to greet her: "How is it? How is it?" She asked twice, somewhat anxiously.
Although she didn't specify what she wanted to ask, Wen Ruan immediately understood her meaning, nodded affirmatively, and then held up the letter she was holding.
Song's mother's eyes immediately focused on it. After looking at it carefully and confirming that the words "Jiangyan" were on it, she looked at Wen Ruan expectantly.
Wen Ruan didn't keep anyone in suspense and quickly opened the envelope. She then emptied out all the contents of the envelope, wanting to see if there was a photo of Jiang Yan inside.
Fortunately, besides the letter, there was also a thin card. Wen Ruan flipped it over and saw that it was indeed a photo of Jiang Yan working in a white coat. Wen Ruan looked at the background in the photo and guessed that she was working in a hospital in Gangcheng at the time.
Wen Ruan carefully examined the photo sent by Jiang Yan, and the more she looked at it, the more certain she became of her own thoughts.
"How is it, Ruan Ruan?" Song's mother asked anxiously from the side.
Wen Ruan didn't say anything, she just reached out and handed the photo directly to Song's mother.
Song's mother carefully took the photo and began to examine it closely, comparing it repeatedly with the photo of Yan Yan that she had seen before. The more she looked, the more she exclaimed, "So alike! So alike! Absolutely alike!"
"I'll call Xiao Heng right now!" Song's mother was a little excited and wanted to contact Song Heng immediately.
Seeing this, Wen Ruan quickly stopped her: "Mom, it's no use if the two of us think it looks like him. My older brother used to be with Yan Yan a lot. If he thinks it looks like him, then this matter can be confirmed. I'll send this photo to my older brother before I go to work tomorrow. Remember to let him check it."
"We need to let our elder brother see if my previous suspicions were correct!" Wen Ruan instructed.
“That makes sense, that makes sense…” Song’s mother nodded repeatedly.
Then she quickly copied Song Heng's address and gave it to Wen Ruan, asking her to send Song Heng the photos the next day. After that, she made arrangements to call Song Heng.
After finishing her busy work, Wen Ruan finally had time to read the letter Jiang Yan had written to her.
In her letter, Jiang Yan wrote that she was doing well and was currently working at her own hospital. She was pleasantly surprised that Wen Ruan had written to her and was very grateful for Wen Ruan's invitation. She congratulated Wen Ruan on finding a direction for her career development and mentioned that China was currently undergoing "reform and opening up" and was introducing foreign investment. Her family planned to actively respond to the policy and develop in mainland China. She expected to come to China for inspection around April when the weather was warmer.
She also expressed that she would definitely come to Beijing and hoped that Wen Ruan could take her sightseeing when she had time, just as she wrote in the letter!
Wen Ruan read the letter in its entirety and felt a surge of joy. She had a premonition that Jiang Yan and Song Heng would meet soon, and then everything else would come to light!
Wen Ruan hurriedly ran to Song's mother's side, where she was making a phone call to Song Heng.
The call was transferred several times before finally reaching Song Heng.
After Song's mother finally finished speaking excitedly, the two received the photo, and after telling Song Heng that the photo was extremely similar to the one in his hand, they saw Wen Ruan coming over and couldn't help but look at her questioningly.
“Mom, let me say a few words to my older brother,” Wen Ruan replied.
Song's mother quickly handed the phone to Wen Ruan, turned to the side, and looked at her intently, anticipating what she would say next.
"Brother, I just looked at Jiang Yan's letter again. She said she might come to Beijing around April. I'll send you the photos tomorrow. Remember to write home after you receive them."
"Let's see if our previous guesses can be confirmed."
"If my previous guess is correct, once she arrives in Beijing, I'll see if I can subtly probe her and find out how she ended up in Hong Kong..."
"And... could I see you...?" Wen Ruan hesitated for a moment before adding.
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