For a moment, time seemed to rewind.
In the evening, Jiang Huaixi followed Lu Zizheng back to the hotel. Before she could go upstairs to rest for a while, the car to take her back arrived.
Lu Zizheng stood at the entrance of the hotel, watching Jiang Huaixi, empty-handed as when she came, calmly get into the car. Then, she opened the car window and, in an indifferent tone, said, “You can go up now. Don’t act like you can’t bear to part with me. I didn’t take the coffee and cake I just bought for you with me…”
Lu Zizheng laughed, turned around, and went back into the hotel, waving her hand and saying, “Take care, I won’t see you off.”
Immediately, she heard the sound of the car starting.
Lu Zizheng stopped walking, turned around, and stood there for a long time, watching the car carrying Jiang Huaixi merge into the unending traffic, little by little, until it disappeared…
The heart seemed to slowly, slowly become empty and silent. Jiang Huaixi came and went in a hurry, but it was as if a hurricane had swept through her heart. The storm came fiercely, almost sweeping away all her calmness and composure when it hit, but when it left, she could hardly find any trace of its presence.
In the silence, her phone vibrated. She opened her bag and took it out to see a message from Jiang Huaixi: “If you don’t come up soon, the coffee will get cold…”
Lu Zizheng’s lips curved into a smile, and she replied: “Don’t flatter yourself. The coffee tastes good, but it’s a pity you can’t enjoy it.”
Putting her phone back, she looked at the endless stream of vehicles ahead, then at the coffee and cake in her hand. Lu Zizheng smiled and thought, might as well go in…
When returning to Linzhou, Lu Zizheng went alone. It was said that Lian Xuan had some work to deal with temporarily in Jiangbei. Lu Zizheng just heard it and didn’t care much. The past was already too complicated to explain, and the present, Lu Zizheng didn’t want to entangle any further. After going back, she would tidy up some things at Fengshang and then pack up to return to the translation agency, drawing a perfect full stop to her hurried encounter with Lian Xuan.
On the evening of the day she returned to Linzhou, Lu Zizheng reported to her mother, informing her that she would be coming home tomorrow to accompany her dear mother. Mother Lu happily said that she would definitely prepare a good meal and make up for her birthday, saying that she probably hadn’t eaten well outside and needed to nourish herself. She also reminded her to bring Huaixi along.
Lu Zizheng replied, saying that she didn’t care about her, as she always had people to serve her good food and drink every day, she wouldn’t be missing her.
After putting down the phone, Lu Zizheng hesitated but still sent a text message to Jiang Huaixi: “Do you have time tomorrow? If possible, come home with me for a meal.”
She rarely took the initiative to invite Jiang Huaixi like this, and just after sending the message, she felt anxious.
However, even after a long time, there was no vibration from the phone. Lu Zizheng carefully pulled down the phone’s settings page to confirm that the phone was not set to silent. She thought, maybe Jiang Huaixi was busy and hadn’t seen the message yet, maybe later.
She took out a book and read for a while, but couldn’t calm her mind. So, she simply turned off her phone and went to take a shower.
Half an hour later, when she came out of the bathroom, she turned on her phone. The phone indicated that there was one unread message.
She opened it, but it was a rejection from Jiang Huaixi: “Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy these days and can’t make it. Please send my regards to Auntie.”
For a moment, Lu Zizheng felt a bit lost and disappointed.
It seemed that over the years, this was the first time Jiang Huaixi had refused such a request from her. Of course, she had rarely given Jiang Huaixi such an opportunity to refuse. Maybe it was because she had never experienced the feeling of being rejected by Jiang Huaixi, Lu Zizheng found herself somewhat unable to let it go.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
The next day, she went to Fengshang to finish the handover work, and after reporting to the translation agency, she took a taxi back to her mother’s house. Since it was the weekend, Lu Zizheng stayed at her mother’s house after having dinner. She took a shower, lay on the bed, and still couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
On the bed, there was still the pillow that Jiang Huaixi used when she stayed over that day, lying quietly on the left side of her pillow. The single bed suddenly turned into a double bed.
Lu Zizheng lay on her side, quietly looking at it for a long time, then she punched the pillow heavily: “Who allowed you to occupy my bed…”
But after tossing and turning for a long time, she ultimately did not put the pillow away…
The next day, Lu Zizheng was woken up by a phone call. She reached for her phone, and it was her college counselor who she hadn’t contacted for a long time. She immediately sat up, becoming fully alert, and answered the call.
The counselor invited her to return to the school on Saturday to watch the 150th-anniversary celebration gala. At the same time, if she had the time, they wanted her to hold a seminar for the freshmen and talk about how she planned and spent her university life.
Lu Zizheng hesitated for a long time but still politely refused the teacher: “I don’t think I am qualified to guide the freshmen. I believe their path will not be more difficult than mine and will certainly be more brilliant.”
The teacher didn’t speak, seemingly unsatisfied with this reasoning.
Lu Zizheng had to sincerely say, “Teacher, you know, I have never been good at talking to others. And all my plans for university life were just to do my best so that no one could criticize me.”
The teacher sighed and had to say, “You, after all these years, still haven’t changed. I won’t force you to hold the seminar, but remember to come back and watch the gala if you have time.”
Lu Zizheng smiled, “I definitely will.”
The many years of life experience had already made Lu Zizheng come to an understanding. The events in a story are only truly understood by the people within the story, and the path one walks is only known to be right or wrong by the person walking it. In fact, there is no such thing as a necessarily right path in this world. The so-called road of life, if one can walk it happily, is enough. One’s own life does not need others to make annotations for you. She did not want others to interfere with her life, naturally, she also did not want to point fingers at others’ lives.
On that Saturday, Lu Zizheng, as usual, went to her mother’s house in the morning. After a lazy afternoon of eating with her mother, she leaned on the sofa, watching the planes flying across the sky outside the window, drawing long trails bit by bit. On a whim, she decided to go back to school.
Walking slowly from the east gate of the school, the water of Xiangsi Lake was still the same, with ripples gently spreading. Around the pavilion in the center of the lake, young couples sat in pairs. People carrying large shopping bags passed by, and from their youthful smiles, Lu Zizheng vaguely saw the time that had flowed past her eyes…
Unconsciously, she walked to the most familiar place in the university—the Jiang Ji Library. In those days, she could spend almost the entire day sitting there on weekends. Only here could she feel her most stable and comfortable heartbeat.
Leisurely walking up the steps, Lu Zizheng saw at the entrance that the managing auntie was still the same one from many years ago. Amidst all the changes, there seemed to be some things that remained unchanged. Her campus card could no longer be used, but fortunately, after registering, the auntie still let her in.
At this time, there was still a long way to go before the final exams, so there were only a few people scattered around in the library. Lu Zizheng randomly picked a book on the second floor and took it to her usual spot on the third floor, where she sat for an entire afternoon until she noticed that the sky had turned frighteningly dark.
She went downstairs and stood at the entrance to register her departure time. Just as she put down the pen, she heard the sound of “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh,” and a sudden downpour began.
Lu Zizheng stepped out and stood on the steps, momentarily caught in a dilemma.
Suddenly, a blue umbrella appeared above her head from behind, giving her a patch of clear sky. Jiang Huaixi’s cool and steady voice sounded from behind, “Let’s go.”
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Lu Zizheng turned her head and looked at Jiang Huaixi. For a moment, time seemed to rewind, as if she had gone back to that rainy night many years ago when a sudden downpour occurred.
Back then, it was late autumn in October. After her evening self-study session, Lu Zizheng went to the library and stayed there until it was almost closing time. However, just as she swiped her card and stepped out the door, she heard the sound of raindrops pattering on the leaves, and a sudden heavy rain began.
Lu Zizheng was wearing a thin dress and carrying a backpack. She watched as some boys cheerfully ran into the rain, while some girls dialed their phones to ask their roommates or boyfriends to bring them an umbrella. She just stood there quietly, hoping that the rain would stop soon.
A cool voice from behind her said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you.”
Lu Zizheng slightly turned her body and saw Jiang Huaixi standing behind her with an umbrella. In the hazy night, Lu Zizheng couldn’t clearly see Jiang Huaixi’s expression but could only see the star-like glimmers in her eyes.
Lu Zizheng turned her body back, clearly showing no intention of leaving with Jiang Huaixi.
However, Jiang Huaixi opened the umbrella and added calmly, “I don’t know if the rain will stop anytime soon, but I can be sure that the curfew for your dormitory is approaching.”
Lu Zizheng frowned slightly, raised her hand swiftly to shield her forehead, and prepared to dash into the rain.
But in the next moment, Jiang Huaixi held up the umbrella with one hand and reached out with the other to tightly grasp Lu Zizheng, pulling her down the steps. As Lu Zizheng struggled, she almost slipped. Jiang Huaixi turned her head coldly and gave her a stern look: “If you want to perform a free circus act for everyone here, go ahead and continue…”
The rain-soaked steps were too slippery, and Jiang Huaixi was walking quickly. Lu Zizheng, being pulled along, found it hard enough to maintain her balance and not slip. Weighing the pros and cons, Lu Zizheng reluctantly gave up on trying to break free.
After descending the steps, Jiang Huaixi closed the umbrella, tightly gripping Lu Zizheng’s hand, opened the car door, and shoved Lu Zizheng inside.
To avoid hitting her head, Lu Zizheng instinctively bent her body and fell inside. Jiang Huaixi leaned in, pushed her legs inside, and swiftly closed the car door.
Lu Zizheng sat up awkwardly from the car seat and reached for the door handle, but Jiang Huaixi had already entered the car and locked it. Seeing that the situation was irreversible, with new grudges added to old ones, Lu Zizheng could no longer bear it. In her anger, she fiercely struck the car window with her elbow.
Jiang Huaixi didn’t even look at her, but said coolly, “The sound is quite nice, crisp and pleasant. Want to try a few more times?”
Lu Zizheng inhaled, exhaled, took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then simply closed her eyes and said nothing more.
The car took just a few minutes to loop around from outside the campus to Lu Zizheng’s dormitory. Lu Zizheng sat in the car, eyes closed, completely unaware, motionless.
Jiang Huaixi glanced at her from the side, raised an eyebrow, and said coldly, “Oh, have you gotten so comfortable that you don’t want to get out of the car now?”
Lu Zizheng opened her eyes and saw the familiar building outside the car window. She immediately opened the car door and got out. As she closed the car door, Lu Zizheng frowned and said, “I won’t thank you.”
Jiang Huaixi, without even turning her head, responded indifferently, “That’s perfect, I wasn’t planning on saying ‘you’re welcome’ anyway.”
With a slam of the car door, Jiang Huaixi’s car sped away and soon disappeared into the vast night…
Thinking about it, even Lu Zizheng herself felt surprised. After all, how magical is the hand of time, to be able to turn the initially incompatible relationship between herself and Jiang Huaixi into what it is today.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
She snapped out of her memories but did not proceed down the steps. Instead, she asked Jiang Huaixi, “What are you doing here?”
Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow, her expression filled with charm, “On the day of the 150th anniversary celebration, you received an invitation, so how could you forget about me? Do you think you’re much more outstanding than I am?”
Lu Zizheng exposed her, “Oh, what a coincidence. Tell me, did my mom ask you to come for dinner tonight?” She must have called her mother.
Jiang Huaixi laughed, “Is Auntie inviting me to dinner tonight?”
The two walked down side by side, speaking to each other. Halfway down, a large group of people suddenly arrived. Leading the group was a woman in slender high heels, an elegant black long dress, and her usual high-coiled black hair. It was none other than Lian Xuan, whom she had not seen since parting ways in Jiangbei.
Lian Xuan stood at the bottom of the steps. On her left was a subordinate holding an umbrella for her, and on her right stood the vice principal of the school. Behind her was a grand entourage of men and women in suits, looking like a queen’s procession. She raised her head to look at Lu Zizheng and Jiang Huaixi. When her eyes met with Lu Zizheng’s, there seemed to be a fleeting sadness in her gaze, but it lasted only a moment before she looked away first. Lian Xuan gracefully stepped up and stood a short distance away on the steps, looking at Jiang Huaixi with a perfect smile on her face, and said warmly, “Miss Jiang, what a coincidence to meet you here.”
Jiang Huaixi merely smiled faintly at Lian Xuan and nodded slightly, acknowledging her greeting. Then, she held the umbrella and continued down the steps with Lu Zizheng, passing by Lian Xuan.
LP: Re-translated on July 05, 2024