Back to the teenage years

Chapter 579 Peach Blossoms Don't Need to Bloom (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

My first encounter with her was on the green grass.

The cool grass lay beneath her, rubbing against the exposed parts of her fair skin. Trees pressed down before her, and the azure sky above them seemed even closer; after everything was turned upside down, the world seemed intimate and reliable.

A warm breeze blew across the fields.

She loves the warm breeze; it gives her a feeling of being enveloped in warmth. It tells her that winter is still very, very far away, and she can enjoy this pleasant time.

Elderly men and women passed by, greeting each other and joking in old Beijing dialect, just like family. Their relaxed and calm demeanor always infected her. Just then, a small radio hanging in the treetop suddenly blared Na Ying's high-pitched voice: "Looking at flowers through the mist, gazing at the moon in the water, can you discern this ever-changing world..."

In fact, the initial impression of life in the capital city of Yanjing—a sense of desolation, intoxication, and a blend of history and the present—is almost entirely concentrated on this land: the ruins of the Yuan Dynasty capital city wall.

"Sunlight filtering through the leaves, doesn't it look like molten gold?"

"Have you ever seen molten gold?" Zhang Yunqi's arm was pressed down by Chu Jian's neck. Unable to adjust his position, he felt stiff and uncomfortable, like Jesus on the cross.

Chu Jian said, "It's just an imagination. I've never seen many of these things. I just imagined them and ended up fooling myself."

As she said this, she nestled her head in Zhang Yunqi's arms, her clear cheek pressed against his neck, clinging to him like a little girl: "Like now, lying in your arms, but when I think about how you're going back tomorrow, it feels like this is a dream."

Zhang Yunqi laughed and said, "Is this a quality of an excellent writer? Being good at making associations and always struggling with one's own inner self?"

After thinking for a moment, Chu Jian said, "I don't think so. In fact, everyone is struggling with their own inner self, but everyone thinks that only they are like that. The outside world is always beautiful, and other people's lives are always beautiful."

At this point, Chu Jian turned her head to look at Zhang Yunqi. Her eyes were still as clear and clean as they were in high school, but compared to the naivety of that time, they seemed to have gained a bit more mature wisdom: "In fact, happiness is not elsewhere, the present moment is everything, the scenery in your eyes, the food in your bowl, the people around you."

Zhang Yunqi reached out and touched Chu Jian's fair cheek, and smiled, "Wife, you're really getting more and more insightful."

******
The two lay on the grass and chatted for a long time.

They didn't get up and leave until it got dark.

The two walked to Huangtingzi, where the scenery was better. There was a restored "Jimen Misty Trees", which was one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of the Capital" during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Beijing Film Academy is located here, so you'll occasionally encounter a couple of students in love on the street; you can tell they're students from the film academy just by looking at their attire.

They treat this area like their backyard, and it's said to get even more lively at night. Some unemployed vagrants who rob and sexually assault people also like to hang out in this area. After all, film school students do look more like real people than students from other schools; of course, before the first meeting, it was a bit like Sister Feng meeting Liu Yifei.

The sky was changing, and occasional rumbles of thunder could be heard.

The two hadn't walked far when they reached the peony garden area, when a sudden downpour began.

Zhang Yunqi remembered that Chu Jian's cold hadn't gotten better yet, so he took Chu Jian's hand and tried to find shelter from the rain at a roadside shop, and then flag down a car to go straight back to Peking University.

Upon first meeting, he suddenly said, "We're all soaked by now, and with the clouds gathering, why don't we continue our walk in the rain?"

"That won't do. You're still recovering from your cold."

Have you ever deliberately gotten caught in the rain?

"That happened a long time ago."

"Then let's try it once." Chu Jian, who was usually well-behaved and almost never did anything against common sense, suddenly became willful at this moment. She took Zhang Yunqi's hand and slowed down, as if they were taking a walk in the sunshine.

The rain also drove many people away.

Only two people remained in the world, tightly enveloped by the rain curtain.

The rain quickly soaked Chu Jian's hair, and water droplets flowed down her slightly messy temples, sliding quickly down her face. A wild beauty flashed on her slender body, giving Zhang Yunqi a strong feeling of palpitations.

He reached out and pulled Chu Jian into his arms.

After the rain completely soaked the girl, her blue dress clung to her body, revealing a breathtaking beauty between her slender frame and skin.

A few students passed by under the eaves of a roadside house, watching the two people kissing in the rain with curiosity or envy.

******
The first person I met was an old lady who was the doorman of the dormitory.

The old lady was a native of rural Shandong. She often sat on the windowsill of the doorman's house knitting sweaters, knitting in winter and knitting in summer, as if the sweater was knitted for the earth to wear.

Besides this, the old lady had another important task every day: to monitor people entering and leaving the building through the window. However, today was the weekend, and there weren't many students coming and going. It was drizzling again. She had previously dried thick quilts in the square in front of the dormitory. Zhang Yunqi, who was soaked to the bone, followed Chu Jian and sneaked in quietly while the old lady was taking in the quilts.

When I first arrived, I noticed that several of my roommates hadn't returned from their spring outing, and the dorm was empty.

Before their first meeting, Chu Jian had consistently refused to let Zhang Yunqi sleep in her dorm, which was indeed a taboo for the girl. However, after rushing back from Du Dan Garden in the rain, she didn't insist anymore at Zhang Yunqi's insistence. Perhaps she was thinking that Zhang Yunqi would be leaving tomorrow, and she didn't know when they would meet again.

Chu Jian took a hot shower, changed into clean pajamas, and ate a boxed lunch with Zhang Yunqi in the dormitory. The boxed lunch was something they had grabbed from a random roadside restaurant on their way back to school after getting caught in the rain. It tasted quite rustic and homey. Zhang Yunqi was starving and ate with relish, even watching Chu Jian drink the chicken soup he had packed. After quickly finishing the meal, Zhang Yunqi made a packet of cold medicine he had bought on the way and gave Chu Jian four cold pills. He didn't have any clothes to change into, so he used Chu Jian's toiletries to take a shower in the bathroom, hung up his clothes, and then hurriedly crawled naked into Chu Jian's bed.

The beds in the dormitory are all 1.2 meters wide.

It's very cramped for two people to sleep in; their bodies are almost pressed tightly together.

As soon as Zhang Yunqi hugged Chu Jian, he felt that her soft body was covered in sweat, and her pajamas were soaked. He reached out and touched her forehead: "Your cold is not better yet, and now you've caught a chill from the rain. Your cold will get worse later."

At first glance, her voice was soft and sweet: "It's okay, Yunqi. I've never been so willing to catch a cold before."

Zhang Yunqi reached out and touched the girl's hair in his arms, saying, "Silly girl, you always do things that break my heart."

Chu Jian tilted her head up and kissed Zhang Yunqi on the neck, then said with a pursed mouth, "By the way, Yunqi, our dormitory opens at 6 a.m., and the dormitory aunt will be at work at 6:30 a.m. I will take you downstairs at 6 a.m., and then I will take you to the cafeteria for breakfast. You should like the braised pork offal in Yanjing. After we finish eating, I will accompany you to the airport."

Zhang Yun nodded and said okay.

He then said, "You're not feeling well, how about I hold you while we sleep?"

"You're leaving tomorrow, and I want to whisper something to you."

"What are you whispering about?"

"Hmm...anything is fine."

"You've read so many books, do you want me to read you a few passages and see if you can tell me their sources?"

"Okay."

"At 4:30 a.m., the flowers in the sea are still awake."

“I always feel that you should be by my side at this time.” Chu Jian said, “This is Mr. Kawabata Yasunari’s masterpiece, ‘The Flower That Never Sleeps’.”

"The sea has an end, and the moon has its phases."

"There are imperfections in the world, but as long as you are here, they can make up for them." Chu Jian said softly, "Hmm... This must be what Mr. Qian Zhongshu said to Ms. Yang Jiang. I often think of Ms. Yang Jiang's 'Meng Po Soup'."

"Hey, never mind, never mind. My wife is the top liberal arts student and a graduate of Peking University. These questions are no problem for you at all."

"Clouds rise."

"Ok?"

"I love you."

"How much do I love you?"

"Tell the peach blossoms they don't need to bloom, because the one I love is right beside me." Chu Jian's voice was like a dream, soft and gentle, flowing quietly in the night. At this moment, there was a breeze outside the window, and the distant sky was already dark and gloomy. The moon hung on the treetops, round and full, casting a warm light on the world.

The two people, sleeping in each other's arms, whispered to each other for a while in the warm light, about the past and about the future... Perhaps because of her cold and the medicine she had taken, Chu Jian gradually fell silent and drifted off to sleep sweetly in Zhang Yunqi's arms.

the next day.

The Sun Also Rises.

When Chu Jian woke up, it was already broad daylight.

In a hazy state, she saw that the dormitory seemed to have become much cleaner. After getting out of bed, she found that the wardrobe had been neatly rearranged, and the table, which had been messy from eating takeout last night, was now orderly and spotless. Only Yunqi was no longer there.

My heart felt empty the moment I saw him.

She instinctively picked up her phone, intending to call and ask him how he got out, when she saw a text message pop up on her screen:
"Honey, I washed the wet clothes from last night and hung them out to dry on the balcony. I also washed your shoes and hung them out to dry on the windowsill. Remember to bring them in when they're dry. The weather in Yanjing is getting warmer. I put your thick clothes in the big suitcase. I took out your summer dresses and coats. I put your cold medicine on the desk. You need to take it for two more days, three times a day, four pills each time."

Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, I didn't wake you. I left by myself at six o'clock sharp. By the time you woke up, I should have already boarded the plane.

Good morning, I love you, Yu.

After reading the last word, I put down my phone.

Spring was almost over in Yanjing, the capital city. The empty dormitory was still a bit chilly, but Chu Jian's heart was warmed by the warmth.

She looked out the window; the sky was bright. She glanced at the cold medicine on the table, next to a lunchbox and a bottle of milk. A tissue covered the lunchbox; she lifted it to reveal a whole box of apples cut into small pieces, even with toothpicks inserted…

******
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