(1)
“How… so sudden.” An Jing blinked. At that moment, she had many things she wanted to say, but when they reached her lips, she didn’t know what to say.
“If I leave earlier, I can go to more places and have fun. Anyway… we’ve already graduated.”
An Jing licked her lips and subconsciously glanced at Zhu Ying.
“So sneaky, Xiao Ru!” Zhu Ying complained loudly. “If we hadn’t come today, would we have never known you’re leaving tomorrow!”
“I was thinking… I’d tell you after graduation.”
“Why do you have to leave secretly?”
Wang Xinru stood there stunned for a moment, then finally squeezed out a reluctant smile. “I don’t know either.”
“No matter what, you have to let everyone know you’re leaving.” Zhu Ying puffed out her cheeks angrily. “After you’re gone, where are we supposed to throw you a farewell party?”
“I… I guess that’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you in advance…” Wang Xinru lightly licked her teeth, her eyes trying hard to smile but unable to hide her melancholy. “I’m leaving anyway…”
“No matter what, you can’t run away from it.” Zhu Ying stared seriously into her eyes. “You have to say a proper goodbye to everyone before you leave!”
“Yeah, don’t just disappear without a word like in elementary school, and we can’t even reach you—even if you go abroad, it’s not like you vanish from the world.” An Jing nodded firmly. “I’ll call Zhou Chao and A Qiang over right now!”
“I’ll call Qiqi too!”
Wang Xinru’s eyes drooped slightly, but a smile couldn’t help spreading across her face. “Thank you…”
“You have to say a proper goodbye before you leave.” Zhu Ying emphasized again.
“Let’s have dinner here at Wangwang’s place tonight!”
“But… there’s no food left at home.”
“It’s okay, let Zhou Chao bring something. He can handle that kind of thing for sure.”
“Phew…” Wang Xinru took a deep breath, looked at An Jing’s serious eyes, and then subconsciously tilted her face upward.
The sky was so blue, the clouds so soft.
Just like that summer when she left.
But… there was something different too…
(2)
The old green electric fan was slowly shaking its head, rotating bit by bit, occasionally making a creaking sound.
It made you worry it might get stuck at any moment and completely fall apart.
But in fact, it had been like that for years, yet it was still being used until now.
Zhou Chao sat at the table, playing a multiplayer match of Counter-Strike, while Xu Xia sat cross-legged in his lap, quietly watching the fast-moving game screen without making a fuss.
“Can you really see clearly? It’s so dizzying.”
“Haha, you get used to it after a while. Especially when you’re playing, you don’t really feel dizzy.” Zhou Chao laughed and answered. Suddenly his phone buzzed with a vibration, and just as his character turned a corner, before he could react, there was a bang—the screen spun wildly, and the colors turned to black and white.
“Damn, you scared me…” he muttered irritably, picking up the phone. “What does An Jing want?”
“An Jing… your good friend?”
“Yeah, my best buddy. Not blood brothers, but closer than brothers.” Zhou Chao nodded and casually pressed the answer button. “Yo? You better have a good reason, you made me die.”
“Listen, Wangwang is taking a plane tomorrow…”
“Huh? Leaving the country that soon?”
“Not exactly going abroad, but close enough. She said she’s going to travel around the country before she leaves.”
“Traveling alone? Can she handle it?”
“She said she’s staying with relatives. Anyway, she’s leaving tomorrow. Are you coming over today?”
“Of course I’m coming. Last time she left we didn’t get to say goodbye. Can’t miss it this time.”
“Right… We’re waiting for you at her place. Oh, and bring some food—takeout or ingredients, anything. We’re having dinner at her place tonight.”
“No problem.” Zhou Chao hung up, hesitated, and looked at Xu Xia, not quite sure how to bring it up.
“Sounds like something important?”
“Yeah. I have to say goodbye to a childhood friend. Might not see her much from now on.” Zhou Chao told the truth.
Xu Xia turned her head and rubbed her cheek against Zhou Chao’s forehead. “Male or female?”
“Female… but you…”
“It’s okay, go ahead~”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s fine. I’ve been hanging out at your place all day anyway. Time to go home.”
Zhou Chao licked his dry lips and left a light lip print on Xu Xia’s cheek. “Thank you.”
(Three)
The sky gradually darkened. The evening seemed to come faster than usual today.
This old house, soon to be deserted, was filled with lively voices again, driving away its emptiness.
Zhang Qiqi was the first to arrive. She was already busy at the stove preparing dinner.
Fang Qiang was the last to come. He brought quite a few local specialties—honey, cured meat, and the like.
“Take these with you. You can eat them later. And these pecans…”
“Ah Qiang, I really can’t take those. Especially the cured meat—” Wang Xinru said with a wry smile. “I’m not even sure the honey will pass security…”
“No matter what, you have to take the honey and pecans. If the cured meat won’t work, just give it to An Jing. He’s going to the provincial capital by his family’s car anyway.”
“Mm… thank you.”
“Don’t be so polite. We’ve practically grown up together, right? You know An Jing as well as you know me.”
“Ah Qiang is still the same as when we were kids.”
“Really? Haha, I thought I’d matured a lot.”
“You’ve matured in the way you do things, but in essence, you’re still you.”
“What about me, Wangwang? Have I matured a lot?” Zhou Chao, who was helping add firewood, also chimed in with a laugh.
“Zhou Chao? Hmm… before, you still seemed a bit… childish. But recently you’ve suddenly matured a lot.”
“People… always need to go through things to grow up.” Zhou Chao shook his head with a smile.
“Yeah, you’re quite different from before.” Zhang Qiqi blinked at Zhou Chao. “Finally found your true love?”
“Ha… haha…” Looking at the girl he had once had a fling with, Zhou Chao felt a bit embarrassed. “Yeah…”
“Congratulations.” Zhang Qiqi’s tone was serious. “Back then, I thought you’d stay lost forever.”
“It’s never too late to turn back. No matter when you wake up, it’s still in time.”
“Ah Qiang, since when did you become such a love expert, huh? Trying to show off?”
“Hey! Haha—”
“Smells so good. Is the rice ready?” An Jing sniffed. “I can smell the rice.”
“Almost done. Let it steam a little longer.” Zhang Qiqi nodded.
The wooden door, left ajar, was pushed open with a creak. Zhu Ying came in carrying two large bottles of cola, shouting loudly, “I got the drinks! I wanted to buy alcohol, but that boss refused to sell me any, not even beer—it’s so annoying!”
“Probably because you look too much like a kid…”
“Hmph, Xiao Jing looks even more like a kid than me!”
“Haha, which one of us here isn’t a kid? We’re all underage.” Zhou Chao laughed loudly. “Nobody pretend to be mature, okay?”
“What’s wrong with being a kid? We kids—we have our own way of celebrating.”
“Qiqi, are you almost an adult?” Zhu Ying suddenly asked.
“Huh? Zhang Qiqi is the oldest among us?”
“Fang Qiang—what are you saying! Who’s old!”
“Ahem, I didn’t say anything…”
The dinner ended in that noisy atmosphere, but An Jing’s thoughts were still stuck at the beginning of the meal.
This dinner felt shorter than any dinner she had ever experienced.
Yet in reality, everyone had eaten for a full two hours.
And even though they only drank cola and Sprite, An Jing felt a bit dizzy, as if she were drunk.
“Xiao Jing… Xiao Jing?” Zhu Ying gently patted her shoulder, bringing her back from her daze.
“Huh? Ah…!” An Jing jerked her head up. “What’s wrong?”
“Time to go.”
“So soon…” An Jing looked down and realized that the dishes and chopsticks had already been cleared away. The kitchen was all cleaned up, as if no one had ever cooked dinner there today. Fang Qiang was waiting by the door for the others to leave, idly fiddling with the hanging basket plant by the window.
It wasn’t early, but it wasn’t late either. The old man from next door moved his reclining chair under the osmanthus tree by the entrance, slowly fanning himself with an old pu’tuan fan, and lay down. He casually pressed the play button on the cassette player on the bench beside him.
The hiss of the tape was especially clear in the quiet night, as gentle as a whisper blowing softly into one’s ear.
“Yeah, time to go. Zhou Chao will take us back; Fang Qiang will take Qiqi back.”
“Ah… okay.” An Jing felt like there were still many things left undone today. After all, this farewell dinner had been so rushed. No one was prepared; everyone came on a whim.
It was lively, sure.
But it still felt not solemn enough.
Like graduating from junior high without a graduation ceremony—it left a hollow feeling in the heart, a bit unpleasant.
“Then…” An Jing was the last to stand up from her chair. She looked up at Wang Xinru, who was smiling gently. She nodded lightly and asked tentatively, “I’m off?”
“Mm, take care on the road.”
“…Mm.”
An Jing followed Zhu Ying slowly out of the house, standing where the dim yellow light of the incandescent bulb couldn’t reach.
This was the darkness of the night.
Behind her, the river flowed quietly.
The old man at the door of the next house took out the cassette, blew on it twice, then clicked it back in with a snap.
Wang Xinru followed to the doorway, still wearing that gentle and peaceful smile.
“Leaving?” An Jing asked again.
“Mm, I’ll walk you a few steps.” Wang Xinru stepped over the threshold, followed An Jing to the bottom of the steps, and stopped by the babbling little river.
It was the same river. Under the moonlight, it was still so serene, but the sound was much clearer, as if rushing right inside An Jing’s ears.
The old man at the next door’s entrance lay down comfortably, and the old cassette player began to play an old song:
“In the village there’s a girl named Xiao Fang, she’s pretty and kind…”
“Wangwang, you don’t have to walk us to the intersection. You… get some rest early.” An Jing waved her hand and walked over to Zhou Chao’s red motorcycle, which had a rustic country style.
“Mm.”
“On the night before you return to the city, you and I came to the riverbank. Tears that never fell before, flow along the river…”
“Make new friends… be… a little more proactive.”
“I will.”
“Thank you for your love, I won’t forget it in this life. Thank you, for your gentleness…”
“Well, we’re off. You have a flight tomorrow, so leave early. Don’t be late…”
“Okay.”
“Then… we’re leaving.” An Jing grabbed the motorcycle seat. Zhu Ying had already gotten on ahead of her.
“Take care.”
An Jing didn’t answer immediately. She slowly, little by little, got on the motorcycle, then turned slightly and waved gently at her.
“Thank you—for your gentleness, accompanying me through those years…”
“We’re off!” Zhou Chao yelled.
“Wangwang, see you around!” Fang Qiang didn’t look back, but his voice cracked a little.
“Goodbye, Xiao Ru~”
“Goodbye.” Wang Xinru still smiled gently, but her voice trembled slightly.
Both motorcycles roared to life, humming as they slowly drove out of the village.
An Jing was still waving, but her movements grew bigger and more forceful.
She didn’t make a sound, but that silent “goodbye” still echoed clearly in Wang Xinru’s ears.
“How many times I look back at the road I’ve walked, sincerely blessing you, kind girl…”
“How many times I look back at the road I’ve walked, you stand by the river…”
The moonlight shimmered in the river. The sound of motorcycles faded into the distance, leaving only Wang Xinru’s murmured words.
“Goodbye…”