Chapter 153: Sunset
It was already evening when they left.
Standing at the edge of the narrow corridor in the building, looking out the window, the sky was already painted with a layer of twilight. The temperature difference between inside and outside was too great, and the glass window was covered with fine water marks, reflecting a hazy, fragmented light.
The sunset in winter was not as passionate as in the scorching sun. The gloomy sunset fell with a cold brilliance. The golden color gradually transitioned to orange-red, and then was swallowed by the darkening sky.
“So beautiful…”
He Mu Qing stared blankly at the hazy colors outside the window. She stopped, but she still held onto Su Yu’s sleeve and refused to let go.
“What’s wrong?” Su Yu turned his head and asked.
“Let’s take a picture.”
The girl also turned her head and looked at Su Yu. The sunset shone brightly in her light pupils. Su Yu looked at the girl’s bright face, which was tinged with a few blushes. He was in a daze for a moment, then nodded.
“Cheese!”
He Mu Qing tilted her head slightly and leaned on Su Yu’s shoulder. The camera finally froze on the beautiful smiles on their lips. Behind them, the sunset was brilliant, and the years were quiet.
…
The streets after New Year’s Eve were not as deserted as imagined. Instead, they were unprecedentedly lively. The home could not hold back the young people who had returned from the city for the New Year. The streets, which were usually only a little lively during the New Year and other festivals, were now filled with a constant stream of people in the evening.
“Are you feeling better from your fever?”
He Mu Qing stood on her tiptoes, her cool palm on Su Yu’s forehead, her expression particularly serious as she tested his temperature. She suddenly frowned. “Hmm… I can’t tell.”
“Tsk, don’t make trouble.” Su Yu smacked his lips and pushed the girl’s hand away. “I’ll be fine after a shot and a sleep. And… I’ve already finished your soup, but it seems I accidentally spilled some. There’s not much left.”
“Oh, as long as you drank it.”
He Mu Qing didn’t want to dwell on this topic. She pointed in the opposite direction of home.
“Let’s go to the night market before we go back… my mom doesn’t know I got out of class early.”
“It’s very late.”
“The night market is best visited late. You don’t know when you’ll be back next time.”
He Mu Qing pulled Su Yu’s arm and shook it constantly, her voice soft and sweet, her light brown eyes filled with a charming smile. Su Yu was a little not used to such a gentle girl. He always felt that something had changed, but he couldn’t grasp any clues when he thought about it.
“Sigh, you just want to use me as a shield, right?” Su Yu saw through He Mu Qing’s thoughts at a glance. “But don’t be too late. It’s the New Year. Your aunt will be worried.”
“Alright, alright. I know.”
The setting sun plated the street with a golden edge. The colorful lights that were used to attract customers gradually lit up. The vendors shouted loudly, and the smoke from the cooking drifted with the cold wind. The air was filled with the fragrance of food. As they walked slowly, they were stained with a faint smell of fireworks.
He Mu Qing secretly glanced at Su Yu in the mottled sunset, but she quickly looked away. Her thick-soled combat boots lightly stepped on the ground, a little hesitant. It was the first time she felt that looking at the boy was something she had to be concerned about. She was worried about exposing… the love in her eyes.
“Su Yu…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
The boy’s clear and bright voice sounded like a gurgling stream in her ear. He lowered his gentle eyebrows and looked at her. The dark red sunset shone on his long, sparse eyelashes, creating a fan-shaped shadow under his eyes.
“Don’t… don’t look at me. Look ahead when you’re walking. You’ll hit a telephone pole.”
He Mu Qing pushed Su Yu’s head back. The setting sun spread a warm blush on her cheeks. She wished it would snow heavily now, so that she could bury her hot face in the snow and stop the ripples in her heart.
“Do you… like Xia Qian Ge?”
“Huh?” Su Yu frowned in confusion.
He Mu Qing pushed Su Yu’s head back again. “Don’t look over here. Just answer me like this.”
“I…”
The sunset completely disappeared into the mountain stream. The cool moonlight and the dim yellow lights intertwined, spilling onto the street. The street suddenly became deserted.
“I don’t like her. Hmm… I don’t like her.”
“You said that before. Then yesterday you still…” He Mu Qing’s hand on Su Yu’s cheek slowly loosened, but she was still persistent.
“That was to save someone. I can’t just offer myself to her after helping her once, right?”
“Hmph, I… I think you’re just afraid to say you like her. Coward.”
“Then does Mu Qing have someone she likes? Shouldn’t a girl your age have a crush or something? I don’t seem to have heard any rumors about you at school before.”
“Oh, there’s a sugar painting stall in front. I haven’t had this in a long time.” He Mu Qing suddenly raised her voice. She shouted, drowning out Su Yu’s voice. “Let’s go buy some. There are not many people now.”
He Mu Qing seemed to have not heard Su Yu’s question at all. She ran a few steps forward, leaving only a hasty retreating figure. But the faded, brilliant sunset climbed onto the corners of her slightly upturned lips. The withered grass in her heart was revived with a little bit of life. It struggled to climb out of the soil and straightened its slender stem.
…
“How did Old Mo’s sign get so broken? I’m afraid the shop will collapse by the time he comes back. But he seems to have found a girlfriend. So fast.”
Su Yu looked up at the ivy that had covered the sign in the summer. A few withered yellow leaves were still hanging on the dry and thin vines, swaying in the wind, vaguely revealing the sign that was covered by the vines.
“That damn Old Mo. He’s so happy with his girlfriend that he’s forgotten everything. He wouldn’t even teach me how to make mango pudding before, saying it was his secret recipe…”
“Didn’t Old Mo say he’d be back in the summer?”
“Who knows? And summer is still a long, long time away.”
He Mu Qing tore off a few small advertisements that were pasted on the door and couldn’t help but start to estimate the days until the summer vacation. When school started again, there would be a 100-day countdown to the college entrance examination.
A hundred days… she puffed out her fair cheeks and counted silently. She had always felt that there was not enough time, and she was afraid that she hadn’t done enough questions. But it was the first time she hoped that the hour hand on the clock could turn faster. She didn’t know if time could bring her the courage she had been lacking. But at least… at least they could be a little closer.
“Why don’t we… give Old Mo a video call? It’s the New Year. It’s not good to just send him a ‘Happy New Year’.”
“No… don’t call.”
He Mu Qing pressed down on Su Yu’s hand, which was reaching into his pocket. She looked at Su Yu, her bright and light pupils wide. “You can’t video call Old Mo, at least not when I’m here!”
“Why?” Su Yu looked at the girl’s expression with suspicion, but her evasive eyes made it impossible for him to find any fault. He could only mutter a few words. “You’re so strange today. Did you do something wrong?”
“I… I made a bet with Old Mo. I have to stay ten meters away from electronic products before the college entrance examination. I don’t want him to laugh at me.” He Mu Qing suddenly answered with great conviction.
“Haha, only someone like Old Mo would play such a boring game with you.” Su Yu put his phone in his pocket. “You didn’t bring your phone, so you’ve been spending my money. Remember to give me half of your lucky money later.”
“Pfft, you wish.” He Mu Qing rolled her eyes at Su Yu and walked towards the bus stop by herself. “Let’s go home.”
“Are you done playing?”
“Yeah, I’m done.”
There was no need to be stingy with this moment. They still had a long, long way to go together. Even if the sunset reached its end, it would not be their end. They would not end so quickly, like the evergreen ivy.
A hundred days… it’s not too late.
