Chapter 136: Beloved
The next day, they packed their things and went back. They had come with one suitcase, and when they left, they only had one more travel bag.
Before they left, Su Yu didn’t see any reluctance in Xia Qiange’s eyes. She just put the old-fashioned chain on the doorknob and tightened it. She threw the key into her bag and turned to leave.
Xia Qiange was always strong in front of others and weak behind them. Perhaps it was because she had cried secretly at night, or perhaps it was because there was really nothing here that was worth her remembering, which was why she had left so unhesitatingly.
The ticket was for the afternoon. Before they left, they had gone to many places. They had been walking and stopping with their suitcases and backpacks. If it wasn’t for the fact that no one was willing to come to this remote and backward small county, they would have been like tourists who had come here for the first time.
They had sneaked into the school from the small path where they had skipped class before, had visited the nearby market, and had even specially gone to the small park where the two of them had had their first private and anxious encounter…
The small park was already in a state of disrepair. There was no gardener to trim it, and the weeds and vines were growing wildly in the flowerbeds. The not-so-high wall was hidden under the grass and trees and branches, and the air was filled with a damp and cold smell.
They were worried that they wouldn’t be able to finish their tour, so they had set out very early. The world was supported by a dim light, and the park, with its high and withered branches, was even dimmer. But many of the streetlights were also broken, and only a few were on, like fireflies, flickering with a slight electric current.
Xia Qiange was walking in front of him with a light and quick pace, and she was like a fluttering butterfly, wandering among the grass, trees, and flowers. When she was happy, she was like a child who had not grown up. She didn’t know where she had picked a flower whose name Su Yu couldn’t call out.
In this season of withering, the flower that she had put by her ear was in full bloom, and it was extremely beautiful, like a heretic that was defying the rules of nature.
Xia Qiange had turned her head and had asked him at that time, asking him if he was beautiful.
Of course, Su Yu thought she was beautiful. She was beautiful with every smile and frown. A plant without self-awareness, how could it compare to her ethereal and agile beauty?
She had pestered him again, like a young girl with a strong possessiveness. She wanted to be with him all the time, to know… to possess everything about the other party. When people grew up, they would learn to let go. They would never talk about love all day and night. But she seemed to be the complete opposite.
“When did you like me?”
Xia Qiange’s lack of security was a fact that he had long since understood, and it also made him a little more careful.
“A long, long time ago… I’ve almost forgotten.”
His voice was hoarse and hazy, with a sense of the vicissitudes of time. It was as if this love had spanned more than a decade in his short life.
“So long? Then what about in the future?”
She picked a petal and spread it in her palm, as if she were asking unintentionally. But her fingers suddenly gathered, and the petal was suddenly crushed. The bright red, blood-like juice was squeezed out, and it had soaked her fair skin, and her transparent nails were also dyed a blood-red color. The light was hazy, and it was so beautiful that it made people doubt that all of this was an illusion.
Su Yu was silent for a few seconds. They were both people who lamented the injustice of fate, and they had both been deeply in a quagmire and could not extricate themselves.
When he was wandering around, he had met her, who had no branch to rely on. She was now a person who was going to get married to him. She was going to build a home with the other party, to properly place each other’s lives. It was not too much to ask for a promise about the future.
Now that they had said goodbye to the past together, there should be a brand new beginning.
So he nodded very heavily, his gaze particularly serious.
There were no grand or dazzling words—only the small square box in his pocket, hard and pressing uncomfortably against his body.
…
From the remote small county, they had returned to the capital. When they had returned, it was in the evening. The rows of neon lights were like a stream of light, and they were streaking across the dark night sky. This modern city was as brilliant and bright as day at night.
They had gotten off at the most prosperous and lively center of the capital. The engine had started, and the taxi had disappeared into the endless stream of traffic on the street. It was the festive days of the approaching New Year, and the streets were in a sea of red, and the streets were a sea of people, and their faces were full of smiles.
Xia Qiange pulled at his sleeve, as if she were afraid that with so many people, the person by her side would get lost. She patted the dust from Su Yu’s body and straightened his collar. The cold and gloomy evening wind blew through her dark and soft hair, which was on her forehead. Her eyes were bright, and a very faint dimple appeared on her lips.
“Why did you bring me here?”
She asked with some confusion, but her eyes were fixed on the colorful scenery around her. She had been in the capital for so long, and she had been working at her desk in the tallest office building in the capital all day. When she was tired, she would look down at the city’s nightlife from the floor-to-ceiling window. It was lively and noisy, but it had nothing to do with her.
Because there was always someone at home waiting for her. She should go home early.
“Let’s go for a walk. This place is much more fun than my hometown.”
“Oh, then…”, she blinked her round and dark eyes, and she held his arm. Her cheek rubbed against his shoulder, and she said with great dependence, “I’m hungry. I want to eat something good…”
…
Su Yu didn’t earn much from his part-time job, but he had saved most of what he had earned. He was not so poor that his pockets were empty. Xia Qiange was pestering him and saying that she was hungry, but she had pulled him to a fast food restaurant on the side of the street, which had a strong smell of greasy smoke.
A small table, which was covered with a greasy film that could not be wiped clean and was reflecting the light, was filled with hot and steaming fried chicken, hamburgers, and a bubbling cola…
He had never let her eat these things. She was weak, and she also had a slight stomach problem…
Just because he had not taken care of her in his previous life, and he did not know that she would always secretly order these things to eat behind his back. Her stomach problem had gotten worse, and her body’s secretion and circulation were also all problematic. Until one time, he had seen a tissue in the trash can that was stained with blood, and he had also thought of her coughing all night.
It was not until he had secretly found the medical report that she had pressed at the bottom of her wardrobe that he had known that the woman who had been sleeping in the same bed with him was already as weak as a skeleton that had been hollowed out of its flesh and blood.
That was also the first time he had gotten angry and had argued with her. He had slammed the door and had left. She had lowered her head and had compromised. Later, when her body had recovered, she still could not get rid of the already-serious and tormenting stomach problem. It was like a ferocious scar that was left after a wound had healed. He had regretted it very much, and he had not been able to let it go until they had broken up.
He always couldn’t help but think that if he had given her a little more care back then, so that the so-called love was no longer just a verbal form, would she have been as well-behaved and obedient as in this life, and would she have given her focus to her life? They would not have broken up, and that cold and bone-chilling dagger would not have been plunged into his heart.
“Why did you suddenly think of eating this?”
“You said it. I can do whatever I want today…”, Xia Qiange lowered her head and dealt with a small bag of ketchup. The bright red ketchup was all squeezed on the edge of the box of fries. The greasy fries were dipped in the sweet and sour ketchup. She was eating with great relish, and she did not forget to suck her fingers. Her eyebrows and eyes were curved, as if a crescent moon were swaying.
Perhaps it was because the sweet and sour aftertaste of the ketchup had dissipated. She licked her lips with some reluctance, and her voice was so hoarse that it was hard to tell it was her.
“At that time, I was still very young. My parents would fight every day. When my dad got angry, he would leave home and not come back all night. My mom would sit at the door and cry all the time. Her eyes were so swollen. I was afraid of them fighting. Everything in the house was smashed.”
“At that time, my mom probably still had a little bit of love left for me. Once, I was so scared by their fighting that I cried. To comfort me, my mom and dad took me to a fast food restaurant like this. The three of us… were also squeezed into such a small table. I was really happy. I thought they had made up.”
Xia Qiange smiled, her tone plain. But her eyes were misty and heavy, like an empty tube of toothpaste. She really couldn’t squeeze out much joy.
“Do you know? I’ve never eaten anything so delicious. Just that once. I’ve never forgotten that taste. But the second time I ate it, it didn’t have the same taste as before. It was clearly such a small table… but for one person, it was so big that I was about to get lost.”
“I’m sorry…”, he said abruptly.
“What did you say? Why are you apologizing?”, Xia Qiange was stunned for a moment and looked at him with some amusement.
“Nothing. Just consider me crazy.”
“You’re so strange today.” She threw a piece of fried chicken into her mouth, a satisfied smile on her face, but her eyes were squinting at him. “Are you hiding something from me? That’s why you’re apologizing, hmm?”
Su Yu avoided her joke and put the straw in the cola and handed it to Xia Qiange. “Eat slowly. We can go for a walk after we’ve finished. We haven’t been out in a long time.”
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
He stood up and left his seat. With his back to her, he slightly raised his head. The light from the white incandescent light was like a broken piece of glass, and it was sprinkled into his eyes. It was so prickly that his eyes were sore, and they were hot and wet.
The girl’s every word was as plain as if she were telling a distant story, without revealing a single bit of emotion.
The things he could have promised her a long time ago, he had to wait until now. He looked up at the transparent mirror and saw her past, which was tormented by the hardships of life.
He could have saved her a long time ago.
…
Xia Qiange pulled at Su Yu’s hand, but he was as if he were a nail, and he was stuck in place.
“What’s wrong? If we don’t go… people will think we’re bad for business.”
“Do you want to go in and try?”
“Me?”, she opened her eyes wide and pointed to herself. Her pink lips, which were not painted with lipstick, were half-open. “But we’re not now…”
“You have to try eventually. Then why can’t it be now?”
Su Yu smiled and pulled the stunned Xia Qiange into the shop behind him.
The lights were bright, and the decoration was gorgeous. All that could be seen were a dazzling array of wedding dresses. The pearl curtains and light gauze were swaying. Even on the lifeless mannequins, they were stunningly beautiful.
“Hello, is… this young lady trying on a wedding dress?”
A waiter on the side quickly came up and greeted them warmly.
“Yes. We’re getting married soon. She’s trying on a wedding dress.”
The girl turned her head and glared at him with some annoyance. Unfortunately, it was not very lethal. She didn’t have time to say too much, and a faint blush was on her face. She was pulled by the waiter to the dressing room.
Su Yu had almost forgotten how long he had been waiting. He only remembered that his palm was full of sweat, and his inner clothes were clinging to his back. His hand was subconsciously in his pants pocket, and his mind was like a movie, and he was constructing a picture.
He was so careless that he didn’t even notice when the girl walked up to him with her fluttering skirt. He only knew when she spoke first.
“Ah Yu, do I look good?”
She held the two sides of her dress, and her slender waist was slightly bent. The light gauze was hazy, and her curves were graceful. She asked him with a smile like a flower.
This was an unquestionable question. She was born with a beautiful and bright appearance. No matter how luxurious and complex the clothes were, they were just like adding flowers to a brocade, and they were meaningless.
His Adam’s apple rolled up and down, and he reached for the left pocket of his pants. He rehearsed the words he had rehearsed countless times in his heart. The next second, he made up his mind.
Su Yu suddenly knelt on one knee, and his long and straight figure was strong. He took out a box and handed it to the girl, and he slowly lifted the lid…
“Xia Qiange, marry me… will you?”
The dazzling light was reflected and was in her gradually wet eyes, as if it had lit up the starry sky. Her eyes were as captivating as a sea of stars.
She did not hesitate. Her eyes were as innocent as a brilliant and bright river of stars. The corners of her lips were slightly curved, and a small dimple that was as fragrant and beautiful as a wine was formed. It made his gaze never leave, and his love was sincere.
“I do.”
