September 29th, the dormitory lights were about to go out. Shi Nian rubbed her eyes and said goodbye to her online friend, Yan Qi.
[10]: Sorry, I have to log off now. By the way, I won’t be coming online tomorrow. Good night.
"10" was her userna. To be honest, what first caught her attention about Yan Qi, and what drew Yan Qi to notice her, was indeed this userna. Since both of their usernas were related to numbers, they probably found it amusing.
After saying good night, Shi Nian directed her mouse toward the close button, but couldn’t help holding her breath and paused. Then she quietly watched his avatar.
Usually, after she said goodbye, his avatar would also soon dim.
She didn’t know when it started, but it seed like he ca online just because she was online. If she logged off, he would certainly disappear imdiately after.
This feeling made her heart feel warm.
And she herself didn’t know when she started to beco more possessive. Clearly aware that there were very few girls on this BBS, and knowing that every ti she left, he would leave too... However, she still needed to see his avatar dim itself to feel at ease.
Then she wouldn’t have to worry that he would et other girls in that virtual space.
But tonight was a bit special; his avatar hadn’t dimd yet.
She bit her lip, feeling a hint of curiosity rising.
While she hesitated, he suddenly sent a ssage: "Why aren’t you coming online tomorrow?"
Shi Nian stared at the screen, recalling his earlier pause. It was as if she could see through the screen a rebellious face, very serious, wanting to ask but hesitating, not wanting to break the principle of not prying into each other’s real lives as online friends.
But ultimately, he still asked.
She replied cheerfully, "Because in China, we have a long holiday for the National Day on October 1st, and I’m going back ho. Tomorrow is the 30th, and I bought a train ticket for tomorrow. After class tomorrow afternoon, I won’t have ti to go online, I have to go directly to the train station."
He paused for a while before asking again, "How many days will you be absent?"
Shi Nian thought about it: "Seven days for the National Day holiday, plus tomorrow, it should be eight days."
Thinking about not being able to contact him for eight days made her feel a sense of lancholy.
From the ti she finished the college entrance examination until today, it’s been almost four years since she got to know him. In these four years, apart from the first two years of being just a regular online friend, only discussing theories, later on... after realizing her own feelings for him in the past two years, she hadn’t gone this long without seeing him.
He was silent again for a long ti, and she tried to smile, knowing she should log off.
Finally, he also typed a long string: 888888888888.
In the BBS era, this ant goodbye. Shi Nian could only try to lift the corners of her mouth and say "Goodbye" once more.
After Shi Nian said this goodbye, the dormitory lights went out. She disappeared from his sight just like that.
Across the internet cables and across the ocean, Tang Yanqing stared at the screen, biting his lip in frustration.
In M Country, it was already daylight, and the morning light filled the window fras. He had stayed up all night, yet she vanished with a misunderstanding.
Bloody hell, his string of "8"s wasn’t saying goodbye, he was subconsciously typing an endless line of 8s because he was thinking of those eight days they couldn’t see each other.
Eight days, an unbearable eight days.
He hadn’t even sorted out his feelings, and she thought he was saying goodbye, then disappeared from his sight!
Frustrated, he closed his laptop and ruffled his hair as he stood up.
At this mont, he slightly hated the series of principles he had set before: like not leaving any contact information from the real world, including phone numbers and emails.
He folded his arms and stood in front of the world map on the wall, stretching out his fingers to asure the distance between China and M Country.
Having been asured many tis, a fingerprint had been left on that line.
asuring it once more made the wish in his heart even clearer.
Yes, he wanted to et her.
Couldn’t wait to et her.
Eight days were too long, and the thousands of miles between the two countries were simply irrelevant.
With his mind made up, he smiled, reopened his laptop, and reached out to contact another friend he t on the BBS.
The internet user had the userna "Gu Cheng," which imdiately caught his attention. He thought the user might be similar to the real Gu Cheng—a poet, by nature romantic—but participating in this logic-based detective BBS made people feel a bit contradictory.
He went up to chat for a bit and was pleasantly surprised. The cases that this person described were quite good overall and showed potential. Thus, he kept paying attention to this person.
However, "Gu Cheng’s" expertise didn’t hold for long before being revealed. It only took him a few tests to find out the truth: from Gu Cheng’s tone and perspective in expressing opinions, he could tell Gu Cheng was likely a small-ti hooligan, a streetwise person, therefore with a significant air of the streets.
And the reason this person could share sowhat decent cases initially was because he had once been the "other side" in those detective scenarios; in other words, the one deduced by police and eventually caught.
Tang Yanqing also found it interesting to chat about detective work with soone who ca from the opposite side. After conversing with Gu Cheng for a period, he realized Gu Cheng’s past cris weren’t a big deal either. Mostly, they involved bravado and thoughtlessness, leading to minor offenses, typically resulting in two years in prison with three years suspended, then reoffending, accumulating, thus frequently experiencing short stays in jail.
He couldn’t stand foolish people and so took the chance to give Gu Cheng so pointers, teaching him how not to get caught by the police and how to complete his collection tasks without breaking the law. Gu Cheng succeeded a few tis and then idolized Tang Yanqing, calling him "Master" and always expressing the desire to repay him. He said people in the underworld cannot owe debts of gratitude; otherwise, they’d never be able to raise their heads.
Tang Yanqing decided to fulfill this wish for "Gu Cheng" this ti.
He had to et her, and it certainly couldn’t be in an ordinary way.
He wanted to give her a surprise. He wanted her to fall in love at first sight. He wanted it to be unforgettable.
.
He knew the reason she couldn’t go online during this National Day was because she went back ho to participate in the high school’s anniversary celebration and then attended various class reunions.
She couldn’t resist his pestering and had once described her school uniform style to him.
He then closed his eyes, imagining the soft sunlight, and a girl in a blue shirt, black skirt, and red scarf stood in the light mist, her slightly curled hair gently fluttering in the breeze.
He smiled, quickly made plans, and instructed everything to "Gu Cheng."
The original plan was for "Gu Cheng" to kidnap Shi Nian, and he himself would arrive imdiately afterward.
.
Returning ho, it was already late at night, September 30.
Shi Nian slept until nine o’clock in the morning on National Day.
While washing up, she received a call from Qi Xiuqi.
Qi Xiuqi attended the police academy, graduated two years ago, and is now a police officer, and also Dad’s apprentice.
Shi Nian understood that Qi Xiuqi still cherished the youthful feelings from back then, but now, being Dad’s apprentice, he dared not express them. Shi Nian was happy to pretend to be clueless, calling him "Senior Brother" to clarify the relationship between them.
Qi Xiuqi felt a deep lancholy in his heart hearing the young girl sweetly call him Senior Brother, then sighed heavily: "I can’t even see you today."
Shi Nian was a bit surprised: "What happened? I thought we all agreed to return to the high school to participate in the anniversary celebration."
Qi Xiuqi exclaid helplessly: "You all are still fortunate college students and have the ti during National Day. But I am already a young cop now, and all hands must be on duty during National Day to ensure the public can enjoy a peaceful holiday, so I can’t take leave."
Shi Nian slapped her forehead lightly: "That’s right, how could I forget."
She was, after all, a police officer’s daughter, and Dad was always busiest during holidays; she couldn’t even rember how many holidays she hadn’t spent with Dad. Returning ho last night, Dad wasn’t there—she didn’t bother to ask, knowing he must be on duty.
Saying goodbye to Qi Xiuqi, after breakfast. She asked Mom to help find her old high school uniform, wash and iron it neatly, and replace the missing buttons—busy until the afternoon, Shi Nian noticed Mom seed a bit lonely.
Indeed, during the holiday, with Dad on duty and her at the school anniversary, it left Mom alone at ho, all quiet and empty.
Shi Nian then pulled Mom up, saying she’d accompany her shopping.
Mom was sowhat excited but shook her head still: "But you have the school celebration."
Shi Nian gave Mom the clock: "Tonight is the bonfire party; it only starts at six. It’s only one o’clock now, so I can accompany you all afternoon!"
All these years, during holidays, Dad wasn’t around, and Mom spent countless lonely holidays just with her. Knowing this, she understood that Mom was actually an artsy young lady, who cared about life’s little details and was very sensitive to the festive atmosphere during holidays. But Mom never complained about Dad, always making him feel guilty.
Now that she had grown up, it was ti to take on Dad’s responsibilities and accompany Mom properly.
.
On National Day in the comrcial area, there were crowds everywhere.
Shi Nian had to cautiously hold onto Mom’s arm, often fearing that if they were not careful, the mother and daughter would be swept apart by the crowd, turning around and vanishing into the sea of people, unable to find each other.
Mom enjoyed shopping but refrained from buying. Instead, she bought Shi Nian a new wool sweater and also bought wool pants for Dad, saying Dad handled cases for many years, often having to stake out in the middle of the night, causing back and knee problems, stating that wearing new wool pants wouldn’t be cold anymore.
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