Gao Chuan returned ho from his night shift, dragging his exhausted body back to his empty house, throwing himself onto the sofa as usual, staring blankly at the ceiling in the darkness, his ink-dark pupils rging with the night.
It has been a month since he helped Jiang An with the aftermath of her mother's death. Since then, they have hardly crossed paths. Jiang An continued her studies, and he kept himself busy with his routine hospital work, surgery after surgery, research after research, seemingly mundane yet fulfilling.
Nothing changed because of that girl. Everything was as usual.
Ti is enough for one to rember, and also to forget.
He stared vacantly at the ceiling above, like a night sky devoid of stars or moon.
Suddenly, the image of that morable little face flashed across his mind, its thin lips smiling, its sparkling eyes smiling, and the faint dimples also smiling.
He recalled his conversation with the girl before the funeral began; he was helping her with the attendance list and casually asked about her future plans. He only rembered her silence for a long ti before she finally answered, "I still want to go back to school and finish my studies."
She must have given it careful thought at that ti since it seed like she had no other paths to take.
The door switch clicked open, and the crisp sound disrupted Gao Chuan's thoughts. The smiling face in his mind vanished instantly.
"You're here, why didn't you turn on the lights?" A man's voice resonated through the room as Gao Chuan reluctantly got up to see Gao Yu, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, standing in front of the couch with a frantic look.
"What's wrong?" Gao Chuan's voice was slightly hoarse, probably because he hadn't spoken for a while.
Gao Yu started to speak, then hesitated, and sat down on the couch with a cold expression, "Grandmother went to the hospital again today."
After handling her mother's funeral, Jiang An returned to school to focus on her studies. She was due to either start an internship or prepare for exams this coming autumn, but her mother's sudden passing had thrown her original plans into disarray.
Due to her outstanding academic performance, the faculty still unanimously hoped she would pursue a master's degree, and even the ntor closest to Jiang An at school suggested she compete for a chance to study abroad.
"Jiang An, opportunities don't co by often, make the most of your youth and take so risks!" The ntor's words still echoed in her mind. Lost in thought, Jiang An was walking when she suddenly bumped into a broad chest, and looking up, she saw a neatly knotted royal blue tie.
"Sorry, I didn't see clearly." Jiang An apologized hastily with a bow, and then she heard a man's voice, filled with surprise, "Anan, what are you doing here?"
The mild autumn sun was neither hot nor impatient, casting scattered light through the gaps between the plane trees along the campus road, illuminating the girl's slightly uplifted face. She recognized the person before her, a surprise to her as well.
"Brother Wei Yan..."
The person from the past who had vanished suddenly appeared, and miraculously you could still recall their first and last na.
Wei Yan was a student Fang Qing had taught years ago. Having lost his parents, he had beco the most rebellious child in the class. Fang Qing often took Wei Yan ho for als, and over ti little Jiang An also beca familiar with him. Back then, she was still in middle school, and Wei Yan left the city for college. Now, old friends et again, sadly, the only link between them - Fang Qing had passed away.
After graduation, Wei Yan and so classmates started a business that had achieved considerable success. This ti, he visited Jiang An's school as a partner. The school officials were showing him around when Jiang An, this clumsy girl, walked into him. Realizing the two seed to know each other, the school official who was about to scold her imdiately withdrew his frown.
Wei Yan looked down at the frightened figure of Jiang An, her eyes brimming with the innocence of youth, and mories surged forward. He felt as though he had returned to that sweltering sumr filled with cicada songs, when, covered in bruises, he was brought ho by his horoom teacher. After taking a hot shower in that tiny rented space, he opened the bathroom door to see a round-faced little girl holding two popsicles—one green, one pink.
The girl wore a blue-green school uniform and had a tender face; her voice sweet as she called out, "Brother, do you want one?"
At that mont, Fang Qing's voice ca from the kitchen, "Anan, co and help serve the dishes, it's ti for dinner!"
During that sweaty sumr, the young and naive him sat at the small dining table, eating the greens Fang Qing had put in his bowl. His 6-foot fra almost burying his head into the bowl, his eyes were lancholic, brimming with tears.
It seed as if the previous six years of solitary life had been a mirage, a fleeting illusion. He, too, had longed for a ho.
Upon hearing of Fang Qing's illness and passing, Wei Yan imdiately followed Jiang An to pay a visit to their beloved teacher.
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
After visiting Fang Qing, Wei Yan drove Jiang An back to school in the gentle breeze.
"Do you still live in the old district?" Wei Yan softly turned the steering wheel and asked.
Jiang An's gaze shifted from the window back to the man on the other side, whose delicate features outlined a stunning profile—dressed in a ticulous gray suit, he hardly resembled the rebellious teenager who used to freeload als at her ho.
"Mmm, I mostly stay at school these days," Jiang An answered truthfully.
During a turn, as a row of students crossed the road after school, Wei Yan gripped the steering wheel tighter to wait for them to pass, the ongoing hum of the car's engine filling the silence.
Wei Yan's gaze shifted to Jiang An beside him, her twenties-aged porcelain skin blooming like peach blossoms. For a mont, he felt the person before him overlapped with the young girl who had once offered him a popsicle, her eyes almond-shaped, her lips like cherries.
"What are your plans moving forward?" Wei Yan suddenly ca back to reality, astonished, and pressed the accelerator once more.
"I'll continue studying!"
The car stopped at the school's entrance. Wei Yan handed Jiang An a business card, "Anan, if you need anything, co find . I'm having my place here renovated. Once it's finished, I'll bring you over. Don't worry, as long as I have a bite to eat, my Anan won't go hungry."
"Anan."
"My Anan."
Such an endearing na that caused Jiang An to be montarily taken aback, wondering how long it had been since she had heard such a gentle call.
"Anan, it was the teacher and you who took in before. Now that the teacher is gone, it's my turn to take good care of you, so please don't refuse , okay?" Wei Yan had already stepped out of the car and walked over to Jiang An's side, draping his gray suit jacket over her.
The rustling wind sounded, like leaves falling, like a heart being stirred.
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