"Yuanyuan, I'm sorry."
The paper was thin and soft. The black letters were especially prominent, leaping into her heart lake and splashing ripples.
Jiang Yuan stared blankly at it, lips tightly pursed and silent. Her fingers hanging at her waist went slightly numb.
"Yuanyuan, Chi Xu has always wanted to explain what happened back then..." Lin Suye, who had naturally seen the words on the paper, carefully chose her words and said slowly, "Maybe there was really a misunderstanding. How about you... talk to him?"
From Jiang Yuan's perspective, Lin Suye was a betrayer, standing on the opposite side of Jiang Yuan.
Lin Suye knew that Jiang Yuan hadn't completely forgiven what she had done.
After all, she had inadvertently hurt her.
But it was still much better than never being forgiven.
Yu Huan and Su Kexin exchanged a glance. Su Kexin softly advised, "Yeah, Yuanyuan, Chi Xu said he's always wanted to talk to you. Just go and listen."
"Let's go and hear what sweet nothings this dog man who deceived our beautiful Yuanyuan will say." Yu Huan curved her eyebrows and said half - jokingly.
Jiang Yuan listened to her friends' words, bent down to pick up the cardboard, and slowly rubbed it in the palm of her hand.
There was a hint of confusion in her eyes, like a lost soul walking alone on the way home.
She remembered that Chi Xu had given her his only umbrella. It was drizzling outside. Would Chi Xu get wet? Would he catch a cold? After all, he had just recovered from a fever.
Jiang Yuan closed her palm tightly around the cardboard, then turned around, picked up the phone on the table, and opened the memo. Chi Xu was still sending messages intermittently.
[I took this photo during class. How about it? Isn't the photo nice? But I think the person in the photo is even prettier. Am I right?]
Jiang Yuan clicked on the suddenly appeared photo and trembled as she zoomed in.
In the photo, she was writing notes with her head down, looking serene. Her high ponytail was neat and tidy, showing only a small part of her side face.
[It's a pity I couldn't get a full - face shot of you. Look, even just this little bit is extremely stunning.]
[It's raining outside. Did you bring an umbrella? Fortunately, I glanced at the weather forecast before going out and brought one. If you didn't bring one, I'll reluctantly lend you mine. What? You're worried I'll get wet without an umbrella? Don't worry. I'll ask Jia Fangsong to bring me one.]
[Let me show you Jiao Jiao on the surveillance camera. It says it misses its sister. Every night it circles around my feet meowing, asking why sister hasn't come home yet, why sister doesn't go home anymore, and if I bullied sister.]
[Yes, it's all my fault that sister doesn't want to go home and doesn't want to see Jiao Jiao.]
[Yuanyuan, when will you open your heart and talk to me? Let's stop this cold war, okay?]
The messages suddenly stopped. The memo showed that it was last updated twenty minutes ago.
An indescribable feeling welled up deep inside her, surging up to her throat and blocking it. It was extremely uncomfortable, neither able to go in nor out.
Jiang Yuan stared at the densely written memo for a long time. Her eyes were sore. She rubbed them and accidentally noticed that the memo showed more than 1000 words.
It was only one morning, but Chi Xu had typed so many words.
That day in the hospital, she had intended to talk things out with Chi Xu. But the successive news was like a heavy punch, hitting her hard and hurting her heart.
She exited the memo and opened the chat interface with Chi Xu. Only then did she remember that she had blocked Chi Xu out of anger that day.
So Jiang Yuan went back to the memo, let out a sigh, and typed.
[Okay, let's talk.]
Then, as if the phone were a hot potato, Jiang Yuan threw it on the table and shared small cakes with her roommates.
After finishing the small cakes, the memo was updated three minutes ago.
He wrote:
[Great. I'll wait for you at the classroom door after evening self - study tonight.]
[Okay.]
Two simple words.
It was time to try to reconcile with herself. She couldn't always be immersed in the memories of the past, Jiang Yuan thought.
The pearl bracelet in the drawer lay there quietly and lonely.
...
After evening self - study, the students in the class left one after another. Jiang Yuan lowered her head and slowly packed her things. By the time she finished, most of the students in the classroom had left.
She slung her backpack across her body, caught a glimpse of the person standing in the shadow outside the door, pursed her lips, and walked out slowly.
As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Chi Xu's eyes lit up. The joy and pleasure in them were hard to hide.
"Let me make it clear first. I'm just here to listen to your explanation. It doesn't mean I'll forgive you." Jiang Yuan said stiffly, cruelly dousing the two little flames in his eyes.
Chi Xu didn't mind. He nodded and said gently, "I know. Thank you, Yuanyuan, for giving me a chance."
Jiang Yuan looked straight ahead, as if concentrating on the road, as if the person beside her didn't matter.
After the cold war of many days, Chi Xu cherished every moment with Jiang Yuan. But he knew this wasn't the time to be nostalgic. He cleared his throat and began to tell his story.
The air was cold, carrying the boy's burning sincerity towards her.
But when it really came to the moment of speaking, Chi Xu found it even harder to open his mouth than he had imagined. The faded memories carried too much weight in each frame.
"I didn't stand you up on purpose back then..." His throat was dry. His Adam's apple rolled up and down. After opening the first crack, the following words came out more smoothly.
His memory drifted back to the early morning three years ago.
"My parents suddenly found me that morning and said the company had gone bankrupt and was deeply in debt. They told me to leave Haining City with them immediately. I wanted to go to your place to find you, but there was no one at home."
"The debt collectors had already chased us to Haining City. My parents quickly packed some clothes and took me away. After leaving with them, I wanted to call your aunt to tell you, but..."
"My dad changed my phone without my knowledge. He only left the old phone from back then because he didn't know about it."
The cold wind slapped her face, freezing her nose red. Jiang Yuan stopped walking and silently looked at the playground swallowed by darkness.
"Didn't you ever think about coming back to find me later?"
He knew where she lived. It was impossible that in the whole three years, Chi Xu hadn't come back to look for her.
If you really cared about someone, you would want to come back.
"For the first two years, I was constantly on the move. You could say I was living a vagrant life." Chi Xu smiled bitterly, the bitterness spreading from the corners of his mouth. "My family kept a close eye on me and firmly disagreed with me going back."
"Moreover... my dad was busy making money and socializing all day long. My mom had some mental problems because of the company's bankruptcy. Her emotions were unstable and she needed someone to accompany her at night."
"Chi Xu." Jiang Yuan lowered her eyes. Her long eyelashes covered the deep emotions in her eyes. "Didn't you think about telling me no matter what on the day you left?"