Chapter 14

Dish after dish was served. Song Jianan did her best to suppress the urge to devour everything in sight, maintaining the poise of a proper young lady. Beside her, however, Song Rui had no such concerns. He had completely stopped talking, focusing solely on eating.

Xi Luoyu wasn’t seated at their table. He had been dragged away to drink with the other guests. When Song Jianan stepped outside, she happened to run into him. He was leaning alone against the corridor windowsill, his profile turned toward something outside.

His usually bright, clear eyes seemed veiled by an unreadable haze. Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, his brows and eyes carried an air of quiet mystery. Song Jianan unconsciously looked at him for a few moments longer. He noticed her gaze and looked back. A lazy yet untamed glint flashed through his eyes before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

He beckoned to her.

Without much hesitation, Song Jianan walked over. She had been about to ask what he was doing there when the rushing sound of water outside caught her attention. Curious, she leaned forward to look.

“Oh! So this restaurant is right by the river. You can actually see the Yangtze River!”

“Yeah. You only realized that now?” Xi Luoyu pushed the window open.

A cool breeze rushed in. Song Jianan instantly felt refreshed as the faint dampness carried by the river washed over her. The alcohol-induced warmth lingering on her cheeks faded considerably. When she turned back to look at Xi Luoyu again, she blinked in surprise.

“You look completely different without your glasses.”

Interested, Xi Luoyu casually twirled the glasses in his hand.

“What do I look like then?”

“A human.”

Song Jianan answered expressionlessly.

“That’s an awful joke.”

He said nothing. Holding the glasses loosely in his hand, he seemed to be looking at something, yet also at nothing at all.

The autumn wind swept fiercely across the river, rolling up waves that crashed toward the shore. What appeared to be nothing more than the ebb and flow of the tide concealed a fierce, overwhelming force. In the middle of the river, a lone fishing boat drifted slowly through the darkness, its dim light moving like a wandering ghost.

Xi Luoyu had apparently drunk quite a lot. His eyes were slightly unfocused, yet he never looked away from the river.

A thought stirred in Song Jianan’s heart.

The way he stood… was so much like that person.

Perhaps deep down, they both possessed the same aloof, distant nature, making them instinctively drawn to the vastness of nature.

Trying to ease the slightly awkward silence, Song Jianan asked, “You’re Grandpa’s student?”

“Mm. I did my undergraduate studies here. I went somewhere else for graduate school.”

She smiled.

“Was my grandfather very strict? Don’t be fooled by how cheerful he is now. When I was little, I was terrified of him.”

“He was strict. But Professor Song taught extremely well. Even students outside the law department used to sneak into his lectures.”

He smiled faintly.

“I’ll give you two classic examples.”

“‘A’ was thirsty and asked ‘B’ to buy some water, specifying that the price couldn’t exceed three yuan per bottle, but never clearly stated how many bottles to buy. So ‘B’ bought one hundred bottles at two and a half yuan each. By the time he came back, ‘A’ wasn’t thirsty anymore… because he’d run out of money.”

“Huh?”

“That’s an example of unclear agency terms.”

He continued without pause.

“Here’s another one. During the final six months before the statute of limitations expired, ‘A’ left home intending to file a lawsuit. The moment he opened the door, a flood had washed everything away—including the courthouse.”

Song Jianan blinked.

“And?”

“Now imagine it happened before those final six months. ‘A’ left to file the lawsuit but immediately fell into a pit. He couldn’t climb out until sometime during the last six months.”

“…And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Suspension of the statute of limitations.”

Song Jianan had just been about to sigh over how unfortunate it was that she had never been one of Grandpa’s students when Xi Luoyu spoke again before she could.

“Actually, I used to hate studying law. I even planned to transfer to the School of Economics and Management during my sophomore year.”

She looked genuinely surprised.

After a long pause, the only question that came to mind was “Why?” But she swallowed it back.

Since he wasn’t planning to continue, why force him to?

Besides…

She wasn’t really that curious.

Xi Luoyu put his glasses back on and closed the window. In an instant, he seemed to return to his usual sharp and capable self.

“Let’s go back. Too much night wind isn’t good. You’ll catch a cold.”

—

After the banquet ended, Song Jianan took a taxi home.

The entertainment section’s article on Curse of the Golden Flower still hadn’t been finished. She searched online for the latest promotional materials and reviews before slowly beginning to piece together her own article.

Perhaps she’d had a little too much to drink.

Her head felt heavy, and even choosing the right words became difficult.

Just then, her phone rang.

Seeing Xi Luoyu’s name on the screen, she found it a little strange and answered.

The background on his end was extremely noisy, but amidst all the commotion, his voice remained unexpectedly calm.

“Have you gotten home?”

Song Jianan laughed softly.

“Yeah. What about you? Where are you off fooling around with your senior and junior classmates?”

The words had barely left her mouth before she realized something felt off.

It didn’t sound like the casual conversation of ordinary friends.

That teasing, effortless tone…

It was the sort of thing only couples would naturally say to each other.

The realization startled her, sobering her up almost instantly.

Xi Luoyu laughed.

“Nowhere special. We’re just singing karaoke at Starlight Avenue.”

“Oh.”

She suddenly had nothing else to say.

Fortunately, Xi Luoyu didn’t let the conversation go cold.

“Oh, right. I heard you’re leaving on a business trip tomorrow afternoon, so I won’t be seeing you off. Have a safe trip.”

She chuckled.

“You don’t need to see me off. It’s not like I’m never coming back. I’ll only be gone for three days.”

She suddenly remembered something.

“Oh right! I promised I’d treat you to tomato hot pot, didn’t I? I completely forgot. Let’s do it after I get back.”

Xi Luoyu pretended to sound shocked.

“Oh? So you finally remembered. Looks like this phone call wasn’t wasted after all.”

Someone nearby called his name.

Song Jianan smiled.

“I’ll stop bothering you. Go enjoy yourself. I still have an article to finish. It has to be submitted tomorrow morning.”

He sounded reluctant to end the conversation.

“What article are you writing?”

“Promotion and reviews for Curse of the Golden Flower. I haven’t even seen the movie, so I’m basically making things up.”

She answered honestly.

“If it gets published tomorrow, don’t laugh at me.”

“I’ve seen it.”

He laughed.

“I even bought tickets at the Workers’ Cinema. You don’t like going to movie theaters?”

“I’d rather download a movie and watch it slowly at home. I hardly ever go to cinemas.”

Suddenly the noise on his end became much louder, as if the private room door had opened.

A familiar song drifted through the receiver.

“Ten years ago, I didn’t know you. You didn’t belong to me. We were still accompanying different strangers as we walked through gradually familiar streets…”

The sudden music interrupted their conversation for what felt like half a minute.

Then Xi Luoyu spoke again.

Whether because Song Jianan wasn’t paying close attention or because the signal had become poor, she only vaguely made out his words.

“Actually… going to the movies is something two people should do.”

“When you come back… let me take you to a movie.”

His voice was low and mellow, blending with the melancholy song playing in the background. Gentle, yet carrying an unmistakable loneliness beneath its firmness.

Song Jianan didn’t know how to respond.

Just then her phone screen lit up.

Battery Low.

The phone shut down.

Oddly enough…

She felt relieved.

Some vague understanding had quietly begun to form in her heart.

—

Their flight departed at four in the afternoon and took less than two hours.

The editor accompanying her, Chief Editor Zhang, was a highly experienced career woman much older than Song Jianan. Since they weren’t particularly familiar with one another, their conversations never strayed beyond work and interview arrangements.

The newspaper had booked them into a five-star chain hotel.

Song Jianan couldn’t stop marveling at how wealthy the newspaper company seemed.

Taxis everywhere.

Five-star hotels.

So entertainment reporters could actually be treated this well.

After talking with Xu Yan on the phone, Song Jianan freshened herself up despite her obvious exhaustion and sat on a sofa in the hotel lobby to wait.

Before long, just as she was about to drift off from fatigue, someone gently patted her face.

A soft voice, unable to hide its amusement, sounded beside her.

“Jianan, wake up. Be careful or you’ll sleep your face flat.”

She jolted awake.

The first thing she saw was a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Behind the lenses, a pair of phoenix-shaped eyes blinked mischievously. Bright red lips curled into a smile.

Song Jianan turned away with a laugh.

“Xu Yan, I still think you look like a gorilla wearing sunglasses.”

“What can I do?”

Xu Yan pouted, twirling her car keys.

“I’m a public figure. If I don’t wear sunglasses to hide my real face in everyday life, I’m afraid my fans will swarm over me. Then you’d suddenly find yourself buried in a sea of people. That would be pretty cruel to an old classmate, wouldn’t it?”

She waved her hand.

“What are you standing there for? Come on. Dinner’s on me.”

“Tch. You’re just a TV host.”

Song Jianan grinned.

“Besides dinner, what else are we doing tonight?”

Xu Yan looked at her and rolled her eyes.

“Oh? Looks like you’ve learned a thing or two about enjoying life after working at the newspaper. Your nightlife has expanded quite a bit.”

After thinking for a moment, she smiled.

“Alright. Let’s combine education with entertainment. We’ll hike Baiyun Mountain… and eat along the way.”

“What?!”

—

Guangzhou looked just as Song Jianan remembered.

Prosperous in some places, worn down in others.

Elevated highways stretched across the city everywhere. Instead of making the already enormous city feel open, they somehow made it feel more oppressive.

Night slowly descended before her eyes.

The last traces of daylight gradually faded into a pale halo before darkness swept across the sky.

Streetlights lit up one after another.

The neon lights atop skyscrapers blended with the white glow of countless lamps.

Entering from Baiyun Mountain’s side gate, they hadn’t walked far before reaching a small snack shop.

The owner was from Chaoshan and greeted them in Cantonese.

Song Jianan could understand it but couldn’t speak it herself.

Hearing that familiar dialect again after so long made her feel strangely out of place.

She simply watched Xu Yan expertly order the food before sighing.

“I really don’t belong here anymore.”

Xu Yan looked up.

“I ordered Baiyun pork trotters. Want an extra plate of stir-fried rice noodles or rice vermicelli?”

“Stir-fried rice noodles. Do you have honey-glazed char siu rice noodle rolls? And bring me a bowl of mung bean and kelp soup first.”

Xu Yan shot her a suspicious look.

“Song Jianan, the only thing that still belongs here is your stomach.”

—

By the time they had eaten their fill, it was already eight o’clock.

There weren’t many people on Baiyun Mountain.

A few scattered tour groups were probably taking part in some kind of nighttime mountain tour.

The path upward was lined with dense trees and ancient pavilions.

Lights were tucked away quietly in hidden corners.

Looking up through the gaps between the leaves, Song Jianan saw a deep blue sky.

An airplane slowly crossed overhead.

The lights on its wings flashed rhythmically as it either took off or prepared to land.

The higher they climbed, the colder it became.

Although Song Jianan was dressed warmly, she could still feel a faint chill.

Xu Yan was wearing even less than she was.

Just as Song Jianan was about to suggest heading back, Xu Yan turned around and spoke softly.

“Jianan… do you remember the last time we climbed Baiyun Mountain during our senior year?”

How could she forget?

She probably never would.

After a brief pause, Song Jianan nodded.

Xu Yan smiled.

“Back then, we stood on the summit and shouted out the one name that belonged only to ourselves.”

“Thinking about it now… I really miss those days.”

The memories surfaced without warning.

Like a stage curtain suddenly pulled open, exposing the entire chaotic scene before an audience still filled with hope.

Before she even realized it, Song Jianan murmured,

“I remember.”

“I’ve always remembered.”

A few more steps brought them to the summit.

Standing atop the high steps, Xu Yan cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted,

“Xu Bowen! Xu Bowen!”

Such a delicate woman…

Yet her voice tore through the silent night with overwhelming force.

Ripples of sound spread through the air, layer upon layer, crossing the dense forest like a trapped beast desperately searching for an escape.

The mountain slowly absorbed her cries.

Eventually…

They faded into silence.

Xu Yan was already crying uncontrollably.

It was as though…

The summer night of 2004 had returned.

Only this time, the name she called was no longer the one from before.

Every syllable carried the weight of old memories.

The scars of secret love.

The regrets left unresolved.

Looking back after all these years…

It felt as though an entire lifetime had already passed.

Time itself seemed to begin flowing once more.

His distant, indifferent eyes.

His calm, steady voice over the telephone.

Her love had quietly wound itself around him, tighter and tighter, denser than the blazing summer sun.

It had remained that way for so many years.

Until the day he said,

“I want to see you.”

Only then did she finally realize…

She had fallen far too deeply into the role.

Eventually, she had no choice but to step out of fantasy and into reality.

For all those years…

She could only stand atop this dark mountain, watching him soar, watching him dance, watching him sing and shine brilliantly.

Now she stood here once again.

On this dim summit where the sky seemed within reach, her vision blurred with tears.

Gathering every ounce of strength she had, she shouted the name of the man she could never confess to.

“Su Li!”

“Su Li!”

Only then did she finally understand.

He, she, and time itself…

Had already passed one another by.