Mixed Chapter 65
byStart again, but my heart is confused
It was an oppressive rainy day outside the window, and Chi Nuan stared at the winding path of the raindrops on the window in a daze.It wasn’t until the footsteps stopped at the bedside that her stiff back relaxed a little and leaned forward.
The person beside the bed didn’t speak, and Chi Nuan didn’t turn to look at her.
The person on the bed had just escaped from hell, and the successive depressions left her with little light to support herself.
This may be the reason for the sadness in Chi Nuan’s body, which is much more depressing than the rainy day outside the window.
It was so suppressed that the words Chen Zhiyu wanted to say were stuck in her throat. Choking it would cause her pain.
She licked her withered lips and said hoarsely: “Zhiyu, come with me to Rongcheng.”
Chi Nuan would always have dreams during the few days she was recuperating, and the locations of her dreams were all in Rongcheng.There are those old residential buildings, Cheng Xue’s tomb, the stone road for the training camp…
Chi Nuan follows Song Shixue to every familiar scene.Even though Song Shixue in the dream couldn’t hear or see her, Chi Nuan always felt that this was a hint to her.
Maybe Song Shixue is in Rongcheng.
“Okay.” Chen Zhiyu agreed readily. She sat down on the edge of the bed, faced the ward door, and sent a message to her mother on her mobile phone to take a vacation for a while. After handing over the work at hand to her colleagues, she raised her head melancholy, “Chi Nuan, if there is no news about her in Rongcheng, let’s try to let it go… She really doesn’t deserve this.”
“Yeah.” This was the 15th time in the past few days that Chen Zhiyu had said to her, “She’s not worth it,” and it was also the first time that she said sincerely, “Try to let it go.”
“I promise you, Zhiyu.” She couldn’t let her friends and family worry about her anymore. “Before you go, please accompany me to meet someone.”
“Okay.”
On the eighth day after the operation, Chi Nuan was sitting in the passenger seat of Chen Zhiyu. She closed all the windows and even turned on the heater, but her hands and feet were still as cold as ice.
“Are you really okay?” Chen Zhiyu asked her worriedly.
“It’s okay.”
There was a continuous drizzle under her dim eyes, and she fell into deep thought the next time she lowered her eyes.
Chi Sangzhi wanted Chi Nuan to stay in the hospital for two weeks before being discharged. It was for the sake of her condition and health, but she couldn’t overcome her daughter’s stubbornness. At the same time, she believed Chi Nuan’s words and let her go.
She said——
Please allow me to be willful one last time. After this, no matter what the result is, I will start again.
Starting over, how easy it is to say it, but how difficult it is to actually do it?
When the navigation prompt sounded, Chi Nuan chuckled to himself.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Zhiyu asked in a confused tone after finding a parking space.
“Nothing, let’s go.”
They took the elevator from a building to the 26th floor, passed through several office areas, and stopped at the door of an oil painting studio.
——Wo.
Pushing the door open, the bell on the top of the door swayed back and forth, making a clear sound.
“You’re here, little Chi Nuan?” Jiang Luohe sat on the bright and informal sofa and formally poured scented tea into a small porcelain cup. “Sit down, sit down.”
After the formalistic reception process was completed, Jiang Luohe raised his eyes to look at her.
The Chi Nuan in front of her was comparable to the Chi Nuan she saw more than three months ago.
Three months ago, there was light in her eyes, and she was always smiling with two crescent moons on her face; now, her face is ashen, her eyes are dull, and there is no life at all.
“You…” Jiang Luohe looked at Chi Nuan and then at Chen Zhiyu, “What is she?”
“Hello, I am Chi Nuan’s friend, Chen Zhiyu.” Chen Zhiyu introduced politely, “Chi Nuan is not in good condition recently, so I came with her. She came to you this time mainly because she has something to ask you.”
“Yeah.” Jiang Luohe pushed the tea cup in front of Chi Nuan closer to her.
“Sister Luohe, has Teacher Song contacted you recently?” She stroked the rustling texture on the teacup with a hint of expectation in her tone.
“No, did you have a fight?”
“She’s gone.”
“Gone?” Jiang Luohe’s eyes were filled with shock. “Did you call the police?”
“No.”
“How long has it been since we last met? Why didn’t you call the police?” Jiang Luohe slapped the table, looking even more anxious than Chi Nuan.
“I…” I’m afraid she will hate me. “I’m going to go to Rongcheng to look for it first…”
“Sister Luohe, can you ask someone to help me look for her in Hangzhou while I’m in Chengdu?” The police in modern society may not be reliable, but Jiang Luohe must be.Chi Nuan more or less understood Jiang Luohe’s family background based on the first two interactions with her.
Jiang Luohe was the only person she could think of in the end.
“Chi Nuan, you just came to find me now, what do you think?”
“I thought she would come back.” I thought she would always come back, so all Chi Nuan could do was wait, and constantly hurt herself with alcohol and escape.
Totally ridiculous.
Jiang Luohe poured himself another cup of scented tea and drank it in one gulp: “I’m not sure if I can find any news about her, Chi Nuan, I don’t know what happened between you, but if there is anything wrong with Sister Shi Xue, I will definitely not let you go.”
“Well, please, Sister Luohe.” She stood up and bowed slightly.
Before Chi Nuan and Chen Zhiyu stepped out of the door, they heard her urgent words to the person on the other end of the phone, asking them to find Song Shixue’s whereabouts as quickly as possible.
Chi Nuan was decadent for a while and then came to find Jiang Luohe. Jiang Luohe’s approach was obviously much more direct and decisive than Chi Nuan’s.
She should have come to Jiang Luohe earlier.At least this way, Song Shixue will be safer than now.
She should have come to Jiang Luohe earlier.
It’s a pity that she was too unconscious at that time. She couldn’t even live her own life well, and she didn’t even have the courage to face Song Shixue’s departure. How could she get the courage to negotiate face-to-face with Jiang Luohe?
Chen Zhiyu held Chi Nuan’s hand: “At least you’ve taken this step, right?”
They didn’t stop, from Hangzhou to Chengcheng, from 4 to 6:30 in the afternoon, two and a half hours.Eight hours of eating, planning the route, and taking a break were squeezed in here and there.
Chen Zhiyu was so tired that he fell asleep, while Chi Nuan had no sleep all night.
On a rare sunny day, Chi Nuan wore a denim jacket and a hooded sweater underneath, her hair disheveled, and went out with Chen Zhiyu.
From the beginning of July to the beginning of October, there is a gap of three months.
The residential building that was originally full of fireworks was a little less lively, and the mottled red brick walls were printed with bright red words “Demolish”.Although construction has not officially started yet, the memories belonging to their generation are being emptied step by step.
There are only a few scattered houses left.
Chi Nuan’s eyes fell on the second floor. The various spices and pots and pans previously placed in the kitchen were empty, and even the light in the room was gone.
An old woman was packing a bunch of things on the ground. Chi Nuan staggered two steps forward and approached her, and said gently: “Mother-in-law, do you know the lady Rong who lives on the second floor of the second building? Has she moved away?”
The gray-haired old woman was a little hard of hearing. She hummed Chi Nuan several times and then patiently repeated it several times.It wasn’t until the fourth repetition that the old woman finally heard it clearly.
“Ah, Sister Rong, she left a month ago.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“Go to heaven.” She put her hands behind her back and shook her head regretfully, “Oh, it was too sudden. I had a cerebral hemorrhage and couldn’t be saved.”
After saying that, the old woman continued to pack up the remaining items on the ground, leaving Chi Nuan alone in a daze.
Chi Nuan thought that the “go” in the old woman’s words meant that she had moved to another place, but she didn’t expect that she had passed away forever.
“Concubine Rong…is gone…”
Chen Zhiyu took a quick step to support Chi Nuan’s body, patted her back and kept comforting: “Chi Nuannuan, it’s okay, it’s okay…”
The kind little old lady who once treated Song Shixue as a relative and saved Song Shixue from dire straits many times passed away.
Even Chi Nuan, who had only met Rong Ni once, burst into tears when he heard the news.
What would happen if Song Shixue knew?
Chi Nuan didn’t know where Rong Ni was finally buried. All she could think of at the moment was to hold on to the rusty stair railing and go up to the second floor accompanied by Chen Zhiyu.
With a pop, Chi Nuan knelt in front of Rong Nuan’s door alone.
Kowtow three times.
“Ms. Rong, I’m sorry that I came to see you now. I didn’t come with Song Shixue this time.” She sniffed hard, clenching her fists and her voice couldn’t stop shaking. “I… I will definitely come with her next time. You must be well there.”
Chi Nuan thought about it and decided not to tell her about Song Shixue’s farewell without saying goodbye. Even though the stranger had passed away, she still didn’t want Rong Concubine to worry on the other side of the world.
Later, she asked other people nearby if any fair and thin girl had been here recently, and they all ended up shaking their heads.
Although there was no news here, Chi Nuan did not dare to stop.
After she left the residential building, Chen Zhiyu was taken to the airport by her, and they rushed to Chuanlian Cemetery without stopping.
Along the way, she thought about Chen Zhiyu’s worried look at that time.
That’s enough. As a friend, Chen Zhiyu has done enough.
How could she have the heart to ask Chen Zhiyu to accompany her for the rest of the journey?
She closed the car door in her thoughts and looked around. There was dust in front of the tomb, and there was no sign that anyone else had been there.
“Auntie, I’m sorry, I didn’t protect Song Shixue.” Chi Nuan took out a bouquet of white roses as usual, took out a small pack of paper towels in his pocket, opened it, and wiped Cheng Xue’s photo and her tombstone. “I broke my promise, will you blame me?”
Cheng Xue could no longer answer her. The only answer she had was the ever-changing weather in Chengdu.
Sunny turns to cloudy, cloudy turns to rain.
The rain was pouring, wetting the soil and soaking Chi Nuan’s whole body.
Chi Nuan understood that Cheng Xue was blaming her, blaming her for failing to protect her daughter, blaming her for breaking her promise, blaming herself for kneeling in front of the tomb and making a promise.
Chi Nuan stayed in the rain for nearly an hour. She took out the last piece of paper, wiped Cheng Xue’s photo, and said, “Auntie, I’ll come see you next time.”
Next time, there will be a next time.
The next day, dragging her cold body and wearing a mask, she walked through every street in Chengdu, every street where Song Shixue might appear.
She kept walking, kept changing areas, and kept asking.
No news on the third day.
There was still no news on the fourth and fifth days.
Chi Nuan visited every place in Chengdu, large and small, and asked everyone he met, feeling the strange looks from passers-by.
She was doing these hopeless things in confusion, but they regarded Chi Nuan as a madman.
During a week in Chengdu, there was no news from Jiang Luohe, and the last glimmer of hope in Chi Nuan’s heart was extinguished.
Frustrated, she returned to Hangzhou and searched alone for three days, but the result was the same as usual.
The fruitless thing forced Chi Nuan to fulfill his promise and start over.
She returned to Huashang and regained her energy. She took care of Shining as usual every day, and the flesh on her cheeks also returned a little.
Everyone thought Chi Nuan had really thought about it, and everyone was happy for Chi Nuan’s change.
They held a grand celebration banquet for Chi Nuan. The wine glasses in their hands were replaced with juice, and they toasted to her.
/
“Zhiyu, you said that I searched everywhere and waited for her for three whole years without showing up. I once thought she was dead.” She stirred only half of the watermelon juice left in the cup again, and Chi Nuan’s self-deprecating face reflected in the swaying. “Why are you coming back this time?”
I was obviously ready to start over three years ago, but when she came back, my heart was in chaos again.