That Nameless Summer Chapter 18
byhappy new year
On the first weekend after the rain stopped, the winter vacation officially kicked off.The sycamore leaves in the alley have fallen all over the ground, making a rustling sound when stepped on. The sun shines through the bare branches, casting tiny spots of light on the ground.
Song Li was nestled on the sofa, his fingers repeatedly rubbing the screen of his phone.The WeChat message “I’m waiting for you to come back” is still gray and unread. Ling Qingye seemed to have disappeared from the world. He did not reply to the message and did not appear at the alley.He locked himself in his home and never even went to a convenience store. There were only instant noodle buckets and cigarette butts in the trash can to prove that the house was still occupied.
When Xu Jiangyou called, Song Li was staring out the window in a daze.Her whirring voice came from the receiver: “Song Li! Come out to play, I found a super delicious dessert shop, and…”
“I’m not going.” Song Li interrupted her, her voice hoarse.
“What’s wrong with you?” Xu Jiangyou keenly sensed something was wrong, “Did you have a quarrel with that Ling Qingye? I think you two were quite close before.”
Song Li was silent for a few seconds, took the phone further away, looked at a sparrow passing by outside the window, and whispered: “It’s nothing, I’m just a little tired.”
After hanging up the phone, he stood up, walked to the desk, and opened the drawer.Inside was a yellowed photo of him and Ling Qingye when they were children. Both were wearing kindergarten uniforms. He was grinning, while Ling Qingye pursed his lips and had timid eyes.
Zhou Yanan secretly tucked this photo into his textbook. At that time, he didn’t know that this silent little boy would become the person he couldn’t let go of more than ten years later.
He stretched out his fingers and lightly touched Ling Qingye’s face in the photo. His heart seemed to be blocked by something, and he was so depressed that he felt panicked.
On the other side, Ling Qingye was sitting in the reception room of the law firm, with a thick stack of documents spread out in front of him.His father sat opposite, wearing a suit and leather shoes, with his usual indifference on his face: “This house must be sold. I have already told you to throw away Zhou Yan’an’s relics and keep them to occupy space.”
“I said, I won’t sell it.” Ling Qingye raised his eyes, the coldness in his eyes was like ice in winter, “That was what my father left for me, you have no right to touch it.”
“I’m your dad!” The man slammed the table with a sharp voice, “Who do you think you are? If I hadn’t raised you like this, you would have starved to death on the streets!”
Ling Qingye’s fingers were clenched until they turned white, and his nails were deeply embedded in his palms.He thought of Zhou Yanan’s appearance before she died, of her holding his hand and saying “live well”, and of the diary she hid under her pillow, which was filled with disappointment in this man.
“You don’t deserve to be my dad.” Ling Qingye said word for word, “When you cheated on me back then, you should have thought of today.”
The man’s face turned red instantly and he raised his hand to hit him.Ling Qingye didn’t hide, but looked at him coldly, making the man’s hand freeze in mid-air.
In the end, the man snorted coldly, slammed the door and left.Ling Qingye was the only one left in the reception room. He looked at the gray sky outside the window and suddenly felt very tired.He took out his mobile phone, and the chat interface with Song Li was still on the screen. The sentence “I’m waiting for you to come back” hurt his eyes.
He didn’t dare to reply.He was afraid that his world would be too dirty and Song Li would be soiled.He was afraid that Song Li would turn around and leave if he found out about his past and his miserable home.
The days of winter vacation passed slowly, as if they were frozen.
The relationship between Xu Jiangyou and Qin Jiangwen has eased a lot.Qin Jiangwen would bring her a cup of hot milk tea every day, and the taste was never bad.Once Xu Jiangyou casually mentioned that he liked eating strawberry Dafu, and the next day Qin Jiangwen came over with a box of freshly baked ones, smiling proudly.Xu Jiangyou looked at his red ears and suddenly felt that this cautious liking was actually quite sweet.
In the blink of an eye, the New Year is here, and every household begins to post Spring Festival couplets and buy New Year’s goods.Song Li’s mother called him and asked him to go back to his grandmother’s house for the New Year.When he was packing his luggage, he found a coat that Ling Qingye had left at his house. It was put on him that rainy night, and it still had a faint scent of soap locust.
He stood in front of the closet for a long time holding the coat, and finally stuffed it back into the deepest part of the drawer.
On New Year’s Eve, Song Li had New Year’s Eve dinner at her grandmother’s house.The Spring Festival Gala was playing on the TV, and the relatives were chatting. It was so lively.But he felt empty in his heart, as if a piece was missing.The phone was in my pocket and it hadn’t rang all day.
When the clock struck zero, fireworks exploded outside the window, and the brilliant light illuminated half of the sky.Song Li looked out the window and suddenly remembered that summer night when he and Ling Qingye set off Kongming lanterns with the words “Peace and prosperity” written on them.
He took out his mobile phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally sent a WeChat message to Ling Qingye: [Happy New Year].
The moment the news was sent out, he saw the fireworks outside the window, exploding one after another, and then slowly dissipated into the dark night.
At this moment, Ling Qingye was standing in front of Zhou Yanan’s tomb, holding a yellowed photo in his hand.The photo is of Zhou Yanan and him, with a tall locust tree in the background.
The phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and took a look. The four words “Happy New Year” on the screen looked particularly dazzling in the cold moonlight.
He raised his head, looked at the photo on the tombstone, and whispered: “Dad, Happy New Year.”
The wind blew through the cemetery with a biting chill.The sound of fireworks in the distance came faintly, like an unreachable dream.