Mixed Chapter 3
byCan’t Let Go
The moment Chi Nuan stepped out of the elevator, she received a message from Chen Zhiyu.
“Chi Nuannuan, did you check Weibo? Song Shixue is actually back!”
This was the first time Chen Zhiyu’s gossip was so behind the times.
“Yeah, I saw it. I even met her today.”
“What! Met her!”
Chi Nuan could sense Chen Zhiyu’s shock just from those four short words.
“Where are you, Chi Nuannuan? Hurry up and come see me!” Chen Zhiyu sent Chi Nuan the location of a Western restaurant.
Chi Nuan drove over quickly; Chen Zhiyu had been waiting for a long time.
“Spill it, what happened?”
“I was suddenly called back to the company for overtime today, and it just so happened that the subject of the shoot was her.” Chi Nuan stirred the watermelon juice in front of her.
“Knowing someone like Song Shixue, she must have done it on purpose!”
“Mhm.” Chi Nuan was unsurprised; she had already guessed as much.
Chen Zhiyu was passionately analyzing the situation when Chi Nuan, distracted, looked around and spotted Song Shixue sitting diagonally behind them.
Chi Nuan made a “shush” gesture to Chen Zhiyu, leaning close to her ear. “Zhiyu, is that Song Shixue sitting behind us?”
Chen Zhiyu looked over. “It looks like it is. Who is the woman sitting opposite her? They seem quite close!”
Chi Nuan hadn’t had a chance to notice Song Shixue’s interactions with the strange woman, but hearing Chen Zhiyu say that, her breathing instantly became strained.
Then why did she specifically seek me out for the photoshoot? Why is she still wearing the Star Bracelet I gave her? Why did she ask to re-add me as a friend?
Chi Nuan’s mind was currently undergoing a storm of questions.
As Chi Nuan’s long-time friend, Chen Zhiyu didn’t even need to look; she knew from the heavy breathing that Chi Nuan must be feeling terrible right now.
Chen Zhiyu put down her knife and fork and gently patted Chi Nuan’s shoulder. “Sigh, Chi Nuannuan, it’s been so long, how can you still not let go?”
“I haven’t failed to let go of her!”
“Fine, keep being stubborn!” Chen Zhiyu took a large gulp of iced watermelon juice. “Hey, right, are you really dating that model?”
“No.”
“Oh, I say, Chi Nuannuan, why don’t you just give him a try? He’s been chasing you for so long.”
Chen Zhiyu glanced in Song Shixue’s direction with a look of disdain. “I think Song Shixue has long since thrown you to the back of beyond. You need to let go of the past and welcome a new relationship.”
Chen Zhiyu’s earnest advice sounded like countless buzzing mosquitoes in Chi Nuan’s ears.
A hint of displeasure crossed her brow. “Enough, Zhiyu. I know what I need to do next.”
Chi Nuan painfully watched the strange woman’s smiling face, her right hand instinctively gripping the dining knife. “I will try to get to know other people.”
Why can’t the impression people have of each other always stay at the first meeting?
/
The first time Chi Nuan saw Song Shixue was during winter in Hangcheng.
That year, she was 20 years old.
She was a sophomore in the Photography Department at Hua Guo Academy of Fine Arts.
During the winter break, Hangcheng had a rare snowfall. Even Chi Nuan, a native, had only seen it fewer than three times.
Although Chi Nuan didn’t like winter, she was eager to go out and capture more material. She excelled at photographing the mundane world and natural beauty, but today she wanted to challenge herself and try shooting individual people.
She found a pavilion and sat down, focusing on adjusting her camera settings. Her slender fingers were red from the cold, and white cold air puffed out of her mouth, fogging the glasses perched on her nose bridge.
There weren’t many people around the pavilion, and Chi Nuan observed for a long time without finding a satisfactory subject.
Just as she was feeling frustrated and preparing to move elsewhere, she spotted a woman painting in another pavilion not far across from her—Song Shixue.
Her hair was down, a beige knitted scarf draped over her chest, and she wore a dark gray wool coat. She sat in the center of the pavilion, her back perfectly straight. She held a paintbrush; her skin was soft and white; and her eyes held a hint of coolness.
From the moment she saw her, Chi Nuan felt that all the beauty in the world couldn’t compare to a fraction of hers. Even the rare snow scene became merely her backdrop.
Who wouldn’t be drawn to beautiful things?
Chi Nuan couldn’t help but raise her camera and press the shutter. The entire operation was incredibly smooth, almost as if she were afraid of being discovered.
Chi Nuan was highly professional and not an impolite person. She knew she should ask the subject for permission before taking their photo, but she was utterly unable to control herself. Impulse overcame reason; she wanted to actively get to know this woman.
Chi Nuan stared blankly in that direction, moving like a marionette, her heart pulling her out of the pavilion. Carelessly, she bumped into a middle-aged woman.
The woman’s sharp, grating voice pierced her eardrums. “What’s wrong with you! Can’t you watch where you’re going!”
Fortunately, that voice snapped Chi Nuan back to reality.
Realizing her mistake, she offered the middle-aged woman a sincere apology repeatedly.
“I’m sorry, Auntie.”
“You little girl, I don’t know what you saw that got you so engrossed.”
Being called out like that made Chi Nuan feel like a deflated balloon, and she no longer dared to approach the woman.
She could be quite timid sometimes.
After leaving the pavilion, Chi Nuan rushed to several old residential buildings to gather more material.
The sky gradually darkened. The small food stalls on the street began to light up with warm yellow lights, and people crowded around them, filled with lively hawking sounds. The aroma of various foods in the air grew thick, momentarily melting away some of the loneliness brought by winter.
Chi Nuan wanted to take a few more photos, but then remembered that Chi Sangzhi had swapped shifts with a colleague at the bar for an early shift tonight. She quickly hailed a taxi on the roadside and hurried home to cook.
Because of Chi Sangzhi’s job as a resident singer at the bar, she often ate irregularly, and sometimes she would drink with colleagues after work. This had caused her stomach problems to worsen significantly over the past two years.
So, whenever Chi Nuan was home, no matter how late Chi Sangzhi returned, she would personally prepare nutritious and light meals for her.
“Xingxing, Mom is home!”
Chi Nuan frowned, smelling the alcohol radiating from Chi Sangzhi. Her tone was slightly reproachful. “Mom, you know your stomach is bad, yet you drank so much!”
Chi Sangzhi waved her hand. “I know, I know~ You’re practically becoming my mother.”
Chi Nuan placed a bowl of freshly cooked vegetable and shrimp congee in front of Chi Sangzhi. “Hurry and eat, Mom. Once you’re done, go back to your room and rest early. I’ll clean up.”
Chi Sangzhi picked up the spoon and blew on the congee. “Our Xingxing works so hard.”
Chi Nuan’s eyes were full of worry.
As if sensing Chi Nuan’s concern, Chi Sangzhi gently stroked Chi Nuan’s head. “Your mother is perfectly healthy! Don’t worry, okay!” Then Chi Sangzhi stood up and kissed Chi Nuan on the cheek. “I’m heading back to my room now, my Xingxing baby!”
Although Chi Sangzhi often seemed unreliable, she truly loved her daughter, Chi Nuan.
After tidying everything up, Chi Nuan lay in bed, accompanied by the silence of the night, recalling the encounter from earlier today.
That strange feeling after meeting her—could it be love at first sight? Chi Nuan kept asking herself.
Perhaps because Chi Sangzhi had a particularly failed relationship with Chi Nuan’s father, whom she had never met, Chi Nuan had never yearned for love.
She had planned to live a life of solitude until old age and never expected to fall in love with anyone, let alone experience love at first sight.
It felt absurd, yet she had a strong desire deep down to meet her again.