Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 61
byAh, I’m back
In late autumn, on the outskirts of the neighboring city, the maple leaves were as red as a burning fire.Song Zhili drove me, the trunk was stuffed with camping equipment, and the maple leaf knot I casually tied last night was hung on the steering wheel.
“I heard that you can see the sunrise over the sea of clouds from the top of the mountain.” He looked sideways at me, his eyes reflecting the red maples passing by outside the window. “I checked the weather forecast and it’s sunny today.”
I leaned against the car window and looked at the scenery along the way, with the corners of my mouth rising unconsciously.This is our first trip together since we became friends.
No business entertainment, no past entanglements, just pure relaxation and freedom.
The wind on the top of the mountain was a bit chilly. He set up the tent skillfully, then took out a thick coat from the trunk and put it on me: “Don’t catch a cold.” I took the coat, and the faint smell of cedar lingered on the tip of my nose, and my heart felt warm.
In the evening, we sat on folding chairs outside the tent, roasting marshmallows and watching the sunset sink into the distant mountains.The flames danced, making his profile look particularly soft.
“I always felt that I would feel at ease only if I had you tied to my side.” He suddenly spoke, his voice slightly blown by the wind, “Now I realize that it’s good to watch the scenery with you like this.”
I turned to look at him, and his eyes fell on my face, with a slight smile, no longer the paranoia of the past, only full of tenderness.”Yeah, good.” I responded softly.
At night, the sea of clouds spread over the top of the mountain, and the stars sprinkled like diamonds on the black sky.
We lay in the tent, listening to the soft sound of the wind blowing through the tent, and chatted one after another.He talked about interesting things about studying abroad before, and I talked about the days when I watched the stars in a rental house before putting on my books. There was no concealment or defense.
“In the future, we can go to more places,” he said softly, “to see the sunrise on the seaside, to see the lakes on the snow-capped mountains, to see all the scenery you want to see.”
I didn’t answer, I just said “hmm” softly, but my heart felt ripples.These days, his company is like warm water making tea, slowly seeping into my life.
He will remember that I don’t eat peanuts, will silently turn off my mobile phone when I am reading, and will be the first to appear when I encounter difficulties, but will never force me to do anything.
Early the next morning, we climbed up the cliff to watch the sunrise.When the first ray of sunshine broke through the sea of clouds and golden light shone on the earth, Song Zhili suddenly turned to look at me, his eyes serious and firm: “Qiu Sheng, I don’t want to be just your friend anymore.”
My heartbeat skipped a beat. Looking at the stars in his eyes, I didn’t know what to say.
“I will never be like before.” He added hurriedly, with a hint of nervousness in his voice, “I will respect your wishes, give you enough freedom, and stay with you in the way you like. Are you willing… to give me a chance to pursue you?”
The sun shone on his face, outlining his gentle outlines.I looked at him and thought of the days when we basked in the sun together, read books together, and took care of the bookstore together. I thought of his figure waiting all night in the hospital, and of his determination to block all risks for me.
The defense in my heart quietly collapsed at this moment.
I nodded slowly, with a relieved smile on my face: “Okay.”
His eyes lit up instantly, as if he had received the most precious gift in the world.
He carefully stretched out his hand and gently held my hand, his fingertips warm and firm.
The sea of clouds is billowing and the sun is just right.We stood on the top of the mountain, facing the wind, holding each other’s hands and feeling the love that was gradually warming up in our hearts.
Perhaps, this relationship that began with paranoia and confinement finally blossomed into the most beautiful flowers in plain companionship and gentle protection.
On the second day after returning from the trip, Song Zhili was squatting in the corner of the bookstore, painting the newly purchased log flower stand. The sun fell on the top of his hair, giving it a soft luster.I held my newly adopted calico cat “Tuanzi” and leaned against the door frame. Looking at his serious expression, I couldn’t help but joke: “Don’t you want the Song family to have such a big business and spend it all day in my little bookstore?”
He stopped moving his hands, raised his head, and with a smile in his eyes, put down the paint brush and stood up: “The family fortune is not as important as you.”
“Glib tongue.” I scolded him, and the dumpling in my arms let out a dissatisfied “meow”, struggled to jump down, and rubbed against his trouser legs.
He bent down and picked up the dumpling, gently scratching its chin with his fingertips, and said in a gentle voice: “The company’s affairs have been sorted out a long time ago, and the deputy can handle it. I just want to be with you now.” He walked to me and glanced at the bookstore, “Besides, this is not a small shabby bookstore, it is our home.”
My heart warmed, but my words were unforgiving: “It’s better to talk than to sing. Be careful one day you get tired of it and run back to your business empire.”
He put down the dumplings, stretched out his hand to hold my hand gently, his fingertips were warm and firm: “No more.” He looked at me seriously, “I used to think that controlling everything and having wealth is the key to success. But after meeting you, I realized that true happiness is staying in a small shop with the person you like, basking in the sun, reading a book, and having a cat.”
In the following days, we reorganized the bookstore together.Song Zhili replaced the old bookshelf with a more spacious wooden one. He also made a small bay window next to the window, covered with soft cushions and a few throw pillows, making it my favorite corner.
He also planted several pots of roses at the door. When the flowers bloom, the fragrance can float into the alley.
I put some small ornaments on the bookshelf, including postcards collected during my travels, small dumpling toys, and shells we picked up together.
The bookstore gradually became more smoky, and it was no longer just cold books and bookshelves.
Every morning, we open the door together, Song Zhili will make me a cup of hot coffee, and I will add cat food to the dumplings.
When there are many guests, he will help greet them, find and recommend books to the guests, and his actions become more and more skillful.
When there were few guests, we would sit on the bay window and read together, or tease the dumplings, occasionally talk about the plot of the book, or plan the next trip.
One rainy day, there were no guests, the rain was pattering outside the window, and Tuanzi curled up next to us and took a nap.
Song Zhili hugged me from behind, resting his chin on the top of my hair, and said in a gentle voice: “Qiu Sheng, days like this are so good.”
I leaned in his arms, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his warm body temperature, and felt peaceful in my heart.”Well, that’s great.”
It turns out that the best life is never about passionate love, nor about how much wealth and power you have, but about guarding a small shop with the person you like, accompanied by a cat, accompanying each other and warming each other in ordinary days.
The Song family’s fortune is no longer his obsession, because he has found something more important than that – our home, our happiness.
Three years have been like the sunshine at the entrance of a neighboring city, warm and long.The roses in the bookstore are blooming and fading, and Tuanzi has grown from a skinny stray cat into a chubby lazy cat. Song Zhili’s white shirt has turned a little white after washing, but he still stays with me every day – making coffee, organizing bookshelves, reading in the bay window, and occasionally reaching out to scratch Tuanzi’s chin. When his eyes fall on me, they always have an indelible tenderness.
This afternoon, the sun was particularly bright. The shadow of the wall-creeper was swaying on the rocking chair, and the dumpling was curled up at my feet and taking a nap.
I rested on the soft cushion Song Zhili prepared for me, listening to the soft sound of him turning the pages of books and the faint sound of hawking from the alley, and gradually closed my eyes.
The consciousness is like being wrapped in warm water, light and without any warning.
When I opened my eyes again, what I saw was not the familiar blue brick wall and bookshelf, but the old incandescent lamp in the rental house, and there were yellowed movie posters on the wall.
There is no scent of paper or tea in the air, only a faint smell of instant noodles – the food I eat most before I wear books.
I sat up suddenly. I was still wearing the soft washed cotton T-shirt I had worn before going to bed, but everything around me felt strange and familiar at the same time.The phone was placed by the bedside, and the screen lit up. The date displayed was exactly the day after the day I put on the book.
I’m… back???
There was no earth-shattering sound, no heart-wrenching farewell, just a long dream. When I woke up, I returned to my world.
In the bookstore in the neighboring city, Song Zhili finished turning the last page of the book and looked up at the person on the rocking chair.
The sun shone on his peaceful face, with long eyelashes and a slight smile on his lips, as if he was sleeping particularly peacefully.
“Qiu Sheng?” He called softly, but received no response.
Song Zhili stood up and walked over, bending down to wake him up. As soon as her fingers touched his cheek, she found that the temperature was surprisingly cold.His heart suddenly sank, and he reached out tremblingly to feel his breath – there was no rise and fall, no warm breath.
Tuanzi seemed to sense something was wrong. He raised his head from his feet and let out a “meow”, rubbing his head against the armrest of the rocking chair with an uneasy sound.
Song Zhili froze on the spot, his pupils suddenly shrank, and the blood all over his body seemed to solidify instantly.
He couldn’t believe that the person who was joking with him a second ago just fell asleep in the rocking chair and would never wake up again.
“Qiu Sheng?” His voice was trembling, and he shouted the name over and over again. He reached out and shook his shoulders with increasing force, “Wake up! Don’t scare me! Wake up!”
The only thing that responded to him was the sound of wind in the alley and the whimpering of Tuanzi.
He fell to the ground and held those cold hands tightly, the warmth from his fingertips had long since disappeared.
The dullness and warmth of the past three years, those days of sunbathing, reading, and traveling together, and those longings for the future, all collapsed at this moment.
He hugged the person in the rocking chair like a rare treasure, and his body couldn’t stop shaking.Tears hit his face, burning hot, but they could no longer warm the cold skin.
“You said you would stay with me forever…” He choked, his voice hoarse, “How can you not keep your words? Qiu Sheng, I only have you… wake up, okay?”
The bookstore was eerily quiet, the sun was still shining brightly, but it could no longer shine into his cold heart.
The person in the rocking chair slept peacefully, as if he had just fallen into a dream that would never wake up, but Song Zhili was left in this dream forever, guarding an empty bookstore, a lost cat, and a warm time that could no longer last.
Later, Song Zhili did not leave the neighboring city.He guards the bookstore, the rocking chair, and the person who will never wake up.
He still makes coffee every day, organizes bookshelves, and adds cat food to Tuanzi, but no one will bask in the sun on the rocking chair, no one will listen to him reading, and no one will blame him for being “glib”.
People in the alley said that Boss Song was crazy and had spent his whole life guarding a dead man.
But only he knew that the man was not dead, but just asleep.
Maybe one day, when the sun is shining, he will wake up from the rocking chair and say to him with a smile: “Song Zhili, the coffee brewed today is a bit bitter.”
And the me who returned to the original world would occasionally think of the bookstore in the alley of the neighboring city on a sunny afternoon, the man who was once paranoid and crazy, but later gentle and restrained, and the cat named Tuanzi.There will be a sense of sourness in my heart, but also a sense of relief.
Perhaps, this is the best ending.I returned to my human world, and he stayed in our time. We were at peace with each other and did not disturb each other.
Just those three years spent in the bookstore, those plain and warm days, will always be engraved in our memories and become the most precious mark in life.