Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 63
byI came to your world
The sunlight shines through the old glass windows and falls on the yellowed walls, bringing with it the unique smell of a rental house, a mixture of dust and sunshine.Song Zhili opened his eyes suddenly on the bed, his heart beating wildly, and the feeling of holding dumplings still lingered in his arms, but what his fingertips touched was a body that was warm and undulating with breathing.
He turned his head stiffly, and what he saw was a face that was so familiar that it was engraved into his bones – Song Qiu Sheng, his eyebrows and eyes were still clear, and his skin had a healthy luster. There was no coldness on the tombstone, no struggle in the diary. He just slept quietly like that, with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. He was at his best age.
“Qiu Sheng…” Song Zhili’s voice was hoarse, and his fingertips were trembling, not daring to touch, for fear that this was just a fleeting dream.
He looked around, the small room, the single bed against the wall, an old air conditioner beside the bed, yellowed movie posters on the wall, a few well-thumbed books piled on the desk, and a bowl of uneaten instant noodles – all of them were exactly the same as the rental house described in Qiu Sheng’s diary.
Song Qiusheng seemed to be awakened by his voice, her eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.When he saw Song Zhili, he was stunned for a moment, then showed a relieved smile, and his voice was lazily like he had just woken up: “Song Zhili? Why are you here?”
Song Zhili couldn’t bear it any longer and hugged him tightly, with such force that it felt like he was going to be kneaded into his bones and blood. Tears rolled down uncontrollably and hit Qiu Sheng’s shoulders, hot and hot: “You’re not dead… you’re really not dead…”
Qiu Sheng was a little out of breath from being hugged by him. She patted his back gently and said in a gentle voice: “I’m not dead. I just… went home. I didn’t expect you to come too.”
“Go home…” Song Zhili choked, burying herself in the crook of his neck, greedily breathing in the familiar smell of cedar on his body, feeling his real body temperature and heartbeat, “Is this your world?”
“Yes.” Qiu Sheng nodded, pushed him away a little, and looked at him seriously, “I have returned to my original world, to my best age. And why are you here?”
Song Zhili raised her hand and gently stroked his cheek. The touch of her fingertips was so real that he wanted to cry: “I don’t know. I just fell asleep on the rocking chair in the bookstore, and when I woke up, I was here.” He paused, his eyes full of ecstasy and cherishment, “Qiu Sheng, no matter where this is, whether this is a dream or reality, as long as I can see you again, I don’t care about anything.”
Qiu Sheng felt sad when she looked at the red bloodshot eyes, his gray hair and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.He knew that Song Zhili had been guarding and waiting for him all his life in that world.”I’m sorry,” he said softly, “for keeping you waiting for so long.”
“I don’t blame you.” Song Zhili shook his head and held his hand, his fingertips were warm and firm, “It’s enough to meet you again.”
The sun gradually rose and shone on the two of them through the window, making them warm and bright.Although the rental house is small, it is full of life.Song Zhili looked at Qiu Sheng beside him, looking at the person he had been waiting for all his life. His eyes lost the paranoia and sadness in the past, only full of cherishment and tenderness.
Qiu Sheng also looked at him, her heart clear.Perhaps, this is the best gift of fate.Spanning two worlds and experiencing life and death, they finally reunited.
“From now on, we will live here and live well.” Qiu Sheng said with a smile, reaching out and scratching his chin, just like he did when he teased Tuanzi.
Song Zhili nodded, held his hand tightly, and showed a truly reassuring smile that he had not seen for a long time.
The sunshine outside the window was just right, and the two people in the rental house looked at each other and smiled.This time, there is no paranoid confinement, no barrier of life and death, no distance across the world, there is only each other, only the present, only the companionship and warmth of the flowing water.
Their story begins with an accident in a book and ends with a reunion across time and space.
For the rest of my life, the years will be peaceful and warm, and we will never be separated again.As soon as Song Qiusheng sat up with his arms supported, his waist was tightly held by Song Zhili from behind, and his calloused palms were clasped on his waist. The force was not too heavy, but it was stubborn enough that he could not break away.
Pressing your back against the warm chest, you could clearly feel his strong heartbeat and his breathing buried in the crook of his neck, with a bit of hoarseness as if he had just woken up: “You are not allowed to go.”
“I have to go to work, and the perfect attendance award will be gone.” Song Qiusheng clapped his hand helplessly and tried to open it, “You will be deducted for being late, and you will be deducted for asking for leave. Do you want to drink the northwest wind?”
But Song Zhili hugged him tighter, resting her chin on the top of his hair, and said in a muffled voice: “Button it, I just want you to stay with me.” The person he had guarded his whole life was about to be separated just after they reunited. Even if he just went to work, he felt empty in his heart.
“Stop making trouble.” Song Qiusheng sighed and turned to look at him.In the morning light, Song Zhili’s hair was still gray, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had not disappeared, but the stubbornness and dependence in his eyes were exactly the same as when he was in the bookstore in the neighboring city.
My heart softened, and my struggling movements stopped.
When Song Zhili saw that he was no longer making trouble, he immediately took the next step, stretched out his hand to take him to the bed, and put him in his arms again, like holding a lost treasure: “Please take leave, you are not allowed to go out today.”
Song Qiusheng was so troubled by him that he had no choice but to take out his mobile phone and send a leave request message to the company.When he put down the phone, he poked Song Zhili’s cheek and joked: “You are really a burden. You come here with no name or status, no ID card, no bank card. You are a black man. I can only support you from now on.”
Instead of being annoyed, Song Zhili smiled. She lowered her head and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. Her voice was so gentle that it could make her water drip. “Okay, I will wash and cook for you, take care of the housework, and be your exclusive nanny.” He paused, and lightly traced his eyebrows with his fingertips. “As long as I can stay by your side, I will do anything you want.”
“It’s a beautiful thought.” Song Qiusheng scolded him, but she didn’t push him away. Instead, she shrank into his arms.The morning light in the rental house is just right, and the people around me are warm and real. There are no barriers across the world, no entanglements in the past, only the stability and warmth of the moment.
Song Zhili held the person in his arms, feeling his even breathing, and felt satisfied in his heart.
He didn’t know why he came to this world, and he didn’t know what to do in the future, but as long as he could be with Qiu Sheng, even if he was really a gangster, even if he had to rely on him to support him, he felt that it was the happiest thing in his life.
The sunlight gradually crept over the edge of the bed, and the two of them cuddled together, not speaking, but it was worth a thousand words.Song Qiusheng listened to the heartbeats of the people around him, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously – perhaps, this reunion across time and space was just for them to make up for what they had missed and what they regretted.
The promotion defense for three years after joining the company had just ended. As soon as the door of the conference room opened, colleagues burst into applause.
Song Qiusheng held the hot appointment letter, her fingertips trembling slightly – the director position was settled, and the annual salary was tripled. Together with the savings saved before, it was enough to win the 18th-floor flat in the city center that he had been eyeing for a long time.
When he returned to the rental house, Song Zhili was wearing an apron and working in the kitchen. Fresh fish and shrimps were placed on the chopping board, and the aroma of food wafted in the air.”You’re back?” He turned around, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he put down his work and came forward, “How was your defense?”
Song Qiusheng slapped the appointment letter into his hand, raised his eyebrows and smiled: “Director Song, please give me more advice in the future.”
Song Zhili looked at the words “Appoint Song Qiusheng as Marketing Director” on the paper. He rubbed the writing over and over again with his fingers. He couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of his mouth. He hugged the person and spun around: “I knew you could do it!”
“Put me down, the food will be burnt!” Song Qiusheng smiled and patted his back, but her heart felt warm.In the past few days, Song Zhili had kept the rental house in order and secretly learned his favorite dishes. Even though he was a “black householder”, he still took good care of his life.
During dinner, Song Qiusheng pushed the house purchase contract in front of him: “806, a flat floor on the 18th floor of Building A, Fuwan, Zhong District. I will collect the house tomorrow. No need to squeeze into this small rental house in the future.”
Song Zhili looked at the address on the contract and was stunned.On the 18th floor, the view is wide and you can see the river view in the distance. It is somewhat similar to the view at the door of the bookstore in the neighboring city, but it is wider and brighter.”Our home?” He looked up at Song Qiusheng, his eyes filled with incredible joy.
“What else?” Song Qiusheng gave him a chopstick fish, “I can’t let my exclusive nanny live in a rental house all the time, right? Besides, if you want to bask in the sun in the future, the balcony is big enough to put two rocking chairs.”
Song Zhili’s throat tightened, and she put down her chopsticks and held his hand: “Qiu Sheng, thank you.” He had owned the Song family’s huge fortune in his life, but he had never had such a solid sense of happiness – not because of the size of the house or the amount of wealth, but because Song Qiu Sheng was in this house and they had a common future.
On the day of closing, the sun was just right.The large flat floor on the 18th floor has excellent lighting. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room have a panoramic view of the river. The balcony is spacious enough to be filled with flowers and plants.
Song Zhili stood on the balcony, imagining setting up a rocking chair here in the future, sunbathing and reading with Qiu Sheng, and perhaps having a new “dumpling” in his arms, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up.
Song Qiusheng hugged him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder: “Do you like it? This will be our home from now on.”
“I like it.” Song Zhili turned around and hugged him back, with an irresistible tenderness in her eyes, “Wherever you are, it’s home.”
In the days that followed, the two renovated the house together.Song Zhili was responsible for the design, transforming the balcony into a sunroom, placing two rattan rocking chairs, and planting several pots of roses and platycodon; Song Qiusheng was responsible for selecting furniture and making the living room warm and comfortable. The study room had a whole wall of bookshelves filled with books they both liked.
On the day of the move, Lin Zhiqing and the others came over from neighboring cities to help. Looking at the spacious and bright flat floor, they couldn’t help but joke: “Director Song is now a winner in life, with a good harvest in career and love!”
Song Qiusheng smiled and looked at Song Zhili beside him. He was busy pouring tea for everyone, his movements were skillful and gentle.
The sun shines on him through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his gray hair has a soft sheen, and there is a smile hidden in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Song Qiusheng suddenly felt that all the struggles and regrets of going through a book journey, experiencing life and death, and parting, had a perfect answer at this moment.
Not only did he change Xu Xingruo’s fate, but he also found his own happiness – crossing two worlds, going around in circles, and finally having a home that truly belonged to them under the sunshine on the 18th floor with this person who was once paranoid and then gentle.
In the days to come, there will be sunshine, the fragrance of books, and each other’s company. There will be no more separation and no more regrets.
The biggest doubt is why Lin Zhiqing also wears books with him???
So from the moment I committed suicide…