That Nameless Summer Chapter 26

Qin Jiangwen

On the last night of the winter vacation, fireworks exploded over the city one after another, dyeing the night sky brilliantly.Song Li, Ling Qingye and Xu Jiangyou stood under the locust tree at the entrance of the alley, the fairy sticks in their hands lit up with tiny sparks, lighting up each other’s smiling faces.

“Set off another soaring cannon and go home!” Xu Jiangyou held up the firecracker, his eyes shining with excitement.Ling Qingye nodded, took the lighter, and carefully lit the fuse.The sky cannon roared into the night sky and exploded into a dazzling light, causing Xu Jiangyou to cheer for joy.Song Li looked at the lively two people around him with a smile on his lips. The phone in his pocket vibrated slightly. He took it out and looked at it. It was an unsigned draft of a text message. He wrote and deleted it, but in the end it was not sent. He wanted to ask Qin Jiangwen what he was doing, but he remembered that they were not familiar with each other, so he gave up in the end.

In an old residential building on the other side of the city, Qin Jiangwen was sitting at his desk.This place is three streets away from the alley where Song Li and the others are. It is a single room that he rented with the money he saved from working three jobs. It is narrow but tidy.The sound of fireworks outside the window came faintly, but they seemed distant and blurry through a thick layer of glass.

He had just finished his night shift in the supermarket. He took off his work clothes that were stained with dust and put on the sweatshirt that had been washed white.The desk was an old model that he had picked up, and the top was a little mottled. There were several exercise books and a thermos cup spread out on it – it was an eighteenth-year-old gift from his aunt at the orphanage. The bear pattern printed on the cup had faded.He took out the shopping bag that Song Li had given him in the afternoon. It contained several boxes of milk, a bag of nuts, and a box of burn ointment. There was a note on the box, written in Song Li’s neat handwriting: “Remember to apply, don’t get wet.”

Rubbing the note paper with his fingertips, Qin Jiangwen felt a strange warmth in his heart.He grew up in a welfare institution and lived alone in a rented house after graduation. He had long been accustomed to relying on himself in everything, and no one had ever cared about him so carefully.The burn mark on his wrist was still red. He squeezed out a little ointment and applied it carefully. The cool touch relieved the burning sensation.

The phone was placed on the corner of the table, the screen dark.He picked up his phone, hesitated for a moment, and clicked on WeChat.Most of the people in the address book are aunts from the work group and the welfare home, and there are only a few personal friends.He turned to Song Li’s profile photo, which was a photo of his back on a basketball court, with the sun just right.He stared at the avatar for a long time, typing and deleting in the input box, but in the end he sent nothing – he didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t want others to see the embarrassment of living alone.

Song Li and the three people at the alley had packed up the remains of the fireworks and were preparing to go home.”See you at the start of school tomorrow!” Xu Jiangyou waved and jumped up and down in the direction of his home.Ling Qingye looked at Song Li and said in a calm tone: “Go to bed early, we have to get up early when school starts.” Song Li nodded, turned and walked home.When passing by a convenience store, he stopped and went in to buy a box of hot milk. He suddenly thought of Qin Jiangwen and wondered if he had eaten or had a good rest at the moment.

Qin Jiangwen turned off his phone and picked up the exercise book.There was only a dim desk lamp in the room, and the light fell on the pages of the book, reflecting his focused profile.The sound of fireworks outside the window gradually became thinner, and the night became darker and darker.He did a few math problems and suddenly felt a little thirsty. He stood up, picked up the thermos cup on the table, and poured a glass of warm water.

The water vapor was thick, blurring his eyebrows.He remembered Song Li’s gentle eyes when he handed him the shopping bag in the supermarket in the afternoon, Xu Jiangyou’s apologetic greeting, and Ling Qingye’s words “one more place to go”. These images were like glimmers of light, illuminating his lonely cold night.

He didn’t know where Song Li and the others lived, and he never thought of asking.For him, it was an unexpected surprise to receive this sudden concern.He didn’t dare to ask for too much, fearing that the warmth would be just a fleeting firework and would only make him feel even more lonely after it dissipated.

Song Li returned home, drank the hot milk, and sat at the desk.The fireworks outside the window have stopped, and the night sky has returned to tranquility.He thought of Qin Jiangwen, that young man who always lived alone, who might be staying alone in a corner at this moment.He took out his mobile phone and sent a text message to Qin Jiangwen: “Go to bed early and see you when school starts.” After the message was successfully sent, he put down his mobile phone, feeling a little uneasy, wondering if Qin Jiangwen would reply.

Qin Jiangwen was cleaning up his desk when his cell phone vibrated.When he saw the text message, his fingertips paused slightly.The writing on the screen is simple, but has a reassuring power.He looked at the text message for a long time, and finally typed three words slowly: “See you at the beginning of school.” The moment the message was sent successfully, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

On this cold night, three teenagers were in different corners of the city, each with their own concerns.

Their trajectories have never intersected, but because of their sincere goodwill and concern in the distance, the end of this winter vacation has a gentle bond.

As the night gets darker, the city returns to calm.The thoughts of young people are like stars dotted in the cold night sky, weak but firm, illuminating the upcoming new semester.