When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The gravel path was longer than I remembered.

The street lamp was an old-style warm yellow, and the light was not very bright, barely blurring out the blurry fields of light. The boundary between light and darkness slowly moved under their feet.The footsteps were very light, and the gravel made a faint rustling sound, almost blown away by the night wind.The light gray cardigan was draped on Ling Xueqing’s arm. The fabric swayed gently with her steps, and occasionally brushed the back of her hand, bringing with it a gentle breath that belonged to Ye Qiulan.

She walked on the outside, a habitual and protective position.Ye Qiulan walked behind her holding the book box. The strap of the canvas bag stretched across his shoulders, leaving a shallow mark on the thin coat.The two still maintained the half-step distance between them. Silence was like a transparent film, wrapping them and separating them from the faint sounds of traffic and people on the main road of the campus not far away.

This silence was not awkward, but it was a little more weighty than the afternoon in the library.The unfinished approach to the sofa on the porch, those brief exchanges about family that were as heavy as stone, and the shadows that were lengthened and shortened by the street lights at this moment, sometimes overlapping and sometimes separated, all gave this silence weight and shape.In addition to the cool scent of vegetation at night, there seemed to be some invisible, tiny particles floating in the air, which brought a subtle sense of stagnation as the breath entered the lungs.

At the end of the trail, there is a small metasequoia forest ahead. Through the forest, there is a fork in the dormitory area.Their directions were different. Ling Xueqing lived in the graduate student apartment in the East District, and Ye Qiulan lived in the old dormitory building in the West District.

Just when he was about to step into the heavier shadow cast by the metasequoia forest, Ye Qiulan’s steps slowed down.She turned her head slightly and looked at an old locust tree with strong branches on the side of the road.The tree canopy is like a canopy, and in the darkness where the street lights cannot illuminate, there are a few scattered, late summer insect chirps, weak and long.

“Xueqing,” she suddenly said, her voice not much clearer than the chirping of insects, but it easily cut through the stagnant air, “Look.”

Ling Xueqing stopped and followed her gaze.A small piece of irregular reflective material is embedded in the cracks in the rough bark of the old locust tree. It shines with a dim, almost imperceptible light through the faint scattering of the street lamp in the distance.

“What is it?” Ling Xueqing asked, taking half a step forward.The shortening of the distance made Ye Qiulan’s clean scent, mixed with lime soap and old book pages, become clearer, diluting the coldness of the night air.

Ye Qiulan didn’t answer immediately.She transferred the book box to her other hand and raised her free hand. She hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to touch the reflective object, but the bark was rough and the position was slightly higher.She stood on tiptoe, her fingertips still a little short of her target.

Ling Xueqing watched her movements. The wrist exposed from the cuffs looked particularly slender in the dim light.Without thinking much, she stepped forward and stretched out her hand.She was tall enough, and her fingers easily penetrated into the cracks in the bark, and her fingertips touched a small object that was cold, hard, and had smooth edges.She took it out.

It’s a very old school badge.It is made of copper, with some oxidation and blackening on the edges. Most of the enamel paint on the surface has peeled off, leaving only a vague school motto in the center, which is vaguely legible.The pin on the back has been corroded and broken, leaving only a stub.

“It’s the school badge.” Ling Xueqing held it in her palm and handed it to Ye Qiulan.The copper piece was stained with tree bark chips and dust, and looked particularly shabby and old in her clean palm.

Ye Qiulan lowered his head, moved closer, and looked at the school badge carefully.Breath gently brushed against Ling Xueqing’s wrist.Ling Xueqing’s hand paused almost imperceptibly, but did not take it back.

“It’s so old,” Ye Qiulan said softly, stretched out his fingers and touched the peeling enamel on the edge of the school badge very lightly, “I don’t know who left it here and how long it took.”

“Maybe it’s been a long time.” Ling Xueqing’s eyes fell on the school badge, and then moved to Ye Qiulan’s downturned, focused profile.”Probably older than us.”

This thought made both of them silent for a moment.An old thing that has existed longer than them is left in an unnoticed corner, wrapped in tree bark and eroded by wind and rain, quietly witnessing groups of young people passing by here, laughing or being silent, getting together or separated.And they are just two shadows that stay briefly in this long time.

A vague sense of nothingness related to eternity, mixed with the body temperature and breath that is so close at this moment, creates a strange tension.Sourness is the background, but in this vast, slightly sad time and space background, the presence of the people in front of you, the distance of breathing and smelling each other, gives birth to a subtle sweetness like the aftermath of a disaster.

Ye Qiulan picked up the school badge from Ling Xueqing’s palm, and his fingertips inevitably brushed against Ling Xueqing’s skin.A very light tap, like a dragonfly touching the water.However, Ling Xueqing felt that a subtle electric current was left in the place where it was rubbed, spreading quietly along the blood vessels.

Ye Qiulan wiped off the dust on the school badge with his thumb, carefully, as if he were treating a precious unearthed cultural relic.”You can also see a little bit of the word ‘xue’ that means ‘study diligently’.” She raised the school badge to her eyes and squinted her eyes to identify it under the light of the street lamp.

Ling Xueqing looked at her soft outline outlined by the light, at her slightly frowning eyebrows when she was concentrating, and at her lightly moving, light-colored lips.The heart beat slowly and heavily in the chest.She suddenly remembered that many years ago, when they were little girls, they had picked up “treasures” on the way home from school – a pebble with a special pattern, a complete maple leaf, and a rusty screw.Qiu Lan was like this at that time, carefully holding them in his hands and showing them to her with bright eyes, as if they were the most cherished things in the world.

As time went by, the things they picked up changed, from pebbles to old school badges.But the concentration and cherishment in Qiu Lan’s eyes seemed to have never changed.What has changed is the emotion that surges in my heart when I look into these eyes, which can no longer be simply classified as “accompanying”.

“Do you want to keep it?” Ling Xueqing heard herself ask.The voice sounded a little hoarse in the night air.

Ye Qiulan put down the hand holding the school badge and turned to look at her.The light from the street lamp fell on her eyes, causing some warm ripples.”Keep it.” She said, gently holding the school badge in her palm, and the cold metal touch touched her skin.”Anyway…no one wants it anymore.”

“Yeah.” Ling Xueqing responded without saying anything else.She retracted her hand and curled up her fingertips. The delicate touch of Ye Qiulan’s fingertips and the coldness of the old school emblem seemed to remain there.

They walked on, stepping into the shadows of the metasequoia forest.The light suddenly dimmed, and only the street lamp in the distance penetrated the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled and broken light spots, which flickered on and off their bodies and feet.The chirping of insects seems to be clearer, but also more silent.The sounds of each other’s breathing, the rustle of clothing, and even the sound of heartbeats were all amplified in this relatively closed, dark space.

The path in the forest was narrower, and the distance between the two was forced to shorten.Occasionally, their arms would touch each other, and through their clothes, they could feel each other’s warm body temperature.Every casual touch was like a pebble thrown into a quiet lake, creating silent ripples in their hearts.Ling Xueqing changed the cardigan in her arms to one side, trying to keep away the scent of Ye Qiulan that always brushed the back of her hands, but the effect was minimal.That breath has entangled itself, intertwining silently with her own cold fragrance of cedar, creating a heart-wrenching, private atmosphere in this darkness.

Ye Qiulan walked very slowly, and the arm holding the book box seemed a little weak, so she quietly changed hands.This subtle movement was captured by Ling Xueqing.

“Is it heavy?” Ling Xueqing asked, “The book box.”

“It’s okay.” Ye Qiulan replied, his voice a little muffled in the woods, “It’s just a bit slippery and difficult to hold.”

Ling Xueqing paused.A thought was swirling in her heart, carrying a certain impulse in Alpha’s nature to take on responsibility and take care of her, and also carrying a deeper desire to get closer.She was silent for two seconds, and then, in a tone that sounded as casual as possible, but in which every word was carefully considered, she said, “Let me get it for you. Just… on the way.”

This statement actually does not stand up to scrutiny.They will soon reach a fork in the road, so how can they “follow the road”?Moreover, Ye Qiulan had never asked Ling Xueqing to help her carry such a “light” thing.In the past, she would always carry heavier luggage by herself.

Ye Qiulan was obviously stunned for a moment.She turned her head and looked at Ling Xueqing in the dim light.Ling Xueqing’s face was half-clear, and her specific expression couldn’t be clearly seen. Only the straight bridge of her nose and tight lip lines outlined a familiar, distant outline.But for some reason, Ye Qiulan read a rare, almost clumsy concern from this outline.

The tip of my heart felt like it was slightly scratched by the cold edge of the old school badge. It didn’t hurt, but it left an extremely clear mark.

“…Okay.” Ye Qiulan heard himself say, his voice as soft as a sigh in the forest.She didn’t refuse.Not because she really couldn’t hold it, but because…she didn’t want to refuse.

She stopped and handed over the constant humidity book box.During the handover, her fingers inevitably touched Ling Xueqing’s hand.This time it’s not a light brush with the fingertips, but a brief contact with the entire back of the hand.Ling Xueqing’s hand was cooler than hers, with distinct finger bones and clear touch.Ye Qiulan seemed to be scalded by the coolness. He quickly retracted his hand and lowered his eyes, his ears quietly heating up in the darkness.

Ling Xueqing took the book box.The box is not heavy, but when you hold it in your arms, it seems to be of great weight.The ancient books inside were repaired bit by bit by Qiu Lan, who spent an entire afternoon with his steady and gentle hands.But now, it was lying in his arms, carrying Qiu Lan’s body temperature and breath.A strange feeling of satisfaction, mixed with a deeper throbbing, came up.She held the book box steady, still holding the cardigan with her other hand.Both things were stained with Ye Qiulan’s sense of presence.

They kept walking.No one said anything more.The silence in the forest seemed to have a thickness, wrapping them and squeezing them.The silent tension grew stronger and stronger, almost reaching a critical point.Every breath, every slight sound of footsteps landing on the soft soil, became part of the silence, and seemed to be trying to break it.

We were almost at the end of the forest, and we could already see the brighter street lights in the dormitory area ahead.The fork in the road is right in front of you.

At this moment, a slightly stronger evening wind passed through the metasequoia forest, and the branches and leaves made a rustling sound.A prematurely aged, scorched yellow metasequoia leaf was blown down by the wind, swirled, and landed on the top of Ye Qiulan’s head, gently getting stuck in her soft hair.

Ye Qiulan didn’t seem to notice, still looking down at the mottled light and shadow under his feet, walking slowly.

Ling Xueqing saw it.The dead leaf in her black hair was like an abrupt sign with the decadent atmosphere of autumn.Her steps were sluggish.

With almost no thought, the body acted before consciousness.She stopped, turned around, and faced Ye Qiulan.

Ye Qiulan also stopped and raised his head with some confusion, looking at Ling Xueqing who suddenly stopped in front of him.The light was dim, and she couldn’t see clearly the complex emotions rolling in Ling Xueqing’s eyes. She could only feel the other person’s gaze falling heavily on her… top of her head?

“There are leaves.” Ling Xueqing said, her voice was softer and lower than the sound of the wind passing through the branches and leaves, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.She raised her free hand, which was holding the cardigan, and stretched it towards the top of Ye Qiulan’s hair.

The movement was very slow, as if approaching a fragile and rare treasure.

Ye Qiulan froze.She could feel Ling Xueqing’s fingers approaching, bringing with them the cool air flowing.She didn’t hide, she just opened her eyes wide and looked at Ling Xueqing who was very close at hand.Her heart beat like a drum, and she could almost hear the sound of her own blood rushing in the silent forest.

Ling Xueqing’s fingers finally touched the dead leaf, and inevitably, they touched Ye Qiulan’s soft and cool hair.The touch from your fingertips is so delicate that it makes your heart tremble.Gently and extremely carefully, she picked off the leaf and held it between her fingertips.

The whole process only takes a few seconds.

But to them, it feels like being stretched infinitely.Time, the sound of wind, the chirping of insects, everything faded away, leaving only the moment when fingertips and hair touched, that tiny but thrilling electric current exploded silently between the two.

Ling Xueqing retracted her hand and held the dead leaf in her palm. The crisp leaves made a slight cracking sound.She looked at Ye Qiulan.Ye Qiulan also looked at her.In the dim light, each other’s eyes were the only bright spots, filled with too many emotions that were too late to distinguish and needed to be expressed.