When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ling Xueqing’s fingers still stayed in the air, and the soft touch of Ye Qiulan’s hair and the coolness of broken dead leaves remained on her fingertips.The burnt yellow leaf curled up into a small ball in her palm, its veins indistinct in the dim light.She forgot to put her hands down or look away.

Ye Qiulan also forgot to move.The place where the top of the head was touched, although the force was so light, was like a branding iron leaving an invisible mark. The burning sensation lingered, burning all the way to the ears and the side of the neck.She could clearly see her blurry reflection reflected in Ling Xueqing’s eyes, as well as something melting and like ice cracking deep in her eyes.The evening wind passed through the forest, blowing a few strands of hair in front of Ling Xueqing’s forehead, and also caused the canvas bag strap in Ye Qiulan’s arms to sway slightly, rubbing against the skin of his arm, causing a slight itching.

Time seems to be stuck at this point and no longer flows.The lights of the dormitory area in the distance, the caressing of nearby branches and leaves, and even the wind itself all became vague background sounds.The world shrunk to the size of the forest path, and the distance between the two of them was less than an arm’s length but filled with countless invisible things.

It was a string of bicycle bells that suddenly rang in the distance, crisp and abrupt, breaking the stagnation.A few students returning home late chatted and laughed as they rode their bicycles past the main road on the other side of the forest. The beam of car lights flashed past, startling the birds, and the flapping of their wings could be heard sporadicly.

The two of them suddenly distanced themselves as if they were startled awake at the same time.

Ling Xueqing quickly retracted her hand and grasped the dead leaf into her palm, exerting slight force on her knuckles.The book box in the crook of the other arm seemed to sink a little.She turned around, her back to Ye Qiulan, and took a deep breath of the cool air that smelled of earth and forest, trying to suppress the uncontrollable beating in her chest.The breath of cedar rushed left and right inside her body, almost breaking through her tight control.She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her eyes were forcibly covered with a layer of usual calmness, but under that calmness, the undercurrent became more and more turbulent.

Ye Qiulan also lowered his head and unconsciously tightened the strap of the canvas bag with his fingers.The heat on his face has not subsided, and his heartbeat is chaotic and chaotic.When they looked at each other for a moment, she saw something in Ling Xueqing’s eyes that had never been so clearly exposed before – it was not simple concern, nor was it the look that ordinary friends should have.There was a kind of concentration that was almost painful, a kind of burning heat that was suppressed to the extreme, which made her panic and made a corner of her heart quietly collapse.

“…Let’s go.” Ling Xueqing’s voice came, and it had returned to calmness, but it was hoarse than usual.She didn’t look back and walked straight forward, walking a little faster than before, as if she wanted to get out of this confusing and fascinating gloom as soon as possible.

Ye Qiulan said “hmm” and followed.The steps are a little fluttery, like stepping on cotton.The two fell into silence again, but this silence was different from before.The silence that used to be heavy and full of unspoken words was now like a taut bowstring, and the air was filled with silent, fine tremors.

They walked out of the metasequoia forest.My eyes suddenly opened up, and the street lights in the dormitory area were much brighter, illuminating the asphalt road with a moist light.The fork in the road is just a dozen meters ahead, one heading east and the other heading west.A clear boundary, like a metaphor, lies between them.

The closer we get to the fork in the road, the slower our pace invariably becomes.The illusion of being infinitely stretched in the forest just now disappeared, and the distance in reality shortened at an irresistible speed.

Finally, they stood at the edge of the fork in the road.Ling Xueqing stopped, and so did Ye Qiulan.There was a step between them, standing face to face.The light from the street lamp came from the side, casting their shadows behind them. They overlapped briefly and were soon separated by the fork in the road.

It’s time to return the book box.It’s time to say goodbye.

Ling Xueqing lowered her head and looked at the constant humidity book box in her arms, and then at Ye Qiulan.Ye Qiulan was also looking at her, his eyes looked particularly clear under the street lights, reflecting a little warm yellow light, and there was also a hint of confusion and expectation that he couldn’t completely hide.

Ling Xueqing handed over the book box.The movement was very slow, as if the box was extremely heavy.

Ye Qiulan reached out to pick it up.This time, both of them deliberately avoided any contact.Keep your fingers in the air to complete the handover.The book box fell steadily back into Ye Qiulan’s arms, bringing with it the slight warmth left in Ling Xueqing’s arms and the crisp and clean cedar scent on her body – it was very faint, but Ye Qiulan caught it.Beta is not sensitive to pheromones, but she is overly familiar with everything about Ling Xueqing. This breath is so faint that it is almost non-existent, but it is like a soft feather, gently scratching the tip of her heart.

“Thank you.” Ye Qiulan hugged the book box and said softly.

Ling Xueqing shook her head and said nothing.Her eyes fell on Ye Qiulan’s face, as if she was tracing, and as if she was trying to engrave her at this moment into her mind.The night breeze blew by, bringing with it the vague, old and warm atmosphere of life from the old dormitory building in the West District, which was completely different from the more deserted and alienated atmosphere in the graduate apartment in the East District.They are about to go in two directions and return to their respective places with heavy backgrounds, but they have to call “home”.

“Then…” Ye Qiulan opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say “see you tomorrow” or “be careful on the road”, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.Ordinary farewells seem too light at this moment, unable to carry everything heavy accumulated in this dusk.

Ling Xueqing looked at her hesitant expression, and her heart seemed to be clenched by an invisible hand.The sourness overflowed, clearer and stronger than ever before.They were obviously so close, so close that they could clearly see the twitching of each other’s eyelashes, but they seemed to be separated by an insurmountable gap.Gender, family, and the turbulent emotions that even she herself has not yet sorted out have all become part of this gap.

She suddenly didn’t want it to end like this.I don’t want this evening to end at such a clear and cruel fork in the road.

Almost subconsciously, she raised her hand and picked up the light gray cardigan that had been hanging on her arm.The movement was a bit abrupt, even she was stunned for a moment.

Ye Qiulan also looked at her blankly.

Ling Xueqing held the cardigan and stroked the soft wool blend fabric with her fingertips.It was still stained with the temperature of the sunshine in the library and the scent of Ye Qiulan.She paused, and then, with an almost solemn gesture, she unfolded the cardigan, took a step forward, and gently put it on Ye Qiulan’s shoulders.

It was different from the habitual action in the library in the afternoon.This time, her fingers stayed on Ye Qiulan’s shoulder for a moment.Through the thin clothes, she could feel the shape of the other person’s shoulder blades, which were a bit thin.Her fingertips trembled slightly, and it took a lot of willpower to resist the urge to close her arms and hug the person in front of her.

“It’s cold at night.” She whispered, her voice tight, as if she was suppressing something.After putting on her cardigan, she did not step away immediately, but looked down at Ye Qiulan from this extremely close distance.Their breaths were almost intertwined.

Ye Qiulan was completely frozen.The weight and temperature coming from her shoulders were so real, the remaining touch of Ling Xueqing’s fingers, and the cold fragrance of cedar on her body suddenly became clearer, wrapping her tightly.She raised her head and looked at Ling Xueqing, who was very close at hand, and into those deep eyes filled with complex emotions.The world faded again, leaving only this face, this look, this silent tenderness that almost drowned her.

She could feel that Ling Xueqing was restraining herself.The tight jawline, the slightly trembling fingertips, and the undercurrent in his eyes that he tried hard to suppress but still kept rising, were all telling a silent storm.Beta’s instinct prevented her from accurately sensing all the fluctuations of Alpha pheromones, but Ling Xueqing’s current state was something she had never seen before.It’s not just caring, it’s not just protecting.There was more in there…more that made her heart beat erratically and her breathing difficult.

She suddenly wanted to reach out her hand, touch Ling Xueqing’s pursed lips, and smooth the barely visible frown between her eyebrows.She wanted to ask her, Xue Qing, what are you thinking about?What are those in your eyes?

But she didn’t move.She just held the book box and wore a cardigan with the warmth and breath of Ling Xueqing. She stood there, like a plant trembling slightly in the night wind, waiting and enduring the too violent approach.

Ling Xueqing finally backed away.She took a step back and regained that distance.The palms of my hands were empty, and the warmth I had touched when I was putting on my clothes seemed to still be on my fingertips.She looked at Ye Qiulan’s slimmer figure wrapped in a large cardigan, and at the clear glimmer in her eyes that reflected her own reflection, and her throat seemed to be choked by something.

The sourness filled my chest and almost overflowed my eyes.But at the same time, seeing his own clothes draped over Qiu Lan’s body, seeing her accepting his out-of-bounds care, an indescribable and tiny sweetness quietly seeped out, mixing in the sea of ​​sourness, and there was a trace of insignificant but real sweetness.

“…Go back.” Ling Xueqing finally found her voice, which was so hoarse, “Get some rest early.”

Ye Qiulan nodded, moved his lips, and finally just said: “You too.” His voice was soft.

Then they turned around at the same time.Ling Xueqing walked towards the darker road to the east, while Ye Qiulan walked towards the dormitory buildings to the west where the lights were more densely lit.No one looked back.

The footsteps parted ways at the fork in the road and drifted away.The street lights stretched their shadows very long, meeting briefly in the middle of the intersection, and then unswervingly extending in the opposite direction until they were swallowed up by the night.

The wind seemed to be stronger, blowing the corners of the light gray cardigan on Ye Qiulan’s shoulders, and sending a faint wisp of cold cedar fragrance to the distance away from her.

Ling Xueqing was walking on the way back to the East District, the night wind blowing on her face, bringing the coolness of early autumn.She put her hand into her pocket and touched the completely broken dead leaf with her fingertips, feeling like powder.She held it tightly, like holding the remains of a short summer, or an unspeakable dusk. All the unfinished words, unfinished touches, and the mixture of heavy and slightly sweet thoughts followed the powder and quietly seeped into the lines of her palm.

She never looked back.Just the cardigan draped over Qiu Lan’s shoulders, the remaining body temperature and breath, and the clear glimmer in the other person’s eyes when they finally looked at each other, seemed to have turned into invisible threads, tied to the heart. With every step away, they pulled out a subtle but long-lasting, sour pain, and a trace of illusory warmth that refused to dissipate.