When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 69

Chapter 69

At 7:50 on Saturday morning, Ye Qiulan stood under the eaves of the canteen at the school gate.The weather is colder than last week, and the breath from the mouth condenses into white mist.Wearing the thin down jacket that had been washed white, she rubbed her frozen hands.

At 7:55, Ling Xueqing’s figure appeared at the corner of the road on time.Today she wore a dark blue long down jacket, with the zipper pulled down to her chin, and a light gray cashmere scarf, covering less than half of her face, revealing only a pair of calm eyes and a straight nose.Her hair was still braided to the side and rested on her chest.She was holding a slightly heavy canvas tool bag in her hand, which was bulging.

“Morning.” Ling Xueqing walked closer, her voice muffled through her scarf.

“Morning.” Ye Qiulan looked at her bag, “Do you need me to take it?”

“No need.” Ling Xueqing shook her head, “Let’s go.”

The bus was a little more crowded than last week, with more people going out on the weekend.The two people squeezed into the back compartment, and there were no seats connected together.Ling Xueqing let Ye Qiulan sit in a single seat by the window, while he stood next to her, holding the hanging ring with one hand and protecting the tool bag in front of him with the other hand.The car swayed, and their bodies touched lightly from time to time as the inertia followed.Through the thick down jacket, the touch was not clear, but Ye Qiulan could still feel the cool outdoor air coming from Ling Xueqing every time he got close, and a very faint clean breath wrapped in a scarf that belonged to her.

She turned her head to look out the window at the rapidly retreating street scene, her fingers unconsciously digging at the frayed leather on the edge of the seat.

The Municipal Library is much more elegant than the Archives. It is a newly built glass curtain wall building.There are many people who come to borrow books on weekends, and the hall is a little noisy.The local literature department is on the fifth floor and requires a special elevator card.Ling Xueqing had obviously done her homework in advance, and found the staff with ease, handing over the prepared certificates and letters of introduction—this time, in addition to the ones from the school, there was also a letter written by Teacher Zhao in his own name.

The staff member was a young girl. She looked at the letter of introduction and then looked at them both, especially Ling Xueqing.”Looking for a collection of literati from Yongzhou in the late Qing Dynasty? The Kuben Reading Room is at the end of the corridor. It cannot be borrowed, you can only read it inside. Registration is required, and you cannot bring your bag in. You can use the notebooks and pens we provide.”

The rules are similar, but the environment is much better.Kuben’s reading room is not big, with only four large solid wood reading tables. The light is bright and soft, the temperature is suitable, and the air smells of new books and wood maintenance oil.Apart from them, there was only an old gentleman with gray hair sitting in the corner, wearing white gloves and frowning at a tome.

Ling Xueqing stored her tool bag and coat in the outer cabinet, and only brought in her notebook and pencil.She walked to the search computer and quickly entered a few keywords.There were more than a dozen results listed on the screen. She browsed quickly and copied down the call number.

“You sit down first.” She said to Ye Qiulan, and then walked towards the row of dark brown solid wood bookshelves against the wall.

Ye Qiulan sat down at a table near the window.Outside the window is the scenery of the city’s central park, with sparse trees and thin ice on the lake, glowing gray under the gloomy sky.

Ling Xueqing quickly brought back a stack of books, all of which were thread-bound or photocopies of lithographs published in the Republic of China. The covers were old and the writing on the spines was a little blurry.She carefully placed the books on the table, sorting them into two piles.”These books, the Yongzhou part of “Yongzhou Qi Jiu Shi Chao”, “Xiang Ru Zazu”, and “Wan Qingzhen Poetry Collection”, may have records of Luo Yunqian’s friendship or singing and poetry. Help me sift through it and see ‘Luo Yunqian’For pages related to “Yunqian”, “Shenzhi” or “Lujiang Luoshi”, use a pencil to write down the page number and general content.” She paused and added, “It’s all in classical Chinese, so it doesn’t matter if you read it slowly, just be careful.”

Ye Qiulan nodded and picked up the top copy of “Yongzhou Old Poetry Notes”.The book is thick and the pages are thin and brittle, so you need to be careful when turning them.She put on a spare pair of thin cotton gloves handed over by Ling Xueqing.

The two of them immersed themselves in reading.The reading room was extremely quiet, with only the rustling of papers and the occasional cough of the old gentleman in the distance.Time flows slowly between the lines.

Classical Chinese is difficult to read, especially old-style poetry with a lot of allusions and uncommon characters.Ye Qiulan read it very slowly, pondering it word by word.Her eyes soon began to sore, and she had to stop and rub her eyes from time to time.

Ling Xueqing’s speed was much faster. She flipped through the pages steadily and accurately, scanning the pages with almost no pause.Occasionally she would stop and quickly write down a few strokes in her notebook with a pencil, her brows sometimes frowning slightly and sometimes slightly widening.

About an hour later, Ye Qiulan read a sentence at the end of a short article describing local customs in “Xiang Ru Zazu”: “…Mr. Luo Shenzhi of Lujiang once said that the state is hundreds of miles away in the west.There is an old stream, which the natives call ‘Lengxiang Stream’. Strange grass grows along the stream, with green stems and leaves. The flowers bloom like millet in the winter moon, and the fragrance is refreshing. It is suspected to be the ancient ‘green mugwort’…” Her heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

“Senior Sister Ling.” She called softly, her voice a little tight with excitement.

Ling Xueqing immediately raised her head and cast her gaze over.

Ye Qiulan pointed to the text and gently pushed the book over.

Ling Xueqing leaned over and her eyes fell on that line of words.Her breath was held almost imperceptibly, and her pupils shrank slightly.Her gloved fingertips lightly brushed over the words – “Lengxiangjian”, “Exotic Grass”, and “Green Ai”.

She remained in that position and stared motionless for a long time.It was so long that Ye Qiulan could almost hear the sound of his own heartbeat amplifying in the quiet reading room.

Then, Ling Xueqing straightened up extremely slowly.There was no expression on her face, but her lips were pursed and turned white.She picked up her notebook and pencil, transcribed the passage verbatim, and drew a small mark representing the place in the margin next to it.

“A hundred miles away to the west of the state…” she repeated in a low voice, her voice dry, “Mother said ‘by the river’…” She raised her eyes and looked at Ye Qiulan, with an almost sharp light in her eyes that she tried to restrain, “‘jian’ and ‘river’ may be different, or they may just have different names. The location has been narrowed.”

This is a breakthrough.A breakthrough that connects vague legends to specific place names.

“To find more detailed geographical records,” Ling Xueqing continued in a low voice, more like sorting out his thoughts, “or… maps. Maps of counties and townships in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.”

Ye Qiulan’s heart also lifted.She saw the light in Ling Xueqing’s eyes, which was a hot and fragile thing mixed with great hope and subsequent heavier pressure.

“Let’s finish reading what we have at hand first.” Ling Xueqing took a deep breath, sat down again, and picked up the next book.Her movements were still steady, but Ye Qiulan noticed that her fingers holding the pencil were so hard that their knuckles turned slightly white.

The next search, with a clear goal, became more directional and seemed more elusive.In those poetry collections, there are occasional sentences mentioning “Luo Shenzhi” or related figures, but there is no description of “Lengxiang Stream” or similar places.Ling Xueqing rummaged through page after page and took notes, her brows getting tighter and tighter.

During lunch time, neither of them mentioned eating.Until about two o’clock in the afternoon, the old gentleman left, and they were the only ones left in the reading room.Ling Xueqing finally closed the last book and rubbed her brows, her face showing exhaustion and disappointment.

“That’s the only one for now.” She concluded, her voice calm but with a hint of hoarseness.

Ye Qiulan also finished reading his few books, but found nothing except the first one.She looked at Ling Xueqing’s calm profile and wanted to say something to comfort her, but she felt that any words were feeble.

Ling Xueqing silently packed up the books on the table and returned them one by one according to the call numbers.Her movements were slow, with a heavy sense of stagnation.When she put the last book back, her fingers lingered on the spine for a few seconds before slowly taking it back.

“Let’s go,” she said.

The two of them retrieved their belongings and walked out of the library.I don’t know when it began to rain lightly outside, it was dense and cold, and the sky was leaden gray and very low.Ling Xueqing took out the black umbrella from her tool bag and opened it, still leaning towards Ye Qiulan habitually.

Raindrops drifted diagonally, soaking her other shoulder and trousers.She didn’t care.

There were more people on the bus, and it was crowded and hot.They barely found a foothold near the back door.Ling Xueqing held onto the railing with one hand and protected her tool bag with the other. After the umbrella was put away, it was still dripping, making her cuffs wet.The carriage was bumpy and the two of them were very close to each other. Ye Qiulan could almost feel the somewhat high body temperature and slightly rapid breathing coming from under Ling Xueqing’s down jacket.

She looked up at Ling Xueqing.The other person had his eyes closed, his face looked a little pale under the swaying lights of the carriage, his brows were slightly frowned, and his lips were pursed tightly, as if he was enduring something.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Ye Qiulan couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

Ling Xueqing opened her eyes, her eyes were a little distracted, and it took two seconds to focus.”It’s okay.” Her voice was very soft, with obvious tiredness, “I feel a little motion sick.”

The car made a sharp turn and Ling Xuequing’s body swayed. Ye Qiulan subconsciously reached out to hold her arm.Through the thick down jacket, I can still feel the tightness and…slight trembling in my arms.

“Are you really okay?” Ye Qiulan asked worriedly, without letting go of his hand immediately.

Ling Xueqing lowered her eyes and looked at Ye Qiulan’s hand on her arm. After a few seconds, she shook her head almost imperceptibly.”Maybe… I didn’t eat lunch, and I’m a little hypoglycemic.”

Ye Qiulan’s heart tightened.She immediately remembered Ling Xueqing’s appearance in the dormitory corridor last time.”Did you bring any candy or food?”

Ling Xueqing shook her head.

Ye Qiulan fumbled around in his small canvas bag and only found two individually wrapped fruit candies that he had stuffed in when he went out in the morning.She peeled one open and handed it to Ling Xueqing’s mouth.”Hold it first.”

Ling Xueqing was stunned for a moment, looking at the orange candy that was handed to her lips, and then raised her eyes to look at Ye Qiulan’s worried face close at hand.Her eyes flickered and she hesitated for about two or three seconds before she lowered her head slightly, took Ye Qiulan’s hand and took the candy into her mouth.

Her lips inevitably touched Ye Qiulan’s fingertips.The touch was warm and soft, and it passed by like a slight electric current, making Ye Qiulan’s whole arm stiffen and his heart skip a beat.

Ling Xueqing quickly straightened up and closed her eyes again. Her thick eyelashes drooped, casting shadows on her pale cheeks.The roots of her ears were covered with a light red color at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ye Qiulan also hurriedly retracted his hand and curled up his fingertips. The faint touch and temperature belonging to Ling Xueqing’s lips stubbornly remained, making her cheeks burn.She turned her face away and looked at the blurry rain scene outside the window, her heart beating wildly in her chest as if it had lost its rhythm.

The sweetness of the sugar slowly melted in the mouth, and Ling Xueqing’s tense body seemed to relax a little, but her brows were still furrowed.The two of them just stood next to each other, neither of them speaking.In the crowded carriage, the small space between them seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier, filled with a suffocating, hot silence.

The rain showed no sign of stopping.When we returned to the school gate, it was already dark like evening.The raindrops turned into fine rain curtains, forming small streams of water on the ground.

Ling Xueqing’s umbrella still tilted towards Ye Qiulan.When she walked downstairs to the graduate student apartment, half of her body was almost soaked, her dark blue down jacket became darker in color, and water droplets dripped down from the tips of her hair.

“You…” Ye Qiulan looked at her embarrassed look, and the words “Go back and change clothes” stuck in his throat.

Ling Xueqing took out the dark blue thermos cup from the wet tool bag, unscrewed it, and handed it over.”There’s still a little left, and it’s hot.”

Ye Qiulan took it, the wall of the cup was warm.She took a sip. It was the familiar ginger tea, with spicy sweetness, and the heat spread to her cold stomach.She handed the cup back.

Ling Xueqing took it and didn’t drink it, just held it in her hand.Raindrops slid down her eyelashes, and her eyes were a little blurry in the dusk and rain.

“Thank you for today.” She said, her voice diluted by the sound of rain, “That clue… is very important.”

Ye Qiulan shook his head, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

Ling Xueqing looked at her, with the rain running down her cheeks. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just said: “Go back. Don’t get wet.”

After saying that, she turned around and swiped the door lock and walked in.The glass door closed, isolating her figure from the rain outside.

Ye Qiulan stood there, looking at the soaked figure in the door who quickly disappeared around the corner of the stairs. The warmth of the thermos cup still remained in his hand, and the heart-stopping shivers from that momentary touch seemed to linger on his fingertips.

The rain fell harder and harder, hitting the ground and surrounding leaves, making a gurgling sound.She did not leave immediately, but just stood there, letting the cold rain wet her forehead and shoulders. The silent sea in her heart was now stirred up by the rain and the hasty touch.

The sweet ones are the sugar, the ginger tea, and the phrase “very important”.

But what’s more, is the soaked shoulders, the tight lips, the pale face, the restrained trembling fingers, and the bottomless, heavy tiredness and loneliness in the eyes when they pass each other.

The heavy feeling made her almost breathless, but in a corner of her heart, a strange, sharp pity arose, and an urge to rush through the glass door regardless.

In the end, she just tightened her backpack strap, lowered her head, turned around, and walked slowly back to her dormitory.

The rainy night was long, but the orange sweetness and the slight warmth on the lips burned repeatedly in the memory, so bright that it was dazzling, and it was so hot that it made people panic.