At 7:30, Jiang Suichu checked the accounts and took the scenic shuttle bus back to the dormitory.
The scenic spot is very quiet at night, and there are dimly spaced lights on both sides of the tour path. At a glance, the lights farther away are blurry, like fireflies hidden in the branches and leaves. There is a big temperature difference between morning and evening on the mountain. The heat of the day fades away at night, and the breeze blows, making it refreshing and comfortable.
Jiang Suichu sat in the last row of the shuttle bus, holding the mineral water left by Lu Zhinian in his hand, looking at the slowly retreating tree shadows in a daze.
When she finished her work and was about to unscrew the bottle cap to drink water, she realized that the bottle cap had already been unscrewed.
Some old memories from childhood come to my face like the refreshing breeze in the mountains.
Shu Yuan was born into a prominent family in Beicheng, and behaved in the same style as everyone else. Lu Zhinian was also taught that girls should be treated as gentlemen since childhood.
"Nian Nian, you are a boy, you have to be a little bit Nian Nian."
"Nian Nian, Sui Sui can't get milk. Go to the refrigerator and get some for Sui Sui."
"Nian Nian, please help Suisui twist the bottle cap."
Under Shu Yuan's education, Jiang Suchu never twisted a bottle cap by herself until she was five years old. Lu Zhinian always helped her do it.
Sometimes he would help her unscrew the bottle cap, and would tease her like Pei Shuo did, offering her milk with both hands, "Princess Suisui, please use it slowly."
She would laugh so hard that she would roll forward and backward on the sofa, with her princess skirt turned up to reveal her panties. Aunt Shu Yuan quickly helped her pull it off, then held her on her lap and taught her in a gentle voice that girls should be elegant.
However, at that time, the courtyard was full of boys, and she followed them crazy every day, so there was nothing elegant or inelegant about them.
Perhaps it was because he was too tired after the day, or perhaps because the night breeze was too gentle, Jiang Suchu slowly fell asleep amidst the beautiful memories.
The shuttle bus will go around many scenic spots to pick up people, stopping and going along the way.
"Can I go with you in your car?"
The shuttle bus driver looked at the boy and saw that he was a tourist, so he said, "Our bus is going back to the hotel. Do you think you are on your way?"
Lu Zhinian glanced at the sleeping girl at the back of the shuttle bus, curled his lips and said, "By the way, I'm just going back to the hotel."
"Then come on up." The driver waved his hand and asked him to get in the car. He thought of something and then said, "But I have to pick up the employees from get off work, and it may be a long way around. Are you okay?"
Lu Zhinian grabbed the armrest, stepped into the car, and nodded, "It doesn't matter."
There were not many people on the shuttle bus. Lu Zhinian bent down and walked to the back, sitting gently next to Jiang Suichu.
She lowered her head, still wearing his hat, half of her face hidden under the brim of the hat. Lu Zhinian put one hand on the guardrail in front and turned his head to look at her face.
Her eyes were lightly closed, and her long eyelashes were slightly curled, like a small fan. His breathing was soft and shallow, and he occasionally smacked his mouth, as if he had dreamed of something delicious. When she was asleep, she was not as cold and distant as usual, and her little head was moving little by little, like a snoozing kitten.
Lu Zhinian just tilted his head and looked at her, with tenderness in his brows and a smile on his lips.
The shuttle bus that was running smoothly suddenly swerved, and Jiang Suichu, who was sleeping, fell towards the guardrail on the right with the inertia. Lu Zhinian was startled. With quick eyes and quick hands, he grabbed the guardrail with one hand and put Jiang Suichu's shoulder with the other. He grabbed the man who was about to hit the guardrail and held him tightly in his arms.
The driver in front spat, "Fuck! Damn rabbit."
It turned out that it was a wild rabbit in the mountains that ran out to find food. It was in the middle of the road and almost ran into it.
Although he did not hit the guardrail, Jiang Suchu still crashed into Lu Zhinian's arms. The boy's chest was strong, and Jiang Suichu felt a little pain in his forehead.
She opened her eyes drowsily, and looked up into a pair of beautiful eyes.
The lights and tree shadows on both sides of the road were retreating rapidly, and the evening breeze was as gentle as in the dream, gently blowing on her cheek. She felt that she should still be in her dream, just leaning in Lu Zhinian's arms and looking up at him.
Lu Zhinian looked at her watery eyes that had just woken up, and his heart softened. He used his slender fingers to brush away the hair that was blown by the wind on her eyelids.
"woke up?"
The voice was low, and the tail tone rose slightly.
It's like asking but more like pampering.
What a real dream.
Seeing her looking at him all the time, her eyes were confused, and she felt a little dreamy.
Silly and cute.
Lu Zhinian couldn't help but feel a little amused, with a seductive smile lingering in his voice: "Did you get knocked silly?"
As he spoke, he took off the peaked cap from her head, pinched her pointed chin with his fingers, raised her head and examined her forehead through the hurriedly flashing streetlights beside the road.
"It's a little red."
As he spoke, he attached his palm to her forehead and rubbed it gently.
The palm of his hand was cold, and the moment he put it on his forehead, Jiang Suchu was shocked by the ice. The touch was exactly the same as the feeling between my fingertips when I bought tickets in the afternoon.
Only then did Jiang Suichu realize that this was not a dream.
Jiang Suchu, who was completely awake, pulled down his hand and moved his butt to the side.
"Why are you here?"
He should be at the campfire right now.
Lu Zhinian's eyes darkened when he saw her subconsciously moving away and looking cold and distant.
"Looking for you." His tone was calm, without any emotion.
Jiang Suchu looked at him, "Looking for me?"
Didn't they make an appointment for her to go to the hotel to find him at nine o'clock? Why should they find her?
Lu Zhinian leaned back on the chair, with his long legs spread wide open. As the car bumped, his right leg accidentally touched hers.
Jiang Suchu felt that the evening breeze was not so cool anymore, so he calmly retracted his legs. Lu Zhinian glanced at her careful movements and curled his lips.
"I was afraid that someone would lie to me again and let me go, so I had to come to you myself."
How could she not hear what he meant? She lowered her head and stared at her knees, muttering: "I will go find you."
"when?"
The clear voice sounded particularly gentle in the evening breeze.
"Nine o'clock." She was a little confused and twirled her fingers, "Didn't we agree on nine o'clock?"
He didn't look at her, but leaned back in his chair and looked up at the night sky. The perfect profile looks even more three-dimensional in the hazy night.
"That's not what I'm talking about." He paused, closed his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings in the light and shadow, and calmed down for a moment, "You know."
His tone was slumped and helpless.
——I will find you.
--when?
What he asked was not when she went to him to get her mobile phone, but when she went to him as Jiang Suchu.
Jiang Suichu stared at his fingers blankly. The hangnails on his hands at school were almost healed. After returning to work every day in the past few days, the burrs grew back.
She lowered her head and pulled out the barbs with her hands, as if she was answering him or talking to herself.
"I have no idea."
Her voice was so soft that it was hidden in the night when the wind blew.
The orange light and shadow of the street lamp passed by one after another, and in her peripheral vision was Lu Zhinian's hand. The fingers were slender, the joints were well-proportioned, the skin was fair, and even the fingernails were trimmed and rounded.
It's really beautiful, unlike her hands, which are shriveled, skinny, scarred, and ugly.
She suddenly sped up the movements of her hands, trying to pull out all the barbs.
"Jiang Suichu!"
He suddenly called her.
With a shake of his hand, a barb on his index finger was torn off with its skin and flesh, and blood instantly came out. Jiang Suichu frowned, bent his index finger, and pressed the bleeding area tightly with his thumb.
This was the second time he called her name, the first was on the phone.
She still had room to react across the phone, but now, he was beside her, calling her with a clear and moist voice.
Her emotions had nowhere to hide, her eyes were sore and swollen, and she had no choice but to bury her head lower.
Lu Zhinian tilted his head slightly, looked at the girl whose head was almost buried in her knees, and sighed helplessly.
He knew it wasn't the time yet, and he didn't want to question her about anything. He just hoped she wouldn't reject him so much.
From the corner of her eye, Jiang Suichu saw him raise his hand, and then his cool palm gently fell on her head.
Lu Zhiqiang patted her head and said, "Look up."
Jiang Suchu took a gentle breath, suppressed the sourness in his heart, and looked up at him.
He just glanced at her briefly, then pointed his index finger at the sky.
"Look, the moon is following us."
She raised her head in confusion.
The night was not dense, and a few clouds were floating in the sky, blowing in the wind. The night sky is like black ink mixed with a few drops of blue, with a hint of gray-blue in the black.
A few stars dotted the dark blue sky, and a bright moon was the most eye-catching decoration in the night.
I have been working here for a few days. Every night after get off work, I go back to the dormitory and fall asleep. I have never seen the sky, clouds, stars and moon here.
It turns out that the sky seen from the mountain is completely different from that seen from the bottom. Looking up at the sky from the bottom of the mountain, the sky seems very far away, and the night is very dense, giving people a very empty feeling. But there is a completely different feeling on the mountain, which makes people feel as if they can reach out and touch the moon.
She felt as if her whole body relaxed.
Lu Zhinian: "Do you remember?"
Jiang Suchu turned to look at him: "What?"
He also looked away, tilted his head to look at her, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"If the moon goes, I will go too. The moon is my good friend."
This nursery rhyme was taught to Jiang Suichu by his father when they were young.
When I was a child, after dinner, the adults would take their children for a walk along the river. Jiang Suchu pointed to the moon in the sky and asked her father why the moon was following her.
Dad told her that it was because the moon was her good friend and would always be with her, just like him.
At that time, she was still very naive, living in a fairy tale world, and didn't understand any relative motion. She has always firmly believed that her father, like the moon, will always be with her.
But her father lied to her and left her alone.
She looked at him and suddenly smiled, the corners of her eyes sparkling.
"How could you believe such lies to a child?" She looked up at the sky, trying hard to keep her eyes open, her voice slightly choked, "The moon never follows anyone, nor is it anyone's friend."
A gust of evening wind blew by, blowing a group of clouds and covering the moon.
She raised her head, tried her best to control the sourness on the tip of her nose, and said in a brisk tone: "Look, not only does the moon not follow people, but it sometimes disappears."
Lu Zhinian did not look up at the moon, but kept looking at her. He saw the red eyes as she tried her best to hold back the tears, and her clenched fists to prevent him from seeing the wound.
"Jiang Suichu!" He called her softly, his voice hoarse, "Don't your hands hurt?"
Hearing his voice, her eyes that she tried to open wide trembled slightly, and a tear instantly slipped from the end of her eye.
The hand that he squeezed hard was held by a warm palm, and he gently opened her fingers. The blood on the palm of the hand is almost dry, and the lines on the palm are stained more clearly.
Putting the hand covered with scars and blood on his white and clean palm was a bit shocking.
She shrank her arm, trying to take it back.
"Don't move!" His voice was stern and his eyes were cold.
He was angry.
Jiang Suchu has been afraid of nothing since he was a child, but the one he fears most is an angry Lu Zhinian.
After being yelled at in such a low voice by him, her conditional reaction was normal and she didn't dare to move at all.
Feeling Jiang Suchu's subconscious reaction, Lu Zhinian raised his eyelids and glanced at her.
Her lips were pursed, her round almond eyes were filled with tears, the tip of her nose was red, and she looked like she was about to cry.
Lu Zhinian lowered his head and curled his lips silently.
Still the coward.
Lu Zhinian opened the water bottle and when some water came out, he carefully washed the blood on her hands.
Her hands were very thin, with no flesh to the touch. As the blood stains were washed away, deep and shallow scars on the hands were revealed, several fingers had barbs, and the palms of the hands had a thick layer of calluses.
Lu Zhinian couldn't explain what he felt in his heart. He only felt that his heart was like a sponge that had been squeezed out of its water and was suffocating.
What the hell kind of life has she been living all these years.
Lu Zhinian, who never swears, cursed in his heart.
After rinsing his palm, he turned over her palm and couldn't bear it anymore when he saw the scar on the back of her hand.
"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath.
When Jiang Suchu heard this, his heart trembled and he couldn't care about anything anymore. He threw him away, retracted his hand and hid it in his leg.
"The scar on the hand..." He slowly raised his head and looked at her with dark eyes, "Who did it?"
Not how, but who did it?
Just like when she was bullied and cried when she was a child, his first sentence was always, who did it?
Then he will drag her to avenge her.
Never ask why, stand by her unconditionally.
Jiang Suchu looked at him, was silent for a long time, then shook his head and said, "It was me...accidentally..."
She thought she had grown strong enough over the years, but when someone stood up to support her, those deep-seated grievances rushed out.
Tears betrayed her faster than emotions.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Douda's tears couldn't stop rolling down. She quickly lowered her head, not wanting him to see her like this.
How could Lu Zhinian not see it?
She looked exactly like in his dream, her eyes clearly showed grievance, but she still pretended to be calm and shook her head.
My heart felt like it was being tightened by a thin rope.
He knew she had her pride.
Lu Zhinian looked at Jiang Suchu who was lowering her head and weeping silently. He put the cap back on her head and lowered the brim to cover most of her face.
Then he put his palm on the back of her head, gently pressed her head on his shoulder, and patted her head gently.
The Adam's apple rolled and the voice was hoarse.
"We have worked hard these years, princess."
He didn't ask her how she had been in the past few years, nor why she pretended not to know him.
The words "Thank you for your hard work" and "Sui Sui Princess" express all his attitude.
It's not that I sympathize with her, but that I feel sorry for her.
Jiang Suichu leaned her head on his shoulder and burst into tears.
"Jiang Suichu." He looked at the night sky and said softly: "The dark clouds will cover the moon, but the moon will not disappear."
He wanted to tell her that her moon was always there.
He's always there too.
