The streets were bustling and lively. The market was still in full swing, with donkey carts, horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, and bicycles weaving through the crowds. Vendors shouted their wares from every direction, and people from all around had gathered for market day.
Wen Shiqing walked aimlessly through the crowd, looking completely lost. She hugged her arms tightly around herself, her teeth chattering as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Watch out!”
Someone suddenly grabbed her arm, making her stumble.
Zhou Chen pulled her sharply toward the roadside just as a donkey cart narrowly brushed past them.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why are you walking in the middle of the road?” the man driving the cart shouted angrily as he looked back. His voice was loud.
“Shiqing, are you okay?”
Zhou Chen frowned, worry written all over his face as he saw how distracted she was.
Zhou Chen had been Wen Shiqing’s high school classmate. He had been one of the top students in their class and, after graduation, had been admitted to the local People’s University. He was handsome, proper, and accomplished.
“Zhou Chen?”
Wen Shiqing looked up, and only then did the young man realize that she had been crying.
Several loose strands of hair were damp against her fair cheeks. The tip of her nose was red, and her lips were pressed together slightly. She looked so pitiful, as though she had suffered some terrible injustice.
“I saw you from quite a distance just now. Walking in the middle of the road is dangerous, especially on market day. What if you got hit by a donkey cart or an ox cart?”
He leaned forward slightly, placing both hands beside her shoulders as he spoke much faster than usual.
Wen Shiqing lifted her face, and the image of the chicken hanging from her mother’s hand, along with the pool of blood on the ground, flashed clearly through her mind.
She sniffled, and two clear tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
“What happened? Why are you crying so sadly?”
Zhou Chen instinctively raised a hand to wipe away her tears, but he was afraid of crossing a boundary, so he lowered it again.
Not far away, Xie Yucheng stood with his hands in his pockets, his deep dark eyes filled with complicated emotions.
He looked away, tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground, crushed it beneath his shoe, and turned to leave.
Crying in front of a classmate was too embarrassing.
Wen Shiqing wiped her tears with the back of her hand, took a deep breath, and steadied her voice.
“It’s nothing. You… why are you here?”
Zhou Chen lived in the southern part of the city, while this was the northern part. Wen Shiqing was surprised to run into him here.
The young man awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, his eyes darting away.
He didn’t tell her that he had come here hoping he might run into her by chance. Instead, he hurriedly explained,
“I came to visit a relative.”
The two went into a teahouse by the roadside and sat down. Zhou Chen poured her a cup of iced tea and gently placed it in front of her.
Suddenly, he remembered the first time he had seen her at school three years ago.
She had been crying then too, though he hadn’t known why.
She really does seem to cry a lot.
Most people looked rather disheveled when they cried, but Wen Shiqing somehow looked especially beautiful and moving.
Her eyebrows were long and delicately curved. Whenever she cried, large, crystal-clear tears would slide down from the corners of her beautiful eyes. Her long, curled lashes, dark as a crow’s feathers, would become damp and glistening, while the tip of her nose would turn a soft pink.
She looked like Lin Daiyu from an old painting—
with her delicate, smoke-like brows and eyes filled with emotion.
And when those cherry-red lips spoke, her voice was completely different from the local girls in the north. Her tone was soft, with a sweet lilt at the end of every sentence.
Later, they were placed in the same class.
After getting to know her, Zhou Chen realized that the girl was actually like a star, radiating light from every part of her.
Her personality was nothing like her delicate appearance. Instead, she had a strong character and her own sharp edges.
From then on, he became completely captivated by her.
The girl lowered her head, her gaze unfocused. She rested her cheek against one hand while idly playing with the teacup in front of her.
Zhou Chen took a sip of tea and searched for something to talk about.
“What are you planning to do after graduating from high school?”
He knew she hadn’t gotten into college. There had been more than thirty students in their class, and only three or four had managed to pass the entrance examination and get into university.
Wen Shiqing looked dejected. Her heart was still aching over Ali.
“I don’t know. My mom wants me to get married as soon as possible.”
The mouthful of tea Zhou Chen hadn’t swallowed immediately went down the wrong way.
He suddenly coughed several times, covering his nose with one hand, his face turning slightly red from choking.
“Are you okay?”
Wen Shiqing took out the little handkerchief she carried with her and handed it to him.
It was white, with several clusters of pale flowers embroidered in each corner. It carried a faint, clean fragrance and looked very elegant.
Zhou Chen held the handkerchief and coughed a few more times before finally recovering. He straightened up and said seriously,
“You’re still so young. There’s no need to rush, is there?”
Wen Shiqing gave a bitter smile.
“My mom is in a hurry. She wants to take advantage of my youth and get a good price for me.”
“I think you’ve only just graduated, and you’ve only just become an adult. No matter how anxious she is, she can’t rush you into marriage like this. You’re not a commodity. People have freedom when it comes to marriage now. How can your mother treat you like this?”
He spoke so urgently that his expression changed constantly, as colorful as a bottle of mixed spices.
Wen Shiqing couldn’t help letting out a little laugh.
Two tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes.
“I was just teasing you!”
She spoke slowly.
“I’m going to take the exam for entry-level government positions in September. If I pass, I might be able to work at a township government office, neighborhood committee, grain bureau, health clinic, or somewhere similar. I could work as a clerk or cashier. That’s what my family has planned for now.”
Xie Guoli had told her that this was a better path for a girl.
If she failed the exam, he would use his connections to help her. Either way, he would make sure she got a good job.
Zhou Chen’s shoulders relaxed. He used her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead again.
“You scared me to death. I thought you were really going to accept an arranged marriage and get married right away.”
Wen Shiqing’s mood had eased somewhat by now. She took a few sips of iced tea before asking lazily,
“What about you? You’re a college student now. When do you start school?”
“September second. Oh, right. A few days from now, we’re planning to have a class reunion. Everyone’s going to the countryside to have some fun. Since I happened to run into you today, I figured I’d tell you.”
Wen Shiqing actually didn’t really want to go.
Xie Yucheng had come home these days, and all she wanted was to stay home every day, so that whenever he came back, she would be there to see him.
“I…”
“Don’t tell me you’re not going. A few of the people we were closest to in class are all going. Qin Mei, Zhang Xiaolin, Wu Li… Everyone is about to go their separate ways. This might be the last time we’ll all get together.”
“All right. I’ll go.”
A bright smile spread across Zhou Chen’s dark brows and eyes, and the tension in his heart finally eased.
The handkerchief had grown warm from the heat of his palm, and he had unconsciously crumpled it in his grip.
When they were about to part, he looked embarrassed.
“I’ll wash it and return it to you.”
Shiqing waved her hand. Her long black braid swung behind her shoulder.
“It’s fine. Just throw it away. My mom embroidered lots of handkerchiefs for me.”
She turned and walked away.
Zhou Chen continued watching her back until her slender figure disappeared into the crowd.
Only then did he silently fold the handkerchief neatly and slip it into his pocket.