Xi Jia nodded and waved goodbye to him again.
She kept walking backwards, watching his back, until Mo Yushen turned the corner.
Xi Jia's phone vibrated; Wu Yang had sent another message: "Jiajia, where are you? I'm back in the city."
Xi Jia wasn't sure what road this was either, as there were no road signs nearby. She sent her location: "Here."
Wu Yang: [You live quite close to my house, so don't wander off. I'll come find you for dinner.]
Xi Jia: [I want to take a walk alone.]
Wu Yang didn't press the issue. He said, "Okay, go home early. Come find me at the club tomorrow if you're free." He then sent Xi Jia's location to Yu An.
Five minutes ago, Yu An messaged him, saying that Zhou Mingqian needed to see Xi Jia but couldn't reach her and asked for his help. He hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.
Zhou Mingqian received a screenshot and remained silent. He asked Yu An for Wu Yang's number and called him personally, "Could you help me arrange a meeting with Xi Jia?"
Wu Yang refused decisively: "Sorry, no. If it weren't for Yu An, I wouldn't even give her this screenshot. Since she deleted you all, it means she doesn't want to contact you anymore. Isn't it better to respect her? Also, next time I won't even give her my location."
Zhou Mingqian had no choice but to drive the car to the designated location.
I parked the car and started looking along the road.
Xi Jia had no specific destination in mind. When they reached the intersection ahead, with so many forks in the road, he didn't know which one she would choose. He could only search one by one.
Just now, he learned from Wu Yang that Xi Jia had even deleted Mo Yushen.
I walked from 6:30 to 9:30.
Zhou Mingqian's legs ached, his stomach hurt, and he was completely exhausted. He still hadn't found Xi Jia.
Zhou Mingqian stood at the intersection, surrounded by pedestrians, but there was no sign of that person.
Passing by a roasted sweet potato shop, Zhou Mingqian went inside.
The shop was about to close when the owner looked up. He was about to say that they were out of roasted sweet potatoes for the day, but then changed his words to, "Mingqian, what brings you here?"
"Uncle Su," Zhou Mingqian greeted, taking off his overcoat. He was familiar with Uncle Su's daughter and son-in-law, and had been to Uncle Su's house for dumplings before.
The boss poured him a glass of warm water. "I saw in the news that you were filming in the mountains. How come you're in Beijing?"
Zhou Mingqian: "Something came up at the company, I'll go back tomorrow." He drank half a glass of water, feeling both hungry and tired. "Uncle, is there anything to eat? Give me some. Anything is fine."
Hunger will make you eat anything.
Boss: "There's really nothing good to eat in the shop. I'll go buy some for you."
Zhou Mingqian waved his hand, saying he couldn't eat anything greasy. "Sweet potatoes will do."
There is a sweet potato, but "I saved it for a little girl. I don't know if she'll come. If she doesn't come by ten o'clock, you can have it."
Zhou Mingqian: "..." That works too. Let's wait another twenty minutes.
He drank another half glass of water.
The owner started tidying up the shop, preparing to close and go home.
Zhou Mingqian casually chatted with the boss, "Uncle Su, the young lady isn't even sure if she'll come, why are you still saving her for someone else?"
Boss: "I already promised that young lady I would save one for her."
"Boss, do you still have sweet potatoes?" Xi Jia asked from outside the door. She had walked along this road and hadn't expected the sweet potato shop to still be open.
She had no appetite and didn't feel hungry, but she still wanted to buy one.
The boss smiled and waved to Xi Jia, gesturing for her to come in. He then turned to Zhou Mingqian and said, "Look, she's here."
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhou Mingqian looked at Xi Jia, their eyes meeting. Xi Jia looked at him as if he were a stranger, her gaze not lingering.
Xi Jia assumed the man was the boss's son, and she opened her phone to scan the QR code.
The shop owner packed the sweet potato for her and wrote on a piece of paper: "I saved a big one for you today. If you want to eat it again tomorrow, I'll save another one for you."
Xi Jia was stunned. Had she come yesterday? She must have. Otherwise, how would the boss know she couldn't hear, write it down for her, and even use the word 'keep'?
Xi Jia looked at the shop owner, first thanking him, then pointing to her head, "Uncle, my memory isn't good anymore, I have a brain condition, I've forgotten everything from yesterday. Thank you. Tomorrow..."
She paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know if I'll ever come back, or if I'll even remember this road."
Boss: [Then I'll save it for you every day, maybe you'll remember.]
Xi Jia: "Thank you, Uncle, no need to save any." She asked, "How much?"
The boss casually gave a number and only charged less than half the amount.
Xi Jia scanned the QR code to pay, thanked them again, and left.
Zhou Mingqian put down his water glass and followed her over, helping her push open the glass door. He wanted her to look at him a few more times; perhaps then she would remember who he was.
Xi Jia nodded slightly, "Thank you. Thank you and Uncle."
She truly couldn't remember him at all. Zhou Mingqian turned to the boss and said, "Uncle, I have something to do. I'll come see you another day." He then chased after him.
“Hey, Mingqian…”
Zhou Mingqian left the store and didn't hear what the boss said.
Zhou Mingqian followed behind Xi Jia, unsure of what he was doing. She had forgotten who he was. Now, they were strangers.
The driver responsible for Xi Jia's safety knew Zhou Mingqian, so he didn't step forward to stop her.
As Zhou Mingqian turned onto the sycamore-lined path, he felt cold and realized that he had left his trench coat at Uncle Su's shop, along with his phone inside.
Zhou Mingqian, with his hands in his pockets, followed Xi Jia along the path she had taken, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
On the flight back to Beijing, he thought of many ways to apologize, wrote them all down, and hesitated about which version to send her so as not to lose face and not to let her get too cocky.
Now, not even an apology is needed.
For a moment, he wanted to grab her and say, "Xi Jia, didn't you have the audacity to say that I would come to you and beg you to film your script?"
What's going on with you like this?
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Zhou Mingqian returned the way he came, and it was already 11:30.
The roasted sweet potato shop was still open; the lights were on.
Zhou Mingqian strode into the store. The owner was watching a video and waiting for him. "I knew you would come back."
"Uncle Su, I'm sorry to have kept you from going home." Zhou Mingqian picked up his trench coat and prepared to leave.
The shop owner closed the roller shutter door. "Go upstairs, my uncle will make you something to eat." He had just gone to the supermarket not far away to buy some ingredients.
The shop has two floors; the downstairs sells roasted sweet potatoes, and the upstairs has a simple rest area and a small kitchen.
The dining table was simple: one table and four chairs.
Zhou Mingqian sat at the dining table, lost in thought.
The boss would glance at him from time to time and shake his head.
Zhou Mingqian snapped out of his reverie when a bowl of hot noodles was cooked and the aroma filled the small kitchen and dining room.
"Try your uncle's cooking."
The owner placed the noodles in front of Zhou Mingqian and handed him chopsticks.
Zhou Mingqian often ate instant noodles on set, simply soaking them in hot water without adding any vegetables.
This bowl of noodles is a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate. It features green bok choy, red tomato slices, light pink ham sausage, and a poached egg with yellow and white stripes.
"Eat it while it's hot," the owner urged.
Zhou Mingqian hadn't felt this kind of homely warmth in a long time. Not wanting to listen to his mother's nagging, he rarely went home more than a few times a year.
The last time I had home-cooked meals was on New Year's Eve. The dishes were cooked by Yu An.
It tastes similar to this bowl of noodles.
The boss poured Zhou Mingqian another glass of warm water.
Zhou Mingqian suddenly looked up: "Uncle Su, I was just chasing after that girl who was selling sweet potatoes. She's not young anymore. She's already married. Her name is Xi Jia."
Boss: "When you ran out, I guessed you knew her. She doesn't recognize you anymore?"
Zhou Mingqian couldn't speak, he just nodded. He lowered his head and ate his noodles.
The small restaurant fell silent.
The boss didn't ask any further questions, but placed the water glass next to Zhou Mingqian and said, "Eat slowly."
After a moment of silence, Zhou Mingqian said in a low voice, "She's the screenwriter for our production team. Before, I even scolded her, pretending not to hear." Perhaps he was choked by the words, his heart clenching.
He rubbed it with his hand.
The boss wasn't good at comforting people, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "Ignorance is no excuse."
Zhou Mingqian shook his head: "She said at the time that she didn't hear it, but I don't believe her."
The boss didn't know what to say; anything he said would be pointless. So he simply remained silent.
After finishing the bowl of noodles, Zhou Mingqian felt a little warmer in his stomach, but the pain intensified. It was a sharp, cramping pain.
The following evening, Zhou Mingqian returned to the film crew in the mountains.
Everyone came to ask how Zhou Mingqian was doing, but Zhou Mingqian waved his hand, telling them to go about their own business. He then picked up the script and began explaining the scene to the actors.
Yu An could tell from Zhou Mingqian's expression that he had gotten off to a bad start. She made him a cup of milk tea, Xi Jia's favorite taro flavor.
After Zhou Mingqian sat down in front of the monitor, Yu An gave him the milk tea.
Zhou Mingqian glanced at it but didn't take it.
Yu An placed it on the table, saying, "This flavor of milk tea is good for the stomach." She made up some nonsense.
After a long silence, Zhou Mingqian spoke up: "She doesn't recognize me." He lit a cigarette.
Yu An was taken aback. She took the cup of milk tea and drank it herself. A bitter taste filled her mouth as she swallowed. Now, her only birthday wish was for Xi Jia to live.
Until evening, Zhou Mingqian was only in a normal state when he was giving instructions to the actors; the rest of the time, he was preoccupied and silent.
They stopped swearing.