"Time's Edge" by Sheng Li, Chapter 37 — Jinjiang Original Website [Works Library]
She silently wiped the table, swept the floor, tied the plastic bag containing the trash in a tight knot, placed it in the corner of the kitchen door, and then gently turned off the kitchen light. In the instant the light went out, she glanced at her own shadow on the glass window, a complex and lonely feeling washing over her.
After watching TV for a while, I heard footsteps in the hallway and the sound of a door opening. Then Song's mother and father walked in. Song's mother had a bright smile on her face. "Nan Nan, Xiao Duan is gone."
She gave a listless "Mmm," and said, "I'll sleep here tonight. I'm going to take a shower now."
"Hey, why do you look so tired? Did the two kids have another fight? Honestly, you're both grown up now, and Duan Jiachen is only just getting back. We thought you two had so much to talk about."
No longer having the energy or the mood to explain, she chose to temporarily avoid the topic and prepared to go to her room to get a change of clothes.
Song's mother relentlessly followed, "I was just telling Duan Jiachen's mother that it would be great if you two kids were interested in each other, since our two families know each other very well anyway."
"I want to take a shower." She felt inexplicably agitated, kicked her slippers far away, turned on the hot water tap, and steam rose up instantly. The sound of rushing water and splashing water droplets made her feel dizzy.
Song's mother's voice still echoed in her ears, "Nannan, we haven't been pressuring you to go on blind dates or date for so long. We actually think Duan Jiachen is quite nice. Now that he's back, if you two feel that way, you can..."
She turned around abruptly, her tone a little irritated, "Mom, he and I are just friends, don't worry about it anymore, okay?"
Perhaps we can't even be friends.
It was rare to hear Song Jianan speak so forcefully, and Song's mother was taken aback. Song Jianan regretted what she said as soon as she finished speaking, but she didn't want to say anything more. She said in a low voice, "I'm going to take a shower," and then dragged Song's mother out of the bathroom. Through the thick door, Song's mother could be heard complaining to Song's father, "This child, the older she gets, the more troublesome she becomes."
She tried to sink her body into the water, tightly closing her eyes. Her long hair floated on the surface, wrapped around her arms. Pulling a few strands of hair hurt her scalp. The warm water surrounded her, making her feel like a fish, trying not to think about anything.
If they had actually gotten together with Duan Jiachen back then, I wonder what their situation would be like now.
But what would happen if they met Su Li again?
She thought she was a steadfast person, at least in relationships she would never be fickle, but then she thought, "I think" is always wishful thinking on her part. When she really got to that desperate situation, it might not be as simple as "I think".
When I woke up the next day, it was still snowing outside, but very lightly. I drew back the curtains and saw that the room was brightly lit. The walls were dazzlingly bright against the white snow on the ground. A cold wind blew, and the snow that had accumulated on the trees fell down in a flurry.
The snow on the ground was very thick. The security guards in the community were shoveling snow to clear the way for the residents' cars. Because the newspaper office was really far away, she had to arrive half an hour early. As a result, there was a traffic jam on the way. When she arrived at the newspaper office, she found that most of the people had not arrived. Just as she walked confidently to her seat, the director came over and knocked on her desk, "The boss wants you to go to his office."
Song Jianan shuddered, feeling a chill run from her feet to the top of her head.
She climbed two floors with a pounding heart. The secretary opened the door for her and found that besides the boss, there was also the director of the entertainment section. He looked very familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered that he was a visiting professor from her former university. She quickly greeted him. The boss asked her with a smile, "Song Jianan, how are you feeling about the entertainment section after working here for three months?"
She quickly replied, "Not bad."
"Oh, it's like this. We just finished the redesign, so it's not good to make any major personnel changes. I wanted to ask if you would like to go to the Focus on People's Livelihood and Current Affairs section 3. We recently lost a few senior reporters, and we're planning to promote new talent."
Song Jianan stiffened, her breathing becoming cautious, when she heard the director beside her ask, "Are you a Party member?"
"Hmm." She nodded slightly, standing a little stiffly. Her gaze fell on the director, who also looked at her. Suddenly, he clapped his hands. "Oh, you're Professor Wang's student. You look so familiar."
She smiled and said, "Yes, Director, you have a good memory. Back then, you even talked to us about Marxist journalism."
The boss clapped his hands and laughed, "So you're from the same school! That's even better! Song Jianan, you'd better do a good job in this new department."
No one would jump to three different departments in half a year, and each one better than the last. She silently packed her things at her desk, feeling uneasy. The last time she was transferred from the social section to the entertainment section was when her father mentioned it to the boss casually. This time, the sudden move from the entertainment section to the focus section seemed strange.
The dim sunlight lazily cast halos around the table before being blocked by a huge shadow. She looked up and asked lazily, "Fang Yanyan, don't let the water from your hair drip onto my notebook."
"Hehe, I just went to the city center with Lao Wu from Dacheng. When I came back, the tree branch at the gate of our courtyard seemed to welcome my triumphant return. It snapped off with a whoosh, and all the snow piled up on the top of my head. So the snow melted and turned into spring."
Song Jianan was in low spirits and replied irritably, "Triumphant return means coming back."
"Hey, I know." Fang Yanyan was hanging on the cubicle, swaying back and forth. "We're about to leave the spotlight, shouldn't we create some lively atmosphere to send them off? Don't be so unhumorous."
She immediately seized on the opportunity, "How did you know I was going to focus on something?"
Fang Yan replied casually, "I just overheard the director talking on the phone. Why are you so nervous so early in the morning? Sigh, you're leaving, and I'm leaving too. How boring."
A colleague next to me looked away from the computer and asked, "What, Fang Yanyan, are you going to Focus Media too?"
"My internship is almost over, and I'm about to start preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam this Saturday and Sunday." Fang Yanyan still had a smile on her face, and then took Song Jianan's box. "I'll help you carry it over, no service fee required."
The third edition has one office, which looks to be the best equipped. The reporters and editors inside are all very senior. Usually, they would be having a routine meeting at this time, but today many people have gone out to do interviews, so there are not many people left.
Song Jianan chose a corner seat, but before she could even sit down, she heard the reporter in the next cubicle say loudly while looking at his computer, "There are reports online that there is heavy snow in Hunan, and there is snow in Guangdong too."
"Call the press office and ask them to give us some information. Oh, and call Xiao Wang to go to the meteorological bureau again."
Song Jianan listened carefully and quickly asked Fang Yanyan in a low voice, "Didn't Su Li go to Changsha? Is there any news?"
"Yeah, it seems we're stuck on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway." Fang Yan blinked. "It's freezing cold, and the car can't move. We're just waiting and waiting, and it looks like it's been about five hours."
A loud voice came from the cubicle over there: "The Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway in Shaoguan is completely frozen; the news has been posted online."
"Heavy snow in Anhui Province caused traffic congestion in the Tianchang section, and speed limits were imposed on all sections of the expressway, disrupting the Spring Festival travel rush."
Fang Yan was stunned. "Goodness, this is terrible. What if my dear cousin doesn't come back?" Then his phone rang. Teacher Zhang was urging him, "You kid, you said you were going to get your head cleaned and you're not coming back. You have an interview on the provincial TV variety show." He quickly smiled and said, "Sister Jianan, I'm off."
She quickly smiled and said, "Yes, I'm busy too."
I immediately turned on my computer, connected to the internet, and as soon as it started up, I opened the browser and went straight to the point. Sure enough, the latest news released by the Information Office and CCTV News Network confirmed that there was news of heavy snow blocking the roads.
As I clicked through the pages, I grew numb and started to overthink. When I thought of Fang Yanyan's words, my heart skipped a beat, and I felt a chill run through my body. I stood up, poured myself a cup of hot water, and held it in my hands, but it was still cold.
The director called her name and pointed to a middle-aged man next to her, saying, "Song Jianan, go with Lao Mo to a crime scene." She immediately put down her water glass, picked up her bag, and went over to greet him, "Hello, Teacher Mo."
Song Jianan was pretty and charming, which made her very appealing. Lao Mo was originally a senior current affairs reporter who had climbed the ladder step by step through his own abilities. He looked down on junior reporters who got in through connections. He roughly guessed that Song Jianan had gotten in through connections, but he felt pleased to be called by her. So he nodded with a smile and went out.
She hurriedly followed, and as soon as she stepped out of the newspaper building, a snowflake or two landed on her cheek. The thick snow stretched from the entrance all the way to the road. Suddenly, she thought of Su Li and felt a sense of unease, as if something was stuck in her chest. Without caring about a girl's modesty, she took out her phone, dialed a number, and called him.
The song was playing for a long time, and she was getting impatient. Just as she was about to press the call button to call back, the call was answered. It was quiet on his end, and his voice was very calm. "What's wrong, Song Jianan?"
She suddenly didn't know what to say, and after a while, she managed to say, "Are you alright? It's snowing heavily over there, are you okay?"
After an eerie silence, a soft laugh rang out. "I'm fine, nothing's wrong. I've already arrived in Guangzhou, but if I had left a day or two later, I would probably be stuck on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway."
There was a sound of a door closing, followed by a loud bang, seemingly from the wind. She heard it vaguely and quickly asked, "Su Li, what did you say?"
“I said, if we had been a day or two later, we would have been stuck on the highway making ice sculptures, three-dimensional ones.”
The weight on her heart finally lifted, and she let out a long sigh of relief. Her voice rose several octaves as she said, "What do you mean 'three-dimensional'? It's human body! Look how beautiful those human sculptures were at the Athens Olympics! Wouldn't it have been great if they just carried you there for the Beijing Olympics?"
"Hey, that's quite creative." He chuckled softly, and then Song Jianan heard a female voice calling from not far away, "President Su, should the meeting continue?" She realized what was going on and quickly said, "You're in a meeting, I won't disturb you."
He gave a soft "Mmm," and then asked, "I'm in Guangzhou, do you want me to bring you any souvenirs?"
"A souvenir? No need."
"Double-skin milk pudding, egg rolls for the fifth day of the tenth lunar month, vegetarian phoenix rolls?"
So he still remembered the snacks she mentioned in her letters before. He really thought of himself as a lazy glutton. I felt a little embarrassed. "Whatever. I have to go to the scene. You go to your meeting."
Teacher Mo walked ahead at a fast pace, and Song Jianan struggled to keep up. She held the phone in one hand, looked around at the vehicles, and had to watch out for the snow and ice under her feet. Just as she was about to hang up the phone, a deep voice came from the other end, "Song Jianan, wear more clothes when you go out for the interview, don't catch a cold."
The sound was like the friction of soft sand, somewhat hoarse and deep, but the breath was like double-skin milk, sweet and smooth. Her mind went blank for a moment, and without paying attention, she pressed the button and hung up the phone.
Old Mo turned his head and asked, "Young lady, are you calling your boyfriend?"
Song Jianan quickly put her phone in her pocket and shook her head, "No, no, it's a friend."
One of the interns who went with me chuckled twice, then took a taxi to the main road in the city center. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw the provincial TV station recording a live broadcast. She stood under the overpass watching the traffic come and go. A traffic policeman next to her said, "It was so congested this morning that it didn't clear up until after 8 o'clock. It's still snowing, and the temperature will drop tonight. We're worried that the roads will freeze. There are more than a hundred main roads of all sizes in the city, and all the police force has been deployed to maintain traffic."
Sanitation workers were shoveling snow by the roadside, and shopkeepers were also coming out to clear the snow in front of their shops. Car exhaust fumes were billowing out on the main road, and cyclists were passing by with their wheels wobbling. Only children were running around happily.
"Let's go check out other places, then we'll go back and post a fullfeatured article."
The taxi had traveled through most of the city, and when it was almost in the suburbs, there was an empty construction site. Old Mo shouted, "Stop here and go in and take a look."
Song Jianan recognized the convention center, but had never seen it in person. She had read numerous reports that it was a key government project for the year and was to be completed before the Olympics. She had a good idea of what it was all about and figured the report would take up a small section of the page. So she roused herself and followed Lao Mo upstairs.
The wind in the suburbs was unusually strong, with sharp whistling sounds filling the air. As soon as Song Jianan approached the construction site, her hair became a mess, and for the first time, her face felt like it was being rubbed by a dull knife. She could no longer breathe properly through her nose and had to tilt her head back to gasp for air. Meanwhile, the workers on the elevated road continued their work as usual.
She immediately felt she was being coquettish, and quickened her pace. "Teacher Mo, childhood friend version?"
Old Mo nodded, and the site manager came over, wearing only a thin jacket. "Oh, Teacher Mo, hello there."
Song Jianan then remembered that he was in charge of this report, so he wasn't surprised. The person in charge said, "You've come at the right time. We haven't been able to answer a few of your questions from last time. What a coincidence, our architect is here today."
Then he shouted "Foreman Duan" into the room. Seeing everyone's surprised and doubtful expressions, he quickly explained, "It's just a joke, I'm used to calling him that. Duan Jiachen from the architectural design institute, Little Duan, we all call him Foreman."
Before she could finish speaking, a tall man wearing a safety helmet and holding blueprints walked over. Song Jianan was taken aback and looked at him. Duan Jiachen seemed to be a little surprised as well. He glanced at her indifferently and greeted Lao Mo and the others.
Song Jianan felt a little uncomfortable, but considering that this was an official trip and it was inconvenient to let personal feelings interfere, she tried to calm herself down. However, before she could calm herself down, her nose tingled and she sneezed.
She thought to herself that she had recently become quite adept at sneezing in front of Duan Jiachen.
He glanced at her, then turned and went into the security room of the construction site. When he came out, he had a coat in his hand, which he handed to Song Jianan, saying casually, "It's windy here, and it'll be even colder climbing up. Put this on."
Everyone was a little confused. Duan Jiachen smiled politely and explained to everyone, "We know each other, we're friends."
The word "friend" didn't sit well with her. Song Jianan looked at him with a complicated expression. He simply turned around and said calmly, "Everyone is welcome to come up and take a look, but please wear your helmets, it's windy here."
The sky was overcast, and snowflakes were falling. His figure stood thin and frail in the wind.
Suddenly, Song Jianan felt a pang of sadness and pain in her heart.
My eyes also hurt and feel very sore.
Author's Note:
safe and sound
numbness in both hands
The details still need fixing. I'll finish this in one go, even though it takes two days, otherwise I'll get criticized for being unfair.
So conflicted, so very conflicted.