Upon seeing her, the waiter stepped back, bowed, and addressed her as "President Xue." Xue Meng nodded to indicate that she could leave, then smiled and said to Chen Yunqi, "Not just anyone can call me Sister Meng."
Even from an arm's length away, Chen Yunqi could smell the expensive perfume on Xue Meng. He forced a smile and replied, "I'm just out for a stroll, I won't disturb your business."
Xue Meng frowned and complained, "Since you're already here, come in and sit down. I'll treat you to a drink."
Chen Yunqi did not refuse again, but smiled and said to her, "I can pay for it myself." Xue Meng then naturally took his arm and led him to a booth. She pointed to a group of men in suits on the sofa and introduced them, "This is my husband and his friends. Please sit with them."
A man who looked to be in his early forties, wearing frameless glasses, stood up, extended his hand to Chen Yunqi, and said, "Hello, I'm Kevin, Xue Meng's husband. I've heard her mention you."
Chen Yunqi nodded respectfully to him and gave a brief self-introduction. After shaking hands, Kevin pointed to an empty seat next to him, indicating that Chen Yunqi should sit down. He handed him a glass of wine, drank it with him, and then introduced the other people to him one by one.
Only then did Chen Yunqi notice that there were two blond, blue-eyed foreign men sitting opposite him. He realized that among these men, whose names were either in Chinese or English, there were one or two he had heard of during his school days; they were all well-known figures in the financial world.
Feeling awkward about drinking for free, Chen Yunqi turned and beckoned the waiter, ordering an 18-year-old Hakushu. He didn't smoke cigars and felt embarrassed to interrupt in front of these industry veterans, so he could only occasionally respond to Kevin's words while silently drinking.
The single malt whisky, served only with ice and no soft drinks, was deliberately prepared by Chen Yunqi to get drunk. He accepted every toast offered and, after drinking for a while, frequently raised his glass, quickly becoming intoxicated. Having skipped dinner, he vomited only alcohol and stomach acid. After washing his face with cold water to clear his head, he stumbled outside, leaned against a marble pillar, and, disregarding the late hour, inexplicably pulled out his phone and dialed Li Laoqi's number.
The call was finally answered after a long wait. Months later, when he heard Third Aunt's slightly hoarse voice again, tears welled up in his eyes uncontrollably. After a long pause, he choked out, "Third Aunt...it's me..."
"Teacher Chen? Is this Teacher Chen..." Before he could finish speaking, San Niang recognized his voice from his suppressed sobs. She guessed that he had called specifically because he had learned of Li Laoqi's death. Moved and saddened, she choked up and couldn't say a word. She cried softly along with Chen Yunqi.
Chen Yunqi and San Niang wept silently over the phone, all the unspoken words turning into unshed tears. Two people with no blood relation were bound together by the shared loss of Li Laoqi, desperately trying to understand each other's feelings and tacitly comprehending their unspeakable grief. The 1.9-meter-tall Chen Yunqi cried like a lost child. Before completely losing consciousness, his mind seemed to return to that mountain, seeing familiar faces—some smiling, some repulsive—each etched deeply into his memory.
When Xue Meng and Kevin found him with the waiter, Chen Yunqi was already completely drunk. He was slumped on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching his dead phone and muttering to himself over and over again.
"Seventh brother, youngest son, don't die! Where are you going? What will happen to Li Dong? What will happen to Li Ye and Li Qin? What will happen to Third Aunt? What will happen to Grandpa?...Third sister, Third sister, where are you...?"
Life is but a fleeting dream, and the world is ever-changing. After a drunken stupor, the person is gone, leaving the living only with a long life ahead and endless sorrow.
Xue Meng didn't know where Chen Yunqi lived, so she had to leave him at the shop and settle him down on the sofa in the private lounge. She arranged for the shop manager to stay and watch over Chen Yunqi, instructing him to take good care of him. After seeing off all the other customers, she and Kevin went home first.
When Chen Yunqi woke up, it was already six o'clock in the morning. He sat up from the soft chaise lounge, looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, rubbed his throbbing temples and tried to recall for a long time, but he couldn't remember what happened last night. He only vaguely remembered that he seemed to have called San Niang while drunk. He hurriedly reached for his phone to check and confirm, but found that the screen was broken and he couldn't turn it on.
Hearing the noise, the store manager knocked on the door and came in with a glass of warm water. He turned on the soft lighting and asked him considerately, "Mr. Chen, are you feeling alright? Would you like something to eat?"
Chen Yunqi waved his hand sheepishly and said, "No need, thank you. May I ask where I am?"
The manager said with a smile, "You're in our bar's lounge. You were drunk last night, and it seems your phone broke. Ms. Xue told you that if you need anything after you wake up, you can go to her house. I'll write down the address for you."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yunqi was furious at his drunken outburst. He forced himself to stand up and said to the store manager with remorse, "Thank you, I'm sorry for the trouble. I'm fine, I'll go home now and thank Mr. Xue another day."
When the store manager heard that he was leaving, he called a car for him and waited at the door. Ignoring the manager's refusals, Chen Yunqi insisted on paying for the drinks from the previous night. After getting in the car, he wanted to buy a new phone to replace his old one, but when he looked at the time, it was too early, and the mall hadn't even opened yet. He was still hungover, and there was still a faint smell of alcohol on his chest, so he had no choice but to take his broken phone home to rest.
All his negative emotions were released with the alcohol, and he then slept deeply and soundly. He slept for a whole day and night, and when he woke up again, the effects of the alcohol had completely worn off. His stomach was empty and cramping, making him gasp for breath.
After taking a shower, he finally regained his energy. He found an old, unused cell phone in his study, inserted the SIM card, charged it, and turned it on. Just as he was about to order takeout, an unsaved number appeared on the screen.
Chen Yunqi subconsciously thought it was Xue Meng calling to check on him, so he cleared his throat and pressed the answer button. He had just said "hello" when he heard Tang Yutao's loud shouting coming from the receiver.
"Fuck you! Are you fucking dead? Why did it take you so long to turn on?!"
Chen Yunqi paused for a moment before replying, "My phone is broken. What happened?"
"Are you some kind of melodramatic Korean drama male lead? Why can't you be evil at any time?!" Tang Yutao gritted his teeth in anger, not wanting to waste a single word on him, and shouted succinctly, "Hurry up! San San is coming to find you!"
"San San?" Chen Yunqi thought he was still drunk or that he had misheard, and his mind couldn't process it for a moment.
Tang Yutao's voice instantly rose eight octaves in anger, "Yeah! San San! Your San San!"
"He ran away from the construction site! He said he wanted to find you! He couldn't get in touch with you, but he insisted on going! I couldn't persuade him, so I asked Li Hui to take him to the C City train station. He should be arriving soon! He doesn't have a cell phone! Hurry up and go to the train station to pick him up!"
Tang Yutao spoke so quickly that he almost couldn't catch his breath. He calmed himself down before continuing, "Hurry up, I'll send you his train number now. You can still receive text messages, right? Huh? I'm asking you! Hello? Hello!?"
The call ended at some point, and Chen Yunqi rushed out the door before hearing the last word.
Chapter Sixty-Three: Reunion
San San leaned against the window, his head resting on his crumpled work clothes, gazing absently out the window. The long night passed, and the sun slowly rose from the distant horizon. The stuffy carriage was filled with the mingled smells of food and body odor, making one feel nauseous. His legs, swollen from sitting for so long, rubbed against the ground as he shifted his body to avoid a pair of feet crossing over from the opposite seat.
Looking at the time, the train will arrive at the station in two hours.
Thirty-odd hours have passed since San San ran away. He clutched a wad of cash in his pocket, hesitating for a long time before deciding not to buy the ridiculously expensive boxed meals on the train. He only bought a bottle of water and sipped it slowly.
This train took him away from his original life trajectory. For the first time in his life, he left the mountains alone to go to a remote and unfamiliar place to find someone he was not sure was still waiting for him, and a future that was once within reach but is now vague.
His fear and trepidation about the unknown made him appear panicked, yet his unwavering belief in taking this desperate gamble remained steadfast. He hadn't considered what would happen if he couldn't find Chen Yunqi after arriving in S City, or what if he did find him but Chen Yunqi had truly forgotten him and no longer loved him. But all these doubts were no match for the innate resilience and stubbornness bestowed upon him by the mountains coursing through his veins, nor for his love and longing for Chen Yunqi.
After Chen Yunqi left, the entire Tianyun Village forgot about him in the shortest possible time. Those who had received his help and those who were receiving his help seemed to have lost their memories overnight, regarding everything he had fought for as a windfall. No one mentioned his name again, nor did anyone say a word of sympathy for him when he was slandered.
Whenever the children at school asked where Teacher Chen had gone, they would be harshly reprimanded by Teacher Sheng. Huang Yelin was indignant and wanted to argue back, but he remembered his promise to Teacher Chen and had to hold back. His paintings were getting better and better. He kept all his practice works in a sketchbook, hoping to show them to Teacher Chen someday. Every time he met San San, he would ask, "Brother San San, when is Teacher Chen coming back? When are you going to visit him? Remember to take me with you."
San San could only suppress her heartache and say to him, "It will be soon."
Physical pain couldn't extinguish the flame of love. During the more than ninety days of separation, his affection only grew stronger, and San San's longing for Chen Yunqi became more intense each day. What saddened him most wasn't the inability to see him now, but the fact that he had pushed away the happiness that was so close. He sat on a large rock at the foot of the mountain path, unable to bear thinking of Chen Yunqi's lonely and forlorn figure as he left, even more unable to let him know that he had betrayed all his efforts and expectations. He hid the college acceptance letter and a broken harmonica reed under his bed. Whenever he couldn't sleep at night, he would secretly turn on the little rabbit lamp under the covers, cradling its orange light and recalling Chen Yunqi's gentle eyes, once believing that this was how his life would be from then on.
After he had recovered enough, he obediently went with his mother to the riverbank, leaving home with nothing but essential clothes and a little rabbit lantern.
As the weather grew hotter at the end of May, the riverbank was far from the cool, refreshing air of the mountains. He toiled under the scorching sun, carrying sand and pouring cement, his clothes soaked with sweat, yet he refused to go shirtless like the others. The living conditions on the construction site were poor; seven or eight people crammed into a large dormitory bed. After a day's work, his rough-and-tumble coworkers would collapse into bed without washing, making the already stuffy and cramped prefab house stink. San San found this extremely uncomfortable. Even sitting next to his familiar mother and Li Laoqi, he couldn't sleep peacefully. He subconsciously considered himself Chen Yunqi's possession, stubbornly guarding all his defenses because of Chen's words, "You are mine, no one else can see you or even think about you."
The unbearable smell and mosquito bites weren't the worst part—recalling every tender moment, those instants of skin-to-skin contact, would unleash a restless, pent-up desire deep within him. He slept fully clothed among a crowd, his thoughts consumed by the pleasures of love with only one person.
He could suppress his longing but not his burning desire. San San was tormented by his uncontrollable physical reactions, suffering both pain and unbearable pain. In the filthy bathroom at midnight, the boy leaned against the narrow partition and vented his desires fiercely until the mess overflowed between his fingers and his legs were too weak to stand up. Yet, that hateful desire was still like a bottomless abyss, insatiable.
On the day Li Laoqi had the accident, San San was laying geomembrane on the dam foundation not far away. Almost everyone heard the muffled thud, and moments later, his coworkers rushed out from all directions, screaming. When Amu pulled the bewildered San San into the crowd under the breakwater, the sand and gravel beneath Li Laoqi was already stained red with blood, and a strong smell of rust filled the air, making people want to back away.
Li Laoqi lay alone under the scorching sun, his body mangled from the fall, until the construction site supervisor arrived and called an ambulance. Paramedics arrived and quickly pronounced him dead. Amu brought her own sheet to cover Li Laoqi, then called the village. Soon after, Village Chief Sheng arrived with his men and removed the body.
After the accident, the construction site was ordered to stop work, and San San went back to the village to help arrange Li Laoqi's funeral. Not many people came, and not many people were genuinely sorry for this unfortunate family. San San even heard them shamelessly making jokes about San Niang behind their backs, saying that widows are easy to get into, that tonight it's you and tomorrow night it's him, and that after enjoying themselves, they shouldn't forget to share their experiences.
Third Aunt's tears had dried. San San helped her back inside to sit down, wanting to offer some words of comfort and tell her to take care of herself, but all the words he could think of seemed utterly inadequate. He silently stayed by her side for a long time before finally speaking, "Third Aunt, I'm sorry... I'm the one who caused Uncle Qi's trouble. If it weren't for what happened between me and Teacher Chen, he wouldn't have left home for the riverbank, and he wouldn't have..."
Upon hearing this, Third Sister suddenly grasped his hand and said earnestly, "Third Child, it's not your fault, this is our fate. Your Seventh Uncle and I refused to accept our fate, which is why we had to send all our children away to study despite the difficulties. Don't accept your fate either, don't follow in your Seventh Uncle's footsteps, leave here and go with Teacher Chen. Your Seventh Uncle won't blame you, if you're doing well, then his efforts won't have been in vain..."
Third Sister couldn't continue, and two more tears slid down her cheeks. Third Sister shook her head, lowered her eyes, and said almost inaudibly, "I can't leave... If I leave, I'll hurt Xiaoyan. I can't hurt everyone else..."
“Silly child, you can’t always live for others,” Third Aunt wiped away her tears and forced herself to cheer up as she said to him, “Although Third Aunt doesn’t have much ability or education, she knows that it’s illegal for a girl to get married before she’s an adult. If your father really dares to do anything to Xiaoyan, I’ll be the first to object. I’ll go to the police station and have him arrested. He’s my cousin, and I’m not afraid of him!”
San San was stunned by her words, speechless for a long time. He knew that San Niang had become disillusioned due to the passing of Old Li, but her words had truly awakened him. He had never lived for himself in his life, always compromising and yielding. He had encountered happiness and grasped it, but ultimately had to give it up because of others. He wanted to ask himself if he was truly willing to accept this. He didn't want to be a candle that burned itself to light others anymore; he wanted to be a brilliant firework, a moth drawn to the flame, even if it only brought warmth for a moment, it was better than hiding in endless darkness and eking out his remaining years.
Third Sister encouraged him again, saying, "Don't think so much. Life only happens once, and you never know when it will be over. Go in peace, Third Sister will take care of you. Come back and visit someday when you've made something of yourself!"
That night, San San couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in bed, pondering his mother's words. The courage that had rekindled within him made it impossible for him to hesitate any longer. He immediately jumped out of bed and paced back and forth in the room, desperately trying to recall if Chen Yunqi had mentioned anything about where his home was. A firm belief surged within him once more, and the night became unbearably long. He waited anxiously all night, and as soon as dawn broke, he hurriedly went out to find his mother and told her about his desire to leave.
Am was initially surprised, but quickly understood. He could tell that San San was anxious and flustered and didn't know what to do, so he calmly said to him, "Don't panic, let's go down the mountain today to find Teacher Tang and Teacher Li. They will definitely know where Chen Yunqi is."
After the funeral, Tang Yutao, Li Hui, and others set off for the Labor and Social Security Bureau of Haiyuan County to resolve the compensation issues for Li Laoqi's death in the line of duty. Amu went to San San's house to have a drink with Sheng Xuelu, tricking him by saying that a friend in Haiyuan County had introduced him to a new job, and that he was going to take San San with him, returning once the river dam construction resumed.
San San's father trusted his mother completely and agreed without the slightest suspicion. After descending the mountain, they rushed to Haiyuan County without stopping and found Tang Yutao and Li Hui, who had just been given the cold shoulder at the county government. Upon hearing that San San was going to run away, Tang Yutao quickly took out his phone and called Chen Yunqi while excitedly giving San San a thumbs up: "Well done! That's what a kid from the mountains should be like!"
The call went unanswered. Not only was San San biting her lip and waiting anxiously, but even Amu and Li Hui beside her were staring at Tang Yutao expectantly, making him feel guilty.
"Huh... I can't get through... He's probably busy with something..." Tang Yutao said, holding up the phone. "I called him last night, and he was thinking about San San!"
As he spoke, he glanced at San San, as if trying to comfort him with this reason. San San, having made up his mind to find Chen Yunqi, couldn't wait a moment longer. He said to Tang Yutao, "Teacher Tang, stop hitting me. I want to go directly to him. Do you know his address?"
Tang Yutao recalled Chen Yunqi's reaction and attitude on the phone last night and judged that he still couldn't let go of San San. He was also quite sure that Chen Yunqi was in S City, so he turned to the others and said, "I remember he sent me an address. Let me look for it." As he spoke, he hung up the phone and flipped through the QQ chat history. He finally found their last conversation before Chen Yunqi came.
"I've got it! I've got it!" Tang Yutao pointed to his phone screen, gesturing for everyone to look. "Look, I asked him to send his address so I could send him walnuts, and then he said..."
Scroll down the message and a line of bold text catches your eye: Don't send it, I want to go and see it.
Everyone immediately lost their spirits.
Without thinking, San San said, "It's okay, I'll take the train now and call him when I get there. I have his number." He then took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and showed it to Tang Yutao. On it was a neatly copied string of phone numbers, which was the one Chen Yunqi had written to him.
"Well... how about we wait until the call goes through? Otherwise, we won't feel at ease," Tang Yutao said to San San with a troubled expression, feeling a little guilty.
Having let go of all his worries, San San felt an unprecedented sense of ease and fearlessness. He folded the note back up and put it in his pocket, smiling as he said, "I don't want to wait anymore. I'm not afraid. He said he could find me no matter where I am, and so can I. Although I haven't seen much of the world, I can do it for him. I will definitely find him."
Tang Yutao and Li Hui had to go to the police station early in the morning to try and get Li Laoqi's death certificate. Amu wanted to deliver it, but San San refused. Seeing they couldn't persuade him otherwise, they decided that Li Hui would accompany him to City C, see him off on the train, and then rush back. San San was empty-handed, without any luggage. Tang Yutao and Li Hui stuffed all the cash they had into his pockets, repeatedly telling him to be careful and to find a way back immediately if he couldn't find anyone.
At the moment of parting, Tang Yutao's eyes suddenly reddened. He waved to San San and shouted, "San San! Good luck!"
"Okay! Thank you! Teacher Tang! Thank you!" Through the car window, San San raised his hand and waved to Tang Yutao. As the car door closed, he silently said in his heart, "Brother Xiaoqi, I'm coming to find you. Wait for me. This time, I will never leave you again."
Chen Yunqi rushed out of the parking lot and yanked off the dust cover on the car. He was immediately blinded by the swirling dust and coughed violently. Without pausing, he opened the door, got in, and started the engine. Without even checking if the car, which had been sitting there for half a year, still had gas, he floored the gas pedal and sped off.
He drove calmly along the road, screaming wildly in his mind. The moment he heard that San San was coming to find him, his heart had already leaped out of his body and flown to her. He never expected San San to be so brave; he was completely unprepared. Even after he parked his car in the train station and rushed into the exit hall, his mind was still blank.
City S has three train stations, with the South Station being the largest in terms of scale and passenger flow, and also the most comprehensive in terms of connections. High-speed trains and bullet trains to various destinations originate from here. To meet passenger demand, the exit hall is divided into east and west exits, each with taxi and bus stops, and all connecting to subway entrances. While waiting at the traffic light, Chen Yunqi received train information from Tang Yutao. He rushed to the electronic information display screen in the center of the hall, searched through the dense lines of information, and found the corresponding train number. According to the prompt, this train from City C to Beijing would stop at the South Station in ten minutes.
Chen Yunqi was at a loss, staring at the two exits. He couldn't contact San San without a phone, so he had no idea which exit San San would take, or even if he could find a phone to call him, since public phones were rare in the city these days. He was terrified of missing San San and wished he could conjure up a clone to block both exits. Just as he was at his wit's end, he heard the station's announcement over the loudspeaker.
"Attention all passengers waiting to pick up passengers, train K0831 from City C is about to arrive at this station..."
Chen Yunqi had a sudden inspiration and took three steps at a time to rush up to the office on the second floor.
Inside the office, a staff member was reading arrival information into a microphone while holding a train schedule sheet when suddenly the door was pushed open, and a young man with a brisk walk rushed in, saying in a flustered manner, "Hello comrade, I need to make an announcement to find someone."
These days, there are still people who call others "comrade" so casually, as if they were comrades-in-arms on the Long March. She looked up at the young man in front of her, who was sweating from running, and asked curiously, "Looking for someone? Who are you looking for? Are you lost?"
Chen Yunqi quickly replied, "Yes, I'm from my hometown. I can't be reached because I don't have a cell phone. It's the K0831 train, arriving soon. I'm worried about getting lost, so could you please make an announcement to tell him to wait for me at the passenger center on the first floor and not wander off..."
The staff member understood what he meant, and impatiently threw a pen and paper on the table in front of Chen Yunqi, saying to him, "Write down your name and stuff, and I'll make it for you."
There weren't any extra chairs in the office, so Chen Yunqi hunched over the table like a shrimp, writing and drawing for a long time. He handed back a sheet of paper and said, "Comrade, it's finished. Please see if it's okay. Please hurry up."
The staff member took the paper, glanced at it, and frowned, saying in a shrill voice, "What did you write?! It's so wordy! What's 'San San'? A nickname? A nickname won't do! And why did you add 'boyfriend'?" She stared at Chen Yunqi with wide eyes, then suddenly realized, "You...you're not planning to propose through our broadcast, are you?!"
She immediately slammed the paper on the table, "You young people! Always messing around! Are you going to make TikTok videos again?!"
Chen Yunqi, who had no idea what Douyin was, was stunned, and then hurriedly replied, "No, really no, I am looking for someone. It's the first time this country boy has come here, and I was afraid he wouldn't understand if I didn't explain clearly. Look at me, I have nothing on my hands and I'm dressed like this, how could I possibly propose? I haven't even bought a ring yet."
The staff member looked at him with suspicion and said, "From the countryside? Is it a childhood betrothal or an arranged marriage? You don't seem like it!"
Seeing that the time was up, Chen Yunqi had no time to explain, so he could only say in a desperate manner, "Yes, yes, it's our childhood betrothal. They've come to find me. It would be troublesome if I couldn't pick them up. I'll never get back the betrothal gifts I've sold everything I own. Please, the car has arrived."
"Alright, alright," the staff member glanced at his watch and said sympathetically, "I'll play it for you right away, but not the way you wrote it, that's against the rules! If someone records it and posts it on Weibo and Douyin, I'll be in big trouble!"
"Okay, just try to express it clearly for me," Chen Yunqi said, no longer bothering to argue with him. He just hoped that he could read it a few more times so that San San could hear it more clearly.
Meanwhile, train K0831 slowly pulled into the station.
Every July, S City enters typhoon season. The hot and humid climate made San San, who had just gotten off the train, feel a bit uncomfortable. He followed the crowd out of the passageway and stood in the huge station hall, looking around helplessly, unsure of where to go. He clutched the note in his pocket and searched for a phone to try calling Chen Yunqi, but suddenly caught a familiar name in the noisy background.
"...Your family is waiting here... Passenger 33, passenger 33, please proceed to the passenger center on the first floor immediately after hearing this announcement. Your family... Hey, hey, don't... Shh..."
"Ahem... Passenger 33, please proceed to the passenger center on the first floor immediately after hearing this announcement. Your boyfriend, Chen Yunqi, is waiting for you there... Passenger 33..."
Everyone passing by was in a hurry, and no one noticed the bizarre announcement. Only San San stared wide-eyed and listened intently for several times before grabbing a man in a police auxiliary uniform and asking, "Excuse me, where is the passenger center?"
To get the staff to repeat the announcement several times, Chen Yunqi resorted to threats and bribes, even offering his wallet. Under his insistence, the girl in the cap reluctantly read what was written on the paper three times. She couldn't bring herself to read the last, rambling passage: "Don't wander off, stay where you are and wait for me to come find you. I'm wearing a gray shirt and black pants today, and my hair is the same as before..." She threw the paper down and angrily told Chen Yunqi, "That's enough! Don't read it anymore! Comrade, please let me go!"
"Thank you so much!" Chen Yunqi gratefully bowed to her, then turned and ran downstairs. As he ran, he pondered what to do if he still couldn't find San San, when he suddenly saw a thin figure standing anxiously among the crowd at the entrance of the passenger center.