Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Snowy peaks in the distance and snowy cedar forest nearby. Houses that conjugate closely amongst the layered forest. Clear waters flow underneath the bridge. Morning came and the sun rose to bring the light of day, mist formed and sailed across the village, enveloping everything. Everything about the secluded, rural village was like a painting.
Standing in this tapestry of a beautiful scene was two men, old and young.
Luo Ziling had a backpack behind him as he stood on the bridge talking to Luo Liansheng that was off the bridge.
“I’ll be leaving now, Grandfather. Take care of yourself,” said Luo Ziling. An unwilling expression hung on his face.
“Go,” said his grandfather. He gave his grandson one last loving look, smiling bitterly.
His heart ached when he saw his grandfather’s loving smile. It pained him, but he forced himself to smile.
“I’ll return during the winter holidays and spend the last days of the year with you. I’ll show you photos of when I am at university. I’ll tell you about my life there, and I’ll bring back as many local delicacies as I can too.”
“You shouldn’t come back for winter,” the old man said with a smile that hinted sorrow and grief. “Snow will block all paths to the village.”
“No. I’ll come back and spend the new year with you.”
Luo Liansheng sighed as he patted his grandson on the shoulder. He had spoken, and there was nothing left to be said. He turned around and started to walk back to his house.
Luo Ziling only turned around and left with a wide pace when his grandfather had entered the house and out of sight.
He walked across the bridge and out of the valley, facing toward the field of green. He stood there, reminiscing on the past twenty years he had spent in the beautiful village.
He took out the aging, yellowed photo and fixed his eyes on the indescribable beauty with conflicted thoughts. He muttered under his breath, “After so long… Why haven’t you returned at all?
“You may have experienced inexplicable pain and suffering… but you left me twenty years ago. Never once did you visit me. Now… Right now… I can’t forgive what you’ve done. As for the future… We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it…”
“Will you see me once I’m in Yenching? What will I feel when you inexplicably appear outside my classroom? Will I cry? Will I smile? Or will I ignore you completely?”
He had a few more looks at the photo and put it away a few moments later. He adjusted his bag and walked with huge strides, never looking back again.
Two hours of walking brought Luo Ziling away from the field that was away from the valley, to the closest small town.
The small town represented only a small dot in a province-tier map, and it was the only populated area in a radius of several dozen kilometers.
There was only one public bus that transited the city once a day. He took the bus and headed into the city for an afternoon lunch. After that, he took the evening train and made his way to the province’s central city, Wu City. The plane that he needed to get on was flying the next morning at ten.
After he sat on the train for more than ten hours, he arrived at Wu City.
This was his first time taking a plane. He had no idea what the procedure was to board a plane.
As he headed toward the help desk, he accidentally bumped into a rather beautiful woman who was dragging a suitcase behind her.
She was walking fast with her head down, while he himself was looking left and right. The result was an inevitable collision.
“I’m sorry,” Luo Ziling apologized quickly as he almost knocked her off her feet.
“It’s alright. I was careless there,” the woman apologized as well. She had a mature kind of beauty. By the looks of it, she was within her thirties. She stared at Luo Ziling for a good two seconds before she broke into a dazzling smile.
“Hey there, cutie, did I hurt you or anything?”
Luo Ziling sighed in relief because he had not expected the other party to be so polite and forgiving. He shook his head fast.
“I’m fine!”
He was feeling embarrassed as he replied. It was almost as if that was his standard reaction whenever he bumped into beautiful women.
The woman did not leave immediately. Instead, she had a good look at him and moved in closer.
“Why the rush, handsome? Are you rushing to board a plane? What time is your flight? Have you already checked in?”
“My flight’s at ten o’clock,” he choked. He could not be more embarrassed. “I haven’t checked in yet.”
“What a coincidence!” cried the beautiful woman curiously. “I’m also boarding a ten o’clock flight! What’s your flight number?”
Luo Ziling flipped open his boarding ticket, and after he checked it, he said, “CZ6901.”
“Another coincidence! That’s my flight as well!” the woman cheered happily. “Come along. Shall we check-in together?”
Luo Ziling nodded his head happily since he had no idea how to check-in.
He followed her and completed the check-in procedure.
The beautiful woman helped him pick a spot, and the two of them ended up seated next to each other.
During the check-in procedure, Luo Ziling discovered that the beautiful woman’s name was Li Jing. She was from Yenching herself and had come to Wu City for some business.
He felt lucky about bumping into her since meeting her saved him from a lot of trouble.
She was very friendly; she helped him check-in before the flight and even led him to the boarding gate.
On the plane itself, she helped Luo Ziling order meals and beverages, talked to him, and told him about Yenching.
Her friendliness completely disarmed whatever guard he had. With relative ease, he told her the reason he was going to Yenching.
Upon finding out that he was going to attend Yenching University, Li Jing told him interesting stories about Yenching University and what he needed to take note of during class.
That made Luo Ziling feel even more grateful.
With someone as beautiful and friendly as Li Jing sitting next to him, the flight, which lasted several hours, went by in a flash.
After landing, she even helped Luo Ziling to fetch his baggage, and instead of saying farewell when they left the airport, both of them took the underground train together.
“My house is just near Yenching. It’s on the way,” said Li Jing with a warm smile. “Looks like the handsome one and I have some sort of fate.”
That simple sentence made Luo Ziling blush. He even had a weird feeling in his chest.
When everything was alien to him, Luo Ziling felt extremely grateful to be with someone as friendly and kind as Li Jing. It was either that or face a lot of trouble alone.
He was feeling indebted to her.
When someone who lacked motherly love like Luo Ziling spent a few hours with another woman, he could not help but develop a form of emotional attachment to her.
A thought came to mind; if that woman was with him, would she treat him as well as Li Jing did? He felt a little bitter after that.
The two left the station later, and Li Jing accompanied Luo Ziling to the entrance of Yenching University. She took a few photos of him as well.
“When you have your own mobile phone, I’ll send these pictures to you!”
On the plane, she found out that Luo Ziling did not have a mobile phone, so she gave him her number and reminded him to contact her once he got himself a phone.
Luo Ziling naturally promised to do so.
Before Li Jing left, Luo Ziling thanked her sincerely.
“Thank you, Miss Li. Thank you for helping me.”
“Coincidence may just be fate. We may even see each other soon! Who knows?” Li Jing said, waving goodbye while walking away.
The moment Luo Ziling entered the campus, Li Jing let out a long sigh. She then took out her phone and started dialing.
The call connected promptly.
“Hello,” a certain magnetic voice of a woman answered. “Li Jing, are you in Yenching?”
“Yes, it’s me, Miss,” Li Jiang Fei replied respectfully. “We’ve arrived. I’ve just safely escorted him into Yenching University’s campus.”
The woman on the other end went quiet. She tried her best to hide her excitement as she lowered her voice and said, “Thank you for your work.”
“Miss, I’ve taken a few pictures of him. I’ll send them to you in a while—”
“Send them now!”
Li Jing could not even finish her sentence before the woman on the phone cut her off immediately.
“Yes, yes! Right away, Miss!”