wavenovel Chapter 306 Let's Treat This as a Honeymoon
Chapter 306 Let's Treat This as a Honeymoon
After dinner, Lingyun and An Shiyu went for a walk.
It was already dark, and the streetlights came on. They walked slowly along the moat, the willow branches on the opposite bank swaying in the night breeze.
"Leaving tomorrow?" An Shiyu asked.
"The day after tomorrow," Ling Yun said. "I'll stay home tomorrow."
"Where to go?"
"Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan. Two or three days in each place."
"A month?"
"almost."
An Shiyu didn't speak. She took Ling Yun's arm and walked very slowly.
"Will you come with me? Let's treat it as our honeymoon and travel around Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan together," Lingyun asked.
"No," An Shiyu said. "I can't get that much time off from the library. Besides," she paused, "I don't understand your work situation, and I'd only be a hindrance if I went."
Ling Yun stopped and looked at her.
The streetlight shone on her face from the side, making her eyes look bright.
"You're not causing trouble; with you around, work isn't boring at all," he said.
An Shiyu smiled but didn't reply.
July 21, 1998, 6:00 AM.
At Jinan West Railway Station, An Shiyu stood in the waiting hall, a small pink suitcase beside her, the result of her packing until midnight the previous night. Ling Yun carried his worn-out black backpack and clutched two train tickets to Beijing in his hand.
"Have you brought everything?" Ling Yun asked.
"I brought it." An Shiyu counted on her fingers, "Change of clothes, toiletries, sunscreen, sun hat, and your favorite brand of beef jerky."
"Beef jerky?"
"We'll eat on the train," An Shiyu smiled. "There's plenty of time."
The train was at 7:10, and a long queue had formed in front of the ticket gate, mostly men on business trips, carrying black briefcases and with expressionless faces. An Shiyu stood in the queue, tiptoeing to look ahead, like a primary school student waiting for a school trip.
Ling Yun looked at her without saying a word.
As the train started moving, An Shiyu pressed her face against the window, looking out. The platform slowly receded, then the fields shrouded in morning mist, and then the distant, rolling mountains. She watched intently, as if it were her first time riding a train.
"You've never been to Beijing before?" Ling Yun asked.
"I've been there." An Shiyu didn't turn around. "But I was too young then, so I don't remember much."
The train rumbled forward. An elderly couple sat opposite each other. The old woman took out a tea egg from her bag and handed one to the old man, who took it and slowly peeled it. The aroma of the tea egg filled the carriage.
An Shiyu took the bag of beef jerky out of her bag, tore it open, and handed it to Ling Yun.
In May, the sky in Beijing is very blue.
An Shiyu stood in Tiananmen Square, looking up at the city gate. The sun was blazing, and she squinted, shielding her eyes with her hand.
"I've seen it in textbooks," she said. "But standing here in person feels different."
Ling Yun stood beside her without saying a word.
In the afternoon, they went to the Summer Palace. An Shiyu walked along the Long Corridor, examining the painted murals on each pillar. She looked very slowly, sometimes standing in front of a painting for several minutes. Ling Yun followed behind her, keeping a distance of two or three steps.
"This is Journey to the West," An Shiyu said, pointing to a painting. "Sun Wukong defeats the White Bone Demon three times."
Ling Yun leaned closer to take a look, and the figure in the painting did indeed resemble the real person.
"You recognize him?" he asked.
"When I was little, we had a comic book at home," An Shiyu continued walking. "My dad bought it."
The corridor was very long, seemingly endless. Sunlight streamed in from one side, casting thin shadows on the ground.
That evening, they went out for roast duck. An Shiyu took a thin pancake, and imitating the people at the next table, put cucumber shreds, scallion shreds, and then duck meat dipped in sweet bean sauce on it, rolled it up, and handed it to Ling Yun.
"Try it."
Ling Yun took it and took a bite. The duck skin was still crispy, but the sweet bean sauce was a bit salty.
"How is it?"
"tasty."
An Shiyu rolled one up herself, took a big bite, and got sauce on the corner of her mouth. She wiped it off with a tissue and continued eating.
The next day, Lingyun arranged to meet with people from the Zhongguancun Management Committee to inspect the land.
An Shiyu followed. She stood by the vacant lot, looking at the buildings under construction around her, listening to Ling Yun and that Section Chief Wang discussing land prices, plot ratios, and supporting policies. She couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but she listened very carefully, nodding occasionally.
"What do you think?" Lingyun asked her.
"Huh?" She paused, taken aback. "Me?"
"Um."
An Shiyu looked at the plot of land, then at Zhongguancun Street in the distance. "It's quite big," she said.
Ling Yun smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
In the afternoon, they went to Peking University. There were many people by Weiming Lake; some were taking pictures, some were reading, and some were couples. An Shiyu found a bench and sat down, looking at the lake.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. A breeze blew across the lake, carrying a hint of moisture, which felt pleasant on her face.
In Shanghai, they stayed in a small hotel near Nanjing Road.
The room wasn't big, and the window faced an alleyway. In the mornings, you could hear the shouts of the breakfast vendors downstairs, and the aroma of fried dough sticks wafted up and seeped through the cracks in the window.
Every morning, An Shiyu goes downstairs to buy breakfast. She brings up soy milk, fried dough sticks, and glutinous rice cakes in plastic bags and places them on the windowsill.
"Do people in Shanghai eat this?" Lingyun asked.
"Mmm." An Shiyu bit into a fried dough stick. "I just asked the auntie who sells breakfast, and she said this is the most authentic."
The Bund is beautiful at night. Across the river, Lujiazui is still under construction; only the Oriental Pearl Tower is lit up, standing alone on that construction site. The sidewalks on this side are crowded with people—taking photos, strolling, and flower girls weaving through the crowd.
"Buy a flower." The little girl stood in front of An Shiyu, holding a rose in her hand.
An Shiyu glanced at Ling Yun.
Lingyun took out two yuan.
"Thank you, Uncle!" The little girl handed the flowers to An Shiyu and ran off.
An Shiyu held the rose and lowered her head to smell it.
"It doesn't smell good," she said.
"Made of paper."
"I know."
She put the flowers into her bag and continued walking.
In Shenzhen, they visited Window of the World.
An Shiyu stood beneath the miniature Eiffel Tower, looking up at it.
"Have you really been there?" she asked.
"no."
"Can I go again sometime?"
Ling Yun didn't answer. He looked at the iron tower, lost in thought.
"About work?" An Shiyu asked.
"Um."
"Don't think about it anymore." She pulled his hand and walked forward. "Let's play now."
They saw the pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. At each attraction, there were long queues of people taking photos. An Shiyu also joined the queue. When it was her turn, she went over and had Ling Yun take her picture. After taking the picture, she ran over to look at it, frowned, and said, "This one isn't good," before continuing to queue.
In the afternoon, they went to the beach. The sea in Shenzhen wasn't blue; it was a hazy gray, but the sand was soft. An Shiyu took off her shoes and walked barefoot on the sand. A wave crashed in, covering her ankles, and she screamed, taking two steps back.
Lingyun stood on the shore, watching her.
"Aren't you coming down?" she shouted.
Ling Yun shook his head.
An Shiyu continued walking until the seawater reached above her calves. She bent down and splashed water with her hands. The sunlight shone on the water droplets, making them sparkle.
In Wuhan, they stayed in a small hotel by East Lake.
When I opened the window in the morning, I could see the lake. There was fog, and the lake looked as if it were veiled in mist.
An Shiyu leaned on the windowsill, looked for a while, then turned back and said, "It's bigger than Daming Lake."
"Um."
"Let's live by the lake from now on."
"it is good."
They cycled along East Lake. The two rented bicycles were old and worn out, the chains creaking and the seats wobbling. An Shiyu rode erratically, with Ling Yun following behind, keeping a distance where he could reach out and steady her at any moment.
After riding for more than an hour, they stopped in a secluded spot. There was a large rock by the lake, so An Shiyu sat down, took off her shoes, and dipped her feet into the water.
"It's cold," she said.
Ling Yun sat down beside him without taking off his shoes.
"Are you tired?" An Shiyu asked.
"fine."
"I'm a little tired." She leaned back and lay down on the rock, "but I'm very happy."
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling in small patches on her face.
Ling Yun looked at her without saying a word.
"These past twenty-odd days," An Shiyu said with her eyes closed, "have felt like a dream."
Why?
"You're always busy. Busy on the phone, busy when we meet," she said. "For the past twenty-odd days, you've been right here beside me, not going anywhere."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
An Shiyu opened her eyes, sat up, and looked at him.
"Can it be like this in the future?"
Lingyun looked at her; her eyes were bright, and her eyelashes seemed to still be damp with the mist from East Lake.
"As much as possible," he said.
An Shiyu smiled and lay down again.
"Then as much as possible."
On the train back to Jinan, An Shiyu fell asleep leaning on Ling Yun's shoulder.
Sunlight shone on her face, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her eyelids. She wrapped her arm around Lingyun's, pulling his arm close to her chest, which made her sleep very peacefully.
The train rumbled forward.