Chapter 63#
The man had a slight, soft accent.
Yan Heqing spoke, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly, “I am. Who is this?”
“Great! Finally found you, Heqing.”
The man introduced himself.
He was Yan Heqing’s aunt’s husband.
He was coming to the capital for business and contacted the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institute, which had adopted Yan Heqing back then. He didn’t expect they actually had Yan Heqing’s contact information.
“My flight is at 2 PM. You’re in college now, right? Where is your school? I’ll drop by to see you on my way.”
After agreeing to meet at the school gate at 6 PM, Yan Heqing hung up the phone.
He walked forward along the road. It was lunchtime, and there were only a few students nearby. Yan Heqing walked for a while, then suddenly clutched his chest and squatted down.
His heart was beating too fast.
Looking down at the clean ground, the incessant, noisy heartbeat pounded against his eardrums. After a long while, he heard someone calling him.
“Yan Heqing?”
A pair of black sneakers with purple soles appeared in his field of vision.
Yan Heqing adjusted his emotions. He looked up and saw Gu Xingye.
Gu Xingye was carrying a food bag. He bent down and reached out to help Yan Heqing, “You look pale. Shall I take you to the infirmary?” Then, realizing Yan Heqing didn’t know him at all, Gu Xingye added, “I’m also a student in Bio-Science Class 2, named Gu Xingye.”
Yan Heqing ignored the hand in front of him. He supported himself to stand up and said faintly, “Thank you, I’m fine.”
He walked around Gu Xingye and left.
Gu Xingye remained in a half-squatting posture with his hand extended. He turned his head, watching Yan Heqing’s retreating figure. He scratched his forehead in confusion, then stood up straight after a while and chuckled. This new classmate was too aloof.
In the afternoon, there were two periods of University Physics and one period of Cell Biology. Yan Heqing focused on the classes without distraction. However, as soon as the bell rang for the third period, he calmly and quickly packed his textbooks, shouldered his bag, and left.
Yan Heqing ran to the school gate.
Before getting close, he had already locked onto his target.
A middle-aged man of medium height, wearing a gray top and black pants, carrying a travel bag.
Exiting the school gate, Yan Heqing slowed down, clenching his palms as he walked towards the man.
The man stood under a landscape tree outside the main gate, frequently scanning the crowd. When his gaze turned and met Yan Heqing’s, he squinted for a moment, then his face lit up with surprise as he walked over, “You are Heqing! Must be, you and your mom are simply carved from the same mold!”
Yan Heqing reached out to take the travel bag, “Let me carry it. You must be hungry, right? Let’s find a place to eat first.”
The man politely declined a few times, but failing to refuse, he smiled and handed the bag to Yan Heqing, “Really nice, grown into a big lad.”
Yan Heqing took it and led the man to the food street opposite. The man kept praising Yan Heqing, “Heqing, you are so capable, Peking University! In Ershiqiao, one comes out every few decades. If your brother, I mean my son, could get in, I would host a banquet for seven days straight!”
Crossing the zebra crossing, Yan Heqing stopped and asked politely, “What would you like to eat?”
“I’m not picky.” The man smiled, “Just can’t eat spicy food, everything else is fine.”
Yan Heqing chose a stir-fry restaurant. Every time he passed by, there were many people, so the taste should be okay.
It wasn’t peak time yet, so there weren’t many people in the restaurant. The waiter led them to a table by the window. Yan Heqing handed the menu to the man. This time the man didn’t stand on ceremony and ticked a few dishes, enough for two people, so Yan Heqing didn’t order more.
The waiter left with the menu.
Yan Heqing poured a cup of hot water for the man first, then asked politely, “I’m not good at figuring out relationships. You are my mother’s cousin’s husband, right?”
The man took a sip of water and nodded repeatedly, “Right, right. My wife is Qin Shuqi, and I am Lin Manfeng. Your mom and your aunt used to be closer than real sisters.” He suddenly sighed, “Sigh, who would have thought such a thing would happen. Everything was fine, and then suddenly a fire started…”
Yan Heqing held his water cup. Lin Manfeng waved his hand, “Let’s not talk about this, it’s all in the past.” He looked at Yan Heqing with a smile, “If I remember correctly, you have a younger brother, right? Is he doing well? Is he also a college student?”
Just then, the waiter served the dishes.
Two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup, typical southern stir-fry.
Yan Heqing didn’t answer. He took out sterilized chopsticks, scalded them with hot water, and handed them to Lin Manfeng, “Please eat.”
Lin Manfeng accepted them with a beaming smile.
While eating, Lin Manfeng talked about some new things in Ershiqiao and introduced its scenic spots, “Our place has good water and gardens, and there are 20 bridges left from ancient times. You must go back and have a look when you have time.”
When Lin Manfeng was full, Yan Heqing put down his chopsticks, “How many days are you staying? Have you found a place to stay?”
Lin Manfeng wiped his mouth, “Going back tomorrow night. Don’t worry about it; the company has arranged a place to stay.”
Yan Heqing had many things to ask about Yan Qiushuang. After finishing the meal, just as he was about to speak, Lin Manfeng finished wiping his mouth and turned to get his travel bag.
After rummaging in the bag for a short while, Lin Manfeng took out a round tin box.
The box cover had a picture of butterflies lingering over flowers. It was faded and looked quite old.
Seeing that box, Yan Heqing’s eyes didn’t move away.
He had a premonition that the box was related to Yan Qiushuang.
His hands on his knees clenched nervously into fists.
1 second.
2 seconds.
…
Lin Manfeng patted the box, which didn’t have any dust, and finally handed it to Yan Heqing, “This is some of your mom’s stuff that your aunt kept. This time I was just trying my luck. If I couldn’t find you, she would have kept it herself as a memento.”
Yan Heqing didn’t know how he took the box. When he came back to his senses, he was already holding the box tightly.
The only one.
Mom’s relic.
Lin Manfeng was busy and had to leave after eating. Yan Heqing wanted to call a car for him, but Lin Manfeng refused profusely.
“You go do your things. I’ll wander around by myself. It’s rare for me to come to the capital; how can I go back to the hotel so quickly?”
Yan Heqing still had two classes in the evening. He thought for a moment and prepared to ask for leave from the teacher, “I’ll show you around.”
“No need, no need.” Lin Manfeng waved his hand, “I like to wander around by myself. With more people, I feel uncomfortable instead.”
Since Lin Manfeng said so, Yan Heqing didn’t insist. He bowed deeply, “Thank you.”
Lin Manfeng grinned, “Why so polite? Didn’t you treat me to a meal too? Go busy yourself quickly; I’ll walk it off too.”
He turned and left. Judging by the direction, he was heading towards the city center.
Only then did Yan Heqing turn back to school.
He didn’t open the box immediately.
He wasn’t sure if he could still attend the evening self-study calmly after seeing the relics inside.
After class, he would open it.
Lin Manfeng observed Yan Heqing from the corner of his eye. When Yan Heqing crossed the zebra crossing and walked far away, he turned his steps, sped up, and turned into the alley diagonally opposite.
Through the alley was another street, not as lively as the food street. The streetlights were on, and a low-key sedan was parked by the roadside.
Lin Manfeng ran up quickly, opened the back door and got in. Closing the door, he turned his head and smiled apologetically at the young man waiting on the other side, “Everything is done according to your instructions!”
The young man smiled politely, “Come with me to see my boss.”
The young man got out of the car, and Lin Manfeng hurriedly followed him out.
The young man walked towards the coffee shop across the street.
At the entrance of the coffee shop, the young man stopped, “Please go in.”
Lin Manfeng was a bit scared; he hadn’t met that boss, “You’re not going?”
The young man smiled and pushed open the door, “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Lin Manfeng swallowed nervously several times before hugging his travel bag and going in.
The coffee shop was booked out; there was only one staff member at the cashier counter.
A song was playing in the shop.
Lin Manfeng listened—a familiar song! Qin Shuqi went to the old street every week to drink tea and listen to Pingtan. For the price of the cheapest jasmine tea, she could listen to several songs. If she encountered rich customers requesting songs, she could listen all afternoon.
This song “Slow, Slow Tune” was requested by customers every time.
The staff member came out from the cashier counter and led Lin Manfeng inside.
Lin Manfeng followed closely, whispering to the staff member from time to time, “Are we there yet?”
The waiter whispered back, “Shh, don’t talk.”
Lin Manfeng became even more nervous, shrinking his shoulders and lowering his head as he followed for another short distance. The staff member finally stopped and said respectfully, “The person has arrived.”
The staff member left. With no one in front, Lin Manfeng rolled his eyes upward, stealing a glance ahead.
Meeting those deep black eyes, Lin Manfeng’s heart suddenly trembled. He quickly lowered his head again, daring not to peek anymore.
The soft dialect of the Pingtan was completely opposite to the atmosphere at this moment.
Lin Manfeng was tense all over, but thinking of the money, he still boldly said, “Bo-Boss, the matter you entrusted is done. According to your instructions, word for word. Don’t worry, Yan Heqing didn’t suspect anything at all.”
Lu Lin put down the coffee, “You can go. Someone will pay you.”
Lin Manfeng couldn’t wait to leave early. He still wanted to deal with that young man; he didn’t dare look directly at this man, it gave him chills… Lin Manfeng nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes. Enjoy your drink, I’m leaving!”
Lin Manfeng bent his waist and turned silently.
Just as he lifted his foot, he heard an unhurried voice again, “Remember, don’t contact him in the future.”
Lin Manfeng nodded his head rapidly, “Understood, understood!”
After waiting for a while, he was finally dismissed. Approaching the coffee shop entrance, he almost ran out.
He was both happy and regretful. Why didn’t his wife keep a few more photos of Yan Qiushuang back then?! One photo for a hundred thousand yuan! A hundred thousand! What a huge loss!
Lu Lin wasn’t in a hurry to leave.
His index finger gently rubbed the slightly cool one-yuan coin.
In his mind was the voice of the old employee from the welfare institute.
“Yan Heqing’s mother was called Yan Xia… oh no! Qiu, something Shuang. Right, right, Yan Qiushuang! Heard she was a super beauty. No wonder she could give birth to two such beautiful children. Just a pity, everything was burned, not even a photo was left…”
5 years old.
18 years old.
13 years.
Lu Lin suddenly clenched the coin tightly.
—
After school, Yan Heqing ran back to his residence.
Closing the door, he gazed quietly at the round tin box for a moment, then slowly opened it.
Under the warm light, inside the not-so-large box was a kraft paper envelope.
Yan Heqing took out the envelope. It wasn’t heavy, and the shape was like… photos.
His breathing stopped for a second.
Putting the round box on the floor, Yan Heqing held up the envelope. In the quiet room, there was only the sound of his increasingly loud heartbeat. His index finger gently pried open the envelope and slowly pulled out the stack of things.
Under the light, there was a small oval face. A delicately carved little girl sat on a small folding stool under a pomegranate tree, her eyes curved, laughing happily at the camera.
The time in the lower right corner showed: Taken on June 1, 198X.
Yan Heqing moved the top photo aside. In the second one, the girl had grown taller. It was a junior high graduation photo. She was taller than most boys and was arranged to stand at the edge of the last row. Her smile was gentle, and the camera caught several male classmates stealing glances at her.
Moving it again, Yan Heqing almost couldn’t hold the photo.
In the last one, the woman wore a pale purple cheongsam, with mountains and plains of gladiolus behind her.
In this photo, Yan Heqing almost replicated the woman’s facial features, especially the eyes—light brown pupils, long and narrow at the ends, slightly upturned, gentle yet tranquil.
This is—
Mom.
Yan Heqing lowered his head, his cheek lightly pressing against the slightly cool photo.
13 years.
Finally, he knew what Mom looked like again.
So her cheongsam was pale purple.