“You’re back?” As soon as Duan Min heard the door open, he stopped what he was doing and ran to her.
Now, the first thing You Xu saw when she opened the door was Duan Min standing in the foyer with a smile blooming on his face. If there was a tail behind him, she guessed that it would be wagging furiously. He reminded her of a large dog who watched over the house.
Duan Min’s hands were caked in mud, and he was holding a small shovel.
You Xu changed her shoes, dropped her bag, and walked into the living room. When she saw the balcony in a mess, she went over to see that Duan Min took advantage of her absence to replant the jasmine flowers that were destroyed by the storm last night. He pressed the soil and placed the scattered petals back into the soil.
His movements were patient and meticulous.
You Xu squatted and watched for a while before rolling up her sleeves to join the action.
Duan Min did not stop her because it was troublesome and dirty. In fact, he enjoyed spending time with You Xu, even if it was just doing something together in silence.
You Xu came up with countless scenarios in her mind on the way home, but the moment she saw Duan Min, she found that she could not keep her emotions calm. She tried her best and pretended to be as natural as usual.
Under Duan Min’s probing eyes, she continued to smile naturally.
After reorganizing the jasmine flowers on the balcony and windowsill, You Xu went to the bathroom to wash her hands, and Duan Min followed after her. He said, “You have something on your mind, and it’s about me.”
You Xu’s footsteps stopped. “…”
Her life was so hard.
She turned on the faucet and washed the mud off her hands, then chose her words carefully. “Duan Min, the maple leaves at Qianye Lake have fully turned red. I want to see them.”
“How many days will you be gone?” he asked.
You Xu wiped her hands with a napkin. “Three days.”
The person beside her was quiet for a moment before saying slowly, “Okay, I understand.”
You Xu held back her emotions, but she could not help but turn her head to glance at him. Duan Min had already lowered his eyes, making her unable to read his mood.
After dinner in the evening, You Xu washed a bag of strawberries she bought and made three jars of strawberry jam for him. “Eat one jar a day. I’ll come back by the time you finish eating.”
Duan Min did not speak. He held the jar and squatted on the side, silently watching her pack her luggage.
After a while, he asked, “Do you have your thermos?”
You Xu: “Yep.”
“Coat?”
“Check.”
“Scarf?”
“Check.”
Duan Min: “Your gloves?”
You Xu: “Here.”
Duan Min asked softly, “What about me?”
——
The sun peeked out in the morning, spilling sunlight on the yellowing leaves like a fine layer of gold foil.
Duan Min sent You Xu downstairs and handed her the suitcase he was carrying.
“I’m just going to check out the scenery.” You Xu said as she took the suitcase. “I’ll take more pictures for you if it’s pretty.”
“Mm.” Duan Min fought back the loss in his heart. He did not need those photos. He just wanted You Xu around. However, if You Xu wanted to see the scenery, he should not stop her. Otherwise, she would have one less point of fun and one more point of regret.
You Xu pulled the suitcase and walked away, not daring to turn back for fear that she would regret it. Since she made her decision, she could only stick to it.
Duan Min stood in place, quietly watching her back as she continued to move away until she disappeared.
He did not know how long he stood there before he came back to his senses. Without her presence, the loneliness around him made his breathing vaguely painful.
He walked upstairs, went back to his room, took out the strawberry jam that You Xu made for him, and dug a large spoonful to eat.
After a few moments, he muttered, “It’s not sweet.”
It turned out that even food lost its flavor when the person who made it was gone.
You Xu arrived at her destination in a depressed mood. It was a very quiet mountain with a large basin halfway up the mountain. The water flowing down merged into a lake there, and the surrounding maple leaves were as red as fire.
She dragged her heavy footsteps to the halfway point. Truth be told, she used to like traveling to see the natural scenery in the past. However, she was not in the mood to appreciate nature’s beauty now.
Since it was a weekday, there were not many people who came to play. There were a few people scattered around, taking pictures, and a couple of people held drawing boards and sketched away.
The lake was still as a mirror, surrounded by a circle of red maple leaves that reflected off the water’s surface, fusing with the emerald green in the middle of the lake. The resulting image was as beautiful as a painting.
You Xu took out her phone to take a picture and sent it to Duan Min.
The darkness of the room was impenetrable, heavy and depressing. Duan Min retreated back to his dark room and sat numbly in the corner. There was not a single ray of light in sight.
He did not want to do anything. More accurately, nothing had meaning to him.
It was only when his phone lit up faintly that light returned to his eyes. He immediately picked up the phone and checked the message.
He never needed a mobile phone when he was alone. When You Xu went to the supermarket to buy food and often saw fresh vegetables or delicious snacks, she would call him to ask if he wanted them. It was only then that he developed the habit of carrying a cell phone with him.
There were so many subconscious habits that started with her that it became unbearable when she was not around.
The message on his phone was a photo sent by her. She was wrapped in a big red scarf, and her black and soft hair was fluffy and slightly messy. The daylight seeping through the leaves left mottled shadows.
She smiled under the sunshine with light sparkling in her eyes.
It turned out that she was so bright and beautiful that the maple leaves behind her paled in comparison.
Duan Min felt like his airways were filled with sand and gravel. He seemed to feel the friction of the air itself, making it painful to even breathe. He wanted to close his eyes but could not bear to look away.
“Ring ring ring—” The phone rang. It was a call from You Xu.
Duan Min took a deep breath, trying to suppress his emotions. When he answered the call, his tone was the same as always. He called out softly, “You Xu.”
“Duan Min, did you eat the strawberry jam?” You Xu asked.
Duan Min: “Yes.”
“Eat slowly. Don’t finish all three jars in one day. Eat one a day. When you finish everything, I’ll come back and make you some more.” You Xu said, “There are some recipes that I’ve almost mastered. I’ll write them down for you when I get back.”
“Okay.” His voice was very low and light.
——
It was a cloudy day when You Xu came back. She dragged her suitcase and saw Duan Min standing downstairs, waiting for her for who knows how long.
The moment he saw You Xu, a glow lit up in his dark eyes, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curve up into a smile as he reached out to take her suitcase.
You Xu tugged her scarf down, revealing her chin. “Didn’t I tell you to come down after I called? Although foot traffic here is low, there’ll still be people passing by from time to time. You…”
“It’s okay,” he said.
You Xu sighed and pulled him upstairs.
She opened the door and looked around. Nothing much changed. After all, she was only away for three days.
Duan Min, on the other hand, changed a lot.
He was particularly clingy for the next few days, following her in almost everything she did. He did not sleep at night and constantly hovered by her door, as if afraid that she would sneak away in the middle of the night.
In addition, she also felt that Duan Min was trying his best to please her.
He learned to cook all kinds of food for her, talked with her carefully, and tried to guess her thoughts. If there was anything she was interested in, he would get it for her immediately.
For example, if she wanted to eat a few chestnuts, he would get a puppet to carry back a whole cart.
He would not hesitate to do anything as long as it made her happy.
You Xu did not like this, but she had no way of changing Duan Min’s state. He was too afraid of losing her, and she was destined to leave this world.
Two days later, You Xu bought a big box of strawberries and a large jar of rock candy. When she was washing the strawberries in the kitchen, Duan Min suddenly asked in an uneasy tone, “Are you leaving again?”
You Xu’s hands paused slightly. She bit her lip and said, “Yes, the snowscape in the north is very beautiful. I want to go see it.”
She was really on the verge of being unable to give an excuse.
“Fifteen days?” He glanced at the fifteen glass jars lined up on the table.
“Yeah.”
You Xu did not dare to look up at his expression. The strawberries in her hands felt like they had thorns, making it a little difficult for her to wash them smoothly.
Duan Min clenched his jaw, dug his fingertips into his palm, and tried desperately to restrain the bitterness in his heart.
She was leaving again. She was leaving again! The scenery outside was so beautiful that nothing he did could make her stay.
He lowered his eyes. “I don’t want it.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want strawberry jam.” He said word for word. “If strawberry jam is just going to be a parting gift in the future, then I’ll never eat it again. I never want to eat it again.”
The bright red strawberry in her hand was like his constricting heart.
Eye-piercing and painful.
——
In the end, You Xu left after all. She took a bus to the north and looked at the shadows of the rapidly receding buildings and trees outside the window. Her heart felt heavy and suffocated.
Duan Min was too dependent on her, so she had no choice but to make him adjust to her absence. First it was three days, then half a month, and then she would disappear completely.
She wanted to prepare him mentally and get him used to the days when she was no longer around.
When only Duan Min was left in the huge room, he once again retreated back into his darkened room. The only source of light in the room was from his cell phone screen. He pulled up the pictures You Xu sent him and looked at them tirelessly.
She was so happy outside. She belonged in the sun.
Why couldn’t he stand with her?
His fingertips rubbed the screen delicately. After a few moments, he walked into the lab, poured out a large number of pills, and took an array of injections.
…
Half a month later, You Xu came back again and saw Xuan Min waiting downstairs from a distance away.
The moonlight was thin, the cold wind blew, and the street light stretched out his lonely shadow. You Xu’s heart ached as she lowered her eyes.
Duan Min took her suitcase, and they went upstairs together.
When they went to the room to change and Duan Min took off his black trench coat, You Xu suddenly realized how much weight he lost and how haggard he became. There were obvious blue-gray bags under his eyes as if he did not sleep well.
However, his eyes filled with a smile as soon as he saw her.
“I learned to cook another fifteen dishes by following your recipe. Let me cook for you from now on.”
“I tried my best to take care of the jasmine flowers, but they withered a lot because of winter.”
“I cleaned up the room so it’s spotless. It’s just like before you left.”
“I brought a lot of story books for you to read to me when you come back, or I can read them to you instead.”
“You Xu,” he said in a soft voice, his eyes tender and loving. “I missed you so much.”
You Xu squeezed the clothes in her hand silently. In the past, she would praise Duan Min when he tried to do anything. Even if it was just two words to her, he would be overjoyed because he felt that he meant something to her.
However, she could not say anything to him now.
Duan Min sensed her silence and fell quiet too. He hid the disappointment in his eyes and said with a smile, “You must be tired from the journey. Go to your room and rest up. I’ll call you when I finish cooking.”
You Xu nodded, went back to the bedroom to lie down on the bed, and let out a long sigh.
At that moment, her phone chimed. You Xu turned on the screen to see a short message from You Qi: [Cousin, I’ve finished up the paperwork for going abroad. Let me know when you decide on a date and I’ll book the tickets.]
You Xu: [Okay. We’ll leave in three days.]
In just half a month, Duan Min changed so much that You Xu almost felt he was a different person.
He never liked to smile before. At most, she would see a smile in his eyes and a slight curve to his lips. However, he was always smiling now, and his smiles were warm and gentle. He became meticulous and considerate in all aspects as if he had changed from a boy to a man overnight.
You Xu became the one who was being taken care of instead.
When she mentioned leaving for the third time, the man’s calm gaze instantly shattered. He forced himself to hold back and squeezed out a smile. “Okay, I’ll wait for you to come back.”
This time, what surprised You Xu the most was that Duan Min followed her out and sent her to the airport.
She was very nervous about his state the entire way, afraid that he would get sick. She did not know what he did, but despite the fact that there were people coming and going all around them, he only broke out in a cold sweat. Otherwise, his state was fairly stable.
You Xu held his hand tightly. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Duan Min raised his hand to touch the top of her head.
There were even more people around when they reached the airport. You Xu felt his whole body tense, but he insisted on sending her off. She gritted her teeth to hold back the sting in her eyes, sniffled, and lowered her gaze, not daring to look at him. “Goodbye, Duan Min.”
Then, she turned around with her suitcase. Her heart sank with every step she took.
The distance between them was pulled open and filled with pedestrians, and the airport announcements echoed endlessly around them. Duan Min looked at her back, and a sudden aching feeling of uneasiness sprang up in the bottom of his heart.
“You Xu!” He stepped forward and took her hand, looking down at her expression.
Duan Min’s eyelashes trembled along with his breath. “Will you come back?”
You Xu paused and raised her head to meet his panicked eyes. “A lifetime is very long. There’ll be a day when I return.” She spoke with a smile; a smile that looked just like the one she had when she first met him. The curve of her lips brought out her shallow dimples.
Duan Min lowered his eyes, took off his mask, pulled her scarf down, and leaned forward for a gentle kiss.
You Xu looked at him in a daze.
He wrapped her scarf around her again, revealing only her bright eyes.
“I’ll wait for you, You Xu. I’ll always wait for you to come back.
“I was able to accompany you to the airport this time. Next time, I’ll be able to accompany you to see the world.”
When the time comes, we will never be apart again.
