BSS - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Deng Chuan pressed the shutter. Before she could check the photo, she heard a voice and looked over. The little girl from the family of three was looking up at her, her face flushed from walking, her big eyes blinking.
Her voice softened unconsciously. "Of course. Do you want to take it here?"
"Mhm." The little girl nodded twice, tugged on her father's hand, and looked up at him.
Her father let go of her hand and pulled his phone from his pocket, saying with a smile, "Just help us take a group photo. Thank you, young lady."
Deng Chuan shook her head. "It's no problem."
She took the phone. The family stood at the edge of the tree-lined path, with tall pines, cypresses, pavilions, and red walls behind them, letting the rustling of cicadas and the whisper of the wind roll above their heads.
The lighting was great, requiring almost no adjustment. Deng Chuan took a few photos, asked them to change their pose, and the little girl was excitedly lifted onto her father's shoulders for a few more shots.
Deng Chuan signaled that she was finished and walked over to let them see the photos.
The three adults stood together, heads touching, looking at the photos. The little girl was too short and wasn't in a hurry. She hugged her father's leg and waited quietly until he scooped her up into his arms, her head bent towards the phone screen.
"Did the big sister take nice pictures?"
"Yes!"
"Then what should you say to the big sister?"
"Thank you, big sister-" The little girl turned her head, clumsily taking a cookie from her mother. Her pigtails swayed, and her grape-black eyes were fixed on Deng Chuan. "This is for you."
Deng Chuan reached out for it and said with a smile, "Thank you."
Their eyes met, and she couldn't help but pat the little girl's head.
All four of them were very happy. The girl's father took back his phone and suggested Deng Chuan take a picture with his daughter too.
Deng Chuan was taken aback. Before she could speak, the girl's father smiled and persuaded her, "Just think of it as a memento. We're going home tomorrow. We'll meet again if fate allows."
Their accents didn't sound like they were from Beijing. Deng Chuan thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She crouched down, put her arm around the brightly smiling child, and they took a photo with their heads together.
After the photo, Deng Chuan added the girl's father on WeChat. He quickly sent her the picture, then took his daughter's hand to say goodbye and continued on his way.
The little girl was reluctant to leave her. She held up her little hand for a handshake. Deng Chuan crouched down and wiggled her fingertips. Suddenly, the child gave her a crisp kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, big sister!"
Deng Chuan touched her cheek to the girl's. "Goodbye."
After saying goodbye to the family, Deng Chuan stood in place, looking down at the photos she took earlier but hadn't had a chance to see. She adjusted the composition and camera settings and took several more shots.
Dense silvergrass grew along the mountain path. In late summer, it was at its peak of lush, wild growth. The long blades of grass extended onto the path, lightly brushing against the pant legs of passing pedestrians.
Deng Chuan walked and stopped, ascending the stone steps of the path. The sun gradually rose, its light piercing through the pine needles and green leaves above, casting a checkerboard of light and mottled leaf shadows on the stone steps. Deng Chuan pulled down the brim of her baseball cap and walked with great interest on the shadows of the checkerboard.
Even so, by the time she reached the summit, the back of Deng Chuan's neck was covered in a thin layer of sweat from the sun.
There were several pavilions at the summit. Deng Chuan saw that a few people from the Photography Association had already arrived. They were resting in a pavilion, taking advantage of the excellent light to continuously photograph the city of Beijing below.
She didn't join the crowd, instead standing at the edge, pulling her cap brim down again and again, looking at the scenery before her. The sun was high, the morning mist had dissipated, and the visibility was excellent. The buildings, red walls, and white pagodas below were all rendered with a layered clarity. The cloudless sky above made everything feel exceptionally vast, a pale and pure blue that cleared one's mind.
Deng Chuan raised her camera and shot for a while, but felt she couldn't capture the feeling she wanted. So she put down her camera and sent a photo to Xu Wei with her phone.
On weekend mornings, Xu Wei usually allowed herself to wake up a little later. Deng Chuan hadn't contacted her earlier, thinking she should be up by now. Sure enough, not long after she sent the photo, she saw Xu Wei's reply: The weather is so nice.
Deng Chuan sent an energetic message: Good morning!
Xu Wei replied with a three-second voice message. Deng Chuan played it. It was her gentle, smiling voice. Xu Wei said, "It's not early anymore, you little fool." At the end of her words, she gave a little sniff. A hint of just-woken grogginess made the texture of the sentence even softer. Deng Chuan played it again, the three short seconds of softness spreading from her cochlea to her chest.
She savored it for a good while before replying with a sticker of a cat rolling on the ground.
Xu Wei didn't respond, probably having gone to wash up. Not far away, the people from the Photography Association were calling her to go down the mountain for lunch. Deng Chuan put her phone away and walked towards them.
The group descended the mountain. Without stopping to take photos, their descent was much faster than the ascent. They gathered at the entrance, where Liang Xue took out the Photography Association's banner from the car. Everyone held it up as she set up a tripod for a big group photo.
Lunch was booked at a Northeast Chinese restaurant. The group bustled into a private room, passing the menu around. The order was quickly placed.
To Deng Chuan's surprise, Senior Brother Chen Mingzhang, the one who helped her with registration at the start of the semester, was also there. He saw Deng Chuan and greeted her with a smile, "Junior Sister, we meet again."
Deng Chuan nodded back at him and said, "Hello, Senior Brother."
Liang Xue seemed to know him well. The two of them chatted and laughed together, but their demeanor was open and generous, without a hint of ambiguity. No one else teased them.
As they waited for the food, the group took out their cameras, sharing the photos they took and chatting about this semester's class schedules and teachers. Soon, the topic shifted to information about major-related competitions.
Deng Chuan listened for a bit but didn't join the conversation. She looked down at her phone, checking if Xu Wei had had lunch, and chatted for a bit with Pei Qingyu, who would be arriving in Beijing in a few days.
The food arrived quickly: Fried Pork in Scoop (Guobaorou), Di San Xian, chicken stewed with mushrooms, stewed sauerkraut with vermicelli, blood sausage with garlic sauce, a homestyle cold dish, and vegetables with dipping sauce. The staples were steamed buns and two-grain rice. They drank tea instead of alcohol. Everyone was hungry after walking all morning, so they ate heartily.
After the meal, Liang Xue suddenly remembered she forgot to take a group photo before they ate. She made the best of it, taking a picture of the messy table and the seated group.
After the photo, they got on the bus back to the university. It's easy to get drowsy after eating. Deng Chuan covered her face with her hat and leaned against the backrest, planning to take a short nap.
She closed her eyes and felt someone sit down next to her, but she didn't pay it any mind and kept her eyes closed. The bus drove smoothly, and she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
But Deng Chuan was a light sleeper. Every time the bus stopped at a red light, she woke up immediately. After this happened several times, she completely lost the mood to sleep. She sat up straight, put her hat on properly, and rubbed her uncomfortable neck.
Only then did she see that Liang Xue was sitting next to her. Liang Xue had a U-shaped pillow and was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed. It wasn't just her; Deng Chuan looked around and saw that most people on the bus were asleep.
She looked away, pulled the window curtain shut to block the glaring afternoon sun, and took out her camera to look at the photos from the morning.
The traffic on the way back was much better than on the way there. They arrived at the south gate of P University in less than an hour. The driver called out from the front that they'd arrived. The group woke up one by one, reminding each other to get off the bus.
Liang Xue next to her was sleeping very soundly. Deng Chuan gently pushed her arm, then used a bit more force and shook her shoulder.
She remained still with her eyes closed, her breathing long and even. Deng Chuan hesitated for a moment, then shook her shoulder while calling out softly, "Senior Sister, wake up…"
Liang Xue's long eyelashes fluttered at the sound of Deng Chuan's voice. She then took a deep breath and finally opened her eyes. Seeing Deng Chuan, she still looked a bit dazed. "What's wrong?"
Deng Chuan could only say, "Senior Sister, we're here. Time to get off."
"Oh! Okay." Liang Xue rubbed her forehead, sat up straight, and looked around the bus. She stood up to let Deng Chuan pass.
After getting off the bus, everyone headed for the campus shuttles going towards their respective schools. Liang Xue, who got off last, reminded a boy in the group to remember to write the promotional article. Today's outing was a routine activity for the Photography Association, and the article and photos would be useful for recruitment after the military training ended in a few days.
The boy readily agreed and quickened his pace to catch the campus shuttle.
The shuttle heading towards the School of Economics and Management was full. Deng Chuan found a shady spot to stand and wait for the next one.
Liang Xue walked over and stood next to her to wait.
She seemed to really want to talk to Deng Chuan, but then saw that Deng Chuan was wearing earphones. She held it in for a long time. When the campus shuttle finally arrived and she sat down next to Deng Chuan, she finally said, "It's so hot today."
Deng Chuan glanced at her, nodded, and said, "It's been very hot every day since I got to Beijing."
Liang Xue sighed in agreement. "Your military training this year is really too hot. My year was super lucky; it was overcast for those few days."
She looked at Deng Chuan's elbow resting nearby and added, "But you're still so fair. You haven't gotten a tan."
Deng Chuan smiled and just said that her roommates made her use sunscreen every day, so she hadn't tanned much.
"Junior Sister," Liang Xue deliberated for a long while before finally saying, "My friend is in the art school. She's a fourth-year fashion design major graduating this year. Would you be willing to be her model?"
Before Deng Chuan could reply, she quickly added, "It's paid! At market rate."
"Because it's her graduation project, she's being very careful. She's been looking for a model for a long time but hasn't found the right one. A few days ago, she saw your photos and thought your temperament was a perfect fit." Liang Xue looked at Deng Chuan with eager eyes. "I'll send you her WeChat. You two can chat first. If it works out, you can meet up. If not, you can just be friends. How about it?"
Deng Chuan thought for a moment and agreed, adding the WeChat contact Liang Xue sent over. Having finally stated her purpose, Liang Xue seemed much more relaxed. She smiled at Deng Chuan. "I haven't had a chance to ask, where are you from, Junior Sister?"
Deng Chuan answered. Liang Xue hummed in acknowledgment and added, "That's good. I'm from Guangdong. When I first came to Beijing, I really couldn't get used to the climate."
When she mentioned Guangdong, something stirred in Deng Chuan's heart. She asked, "Where in Guangdong are you from, Senior Sister?"
"I'm from Guangzhou," Liang Xue replied, then asked, "Why?"
"It's nothing. Because I have a friend who is also from Guangdong," Deng Chuan said. "But she's from Chaoshan."
"I have friends from Chaoshan too. They even taught me a few phrases in Chaoshan dialect." Liang Xue said regretfully, "But it was too difficult. I've forgotten it all now."
"Oh…"
The chirping of cicadas was like a thin thread connecting city to city in the same summer. The weather was too hot, and Xu Wei had no appetite for lunch. She simply washed an apple, sat on the sofa, and read while munching on it.
Zhou Liu was playing wildly with a ball nearby. Deng Chuan had bought him too many toys, and his balls were scattered all over the living room. Xu Wei almost twisted her ankle when she accidentally stepped on one just now. Seeing how happy he was at this moment, she had a mischievous thought and snatched the ball.
Seeing his ball gone, Zhou Liu rolled over to look at her. He wanted to snatch it back but didn't dare, so he extended a paw to tentatively touch her arm.
Xu Wei dangled the ball in front of him, then pulled it back, deliberately teasing him until the little cat started meowing in protest, on the verge of getting truly angry. Only then did she return the ball.
Zhou Liu, having gotten his ball back, held no grudges and lay down next to her to continue playing. Xu Wei patted his head and went back to her book.
Suddenly, her phone chimed with a message notification. Xu Wei unlocked the screen and saw that the Little Friend who should be napping had sent her a voice message.
She tapped on the voice message, suddenly feeling a little nervous for some reason.
Amidst the chirping of cicadas, in the dustless afternoon, the girl's clear and gentle voice sounded in Xu Wei's ear: "Teacher, what are you doing? I miss you so much…"
ackkkkkkkk so sweet
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