BSS - Chapter 85
Chapter 85
The sound of the subway was sporadic. Deng Chuan sat on her suitcase, one leg propped against the floor, vibrating slightly along with the luggage.
On her phone, Xu Wei's messages were like sweet lava, instantly overwhelming her. The warmth in her heart made her thoughts race, even begin to spin out of control. Fortunately, this was not an unfamiliar feeling for Deng Chuan. Like breaking the surface of the sea to breathe, she gripped her phone tightly, raised her head, and studied the crowded people around her to calm herself down.
Before her was a world composed of face masks, mascara, loose long hair, woolen coats, down jackets, fleece pants, cotton socks, sneakers, and Martin boots.
In contrast to the liveliness created by the various body odors and perfumes in the air, the people were all quiet. They looked down at their phones, leaned against their seats, or held onto a railing or hand strap with one hand, gripping it tightly. Some rested with their eyes closed, some were immersed in their headphones, some stared blankly at the floor, and some, like Deng Chuan just moments ago, were smiling foolishly at their phones, radiating happiness.
Regardless, few people made a sound. Their bodies swayed with the movement of the subway, and the occasional bump of a shoulder or arm was the only communication between strangers.
On the subway, everyone had enough time to be alone.
Outside the brown-tinted glass of the doors, it was pitch black, which made the inside of the car seem as bright as day. Silence spread soundlessly here, from two dimensions to three, gradually filling time and space. Amidst this self-contained quiet, Deng Chuan regained her composure. She looked up at the route map displayed in the car; the flashing red dot was still three stops away from the airport terminal.
The subway ran on schedule, opening and closing its doors at fixed stops. This was the only noisy time. People carrying luggage hurried on and off, the small wheels of their bags rolling across the floor. The sound of footsteps mixed with calls of "excuse me, excuse me," gradually fading away amidst the beeping of the closing subway doors.
The airport station arrived quickly. As she turned in from the subway station exit, a dense crowd was distributed at the entrances of restaurants on various floors and at the main hall entrance. Her ears were immediately filled with a clamor.
Deng Chuan hadn't eaten dinner yet, so she casually found a KFC and placed an order. After picking up her food, she sat down at a table, but she had barely taken a few bites of her burger when a child plopped down opposite her.
-With the high foot traffic, it was necessary to share tables for dine-in. The child's mother had gone to get their food, telling her to sit properly by herself.
Deng Chuan didn't pay much mind; it was still early. She ate while looking up food guides for Harbin on her phone. It wasn't until the child reached out a small finger to touch the hair tie on her wrist that she came back to her senses and saw the child staring at her innocently.
Deng Chuan wasn't good at dealing with children. Seeing the child staring at her, she pushed her fries over. "Little one, want some?"
The child was quite pretty, but with very short hair, it was hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl. She glanced at the fries Deng Chuan had pushed over several times, then hesitantly shook her head and said in a crisp, milky voice, "We have our own."
Deng Chuan nodded while chewing her burger and didn't insist, continuing to look at her food guide. A short while later, the mother came over with a tray, and the mother and daughter began to happily eat their dinner opposite her.
Deng Chuan ate with her head down, only hearing their conversation. The child's mother had a very pleasant voice and a gentle tone. The child got burger all over themselves and splattered ketchup on their pants, but the mother didn't raise her voice or make a fuss. Instead, she held the child and wiped them down with a paper towel, then opened a bottle of mineral water and gave them a simple wash.
This left a small wet patch on the child's clothes and pants, but fortunately, there was air conditioning indoors, so it would dry if they stayed a little longer. Hearing the commotion, Deng Chuan looked up and passed over a few wet wipes, receiving a sweet "thank you" from the child in return.
She didn't think much of it. After finishing her meal, she picked up her tray and left, going through security and sitting down at the boarding gate. The spacious airport amplified and diminished the sounds of conversation; one could only hear the general clamor, not the conversations of strangers.
Not long after she sat down, Xu Wei called. She seemed to have just gotten home from work. Her voice was soft and a little tired, but she was in high spirits. "Fool... where are you?"
Deng Chuan said she had just sat down at the boarding gate.
"Mm. Okay." Xu Wei seemed to have sat down on the sofa as well, her voice relaxing. "Have you eaten?"
She chuckled softly. "I made porridge... you can have some if you're hungry when you get back tonight."
Deng Chuan suppressed a laugh and asked her, "Made in the rice cooker again?"
"What else?" Xu Wei retorted, then added gently, "I also bought some cold side dishes. They're in the fridge. You can have them with the porridge."
She heard her little friend on the other end obediently agree.
The two chatted for a while. The background noise on Deng Chuan's end was incredibly loud, yet her voice was so gentle. In this strange mix of motion and stillness, the fatigue from Xu Wei's day at work was smoothed away. She intermittently stroked Zhou Liu, who had jumped onto her lap, and said a contented, gentle goodbye. "Okay... bye-bye... see you later."
After they hung up, Deng Chuan watched several videos of Harbin food bloggers reviewing restaurants before the boarding announcement sounded overhead. After a flight of over an hour, the plane finally landed on time in this land that Deng Chuan had been longing for.
While the plane was still taxiing on the runway, Deng Chuan connected to the internet immediately and instantly received a message from Xu Wei: "Have you landed?"
The airport had arranged for a shuttle bus. As she descended the stairs, a fine drizzle was falling outside. Most of the passengers didn't have umbrellas, but luckily the rain wasn't heavy, so walking down in it wasn't a big deal.
The mother and daughter she had met at KFC didn't have an umbrella either. Facing the curtain of rain, the child hugged her mother's waist, and both of them hesitated. Deng Chuan pulled an umbrella from the side pocket of her bag and offered, "We can go down together."
Amidst the roar of the plane's engines, they didn't seem to hear her. Seeing more and more passengers coming out of the cabin and getting blocked up behind them, the young mother was about to take off her coat to shield the child on the way down, but Deng Chuan stopped her.
Deng Chuan held the umbrella over and took the child's hand. "Come on, let's go down together."
The young mother thanked her profusely, adding, "It's okay, just cover her."
Only after stepping off the stairs did they realize that the cold wind was lashing their faces with rain. There was no time to say much. Deng Chuan pulled her along. "Let's go."
The child's steps were very small, so Deng Chuan followed her, walking very slowly.
Once they were on the shuttle bus, Deng Chuan closed the umbrella and brushed the raindrops from her clothes. The mother and daughter from before were standing next to her, and the mother was telling the child to say thank you. "The big sister held the umbrella for us, you have to say thank you to her."
The child thanked her in a milky voice, "Thank you, big sister."
Deng Chuan smiled. Her mask only revealed a pair of crescent-shaped eyes. "You're welcome."
A moment later, the shuttle bus started moving, making a wide turn. Everyone inside swayed with it. Deng Chuan reached out and gripped the railing, feeling someone touch her shoulder.
When the bus stabilized, she turned her head and saw it was the child, holding up a paper crane and saying with clear articulation, "I folded this on the plane. It's for you, big sister."
Her mother was holding her, leaning against the railing, also watching with smiling eyes.
"Thank you."
Deng Chuan held out her hand, and the paper crane landed in her palm. The child's face clearly showed reluctance, but she was still very generous. "...You're welcome!"
The shuttle bus stopped by the roadside. After saying goodbye to the mother and daughter, Deng Chuan held the small paper crane, got off the bus, collected her luggage, and walked towards the exit.
She called Xu Wei as she walked.
The call was answered quickly. Xu Wei seemed to be driving. "Walk towards the passenger pickup area outside. I'm driving over."
Deng Chuan said okay and walked out of the airport exit toward the pickup point by the road. The call wasn't hung up. Deng Chuan could hear the soft music in Xu Wei's car; it seemed to be that song she had heard in her car last time, Mirrors.
When she heard a car horn through the phone, Deng Chuan also saw Xu Wei's familiar license plate. The streetlights and headlights clearly illuminated Xu Wei in the driver's seat.
In the beam of the approaching headlights, Xu Wei also saw Deng Chuan standing by the road. Their gazes met, and the little friend quickly waved at her, revealing a pair of crescent-shaped eyes above her mask.
Deng Chuan was wearing a long trench coat today that made her look very elegant. It must have been new; Xu Wei had never seen her wear it before. She was tall and stood straight, and with her mask on, she looked very unapproachable. When she smiled, her eyes held a cool clarity, making her look exceptionally refined in the night.
Xu Wei also smiled unconsciously.
By the time Deng Chuan had quickly stored her suitcase, sat down in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt with fluid movements, and turned to stare at her with a burning gaze, the smile on Xu Wei's lips had deepened.
As she drove the car out of the airport, she tried her best to restrain her smile, keeping her voice light and slow. "Are you hungry?"
Deng Chuan shook her head and pulled her mask down to her chin, revealing a face that was glowing with spirit. She stared at Xu Wei openly. "How long did you wait?"
"Not long. I was watching the time. I just drove in."
Deng Chuan cleared her throat. "That's good."
Xu Wei reached out and passed her the water bottle from the cup holder. "Have some water."
The cup was Xu Wei's thermos, which Deng Chuan was also seeing for the first time. Inside was warm tea. She took a sip and frowned from the bitterness. "So bitter. How can you drink such bitter tea?"
Xu Wei glanced at her quickly while driving. "Hm?"
She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Spit it out, I think that's yesterday's tea."
"Huh?"
There was a red light ahead with a long timer. Xu Wei pulled the handbrake, turned to grab a tissue from the back seat, and passed it to her. "How do you feel?"
Deng Chuan held the tissue and looked at her innocently. "It's okay."
The little friend's lips were wet. Xu Wei couldn't resist leaning in for a light touch, her voice a whisper. "I told you to drink and you just drank it, you're so silly."
The fragrance by her nose seemed to drift past in an instant. Before Deng Chuan could react, Xu Wei had already deftly pulled away and returned to the driver's seat. She gestured for Deng Chuan, who was leaning in, to sit properly. "I'm driving. Be good."
Deng Chuan put the tissue back in the cup holder and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "You promised two kisses."
Xu Wei didn't answer, letting the unsatisfied little friend kiss her once, twice, and then try for more before she stopped her. "Okay, okay." She glanced at the car next to them, which had its window down. "Mind the impression you're making."
Deng Chuan followed her gaze and saw a man in the next car looking over at them teasingly. Regardless of whether he could see her or not, she immediately glared back.
Xu Wei smiled and pinched her ear.
After that little episode, the initial calmness and rush of their meeting was broken. Affection broke through its restraints, making the atmosphere in the car completely tender. Neither of them spoke, just quietly holding each other's hands, letting the equally quiet music envelop them.
The red light finally turned green. Xu Wei let go of her hand and drove forward with the traffic. Deng Chuan leaned back comfortably in her seat and asked, "Do you have to work tomorrow?"
"Mm. I have to proctor an exam tomorrow."
"Tomorrow morning?"
"That's right."
"Then..." Deng Chuan puffed out her cheeks, propped her head on her hand, and turned to look at Xu Wei. Her eyes reflected the flowing lights from outside the window, like two small moons reflected in a pool of water. "Can I go to school with you?"
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