BSS - Chapter 93
Chapter 93
The hotel's decor had a somewhat Russian style. The exterior featured peeling red bricks and a tall spire pointing toward the heavens. Inside, patterned tiles covered the floor, and ornate wall sconces cast a warm, yellow glow. As if to shatter the tranquility, the rolling wheels of their suitcases announced their travel-worn arrival, making them uninvited guests in this city.
Deng Chuan had booked a room with a king-sized bed. Pushing the door open, there were no surprises inside—just a standard hotel setup. Out of caution, Xu Wei carefully checked the bathroom, door, and windows. The facilities were a bit old, but it was nothing to worry about.
Deng Chuan wasn't sure if it was her imagination or the reflection from the ice and snow, but the daytime in Harbin was exceptionally bright. She stood by the window and looked out. The asphalt road, washed clean by melted snow, was a glossy black. The buildings along the road weren't tall, and in the bright white light, they took on a somewhat gray, hazy quality.
After a short rest, their first meal in Harbin was Demoli Stewed Fish. Pushing aside the curtain at the restaurant's entrance, a wave of warm air mixed with various smells rushed out to meet them. Through her mask, Deng Chuan frowned, not quite used to it. Xu Wei, however, was in high spirits, exchanging a few brief pleasantries with the owner as she took a seat.
They flipped through the menu while the owner stood by, reminding them not to order too much, as two people wouldn't be able to finish it all. Then he asked, "Do you drink?"
Xu Wei pondered for a moment, then glanced at Deng Chuan. "Let's have a little."
They ordered one serving of the stewed fish, a side of mixed cold vegetables, a half-portion of sliced red sausage, and a pitcher of the restaurant's house-brewed white beer.
The beer was cold, which gave it a unique flavor when drunk in the steamy room. Xu Wei, admitting she wasn't a good drinker, didn't dare have much, nor did she let Deng Chuan have much, pouring just a little into each of their glasses. But to her surprise, before the food had even arrived, the kid downed the beer she had poured into her glass in one gulp.
A bit of beer trickled down from the corner of her mouth to her chin, and she casually wiped it away with her hand.
Xu Wei saw this and poured her another glass, saying gently, "Drink slowly."
Deng Chuan let out a breath and rolled her neck. "It's so hot."
It was indeed warm inside. They had already taken off their coats. Deng Chuan was naturally more sensitive to heat; while Xu Wei found the temperature comfortable, beads of sweat were already forming on Deng Chuan's forehead.
Xu Wei leaned closer, unabashedly looking at what she was wearing underneath. "Do you want to take another layer off?"
Deng Chuan tugged at her collar and endured it for a while longer, but finally, unable to stand the heat, she stood up and went to the restroom to take off her sweatshirt. When she returned to her seat, the stewed fish was already on the table—an enormous, eye-catching basin propped up on a metal stand with a faint blue alcohol flame burning underneath.
Xu Wei was waiting for her, her eyes fixed on the basin of fish, looking a little intimidated herself.
Next, the Northeastern-style mixed cold vegetables and the Harbin red sausage arrived. The portion sizes were massive, so large that even Deng Chuan couldn't see herself finishing them.
For their first meal in Harbin, Deng Chuan and Xu Wei learned a profound lesson.
Of the entire table of food and drink, only the pitcher of white beer was finished. Although it would be difficult to deal with the leftovers even if they took them back to the hotel, they had so much left that they couldn't bring themselves to waste it.
Carrying the takeout containers, the two of them walked down the road from the restaurant, taking a few photos of the scenery.
It wasn't snowing, but the air was still dry and cold. Cars were parked along the road, their roofs holding patches of unmelted snow. Further in were grimy heating pipes.
There were few pedestrians on the street in the afternoon. Xu Wei linked her arm through Deng Chuan's, and they walked aimlessly, letting their food digest.
The dry, cold air blew against the exposed parts of their faces, making their skin very dry. Deng Chuan couldn't help but rub the small patch of skin under her eyelid, which had started to itch.
She tilted her head, listening as Xu Wei leaned against her shoulder and asked softly, "Does your face hurt? It's so dry. Good thing I brought face masks. You can use one with me tonight when we get back."
"Mm."
Deng Chuan nodded, letting Xu Wei pull down her mask to carefully examine her face. After confirming there were no major issues, they continued walking.
There were some small outdoor stalls by the road selling frozen pears, ice cream bars, and other local specialties displayed in boxes. Deng Chuan asked Xu Wei if she could have an ice cream bar. After getting permission, she happily bought a bag of them, and they ate as they walked along the road.
Xu Wei had been worrying about what to do with the leftover food, but luckily, they came across a group of stray cats warming themselves on the heating pipes. Although the seasoning might not have been to their liking, these little beneficiaries, a timely help in the snow, did them the favor of finishing the stewed fish.
The little beneficiaries formed a circle around Xu Wei as she fed them. Deng Chuan squatted to the side and, while they were busy eating, tentatively stroked the head of a large white cat that seemed to be the leader. It had a thick, fluffy coat of fur that, despite being a bit grimy, still felt nice to the touch.
This white cat was like a miniature of the city itself.
They lingered there for quite a while before bidding farewell to the cats, who had returned to their spots on the heating pipes. Xu Wei was holding Deng Chuan's camera; luckily, the temperature wasn't low enough to make it shut down automatically. They huddled close, looking at the photos they had just taken as they walked.
The stark black and white of the street, the desolate branches pointing toward the sky, the snow-covered car roofs, the cats warming themselves on the heating pipes. A shot of Deng Chuan's profile as she looked down at a cat, her fingers resting gently on its head, her fair fingertips reddish from the cold.
They finished the bag of ice cream bars. Their throats were cold, but a warmth spread through their bodies. Xu Wei hailed a cab, and following Deng Chuan's plan, they headed for Central Street.
While planning the trip, Deng Chuan had often seen pictures of Central Street, mostly of its colorful night scenery. But Central Street by day was even more captivating than it was under the lights. The daylight illuminated everything clearly: the pedestrians brushing past, holding one skewer after another of candied haws or candied strawberries. The road was lined with Russian-style buildings with bold colors and ornate carvings, making it feel as if at any moment, they might fall into the dream of another world.
Deng Chuan found a certain beauty in the combination of elements in these buildings. She earnestly took a few photos, planning to study them properly when she got back. Xu Wei, linking arms with her, looked at the image focused in her camera and said softly, "It would be nice if we could hear a saxophone here."
Deng Chuan corrected her. "Judging by the style, the representative instrument for this street should be the accordion."
Xu Wei joked, "Do you want to hear 'Katyusha'?"
Deng Chuan smiled, looking into her eyes, and disagreed. "No, no, it should be 'Moscow Nights'."
Teacher Xu was very meticulous. "But it's not nighttime now."
Deng Chuan shook her head gently. "The point isn't that it's night, but the atmosphere."
She stood beneath a dark green balcony railing, opened her arms to Xu Wei, and hugged her tightly. "If someone were singing that song right now, I would tell them, 'I love you.'"
Their thick winter coats made it feel as if they were both sinking into velvety softness. Deng Chuan heard Xu Wei reply, "You don't have to tell anyone else… Deng Chuan, if someone were singing that song right now, I would only want you to remember this moment forever."
As if rehearsed, they pulled up their large hoods and, concealed by them, shared a long kiss, their lips and tongues intertwining, their breaths hot. Deng Chuan could hear the footsteps of passersby on the stone-paved road, the quiet movement of the clouds in the sky, and faintly, the sound of an accordion in her ears.
The Flood Control Monument stood at the end of Central Street. Many people were gathered around it, taking pictures and posing for photos with two snowmen next to the tower. Deng Chuan asked Xu Wei if she wanted to go have a look. Leaning against her shoulder, Xu Wei shook her head slightly, her tone a bit lazy. "There are too many people. I don't want to go over."
"Okay." Deng Chuan let her lean on her and turned her head to look at her. "Should we keep walking then?"
"Let's not," Xu Wei said. "This is enough."
They were too full from lunch, so they didn't plan on having a proper dinner. Deng Chuan had already booked tickets for the Ice and Snow World in advance. She checked the route, and after leaving Central Street, they boarded a direct bus.
The journey took nearly an hour. The bus was mostly empty, so they sat in the back row. Xu Wei seemed tired and fell asleep for a short while, holding Deng Chuan's hand. When she woke up, it was already getting dark outside. The sun was gradually sinking below the horizon, dyeing the sky in layered shades of orange-red from near to far.
The cold weather seemed to sap the warmth from the sunset. All the colors became very, very pale, and the sun set in silence.
They got off at the bus stop and walked toward the Ice and Snow World. There were quite a few other tourists walking with them, as well as some drivers soliciting passengers. The air was filled with a jumble of voices. Deng Chuan helped Xu Wei put on her hat and tucked away the stray hairs by her ear.
The walk wasn't long. They had their tickets checked at the main entrance and went inside. The sky had turned completely dark, the inky expanse swallowing the pale colors of dusk. As the last of the sunset faded, colored lights began to turn on one by one. The brilliant lights reflected and mirrored off the ice surfaces everywhere, transforming into a light gauze floating on water, covering all the ice and snow and even outshining the twinkling stars in the sky. They stood by an ice lantern at the entrance, quietly gazing at the dazzling, flowing colors before them.
It was cold inside the park, but the cold was invigorating, making one feel as if their soul had been cleansed by icy water. Huge ice sculptures were everywhere: castles, tables and chairs, round or arched spires, carriages, reindeer. Warm-colored lights glowed from within the frozen beauty, making the castle a cozy lavender, the spires a dazzling gold, and the ice-sculpted tables and chairs for tourists a striking lime green. The art of ice sculpture transformed the immensely heavy and vast winter into a light, ethereal fairy tale. Every corner was its own little world.
There weren't many activities inside, so Deng Chuan held Xu Wei's hand as they strolled around casually, occasionally taking a few pictures. The park was enormous, and the ice sculptures were massive, making the tourists weaving among them look like insignificant black dots. Midway through, Xu Wei received a video call from Yang Jing. Seeing the two of them bundled up against a backdrop of dazzling ice sculptures, Yang Jing, who was still working overtime at her office, grumbled resentfully, "How can someone love traveling so much- Teacher Xu, is it really appropriate for a teacher of the people to live so freely?"
Deng Chuan, who was beside her, spoke up to correct her. "That's not it. I was the one who wanted to come. Teacher Xu is here with me."
Yang Jing gave a haughty snort and said, "Then you have to bring me back a gift! Otherwise, I'm coming with you next time!"
Deng Chuan agreed readily. "No problem. We're going to send postcards tomorrow. Whatever gift Sister Yang wants, I'll bring it for you."
Xu Wei leaned on Deng Chuan's shoulder, quietly listening to her talk with Yang Jing. Suddenly, she held out a hand, palm up. "I'll bring you this."
Yang Jing asked warily, "What is it?"
A bit of freshly fallen snow had landed on Xu Wei's cotton glove and had already melted into a few drops of water. "Fresh snowmelt, the genuine article."
Xu Wei said it so seriously that even Deng Chuan was taken aback for a moment. Yang Jing rolled her eyes and was about to say something when the call suddenly dropped- the temperature was too low, and the phone had automatically shut down.
On her end, Xu Wei raised her eyebrows in surprise. After trying and failing to turn the phone back on, she gave a helpless laugh. "Looks like there's nothing I can do… I'll explain it to her when I get back."
Fine snowflakes drifted down onto their shoulders. Deng Chuan adjusted the brim of Xu Wei's hood. "Are you cold? Should we leave?"
Xu Wei shook her head and pulled her forward. "We came all this way. Let's walk a bit more."
The two of them wandered for a while longer. The snow fell heavier and heavier, adding a damp, cold weight to their down coats. They followed the flow of people toward the exit. A layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground, and their feet sank into it slightly, making a soft crunching sound.
The return trip was shorter than Deng Chuan had expected. When they got out of the taxi, the snow was coming down very heavily. In the snow, Harbin still twinkled with retro, cozy lights. They went to a convenience store next to their hotel and ate some steaming hot oden.
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