BSS - Chapter 150

Chapter 150

It was evening, and night had fallen. The sky outside was already dark. The classroom was lit by fluorescent lights. When Deng Chuan spoke, her eyes were bright. The overhead light illuminated the expression on her face with perfect clarity. She hadn't packed up her books, simply resting her hands on the desk as she looked up at Xu Wei.

The background noise was chaotic—the stream of people pouring out of the classroom. But the way Deng Chuan looked up at her as she spoke those words seemed to freeze time itself.

Suddenly, Xu Wei didn't know what to say.

She thought she might not have fully emerged from the focused state of the past two days of exams. Before she could even react, her mind had already begun to naturally dissect the moving words in Deng Chuan's sentence: camping, starry sky, success, sincerity. Every word carried a kind of unreserved generosity, as if Deng Chuan were opening her arms to her.

And so, Xu Wei heard herself say yes. Without hesitation. It was also generous. A generous indulgence.

And just as she'd thought, the kid stood up, packed her books into her shoulder bag, held it in one hand, and reached out with the other, deftly taking her hand.

They walked out of the school gates together for dinner. The streetlights came on, and the plants on campus gave off the pleasant, dry scent of the evening air. Along the way, they ran into several of Deng Chuan's classmates—third-years, fourth-years. There was even a table of them sitting right next to them.

So, while Deng Chuan was having dinner with Xu Wei, she glanced at her phone during a lull and saw that her dorm group chat had over 99 new messages. Her roommates were deep in conversation, having moved past texting and started sending voice messages over forty seconds long.

With an earbud still in one ear, Deng Chuan selectively listened to a couple of them. Just as she expected, her roommates were indeed discussing Xu Wei's visit to the classroom that afternoon. She couldn't help but smile as she listened.

Xu Wei was patiently picking the Sichuan peppercorns out of the pickled fish one by one. Hearing Deng Chuan's laughter, she looked up and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Deng Chuan said, "I'm listening to people praise you. I can't help it."

Xu Wei just shook her head, putting on a "you kids" expression, but she too was soon amused by the conversation Deng Chuan read aloud, her eyes curving into a smile.

After dinner, the two of them strolled for a while along the commercial street next to the university. Timing it right, Deng Chuan walked Xu Wei to the subway station. They shared a quiet hug at the entrance for a moment. Perhaps because certain things were about to be settled, Deng Chuan felt that this parting wasn't as reluctant as usual. It was as if this separation only made her look forward to their next meeting even more. But after the hug, Xu Wei buried her face in Deng Chuan's shoulder and rested there quietly for a long time, making Deng Chuan a little unsure of what was on her mind.

Deng Chuan held her, stepping back behind a pillar near the bustling entrance to avoid some of the prying eyes, and carefully called her name, "Weiwei?"

Xu Wei responded with a soft "Mm."

After that, Xu Wei said nothing more. She just held her, arms wrapped around her waist, embracing her in silence. It reminded Deng Chuan of a hug she had once seen at a subway station between a man and a woman in business attire. Both were carrying laptop bags, looking like they were in a hurry to commute, yet they held each other tightly and devotedly for a long time, as if to exhaust all their strength.

At subway entrances, you can often see all kinds of hugs. The crowds surge, and the emotions of the embraces flow with them. Some are between two focused people, some with only one person focused, and some where neither is. The ancients spoke of green willows at parting posts, but modern-day stations have no willows, only repetitive announcements. The duration of a hug is measured in train departures. People embrace for one train, two, three, all the way to the last one. Then the lights go out, and the hugging zone shifts to bus stops and taxi stands.

The people hugging don't speak.

So, perhaps the act of hugging itself was enough for Xu Wei to explain her feelings at this very moment.

After a long while, Xu Wei finally lifted her head. Her eyes were clear and her gaze was calm. Only her lipstick had faded, most of it having rubbed off on Deng Chuan's shoulder.

Deng Chuan didn't actually want to guess what Xu Wei was thinking. Speculation itself felt like a form of pandering, not to mention disrespectful to the person being analyzed, and it could easily lead to misunderstandings. But love makes one cautious, filling one's heart with a flurry of questions and anxieties that are about to burst out. So, Deng Chuan simply cupped Xu Wei's face and asked her directly.

Deng Chuan asked, "What are you thinking? Why aren't you talking?"

Xu Wei shook her head again and hugged her tighter. After another long moment, she said, "Nothing." The white light of the subway station fell on her face, making the faded color of her lipstick look gentle, yet also somewhat resolute.

They hugged one more time.

As they parted, Deng Chuan said, "I'll come pick you up tomorrow at noon."

She had no classes the next afternoon, and the weekend was in two days. They could take their time shopping at the supermarket for camping supplies and food.

Xu Wei nodded and said, "Okay."

It was already late. Deng Chuan watched Xu Wei enter the station, then walked back the way she came. By the time she got to her dorm, she had worked up a sweat.

She took a shower. When she came out, Xu Wei had already sent a message saying she'd arrived safely.

The next few days passed quickly. On Friday evening, Deng Chuan picked up Xu Wei, who had already showered, and they boarded the bus chartered by the Photography Association at the school gate.

The former president, Liang Xue, had already graduated. The new president was in the same year as Deng Chuan; they had met a few times before.

The young people in the Photography Association were quite friendly. After seeing Xu Wei and saying hello, they left the two of them alone, even intentionally sitting farther away.

Deng Chuan gave the window seat to Xu Wei and sat down beside her. The trip was for one day and one night, to Haituo Mountain. The bus ride wasn't long, about an hour or two.

The bus took the highway the whole way. After leaving the city center, they could see that the scenery in the suburbs already held a touch of autumn. The bright colors stood out against the gray background.

Xu Wei was looking out the window. She wasn't wearing a skirt today, but a smart pair of pants. The air conditioning on the bus was cold, so she had draped a jacket over her shoulders—it was Deng Chuan's black jacket. It looked a bit oversized on her, which made her cheeks seem especially fair.

Beside her, Deng Chuan secretly snapped a photo. The camera's shutter was too loud, so she used her phone. She showed the picture to Xu Wei right after taking it—an unedited shot, completely flawless.

The journey wasn't long, and they soon arrived at the foot of Haituo Mountain. The group bought tickets and went in. They carried their camping gear on their backs and encountered many other tourists along the way, also with large packs and cameras. Fortunately, the campsite didn't require a long climb, nor was it at the summit.

By the time they reached the flat ground for camping, the sky had turned completely dark. Below them was likely a valley, and farther away were hills with forests of autumn colors, but unfortunately, nothing was visible now. Their companions turned on flashlights and their own lamps. In the darkness, the scenery appeared only as vague outlines.

The young people were full of energy. After only a short rest, they split into two groups: one to set up the tents, and the other to set up the barbecue grill and light the charcoal.

This was a bit of a surprise to Xu Wei. She had assumed this group of photography enthusiasts would set up their cameras first.

It wasn't until midnight that Deng Chuan explained to her: photography requires patience, especially for starry skies. You have to wait for the fog to clear, for the visibility to improve, for the city lights to die down. It's not something you can start doing the moment you arrive.

As she said this, they were sitting on a waterproof tarp spread out in front of their tent. Not far away, everyone had already set up their cameras, and the main lights had been turned off. Only a faint glow seeped out from the tents.

The faint scent of barbecue still lingered in the air, but everyone had fallen silent. Xu Wei quietly watched Deng Chuan's focused profile as she stared at her camera lens. She was still wearing Deng Chuan's jacket. When the cold night air of the mountains crept in, she didn't feel cold.

From somewhere, the sparse chirping of insects could be heard, so faint it was almost negligible. The unique fragrance of autumn plants quietly diffused through the air. Neither of them spoke, seemingly content with the silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Deng Chuan suddenly began to press the shutter.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was rapid. Xu Wei seemed to be startled awake by it. She looked up and felt her heart tremble.

Overhead was a sky full of brilliant stars. A pure, distinct Milky Way seemed almost within reach. Staring at it for too long could make one dizzy.

With the appearance of the starry sky, the distant crowd started to get noisy. Xu Wei even heard a few curses, but the two of them remained silent, as quiet as the twinkling stars.

Xu Wei felt that the silence of this moment and the Milky Way overhead were like a gift bestowed upon her and Deng Chuan.

She thought to herself, Success is another matter, but I have certainly felt the sincerity.

The starry sky only appears late at night, only after the city has fallen asleep. As the night deepened, Xu Wei felt colder and colder, so cold she almost began to shrink into herself. Thankfully, Deng Chuan reached out an arm and pulled her into an embrace.

Fog began to brew in the mountains. The river of stars had gradually receded at some point. Deng Chuan knew it was because sunrise was approaching. With that thought, she put her camera down completely, rested her chin on Xu Wei's shoulder, and began to gaze at the pitch-black scenery before them.

Xu Wei was very quiet in her arms, allowing Deng Chuan to hear her soft breathing. Deng Chuan decided to break their silence. She lowered her head, affectionately kissed Xu Wei's cheek, and asked softly, "Are you hungry? Want some milk?"

The warmth from their bodies pressed together was comforting. Xu Wei didn't want to move. She gave a lazy shake of her head, letting Deng Chuan hold her and show her the photos she had just taken, one by one.

The kid's warm breath tickled her ear as she spoke. A cold mountain breeze would blow by from time to time, making the warmth feel even more pronounced. Xu Wei felt as if Deng Chuan had almost become a warm furnace.

Nestled in Deng Chuan's arms, listening to her chatter, Xu Wei's mind drifted to something that seemed to have happened not long ago.

It must have been around this time two years ago when she had also come to Beijing. The feelings she'd held upon arrival had certainly not been in vain, but on her way back, she had rushed to the airport alone. After getting out of the taxi, a coarse wind had unexpectedly scraped across her face. The air back then held the latent stuffiness of late summer and the turning point of autumn's impending chill, which made one feel irritable and inevitably down.

At the time, it was just a fleeting feeling, but thinking back on it now, Xu Wei realized she remembered it with inexplicable clarity.

Same city, same time of year. The mountain wind now was crisp, no longer coarse with dust, yet it stirred up certain indescribable, chaotic emotions within Xu Wei as she recalled the memory.

"What time is it now?" Xu Wei asked.

Deng Chuan whispered in her ear, "The time when the sun is about to come out."

As she spoke, Deng Chuan clingily kissed her face, making the base of her ear very itchy. Xu Wei reached out and stroked the kid's chin, scratching it a few times as if petting a dog, with no intention of telling her what she had just been thinking about.

But Deng Chuan still noticed she was distracted and, dissatisfied, asked Xu Wei to turn and look at her. They shifted their embrace, huddling together and wrinkling the small waterproof mat. After a moment of intimacy, while Xu Wei was still thinking about her memory, she was caught off guard by Deng Chuan's voice in her ear:

"The sun's out!"

She quickly turned her head to look, but the sea of clouds was still pitch-black. When she heard Deng Chuan's muffled laughter by her ear, Xu Wei realized she'd been tricked. Before she could say anything, she felt a warm hand on her cheek, turning her face back around.

What followed was a kiss, even warmer than her hand.

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