Snowy Night Kiss

Chapter 103 Just look back, I'll be waiting for you here
The school’s new campus is close to the suburbs, and it takes nearly an hour to take the bus to the city.

But the good thing is that it's very close to my grandma's house.

This winter vacation is the time when Jianyi is closest to the life of ordinary people.

She found a part-time job in a supermarket near her home, and would prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination after returning home in the evening. Grandma Jane would bring her a bowl of soup in the evening, sometimes fish soup, sometimes just tomato and egg soup, and would remind her to go to bed early after drinking it.

Grandma Jian sometimes asks her, "Where does our Xiaoyi want to go to in the exam this time?"

Jian Yi said, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll just stay at home with grandma, okay?"

"Grandma is old, she doesn't have much time left."

"Then I will accompany her as much as I can. My grandma will live as long as I do."

Grandma Jane would be amused by her at this time, laughing at her for always being like a child who never grows up. Jane is happy to be a child in front of those who love her, even though she is calmer and more sober than everyone else.

This year, Qingfeng Town has seen a lot of construction. All the old roads have been renovated into spacious and convenient asphalt roads, and the commuting time to and from school has been cut in half.

Jian Yi happened to pass this road on her way home and saw the signature of the person in charge of the construction site. It was the first time that Jin Yanchen's name appeared in her sight in these few months.

After leaving Kyoto, their lives were like two parallel lines that would never intersect.

In this city, there will no longer be any trace of him except her empty thoughts.

So she stopped in front of the sign for a long time. So long that the person in charge of the construction site kept looking at her, and finally ran over to ask her, "What can I do for you?"

Jian Yi shook her head: "I was just passing by."

"There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony here after the New Year. Would you like to come and see it?"

Jian Yi subconsciously wanted to refuse. The tall building rising from the ground was like a sudden landmark, and she couldn't help feeling excited.

He took two steps forward, then turned back and asked, "What company is this?"

"I don't know the details, but it seems to be an accounting firm. There is only one financial university in this area. If they open a business here, they will definitely lose money!"

Jian Yi didn't finish listening to this sentence.

She ran forward violently, trying to put the name behind her.

Her breathing rose and fell, her heartbeat quickened, and she thought back to their last night apart.

Jin Yanchen looked into her eyes tenderly and lovingly, and said, "My company will be opened where you are."

"So Xiaoyi, just keep going. No matter where you go, just look back and I'll be waiting for you right here."

"What if I don't turn back?"

"If I fall in love with someone else, when we meet again my eyes will pass by you and we will pass by like strangers. Our eyes will no longer meet and our hearts will never be close."

She squatted on the ground and cried like a child, raising her red eyes childishly but resolutely.

Jin Yanchen looked at her for a long time. He was a lover who was much more mature than her, and reason always prevailed over him.

"That's okay."

"You have a better choice, just abandon me."

This is the city where Jian Yi has lived for eighteen years, but at this moment she is crying in this city.

She was a person who had no sense of belonging anywhere, but now, there are places for her to rely on everywhere in life.

The black tiles and bluestones of the Chinese garden are covered with white snow.

The winter in the south was chilly enough to penetrate into the bones. Jian Yi stood there shivering.

She knew that there was a winter she could never go back.

The next time I heard Jin Yanchen's name, it was from him. It was a very clever timing, the first night of the New Year's bell. Grandma went to bed early, stuffed New Year's money under her pillow, and told her to eat a big cake when she got up.

Grandma Jian said with a smile: "Eat a bite in the new year, and our Xiaoyi will surely rise step by step next year."

Jian Yi was greedy for sweetness, so she took out a piece from under the pillow and put it in her mouth to bite. The sweetness spread to the tip of her tongue, a bit like the taste of saliva exchanged when kissing.

She lowered her eyelashes, took off her down jacket, and turned on the old stereo.

She has been very fond of Cantonese songs recently. She has sung "Under the Mount Fuji" on repeat so many times that she can sing it by heart.

However, Jian Yi had no talent for learning Cantonese. After trying to speak a few sentences, he found it tongue-twisting, so he simply closed his mouth and listened quietly.

Grandma Jian didn't leave, but came over to ask her gossip, "It sounds so sad on New Year's Day, did you break up?"

“This is a Cantonese song, grandma.”

Grandma Jian didn't understand Cantonese but she could understand the accent. She raised her eyes and slowly stared at Jian Yi, "You ran home without saying a word. How can I not know your temper?"

"Children who cry get candy. Children who know to run home when they suffer. How can they learn not to cry?"

As if by magic, Grandma Zhong took out two candies from her cotton-padded jacket pocket. The candies were wrapped in colorful paper and it was impossible to tell what brand they were. They were probably given to her by her neighbors when they were paying New Year's greetings during the day.

"I told you that there are candies here, do you want some?"

"I'm too old to ask for candy, Grandma."

Jian Yi looked at Grandma Jian helplessly. Having said that, she still peeled off a candy wrapper and put it in her mouth. The plum-flavored candy was so sour under her tongue that it made her unable to open her eyes.

She wanted to spit it out, but couldn't find a trash can, so she just swallowed it slowly and said vaguely, "It's nothing serious, I just met someone who would give me candy without me crying."

Grandma Jane frowned and said, "You mean this person treats you better than Grandma does."

"How dare I!"

Grandma Jian pretended to take the New Year's money from under her pillow. Jian Yi quickly reached out to grab it and hugged her grandma in a flattering manner.

She smelled a very reassuring scent on her grandmother's clothes, like an evening bathed in the summer sun.

In this world, besides grandma's arms, there is only one other thing that can make Jian Yi feel at ease.
-
His agarwood beads.

"It's no big deal if you're destined to be together. When grandma was heartbroken, she ran home crying and met your grandpa. He was a poor boy who had accomplished nothing. He rode eight miles on his bicycle to take me home. He saved money for ten years to get the betrothal gift, and the first thing he did when he saw me was to throw his bankbook into my arms."

"He thought I was married, but he didn't know I had been waiting for him."

If fate has a little mistake, it will be a passing by.

Grandma Jane shrugged her shoulders and said in a relaxed tone, "Look, isn't this a case of not brushing shoulders?"

"So stop, little sir. Do whatever you want now, and let fate decide the rest."

Grandma Jane yawned and went back to her room to sleep.

She unlocked the door, turned around and waved to Jian Yi in a casual manner, "Grandma is going to sleep, you young people can enjoy the New Year's Eve by yourselves. You are not allowed to use your New Year's money tonight. Grandma has put another two hundred yuan in your pocket."

Where is she going to play in the middle of the night?

Just as she thought of this, there was a bang on the iron security door. Lin Qingruan appeared in front of her with a smile, bringing the first greeting of the New Year.

Jian Yi seemed to be in a dream, standing there without moving.

Lin Qingruan walked in with some Kyoto specialties, including a box of Daoxiangcun.

She stuffed a piece of jujube flower pastry into Jian Yi's pocket, changed her shoes with ease, and asked as she walked, "It's only been a month since we last met. Have you forgotten me?"

(End of this chapter)