Reunion Dinner

Wen Chongyue remained standing in front of the bookshelf for a long time, his eyes tracing those delicate strokes. She had written them with such cautious care that the faint imprints remained on the pages. He had no way of knowing what she had felt at the time when she penned his name so many times.

For the first time, Wen Chongyue realized how beautiful his name sounded.

Her repeated writing of it made it seem to shine.

Through the passing years, across time and distance, he finally glimpsed the secret feelings she had once hidden so carefully. The shy and quiet girl from his memories had, with a youthful awkwardness, traced his name onto paper over and over. Ninety pages, fifty-two times. And yet, after all these years, only now did Wen Chongyue stop, look back, and discover the emotions she had kept so well hidden.

No wonder.

From the moment they met again, she had never strongly opposed their marriage. She had carefully and hesitantly brought up the memory of him helping her on a rainy summer day. After they got married, when they were still unfamiliar with each other, she had never resisted his kisses and embraces…

Surprise mingled with guilt and tenderness.

Wen Chongyue had initially thought their marriage was a peaceful agreement between equals. But it wasn’t. From the very beginning, she had already carried a quiet affection for him, hidden deep in her heart, tucked gently into her sleeves.

She had always been this way.

As his fingers brushed over her handwriting, even those unassuming three characters seemed to come to life. Wen Chongyue stood there for a long time, gazing back through the years. In his mind, he could see her once again—that girl who had missed her bus, seeking shelter under a roof, dressed plainly, quiet and reserved like moss growing in the shade.

But she was never just moss.

—

Wen Chongyue carefully placed the notebook back onto the shelf. He rubbed his forehead, deciding not to read anymore. Instead, he lay down on Xia Jiao’s small bed, though sleep remained elusive. He simply lay there, waiting, until he finally heard the sound of the bedroom door opening.

Xia Jiao entered cautiously, carrying a plate of crispy fried fish and a few steaming hot stuffed buns. Her eyes sparkled brightly as she brought the food to Wen Chongyue, who was only pretending to be drunk to escape the drinking session.

“Hurry up and eat,” Xia Jiao said happily. “In the afternoon, we can go out for a stroll—since you drank too much, I’ll drive. You can finally see how good my driving is!”

She placed the food on the desk and had just turned around when Wen Chongyue pulled her into an embrace from behind.

Xia Jiao protested, “You promised you wouldn’t try anything.”

His arms were warm.

“I’m just hugging you,” Wen Chongyue said. “Nothing else.”

His embrace carried a comforting warmth, seeping even into the soft fabric of Xia Jiao’s fuzzy pajamas. He closed his eyes and sighed softly, “Poor little thing.”

Xia Jiao didn’t understand what he meant. He simply kissed her forehead lightly and asked with a smile, “Was your high school far from home?”

Xia Jiao replied, “Not too far.”

It wasn’t exactly close either, but she had still chosen to stay in the dorms. Commuting would have taken up too much time, and more importantly, it would have been a burden on her parents. They ran a fruit shop, waking up early and staying up late—it would have been too exhausting for them.

Even though it was now winter break and students were gone, the school still didn’t allow outsiders to enter freely. Xia Jiao had only planned to stand at the gate and take a look from afar, but Wen Chongyue walked straight into the security office.

He first handed a cigarette to the security guard, exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, and then gifted him a box of freshly bought longans. “My wife and I used to be students here. Now that it’s winter break, we came back for a visit and would like to take a look inside.”

Wen Chongyue lied without batting an eye. The security guard, deceived by his gentle demeanor, glanced at Xia Jiao, who also appeared quiet and well-behaved. Without raising any objections, he allowed them in but reminded them, “You can walk around freely, but don’t enter the teaching buildings.”

Wen Chongyue said, “Thank you.”

The security guard waved them in. Xia Jiao, still marveling at how easily this worked, hurried to keep up with Wen Chongyue, walking beside him with admiration in her eyes. “You’re amazing.”

Wen Chongyue raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Xia Jiao said, “I wouldn’t have dared to ask. I always feel like I’d be rejected.”

Wen Chongyue chuckled. “But you have to at least try. How would you know if you don’t? See, we’re inside now, aren’t we?”

Winter in Yangzhou was cold. Xia Jiao wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, held his hand, and nodded firmly.

She envied how effortlessly Wen Chongyue handled social situations. No matter how complicated something seemed, he always dealt with it with ease, as if it was never a challenge to begin with. Subtly, he was also guiding her in this direction. At least today, she saw firsthand how naturally he made requests and inquiries, and how he easily gained entry to the school.

At this time of year, the campus was deserted. The teaching buildings had been repainted, and some places no longer looked the way Xia Jiao remembered. Still, she earnestly pointed out to Wen Chongyue where they used to run laps, where they attended classes, and how she would gaze out the window during lessons, watching students in the courtyard playing sports. The sunlight had been so bright back then, casting shadows of the ping pong tables and basketball hoops on the ground.

High school had been tough, but now, looking back, it was a time worth reminiscing about.

Perhaps it was because all the effort they put in yielded real results, and back then, their goals and the people around them were singular and unwavering. Their hearts had been free from distractions.

When they left the school, Wen Chongyue once again greeted the security guard with a smile. The guard, enjoying his longans, grinned and let them out without a fuss.

The New Year customs in Yangzhou were not too different from other places. On New Year’s Eve, families pasted window decorations, “Fu” characters, and couplets, and prepared tangyuan and noodles. Fortunately for Wen Chongyue, Xia Jiao’s family made sesame-filled tangyuan, just like his own.

They picked out the window decorations and couplets together, but Xia Jiao also bought some red paper, a calligraphy brush, and ink to bring home. She knew that this was a tradition in Wen Chongyue’s family—every year, they would write “Fu” characters together and paste them on the walls. Last year, Wen Chongyue and his father had done it. Now that he was spending the holiday with her family, Xia Jiao wanted to keep this tradition alive for him.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, they started decorating. Wen Chongyue, being taller, took on most of the work of pasting the decorations. Since they hadn’t bought too many “Fu” characters, they decided to write the rest themselves. Red paper was easy to cut, and as Wen Chongyue wrote, Xia Jiao peeled and sliced an orange, then playfully fed a piece into his mouth while leaning closer to observe him writing.

His grip on the brush was steady and proper. Xia Jiao had learned calligraphy back in school, but she had long forgotten it. It didn’t matter though, because Wen Chongyue patiently guided her, teaching her how to hold the brush properly and demonstrating how to write the character “Fu.”

Meanwhile, Wen Quan and Xia Mi had both found their way into the arms of the elders. Just the other day, Father Xia had still been saying that raising cats was useless. Now, he was holding one in each arm, doting on them as if they were his own children.

Since it was the New Year, Wen Chongyue and Xia Jiao had brought both their furry companions home. At first, Xia Mi had been a little shy in the unfamiliar environment, but by now, she was happily snuggling up to the elders, coaxing them into giving him treats.

Mother Xia watched the two of them writing with great interest. After scrutinizing their work for a while, she called out, “Jiao Jiao, why don’t you come help me cut window decorations instead? Let Chongyue do the writing. His calligraphy looks better.”

Wen Chongyue smiled and said, “Mom, Jiao Jiao’s handwriting is great. When I first started learning, I couldn’t compare with her.”

There isn’t a parent in the world who doesn’t love hearing others praise their child. Mother Xia beamed but still insisted modestly, “Don’t flatter her. It’s fine if she practices. The ‘Fu’ characters are just for our home anyway, no one else will see them.”

Xia Jiao smiled and diligently wrote over a dozen “Fu” characters before finally stopping. Feeling that they had more than enough, she moved over to help her mother cut window decorations. The red paper was rich in color and easily left stains, so her hands were soon covered in red marks. But it was the New Year, so no one minded. Halfway through, Mother Xia’s phone alarm went off.

Mother Xia said, “Chongyue, my hands are dirty. Can you check my phone for me? Click on the little frog and feed it.”

Xia Jiao leaned over, surprised. “Travel Frog? Mom, it’s been years, and you’re still playing that?”

Wen Chongyue opened the app. He had never played it before, but the interface was simple. Following Mother Xia’s instructions, he prepared a bento, collected clovers, and took care of the little frog.

Xia Jiao was astonished. She had originally played this game with her mother back in 2018. It had been popular for a month or two before she uninstalled it. But her mother had kept playing all these years.

What caught Wen Chongyue’s attention was the name of the frog—Jiao Jiao.

Mother Xia sighed. “I can’t help it. Every time I see it, I think of you. If it has nothing to eat, I feel like you have nothing to eat. I worry that when you come home, no one will cook for you. So I set a reminder to check on it every day, just in case.”

Xia Jiao’s scissors paused. A few seconds later, she carefully resumed cutting, shaping a silhouette of a family of four—a father, a mother, their daughter, and beside her, a tall figure.

Mother Xia chuckled. “Well, now Chongyue can help me feed her.”

Xia Jiao protested, “I can cook for myself.”

Father Xia, lounging on the sofa, laughed heartily. “Having someone else look after you isn’t a bad thing.”

Four people and two cats gathered in the living room for New Year’s Eve dinner. The television was on, filling the house with lively sounds. Though there were no firecrackers, the red paper decorations, window flowers, and lanterns bathed the room in a warm, festive glow. Xia Jiao had drunk a little wine and stepped onto the balcony to watch as a few teenagers set off firecrackers in secret. The elders were engrossed in the television, but Wen Chongyue quietly followed her, standing beside her as they watched together.

Xia Jiao looked down at the high school students chasing each other around, laughing as they set off firecrackers. She smiled and murmured, “Ah, youth is more than just romance.”

Wen Chongyue said, “Hmm? I remember someone once saying that youth must include love, whether openly or in secret.”

Xia Jiao changed the subject. “Who said that? It definitely wasn’t me.”

Wen Chongyue chuckled. “Maybe I remembered wrong.”

He didn’t bring up that notebook or the girl’s past thoughts. He simply let it lie there quietly, soaking in the belated romance and joy.

Xia Jiao gripped the railing with both hands, gazing intently at everything outside the window. Suddenly, she felt a hand ruffle her hair.

She tilted her face up and met Wen Chongyue’s gaze.

She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Wen Chongyue said with a smile. “I just suddenly feel like chasing after you.”

Xia Jiao pondered for a moment. “But we already got our marriage certificate first. So you’re planning to get the certificate before boarding the ship? No, that doesn’t sound right…”

She couldn’t quite figure it out. Wen Chongyue leaned in, gently pulling her aside to hide behind the flower trellis. He kissed her forehead.

“I just want to give you a proper courtship, something you should have always had.”

“Jiao Jiao, Happy New Year.”

Bang!

Downstairs, a child who had been playing finally lit a string of firecrackers, filling the air with the sounds of the new year. In the living room, Father Xia and Mother Xia sat with a cat in their arms, the aroma of food and wine filling the room. The television played lively programs, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Xia Jiao closed her eyes and quietly kissed Wen Chongyue.

Her heart still fluttered like it did back then.

She had once admired someone in her youth, yet the bright moon had been beyond her reach.

Time had passed swiftly, and she thought they would never meet again.

Yet today, they embraced, amid the warmth of wine and the promise of spring.

— End of Main Story —