Chapter 20

Lu Yun walked slowly, a bit spoiled by nature, and by the time she reached the small shop in the alley, the shopkeeper, out of a bit of sympathy, handed her the receiver.

Lu Yun glanced at it—a red rotary phone with white plastic buttons displaying the numbers, the receiver and phone cord both in the same shade of red. This type of phone had been quite common during her childhood.

The shopkeeper commented, “This has already cost a few bucks.”

On the other end of the line, He Cheng’an quickly responded, “It’s fine, it’s not expensive. I earned quite a bit this time in the provincial city.”

Lu Yun, unsure if it was the static or He Cheng’an’s soft voice, felt a slight tickling in her ear. She adjusted the position of the receiver, unsure of what to say.

He Cheng’an held the receiver close to his ear and said, “The moon here in the provincial city is especially beautiful tonight. Is it beautiful over there as well?”

Lu Yun found the question a little silly, but she looked up at the night sky anyway. A crescent moon hung in the sky amidst countless twinkling stars. She replied, “It’s beautiful, and there are so many stars tonight too.”

He Cheng’an also looked up at the night sky on his end. “I just wanted to say goodnight to you.”

Lu Yun responded, “He Cheng’an.”

When He Cheng’an heard her say his name, he instinctively stood a little straighter, gripping the receiver tightly, waiting for Lu Yun to speak to him.

Lu Yun said, “Goodnight, He Cheng’an.”

When the call ended, Lu Yun noticed Li Xiaohong standing nearby, staring at her with wide eyes.

She glanced at Li Xiaohong’s somewhat thin clothing and decided to bring her along as they headed back together.

Li Xiaohong stayed close to Lu Yun, observing her friend as she walked while occasionally gazing at the night sky. They were close enough friends that she couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

Li Xiaohong asked, “You made a call that cost a few bucks just to say, ‘The moon is beautiful, the stars are beautiful,’ and to say ‘goodnight’?”

Li Xiaohong had come from the countryside and had finally managed to land a temporary job at the Cotton Textile Factory. S

he was usually busy, and while she hadn’t dated anyone yet, that didn’t mean she hadn’t seen others in relationships. So she really couldn’t understand why Lu Yun and He Cheng’an would spend money on a call just to talk about stars, the moon, and to say “goodnight.”

Lu Yun explained, “It wasn’t just about saying goodnight. It was his way of telling me he missed me, and my way of letting him know I understood.”

After returning home, Lu Yun took out a few jackets she no longer wore and gave them to Li Xiaohong. She didn’t explain much, simply saying that she no longer liked that style. Li Xiaohong hugged the clothes tighter, her face turning red.

In truth, she didn’t have any thicker clothes for autumn. She had sent most of last month’s earnings back home, so buying warmer clothes would have to wait until her next paycheck. Although the weather had turned colder, she usually stayed indoors and could manage without them for now.

“Thank you,” Li Xiaohong said.

Lu Yun said: “No need to thank me. I don’t wear these styles anymore, so it would be a waste to leave them here. Try them on and see if they fit.”

Lu Yun had a slim build, whereas Li Xiaohong was a bit too thin, so Lu Yun’s clothes fit her loosely. Still, they made her look more put-together, though she stood there, visibly self-conscious.

“I can layer up under these, and they’ll fit just right and keep me warmer,” Li Xiaohong said.

Lu Yun nodded, glancing at the sky. “That sounds good. I’ll ask my brother to give you a ride home.”

Li Xiaohong started to decline, but just then Lu Xiang’an happened to walk by and overheard Lu Yun mentioning her brother. He knocked and came inside, glancing at Li Xiaohong’s outfit with a bit of surprise but choosing not to comment.

“A young lady shouldn’t be walking back alone. I’ll give you a ride home,” Lu Xiang’an offered. “Where do you live?”

“It’s not far,” Lu Yun said, “just down the alley up front.”

On the way back, Li Xiaohong bit her lip, casting several glances at Lu Yun. At last, she looked at her earnestly and said, “You and He Cheng’an are sure to stay together for a long, long time, and you’ll be very happy together.”

Hearing this heartfelt blessing, Lu Yun smiled. “Now hurry on home.”

—o—o—o—

When Lu Xiang’an returned, he blew on his hands and rubbed them together, feeling the chill and unable to stop himself from commenting, “Your friend—I just dropped her off, and as I was about to leave, I heard someone in the yard calling her to help clean up the table. I bet she hasn’t even had a meal yet. And you—someone so particular about fashion—how could you give away your own clothes like that?”

Lu Yun replied, “She’s staying with her relatives. Everyone has their own struggles. But with this cold weather, she really needed a thicker coat. She looks quite thin.”

Lu Yun herself was especially sensitive to the cold; if she hadn’t been, she wouldn’t be so diligent about wearing her thermals. She knew how uncomfortable it was to be freezing.

Lu Xiang’an nodded thoughtfully, then looked over at Lu Yun, asking, “Did your boyfriend call you?”

Lu Yun glanced back at him, “How did you know?”

Lu Xiang’an teased her, “I happened to pass by, and I overheard the shopkeeper talking with someone, saying, ‘Young people dating these days are hard to understand, spending a few bucks on a call just to say nonsense.’”

Lu Yun pushed him out the door. “It’s enough that we understand each other. Now, go home. And don’t go calling your own girlfriend someday, and definitely don’t eat sour cabbage noodles this winter. You can survive on the cold wind.”

She’d picked up that last line from Zhang Meili, who once teased Lu Xiang’an with it. Lu Xiang’an had claimed not to like sour cabbage, and when Zhang Meili was busy pickling some, she had thrown that phrase at him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll live on wind. But after drinking all that wind, can I still have some of the sour cabbage noodles you make?” he joked back.

“Nope.” Lu Yun replied with a smirk.

—o—o—o—

He Cheng’an, meanwhile, had rented a small, inexpensive house in the provincial city. It was a single-story place, which he had secured because he often needed to travel there for work.

Having a place of his own in the city made more sense than staying at a guesthouse each time, especially when splitting the cost with Zhang Hao.

It was more affordable, felt like his own space, and allowed him to leave his things there without worry.

Though the autumn night was chilly, He Cheng’an found himself unable to sleep, feeling inexplicably warm. Every few minutes, he glanced at the night sky, unable to stop himself from smiling.

Zhang Hao came out  from the bathroom after a shower, grumbling, “After working these past few days, it feels like I can never get fully clean. Renovation work really isn’t easy…” As he walked closer, he noticed He Cheng’an’s expression and bent down, asking, “Bro, what’s got you smiling like that?”

He Cheng’an stood up. “Nothing. Just go to bed early.”

Zhang Hao stayed where he was, listening to the sound of He Cheng’an’s door closing, baffled. After thinking about it for a bit, he mimicked He Cheng’an’s smile and muttered to himself, “It’s like he just saw Lu Yun or something.” Shaking his head, he headed back to his room to sleep. Tomorrow was another day of hard work.

He Cheng’an lay in bed, still unable to fall asleep, his thoughts racing. He kept imagining Lu Yun’s expression when she’d said goodnight to him—was she smiling with her eyes curved in a soft arc, smiling faintly, or maybe just casually saying goodnight? He tossed and turned, sleep evading him.

—o—o—o—

He Cheng’an returned on Monday, two days after their phone call, and it had been nearly a week since he’d last seen Lu Yun, from his departure for the provincial city to now.

After picking Lu Yun up at the Cotton Textile Factory, he took her out for a meal. Lu Yun was about to go home and inform her family, but they ran into Li Xiaohong on the way.

Upon learning their plans, Li Xiaohong eagerly volunteered, patting her chest and promising to go to the Lu family and pass along the message.

He Cheng’an had been watching Lu Yun all along, but when Li Xiaohong appeared, he noticed the clothes she was wearing and paused—it was Lu Yun’s clothing.

As He Cheng’an pedaled with Lu Yun on the back of his bicycle, he didn’t mind at all that he was riding a women’s bicycle, even though it looked a bit comical for a tall man like him. He asked, “Why’d you give your clothes to Li Xiaohong?”

Lu Yun swung her legs lightly. “They didn’t fit me well, and they’d just be sitting there unused anyway.”

He Cheng’an replied, “I’ll buy you ones that look even better.”

This time, He Cheng’an took Lu Yun to the State-Owned Restaurant, known for its delicious fried eggplant.

Once they arrived, He Cheng’an ordered the fried eggplant and then encouraged Lu Yun to choose whatever else she wanted. She decided on Beijing-style shredded pork and a dry pot of potato slices.

As Lu Yun sat down, He Cheng’an noticed her reaching for a handkerchief to wipe her chopsticks and quickly intervened, taking the handkerchief from her. He wiped the chopsticks clean before handing them back to her, keeping the handkerchief for himself.

“I’ll wash it for you when we get back,” he said.

Lu Yun rested her chin on her hands and gazed at him, while He Cheng’an’s eyes stayed fixed on her, seemingly unwilling to blink.

Lu Yun raised an eyebrow at him, and He Cheng’an playfully mirrored her expression, which made him smile. Lu Yun thought he looked handsome when he raised his brow like that.

After a moment, she asked, “What did you do in the provincial city?”

As soon as Lu Yun posed the question, He Cheng’an felt an overwhelming urge to share every detail with her—from his encounters at the bus station with people looking for work in the city, to his conversations with Zhang Hao, where he uncovered a business opportunity.

He explained that he had noticed many people buying winter vegetables together to save money, and some even sought out friends and colleagues to join in for cheaper prices.

He thought of applying this model to his renovation work, where the more people involved, the cheaper the cost would be.

He figured that while he might earn less per family, if he took on more projects, he would end up making more overall.

Lu Yun listened to He Cheng’an’s explanation and almost blurted out that it sounded like a group purchase.

She thought that if He Cheng’an could offer a significant discount, this business idea could really take off and earn him a good amount of money.

After their meal, as they walked back, He Cheng’an saw Lu Yun off at the entrance of the alley. When she turned to leave, he watched her walk away for a moment before he followed suit.

“Lu Yun, goodnight,” he called out.

Lu Yun turned back, her expression charming and her smile radiant. “Goodnight!”

In that moment, He Cheng’an was reminded of the first time he had met Lu Yun, how she had that same inviting demeanor that made him want to protect her. His heart raced a little faster.

He felt a surge of longing again, wishing he could hear Lu Yun say goodnight every single day.