Chapter 6

Fang Zhuo got off the vehicle, standing at the street corner, looking at the neatly paved cement road ahead, feeling somewhat lost.

There were no obvious road signs on either side, and the buildings all looked similar.

She continued walking in the direction she had come from. Not long after, she saw a few men sitting under a big tree, chatting idly.

The men noticed her from a distance, shading themselves with a fan to block the sunlight, and one of them spoke up, “Girl, who are you looking for?”

The man speaking was wearing a loose, dark red t-shirt and appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies. His face had some stubble, and his hair looked messy, giving him a slightly unkempt appearance.

Fang Zhuo hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’m looking for Ye Yuncheng.”

“Ye what?” The middle-aged man’s speech was thick with an accent, mixed with some local dialect, and he spoke quickly, “Where does he live? What’s his family name? How old is he? What’s your relationship with him?”

Fang Zhuo understood about half of it and pulled out a delivery note from her bag, about to read the address aloud. The man quickly interrupted, “You know how to read and write, huh? I got it, it’s Ye Yuncheng! What’s your relationship with him? I’ve never heard he has any family!”

Fang Zhuo was momentarily confused by his barrage of questions.

Noticing she didn’t understand, he repeated himself, then shook the fan in his hand and gave up, saying, “Never mind, just come with me, I’ll take you to him. He lives inside.”

The man stepped forward to lead the way, occasionally looking back to make sure Fang Zhuo was following, flashing a simple smile at her.

However, Fang Zhuo’s steps grew slower and slower, her head lowered, her mind a blank.

The two walked in silence until they stopped in front of an old wooden house.

The man walked around to the side of the house, where there was a dark-colored wooden door. 

The lock was an old style, looking like it could be kicked open easily, and it was only loosely secured with an iron latch.

The man knocked forcefully and called inside, “Hey, Xiao Ye, you’ve got someone here to see you!”

A muffled voice responded from inside. The man pushed the door open and walked in.

Fang Zhuo stood still, peering through the gap in the door.

The room inside was dimly lit, with the curtains tightly drawn, letting in little sunlight even during the day. The floor was concrete, and the air had a faint musty smell.

The man went over and pulled back the curtains, then returned to open the door wide, allowing the two of them to see each other.

“Take a look, Xiao Ye, do you recognize her?”

As the light from outside flooded in, it felt like the rays were spilling into a dark box. Tiny specks of dust floated in the air, glowing with a golden shimmer.

On the opposite side of the door was a bed, and the person Fang Zhuo was looking for was lying on it.

He was wearing light blue pajamas, his hair thick but slightly yellowed, looking a little unkempt, though his features were still handsome. His skin was pale, almost to the point of being sickly, his body radiating a fragile, ill look. When he saw Fang Zhuo for the first time, he froze for a moment, instinctively straightening his back and sitting up.

Fang Zhuo scanned his face, then noticed an iron box on the bedside, and her gaze moved to other corners of the room.

A few books were placed at the foot of the bed, and there didn’t seem to be anything of value in the house.

Her eyes wandered for a moment before refocusing on Ye Yuncheng. He was also looking at her.

Their gazes were deep and complex, making it hard to tell what was on their minds.

Though they had never met before, Fang Zhuo didn’t feel completely unfamiliar with him. Maybe it was because they resembled each other a bit.

There was a rustling sound from the bed. Ye Yuncheng seemed to want to sit up, adjusted his clothes, but ultimately stayed lying down.

His hand rested on the blanket, the red fabric making his pale skin even more striking, and even the veins on his hand were clearly visible. He probably didn’t get much sun.

“Fang Zhuo?” His voice was clear, with a slight hoarseness from thirst. He asked, “What brings you here at this time?”

Fang Zhuo hesitated for a moment, then walked into the room and pulled out a note from her bag.

She spoke softly, “Grandma passed away, and my dad sold the house. The person who handles mail in the village sent it to my school. I only received it last week.”

Ye Yuncheng was taken aback, leaning forward slightly as he studied her clothes, trying to gauge what her life had been like. However, the standardized school uniform and the new pair of white shoes didn’t reveal much. In contrast, he seemed more out of place.

Ye Yuncheng coughed and forced a smile, which looked a bit bitter, and said, “So, what are your plans now? I… I probably don’t have much savings.”

Fang Zhuo’s response was slow, her thoughts feeling like rusted gears. After a moment, she said, “I don’t have any plans… I just want to transfer my household registration from my family.”

In this era, as long as a household registration book existed, there was an unbreakable connection in the process. The household registration made her feel an intense lack of freedom.

Before coming here, Fang Zhuo hadn’t thought much about what she would do.

Maybe she could visit Ye Yaoling’s grave, as a way to fulfill some lingering thoughts. She was also curious about this distant relative who had cared for her for so long. After all, she had received a letter, and curiosity had built up.

It was only when she was walking here with the helpful villager that she remembered she could possibly transfer her household registration.

She didn’t have any special expectations. Having the example of Fang Yiming, she felt that the so-called blood-related affection was probably more distant than close.

The man who had been observing from the side suddenly interjected, “You can’t transfer your household registration here. He has a rural hukou, and you can’t transfer it to a rural area now.”

Both of them looked toward him.

The man finally realized he might have been in the way, smiling and waving his hand, saying, “I’ll leave, you two take your time talking.”

Only two people remained in the room, and an awkward atmosphere began to spread.

Fang Zhuo realized her visit might have been intrusive, the air was heavy, making it hard for her to breathe. She was about to find an excuse to leave when she heard Ye Yuncheng ask after thinking for a moment, “Is your father not good to you?”

Fang Zhuo didn’t answer, and her face showed no change in expression, as if she hadn’t heard the question.

But Ye Yuncheng could guess. Though they had only exchanged a few words and their meetings had been few, it seemed he could see a lot from the quiet, cold child in front of him.

Ye Yuncheng said, “Wait, let me tidy up. Make yourself at home.”

He lifted the blanket, found the cane leaning against the headboard, and with some effort, stood up.

Below his left knee was empty.

Fang Zhuo’s eyelids twitched. Before he could look at her, she quickly turned her gaze away, wandering aimlessly near the window.

Ye Yuncheng walked toward the bathroom, but not forgetting to turn back and remind her, “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right out.”

He entered the bathroom and closed the door. The mirror reflected a rather disheveled face.

His haggard features suddenly made him realize just how long he’d been in a daze.

He didn’t know what expression he had when he was out, or whether his untidy appearance might make Fang Zhuo dislike him. He turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face.

The cold liquid wet his face, and some of it even splashed into his eyes, bringing a slight sting.

He bent down awkwardly, reaching into the cabinet beneath the sink, and after some fumbling, found an old razor.

Perhaps it was from lying down too long or because his emotions were unstable, his hand shook, and halfway through shaving, he dropped it. When he got up, there was a fresh cut on his chin, bleeding profusely.

Ye Yuncheng panicked and quickly washed it off with water. However, the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

He could only let go of the cane, leaning his body weight on the washstand, using one hand to cover the wound while the other hand continued to shave.

When he finally managed to clean up the stubble on the lower half of his face, he quickly washed his hands and the wound, opened the door, and quietly walked back into the room.

Inside, it was another room, though it had been unused for a long time, and had mostly become a storage space. Yet, traces of life remained.

Posters were stuck to the walls, folded bedding was placed by the bed, and two pairs of faded shoes sat on the floor as though the person who lived there might return at any moment.

Relying on memory, Ye Yuncheng rummaged through the wooden cabinet drawers for a band-aid.

As he moved, a photo on the counter fell. Ye Yuncheng hurriedly straightened it.

After rummaging for a while, the photo fell again.

Ye Yuncheng picked it up and wiped the dust off the picture. The figures in the photo seemed blurry, as if behind a layer of mist.

His eyes must have been blurry.

All the patience he had accumulated drained away in that moment. He raised his hand to cover his face, letting the tears choke out of him, suppressing the sound with small, careful sobs, allowing this torrent of emotion to have an outlet.

Fang Zhuo had returned.

In this house, there had been no second person for many years.

Did she need him?

Ye Yuncheng felt himself lost in the shifting light and darkness, as if his withered soul was beginning to regrow.

He needed it so much, the fact that someone needed him.

He, this person.

Ye Yuncheng calmed himself, finally finding a box of band-aids, probably from a long time ago. 

He applied one to his chin, covering the cut.

He quickly tidied up his clothes, grabbed his cane, and walked out.

“Fang Zhuo, Fang Zhuo!”

He excitedly shouted twice, then walked to the outer room, only to find that the person was already gone, and the wooden door had been closed for him.

Ye Yuncheng quickly walked over, pulled the door open, and gazed toward the end of the small path.

Fang Zhuo’s figure had already disappeared.

He turned around in disappointment and saw that there was a stack of money and a note left on the table. The note said she was returning to school but didn’t mention whether she would come back.

·

Fang Zhuo didn’t know how long it would take for a minivan to pass by. She waited by the roadside for over an hour before successfully boarding a vehicle.

By this time, the sky had turned completely dark.

Following the same route as before, after reaching the bridge, she walked a short distance, boarded a public bus, and prepared to return to school.

Due to the long delay during the transfer, Fang Zhuo caught the last bus, and there were very few passengers on it.

She sat in the farthest corner, holding her backpack.

At first, she was watching the dazzling lights flicker by the window, but soon fatigue took over, and her eyelids drooped. By the time she regained consciousness, the vehicle had already stopped at an unfamiliar place.

The sound of the engine turning off woke her up. Fang Zhuo stood up suddenly and walked to the front row.

The driver, who had just pulled out the key, was startled when he saw her and said, “How is there still someone on the bus?”

Fang Zhuo opened her mouth, still looking confused from just waking up. “Where is this?”

“The terminal station!” The driver glanced at her school uniform and said, “Are you going to A High? You’ve already missed your stop. If you had told me when you got on, I could have reminded you. I thought you’d gotten off earlier.”

Fang Zhuo responded in a daze, putting her backpack on her shoulder, and walked out the open back door.

The driver, a bit worried, followed her and asked, “Are you alright, young lady? Should I have your parents come pick you up? There are no more buses now.”

Fang Zhuo shook her head, answering with a “thank you” that didn’t quite address the question, and walked toward the main road, guided by the dim streetlights.

Fang Zhuo hated getting lost because she knew that if she wandered off, no one would come looking for her. Unfortunately, her sense of direction was poor, and whenever she went into the mountains or unfamiliar places, she would have to wander around for a long time.

Now it was late at night, and there were few pedestrians to ask for directions.

She walked slowly, thinking of finding a place to temporarily stay, just like last time.

But tonight, she was especially unlucky. After walking for a long distance, she hadn’t found any hospitals or 24-hour fast food restaurants.

She sat by the street, ready to take a break, zoning out and clearing her mind. A warm, orange-yellow light swept over her from not far away. It first circled around her, then retracted and illuminated the face of the person approaching.

“Fang Zhuo?”

Yan Lie closed the flashlight and walked out of the dark night, stepping into the glow of the streetlamp.

The two of them stood and sat, one tall, one short, two meters apart, staring at each other.

After a while, Fang Zhuo said dryly, “What a coincidence.”