Chapter 14 Don't Forget Me

Early in the morning, before dawn, Cai Yan woke up Chen Shuya and told her to wash up quickly and go back home together.

Chen Shuya was suddenly awakened, and her brain didn't react: "Why go back home?"

"Your grandmother passed away."

With a "buzz" sound, the last string in Chen Shuya's mind broke.

Chen Shuya seldom sees her grandmother, except during the Chinese New Year. Every time they meet, her grandmother always forces red envelopes on her and leaves all the delicious food for her.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, the window was fogged up, she raised her hand and wrote: Grandma, and then scraped it off.

She wrote again: Grandma.

Scrape it off again.

Finally , she wrote: Cheng Xiang.

Scrape it off again.

Chen Shuya sighed and looked away with red eyes.

At her grandmother's funeral, Chen Shuya saw many relatives she was not familiar with. She knelt there and cried inconsolably. She turned around and walked into the mourning hall.

Grandma's portrait was facing the door, and Chen Shuya saw it as soon as she entered.

The little old lady in the photo has a wrinkled face and a kind smile, as if she is looking at herself through the glass.

Chen Shuya shed a tear and murmured, "I should have come back to see you more often."

"We meet so seldom, so you must come to me more often in my dreams in the future, little old lady. I will miss you."

As she spoke, Chen Shuya herself began to cry.

The funeral would last for three days, so they simply stayed in the village. It was not until evening that Chen Shuya had time to check her phone and found that Cheng Xiang had sent her a message.

C: Why didn’t you come to the bookstore today?

Chen Shuya paused her fingertips on the keyboard, typed a few words and sent them.

Jiangnan: Something happened at my hometown.

Cheng Xiang on the other side came back quickly.

C: Okay, you can come to me if you feel bad.

Chen Shuya smiled gently, and could almost imagine the expression on his face when he said this.

In the next two days, Cheng Xiang would always come to chat with her and tell her bedtime stories when she couldn't sleep.

On the third day, when the burial took place, Chen Shuya wore mourning clothes and watched her grandmother being buried numbly. She had been crying so much over the past few days that she was completely numb.

She couldn't cry anymore.

Grandma won't come back either.

After it was over, she sent a message to Cheng Xiang, but Cheng Xiang didn't reply. She thought he was busy and didn't think much about it.

By evening, Cheng Xiang still hadn't returned.

Cai Yan said that she had not been back for a long time and wanted to stay for a few more days. Chen Shuya understood and did not resist and went along with her mother.

She sent a message to Cheng Xiang on the first day, but he didn't reply.

I sent a message to Cheng Xiang the next day, but he didn't reply.

On the third and fourth days, he did not come back, as if he had disappeared from the world.

Chen Shuya was a little confused. She kept sending him messages tirelessly, but never received a reply from him.

On the fifth day, Chen Shuya was bored and playing with the dog in the village when she received a call from Ning Yan.

Chen Shuya answered the phone with a smile: "What's wrong, Yanyan?"

Ning Yan on the other end of the phone was silent for a while before speaking: "Shu Ya, do you know about Cheng Xiang's situation?"

Chen Shuya was puzzled: "What's the matter? He hasn't replied to my message for five days."

Ning Yan on the other end of the phone fell silent again. Chen Shuya suddenly felt panicked and had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, Ning Yan on the other end of the phone spoke: "Cheng Xiang died when he was saving a little boy in the river."

With a buzzing sound, Chen Shuya's mind went blank.

She was a little breathless: "How is it possible? He was still sending me WeChat messages two days ago."

"I know this is a little hard to accept, but it is true... the boy saw the sign prohibiting swimming and jumped in, and finally..."

Chen Shuya hung up the phone.

Her heart felt so blocked, as if it was being run over by a hundred trucks.

Chen Shuya squatted on the ground with her hands covering her chest. She wanted to cry, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Finally, Chen Shuya knelt on the ground in agony, tears as big as beans falling to the ground, but she could not make a sound.

She still didn't believe it.

I don’t believe that the young man full of vigor and vitality would end his life at the age of 18.

Chen Shuya asked Ning Yan for Yang Yi's phone number, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally dialed the number.

It took a long time for Yang Yi to answer the phone. His voice was weak: "Hello?"

Chen Shuya's heart was beating violently. She choked up before she spoke tentatively: "I'm Chen Shuya. Is Cheng Xiang with you?"

The moment he finished speaking, Yang Yi on the other end of the phone fell silent. Chen Shuya's heart almost jumped into her throat. She was expecting Yang Yi to tell her that Cheng Xiang was having dinner with him as usual.

But after a moment of silence, Yang Yi's voice floated into her ears: "Ning Yan didn't lie to you."

"Beep"

Chen Shuya hung up the phone.

Even so, she still wouldn't believe it unless she saw it with her own eyes.

That night, Chen Shuya took a bus back home early.

When she rushed back to Lincheng, Cheng Xiang's funeral had already ended. She dragged her legs to the bookstore.

When I walked into the bookstore, I saw Cheng's father sitting in front of the counter with a deathly pale face, and a mother and son standing next to him.

Seeing Chen Shuya walk into the bookstore, Father Cheng spoke in a hoarse voice: "Yaya."

Chen Shuya nodded and called him uncle.

The mother and son sensed something and hurriedly asked Chen Shuya, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Cheng's?"

Chen Shuya didn't respond, but just turned her head to look at Cheng's father.

She herself didn't know who she was to him.

Father Cheng raised his head and looked deeply at Chen Shuya, his voice hoarse: "Girlfriend."

The woman hurriedly held Chen Shuya's hand, saying apologetically, "Hello, hello. I am really grateful that Mr. Cheng is willing to save my son, but I am really sorry and I am really sorry. I am willing to compensate you."

Chen Shuya looked at her, then at the child beside her, and understood.

She slowly pulled her hand back and said in a cold voice: "Compensation?"

"Then give him back to me."

"I want him to stand before me in person."

Hearing this, the woman was obviously stunned, and then she reacted: "This person can't be resurrected, and I..."

Chen Shuya interrupted her: "Your son has ruined other people's lives ."

Ruined Cheng Xiang and ruined his life.

He was such a good man, but his fate ended at the age of 18.

Father Cheng waved his hands and said, "Forget it, no need for compensation. Xiaoxiang is willing to save him, which means he knows the consequences of doing so. It is meaningless even if he asks for compensation."

After sending the girl away, Cheng's father comforted Chen Shuya: "It's okay, girl, look forward."

Chen Shuya could no longer control herself and tears started to fall.

She didn't want to look forward, she wanted Cheng Xiang to come back.

Of course I can’t bear to do that.

Someone who is reluctant to carry candy with him to suppress the bitter taste of her medicine, someone who is reluctant to call her an elementary school student every day, someone who is reluctant to wish her good health with birthday wishes.

That midsummer, she never saw him again in her life.

…

In late autumn of the same year, Chen Shuya began to try to lead a normal life, and the first step was to give her room a thorough cleaning.

When cleaning the bookcase, she found a draft book at the innermost part of the bookcase. Chen Shuya recognized it at a glance.

She put it away at the time because she was afraid he would lose it.

When I opened the first page, I saw his eloquent handwriting.

"I say autumn is better than spring"

In a trance, she saw again the boy standing in the corridor and calling her an elementary school student.

She chuckled and remembered that she had written the words "I love you" on the last page. She smiled and turned to the last page.

She turned to the last page of the draft book, and a note fell to the ground, followed by the second, the third, and the fourth...

She bent down to pick up the note that fell on the ground, took a look at it, and her smile froze.

"Elementary school student, I like you too."