Chapter 2 Heather 1
The world is so big, but my world is very small.
——《Blue Sky Bird》
When I was writing "Blue Sky Bird", I hesitated for a long time, wondering whether I should let the character Xue Ran die in the book?
The reason I finally set him to crash was because of what Sha Qianniao said: I want to be that flying bird in the blue sky, always high above, letting everyone look up to me and admire me. I don’t want to fall into the mud, ever.
What a proud person she is! She is not afraid of anything in this world. It is precisely because she is full of sharp edges that this flying bird has to fall from the sky to know growth and softness.
Let Sha Qianniao crash? No, because if she crashes, she won't be able to grow, so I chose Xue Rang. Xue Rang was the person she really loved when she was young, representing her softness, beauty, and past. Xue Rang endured the "high altitude difficulties" for Sha Qianniao, making her understand that a true blue bird can spread its wings and fly high in the face of any dangers.
When Xue Ran died, I was very sad. I wrote those two chapters for half a month, and I felt very sad for a while.
Because I like Xue Rang very much, he represents everyone’s first love, the image of first love in our memory.
How nice it would be if there was someone who could accompany you from childhood to the end of your life?
So, I have the following story.
A heart-warming story about a couple who are childhood sweethearts but grow old together.
The boy in the story is called Mu Nan and the girl is called Xi Ru.
Isn’t the name beautiful? They are beautiful too.
Around 2005, sixteen-year-old Xi Ru liked to go to a park in the town to read. The park was called Heather Park, and the garden was full of clusters of heather.
Xi Ru was a very quiet person. In class, any work related to literature and art would be entrusted to her by the teacher with confidence. She wrote and drew the blackboard newspaper in the classroom, her gentle and sweet voice was broadcast on the campus radio station every afternoon, and her handwritten poems were posted on the school bulletin board every month. In school, both boys and girls liked her very much.
Such a beautiful girl has no shortage of friends around her, but she prefers to be alone.
She once said: "It's not that I don't want to socialize with friends, I just prefer the feeling of being alone. When I'm alone, I can empty my mind and meditate on many things."
Her favorite place to be alone is the heather park.
Every evening when the sunset dyed the sky red, she would come to the park with a brown paper notebook and a fountain pen. There were many white painted benches deep in the park, and she would choose to sit facing west, letting the warm afterglow of the sunset shine on her body.
Xiru's kraft paper notebook is filled with essays. Today's mood, future hopes, youth in the corner of the school, and the white fan wood at the entrance of the park are all integrated under her beautiful fountain pen tip and transformed into beautiful memories worth remembering in the future.
One day, the setting sun was so dark that it made people tired. Xiru's eyelids kept fighting, so she wanted to take a nap on the bench. But she slept for a long time this time. When she woke up, the shadow of the setting sun could no longer be seen in the sky, and only the street lamp above the bench was brightly lit.
"Ah——" Xiru exclaimed and stood up quickly.
The time on her wrist watch told her that her mother would scold her if she didn't go home soon, so she hurriedly tidied her clothes and hair and ran to the exit of the park.
The notebook with a light brown cover and the black pen lay alone on the stone slab under the bench, forgotten by their careless owner.
The next day, Xiru searched every corner of the house and went to school to empty out the desk, but still couldn't find her notebook.
"Where did it go?" Xiru shook her schoolbag, a trace of anxiety appearing on her face.
"Xi Ru, what are you looking for?" Xiang Qing, the only close friend, turned from the front table and asked curiously.
Xi Ru put her schoolbag on her lap and looked at Xiang Qing with empty eyes: "My notebook is missing. I can't find it anywhere."
Xiang Qing leaned over here and said, "Didn't you bring it back after school yesterday?"
Xiang Qing's words exploded like a thunder in Xiru's mind. Yes, she took the notebook to the heather park yesterday afternoon, but it seemed that she did not bring it home in the end.
"It's over. I seem to have fallen into the park." Xiru knocked her head in distress. She knew that she shouldn't fall asleep. Falling asleep would always cause trouble.
"Don't worry. The fourth class is physical education. Let's go out secretly to look for it." Xiang Qing comforted Xiru.
That notebook recorded everything about Xiru's first half of high school. Xiang Qing knew how important it was to Xiru.
So during the physical education class, Xiang Qing told the physical education teacher that she was ill and asked Xi Ru to take her to the infirmary. The teacher agreed, and Xiang Qing took Xi Ru and sneaked out of the school through the back door.
They trotted all the way, impatiently arriving at the Heather Park, found the chair where Xiru had taken a nap last night, and then lay around looking for her.
There was no notebook, not Xiru’s brown paper notebook.
They searched for more than ten minutes but couldn't find it.
"Xi Ru, she must have been picked up by someone." Xiang Qing knelt on the ground and looked at Xi Ru.
Xiru was a little annoyed and looked around, not knowing what to do.
"How about forget it and buy another one?" Xiang Qing pulled Xi Ru's sleeve.
Xi Ru sighed, got up from the ground and walked back. As she walked, she turned her head to look at the place where the notebook was lost, feeling a little unwilling. The notebook was lost, and the pen was also lost, which made her feel that those past events were also lost.
Although the past can always be remembered in one's heart, Xiru worked diligently for half a year, but it just disappeared like that, and she felt a little lost.
When she walked out of the park that day, the tiny petals of the heather at the door fell on her shoulders and were blown away by the wind, disappearing without a trace.
Not long after she left, about not long after the morning get out of class, a boy wearing a wrinkled white T-shirt and blue school uniform pants ran into the Heather Park. He walked quickly to the place where Xi Ru was looking for something, raised his head and looked around.
Still not here? The girl with beautiful penmanship.
He came to the park for a walk last night and accidentally saw the notebook dropped on the ground, so he picked it up. He waited for the owner for an hour, but finally it was too late and he had to go home first.
He read the first page of the notebook under the warm yellow light. On it were two neat and elegant characters: Xi Ru. Such a nice name, such beautiful characters, it goes without saying that it is a girl. But the boy didn't dare to turn the page, because he knew that there might be a girl's secret inside, and it is always bad to peek into someone's secret.
So, he could only choose to wait for the girl there. His intuition told him that the notebook must be very important to the girl, so she would come back to find it. However, the boy came to the park many times and never met the girl.
When he returned to school again, the boys in his class teased him: "Mu Nan, are you waiting for the beautiful female owner again?"
Mu Nan's wheat-colored face turned red, and he puffed up his cheeks and said, "Go away!"
"Haha, Mu Nan, you are so persistent. Maybe the person doesn't want this book anymore?"
Mu Nan automatically blocked out the laughter of the bad boys, returned to his seat, and thought about his short hair. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head, and he seemed to have thought of a good idea. He quickly tore off half a sheet of homework paper and wrote on it:
I picked up your notebook and waited for you here for a long time, but I didn't see you.
Heather
"Hey, Mu Nan, write a love letter." The bad boys behind him came up to him like sticky candy. Mu Nan covered the note and turned to shout at them: "I'm so annoyed, go away."
"Mu Nan is moved!" The bad boys teased him with laughter, regardless of Mu Nan's embarrassment.
Mu Nan covered his face with one hand and said distressedly: "Really..."
That group of guys usually flirt with the girls in the next class, but now they are targeting him. I really shouldn't tell them about finding the notebook. These guys are more gossipy than the girls.
Forget it, I'm too lazy to deal with them. Mu Nan put the note in his notebook and started preparing for the afternoon class. He always carried the notebook with him, and he didn't dare to put it in a place where it was lost, because he was afraid that someone else would take it and not return it to the girl, so it was better to keep it with him.
After school in the afternoon, Mu Nan rode his bicycle quickly to the Heather Park. He parked his bicycle at the entrance, walked into the park, and came to the bench - but he still didn't meet the girl who lost her notebook.
He bent down and carefully inserted the note into the gap of the bench. After a while, he felt that it was not right and was afraid that the girl would not see it, so he repeated it several times before finally putting it in a place that satisfied him.
"I hope you see it soon." He said this sincerely to the bench, then left the park and rode his bike home quickly.
Ever since he picked up the notebook, he had been feeling uneasy. This uneasy feeling was not because of fear, but because of the girl he had never met. For him, who was only sixteen years old at the time, it was hard to explain this emotion.
The note was safely in the crack of the bench, and no one noticed its existence. In the past half month, the town has experienced rain, wind, and bright sunshine, and the half-exposed white paper has slowly hardened and yellowed.
Finally, it waited for the day to be discovered.
It was the end of April, and Xi Ru had already lost count of how many times she had come here. She sat on a bench, with headphones in her ears, playing Nan Quan Mama's "When We Were Young", and holding Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" in her hands. When her eyes were tired from reading, she rubbed her eyes and tried to stand up by propping herself up on the bench. But her palm suddenly touched something, and when she looked down, she saw a small yellowed note in the gap of the bench.
Xiru curiously pulled out the note and saw that it was neatly folded, so she carefully opened it and read it.
There was a line of neatly written words on the note. When Xi Ru saw the content of the note, she took a breath. She stood up hurriedly, subconsciously looked at the passers-by, and slowly sat back down.
Half of the paper has turned yellow. It must have been here for a long time. Xi Ru hunched her back in frustration and looked away. Who wrote the note? There was no name or address on the note. There was only a signature - Heather.
"Heather..." Xi Ru muttered the name, turned around, took out a pen and paper from her schoolbag, and wrote:
I'm sorry, I just saw your message now. I'm Xiru, the owner of the lost notebook. Can we meet here at 6pm this Friday?
After writing, she folded the paper and put it into the previous gap.
Today is only Monday, and there are still four days until Friday. The person who picked up the notebook should be able to see it, right?
Thinking of this, Xiru couldn't help but feel excited. Because the notebook was about to be recovered, and she could also meet a warm and beautiful person, right?
Friday finally arrived, and Xiru took Xiangqing to the park to build up her courage.
They each held an ice cream in their hands, the cream melted and flowed onto their fingertips, but the person who picked up the notebook had not arrived yet.
"Xi Ru, he won't not come, will he?" Xiang Qing asked.
"No." Xi Ru shook her head, "He will come."
How could a person who found someone else's things and didn't forget to leave a note for the owner see the message and not show up for the appointment? Xi Ru knew that person would definitely come.
But slowly, the sun set, and the person they were waiting for still didn't come.
Xi Ru stood up slowly, her eyes fixed on the bench. It seemed that the paper in the gap had not been discovered yet.
She walked over and pulled out the note. Seeing that it was still her message, she felt a little disappointed. After a while, she stuffed the note into her schoolbag and took out a pen and paper to write another note:
Hello, I'm Xiru. Could you please leave your contact information? I'll come and pick up the lost notebook. Also, thank you.
Xiang Qing asked: "Why don't you leave your address and ask him to deliver it?"
Xi Ru stuffed the note into the gap between the benches and walked slowly towards the park exit: "Someone found your things, out of courtesy, it's better for you to pick them up in person."
"Yes, yes, you are Xiru, everything you say is right." Xiang Qing stopped struggling and took Xiru's arm. "Tomorrow is the weekend, let's go to the movies together?"
"Okay, relax." Xiru smiled slightly.
At this moment, a figure passed by Xiru and almost hit her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The reckless boy pulled up the strap of his backpack that had slipped down his arm and bowed apologetically to Xi Ru.
Xiru smiled, shook her head, and left with Xiang Qing.
The young man looked at the girl's back, breathed a sigh of relief, then knocked his head: "Mu Nan, be careful!" After warning himself, he hurried to the bench.
Today the half of the paper exposed is white!
Finally saw it? Mu Nan smiled and quickly pulled out the note.
It was indeed her handwriting, that of the girl named Xiru.
Mu Nan's face flushed with red clouds. He took out a pen and paper and wrote all his information on the note:
You’re welcome, Xiru.
I am from the first grade (5) class of the senior high school of No. 2 Middle School. I am the boy with the shortest hair in the class. How about this? I will leave you my QQ and phone number so that you can contact me easily.
QQ: 1××00423 Tel: 18××6316369
Heather
After stuffing the note back into the gap, Mu Nan felt a sense of anticipation. He hoped that one day he would see a strange girl looking into the classroom door, and that one day he would actually meet her.
On the way home by bike, the wind blew across Mu Nan's face, wrinkling the smile on his face into a flower.
For some reason, he felt that this encounter was like a dream.
Perhaps the girl named Xiru, whom he had never met before, had inadvertently entered the boy's heart. He couldn't tell what kind of emotion it was, but he just wanted to see her, know her, and understand her.
That alone is enough.
It's Sunday and the sun is warm.
Xiru came back from the library and deliberately turned a corner to go to the heather park.
When she saw the new note in the gap, she hurriedly put down the book and pulled out the note.
When she saw the contents of the note, Xiru covered her face with the paper and laughed.
When her heart was beating like a deer, she realized that this "meeting" was not just about the lost notebook, but perhaps also because of the boy named "Heather".
He is a freshman in No.2 Middle School, about the same age as me, right? Tomorrow is Monday, I will go to find him tomorrow, but how should I talk to him when I find him? What does he look like? He said that he is the one with the shortest hair, with a short flat head.
Xiru's mind was filled with all kinds of strange images. It was not until her face turned slightly red that she gave up these fantasies, held the note tightly in her hand, and went home.
That night, Xiru waited in front of the phone, staring at the red receiver and hesitating for a long time. She leaned on the phone table in different positions, and when her parents said they were going out for a walk, she said "hmm" absentmindedly.
After mom and dad left, Xiru locked the door and dialed the phone number on the note with trepidation.
After the phone rang a few times, it was picked up by a young man: "Hello, hello, Mu family."
Xiru quickly covered her mouth, and her heart beat even more violently.
It was a very pleasant sound, just like mountain spring water, clean and clear, without any impurities.
"Hello, how are you? May I ask who is..." Mu Nan's voice came through the microphone. Xi Ru turned around and leaned on the telephone table, her fingers constantly wrapped around the telephone cord, and she spoke nervously, "Hello..."
"Well, who are you looking for?"
Xi Ru left the telephone table again, stood facing the phone, bit her lip and said, "I'm looking for you."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, then the other end asked, "Xi Ru?"
Xi Ru was even more at a loss, her mind was blank. She said, "I... will come to see you tomorrow at noon, um... to get my notebook."
"Okay, I'll wait for you tomorrow." The boy said calmly.
"Yeah!" Xiru replied, then hung up the phone.
But after hanging up, she started to regret it. Forgetting to say thank you, forgetting to say goodbye, and just hanging up the phone without waiting for the other party to answer, isn't it too rude?
Xiru sighed into the phone and thought, let's say whatever we want tomorrow. Whether it's a thank you or a goodbye that we forgot to say, let's say it tomorrow.
She relaxed, washed up and went back to the bedroom.
The night outside the window was hazy and the stars hid in the fog.
The next day, Xiru deliberately changed into a clean school uniform skirt and went to school in a happy mood. As soon as she parked her bicycle at the school gate and entered the school, three boys came out from the side. Two of them pulled the other one and encouraged him to puncture the tire of Xiru's bicycle, so that he could have an excuse to send Xiru home after school in the afternoon.
But the boy couldn't puncture the new tire, so he destroyed the chain and brake line. The three boys clapped their hands happily for their "achievements", not realizing that they had done something very dangerous.
At noon, Xiru was ready to ride her bike to No. 2 Middle School before she had eaten. Seeing that the chain was broken, she quickly reinstalled it without any suspicion at the time.
The "perpetrator" who was about to go get lunch saw that Xiru was not with Xiangqing, so he pretended to ask casually: "Xiangqing, Xiru is not going to have lunch?"
Xiang Qing answered casually, "Xi Ru went to No. 2 Middle School."
"Going to No. 2 Middle School?" The boy jumped up. "Why is she going to No. 2 Middle School?"
Xiang Qing glanced at the boy lazily and teased him deliberately: "Meet your ideal husband, how is it, Yao An, are you jealous?"
Since the first year of high school, Yao An liked to show his courtesy to Xi Ru, and everyone in the high school knew it. Hearing this, Yao An's face changed, he threw away his lunch box, and ran out in a hurry.
"What are you doing?" Xiang Qing muttered, looking at his back, confused.
Yao An rushed to the school gate like the wind, and saw that the bicycle in question was gone.
"Ah, idiot!" Yao An cursed himself as he rode his bike in the direction of No. 2 Middle School. Along the way, he rushed forward recklessly as if his tail was on fire.
"Xi Ru! Xi Ru!" he shouted loudly. Passersby stared in confusion at this boy who was not afraid of danger and had a nervous look on his face.
Finally, halfway through the journey, he saw a girl riding a bicycle in front of him. At that time, there was a downhill road ahead of the girl. Yao An waved at the girl and shouted, "Xi Ru! Stop, stop quickly! It's dangerous!"
Xi Ru turned her head subconsciously and saw Yao An riding his bike towards her quickly, saying, "The brakes are broken, stop now!"
Xi Ru's heart skipped a beat and she subconsciously stepped on the brakes when she turned back, but the bike couldn't be controlled and sped down the downhill.
"Ah——" Xiru screamed, and the handlebars kept shaking. Finally, she and the bicycle tilted and rolled into the pond beside the slope.
"Xi Ru!" Yao An jumped out of the car and slid down to the pond in a hurry. Passers-by saw him and shouted, "Someone fell into the water, help!"
Finally, Yao An helped Xi Ru stand up from the pond. Xi Ru's forehead was red, and she fell into Yao An's arms dizzy. Several adults rescued the two children. Yao An looked at the unconscious Xi Ru and cried with guilt.
Someone drove Xi Ru to the hospital, and Yao An followed her in.
Not long after, the teacher and Xiru's parents came to the hospital. Seeing their anxious expressions, Yao An did not dare to admit that he was responsible for the incident. He shivered in the corner of the hospital like a timid cat.
Fortunately, Xiru's life is not in danger as the water in the pond is not deep. However, her head hit the guardrail when she fell. She will probably have to stay in the hospital for observation for a while.
Yao An followed the teacher back and kept asking, "Teacher, how long will Xiru be in the hospital?"
"Teacher, can I visit her often?"
"Teacher, can I take the monitor to help her catch up on the lessons she missed?"
