In March in City C, the milky white mist lingers in the grass-scented air in the early morning. Occasionally, cold air passes through, condensing the mist into crystal ice flowers on the newly sprouted branches and leaves. Even in such cold weather, the pink Nara Yae cherry blossoms are in full bloom, like pink clouds, occupying every corner of City C.
Although I had been waiting for ten years, I never expected to meet him again in the cherry blossom rain in C City in March when I was seventeen. So, after he glanced at me quickly and drove away in his car, and I followed him for a whole day, I decided desperately to stop him on the road and tell him who I was.
After that, during many sleepless nights, I often asked myself over and over again whether I would do the same thing again if I could do it again.
The answer is yes, because that is the moment I have been waiting for ten years.
So, I was so determined to wait outside his school gate. The rosy sunset turned my white shirt into a beautiful red. I stared at the school gate in the intricate shadows of the double cherry blossoms, my hands clenched involuntarily, unable to hide the tension and joy in my heart.
A nearly transparent petal floated in the wind, swaying slowly, and finally gently landed on the tip of my nose. As if to give myself courage, I exhaled heavily to blow the petal off, and when I looked away, I saw him.
There was a large group of people walking towards me, but I could only see him. His slender body wrapped in a navy blue school uniform made him look even more handsome. His narrow eyes, thin lips, and slightly raised corners of his mouth all looked so familiar. His eyebrows and eyes still looked like the little boy he was ten years ago.
It really is him.
Maybe I was too happy, my legs were shaking slightly, so I almost tripped over myself when I rushed over to stop him. The group of people stopped in astonishment and looked up at me. Only he kept his head down, a strand of hair on his forehead fell down, covering his slender eyes, so that I couldn't see his eyes.
I took a deep breath and moved my lips, trying to shout out the name that had been hidden in my heart for ten years. However, it went against my will, my voice was pitifully small, and I could only hear my own trembling voice: "Little Stone..."
The call, which was almost inaudible at first, was quickly drowned out by the wanton laughter of the group of people surrounding him. A boy whistled at me and teased him with a jealous look : "Your aura is getting weirder and weirder. Now even girls of this type are attracted to you."
"Humph!" The boy's words immediately drew the dissatisfaction of the girl next to him, "Senior is always invincible."
"But she should have looked at herself in the mirror before going out. It's like a toad wanting to eat swan flesh. Look at her, is that grass-like thing on her head hair? And what are those tattered pants?" The girl's voice was unusually sharp, probably because of anger.
"That's right!" An angry girl came forward and pushed me, "Stay away from senior, you ugly bastard."
"shameless."
"She actually dared to stop the senior, is she trying to confess in public?"
"She deserves it?"
I ignored all the ridicule and even insults and just stared at him intently. After a long while, I finally asked, stammering, "It's me. Do you... do you still remember... me?"
Silently waiting. It was only two or three seconds, but it felt like I had been waiting for a thousand years.
Finally, he raised his head, his narrow eyes shone brightly in the rosy sunset, and he glanced at me indifferently and quickly. Then, he walked around me without saying a word and left without looking back, as if I was just a sudden and dispensable passer-by in his life. He left calmly, with petals falling behind him.
"Huh, who does she think she is? Avril or Beyoncé? Everyone will remember her?"
"That's right. If you have to remember even someone like her, wouldn't you be exhausted?"
The crowd burst into laughter again and then left.
I stood there, looking at my own slender shadow, at a loss, with his cold gaze just now filling my mind. Looking at his contemptuous expression, could it be that he also regarded me as a confessor who came here to express his love for me?
Did I recognize the wrong person? No, how could I remember him wrongly? Although ten years had passed, and although he had shed his childish appearance and turned into a handsome young man, his features had already been engraved deep in my memory, and there would be no mistake.
But, he really didn't seem to remember anything...
Looking at his back as he walked away, I felt a little discouraged because of my own lack of courage and my extreme pessimism at the moment.
Ai Banxia, ​​even if he doesn't remember you, what does it matter? As long as you still remember him and can recognize him, it's enough. It doesn't matter, you have found him, and one day, he will remember who you are.
My natural optimism made me smile. When I looked at him again, I heard the girl in the fiery red coat who had been standing next to him ask him, "Jian Chen, who is she?"
"I don't know him." He put his hands in his pockets, walked without distraction, and answered without hesitation.
Jian Chen, Jian Chen. Is this your name now? It doesn't matter, Jian Chen, if you don't recognize me this time, there will be next time, and the next time, you will eventually remember who I am.
Let our shared past, which is too painful to look back on, dissipate like icicles in the warm sunshine, and let us meet each other in a new identity.
This time, you are Jian Chen and I am Ai Banxia.