With a secret feeling that she couldn't talk to others and didn't know how to tell herself for a while, Meng Shuyu returned home, with Zhou Juan's words echoing in her ears repeatedly.
He said, if I have a girlfriend, it’s called privacy. If I don’t have a girlfriend, what’s privacy
He said, give it another two years.
So...he won't have a girlfriend for the next two years.
Two years later he was twenty-one.
And she happened to be eighteen, just grown up.
just.
Meng Shuyu was startled by these two words that suddenly flashed into her mind.
In the empty living room, as if she was afraid that someone might overhear her inner voice, she ran into the room in a panic and closed the door.
But she couldn't stop the thought in her mind, which was like a vine with strong vitality, growing crazily in the summer night and climbing all over the wall in her heart.
From that day on, Meng Shuyu suddenly had many new hobbies.
She started studying the zodiac signs.
I found on the Internet that the compatibility index of Scorpio and Pisces is 100, and they are a perfect match.
She started watching a movie before going to bed.
The films cross borders and are from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, but the themes are all about first love, and the ending must be he.
She started learning to knit scarves.
Although I don’t know whether it can be woven, whether it can be sent out, and what kind of opportunity it will give out.
She seemed to have endless time and could do many, many things every day, but she did not dare to tell these things to the person who gave her so many hobbies.
Even the requests that I originally dared to make to him - I want to go home late, want to have hot pot with him, want to go for a walk with him - are always hesitant to say because of "guilty conscience".
So she never had a second chance to go home after dark.
Summer is passing day by day, from July to August, and the dog days of summer are coming to an end.
She flipped through the calendar every day, but she didn't know how to ask him if he had set a date to leave.
He never mentioned it either.
Sometimes she would briefly forget about it, as if this summer would never end, she would never start school, and she would always be a freshman in high school.
It wasn't until the morning when the weather turned cooler overnight that Meng Shuyu received news from Zhou Juan.
He told her as usual that he had time this afternoon and asked her if she wanted to come out.
She said yes without much thought.
Then I saw him asking: I will take you to eat hot pot tonight. Can I ask for leave from my family
Meng Shuyu looked at the calendar and didn't find that today was any special day.
But I saw that there was not much left in August.
A strong premonition came over her, making her suddenly afraid of meeting him.
But she still said without hesitation, yes.
After lunch, Meng Shuyu left the community carrying her schoolbag as usual. When she saw the person waiting under the tree from a distance, she almost didn't recognize him at first glance.
Zhou Juan didn't wear a white shirt today, but a black sweatshirt.
It was the same as the boy she pointed at last time.
But a similar sweatshirt looks much better on him... much better.
Meng Shuyu walked up to him and let out a low "Wow", then walked around him and looked around.
Zhou Juan smiled before saying anything.
"What are you doing?"
"I just said that dressing like this looks younger, right?" Meng Shuyu raised her chin proudly.
"So didn't I listen to you?" Zhou Juan unloaded her schoolbag and walked towards the bus stop.
Meng Shuyu followed him and wanted to ask him why he listened to her today? He wore a sweater, took her to eat hot pot, and allowed her to come home late.
He swallowed the words as they reached his lips and asked him instead: "Are you listening to me today?"
Zhou Juan turned his head and looked at her for a while, then nodded: "I will listen to you today."
"Then I don't want to do my homework."
"What do you want to do?" Zhou Juan paused.
"Well -" Meng Shuyu pondered for a while, "How about we go watch a movie first, then have a hot pot meal, and then go to the night market after eating?"
Zhou Juan nodded: "Okay."
Zhou Juan accompanies her and does everything she wants to do.
It was as if he was her magic lamp today. No matter what wish she made, he would help her realize it.
At night, Meng Shuyu came out from the night market with a pile of sparkling objects in his arms, and made the last request of the day: "Stop taking the bus and walk back, okay?"
Zhou Juan looked at her: "Aren't you tired?"
"You're not tired," Meng Shuyu shook her head, "Are you tired?"
"You're not tired, why should I be tired?" Zhou Juan took the "trophies" such as dream catchers from her arms and carried them in his hands. He determined the direction of his return trip and led her towards the walking path.
Meng Shuyu followed him quietly, humming a song whose name she didn't know. When she raised her head to say something to him, she accidentally saw the yellow moon in the sky.
"Wow, the moon is so beautiful today—" She blurted out subconsciously, and as soon as she said the words, she suddenly felt guilty.
When she said this, she simply wanted to say that the moon tonight was very beautiful.
But the moon has long been no longer a simple image.
Zhou Jun knows Borges, and he should also know Natsume Soseki.
Do you think she meant something
Meng Shuyu swallowed nervously, closed her mouth and turned her head to look at him.
Zhou Jun was looking at the horizon seriously and didn't look back for a long time.
Meng Shuyu became more and more nervous as she waited. When she wanted to change the subject, she heard him laugh: "Why are you praising the moon?"
"...Isn't the moon beautiful?"
"It's beautiful, but -" Zhou Juan looked into her eyes, "How can I pick it off for you?"
Meng Shuyu's heart fell into a soft hotbed after beating violently.
She looked up at him and blinked: "No need."
"Um?"
Meng Shuyu lowered her head and looked back at the toes of her shoes, mustered up the courage to take a deep breath, and whispered: "You don't have to pick them off for me, it's enough that you think they look good..."
People were coming and going in the lively long street, and the wind was noisy. Zhou Juan didn't say anything, and neither did she.
Not knowing how far he had gone, Zhou Juan suddenly stopped.
Meng Shuyu looked up and saw that the gate of the community was close at hand, and stopped suddenly.
Away from the bustling outer streets, everything was quiet except for the chirping of insects singing the end of summer, reminding her that summer was almost over.
Meng Shuyu lowered her head and stared at the floor tiles of the walking path under her feet, feeling Zhou Juan staring at the top of her head.
After a long silence, the expected voice came from above: "Xiao Yudiao, I have to leave."
Meng Shuyu nodded mechanically.
She knew it.
He was a principled "adult". He promised to send her home before dark and would never miss the opportunity for the sun to set, but he made so many exceptions for her today.
She had guessed early on that this day, which seemed too good to be true, was a farewell as promised.
There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and even if she works hard to fill every minute and every second, the time will not become longer.
Just like summer will definitely end, autumn will definitely come.
Meng Shuyu raised her head, smiled and said, "I know." Then she pointed to the schoolbag in his hand, "I also brought a gift for you."
Zhou Juan's eyes flickered and he lowered his head to look at the schoolbag he had been carrying all day.
Meng Shuyu stepped forward and unzipped her schoolbag and took out a gray woolen scarf.
"I knitted it myself. It's my first time knitting. It might be a bit ugly, but it should be quite warm in winter..." Meng Shuyu muttered to himself and stuffed the scarf into his other free hand. .
Zhou Juan glanced down and gently clasped his hands: "I will."
Meng Shuyu nodded, remained silent and asked, "When did you board the plane?"
"the day after tomorrow."
"Is someone taking you to the airport?"
"Are you coming?"
Meng Shuyu shook his head: "We high school students are very busy. We can't even finish our homework. How can we have time?"
"It's better if you don't come." Zhou Juan smiled.
Meng Shuyu glared at him: "Don't you welcome me?"
"You high school students have so much to do. What if I come and I can't leave?"
"I won't stop you," Meng Shuyu frowned and spread her hands towards him, "Give it to me."
Zhou Juan returned her schoolbag and the dream catcher she bought at the night market to her: "Study hard and grow tall."
"Oh," Meng Shuyu hugged something and looked up at him, "Then you should study hard and don't repeat the grade."
Zhou Jun smiled and turned away his head, nodding.
"Then I'm going back." Meng Shuyu pointed to the tall building behind her and said to him like every day.
"Okay," Zhou Juan replied like every time before, "Let's say something when we enter the house."
This ordinary conversation made Meng Shuyu feel that this farewell was not a big deal.
She nodded, turned and walked towards the gate of the community.
After walking a few steps, I saw the tree at the door.
That tree—the tree where Zhou Juan always stood waiting for her.
Sunny days, rainy days, and cloudy days in summer suddenly appeared in my mind. The scene of Zhou Jun standing there became a faded scene in an old movie, becoming distant and mottled and unreal.
Everything seemed to be just a dream she had this summer.
The ending of the dream was foreshadowed as early as the beginning.
That's a poem.
The title of the poem is - What can I do to keep you
Meng Shuyu looked at the lonely tree in a daze, suddenly unable to walk.
I couldn't move forward, but I didn't dare to look back.
She was afraid that when she turned around, it would rain heavily in her eyes.
Meng Shuyu stood there holding the heavy object in her arms, trying hard to open her eyes wide, hoping that her eyes would be big enough to hold the warmth in her eyes at the moment.
Suddenly there were footsteps behind him.
Getting closer step by step.
The footsteps stopped a short distance away from her, and a pair of hands fell on her shoulders, gently turning her around.
Meng Shuyu raised her head, blinked and shed a tear.
Then the second one, the third one, the fourth one...
The belated sadness was like a dull knife, piercing her heart, causing her to cry loudly.
Why is she only sixteen
If she was twenty-six years old, she would definitely have many ways to go with him or keep him.
But she is only sixteen years old.
When she was sixteen, she fell in love with a nineteen-year-old man. She was only three years older than him, but she seemed to be separated from him by an entire galaxy.
She couldn't grow up overnight, and he couldn't pull her to the other side where he was.
Also... he may not always be waiting for her on the other side.
The hot moisture blurred his vision, and Meng Shuyu gradually couldn't see clearly Zhou Jun's appearance, and he wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
Zhou Juan raised his hand as if he wanted to wipe it for her. When his fingertips came to her cheek, he stopped as if he was worried about something.
Meng Shuyu wiped away her tears, and finally asked the question she had never asked because she thought it was too childish: "You, you left...will you come back?"
Zhou Juan looked down at her and asked in a dumb voice, "Do you want me to come back?"
Meng Shuyu nodded vigorously.
"Then if you still want to see me in two years, just tell me."
"… Then what?"
"Then -" Zhou Juan looked into her eyes, "I will come back and pick the moon for you."
Meng Shuyu choked up: "You may not think so in two years..."
"You haven't grown up yet, so you don't have to keep your words. If you don't want to see me after two years, it doesn't matter if you regret it. But I am already an adult, and I have to take responsibility for what I say."
Zhou Juan raised his hand, smiled and rubbed her hair: "This is a promise I made to you, you can believe it."
Meng Shuyu looked up at him, as if being bewitched by his eyes, and suddenly she really wanted to believe him.
The person she liked didn't know magic and couldn't take her through time and space, but he just smiled and rubbed her head, and she seemed to see a far, far future through his eyes.
…
A gust of wind blows, blinding people's eyes, and the scenery suddenly changes - the sun rises and the moon sets, the stars move, the four seasons cycle, and the time changes.
Meng Shuyu slowly opened his eyes hazy.
She heard a voice ringing in her ears that had just parted with her: "What's wrong?"
She suddenly turned her head and saw a hand reaching towards her cheek, and the owner of the hand—
Not nineteen-year-old Zhou Jun.
It's twenty-nine-year-old Zhou Jun.
Meng Shuyu looked around blankly and saw the soft bed under her and the window with sunlight in the distance -
Not the hopeless summer night when she was sixteen.
It was the warm winter day when she was twenty-six years old.
Meng Shuyu blinked and was confused for a while before he came back to his senses.
She had a dream about a parallel time and space. In that time and space, when she was sixteen, she met Zhou Jun, who was nineteen, in advance, and then the story completely changed.
"Are you having a nightmare?" Zhou Juan wiped the moisture on her cheek with the pad of his thumb and stretched his arm to reach for the wet wipes on the bedside table.
But Meng Shuyu hugged her waist.
"Huh?" Zhou Juan stopped, lowered his head and hugged her back.
"No," Meng Shuyu shook her head, "I didn't have any nightmares."
How lucky she is that the person who was separated from her in the dream held her in his arms when she woke up.
"I had a beautiful dream," Meng Shuyu closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, smelling his reassuring breath, "What a beautiful dream."
(—End of Parallel Time and Space Boy Chapter—)
The author has something to say: It has a happy ending both inside and outside the dream, and there are still two chapters of present continuous tense drama left.