Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 43

In Shi Qingqiu’s memory, Wen Qinghan had only sung once, at the New Year’s Gala of the law department during their freshman year. Perhaps there had been other times before or after, but the only one she remembered was that one. And that time, because of Qi Yue’s departure, she hadn’t been in the mood to pay much attention. So when she heard that Wen Qinghan was going to perform on stage, she was only surprised for a moment before returning backstage to continue doing makeup for her classmates.

By the time she was free, Wen Qinghan’s performance had already ended.

She pulled back the curtain a little and peeked out. Around the always indifferent and aloof Wen Qinghan gathered many people—both boys and girls—enthusiastically praising her. Even with a faint smile on her face, Wen Qinghan still didn’t look particularly approachable, always seeming out of place.

At that time, Wen Qinghan walked backstage, accompanied by several boys and girls who clearly adored her. They all greeted Shi Qingqiu, but Wen Qinghan, expression cool, only gave a slight nod.

Shi Qingqiu smiled and praised her. “Qinghan, you sang beautifully.”

Wen Qinghan curved her lips faintly and replied softly, “It was alright.” She thought Shi Qingqiu had really heard her sing, so she smiled.

Now, recalling it, Shi Qingqiu froze for a moment and turned to look at Wen Qinghan beside her. She had never actually heard Wen Qinghan sing. She had never seen what this calm and restrained woman would look like while singing. She even owed Wen Qinghan a sincere compliment.

A sense of guilt stirred within her, and at last she smiled and nodded. “If you’re willing to sing, I won’t miss a single word.”

***

On their first night in the county, everyone slept especially well. Though the small county’s hotel was not as luxurious as those in big cities, it was far more comfortable than the village and the town’s school dormitory they had stayed in days before.

As a result, everyone woke up late the next day. It was nearly noon when they gathered in the hotel lobby. They sat in a row on the sofas. Apart from Qin Wang, who yawned, no one made a sound.

The host, hands clasped behind his back, pointed toward the door and gave the order. “You must complete your task before ten tonight. Staff will follow you, and once you begin, they’ll notify me. When I announce completion, the round is considered cleared. Now, go!”

Everyone immediately stood, pulling out their cards as they left with their partners to study their tasks. The cameramen also found their assigned groups and began filming.

Scratching the back of his head, Qin Wang muttered, “Good reviews…” Then he looked at Ji Lan beside him. “Lanlan, what exactly should we do? Yesterday I thought there were plenty of options, but now it doesn’t seem so easy.”

Ji Lan took the card and thought with a serious expression. “There are many ways to get good reviews, but those with low difficulty and little time cost… let me think.”

On the other side, Yu Shushen and Du Lingmeng, who already had an idea from yesterday, strolled at ease. Yu Shushen let her daughter hold her arm, smiled and greeted Shi Qingqiu and Wen Qinghan, then said to her daughter, “Come on, let’s take a look around first.”

Lu Sizhou’s group and Xu Zhi’s group were on good terms, and the two teams whispered together at the back.

Shi Qingqiu tugged gently at Wen Qinghan’s arm. When the other tilted her head in a listening gesture, she leaned closer and said, “Qinghan, let’s walk around the area too.”

“Alright.” With a plan already forming in her heart, Wen Qinghan agreed.

Everyone split up outside the hotel, each going their own way.

Letting Shi Qingqiu hold her arm, Wen Qinghan strolled slowly along the street with her. Their talk drifted casually from work to family, while the surrounding buildings shifted from shops and stalls to residential houses.

They had turned into a narrow alley, where surprisingly many people were also walking in, and up ahead it seemed even livelier.

As they got closer, scraps of spent firecrackers began appearing on the ground, first scattered, then growing dense until they covered the street. The thickest layer lay before a small chapel, where guests arriving behind them handed in invitations and were smoothly ushered inside. Passersby were given packets of wedding candy by the attendants, to which they responded with smiles and a “Congratulations on your marriage.”

There weren’t many guests entering yet. Shi Qingqiu’s gaze was drawn to the chapel, and she smiled softly. “Is this a mixed Chinese and Western wedding? Looks like it could be fun.”

Wen Qinghan only glanced once, then turned back to look at her. “Mm, probably.”

Shi Qingqiu kept her eyes on the little chapel. In her mind rose an old wish. She once hoped to marry the one she loved, to smile at each other as they exchanged rings, and to kiss that person before her parents and friends.

She had never imagined who the person would be, only held onto that thought. Now she was married, yet that wish had never come true.

Perhaps, for her now, that wish was already too extravagant.

Shi Qingqiu smiled, pulling her gaze back to look at Wen Qinghan. What was she daydreaming about? The person by her side was already good enough. She should be content.

Seeing that Shi Qingqiu had been staring toward the chapel, Wen Qinghan asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.” Shi Qingqiu looked forward with a faint smile. “I just remembered that I once wanted to have a wedding like that. I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, I’ve already grown up.”

Grown up, and married. So was the wedding in her wish destined to remain only a luxury?

Looking at her so lighthearted, Wen Qinghan’s chest ached sharply. She lowered her head, leaned closer to Shi Qingqiu’s ear, and in the cover of the noisy crowd, her lips moved.

But just as Shi Qingqiu caught the soft beginning of “If you…”, Wen Qinghan’s voice was interrupted.

“Ladies, passing by? Take some candy for good luck.”

The well-dressed attendant at the chapel handed them each two packets of wedding candy, even the cameraman got one.

Wen Qinghan collected herself and, together with Shi Qingqiu, replied, “Thank you, congratulations.”

As they walked out of the chapel’s area, Shi Qingqiu suddenly recalled that Wen Qinghan had seemed to be saying something just now. She asked curiously, “Qinghan, what were you about to tell me?”

The wedding candies weighed heavily in Wen Qinghan’s hand, as if a mountain had pressed into her heart, suffocating her. In the end, she only looked straight ahead, lips faintly curved as she said, “Nothing, I just wanted to tell you we should walk out quickly.”

“By the way, yesterday you said you’d sing for me—will it be today?” Shi Qingqiu eagerly hooked both her arms around Wen Qinghan’s, her bright eyes brimming with expectation.

“You’ll know in a moment.” Wen Qinghan kept her air of mystery, her expression calm and composed as if already prepared.

The two walked out of the alley, following the road signs toward the county center. The closer they got, the livelier the shops became and the denser the crowd. The largest supermarket in the county appeared ahead, with many pedestrians heading inside, holding promotional flyers in their hands.

Wen Qinghan held Shi Qingqiu’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s go take a look too.”

Behind the supermarket was a large square, and at its center stood a stage. A fair number of customers who had come to shop were already gathered in front, curious to see what performance was about to start. Since it was the weekend, it was clearly an event meant to draw people in. But in the few minutes that Wen Qinghan and Shi Qingqiu had arrived, no one had yet come onstage to host.

“What’s going on? If it doesn’t start, we’re leaving!”

“Yeah, you promised earlier, but it looks like nothing’s organized at all…”

“Exactly…”

The murmurs of discontent grew louder, some people began leaving, though luckily new onlookers kept wandering over.

Shi Qingqiu tugged at Wen Qinghan’s sleeve. “Qinghan, let’s go.”

“Wait.” Wen Qinghan didn’t move, tightening her grip on Shi Qingqiu’s hand slightly. She turned and looked at her. “Qingqiu, stay here. Don’t move.”

“What are you going to do?” Shi Qingqiu glanced first at the still-empty stage, then at Wen Qinghan, suddenly recalling her mysterious expression earlier. “You’re not planning to…”

Now, with no program taking place onstage and the crowd urging impatiently below, it seemed clear something had gone wrong. Was Wen Qinghan intending to sing here? Shi Qingqiu faintly guessed her intention.

“Mm, we’ve happened upon the right moment. Besides, I think the organizers must be anxious now, needing someone to hold the stage.” Wen Qinghan’s eyes remained on Shi Qingqiu, calm and earnest.

“But… is this really the right place? Look, so many are leaving, and those who come don’t stay long. A song only lasts a few minutes.” Shi Qingqiu glanced worriedly at the passersby, who had only paused briefly out of convenience. Such a makeshift stage could never keep many people. The crowd would always be flowing, and perhaps, after all her effort, not even a single round of applause would remain.

“A few minutes is enough. Stay here. Don’t go.” Wen Qinghan’s voice was soft, her expression cool and clear even amid the noise, her words like a fresh stream that could wash away all impurity.

She cast a long, deep look at Shi Qingqiu, then closed her eyes briefly as she turned away, imprinting that moment’s image of her into memory. Her long hair lifted slightly in the breeze, her figure noble and ethereal amidst the crowd.

From her vantage point, Shi Qingqiu could see the whole stage without moving a step. She watched as people talked at the stage’s edge, then someone carried out a tall stool and a microphone stand, setting them at the center.

The clamor below gradually died down. Shi Qingqiu couldn’t quite catch the announcer’s words, nor did she pay attention to how many stayed. Her eyes were fixed only on the figure walking gracefully onto the stage.

The song’s prelude rose gently. That familiar voice, low and lingering, soothing to the ear, amplified many times over by the sound system, floated through the bustling square and into Shi Qingqiu’s ears.

At that moment, though they stood so far apart, Shi Qingqiu inexplicably felt that Wen Qinghan was looking straight at her, with the same gaze she had the night she tended her wounds. She could picture it—the delicate features of Wen Qinghan softened just right, warm yet holding a trace of distance. 

Her beautiful, melodic voice quieted the restless crowd. No more chatter, no more impatience. Some even began to softly hum along with her.

How can one ever possess a rainbow?

How can one embrace the summer wind?

The stars in the sky laugh at those on the ground,

Always unable to understand, never feeling it is enough.

If I fall in love with your smile,

How should I keep it, how can I make it mine?

If your happiness is not because of me,

Would letting go perhaps be the truest way of having you?

When a breeze blows and the kite soars into the sky,

For you, I pray, I bless, I am moved.

At last, when your figure vanishes into the sea of people,

I realize that smiling through tears is the deepest pain.

At this moment, they were very far apart, but Shi Qingqiu inexplicably felt that Wen Qinghan was looking at him. Her eyes must have been exactly the same as when she applied the medicine that night.

Shi Qingqiu could imagine that Wen Qinghan’s beautiful features must have softened to a perfect degree, a gentleness that maintained a certain distance.

Her pleasant voice gradually quieted down the people present. There was no more unnecessary commotion, and some people even began to sing softly along with her.