Time Passed Us By - Chapter 12

Of course, she couldn’t walk down from the 46th floor. Song Jianan only walked about fifteen floors, and her legs were shaking violently like small leaves hanging on a tree in late autumn.

She had no choice but to take the elevator, then stood in the lobby of the newspaper office, relieved her inner tension, and walked slowly to the parking lot. As expected, Xi Luoyu was standing next to a Buick, as if in a daze, with his head slightly raised, his hands casually in his pockets, a few rays of sunlight leaked through the dense shade of the trees, and fell on his shoulders like broken gold, the breeze blew up the broken hair on his temples, and his gold-rimmed glasses reflected the light, looking very leisurely.

If she puts aside her prejudice, he seems to be a relatively friendly person, but how many stories are hidden behind that friendly smile? Song Jianan thought that after covering social news for more than half a year, she has become more curious when looking at people.

She tiptoed over, and Xi Luoyu also saw her and smiled at her softly, “Hello, Mrs. Song,”

Song Jianan said calmly,  “Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Actually, I wanted to ask why you said you had an appointment with me? Well, although we just met last night, isn’t it a bit too effective to have a date today?”

Xi Luoyu smiled and opened the car door, “Let’s talk about it after we get in. We still have to eat this meal anyway.”

“So your father and my father are old friends, so they decided to push me here?” Song Jianan felt very accomplished after he finished his reasoning, “I originally thought you were here to seek revenge, but I thought you weren’t that petty. Most legal professionals are very generous.”

Give him a compliment first, and even if he is vindictive, he will be more restrained, Song Jianan thought.

Xi Luoyu glanced at her, said nothing, but smiled twice, then shook his head, “I didn’t expect it, I didn’t expect it.”

Song Jianan felt strange but didn’t say anything. She secretly glanced at Xi Luoyu. He had a faint smile on his face and his eyes were fixed to the front. She looked around his car again. There were no extra decorations, only a small plant that looked like a flower. She thought it was fake, so she reached out to touch it and pulled it, only to find that it was a living plant. When she turned around, she found Xi Luoyu staring at her. In panic, her hand slipped and accidentally hit the car door, causing her to gasp in pain. Xi Luoyu smiled and said, “Miss Song Jianan, I’m sorry to say something rather rude. I hope you don’t mind.”

She hmmed, and Xi Luoyu smiled, “I think your father still doesn’t understand you very well.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Uncle said that you are a quiet girl who doesn’t like to talk much, but I think it’s just the opposite,” Xi Luoyu looked at her teasingly, “Reporters covering social news are never quiet. On the contrary, they should be more assertive.”

Song Jianan blinked and seemed to be talking to herself,  “I can’t believe he said I was quiet. How long has it been since he last saw me?”

The abalone and chicken pie was crispy and golden on the outside, and filled with abalone, chicken, and other fillings. It was steaming hot, looking fresh and mouth-watering. The honey-coated barbeque pork buns were plump, white and tender, with a little red barbecue pork filling in the middle. The red bean cake is smooth, and it is also molded into a bunny shape. The shrimp dumplings and coral shumai are also good, with beautiful appearance and endless aftertaste.

Song Jianan narrowed her eyes and smiled, “It looks so good, I almost can’t bear to eat it.”

Xi Luoyu wanted to laugh, but he held it back in the end, “You seem to like eating a lot!”

“It’s because of my work. I work so hard every day just to make a living. If I don’t eat well, I’ll be doing myself a disservice,” She answered confidently, “I can find almost all the delicious food places in this city. I have all kinds of discount cards. I used to do a show on the radio station, and we were paired with the food and guests. Life was so happy hack then. The three or two of us would drive around the streets to find streets to try food. We all gained a lot of weight.”

“Why did you want to work for the newspaper when you were doing well at the radio?”

She hesitated for a moment and said, “Pursue something different. Maybe I’m a person who likes constant changes. If I achieve a certain level in a job, I would want to try a different job.”

“For example, from the radio station to the newspaper, and then from a social news reporter to the entertainment section?”

“You know so much about it. You even know that I’m going to the entertainment section,” Song Jian looked at him suspiciously, “This is pretty much my career trajectory. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but I really like being a reporter.”

Xi Luoyu adjusted his glasses, put his hands together, and asked with interest, “I do have a question, why did you go to the south for college, but insist on coming back for graduate school?”

Song Jianan thought for a moment and said, “I was young and frivolous at that time. I regretted it so much that I begged for my bones and returned home!”

Xi Luoyu sent her back. Maybe because she was too full, Song Jianan felt a little sleepy. She looked out the window boredly. The road was brightly lit and people were coming and going. She looked at this city where she could identify the direction with her eyes closed, and smiled softly.

She was indeed young and frivolous at that time. She thought that leaving her hometown was just another chance to have a better life. However, when she actually ran away, she found that everything around her was so unfamiliar. And when that man said to her, “I will go back in the future,” she made up her mind to return to the hometown where they had lived together for 20 years no matter what.

The fate would have it, she came back and deliberately forgot about him. When she wanted to find the past, there was no trace of him.

Looking back, all that remained in her memory were the yellowed old photos, reminding her that she had once loved someone so hard.

Who once said that in order to find someone, one should strive to stand at the top of the crowd, just so that one day that person will be able to find that figure when they look up.

And does she also hope that one day, when he sees her name, he will be stunned for a moment and then just smile and pass it off?

The next day, she went to work, her legs were so sore that she couldn’t move. She slumped into her chair reading the report. She hadn’t officially accepted the interview assignment for the entertainment section, but the director saw her unpleasant look and forced her to do a task to interview the director of the provincial museum and do a follow-up report on a hatch of cultural relics unearthed in Caching River.

Song Jianan originally planned to take a taxi, but she thought that exercise could quickly consume the lactic acid in the muscles, so she rented a bicycle and slowly rode towards the museum. The curator was a kind old man who not only cooperated with the interview, but also allowed Song Jianan to freely explore the building. She stayed there until four o’clock in the afternoon before returning to the newspaper office. 

Riding a bicycle through the forest trails, this city still retains the scenery of an ancient capital, with lush trees surrounding the ancient city walls, and the sun is bright but not glaring. Looking along the rays, you can see countless dust particles in the air. The sun shines gently on the green leaves, creating tiny halos of light.

Song Jiannan was in a very good mood. She walked through the alley, rode the small bridge over the moat, and saw the woods surrounded by fences in the distance. She smiled. This was a very familiar place: the middle school where she had studied for six years.

The security guard at the gate thought she was a teacher teaching a class and did not stop her. She pushed her bike into the school gate. Six years had passed, and the campus seemed to have not changed at all. It still retained the same look as when she left, except that the spring in front of the gate was bubbling with water, and the trees on the side of the road were taller.

She remembered a lot of things at once. On that early winter morning, a boy with a handsome back suddenly came into her sight and slowly left a deep impression in her heart.

It’s all in the past. Xi Luoyu’s face flashed through her mind, and Song Jianan raised the corners of her lips helplessly.

Suddenly her cell phone rang, and she was surprised to see the name “Song Rui” appear on the screen. She picked up the phone, but there was no sound. After a long while, she heard the sobbing voice of a little girl, “Sister, I’m heartbroken.”

Song Jianan opened her eyes wide, wanting to laugh but unable to.

Do children at this time know what love is? Just like herself, she thought that her crush on Su Li was just a hopeless crush, but later she discovered that the crush had become an indelible mark in her life.

Come to think of it, maybe it will be something she will never be able to let go of in her lifetime.