Chapter 5 Li Xiaoman
Their old university hadn’t changed much from before; the only thing different was the students. Their youthful time here had engraved unforgettable memories into them.
Under the shade of a tree, some junior classmates were quietly reading books in an extremely harmonious and tranquil manner atop the grassy ground. Ye Fan and the others felt that they themselves had returned to the distant past of three years ago when they were fickle and restless.
After graduating, everyone had become busy with their own lives and dreams. Quite a few people had gone far away from this town, and other than Ye Fan and a few others, for most of them it was their first time coming back to see their old university.
Not far away, a small lake was gently rippling; the scenery was still the same as before. They seemed to sink back into their memories, thinking about those days when they would see figures beside this lake. Some were sullenly dejected, and some were in high spirits, holding a guitar as they sang the university songs.
No matter how many years passed, whenever they would hear those sounds they would always start remembering that free and sincere time. The faint melancholy caused people to be both sentimental and happy, easily touching their hearts.
The passing of time would always leave behind some sour and painful flavors.
Who knew if after all these years those people could still play guitar and sing; after graduating, it was difficult to find where they had gone.
“I vaguely remember hearing a friend say that that sorrowful guitar expert went to another city to play and sing at a bar for a few years. After these few years, he has apparently changed greatly.”
“Do you still remember that long-legged woman who was so multi-talented and was extremely beautiful and pure? Rumour has it that she’s now at a nightclub drinking.”
Everyone could only let out a sigh.
After graduating, many people had had their dreams and ideals take a hit. Sometimes, life was impossible to control, causing people to feel extremely frustrated and at a loss.
After a brief moment of silence, everyone continued onwards.
At this moment, Lin Jia arrived beside Ye Fan.
She was wearing a blue and white striped chiffon dress, the skirt reaching down to her thighs, contrasting her slender and tall legs and appeared even fairer and more moving. A black belt around her waist accentuated her gentleness and beauty, while her long hair was loosely scattered across her voluptuous chest, making her figure appear even more curved and appealing.
Her pretty face was white as snow and possessed a particularly flirtatious pair of red phoenix eyes that slightly slanted upwards. Lin Jia’s entire person seemed to possess some kind of special quality.
“You obviously had a car, so why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”
“When did I have a chance to?”
“So are you not going to invite me to sit in your car today?”
“I am extremely happy to. I am solemnly extending an invitation to Miss Lin Jia.”
By now, the two of them were both laughing.
Lin Jia brought up yesterday’s affair out of nowhere and easily managed to put it past them. She didn’t make a big issue out of what happened yesterday, and as a result, she meticulously lowered her stance and managed to pull the two of them even closer.
After saying this, she laughed, turning and leaving. Lin Jia was a smart girl; she knew that being too meticulous would just make her seem fake and phony. It was better to be a bit more straightforward and natural.
These kinds of subtle actions naturally also happened to some other classmates.
After leaving their old university, it was already close to noon. Everyone arrived at a street called Gourmet Food, which was famous for the food in its restaurants.
Wang Ziwen privately invited Ye Fan to sit at his table, but Ye Fan merely smiled and respectfully drank a couple glasses with him before going back to sit with the group he had been with yesterday.
“Ye Fan, yesterday I was drunk and just saying nonsense, please don’t take offense. Here, let me raise a glass to you…” The male classmate who had bragged about how his fiancée was the niece of some bank owner and who had yesterday spoken to Yi Fan in a preaching manner had now lowered his attitude, doing all he could to explain what had happened yesterday.
And that female classmate who said that her husband had been promoted to vice president of a company had also changed her attitude from last night and was being polite and courteous towards Ye Fan.
“Come, everyone raise a glass.”
...
Compared to yesterday, the table Ye Fan sat at appeared exceptionally lively. Everyone was constantly clinking glasses, and from time to time people would come over from other tables to propose toasts. Of course, Ye Fan naturally would not be able to avoid these and he repeatedly had to receive people’s toasts, especially from Wang Ziwen’s table.
Liu Yunzhi appeared completely unperturbed. Despite yesterday’s embarrassment, today he appeared like an old well with no ripples. Nothing strange could be seen in his expression and it was like nothing had happened at all.
“Everyone, last night I got a telephone call from overseas…”
The person talking was Zhou Yi, a very refined youth. It was said that his family background was very profound, something which was not a secret amongst his classmates. Yesterday, Wang Ziwen had specifically waited outside the Brightmoon Maritime Supermall in order to welcome him.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards Zhou Yi. Whether it was during university or afterward, he had always been very amiable and never done anything to cause people to think he was arrogant.
Zhou Yi announced the news: three classmates who had been studying abroad were already on their way back. Immediately, the classmates present burst into heated talk.
“After graduating, we all spread apart and started living far away from each other. Everyone has their own lives to live, so being able to once again meet together is not easy. It’s possible that the next time we meet we’ll already be fathers and mothers. At that time, who knows how many more years will have passed? Three of our old classmates who went to study abroad are now coming back; hence, I have a proposal that we extend this reunion…”
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Ye Fan drove his car home and brewed a cup of light green tea. He quietly stared outside his window at the parasol trees, reminiscing on old events.
The people walking by, the footsteps they left behind, and the road that gradually disappeared into the distance all appeared like the parasol leaves gently swaying.
Li Xiaoman - this name was something that had already long since faded from Ye Fan’s memories.
After graduating university, Li Xiaoman left to go study overseas. At the beginning, the two of them still managed to keep in touch and be relatively close. But with the passing of time, their emails and calls gradually dwindled to the point that they stopped having any exchanges at all.
Rather than saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder, it would be more accurate to say distance makes the heart forget. A pair of friends who became a couple might make it to the end if they could stay close, despite their friends’ cautions that they weren’t suitable.
Today, he learned from Zhou Yi that Li Xiaoman was about to return. When he first heard this name, he felt as if it was somewhat unfamiliar. Suddenly recollecting the past, he realized it had already been two years.
Since the reunion had been extended, they decided to go sightseeing at Mt. Tai¹. The whole cost was covered by Wang Ziwen, Zhou Yi, and their small group. While this cost might be considered high for an ordinary person, for them it was nothing at all.
Three days later, Ye Fan once again saw that familiar figure at the foot of Mt. Tai. Three years had passed; Li Xiaoman didn’t seem to have changed much. She was still the same elegant and beautiful person.
She was around 170cm tall. Wearing a pair of sunglasses, her black, long hair danced in the wind. Standing there, she appeared elegant and slender. Her clothes were very simple and revealing: shorts that didn’t reach her knees, allowing her long and fair legs to be seen, along with a T-shirt with a cartoon design on it.
Li Xiaoman was undoubtedly extraordinarily beautiful. Her skin was snow white and tender, her eyes were quite large, and her eyelashes were exceptionally long, giving her some kind of spiritual air. While she didn’t ostentatiously display her whole body, she still possessed a lot of self-confidence.
She unhurriedly and easily chatted with her classmates around her, making her appear like she was an important person, but also making people feel like she was easy to get along with and amiable.
Beside Li Xiaoman was a tall and lofty youth who she introduced as her fellow U.S. classmate. Contrary to the Eastern face with its softness and sleekness, he seemed more like a Western model, his face appearing very solid. The bridge of his nose was high, and his dark blue eyes seemed slightly set back. His blonde hair was somewhat curly, and by Western aesthetic standards, he was very handsome.
“Hello, I am Kade. Mt. Tai…I look forward to. I can finally…see it.” This American youth Kade, although his speech was not very fluent, was still able to convey his meaning.
As for the other two classmates who had gone off to study abroad, they had also been surrounded by friends who were animatedly asking them about how life was and studying abroad was.
Having been separated for three years, Ye Fan could finally once again see Li Xiaoman. There seemed to be some sort of space and change between them due to the passing of time.
The two of them were no longer afraid of the big waves between them. Courteously greeting each other, they didn’t have the joy of friends who were meeting up after a long time. Like calm water, their words seemed to float past like clouds and light wind.
They didn’t talk for very long; after a brief encounter, they simply brushed past each other. Some things didn’t need to be discussed- silence was already a kind of answer.
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¹ Mountain found in Shandong. It is one of the most famous mountains in all of China.
Translator notes:
Officially, Mt. Tai is known as Taishan Mountain. The problem I have with this is that Shan means mountain, so it’s just saying Tai mountain mountain. Tai means peaceful.