Chapter 86. Time Flies, But Old Friends Remain
Ye Zhibai, as if treasuring something precious, took out the osmanthus cakes from the bag one by one, placing them on the stone steps in front of the tombstone.
On the stone steps, there was a clean mat specially for placing offerings for the deceased.
Well… maybe it was because Cool Sister was nearby, her thinking tended to be a bit dependent?
Or was it recalling that slightly naive past from the orphanage days?
At this moment, even Ye Zhibai’s act of arranging the osmanthus cakes showed more childlike playfulness
She arranged the osmanthus cakes into the shape of a “leaf”.
Placing one on the outermost edge, then arranging them more densely towards the center.
Finally, at the end of the “leaf”, placing a long strip like a leaf stem.
This way, the “leaf” composed of osmanthus cakes was complete!
Ye Zhibai, pinching the empty bag in her hand, looked down at her creation with deep satisfaction.
My surname is Ye (leaf), so I arrange a leaf.
Fallen leaves return to their roots, it’s already buried, having this kind of meaning is quite good.
It’s just a pity that these osmanthus cakes can only be placed here, and can’t be eaten.
Because they’re offerings now, it’s not appropriate to eat them
Just as Ye Zhibai was reminiscing about the past in her heart, with hands clasped saying goodbye to the urn that had been completely buried in the soil.
Chi Yuliang, also with hands clasped and head bowed, suddenly brought up some past events in a gentle tone.
“Miss Zhibai is really clever, is it a leaf shape? Mm… it reminds me of when Xiao Bai was young, he also liked to arrange stones picked up from the orphanage entrance into various shapes, arranging them into little cats… little dogs… and vines, Grandma Director praised Xiao Bai more than once for arranging the stones beautifully.”
“!”
Thump.
It was the sound of a heartbeat stalling.
Whose fire went out?
That must be Ye Zhibai’s fire.
The emotionless little Zhibai stiffly tilted her head to look to the side, Chi Yuliang was still maintaining the state of eyes closed tightly, hands clasped in remembrance of the tombstone.
But… Ye Zhibai could clearly see.
Chi Yuliang’s left eye was slightly squinted.
She was observing Ye Zhibai’s state.
The moment their gazes met, Chi Yuliang no longer had any concerns, and directly opened her eyes.
She didn’t speak.
—— That was waiting for the cemetery staff to leave.
After the staff left with shovels and other work tools several dozen meters away.
Chi Yuliang slowly lowered her arms naturally, gazing at Ye Zhibai’s birth and death dates on the tombstone, and very abruptly began to mutter to herself.
Actually, it wasn’t abrupt.
Because at this distance, and with the layers of tombstones blocking,
—— Ye Zhiyun could no longer see this side.
What Chi Yuliang had been desperately seeking these days… was precisely this opportunity to talk to Ye Zhibai alone.
Now, it was the only chance.
“Miss Zhibai, actually, when I learned that Xiao Bai had died in a car accident, I was very desperate. For a while, I felt that this world was really cruel… Why did such a kind and strong Xiao Bai have to encounter such a tragedy… I didn’t believe it, at that time I hadn’t reached home yet, on the way back from the capital, the whole way, I kept staring at Xiao Bai’s QQ, I was hoping… Xiao Bai would reply to me, tell me it was all a joke, all a misunderstanding, but Xiao Bai never replied to me again.”
Of course not, being hit by a car that hard, even the phone was smashed to pieces.
Wait
Always… staring? The whole way?!
Ye Zhibai suddenly had an extremely bad premonition!
And a flash of hope passed through Chi Yuliang’s eyes, her next words confirming Ye Zhibai’s bad premonition.
“Although Xiao Bai didn’t reply to my messages, but… I was very surprised to find that Xiao Bai’s QQ was actually online until dark, I asked my classmates from the computer science department at university, they said that after a phone shuts down, QQ will indeed stay online for a while, but to stay online for a whole day is simply impossible. Miss Zhibai, do you think this is possible?”
“Perhaps… perhaps it was online on a computer? The computer wasn’t broken?”
“No, Xiao Bai didn’t have a computer, even if he did, it would show as online on the phone.”
Damn modern technology! You just had to make these displays so specific, didn’t you!
And damn my poverty! I couldn’t even afford a computer!
Actually, by this point, when Ye Zhibai was asked this question, she understood.
—— She was indeed suspected.
But Chi Yuliang’s narrative wasn’t limited to this. Her preparation, these days, she had never stopped striving for this “absurd hope”.
“When I went to Xiao Bai’s apartment, it was largely to look for a fountain pen, it was a birthday gift I gave to Xiao Bai, but unfortunately, I searched the entire apartment, even looked in every corner of the outside corridor, but couldn’t find it.”
“I thought it might have been taken by someone collecting scrap, I asked around extensively, there were only two people collecting scrap near that apartment, one was Aunt Liu, and one was Old Zhang. I found both of them, and the result… Miss Zhibai, can you guess what the result was?”
Cool Sister… you continue talking, I accept judgment.
Chi Yuliang didn’t stop.
On this matter, she couldn’t stop.
“The result was, Aunt Liu did come to collect junk, but didn’t successfully take anything away. Old Zhang also collected junk at this household’s door, but someone actively sold the junk to him. In the end, they both pointed out that at the time, there were two beautiful girls who looked completely unlike apartment residents, dressed fashionably, cleaning up the junk. Hmm… I was very confused, how could there be very beautiful girls cleaning up junk at Xiao Bai’s door?”
“The only ones I could think of were the two girls I met at the crematorium the day before I brought the urn to the apartment.”
Chi Yuliang’s gaze had become increasingly sharp.
“Miss Zhibai, your habits and gestures are strangely similar to Xiao Bai’s. When Xiao Bai was nervous, he would look around aimlessly, although Miss Zhibai’s expression is much more natural, not showing nervousness, but the action is the same… That’s right, I’m talking about your current state.”
Neck! Stop!!
Ye Zhibai abruptly stopped her left and right observing state, and wanted to give herself a big slap!
There were many, many more details that made Chi Yuliang feel dreamy these days, but also full of hope.
But she no longer wanted to explain them one by one.
If she guessed wrong, an awkward smile would do.
But if there was even a one in a billion chance of guessing right, Chi Yuliang would be willing to be awkward a thousand or ten thousand times.
This time, Chi Yuliang directly turned to face Ye Zhibai.
Maintaining a face-to-face state, she was still the Cool Sister from back then.
Only her smile, at this moment, was very desolate and helpless.
“I think the transfer of souls… is very absurd, very absurd, simply incomprehensible, but Miss Zhibai… I’ve inquired, the day you woke up in the hospital was the day Xiao Bai died. These many coincidences between you, and you personally going to the crematorium to say goodbye… can you tell me, is this all just coincidence!”
Her tone became increasingly agitated.
At this point, Chi Yuliang even forcefully grabbed Ye Zhibai’s arms.
“It’s okay if it’s coincidence! Miss Zhibai, if all of these are coincidences, please tell me plainly! Tell me this is all my wild imagination! Tell me Xiao Bai is really dead! Can you?! Please! I beg you, okay?”
Searching through the ocean of memories.
This was the first time in Ye Zhibai’s two lifetimes that she heard Cool Sister’s near-crazed crying voice.
It turns out, her emotional improvement these two days was just putting on a brave face.
—— She had never accepted the reality of Xiao Bai’s death.
—— She had always been trying to find a glimmer of hope, to allow her to breathe.
She had never… been able to cut off this emotion in her heart that could never be cut off.
The despair in Chi Yuliang’s words was already faintly discernible.
Ye Zhibai, in Cool Sister’s sobbing voice after voice.
Her body was also trembling.
But not much time passed before Ye Zhibai stood firm.
And used both hands to hold Chi Yuliang’s hands, gently holding them in front of herself.
In Cool Sister’s despair.
Ye Zhibai finally raised her head.
Under the silver hair, light purple beautiful eyes moved.
And that cold little face, at this moment, actually wore a smile like the spring breeze of April.
“Cool Sister… you’ve worked hard, I… I’ve missed you too…”
The depth of emotion.
Was already indescribable.
These words, sounded in Chi Yuliang’s ears.
And also in that distant orphanage.
It was in Cool Sister’s heart, that eternally unforgettable pure land.
Echoing for a long time, lingering.
Previously unwilling to acknowledge, was for fear of you worrying about the past, unable to be free —— and suffering endlessly.
Now meeting you again, is feeling the swift passage of time, changes over time —— but old friends remain the same.
