"It's me."
The man's voice was very deep. Jiang Li's hand stiffened slightly as she was washing the peaches. She turned off the faucet, drained the water, wiped her hands with a towel, and then calmly said, "Do you need something from me?"
Xiao Yanzhi's breathing quickened a bit.
"Were you in Beicheng today?"
"Yes."
Jiang Li responded. She looked back at Xixi, handed her one of the washed peaches, and continued speaking into the phone, "Mr. Xiao, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up first."
The other side didn't say anything for a long time. Jiang Li pursed her lips and was about to hang up.
"Jiang Li, what day is it tomorrow?" It sounded very quiet on his side. There was the sound of violin music. It should be the restaurant he often went to before.
Jiang Li's hand hovered above the hang - up button.
His voice sounded tired. "Think carefully. What day is it tomorrow?"
"Mid - Autumn Festival."
"Something else."
"Nothing else."
The line suddenly fell silent.
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment and vaguely realized something. "Are you at Yunshuijian?"
Yunshuijian was the name of the restaurant.
"Yes, I reserved a table in advance."
Xiao Yanzhi's voice was extremely calm. One couldn't detect any emotional fluctuations. "I'll wait for you to come."
...
Jiang Li carried the fruits out of the kitchen. She checked the time and said to Sister Chen and Xixi, "Sister Chen, I'm leaving first."
"Okay. Be careful on the road."
Sister Chen gave her a few instructions and told her to come back early at night. Jiang Li smiled and said that she wasn't a child anymore and there was no need for so many instructions.
"If you know you're not a child, stop making people worry about you all day long." Sister Chen glanced at her and playfully scolded her with a smile.
Before leaving Sister Chen's house, Jiang Li deliberately touched up her makeup.
She walked onto the road, hailed a taxi at random, and got in.
"Driver, take me to Beicheng Airport."
...
At Yunshuijian.
The violinist had already played almost six pieces, but the seat opposite Xiao Yanzhi was still empty.
He was wearing a thin woolen sweater, and his face was hidden in the dim light.
Two hours had passed since he made that phone call. He had looked at his watch three times in the middle.
The diamond - encrusted letters on his watch sparkled under the light, refracting light that stabbed into his eyes.
The waitress had been standing beside him for a long time. When almost all the customers in the restaurant had left, she finally mustered up the courage to ask him when he wanted to order the dishes.
Xiao Yanzhi was silent for a moment. A few seconds later, he said, "Check out. There's no need to serve the dishes."
She wasn't coming.
When he came out of the restaurant, his face didn't look very good. Xue An, who was waiting in the car, felt nervous.
Xiao Yanzhi opened the car door, and Xue An's heart jumped to his throat.
"Go back to Ruiyuan."
He spoke. His voice was a bit hoarse, but he didn't intend to blame Xue An for his words.
All he wanted now was to have a good rest.
In some places where she was.
If not, then in some places where she used to be.
...
Xue An didn't dare to make a sound. He knew that his boss had waited all night but didn't wait for Jiang Li to come. He knew that he had guessed wrong again.
His work ability had been quite good in the past few years, but why had he been making mistakes so frequently recently?
He even began to doubt himself a bit.
The car gradually drove near Ruiyuan. Xue An turned the steering wheel and drove in through the alley. He found that there was actually a figure standing at the gate.
The night light stretched the person's shadow very long. Judging from the back, it should be a woman, tall and thin.
Like Jiang Li.
Xue An tightened his grip on the steering wheel immediately, and his heart began to beat faster. "Mr. Xiao, there seems to be someone at the gate of Ruiyuan."
Xiao Yanzhi was sitting in the car with his eyes closed, resting. When he heard this, he immediately opened his eyes. The moment he saw the figure at the gate, his eyes became deep.
"Could Sister Jiang Li be here to find you?" Xue An was even more excited than Xiao Yanzhi. He thought that this was an opportunity to atone for his mistakes. "I said - she would never forget your birthday."
Xiao Yanzhi's breathing trembled, and his palm tightened slightly.
If it was her.
If it was her, this time he would apologize to her no matter what and explain everything clearly.
On this night, he wanted to clear up all the misunderstandings.
Whether she forgave him or not didn't matter, but at least she shouldn't misunderstand him anymore.
As soon as the car stopped, before Xue An could turn around to speak, Xiao Yanzhi directly opened the car door and got out. When he walked towards the person waiting at the gate, his steps involuntarily quickened.
Finally, when he was about five meters away, his steps stopped in place.
The night in Beicheng had a kind of vast and quiet feeling. The air in early autumn hurt a bit when inhaled into the throat, but it was still bearable.
Xiao Yanzhi stared at the person's back for a few seconds, as if carefully recognizing.
Finally, he let out a deep, deep breath, and the joy just now faded away.
It wasn't Jiang Li.
All of a sudden, he lost all interest. Xiao Yanzhi lowered his head and didn't intend to take another step forward. He just stood there, cupping his lighter with his hand and lighting a cigarette.
The fire in his palm lit up and then went out. His outline suddenly appeared and then disappeared.
The sound was very faint, but it was very obvious in the night.
The woman at the gate turned around. When she saw Xiao Yanzhi, surprise flashed in her eyes first, and then she calmed down.
"Ah Yan, happy birthday."
Xiao Yanzhi didn't reply. He just lit the cigarette. The smoke rose in the cold air, and the cuffs of his shirt were also stained with the smell of smoke.
He suddenly remembered the new clothes he had just changed into, and his heart skipped a beat.
Seeing that he didn't move, Yu Wan took a step towards him. Her voice was gentle and delicate. "I didn't remember wrong, did I? Today is your birthday."
After a moment, Xiao Yanzhi just let out a non - committal "um". There wasn't much emotion in his tone. "You don't need to come here specially. I don't celebrate my birthday."
"I know you didn't celebrate your birthday before." Yu Wan was used to his indifference. She just got closer and closer to him, and the smile on her face became stronger and stronger. "But now is not the past."
Xiao Yanzhi glanced at her. His voice was low. "There's no difference."
There was no difference in his attitude towards her now and in the past.
"I don't believe it." Yu Wan laughed. She looked at him lovingly. "Ah Yan, people will change. Moreover, four years have passed."
Four years could change so many things.
Xiao Yanzhi's gaze became meaningful, not because of the deep meaning in her words, but because of the sentence "people will change".
Would Jiang Li change?
He remembered her holding Chen Siqi's arm; her going upstairs with Qiao Jinrun and pulling the curtain; her coldly closing the window on a rainy night.
Carelessly, the cigarette ash fell on his finger, burning hot.
"You're already married, Yu Wan." Xiao Yanzhi withdrew his thoughts and looked at her.
"I want to say that I've changed my mind. And I'm already divorced, Ah Yan."
Yu Wan pushed her hair back. "I was young and naive at that time and did what I thought was right. Suppose I had been a bit more determined about our relationship at that time, the outcome would have been different, right?"