Although the wine was watered down, it still had some alcohol content. After truly finishing two jars, my head was still a bit dizzy.
I leaned against the stone pier of the bridge and looked to the other side. An old lady who looked to be in her eighties or nineties seemed to be tired from walking. She found a stone pier to sit on and kept rubbing her legs.
In a short while, another old man who looked about the same age as her walked towards the old lady.
When the old man saw her, all the wrinkles on his face broke into a smile. His mouth was wide open, with hardly any teeth left.
That smiling face looked so heart - warming. He walked over to the old lady and handed her the water flask on his back.
Then he started rubbing the old lady's legs while talking and making the old lady sitting on the stone pier laugh.
Sitting under the stone bridge, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Why was this kind of ordinary happiness just a luxury for me, Lan Chiyu?
After the two old people had rested enough, the old man supported the old lady and walked towards me along the stone bridge.
When they walked past me, the old lady saw me sitting on the ground, drunk, and let out a heavy sigh.
"Child... Do you have any troubles? I've seen you get drunk here every day."
I gave the old lady a helpless smile. "I'm waiting for someone."
"Waiting for who?"
"Waiting for someone who won't come home..."
Hearing my words, the old man consoled me. "Life is full of ups and downs. You're still young. There's no hurdle you can't get over."
I tilted my head and smiled at him but didn't reply.
"You must be troubled by love. You're quite like that young man we've seen these days," the old lady patted the old man's hand and whispered.
The old man nodded continuously and continued. "I just saw him too. He's not far from this bridge."
The old lady echoed the old man's words and said to me with a beaming smile. "Right! Right! Right! You're really a bit like that young man over there. Why don't you two get together? I think it would be great."
I straightened my back from the bridge pier. That position was really tiring, and my feet were numb from sitting.
I answered the old lady slowly. "Alas~~, Grandma... Thank you for your kindness, but my heart seems to be full. I can't fit anyone else in. But..."
I lifted the wine jar in my hand and paused.
"... I can take a look at the handsome guy you mentioned. Maybe we'll hit it off. Right?"
Seeing me being so casual, the old lady shook her head continuously and said,
"No, no, this won't do. Old man, let's not play matchmaker randomly. That young man is so infatuated. I just saw him on the other side of the bridge. Before, I asked him what he was doing here. He said he was guarding his wife here. This girl is not as affectionate as him."
I burst out laughing and said to the old lady. "Grandma, just say it straight. I'm not good enough for him, right?"
The old couple looked at me, drunk, and didn't know what to say, but my words just kept coming out.
"What's the use of being infatuated? No one appreciates it. They can just abandon you whenever they want. All it brings is just one word..."
" 'Pain'. It hurts here, so much pain... Uh..." I looked at the two old people with a dazed look in my eyes and stabbed my chest hard with my finger.
"In the end, I'm still sitting here alone, getting drunk. This is: the person I'm waiting for won't come, and the person I want to protect is not here... Hehe..."
Saying that, I picked up the wine jar and gulped down another big mouthful. After so many days, I couldn't even feel the spiciness of the alcohol anymore. It was like drinking plain water.
After taking a belch, I continued,
"Uh... What's this called? It's called having no fate. One of us is waiting, and the other is guarding. I think we're quite suitable. Maybe we can just make do and live together... Hehe..."
As I laughed, tears welled up in my eyes.
Seeing me being so playful, crying and laughing at the same time, the old lady patted the old man's shoulder and said. "Let's go. This girl must have been stimulated. She's not in her right mind."
The old man supported the old lady and walked past me. I really envied this old couple. They could be so affectionate after decades together.
Watching their backs getting farther away, I shouted at them. "Don't go! I haven't finished talking yet. You're leaving without even listening to my story? Hey... Hey..."
"I wish you two good health and a long life. Cheers... Hehe..."
By the time I couldn't see them at all, I had no more strength left. I slumped back on the bridge pier, sitting listlessly.
The night in Youdu was especially quiet tonight. I leaned against the stone pier and looked at the Naihe Bridge on the opposite side. I wondered if I could get rid of this pain if I asked for a bowl of Mengpo's soup.
As soon as this thought came to my mind, I shook my head frantically.
No, no. What am I thinking? I don't know how much Gu Yuan has remembered. I once promised him that I would remember everything he forgot. How could I break my promise?
As I was thinking, my hand drooped weakly on the ground. My finger seemed to scrape against something, making a crisp sound.
I glanced listlessly at the source of the sound. After seeing what it was, my scattered gaze immediately focused.
I quickly got up from the ground, grabbed that thing, and examined it carefully.
This... Isn't this the silver bell I gave to Gu Yuan?
This silver bell was exactly the same as the one he gave me. I even asked a craftsman to make it very carefully.
I compared the silver bell in my hand with the one on my wrist. Although it wasn't as vivid as the one on my wrist, the patterns and size were exactly the same.
There couldn't possibly be a second one. What did this mean? It meant that Gu Yuan must have been here. This silver bell was either thrown away or lost by him.
Suddenly, the words of that old couple flashed through my mind. They said there was a young man not far from the bridge, guarding his wife.
What a coincidence. I was getting drunk here, waiting for my lover, and he was guarding his lover on the other side.
Also, every day I got dead drunk, but I always woke up in my room in the City of Eternal Night the next day. I definitely didn't believe it was a coincidence.
I clenched the silver bell in my hand. Just now I was still dizzy, but at this moment, I was completely sober.
I staggered to my feet and ran in the direction the old couple had pointed.
Because of the alcohol, I didn't know how many times I fell on the way. My knees and elbows were bruised and swollen, and blood was flowing.
I didn't even feel the pain because in the distance, I seemed to faintly see a tall man standing at the bridgehead, looking towards the Wangchuan River.