NMBJ2 - 16

Zhao Pingjin had already buttoned up his shirt cuffs and grabbed his suit jacket. “Check Secretary He’s schedule, if there’s something, call me.”

The driver saw him coming down the stairs. “Mr. Zhao, do you need a car?”

Zhao Pingjin said, “I’ll drive myself.”

The car drove out of Zhongyuan Building, heading east towards Chaoyangmen. The setting sun reflected off the tall glass buildings, casting a slightly blinding glare onto the car window.

Zhao Pingjin held the steering wheel tightly, unconsciously loosening his grip. He knew she was in Beijing, arriving in March. Shen Min hadn’t mentioned it directly, but it seemed like Fang Langxi had said something. Apparently, she had gone to see Qingqing, but no one had mentioned it to him. More than a month had passed without them meeting. After all, they no longer had any reason to meet.

As the car turned into Bei Da Street alley, the road became narrower, and he slowed down. He saw her from a distance—Huang Xitang, waiting at the entrance of an old house. She was a small figure in a floral long dress and a light brown cardigan, matching flat shoes, still as slender as ever. Her face displayed a detached indifference in public, with fair skin, red lips, and black hair like clouds. It had been more than a year since he’d last seen her, but when he saw her now, it seemed as though no time had passed. She seemed to have become even more beautiful.

Zhao Pingjin stopped the car and got out. Xitang looked up and saw him, her expression frozen in surprise.

Zhao Pingjin handed her a document envelope. “Xiao Min asked me to bring this to you.”

Xitang’s heart raced, and her pulse quickened. Her arm went numb, but her face remained calm as she said politely, “Thank you. How trouble some of you to come all the way?”

Zhao Pingjin didn’t want to make small talk. He asked directly, “What are you doing?”

Xitang answered honestly, “Waiting for my assistant’s car to take me back to the hotel.”

Zhao Pingjin opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

Xitang quickly said, “No need to trouble you.”

Zhao Pingjin turned around, got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and glanced at Huang Xitang, who was still standing outside the car. He said, “I told you to get in.”

Xitang bit her lip and got into the car.

As Zhao Pingjin turned the steering wheel, changing direction, he said with a sneer, “Your hairstyle’s ugly.”

Xitang immediately reached up to adjust the car door.

Zhao Pingjin, quick as ever, grabbed her hand and pressed the car door lock.

“It’s been so long since we last met, you couldn’t say something nice?” Xitang rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“It’s been so long, you couldn’t have gotten a better haircut?” He was still his usual teasing self.

“You’re nobody to comment on what hairstyle I get.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled wickedly, “With a hairstyle like that, do you think your idol would like you?”

Xitang widened her eyes, “Who likes me?”

Zhao Pingjin gave her a sidelong glance, “The male lead in your drama, don’t you like him?”

Xitang’s face alternated between pale and flushed. Zhao Pingjin had seen her obsess over Qin Guohai many times. Whenever his face appeared on TV, she would watch with a look of fascination. Once, Xitang had been so engrossed in one of his films that she refused to cook for a starving Zhao Pingjin after work. That night, he had to order takeout, remembering that he’d even ordered her favorite sweet and sour pork. That had happened years ago, but it still stuck with him.

Xitang looked up and grinned mischievously, “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this day, I’m going to sneak into his room tonight and fulfill my long-time wish.”

Zhao Pingjin furrowed his brows, his expression serious, “I heard that he doesn’t shower for a whole month when filming.”

Xitang kicked her legs and shouted, “Go to hell.”

Zhao Pingjin laughed heartily.

The car drove along East Second Ring towards Chaoyang North Road. Halfway there, Zhao Pingjin’s phone rang. He glanced at the phone on the center console and said to Xitang, “It’s Xiao Min, answer it for me.”

Xitang didn’t want to deal with it, “You answer it yourself.”

Zhao Pingjin replied angrily, “I’m a law-abiding citizen. Do you want me to break the traffic rules?”

The ringing continued.

Xitang looked at the long line of traffic ahead, the car stuck halfway up the overpass. The distance between the cars was small. Zhao Pingjin kept his eyes on the road while reaching for the phone. Xitang had no choice but to reach over, pick up the call, put it on speaker, and say, “Shen Min, it’s me.”

Shen Min’s voice was calm and unsurprised as she replied, “Xitang, has Zhouzhou picked you up?”

Xitang answered, “Yes.”

Zhao Pingjin turned his head and asked, “What’s going on?”

Hearing his voice, Shen Min began her report, “The leaders are expected to finish inspecting the company by six o’clock. I will forward the meeting report to Driver Liu, and he will deliver it to you. Tonight’s dinner at Beijing Hotel is set for 8:30 PM, remember to attend.”

Zhao Pingjin replied with a simple “Hmm.”

Shen Min said, “Also, Secretary He made an appointment for you this afternoon. Director Zhuang’s clinic closes at six, so remember to go for your follow-up before then.”

Zhao Pingjin responded, “Got it.”

After reporting his schedule, Shen Min greeted Xitang and hung up the phone.

Xitang asked, “What’s wrong with your health?”

Zhao Pingjin replied淡ly, “Stomach pain, old issue.”

Xitang wanted to say, Hasn’t your wife been taking care of you since you got married?

But she thought that sounded suspicious, so she chose to remain silent.

Zhao Pingjin still wore his usual nonchalant expression, smiling faintly: “Ever since we broke up, you’ve been cursing me every day.”

Xitang couldn’t help but laugh: “You’ve done so much bad karma, I bet I’m not the only one cursing you.”

Zhao Pingjin laughed cheekily: “Actually, you’re the only one. I’ve only wronged you.”

Xitang quickly replied, “Well, what an honor.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled but said nothing more.

After a while, Xitang couldn’t help but say, “Take care of your health.”

Zhao Pingjin softly murmured an “Mm.”

The car stopped in front of the hotel, and her assistant was waiting by the lobby door. Xitang unbuckled her seatbelt, but Zhao Pingjin suddenly called her name: “Huang Xitang.”

At that moment, Xitang’s phone rang. It was a message from Xie Zhenbang. Ni Kailun was having a check-up at the hospital, and Xie Zhenbang was playfully rubbing her round belly, making silly faces while taking a selfie. Xitang smiled at the screen.

After a while, she looked up from her phone and said, “What?”

Zhao Pingjin replied, “Nothing, go ahead.”

Xitang waved her hand at him. “Thanks.”

She got out of the car and stood by the roadside, watching as Zhao Pingjin skillfully turned the steering wheel, U-turned, and merged into the lane. The man in the driver’s seat, wearing a white shirt and light gray suit, flashed a handsome face through the car windshield.

Xitang slowly turned and walked towards the hotel. It was a plain Thursday afternoon, the sunset of May in Beijing gently spilling over the Drum Tower.

Her heart felt vast and silent.

On the flight to Qinghai.

Huang Xitang had fallen asleep.

In her dream, she saw an endless expanse of deep green. The grasses in the farm were as tall as a person. A girl’s face gradually appeared, with a youthful expression, wearing a patched dark green military uniform, a belt at her waist, and short hair just above her ears. She knew that this was the prototype of Ding Fangfei—an 18-year-old high school graduate who had gone to the Qinghai Lake’s Agricultural Construction 12th Division for rural work for two years and three months. She never returned to Qinghai Lake after returning to the city in 1968, and until her death, she never went back.

Xitang wasn’t scared at all. She looked at her from a distance and softly greeted her in her heart: “Hi, did you come back to see us?”

The dream was fragmented, showing two young people entangled in a wolfberry forest by the river. Their clothes were hanging on low branches, and the sounds of their bodies intertwined and gasping for breath seemed to be right next to her. Xitang held her breath, feeling as though her limbs were pinned down, unable to break free. At that moment, the man who had his back to her suddenly turned his face around.

The figure was that of a slender young man, but when his face came into view, it was a familiar and sharp-featured face, with beautiful but slightly sharp features, deep eyes, gazing at her with a faint smile in his gaze.

Xitang suddenly woke up on the plane.

She took a deep breath, then began to gasp heavily. She breathed rapidly, pulling the blanket over her face.

She heard her assistant, A Kuan, walk over and lean beside her seat: “Sis, what happened? You’re drenched in sweat.”