The weekend streets were much livelier than usual.
Sunlight slanted in from the east, spreading a layer of golden light across the clean asphalt road. The street trees on both sides had already grown dense green leaves. A breeze passed by, rustling the leaves. There were quite a few people on the sidewalk.
Yan Yu slowly wheeled her chair along the sidewalk. The wheels rolled over the pavement tiles, making a rhythmic soft sound.
She noticed people looking at her. Some were furtive glances, others couldn’t help but take a second look. A little girl holding her mother’s hand passed by, then turned back to stare.
Yan Yu heard whispered voices behind her.
“So pretty… is she a celebrity?”
“Not sure. I’ve never seen her before. But she’s really good-looking.”
“Where did she buy that dress? I want one too.”
The voices weren’t loud, but they just reached Yan Yu’s ears. She didn’t turn around, only the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
The subway station was two streets away. Yan Yu wheeled to the entrance; the accessible ramp was on the side. She slid down the slope slowly, tapped her card, and rode the accessible elevator down to the platform level.
People came and went on the platform. There were far more weekend travelers than on weekdays, most of them young.
The train pulled into the station. Air rushed out of the tunnel. The doors opened. Yan Yu wheeled inside and found a designated spot for wheelchair users near the doors.
She locked her chair in place, fastening the strap from the wheelchair to the train’s securing device. Then she held the vertical grab bar with one hand and rested the other on her shoulder bag, quietly waiting for the train to start.
The doors closed. A clear female voice announced over the intercom: “This train is bound for Binhai New City. Next stop—Central Park.”
The train started slowly, and the platform lights outside the window began to move backward. Yan Yu turned her head and gazed out the window. The announcements rang out every few minutes. She listened carefully, counting the stops.
The aquarium she had arranged to meet Su Qinghan at was at Binhai New City station.
“Binhai New City station—arrived. Please take all your belongings and exit from the left side.”
The train stopped, doors opened. Once out of the subway station, the view opened up.
Binhai New City was a newly developed area in recent years, with good urban planning—wide and clean streets. There was none of the old town’s crowding or noise.
The aquarium was diagonally across from the subway station exit. Yan Yu spotted the building from afar. Its overall shape resembled a giant water droplet, covered with silver metal panels and blue glass curtain walls. At the entrance was a spacious square paved with light granite tiles, with a fountain in the middle.
Quite a few people were already on the square, mostly families with children, along with many young couples. Kids ran around the fountain while adults chased after them, laughing, the sounds of joy and water mingling together.
Yan Yu swept her gaze across the crowd. Then she saw Su Qinghan.
That person was standing under a big tree on the right side of the aquarium entrance, leaning back against the trunk, one hand in her pocket, the other holding a phone, looking down at something. Though the distance was a bit far, Yan Yu recognized her at once.
Su Qinghan was dressed very differently today. She wore a dark, body-hugging long dress. The fabric was a stretchy knit that wrapped from her shoulders down to her calves, the dress following the curves of her body. The design was androgynous—a small stand-up collar, sleeves to the wrist, but the tailoring at the waist and hips perfectly outlined the feminine soft lines.
Her hair seemed a little longer than before. Last time Yan Yu had seen her, her short hair had just been past her ears. Now it reached her shoulders, the ends gently curling inward, softly resting on her shoulders. A few strands were tucked behind her ears, revealing the small silver stud on her earlobe.
Yan Yu watched her from a distance, and a thought suddenly rose in her heart: ‘Su Qinghan seems more suited for long hair.’
With short hair, Su Qinghan was cold and sharp. But with longer hair, she looked much softer.
‘Why did she always keep it short?’ Yan Yu wondered, but she didn’t dwell on the question too long. She took a deep breath, turned her wheelchair, and slowly approached Su Qinghan’s direction.
The sound of wheels rolling over tiles wasn’t very loud on the open square, but Su Qinghan seemed to sense something. When the wheelchair was still about a dozen steps away, she suddenly lifted her gaze.
Their eyes met.
Su Qinghan’s gaze fell on Yan Yu, and for a moment she seemed frozen. Her eyes traveled from Yan Yu’s light makeup, to that light blue floral dress, and finally to her fair wrists.
The whole process might have taken two or three seconds, but to Su Qinghan it felt like an eternity.
Yan Yu looked beautiful today. Though she was still in that frail, sickly body, still in her wheelchair, that pale blue dress gave her an indescribable vividness. And there was that fragrance—once smelled, never forgotten—drifting toward her as she approached. Light, sweet, like jasmine petals carrying dewdrops after rain, gently scattered on the breeze.
‘This isn’t Jiang Muyun’s style.’ For the first time, Su Qinghan so clearly realized that Yan Yu had her own style, a unique temperament. She wasn’t anyone’s substitute. She was Yan Yu. The Yan Yu no one else could replace. For some reason, that thought came to Su Qinghan’s mind.
“Qinghan, do I look pretty today?” Yan Yu wheeled up to Su Qinghan, tilted her head up, and smiled at her.
The sunlight fell on her face, making that already delicate face nearly translucent, carrying a warmth that made people want to draw closer.
Su Qinghan lowered her head, opened her mouth, but for a moment didn’t know what to say. Her gaze lingered on Yan Yu’s face for a few seconds, then looked away, then couldn’t help coming back. Her mind felt like something was stuck, all words blocked in her throat.
In the end, she only dryly said, “Mm, pretty.”
The voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the fountain water in the square. As soon as she said it, she immediately regretted it. Those two words were too thin. But she didn’t know what else to say.
Yan Yu didn’t seem to mind her perfunctory answer. Instead, she took the opportunity to say, “Qinghan’s outfit today is very nice, too.”
Being looked at like that made Su Qinghan feel heat in her ears. She pretended to cough twice, trying to cover up the awkwardness. “Ahem, ahem—”
Then she awkwardly walked behind Yan Yu and took hold of the wheelchair’s handles.
It had been a long time since she’d done that. When was the last time she’d pushed Yan Yu’s chair? Su Qinghan couldn’t remember. There seemed to have been a few times in her memory, but they had always felt somewhat obligatory.
“All right, the sun’s hot. Let’s go inside first,” she said.
“Mm.” Yan Yu replied.
Just as Su Qinghan was about to push the chair, Yan Yu added in a low voice, “Qinghan… you haven’t pushed me in a long time, have you?”
The voice wasn’t loud, as light as if she were saying it to the wind, but Su Qinghan heard every word clearly. Each syllable fell into her ears, landed on her heart, like a feather brushing softly.
Su Qinghan didn’t answer. She just gripped the handles more tightly and pushed Yan Yu toward the aquarium entrance.