Chapter 124

Before Qin Cheng could leave for his parents’ house, Xia Tong called him. Xia Tong told him that she was going to her grandmother’s house in Hainan, and she would like to have dinner with him before she leaves for her flight at 10pm that evening.

After thinking about it, Qin Cheng agreed to meet.

Since it would be the Lunar New Year in a few days, all the restaurants in the city were packed. Therefore, they ended up going to a restaurant on the outskirts of Xi’an, which was set up like an old Western-style house. Given that this restaurant was not usually crowded, it was more convenient for them to talk.

However, Qin Cheng wasn’t talking much, and the only one saying anything was Xia Tong. Qin Cheng simply listened, and occasionally, he would give a few small responses.

Despite being in a quiet western restaurant, with sweet champagne, red wine, and surrounded by light music, Qin Cheng didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. In fact, Qin Cheng was a bit distracted, and wasn’t paying that much attention to what Xia Tong was saying to him. On the contrary, Qin Cheng was more attracted to the view outside the window, gazing out onto the streets, where there were red maple trees and ginkgo trees. A moment ago, when he arrived, Qin Cheng hadn’t noticed that the street in front of the restaurant was filled with red maple and ginkgo trees.

The trees in February have long since lost their Autumn leaves, leaving only the white snow pressing heavily on the naked branches.

‘ When did the leaves fall? Sigh, I didn’t get a chance to see it. I guess I’ll have to wait for next year, won’t I? ’

‘ Next year….. ’ Qin Cheng breathed lightly after feeling somewhat suffocated all of a sudden. At the mere thought that the leaves had fallen too quickly, a subtle feeling grew inside him, making Qin Cheng feel sorrowful without even knowing why.

Qin Cheng shook his head slightly and thought: ‘ Seriously, since when have Spring and Autumn made me this melancholic? It seems that ever since I woke up, I have become a rather emotional man, haven’t I? ’

“Qin Cheng?”

Xia Tong’s voice brought Qin Cheng back from his thoughts. Upon seeing that Xia Tong had slightly lowered her head with some loss, Qin Cheng realized how rude he had actually been.

Although Qin Cheng barely spoke, at least until a moment ago he made sure to exchange a few sentences. However, from one moment to the next, Qin Cheng was completely lost in his own thoughts, to the point where he didn’t even look or pay the slightest attention to the girl sitting in front of him. To be frank, no girl would like to be disrespected like this.

Qin Cheng, feeling slightly guilty, hurried to say: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what has been happening to me these days. I would always end up distracted and lost in thought…..”

Xia Tong shook her head and said: “I understand…. It’s alright.”

“What did you want to tell me just now?”

However, upon asking this, Qin Cheng simply saw Xia Tong raise her head to look at him. But she didn’t speak.

When their eyes met, Qin Cheng felt somewhat uncomfortable, so he averted his gaze and fixed it on the glass of red wine on the edge of the table. Qin Cheng broke the silence by asking: “You said your grandmother’s family were from Hainan, right?”

When Qin Cheng looked away, Xia Tong’s eyes darkened. To tell the truth, this was the first time Xia Tong dared to chase after a young man she liked, as she was already a bit shy herself. When Xia Tong saw that Qin Cheng didn’t talk much, she tried to talk more, but this only resulted in Qin Cheng getting distracted. In reality, Xia Tong wanted to act like she wasn’t interested in him either…..

However, as He Yalan had told her that eye contact was most important, Xia Tong gathered up all her courage in order to exchange glances with Qin Cheng. But when she noticed that the young man had averted his gaze, she no longer knew what to do next.

Xia Tong’s already flushed face turned even redder, while her fingers trembled slightly. It was then that Xia Tong hurriedly put down the knife and fork in order to hide her hands under the table.

“Yes, they’re from Hainan.”

“Hainan is a very good place.” Qin Cheng could see Xia Tong’s embarrassment at first glance. The girl had her head down, her ears and cheeks were heavily flushed. No matter how you looked at her, she looked adorable to the extreme. Even though Qin Cheng’s heart seemed to ache indescribably, he also couldn’t avoid an instinctive urge to hug her.

Of course, it was normal for him to like a girl like her. It was obvious that he should go and hold her hand to comfort her….

However, Qin Cheng clearly understood that this feeling arises because he felt guilty towards Xia Tong. After all, he can distinguish that this feeling of anguish was not due to love….

‘ Love should be suffocating, sweet, but also bitter. Not wanting to let that person suffer the slightest aggravation, nor allowing that person’s hopes to fail. Love is that when you see that person sad, you become even more sadder, to the point where you can’t restrain yourself from wanting to help them achieve their goals. But at the same time, you want, from the bottom of your heart, to embrace that person tightly in your arms, kiss them, comfort them….. ’

‘ That person shall be your life, be in all your dreams. Your heart and mind will be filled with only them…. ’

‘ Even though I have clearly never experienced love like this, why do I seem to know everything about how love should be? ’

With the latter in mind, Qin Cheng recalled the dream he had been having practically every day since he woke up. In the dream, Qin Cheng finds himself in an empty room, with nothing else in sight except himself in that dream, all alone……

“I’ve never been to Hainan. I hope I can visit it once I have some spare time.” Qin Cheng said.

“Hm, when the time comes, I’ll be your guide then.” Xia Tong replied with a smile.

After an hour of eating dinner, they left the restaurant. Since the airport was a long way from the restaurant, Xia Tong went to pick up her luggage and prepared to board the plane.

Since it wasn’t safe for a young woman to drag a suitcase of luggage by herself in the middle of the night, not to mention that a few days ago there was a news broadcast about a girl going missing, Qin Cheng decided to accompany Xia Tong to the airport.

Given that it has been snowing quite heavily these days, the plane ended up being delayed due to bad weather, so Qin Cheng accompanied Xia Tong to sit in the waiting room. The two ended up waiting for about an hour. The entire time, neither of them spoke. They simply sat shoulder to shoulder, attentively listening to the radio announcing the boarding of the flights. When Xia Tong’s flight was announced, Qin Cheng helped her carry her backpack and escorted her to the boarding gate.

Considering that there were many people returning home during the Lunar New Year travel season, there was still a long line of people waiting at the gate of the ticket office at 11pm. Qin Cheng stayed for a while escorting Xia Tong in the queue at the boarding gate, and once her ticket was verified, Qin Cheng handed Xia Tong’s backpack back to her.

However, instead of taking the backpack, Xia Tong abruptly stepped forward and hugged Qin Cheng tightly. At the right moment, the passengers in the queue whistled at the sight of the ‘couple’.

Qin Cheng remained frozen in place for a moment, and even though his hand was raised, he didn’t know where to put it. Nevertheless, he didn’t push her away.

Qin Cheng glanced down slightly, only to see that Xia Tong was leaning against his chest with her eyes tightly closed. Naturally, being so close, Qin Cheng could sense that Xia Tong was nervous, since her long eyelashes and eyelids were trembling slightly.

Both of them were blocking the way of the people queuing behind them to get their tickets checked and board the plane. Qin Cheng naturally heard the impatient voices of the people who wanted to return to their hometowns, so it was obvious that Xia Tong must have heard them too. However, no matter what, the girl with blushed cheeks didn’t let him go, for even a second.

Xia Tong was already a timid natured girl….. So when he realized this, Qin Cheng, who wanted to pull his hand away, stopped and gently patted Xia Tong’s back in a comforting way. Qin Cheng then said to her: “Now then, if you don’t go now, you’ll miss the flight.”

“Can you….can you come pick me up after the Lunar New Year?”

Xia Tong’s voice trembled slightly, while Qin Cheng, on the other hand, thought about the moment he got distracted at dinner. He also thought about that strange dream he has been having these days. With all that in mind, Qin Cheng couldn’t say no, but he couldn’t say yes either. In the end, he could only remain silent.

When the voices of the passengers in the background became more noticeable, Qin Cheng lightly sighed and replied: “Alright.”

A day after seeing Xia Tong off at the airport, Qin Cheng returned home.

He hadn’t been back home for over a year, and to be completely honest, it would be false to say that Qin Cheng didn’t miss it. When he saw his mother’s red eyes, Qin Cheng’s heart felt even more guilty. Even so, Qin Cheng was unable to find the right words to say. All he could do was to gently hug his mother, who had lost a lot of weight since the last time he had seen her, and whisper words of comfort.

A few days later, when the Lunar New Year was closer than ever, Qin Cheng, his father, Qin Long, and his mother, Tang Lihua, drove the car for a long time to buy Lunar New Year products, since all the stores were packed. On the Lunar New Year’s Day, Tang Lihua prepared an entire table of Qin Cheng’s favorite dishes, while Qin Cheng laid out the family’s New Year’s Day couplets ¹ , lit firecrackers before dinner, and burned incense sacrifices to his ancestors. When he finished all the procedures before the New Year’s Eve dinner, he was finally freed.

After sitting at the table, the three family members clinked glasses. Even Qin Cheng’s mother, who doesn’t drink, had a glass of wine.

“Although this year hasn’t been a peaceful one, fortunately, nothing too serious has happened.” Qin Long took a few sips of the white wine and laughed. “Our family of three will certainly do better next year.”

When Tang Lihua heard her husband’s words, she also laughed: “Indeed! It’s said that with every suffering we experience during the year, we’ll do better next year. Certainly our Qin Cheng will greatly improve in the Year of the Sheep.”

“Hm,” Qin Cheng nodded after a pause, and said: “I’ll also try to come home more often in the future.”

“It doesn’t matter if you come back more often or not. The most important thing is that you are well.” Qin Long was an understanding man. Even though his son, Qin Cheng, hasn’t been particularly talkative since he was a child, always had an indifferent expression on his face, he knew that from a very young age Qin Cheng had been interested in history and archaeology. Therefore, Qin Long knew better than anyone that his son was highly ambitious in his career, and he had no intention of stopping him.

“You don’t have to worry about me and your mother. We don’t get bored with your mother around. We usually travel on holidays, dance with friends, play cards, and much more. If what you want is to stay in Xi’an, you can do it.”

“I’ll come to visit….”

Although Tang Lihua doesn’t understand these things very much, she understood her son’s mind. ‘ Qin Cheng has always wanted to stay in Xi’an, so when has he ever said such uncertain words as ‘I’ll come to visit you’? Something must have happened to my son to make him so hesitant about which path he should follow. Besides, on the news it was said that—… ’

At first, Tang Lihua didn’t want to ask Qin Cheng questions, afraid that her son would become annoyed. She feared that the more she talked, the more upset her son would become.

However, after thoroughly thinking it over, Tang Lihua hesitantly asked: “Son, are you like this because of Professor Li’s issue? Your father and I saw the news…..will this matter affect your graduation?”

“No,” Qin Cheng shook his head. “The college has decided to appoint another professor for us for the time being.”

“Oh, good. That’s good.”

Qin Long reassuringly nodded. As he listened, he took a sip of wine and ate two bites of the food: “By the way, I remember a while ago that you called your mother to tell her that you promised your deceased classmate that you would take care of his parents, isn’t that right?”

Qin Long’s words actually surprised Qin Cheng: “A deceased classmate?”

Tang Lihua couldn’t help but frown at Qin Cheng’s puzzled expression: “What, have you forgotten already? I told you back then that this kind of matter cannot be promised carelessly. After all, it is making a commitment to a person who is about to pass away…… However, you refused to listen to my words of advice, and went on to accept it. Ah, my son, if you made a commitment to a deceased person, you cannot ignore it. You may forget about it, but your deceased classmate will remember it.”

Qin Cheng was even more confused by his mother’s words. ‘ When did I promise to take care of a dead classmate’s parents? I don’t know anything about it. Besides, when it comes to dead classmates….. By the time the deaths of Jiang Bo, Lin Hongxing, and later Zhang Qishuo were discovered, I was in a coma. How could I have promised anything to any of the three of them? ’

Seeing that his parents’ faces and eyes showed no signs of joking…..Qin Cheng sensed that something was wrong…..

After further thought, Qin Cheng raised his glass, took two sips of wine and said slowly: “Oh, I remember. I just don’t remember when it was that I told you about it.”

‘ Maybe I really had made a promise like that to someone before, just that I ended up forgetting it by accident. ’

“When? Hmm, let me think, I believe it was around May or June. I remember you let us know at that time that you were going to Sichuan to attend your classmate’s funeral.”

‘ May? June? ’

The hand of Qin Cheng that held the chopsticks jerked abruptly, while the porcelain cup in his other hand fell on the table, causing a harsh sound.

“I…..how could I’ve called you back then?”

‘ And how could I’ve gone to Sichuan when I….? ’

“What do you mean, how did you call us? Just the same as usual. Don’t you call us every other week or so?” Qin Cheng’s mother asked. “The last time you called was December 1st.”

‘ December 1st….? ’

Something inside Qin Cheng’s head seemed to explode, as a buzzing noise engulfed his consciousness. As he looked at his parents in disbelief, Qin Cheng thought: ‘ Have….have I not been in a coma all this time…..? ’

Thinking about that possibility, it was as if Qin Cheng had suddenly understood something: ‘ No wonder that when I woke up, Wu Hai and Zhang Jun looked at me like that. Now I understand why I was able to walk so soon when I was supposed to have been in a coma for 7 months, and my muscles should have atrophied….. I’m afraid that what I suffered from wasn’t a coma, but rather that I’ve lost my memory….. ’

This knowledge made Qin Cheng’s face instantly lose all its color, as if he had lost his spirit.

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so sick all of a sudden? Did you drink too much wine?” Qin Cheng’s mother hurriedly reached out to touch his forehead. “Don’t drink, don’t drink anymore. When you were in a coma a few months ago, you had me so worried, but I thought you would be better by now since it’s been so long. Could it be that you’re having any sequelae now?”

“Mom, I’m fine.” Qin Cheng straightened up and hurriedly said: “I merely drank too fast. I think that I may have caught a bit of a cold.”

“Then eat something and don’t drink more. After you eat, go to sleep for a while.”

“…..Alright.”

It’s just that….Qin Cheng was doomed to sleep poorly.

At least now Qin Cheng finally had an explanation for the empty dream that had been haunting him recently. The reason why his dreams are completely blank is because he had forgotten everything, and with it, the reason why he felt so sad all the time.

On the 5th day after Lunar New Year’s Eve, Qin Cheng, feeling somewhat uneasy, bought many things and went to Zhang Qishuo’s house in Sichuan. On the one hand, because he was worried about Zhang Qishuo’s parents, as he had promised the deceased that he would take care of them; on the other hand, because of his own suspicions, for he still couldn’t quite believe that he had lost his memories for no apparent reason.

However, upon arriving at Zhang Qishuo’s house, and hearing his parents’ words, Qin Cheng had no other choice, but to believe it.

⭐🌟💫✨Extra Chapter from the Ko-fi Goal✨💫🌟⭐ [2/2]

–

Ko-fi goal for extra Chapters~~ ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶

Footnotes

<ol><b>春联</b> <b>chūn lián</b> ; It refers to a pair of verses of equal length, typically seven characters long, which is traditionally pasted on door frames during the Chinese New Year. This tradition dictates that the auspicious words should be written on vertical strips of red paper in beautiful calligraphy, one pasted on the right side of the door frame, while the second verse pasted on the left side. A third phrase can sometimes be placed on the upper frame. These verses are typically used for praying for the New Year and warding off evil spirits. Looks something like <b>THIS</b> .</ol>