Chapter 64

When Su Yuxi said those words, everyone in the car was stunned.

Wu Zixuan reacted the fastest, quickly saying, "I'll go with Brother Xiaoyu to take a taxi." As he spoke, he prepared to get out of the car. Wu Zixuan was also in his senior year of high school, and he didn't know whether Cheng Xiaoyu was older or younger than him, so he called Cheng Xiaoyu "Brother Xiaoyu." His father had advised him to always be humble, no matter who he faced.

Su Yuxi shook her head. Before Wu Zixuan could get out, she reached out and closed the rear door of the Mercedes, then walked towards the street. Cheng Xiaoyu was also surprised by the change in Su Yuxi's attitude towards him. As they walked to the street, they heard Su Weilan's voice calling from behind, telling them to meet at Tongque Terrace and to hurry up.

Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi stood together on the somewhat cold street. Both of them had their hands in their pockets, and the icy wind blew Su Yuxi's ponytail, making the ends fly around wildly. The orange streetlights cast a faint shadow on the dark cement road, and the sky, filled with deep gray smog, was particularly low and oppressive. The towering skyscrapers stretched into the hazy black veil, appearing and disappearing.

Every car that passed by them would pause slightly. This unusual pair, in this ordinary scene, formed a magical abstract landscape, beautiful and strangely captivating.

Su Yuxi's pale, clear face was still reflecting the neon lights. Standing on the curb, she spoke to Cheng Xiaoyu first, "Thanks for yesterday."

Cheng Xiaoyu turned his head slightly to look at Su Yuxi's profile, then quickly straightened it. He was a bit surprised by Su Yuxi's sudden thanks and asked, "Thanks for what?"

Su Yuxi seemed to be cold from the wind and pulled the zipper of her down jacket all the way up. In a gentle voice, she said, "I've read Wang Dongliang's statement. Even though you made things a bit worse, I still thank you."

Cheng Xiaoyu hadn't even looked at Wang Dongliang's statement today. He didn't know that this top student had almost memorized every word Cheng Xiaoyu and he had said, and had given a complete account in his statement.

Cheng Xiaoyu thought about what he had said yesterday and felt a bit embarrassed, looking at the rosy lips of Su Yuxi, which exhaled a white mist like a gentle fog. This scene made him a bit intoxicated, as if he had dreamed of it before.

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled and said, "If you don't hate my clumsiness, I'm satisfied. Saying 'thanks' is a bit too much." He paused and then said somewhat desolately, "Actually, I am a pretty useless brother."

Su Yuxi didn't intend to comfort Cheng Xiaoyu. She just looked at the bandage on his wrist and silently wondered if he wasn't afraid of never being able to play the piano again. A vacant taxi stopped in front of them as she was lost in thought. Su Yuxi's mind was full of the scenes described by Wang Dongliang in the detention center. After some hesitation, she turned to Cheng Xiaoyu and said, "Why don't we skip the singing?"

Cheng Xiaoyu laughed and said, "No wonder you're my sister; you think just like me."

Su Yuxi also smiled. This was the first time Cheng Xiaoyu had seen her smile, and it felt like a summer breeze blowing over his cold body, making him feel warm and almost melting.

Su Yuxi took a step forward, walked down the sidewalk, opened the car door, and turned to Cheng Xiaoyu, saying, "But I think I'm your sister." Then she got in the car and sat in the back.

At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyu felt that all the beatings he had endured were worth it, and each scar felt like a sweet kiss. He really wanted to gain the recognition of this proud sister. Cheng Xiaoyu smiled foolishly and opened the front door of the taxi, getting in.

The driver shifted gears and asked, "Where are you two going?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, not knowing where to go, turned to Su Yuxi and asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Su Yuxi took her hands out of her pockets, blew on them, and rubbed them, saying, "Isn't this a question for the guy?"

Cheng Xiaoyu could only tell the driver, "Just drive forward." The driver took the opportunity to glance at the rearview mirror a few more times, also amazed by Su Yuxi's beauty.

The taxi drove a short distance on the empty streets of the capital. Both of them were silent for a while, then they said in unison, "How about the library?"

The national library in this era, like the Eslite Bookstore in Cheng Xiaoyu's previous life, was open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It was said that the young and poor founding father had spent a long time studying in the library and had once said, "By looking at a country's library, you can see its future." Therefore, the Huaxia Library was not only a free learning place for students but also a tourist and leisure destination, especially for student couples who didn't have much money and loved to date here.

The taxi driver laughed when he heard Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi speak in unison, "You two are going to the library for a date on New Year's Eve. You must really love learning. My son falls asleep as soon as he starts reading."

Cheng Xiaoyu, with forty years of experience, had no resistance to this and blushed, saying, "This is my sister."

The taxi driver laughed, "Why be so shy about admitting it? I don't believe there are siblings with such a big difference!"

Cheng Xiaoyu looked up to the sky with a long sigh, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Su Yuxi giggled, covering her mouth, looking charming and lovely.

In the taxi driver's teasing, they soon arrived at the grand and solemn library. When they entered, they found it was not as quiet and desolate as they had imagined.

The library's heating was on full blast. Even though it was the eve of the New Year, many people were sitting on the wooden floor, leaning against the large bookshelves, reading. Many others were drinking hot drinks at the tables by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

In this vast and luxurious city, there were always people who had nowhere to place their souls, finding a resting place in this spiritual field.

Cheng Xiaoyu saw the founding father's black calligraphy hanging on the wall of the library's hall, "Even if I have nothing, I can still read quietly here."

This sentence stirred a strange power in Cheng Xiaoyu's chest, and a sense of pride as a Huaxia citizen arose spontaneously.

Although the night library was only open on one floor, it was still very large and had many categories. Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi entered the library and each went to find the books they wanted to read.

Cheng Xiaoyu was eager to understand the progress of internet technology in this era, so he quickly chose three books: "The Second Machine Age: How Digital Technology Will Change Our Economy and Society," "Fifteen Years of Boiling," and "The Wave of the Future." He took them out and found a seat by the window.

Soon, Su Yuxi also came over with her books, one in German, "From Bismarck to Hitler—A Review of Germany," and one in English, "Guns, Germs, and Steel—The Fate of Human Societies."

Cheng Xiaoyu called a server over and ordered a cup of Bamboo Leaf Green tea for each of them. They sat opposite each other, and without a word, they began to read seriously.

Occasionally, Cheng Xiaoyu would look up, and the fluorescent light would cast a clear glow on Su Yuxi's smooth, delicate face, with her long lashes framing her focused eyes. Through the faint tea aroma, Cheng Xiaoyu saw Su Yuxi lift her cup, blow away the tea leaves, and take a gentle sip, and in her every movement, a supreme beauty quietly emerged.

This scene was so familiar, and their expressions were so similar, even the curve of their eyelashes was strangely consistent.

Time, like a grand fireworks display, rose between Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi. Cheng Xiaoyu felt like a speck of dust with a faint glow, gradually fading in Su Yuxi's sight.

In a daze, he followed the brilliant fireworks back to his first love.

It was a Valentine's Day with heavy snowfall,

Under the lush jacaranda trees in the library courtyard,

Under the shimmering starry sky through the clouds.

He held her cold hands and kissed her gently.

At that moment, Cheng Xiaoyu felt as if he knew the meaning of forever, the heart, and the soul,

As if he had shared everything from the past eighteen years with her.

After that kiss,

Everything seemed to be renewed.

And he sincerely hoped to gain the strength to protect her.

However, her soul, Cheng Xiaoyu didn't know how to cherish and where to take it.

Because of the distance between their universities, he knew they couldn't always be together.

Blocking them was a vast and formidable life,

Separating them was an endless expanse of time,

All of which made them powerless.

Over the years, many times, he followed the scent of memory into the gaps of dreams,

Seeing the gradually aging small city and the traces of their past.

The yellowed diaries in the bookshelf, filled with memories of longing,

The pages turned by the pen,

In a certain year, a certain month, a certain day, in a certain chapter, her figure was missing.

Su Yuxi looked up and saw Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes, slightly teary, staring at her without focus, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Cheng Xiaoyu was jolted back from his reverie but couldn't remember the blurred face of his first love. All he saw was Su Yuxi's flawless face.

Cheng Xiaoyu gently wiped away the tears in his eyes and said to Su Yuxi, "I just thought of a piece of music, and I got a bit obsessed."

Su Yuxi had always been very interested in the music Cheng Xiaoyu composed. Philosophy and music were her greatest loves. "It must be very beautiful," Su Yuxi sighed softly, admiring Cheng Xiaoyu's unparalleled talent in music.

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled and said, "Then I'll play it for you!"

Su Yuxi straightened her body and asked, "Here?"

Cheng Xiaoyu nodded.

"But there's no piano," Su Yuxi frowned, thinking Cheng Xiaoyu was being a bit fanciful.

Cheng Xiaoyu pointed to his heart and said, "It's here." Then he took a pen from his pocket and drew 88 black and white keys on the edge of the table.

Su Yuxi closed her book and watched Cheng Xiaoyu's serious actions in silence.

After finishing, Cheng Xiaoyu sat down, placed his hands on the table, and began to play lightly. (BGM: "5 Centimeters per Second" piano original)

His fingertips lightly touched the black and white keys drawn on the table, and Su Yuxi miraculously saw the notes rise like meteors in front of her. As the notes reached their highest point and fell, they seemed to fall like cherry blossoms, landing on Su Yuxi's body, on the table in front of her, on Cheng Xiaoyu's moving arms, and in the gaps where their gazes met.

As Cheng Xiaoyu played, sometimes gently, sometimes intensely, the notes formed a beautiful and sad melody in Su Yuxi's mind.

Su Yuxi felt her heart beat faster for the first time, as if she were in the middle of a vast, swirling nebula. She saw the surging Milky Way pass before her eyes and saw Cheng Xiaoyu show her a heart-stirring and sad journey through time.

Are these notes his tears? Su Yuxi thought.

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