Linyuan Alley

“Long time no see, Xu Xinghe.” “Long time no see... Shen Shanqing.” It turned out we had never been separated... Across the busy street, Shen Shanqing watched Xu Xinghe standing beside the bookstore’s register. His heart was pounding so hard he wondered if something was wrong with it. He tucked his head deeper into his turtleneck. A few snowflakes shook loose from his hair, and the corners of his eyes reddened. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears welling up. He crossed the crosswalk, the wind lifting one corner of his light gray coat. The snow swallowed the warm breath he exhaled in an instant. Shen Shanqing took a deep breath outside the door and pushed it open. The wind chime above the frame jingled. Xu Xinghe set down the book in his hands and looked up at the person coming in. In a lazy voice, just a little hoarse, he said, “Welcome to Green Mountain Bookshop.” When Xu Xinghe recognized who it was, a barely perceptible tremor entered his voice, and his back stiffened at once. He seemed almost frozen. “Shen Shanqing...” Xu Xinghe wasn’t sure if he had actually said the name aloud. Shen Shanqing lowered his eyes to look at Xu Xinghe. From this angle, Xu Xinghe’s hair looked a little long and partly covered his eyes. Shen Shanqing took the hand he had kept in his coat pocket and rested it on Xu Xinghe’s head, silently saying, “Xu Xinghe, I’ve caught you...” One-line summary: Xu Xinghe, I’ve caught you... Theme: May everything go smoothly.