The Remaining Warmth of a Year

Yinchuan Xinhai City opened in July. Chen Yu, a 28-year-old business manager, suddenly met Su Wan, a 34-year-old supervisor who was squatting behind the counter and watching his nephew's video during firefighting training at the "Shiguang" clothing store. The light pink shirt, canvas shoes stained with mud, and the succulent pot called "peach egg" became the first bud of their relationship. Su Wan stayed in Yinchuan for seven days before returning to Lanzhou, but her WeChat chat at the end of August made her miss her so much. On October 10, Chen Yu clutched the keychain engraved with the word "Wan" and took the high-speed train to Lanzhou. He picked up the pink roses at the Lanzhou Customs Station in the rain and spent seven days with Su Wan: the unfinished stroking of hair by the Yellow River, the worries about age on the top of the White Pagoda, the notched pink rose hairpins at the Zhangye Road night market, and the building blocks built by his sister Jia Xiaoyu to "live with uncle". Every daily routine is soaked in tenderness, and also hides the hidden reefs of distance and age. On the eve of parting, Su Wan confessed that she was afraid of "being left behind when old", which brought the love to an abrupt end. Chen Yu returned drunkenly and alone, and the liquor and high-speed train window scenery in Lanzhou became a regretful footnote. A year later in October, Chen Yu went to Lanzhou to take the exam, and walked the Yellow River Trail, Baita Mountain, and Zhangye Road again. The book "Norwegian Wood" with the ticket to the Lanzhou Botanical Garden and the pot of "peach eggs" that were always less lustrous witnessed that he would properly treasure his memories and move toward the future in relief. This is a love song between two cities hidden in pink roses and old bookmarks. The restrained heartbeat and lingering warmth are just like the subtlety and depth of Japanese love.