Cicadas Sing to Old Alliance

In late autumn, the old alleys are immersed in the twilight, and the fragrance of osmanthus is wrapped in the cool wind and wrapped around the mottled walls. Chen Tinglan was sitting on a bench, holding half a curled ginkgo leaf with her fingertips. She repeatedly rubbed the veins of the leaf with her fingertips, until the withered yellow edges became hairy. Xie Jinchuan stood at the entrance of the alley, her white T-shirt swaying slightly in the wind, and her shadow stretched thin and long by the street lamp, spreading to her feet. He didn't come close, only looking at her back. The light in his eyes fell like broken stars, darkened and brightened again, and finally settled deep in the depths. "Leaving next week." Her voice was as soft as a sigh, and she didn't look back. The ginkgo leaves formed wrinkles in her palms. His Adam's apple rolled up and he didn't respond. He raised his foot and kicked the pebbles beside his feet. Gululu hit the wall, making a small crackling sound and then fell silent. A few locust flowers fell and stuck in her hair and on his shoulders, neither of them noticed. Not too far away but not too close, my breathing was so light that I didn't want to disturb anything, leaving only the wind flowing through the alleys, and the sweet fragrance was wrapped in an indescribable astringency. He finally moved, took out an orange candy from his pocket, and placed it on the bench beside her. The candy wrapper shone faintly in the dusk. Then he turned around, his steps were very light, his back slowly melted into the darkness of the alley, and he didn't look back. She kept sitting, holding the candy tightly with her fingertips. The edges of the candy wrapper made her palms ache. She did not shed tears, but her eyes slowly turned red, reflecting the dim yellow light in the distance, like broken jade soaked in water. The ginkgo leaves were pinched out of shape, and the fragrance of the locust flowers was still floating, but the temperature in the wind seemed to be a little cooler.