Not Spare the Years

Five hours later.

The rain was still falling, and there was even a sound of thunder in the sky.

Xiao Ai's voice came from the bluetooth earphone: "Mr. Zhou, Vice-President Zhang has come over for you and is in contact with people from the partner. How are you doing? It's raining heavily on the mountain, be careful of the second landslide. ."

Zhou Zhenyue glanced at Navigator, barely maintaining a rational tone: "Have you contacted her yet?"

Xiao Ai: "I've called many times, but it's always turned off. I've already found someone to locate Miss Er's mobile phone with satellites, and I'll send you the results when I get the results." She paused, then hesitated, "Actually... the place where Miss Er was sitting. The license plate number of the bus is not among the three missing, if you don't worry, let me find it, why... drive by yourself..."

Xiao Ai was silent for a moment. Seeing that Zhou Zhenyue didn't answer, she whispered, "Since you had a car accident, you haven't driven a car by yourself."

Zhou Zhenyue left a little psychological barrier after the car accident. In the past three years, let alone holding the steering wheel, she even dared to sit in the back row of a car driven by others.

"..." Zhou Zhenyue didn't say anything, but just tightened her fingers on the steering wheel, "... Remember to send me when you have located it, and hang up first."

She stared at the car window that was blurred by the heavy rain, took a deep breath, and forced herself not to think of that too similar rainy night three years ago.

The same is the torrential rain that blurs all the roads, the same is the missing person.

And she, she is like a fool who remembers what to eat and not to fight. No matter what happened in the past, she would still be so concerned and anxious.

Ten minutes later, the phone received an address.

It is a small village near the landslide point. It is only a small point in the navigation map.

After a few more hours, the car finally reached its destination.

The village is in a valley, and the water is so deep that a car can't get in, so it can only be entered on foot.

The rain was still falling, and there were no lights on in the village. It should be the power outage caused by the thunderstorm. The mobile phone signal is also very unstable, the navigation has been prompting that the positioning signal is lost, and there is no way to further confirm the location of the other party.

Zhou Zhenyue walked with difficulty in the stagnant water that submerged her thighs, holding the black umbrella whose ribs were broken by the strong wind. At this time, the umbrella can only withstand the wind, and it can't protect from the rain at all.

The cold wind blew the rain and slashed her exposed skin like a knife dipped in salt water. The autumn rain was gloomy and cold, and the legs and knees that had been soaked in the water for a long time gradually lost most of their consciousness, as if only the nerve endings were still showing pain and numbness.

Later, she didn't remember how long she searched, but she only remembered that the water drowned her waist, and every lightning bolt seemed to flow through her burning temple. The numbness was accompanied by an increasing drowsiness.

Everything seems to go back to the car accident three years ago.

At that time, she was lying on the broken window glass, and the rain covered her cheeks with blood from her forehead. Fragments of the car bones were stuck in many places on his body, and the deepest right chest didn't feel the pain he imagined in the extremely cold weather.

At the edge of her consciousness gradually blurring, she thought that if she could never find Mu Xueyi again in this life, it would be good to die like this.

Sadness is greater than death.

That was also the first time she realized that the rest of her life after losing Mu Xueyi was so unremembered.

In a trance, in the sight of the heavy rain, a familiar silhouette suddenly appeared like a cloud and a mist.

Getting closer.

Like walking out of countless dreams of tossing and turning in the past, holding an umbrella, the water overflows the waistline, as if the snow that will never wait.

The man called her name tremblingly:

"...Ayue?"

Zhou Zhenyue took a full minute to confirm whether the person in front of her was real.

After that person shouted "Ayue" for the second time, Zhou Zhenyue's confused thoughts slowly returned to reality.

It's not three years ago.

She has come back.

She's back now, right next to her.

right here.

Right next to her Zhou Zhenyue.

Zhou Zhenyue clenched the umbrella handle tightly, her eyes were slightly red, and her voice was a rare weakness:

"Snow coat."

Mu Xueyi felt that his heart was rubbed hard by the sound of "Xueyi".

She hurriedly walked over, covering Zhou Zhenyue with her umbrella, supporting her frozen body: "What are you... I'll take you into the house first."

Zhou Zhenyue did not speak, but did not refuse, and let Mu Xueyi help her into the nearest house.

The room was very warm, and the host was very enthusiastic, bringing more blankets and hot water. During the chat, they mentioned the whole story.

When their car was still on the mountain road, they received news of a landslide ahead. It was not realistic to go back on the way back. The driver could only find the village based on memory. After being forced to stop the operation, the village chief arranged for the tourists on the bus to stay at the villagers' homes, where Mu Xueyi and the other two tourists happened to be staying.

Mu Xueyi poured hot water and placed it by Zhou Zhenyue's hand, and when she saw her fingers that were so cold that they lost their color, she felt a pain in her heart.

She carefully whispered what she had not finished asking: "How did you find this place?"

Zhou Zhenyue held the hot water cup, and after a while, her fingertips were warmed to a faint pink. She glanced at Mu Xueyi, and the familiar reason and quietness seemed to return to those eyes.

Mu Xueyi's heart sank.

She knew that Zhou Zhenyue would not call her "Xueyi" like she just did.

Zhou Zhenyue didn't answer Mu Xueyi's question directly, she just looked away after a brief glance and said:

"...It's not that I can't afford a plane ticket, you don't have to save me this money."

Mu Xueyi sat obediently on the side with her knees closed, her hands clasped together, her eyebrows lowered and pleasing to the eyes, "I didn't know such a thing would happen, but I trouble you to run..."

Zhou Zhenyue interrupted her: "There are some problems between us, but there is no need to be unfamiliar like this."

Mu Xueyi was silent for a while, then whispered: "I know, but I already owe you a lot of money, and the contract has not been repaid, how can I spend your money."

Zhou Zhenyue took a sip of hot water, "I will account for the new debt, and I will extend the contract if I can't pay it back."

Mu Xueyi: "...I don't want to prolong it for so long."

Zhou Zhenyue drank water for a while.

Her thumb was so tight that her fingernails turned white.

"You... would like to end early?"

Mu Xueyi lowered her eyes: "Well."

Zhou Zhenyue clutched the water glass, her fingers were shaking, and the misty water surface swayed circle after circle of ripples.

Mu Xueyi raised her eyes to look at her, her voice was as gentle and soft as her eyes: "Ayue, I want to be your real girlfriend. I just think... If we can pay off the money sooner, we may have a possibility to start over. ."

The swaying water slowly returned to calm.

Zhou Zhenyue let out a breath without a trace, and put the water glass back on the table, noncommittal.

Zhou Zhenyue didn't respond, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Mu Xueyi covered the loss in his eyes and took the initiative to talk about other things:

"There are two other travelers besides me, and the place is very tight. If you don't want to sleep with me, just sleep on my bed and I'll sit at the table for one night."

Zhou Zhenyue hummed lightly.

Mu Xueyi was silent for a moment, then sighed:

"Oh, I thought you would be unbearable and willing to sleep with me."

Zhou Zhenyue: "The bed is too narrow, I can't hold you."

Mu Xueyi smiled lightly: "I can hold you."

Zhou Zhenyue's brows became cold again: "What makes you think you can play such a joke with me?"

Mu Xueyi froze, lowered his head and whispered:

"sorry."

The hostess, Guo Hongxia, came over to deliver a lot of quilts. After hearing a few words of their conversation, she said to Zhou Zhenyue:

"Don't be so fierce. Their bus is flooding all the way over today. This little girl has been soaking in the water for more than ten hours, her feet are red and swollen, and she can't stand up. She was looking at the window just now. Seeing you coming, everyone advised her not to move. I went to pick you up, but she didn't. She insisted on going to pick you up in person. I saw her trembling when she stepped into the water. You are her sister Right? You have to feel sorry for her."

Mu Xueyi hurriedly replied, "I'm fine now."

Zhou Zhenyue remained silent and didn't seem to care much.

Mu Xueyi didn't know what to say, she lowered her head and twisted her fingers, feeling drowning in the indifference between them.

Between them, something has indeed changed.

If Zhou Zhenyue heard these words three years ago, her eyebrows would have been wrinkled in distress, and she might have said in a very small voice, "Idiot."

But now...

When the words "can't go back" appeared in his mind, Mu Xueyi suddenly wanted to cry.

The kind of warmth that I once had, but can't be reproduced no matter what, the more it shines in the memory, the more people fall into despair.

After Zhou Zhenyue dried her clothes, she lay down on the narrow bed, wrapped her small suit jacket, and fell asleep facing the wall. Mu Xueyi silently watched her back for a while, rubbed the tip of her sour nose, and found a relatively comfortable position beside the table to lie down.

At first she couldn't fall asleep, but then the drowsiness rolled up, and she fell asleep with the nightmares she couldn't get rid of.

Time passed little by little.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, Guo Hongxia came here to see what the guests needed before going to bed.

The traveler on the other side of the house had already started snoring, and the candlelight on the wall swayed gently with the wind coming in through the crack of the window. Seeing that everyone was asleep, Guo Hongxia approached the table lightly, trying to blow out the candles.

Just as she came over, she saw Zhou Zhenyue sitting up slowly on the narrow bed.

Guo Hongxia: "Girl, what do you want..."

Zhou Zhenyue put her index finger on her lips: "Shh—"

Zhou Zhenyue got out of bed very lightly, walked to the table, carefully picked up the sleeping Mu Xueyi, and placed it on the narrow bed. She bent over and carefully tucked every edge of the quilt along the contours of Mu Xueyi's body.

In the dim candlelight, the long black hair barely swayed, and it was silent like algae in stagnant water.

When she reached Mu Xueyi's ankle, she paused, her fingertips hanging above the quilt, as if she didn't dare to touch it.

After a long time, she still dropped her finger. Across the quilt, he gently stroked Mu Xueyi's ankle.

Guo Hongxia frowned when she saw her in the dark.

Then, I heard her say in a very small voice:

"…Fool."