ITC Chapter 20

 

Bai Xizhou woke up early but didn’t get out of bed right away. Instead, he lay there, zoning out.

He had already packed his things the night before. Although he had stayed here for a month, he was leaving with only what he had brought when he first arrived.

It’s easy for a person to erase their traces—especially after just a month. In another month, he would likely be forgotten by the people here.

He lay on the bed, gazing out the window. The sky after the rain was a clean, crisp blue, with not a cloud in sight. The sun hung overhead—bright but not hot. The rain had swept away the heavy summer heat of the past few days.

It was a really comfortable morning. But he was about to leave. Thinking of that, Bai Xizhou couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental.

But that feeling of melancholy only lasted until he got up and went to wash up. He used to travel for work a lot, staying in various places for short stints. Yunduan Town wasn’t much different from those.

He changed into the clothes he had worn on the day they first met. He folded Wen Ruqing’s jacket neatly and placed it on a chair, then picked up his room card and got ready to check out.

When he opened the door, he saw Wen Ruqing standing right outside. His hand was raised—he was probably just about to knock. When he saw Bai Xizhou open the door, he smiled, a bit awkwardly, lowering his hand mid-air.

“Good morning,” Wen Ruqing said.

“Your books aren’t fully restored yet. I’ve bound the parts I finished for you. As for the rest, once you’re back, you can find someone else to finish the work. You’ll probably find someone better than me anyway,” he said, taking out a package from behind him.

It was wrapped in multiple layers. If Wen Ruqing hadn’t said anything, you wouldn’t even know what was inside. He had carefully separated the repaired parts from the unfinished ones, placed them in a bag, and then wrapped them up again and again—like he was afraid the contents might get damaged. Then, he handed it over with utmost care.

Book restoration takes a lot of time and energy. Not much time had passed since Bai Xizhou had handed over the books, and Wen Ruqing hadn’t been working on them every day. Progress had been slow. He felt a bit guilty—he had promised to do it, but now that Bai Xizhou was leaving, it still wasn’t complete.

But Bai Xizhou didn’t say a word. He didn’t blame him for not finishing it. He just took the bundle and placed it gently in his suitcase.

“Let’s go to the station first and check in my luggage. Then we can head to the other place,” Bai Xizhou said, pulling his suitcase out the door as he and Wen Ruqing headed downstairs together.

Checking out was as quick and efficient as when they’d checked in. After it was done, the two of them stepped outside. He hailed a car instead of taking the bus.

As they left, Bai Xizhou rolled down the window and took one last look at the town he had lived in for the past month.

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After storing the luggage at the station, the two of them decided to grab breakfast at a diner near the park. Normally, Wen Ruqing wouldn’t care much about meals like this, but Bai Xizhou was different—he always made sure to eat three meals a day on time.

Wen Ruqing picked a relatively clean breakfast spot and casually ordered a few dishes. They found an empty seat and sat down to eat slowly.

Not far ahead of the park was a primary school. Since it was class time, the shop was filled with students in uniforms, coming and going. Some were alone, others in groups—some still half-asleep, while others had already begun excitedly talking about what happened yesterday.

The diner wasn’t quiet at all. Wen Ruqing kept his head down, eating. Then, by chance, he looked up and saw Bai Xizhou quietly watching the passing students, his expression unreadable, lost in thought.

“Lawyer Bai, what are you staring at?” Wen Ruqing waved his hand in front of Bai Xizhou’s face. The daze in his eyes scattered, and he blinked back to reality.

“Nothing. I just suddenly remembered what it was like when I went to school—just like them,” he said softly. “Though most of the time, it was my grandpa who took me.”

Maybe it was age. Certain scenes easily stirred up emotions.

All his fondest memories of childhood came from his grandfather. At home, he still kept the gifts his grandfather had given him.

“Your grandfather must’ve been a good person.” At least compared to his parents, Bai Xizhou seemed more willing to talk about him. He must’ve been someone kind to him.

“He was a great person to me… though maybe not to others.”

Bai Xizhou took a sip of soy milk, swallowing down the emotions that had quietly risen. He felt more sentimental today than usual.

He knew exactly where this feeling came from—he was leaving today. Even though he’d reminded himself over and over that Yunduan Town was no different from any other work trip, there was still a lingering reluctance.

But what exactly was he reluctant to leave behind? Was it the unfamiliar setting that gave him a strange sense of ease? Was it the warm and friendly people who made him feel seen? Was it the scenery… or the person sitting across from him?

He wasn’t sure. He looked up at Wen Ruqing, who was quietly focused on eating. Over the past few days, he seemed to be eating more than before.

The soy milk in this place wasn’t made from powder—it was freshly ground. The texture was a bit rough, but it had a rich soybean flavor, which Wen Ruqing clearly liked. He had ordered a basket of pan-fried dumplings. Bai Xizhou had only eaten a few—Wen Ruqing had finished the rest himself.

“Why aren’t you eating? Not to your taste?” Halfway through the meal, Wen Ruqing looked up and noticed Bai Xizhou had already put down his chopsticks and was just watching him.

“No, I’m full. You eat more.” Bai Xizhou shook his head with a smile.

He really did enjoy watching Wen Ruqing eat.
He looked so much like the little bunny he used to have at home.

After finishing breakfast, the two of them strolled slowly into the park. Aside from a few elderly people doing morning exercises, the park was nearly empty at this hour—after all, not everyone enjoys visiting the park in the morning.

This park used to be the largest in Fujiang. It once had amusement facilities. Although it couldn’t compare to the modern amusement parks today, it was a favorite hangout for kids back then. A few years ago, the park underwent renovations and was completely transformed.

It was said that all the old facilities were removed. The small zoo and haunted house on the hill had been torn down and replaced with walking trails. For Wen Ruqing, this place had become entirely unfamiliar—those beautiful childhood memories had completely vanished without a trace.

Wen Ruqing walked ahead, and Bai Xizhou followed behind him. They didn’t say much on the way, just glancing around. Neither of them was familiar with this version of the park.

After walking a long distance, Wen Ruqing suddenly stopped and looked toward an inconspicuous spot.

“I remember this place. There used to be a python exhibit here.”

Bai Xizhou followed the direction of Wen Ruqing’s finger. The spot had been transformed into a pavilion—it no longer looked anything like before, and he couldn’t imagine it had once been a place to view pythons.

“I came here with my mom as a kid. I wanted to go in, but it required a ticket. So she let me go in alone. I still remember it was very cold and damp inside, and no one else was there. I was so young, scared that something might jump out at me. I walked one round and rushed back out,” Wen Ruqing recounted. “Oh right, I even tossed five yuan into the box that held turtles.”

When he came out, he told his mom that he didn’t see any pythons and had donated five yuan to the turtles. His mom nearly blew a fuse and scolded him all the way home.

“Why did you give money to the turtles?” Bai Xizhou asked, confused.

“Because I saw a lot of money in the box. I thought every visitor was supposed to throw some in.” Wen Ruqing said seriously.

That really was what he thought. And after tossing in the money, he even felt proud of himself. Looking back now, he just thought he’d been ridiculously naive.

Bai Xizhou could almost picture little Wen Ruqing going into the exhibit by himself—scared but still moving forward, only to not even see the python, and foolishly donate five yuan.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

Wen Ruqing turned around, as if relieved. The morning sunlight cast a soft glow around Bai Xizhou’s hair. He was laughing with pure joy—genuinely, from the heart.

“Looks like you really enjoy hearing about my embarrassing moments.” Wen Ruqing turned to face him, still walking but now backward. “You looked kind of down all morning, but now you’re laughing.”

“Don’t slander me—it was you who brought it up. Can’t I laugh a little?” Bai Xizhou replied while chuckling.

“You can’t fool me, Bai Xizhou. You don’t want to leave, do you?” Wen Ruqing narrowed his eyes, clearly scheming something—probably not something good. “You can’t bear to part with me, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah—I can’t bear to part with you. Happy now?”

Bai Xizhou had to admit it: the one he’d miss most when he left was Wen Ruqing. He didn’t know if there would be a next time once he went back.

When they first met, the understanding was that after leaving, he’d forget everything here and they’d go their separate ways. But after spending so much time together, that idea had changed.

Now that the moment of parting had truly come, he didn’t want to sever ties with this place after all.

At least, he didn’t want to sever ties with Wen Ruqing.

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With all the walking and talking, Bai Xizhou’s mood had improved quite a bit, and the two continued strolling deeper into the park.

The layout of the park had changed a lot. A newly built walkway now stretched all the way to the mountain summit. Bai Xizhou and Wen Ruqing climbed the path together. The uphill road was a bit tiring, but the surroundings made up for it.

The walkway wound through the trees. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled shadows. The air carried that post-rain freshness, mixed with the scent of pine needles and camphor. Bai Xizhou took a deep breath and felt like his lungs had been cleansed.

They kept climbing. Only after walking past the woods did the full view of the park unfold—interwoven paths, various pavilions and resting spots, a newly built artificial lake designed to resemble a mountain spring, with strategically placed rocks. The sound of water rushing over stone echoed in their ears.

They didn’t stop walking. Bai Xizhou still didn’t know where Wen Ruqing was taking him. It was obvious he didn’t intend for them to linger around the man-made scenery.

Finally, Wen Ruqing brought him to a wide, open platform. The park had been built along the mountainside, and this platform sat at the peak. Looking down from there, they could see all of Fujiang, half-surrounded by greenery. Even with the bright sunlight, mist still lingered in the mountains.

“Bai Xizhou!” Wen Ruqing leaned against the railing, cupping his hands around his mouth, and shouted into the mist, “You are the best lawyer! Thank you for being my friend!”

At that moment, they were the only two people at the summit. No one else was watching. Wen Ruqing let go—he finally shouted what he had wanted to say but never knew how to express. This was their final time together, and he didn’t want to leave with any regrets.

After yelling, Wen Ruqing turned to look at Bai Xizhou, signaling that he could shout too. Yelling it out was a great way to release emotions.

Maybe it was Wen Ruqing’s influence. Over the past days, Bai Xizhou had done so many things he would’ve never done before, all because of Wen Ruqing. One more wouldn’t hurt.

“Wen Ruqing, you’ll become an amazing ancient book restorer. I believe in you!” Bai Xizhou mimicked Wen Ruqing’s pose and shouted into the sky, the mountains, and the clouds.

Wen Ruqing turned to look at him in disbelief. The wind whooshing past their ears masked the sound of his own heartbeat in that moment.

Two men—one almost thirty, the other already thirty—shouting like teenagers from a mountaintop. But neither of them thought it was childish. That heartfelt laughter they shared in that moment was genuine.

After coming down the mountain, Wen Ruqing accompanied Bai Xizhou to the station. There were many people there, dropping off or picking up loved ones. They were just one pair among the crowd.

“Wen Ruqing, will we see each other again?” Just before going in, Bai Xizhou suddenly turned and asked.

His expression was serious—very different from before. Wen Ruqing looked into his eyes and saw the warmth burning there. He had seen that same emotion once in another person’s eyes.

“Maybe.” Wen Ruqing finally chose to avert his gaze. “Who can say for sure what the future holds?”

“When you come to Xincheng, come find me.” Bai Xizhou took that step, extending an invitation, hoping to keep this connection alive. “I’ll be waiting for your call.”

Wen Ruqing didn’t reply, answering with silence and a faint smile on his face. He watched Bai Xizhou enter the station, pass security, and finally disappear from view. Then he turned away, took off his wristwatch, and slipped it into his pocket before heading into the ticket hall.

“One ticket to Xincheng for tomorrow, please.”

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Frozen Starlight (Author’s Note): Finally finished writing the YunDuan Town chapter!