Summer Light Gatherings

Chapter 3

"I can't go on anymore," he sorrowfully confided to the strange creature.

Just half an hour ago, he had been so afraid of this oddly ugly creature, but now he had told him everything, and after pouring out his heart, he even felt a sense of familiarity with the creature.

"I can't find a reason to keep living. This world has become meaningless to me. I don't know what the point of living like this is..."

"Well then, if I give you a reason, would you be willing to keep living for now?" the creature asked.

— "The Peanut Hero's Journey" (continued)

On the road, Ling Yao asked He Rui, "Did your mom say anything when I came to your house?"

"Not really," He Rui replied.

Ling Yao hesitated for a moment. "She... didn't seem opposed to it, did she?"

He Rui looked at her somewhat surprised. "Why would she be opposed?"

"Well, she must have had some attitude, right? Was she ecstatic?"

"Has my mom ever been ecstatic?" He Rui countered. "She just told me that my aunt would be coming to stay for a while, without saying anything else, just like when she mentioned my uncle coming to see us."

Ling Yao laughed, deciding to stop probing. "Alright, just asking... I might stay a bit longer this time. Your mom doesn't like having people disturb her."

"You're overthinking it!"

After wandering around for a while, He Rui led Ling Yao into an old street. The sky was not yet completely dark, but the palace lights on the street were already on, casting a soft, dim, and dreamlike glow, as if stepping into a period drama. Ling Yao felt it was familiar; after carefully looking around, she couldn't help but smile. This was Guibu Street, where she had just gotten off the car. She turned her head to look around, and sure enough, the station was just behind them.

"Is this street the commercial center here?" Ling Yao asked He Rui.

"Not really. Look over there!" He Rui pointed into the distance. "See the tall building with neon lights? That's New World Plaza. That's the real center; it's much busier there than here!"

"I prefer this street; it has character," Ling Yao said, looking up at the palace lights and then gazing into the distance. "It's also close to the riverbank."

He Rui corrected her, "It just feels close. To get to the riverbank, you have to cross Binjiang Avenue and can't just walk straight there. You have to go through an underground passage. It'll take about ten minutes to get there."

"Are there any attractions nearby?"

"There are a few mountains behind the street, and the most famous one is called Evening Mountain. When we were in fourth grade, we went on a spring outing to climb Evening Mountain. There's nothing on the mountain except bamboo, oh, there's a temple, but it's quite boring..."

The storefronts on Guibu Street were shorter than the road, and the two walked down the steps. The old street was quiet, even though it was dinner time, there weren't many people on the street.

Ling Yao had only glanced briefly in this direction at the station just now, but now she finally had the chance to carefully examine the storefronts along the street. There were pastry shops, clothing stores, gyms, flower shops, milk stations, and the rest were all restaurants.

Ling Yao was just about to ask He Rui which restaurant they were going to eat at when a deep brown teddy bear suddenly emerged from somewhere. It snarled and barked fiercely at Ling Yao's feet, looking small but extremely fierce. Ling Yao had been afraid of dogs since she was a child and had to exert a lot of effort to restrain herself from running away. Her face turned pale instantly.

Seeing her fear, He Rui comforted her, "Auntie, don't be afraid. Let's keep walking; it won't bite people. Look, this dog is so tiny."

Ling Yao couldn't say anything, she tightly clutched He Rui's arm, unable to move at all. Even though she knew it was embarrassing, she couldn't help it; dogs were her natural enemies.

Someone came out to help her, shouting at the teddy bear, "You beast! Scaring people again! Watch me give you a beating!"

It was a clean and neat young woman, slim, with an apron tied around her waist. She looked even fiercer than the dog when scolding it, and the teddy bear quickly retreated to wherever it came from.

The woman put on a smile and said to the two of them, "This dog doesn't bite. You can come in first!"

"Alright!" He Rui answered and ran forward, leaving Ling Yao to follow along. She muttered softly, "The boss is quite good at doing business!"

She never had a good impression of owners who didn't leash their dogs properly.

He Rui bounced ahead, and upon hearing Ling Yao's complaint, he turned around and said, "I was going to her house anyway." Then he added, "Her name is Sister Hua, not the boss."

The restaurant's signboard was quaint, with two wooden doors opening outward. Next to the door hung a signboard with the words "Thursday Restaurant" written in beautiful handwriting.

Ling Yao glanced at the signboard, then looked again, thinking to herself, this place is interesting.

A cat lay on the doorstep, poking its head out, probably curious about the commotion outside. When Ling Yao looked down at it, it also looked up at her, its expression surprisingly curious. The cat was quite fat, with gray and white fur, a common domestic cat.

He Rui bent down to pat its head and called out loudly, "Hey Tiger, how are you?"

The cat named Tiger meowed once and then leaped outside, disappearing from sight.

The interior of the restaurant was simple yet clean, with seven or eight tables occupied by five or six diners. Whether they were eating or waiting to eat, everyone was engrossed in their phones, creating an atmosphere that didn't quite feel like a typical restaurant. The kitchen was directly opposite the entrance, open-plan, with only one chef busy at the cooking station.

After taking their seats, He Rui informed Ling Yao, "The one cooking is the owner, and Sister Hua is the waitress. There are only two of them here."

Listening to this, Ling Yao glanced towards the kitchen. The owner wore a white cap and a face mask, completely concealing his features. However, his posture was upright, and his movements were steady, giving off a reliable vibe.

"Why is it called Thursday Restaurant?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's easy to remember... What would you like to eat?" he asked.

"I'll have a look at the menu first."

"We don't have a menu, just two set meals. Either rice or noodles."

"Really? Shouldn't customers be informed of the contents of the set meals?" Ling Yao was surprised.

"No need to say, regular customers already know. The rice comes with side dishes, and the owner buys whatever is available for the day. As for the noodles, it's handmade, with homemade bone broth..."

Sister Hua came in from outside and headed straight to Ling Yao's table, smiling as she explained, "That dog belongs to the pastry shop. I've talked to their boss, and they promised to send it back to the countryside tomorrow."

Ling Yao had initially thought the dog belonged to Sister Hua, so she was sincerely grateful upon hearing this. She stood up to express her thanks, "Oh, you've gone through so much trouble!"

"It's nothing, really!" Sister Hua waved her hand hastily. "The dog belongs to their boss's relative. They left it here, but it keeps running around and causing trouble. It has already scared several girls."

He Rui interjected, "This is my aunt. She's 26 years old, not a little girl."

Ling Yao smiled and glared at him, to which He Rui responded, "You said you don't care about age!"

"26 is still young!" Sister Hua giggled.

Because she laughed heartily, there were very noticeable wrinkles at the corners of Sister Hua's eyes. Ling Yao finally noticed that she wasn't quite young; she was probably in her mid-thirties.

"What would you like to eat?" Sister Hua asked.

"I'll have rice," He Rui said.

Ling Yao was undecided. "Then I'll have rice too."

Sister Hua went to the cashier and fetched two signs, placing them on their table. Ling Yao offered to pay, but Sister Hua said, "No rush, you can pay after you finish eating. Just scan the QR code on the table."

While waiting for their food, Ling Yao looked around. Apart from herself and He Rui, the other diners were eating alone, quietly absorbed in their meals. No wonder it was so peaceful here.

"Do you and your mom come here often?" Ling Yao couldn't help but lower her voice.

He Rui nodded. "But she works overtime a lot. Whenever she does, she tells me to eat out by myself and not wait for her. There used to be an old lady, Aunt Li, who cooked for me. She lived downstairs from us and really liked me. My mom gave her some money every month, and I would have dinner at her place. But then Aunt Li got sick and her son took her away, so I had to start eating out."

Ling Yao sighed softly. "Your mom is still so kind-hearted."

He Rui said, "Before we moved here, my mom tried cooking for a while, but it was a disaster. After that, she said, 'Let the professionals handle it.'"

Sister Hua brought over their set meals together. He Rui leaned over to take a look and rubbed his hands together, delighted. "Fried potato meat cakes again! I could eat this every day and never get tired of it!"

Sister Hua chuckled. "Potato cakes are our boss's specialty. Many customers love them!"

The side dishes for the rice set meal included spinach salad, potato meat cakes, steamed silver fish egg, and a small plate of honeydew melon for dessert.

The spinach salad was sweet and sour, the seasoning for the steamed silver fish egg was just right, the fish was tender, and the egg was as soft as tofu with no hint of fishiness, indicating that the ingredients were very fresh. The potato meat cakes were indeed fantastic—crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside. Ling Yao quickly finished her bowl of rice, feeling like she could have another serving, but she knew she wouldn't be able to finish it. Anyway, she could always come back if she wanted more tomorrow.

After finishing the potato cakes, He Rui licked his lips, still wanting more. He remembered to ask Ling Yao, "Did you like the potato cakes?"

"They were so delicious, they blew my mind!"

He Rui grinned with rice stuck to his mouth. His mom never used internet slang like this; sometimes when she heard him say it, she would even find it distasteful.

Around seven o'clock, more customers started coming in. Tables were no longer occupied by just one person, and there was more chatter as people engaged in conversations, making the restaurant lively.

A delivery guy wearing a helmet barged in, striding over to the cooking station where two orders prepared by the boss were placed. He picked them up and headed out through the restaurant. As he passed Sister Hua, Ling Yao heard her ask, "Mr. Liu working overtime again today?"

"Yes! He'll probably need deliveries tomorrow and the day after too. He said he's busy with a project!"

Before the conversation could continue, the delivery guy was already outside.

Sister Hua shuttled between the kitchen and the dining area, where the boss was always the one cooking. He kept his head down, following a certain rhythm in his movements, methodically. No one showed any signs of impatience despite the wait.

Ling Yao cherished the last half cup of steamed egg, sipping it slowly, feeling a reluctance to leave, akin to not wanting a movie to end. She felt a homely atmosphere in this restaurant, although she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Perhaps it was Sister Hua's warm smile, or the boss's silent and steady demeanor, or the attitude of the diners—no one was loud or boisterous, conversations were all whispered, reminding Ling Yao of late self-study sessions in high school, restrained yet relaxed.

As Ling Yao ate her fruit, the boss suddenly emerged from the kitchen, pushed open the side door, and disappeared behind it.

This simple change caused a sudden stir in the restaurant. Customers called out to Sister Hua in deliberately lowered voices, one after another, from various corners of the restaurant—

"Sister Hua, where's my smashed cucumber salad?"

"I ordered fried tofu balls yesterday..."

"And my chicken wings, boiled edamame..."

Sister Hua responded to each request promptly, miraculously producing various snacks from the cabinet at a speed that left Ling Yao dumbfounded, and delivering them accurately and swiftly to each table.

Ling Yao was extremely surprised and asked He Rui, "What's going on?"

He Rui made a face. "It's Sister Hua's little side business."

"Right under the boss's nose?" Ling Yao found it hard to believe.

He Rui nonchalantly forked a piece of cucumber into his mouth, looking unfazed. "Didn't you see it all?"

"Does the boss know?"

"He probably doesn't."

"Well, what if we want something too?"

"You slip Sister Hua a note secretly, and come back tomorrow. Then you'll get it."

As the side door opened and the boss returned, the restaurant quickly resumed its calm atmosphere. The customers all seemed content, as if the previous commotion hadn't been caused by them. The boss didn't look at anyone, simply returned to his station and continued to work diligently.

Ling Yao scanned the QR code to pay the bill, and the cost of the meal was surprisingly cheap, leaving her speechless. Each set meal was only twelve yuan. Considering the mediocre quality meals she had in City Y, which had risen to fifteen yuan per meal, and the fact that a similar quality meal would cost at least thirty yuan or more, she couldn't help but wonder if the rumor that "prices in City C are much higher than in City Y" was just a myth.

"It's really cheaper than other places! Otherwise, why would I keep coming here? My mom gives me twenty yuan every day for dinner. Eating here saves me a few bucks to play with... uh, hehe!" He Rui cleverly stepped on the brakes, then continued to bounce away.

"But aren't they losing money?"

"I don't know about that!"

Ling Yao was lost in some kind of calculation, unable to extricate herself. After a while, she said, "If they're not losing money and actually making a profit, they should expand their business. Such good food should be enjoyed by more people!"

He Rui had no interest in discussing this topic. He kicked a pile of fallen maple leaves on the ground and said firmly, "If there are more people, there will be lines! I hate waiting in line. Even if the food tastes better, I won't come!"

He suddenly turned around. "Have you found Video Uncle?"

Ling Yao paused, shaking her head. "No."

Walking backward so he could talk to her, He Rui asked, "Will you still look for him?"

Ling Yao smiled cautiously. "I don't know—watch where you're going, you might bump into a telephone pole."

He Rui turned back, muttering, "I quite like Video Uncle. I still have the toy excavator he gave me hidden!"

Ling Yao chuckled with her hands behind her back. "You used to love watching big machines dig roads when you were little. Your mom would hold you by the construction site, and you could watch for hours without making a fuss. She said you would become an engineer when you grew up."

"Did my mom really say that? She scolds me now, saying I'm bad at all my subjects and will end up just serving dishes for others!"

"Your mom is just motivating you! Don't be discouraged, keep working hard!"

After showering, Ling Yao knelt on the floor of her room, organizing her boxes. Clothes went into the small cupboard, while small items found their place in drawers. As she opened the grid layer of the box, her hand touched something cold—the frame of a mirror. She paused before pulling it out.

It was a photo of her and Zhou Yan, the Video Uncle mentioned by He Rui. Ling Yao often video called with He Xiao Xiao and her son, and Zhou Yan would often squeeze in to steal the spotlight. Although Zhou Yan had never met He Rui in person, he had sent him many gifts. Even after Zhou Yan left, He Rui couldn't forget about him.

In the photo, Ling Yao leaned against Zhou Yan, smiling happily with an air of sweetness about her. Though Zhou Yan's smile wasn't as bright, his expression was content—it was the happiest time of their relationship. Neither doubted they would live happily ever after.

"Ling Yao, I'm leaving. If I don't come back in a year, forget about me! It's okay if you forget me tomorrow. Don't wait for me. Best wishes!"

Zhou Yan sent this message to Ling Yao a year ago, the day he left City Y. Ling Yao went crazy trying to call him, text him, and even went to the train station to chase after him. But Zhou Yan still left, and no one knew where he went.

Ling Yao gently traced Zhou Yan's image in the photo.

"I haven't forgotten you, not for a single day. What about you?" she whispered to Zhou Yan, her tone filled with determination and affection. "I will find you."

She had been looking for him for a whole year, and now, she felt closer to him than ever.