When Spring Awakens - Chapter 15

Wen Wanbing didn’t respond to Fu Junxue’s words because Hailing had returned the lighter, and He Xiuying had also finished clearing the dishes and hurried over.

The elderly residents arrived one after another, surrounding them as the movie began to play.

The grayish-white hues emanating from the large screen collided and blended with the warm yellow streetlights. Wen Xing grabbed Fu Junxue’s wrist, turning it back and forth, the diamonds on the watch face intermittently refracting tiny specks of light that dotted the night.

It made everything seem hazy and dreamlike.

The stifling summer evening breeze, the faintly buzzing audio from the film, and the soft laughter and murmurs from the surroundings flowed past her ears, sometimes lighter, sometimes heavier.

The clamor only accentuated the quiet corner she and Fu Junxue occupied, as if they had been peeled away into an invisible bubble.

Wen Wanbing tilted her head slightly, watching the screen and listening to the sounds, pretending to be engrossed while her thoughts kept alternating between the plot and reality.

The princess, breaking free from her constraints, spent the most unforgettable day with the journalist. Though they had just met, they interacted in a state of effortless comfort.

They ignored their shackles, forgot their worries, and immersed themselves in the beauty of love.

But in the end, those shackles still existed.

This time-limited romance was destined to end with the closing notes of the song.

The movie reached the scene where the princess and the journalist, drenched, shared a kiss.

Only then did Wen Wanbing’s wandering thoughts fully return.

Recalling the impending farewell scene, she subconsciously resisted, standing up and leaving her seat. She walked along a side path to the front, ready to pack up the projector stand once the movie ended.

Picking up a slender twig, she crouched boredly in front of the mosquito coil tray, idly poking at the accumulated ash. She crushed it, smoothed it out, then drew an “X.”

“X—is that for ‘Xue’?” Fu Junxue’s lazy, distinctive voice came from above.

Wen Wanbing looked up to see Fu Junxue smoothing her pant legs as she crouched down, picking through the corner for a twig before slowly adjusting her posture.

“It could also be for ‘Xing,’” Wen Wanbing replied, then asked, “Where’s Xingxing?”

Could be not a direct denial.

Fu Junxue curled her lips slightly and explained, “Little Xingxing fell asleep like a little piglet and was carried away by the auntie.”

“Sorry for making you hold her for so long,” Wen Wanbing said. “Why aren’t you watching the movie anymore?”

“No need to be so polite.” Fu Junxue poked a crooked cube into the mosquito coil ash, tapping the tip of her twig beside it. “I came to find this.”

Wen Wanbing glanced at it.

The distant whistle of a train abruptly pierced the night. Her heart skipped a beat, she couldn’t tell if it was because of the whistle or the little cube in the ash.

“An ice cube?”

“Correct!~ Your reward is a flower.”

Wen Wanbing raised her brows, waiting for Fu Junxue to cup her cheek and conjure a “flower” as before. But this time, Fu Junxue extended her hand in front of her.

A rich floral fragrance spilled from between her fingers. With a slight turn of her wrist, a small gardenia bloomed at her fingertips.

Fu Junxue smiled and explained, “A grandma nearby gave it to me.”

“And then, you just gave it to me like this.” Wen Wanbing took the gardenia.

Fu Junxue grinned openly. “You’ll take good care of it, won’t you? After all, it’s a gift from your girlfriend.”

“Maybe not,” Wen Wanbing replied flatly. “After all, it’s a regift.”

She omitted “girlfriend,” emphasizing “regift.”

Fu Junxue huffed and reached out. “Then give it back.”

Wen Wanbing twirled the flower between her fingers, paused for a moment, then declared shamelessly, “No.”

Fu Jingxue couldn’t help but laugh. The night was too dark for her to see if Wen Wanbing’s ears had turned red again, but she could sense her discomfort.

Roman Holiday had ended with only regrets, but reality was the beginning of something interesting.

After laughing, Fu Jingxue circled back to their earlier topic and asked, “Why don’t you watch movies anymore?”

Wen Wanbing lowered her gaze. “I used to watch them before.”

“What a coincidence, so did I.”

After saying this, Fu Jingxue seemed lost in thought, idly poking at the mosquito coil with a rough twig. Sometimes the tip landed in the ashes, other times on the coil itself.

The mosquito coil snapped in two.

A small segment fell into the ash, its embers flickering faintly.

Fu Jingxue seemed to snap out of her daze only then. Staring at the broken piece, she let out a soft “Ah,” then rummaged through her crossbody bag for a lighter. “Let’s relight it.”

“No need.” Wen Wanbing stood up and glanced at the projector. “The movie’s over.”

A few elderly people lingered in the small park, chatting. Among them were He Xiuying and Uncle Zhang. He Xiuying fanned away mosquitoes for Wen Xing and said, “Once you’ve packed up the projector, take them home first. Uncle Zhang and I will stay until everyone leaves. Take these stools back with you too.”

After helping Uncle Zhang pack up the projector and stands, Wen Wanbing first returned home to drop off the stools and let Hai Ling take the gift box that had been delivered.

When they reached the parking spot downstairs, Fu Jingxue received a phone call. Wen Wanbing heard her ask, “What’s wrong now, my little troublemaker?”

Her tone was impatient, yet laced with unmistakable tenderness and indulgence.

Probably a former client, Wen Wanbing thought.

The air felt stifling, as if rain was coming again. Wen Wanbing didn’t dwell on it further and turned to see Hai Ling off first.

Watching Hai Ling stuff the gift box into her suitcase, Wen Wanbing spoke up. “Please don’t send these things next time.”

Hai Ling closed her eyes deeply and suddenly said, “A while ago, I dreamed of your sister again.”

Wen Wanbing’s lashes trembled slightly.

“In the dream, she told me she was worried about your mother, about Xingxing, and about you. She was afraid you all weren’t happy or doing well.” Hai Ling rubbed the bridge of her nose and explained, “I didn’t know what else I could do, so after waking up, I thought about it for a long time and ended up ordering these.”

Wen Wanbing’s hand, hanging at her side, clenched suddenly, her nails digging deep into her palm. A dull pain spread slowly.

In her own dreams, it was always that scene blood blending into the darkness.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat, leaving only a heavy silence.

“Alright, I won’t send anything next time. Don’t overthink it.” Hai Ling started the car and said, “I’ll head back now. See you.”

Wen Wanbing still didn’t respond. Hai Ling sighed and drove off.

A short while later, Fu Jingxue finished her call and pulled the car up to Wen Wanbing. Rolling down the window, she leaned lazily against the frame and glanced at Wen Wanbing’s tightly clenched right hand. “Wen Wanbing, are you going to crush that gardenia to pieces?”

It was as if she had been yanked out of a suffocating quagmire, one that had been collapsing around her, threatening to swallow her whole.

Wen Wanbing snapped back to reality, loosened her grip, and hid her hand behind her back. Taking a controlled breath, she opened her other palm and said, “It’s here.”

Perfectly preserved. Fu Jingxue’s eyes softened.

“Finished your call?” Wen Wanbing asked casually.

“Hmm,” Fu Junxue grumbled, “My little sister at home is so spoiled. Whenever work doesn’t go her way, she comes crying to vent every single day.”

Not a client.

Wen Wenbing couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her heart, it was like floating adrift in the sea, rising and falling.

“You and your sister must be very close,” she said, not intending to delve deeper into the topic, and added flatly, “Be careful on the road.”

“Mhm, got it~” Fu Junxue studied her, falling silent for a brief moment before her eyes flickered slightly. She suddenly lowered her head and exclaimed, “Ah!”

Wen Wenbing instinctively leaned closer. “What’s wrong?”

“I just thought since you don’t like goodbyes, why don’t we do it like in the movies?” Fu Junxue tilted forward, closing the distance between them, her smile deepening as her eyes curved. Her crimson lips parted slightly right in front of Wen Wenbing’s gaze. “How about we kiss goodbye?”

The image of passionate kisses from films flashed through Wen Wenbing’s mind at those words. The faint scent of incense in the car lingered at the tip of her nose, adding another layer of ambiguity.

Silence filled the air, thick with an almost tangible tension, as if the atmosphere had frozen for a moment. Then, the wind lifted their hair, and the clamor of cicadas and the overlapping croaks of frogs surged like waves carried by the evening breeze, washing over their ears.

Fu Junxue’s gaze swept over Wen Wenbing’s slightly stunned expression.

Even though she couldn’t see clearly, Fu Junxue just knew this woman was blushing. She reached out, her almond-shaped fingertips brushing against the strands of Wen Wenbing’s wind-tousled hair. With a playful smile, she asked, “Wen Bingbing, what do you think? Want to give it a try?”

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Wen Wenbing pressed her lips together, deliberately avoiding Fu Junxue’s gaze. The string of rationality in her mind was pulled taut as she reminded her sternly, “That’s not an acceptable option.”

Fu Junxue clicked her tongue. “You’re much more fun like this.”

Wen Wenbing lifted her eyes.

Fu Junxue’s gaze was glistening, so bright that Wen Wenbing felt utterly exposed.

Their eyes met for only a second before Wen Wenbing averted hers, instinctively taking a step back.

Fu Junxue chuckled, not at all bothered by her retreat. Instead, she offered considerately, “You go first.”

Because you don’t like goodbyes, so you go first.

Wen Wenbing felt as though she was staring into a beautiful whirlpool again, spinning before her, splashing cool droplets that unsettled her mind.

After a pause, Wen Wenbing kept stepping back she didn’t even know how many steps she took before finally turning and walking toward the small park. Her pace quickened, matching the rhythm of her heartbeat.

Just as she was about to round the corner, she stopped and glanced back. The lights of Fu Junxue’s red Wrangler flickered in the distance, still parked where she had left it.

Wen Wenbing turned her head forward again, her steps unconsciously slowing.

By the time she returned to the small park, most of the crowd had already dispersed. He Xiuying reminded her, “Don’t forget to collect the mosquito coils.”

Wen Wenbing acknowledged and began gathering them one by one. When she reached the one Fu Junxue had snapped in half earlier, she froze.

The broken coil had been relit by Fu Junxue. The severed part was buried in the ash, nearly unnoticeable unless examined closely.

As if it had never been broken at all.

A small ember burned brightly in the ink-black night.

That evening, Wen Wenbing saw a photo of that mosquito coil on Fu Junxue’s social media.

Only then did she realize, the broken piece had fallen precisely onto the “ice block” Fu Junxue had drawn earlier, scattering it. The ember at the tip of the coil hadn’t yet gone out.

It looked more like it had melted the “ice” away.

Fu Junxue’s post read: [It’s been a long time since I watched an open-air movie. A special date, I really liked it.]

Wen Wanbing thought their conversation would start with reflections on the film. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss it and was even prepared to steer the topic elsewhere.

But Fu Junxue didn’t mention the movie at all.

Instead, she asked: [Did you manage to preserve the gardenia?]

Wen Wanbing sent her a photo in response.

The gardenia was encased in a square, ice-like resin block.

Two days later, on another rainy night, Fu Junxue sent a voice message: “Wen Zhuzhu, want to escape the city with me?”

The previous rainy night, she had asked her how to escape the city.

Wen Wanbing’s heart stirred faintly.

Fu Junxue sent another voice message.

[Snowflake]: “A friend picked out an uninhabited island for camping not far from Nanquan, just nearby. We’d leave Friday night, so from Friday evening until this Sunday. Are you free?”

Wen Wanbing checked her work schedule. She could ask Hai Ling to skip overtime on Friday night, but her weekend was originally reserved for scuba diving lessons.

Icey: [That means I’d have to reschedule the diving class.]

[Snowflake]: “So, will you reschedule?”

Her tone was deliberately cautious, as if afraid Wen Wanbing might refuse.

The gardenia sealed in the resin block by the bedside seemed to emit an intoxicating fragrance.

Wen Wanbing typed back a single word: [Yes.]

[Snowflake]: [So stingy with words.]

A screenshot popped up on the screen.

[Snowflake]: [Then it’s settled. Screenshot as proof, no take-backs~]

In the screenshot, Wen Wanbing noticed Fu Junxue’s nickname for her.

[Ice Block]

Suddenly, Wen Wanbing remembered the mosquito coil.

She was the ice block scorched by this romance.

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