Chapter Forty-Eight – The Return of an Old Friend

Several osmanthus trees in the Fragrant Garden bloomed in clusters, vying with one another.
It was a morning after rain.
A cold fragrance lingered in the air.
Large swathes of camphor leaves had yellowed and fallen, carpeting the ground. Yet thick layers of yellow-green foliage still clung to the branches. In the south, autumn’s chill had little effect on the trees.
The sky above Cloud City remained crowded with overlapping clouds, compressing the blue dome until not a ray could penetrate.
Every so often, a lone wild goose or two, their cries plaintive, would fly further south.
Pedestrians on the street still wore summer clothes, as if autumn had not yet arrived.
Yishu walked alone along Yuyang Road. Today, there was an important meeting at Xunyuan Corporation, so Xu Shixi had left early in the morning.
The wind from the lakeshore carried the scent of leaves and water, sharper still in the morning chill.
Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Yishu skirted the flowerbed before the building and continued onward.
Someone patted her on the back.
Who would be so childish?
Bewildered, Yishu turned her head. The person who’d tapped her dodged her gaze, slipping nimbly to her left. When she turned to face that side, the figure darted to her right.
Who could it be?
The person pressed down on her shoulder from behind, craned forward, and made a funny face at her.
Yan Lu!
“Yan Lu,” Yishu exclaimed in delight, turning to clasp her hand with trembling fingers, “You’re finally back! Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was about you?”
“I know, I know,” Yan Lu withdrew her hand and then grasped Yishu’s in return, “That’s why I’m back now.”
Yishu was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes; there were a thousand things to say, but she didn’t know where to begin.
The breeze lifted their hair—a pair of beautiful young women, lovely and delicate in the morning light.
Through tear-blurred vision, Yishu studied Yan Lu. She had changed completely, as though reborn.
Her once-treasured long black hair had been cut short and tied in a small bun at the back of her head. And the girl who once vowed not to leave home without makeup now wore a fresh, bare face, dressed simply in a short sports outfit.
Yishu wondered, was this still Yan Lu, or merely someone who looked like her?
“What’s wrong?” Yan Lu waved a hand in front of her, “It’s only been a few months—don’t you recognize me?”
Pulled back to reality by her friend’s vibrant smile, Yishu saw a new confidence radiating from her.
Clearly, the months Yan Lu had been gone had been happy ones.

“What have you been through these past months?” Yishu asked quietly. “I tried to reach you again and again. Once, the call even connected—but no one answered.”
For half a month after Yan Lu’s disappearance, Yishu dialed her number every day, only to hear: “The phone is powered off,” or “The number you have dialed is no longer in service.” Once, the call went through, igniting hope—only to be doused after sixty seconds by: “The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
A look of guilt furrowed Yan Lu’s brow. Of all the people she’d left without a word, she felt guiltiest toward Yishu. But at that time, she hadn’t known where her own path lay and didn’t want to burden anyone else.
“My story isn’t so easily told. When you have time in the next couple of days, I’ll tell you everything.”
Yishu’s heart was thrown into turmoil.
“Oh, by the way!” Yan Lu suddenly remembered, “I went to Jinlan Community to look for you, but heard you’d moved out?”
The night before, Yan Lu had gone to Jinlan to find Yishu. She hadn’t dared to turn on her phone or log into WeChat, cutting off all contact with the world. When she finally felt ready to step into the light again, her call log was filled almost entirely with missed calls from Yishu, a few from her father, and none from her mother.
She knew Jinlan Community well, having lived there for a while. She’d timed her arrival to catch Yishu after work, hoping to surprise her—only to find the apartment empty. The wall between her old apartment and the one next door had been knocked out; several construction workers, hair disheveled, were mixing cement, laying bricks, and paving floors.
Surely Yishu hadn’t left the city? Yan Lu’s heart raced with anxiety. As she was leaving, she ran into the landlord, whom she vaguely remembered from when she’d accompanied Yishu to rent the place.
The landlord simply said she’d moved out and went upstairs without another word.
“The lease was up and the landlord wanted to sell. He wouldn’t renew,” Yishu explained.
“So where are you living now?” Yan Lu asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
“I’m… currently…” Yishu fidgeted, stammering, “I’m living at Shixi’s place.”
“You two are living together?” Yan Lu teased. “So you’ve finally come around.”
“It’s only temporary,” Yishu hurried to clarify before she could say more.
Yan Lu laughed; she knew Yishu would never do such a thing—she’d always been oblivious to romance, like an old relic.
After the laughter faded, Yan Lu felt genuinely happy for her friend—at last, Yishu had found happiness.
Yishu understood the meaning behind Yan Lu’s laughter, and all the awkwardness melted into a smile.
“Are you still living in Cloud City? Or have you settled in another city?” Yishu asked.
During Yan Lu’s absence, Yishu had kept in touch with Lu Xugao—until one day, his phone, too, was switched off. Helplessness followed her everywhere.
That apartment too was empty.
“I’m living with Gaozi in Yunbei.”
Yunbei? Wasn’t that an industrial area full of factories, companies, and workshops?
Yishu’s confusion deepened.
Her old furniture and belongings still waited quietly in Shixi’s storeroom, hoping for some distant reunion.
Had it really been months already?

Time had so mercilessly turned one page after another.
“You’ve been living in Yunbei all this time?” Yishu asked.
“That’s right.” Yan Lu grinned, white teeth flashing. “I had nowhere else to go, but found my way there by chance.”
After a month of being missing, Yan Lu had reached her limit. She lived paycheck to paycheck, spending freely and enjoying life without hesitation. To her, one should seize the day and not waste one’s youth.
But youth is like a delicate piece of colored paper—let a little rain fall, and its brilliance is lost.
When Lu Xugao answered her call and rushed to her side, she was like a flower past its prime.
He let go of all blame and worry. In that moment, he wanted only to stay with her forever.
And it was Yan Lu, after a week of utter destitution and the pain of being separated from Lu Xugao, who finally saw into her own heart.
In the end, we live for ourselves.
“You…” Yishu took a step towards her.
“All right, that’s enough,” Yan Lu interrupted gently. “I have to hurry back to Yunbei. I got up early just to see if I’d run into you.”
She was truly afraid Yan Lu would leave again.
A shadow passed over Yan Lu’s face. Today’s reunion was something she had longed for with all her heart; yet people are strange creatures—when the moment comes, all the words you’ve stored up seem to vanish.
Yishu checked the time; only five minutes left before work. Since they’d been interrupted, she let it go.
“I’ll keep in touch,” Yan Lu called, already far down the road.
“You won’t disappear without a word again, will you?” Yishu shouted after her, her anxious heart pouring into the words.
“Of course not!” Yan Lu’s voice rang out even louder from afar.
Yishu watched Yan Lu’s figure grow smaller and blurrier in the sunlight. She felt warmth return, and all the sadness that had shrouded her melted away in an instant.
This time, she thought, Yan Lu would not vanish again.
At the shop door, Yishu suddenly remembered she’d meant to ask about Yan Lu’s work.
After Lu Xugao’s month-long leave ended, Kaisheng Company had swiftly and decisively sent out a dismissal notice. In truth, the management had shown clear displeasure when the leave was first requested, but had reluctantly agreed for Lu Xuyang’s sake. After all, hiring and training new staff took great effort.
But as time dragged on, patience wore thin, and the dismissal came without mercy. Since the company couldn’t reach Yan Lu or Lu Xugao, they asked Yishu to pass on the message. But she knew nothing of their whereabouts either.
Those two sheets of white paper, folded twice, were crumpled in her hand—
Like a heart, wrung and creased.