Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen

In Shanghai in 1944, the spring was full of flowers, but what really shined in Eileen Chang's eyes was love, and there was someone she could think about in her heart.She only felt that this spring had a kind of joy that came out of the cold winter, and she stood on the branches like all the young leaves on the treetops to welcome the beauty of life.In 1944, this was also the only spring in her life. Hu Lancheng travels between Nanjing and Shanghai.On this day, he drank tea and read a book peacefully alone in the tea house of Nanjing Confucius Temple, waiting for Ikeda.The bookmark on the folder is a photo of Zhang Ailing. Her shyness, aloofness, beauty, childishness, and intelligence are all gathered in a faint expression on her face.

Hu Lancheng was almost obsessed with it, so he turned the photo over, and there were a few lines of words written on the back.Hu Lancheng seemed to be able to hear Zhang Ailing whispering: "I saw him..." This sentence has been hanging in the air for a long time without the following, as if the following cannot be easily revealed. "Seeing him...she became very low...low to the dust...but she was happy in her heart, and flowers bloomed from the dust!" I remember that day when she came out of Zhang Ailing's house, she quietly handed a photo into his hand, smiled sweetly, and pressed his hand not to let him see it in person.He stood in the apartment elevator, looking at Zhang Ailing through the railing.There is a sense of infinity in the eyes of both of them for thousands of years.Zhang Ailing is professional, he is lenient; Zhang Ailing still has doubts, but he is pleasantly surprised.In the stairwell of this dim apartment, separated by the iron fence of the elevator, it was like a dream, as if the two met each other across three lifetimes.Eileen Chang watched him sink, and he watched her rise until they were out of sight of each other.

Because of thinking of Zhang Ailing, the light coming in from the windows in the teahouse also exuded a kind of charm. It was the first time that Hu Lancheng had a feeling for the light, and it was the first time he entered Zhang Ailing's room and was stunned by the skylight pouring in. As if he had opened his eyes, from that day on, he saw that everything and everyone had new ideas in front of him.Seeing the proprietress of the teahouse coming from afar, dressed in plain clothes, cutting a few peach blossoms to put in a vase beside the counter, I also feel that the weather is sunny and the world is as gorgeous as peach blossoms shining on their faces.He picked up the tea and sniffed its fragrance, took a sip of the tea, his heart fluttered in the wind like the tea cloth signboard outside the building window.

At this time, Hu Lancheng saw Ikeda coming in, and he hurriedly put the photo back into the book. At this time, the tea, and even greeting Ikeda all had the taste of Eileen Chang.His physical body chatting with others is in Nanjing, but his heart has already flown back to Shanghai. Zhang Ailing's heart is also soaked in honey water. When she waters the flowers on the balcony, she will inadvertently laugh, as if the flowers can also share her happiness.There was a lot of noise in the market outside, but her ears could still distinguish the subtle ringing of the doorbell, so she hurriedly asked her grandma to open the door.

Hu Lancheng didn't need to ask his mother if Zhang Ailing was there, and went straight into the room, and seeing Zhang Ailing, he only said excitedly: "I'm back." Looking at him with a smile.Hu Lancheng said that he came directly after getting off the train and hadn't eaten yet.Zhang Ailing chatted with him in the usual way, and went straight into the kitchen to make noodles for him.The doorbell rang again. It was Zhang Zijing who came to see her sister. Grandma refused to let him in. She went to the kitchen to ask Zhang Ailing for advice.Zhang Zijing had already been turned away a few times, and went downstairs embarrassingly with disappointment on her face.

Zhang Ailing put the fried sauce noodles in front of Hu Lancheng, and went into the room, leaving him to sit in the dining room to eat, and he was a little dazed.Grandma walked back and forth to clean up the house, and Hu Lancheng was a little embarrassed sitting and eating noodles by herself, thinking that she would come to see her as soon as she got out of the car, so she could leave him alone and go to the manuscript by herself.But she didn't even see her brother, and her behavior made it difficult for him to understand. But when two people are together, even the smallest details are like drinking nectar.They sat side by side on the bed and looked at the picture album, but it was Zhang Ailing who looked at the picture, and Hu Lancheng looked at Zhang Ailing.Flipping through the picture album page by page, Hu Lancheng just followed the mountains and ridges, but he didn't pay attention to the scenery. He was completely serving the lady to look at the paintings, and his eyes were full of the lady's frowns and smiles. He asked with a smile: "I'm not here, how are you?"

Zhang Ailing flipped through the paintings, and replied in a normal manner: "Okay!" Hu Lancheng asked again: "Better than me?" Zhang Ailing replied lightly: "I haven't thought about it!" Hu Lancheng was relieved after hearing this, leaning his head on the wall, thinking about his mood in Nanjing, and said: "I don't love love very much! I just talk about it when I meet people. you!" Zhang Ailing turned her mind to the painting again, and Hu Lancheng pointed to a page and said, "Why do I only think that this woman is not happy anyway, and there is sadness written on her face!"

Zhang Ailing said thoughtfully: "That is the person who endured hardships for his ideals, and found that there are very few ideals left! The remaining ones are so slim! But because of the hardships, the remaining ones are fuller than before. I hope you are good! I understand! It is no longer just blind disappointment and patience like before! The love of a woman has come to an end here!" She was talking about others, but she seemed to see her own future. Hu Lancheng listened to Zhang Ailing's words, full of taste, chasing her thoughts non-stop, thirst for knowledge to the point of greed and asked: "You are the first time I know that there is a genius since I know people and things! Now I know that geniuses usually suffer. I'm worried about you again! Did you grow up so hard?"

Zhang Ailing smiled, but her heart was warmed by his words: "I'm not a genius! I also said that I would not wrong myself! It's just that when my parents are at odds, it will inevitably be affected. I think it is I have suffered a little bit, but it is nothing compared to others! If you want to fabricate a legend of genius, there is still not enough material!" Hu Lancheng also said lightly and smiled and asked: "Which side are you kissing with your parents?" Hu Lancheng was very considerate in his questions, and Zhang Ailing answered him sincerely.The indifference she showed is a real emotion: "I don't kiss either side! When I was a child, I still had some fantasies about my mother, because she was always away, and I really lived together, so I knew the pain of living under the ruler of others! But I couldn't resist, Because it's my mother! My father's severance is enough to make me hate him for the rest of my life! But I can't really hate him!"

"Because it's my father?" Zhang Ailing thought about it, she hadn't thought about the relationship between her father and herself for too long, and said: "Because I know how pitiful he is! One side hates and the other side feels pitiful. It's too hard, so I just forget about this person!" It was hard for Hu Lancheng to imagine such a relationship between people and their parents, and asked again: "What about your younger brother? You only have one younger brother! Don't you even kiss your younger brother?" Zhang Ailing's attitude was very indifferent when she said: "That is another poor person, but they don't feel it themselves, and it has nothing to do with me! It's not easy for me to take care of myself, and I can't take care of other things so much !" Hu Lancheng was surprised, she said it so confidently.Hu Lancheng thought about what she said, and speculated on the psychological background behind it.

Zhang Ailing turned to a painting and held her breath for a long time.In the painting is a dilapidated house, the sun at noon, the grass grows high and low, and the path leading to the house has disappeared.Even in daylight, everything looks bleak and lifeless, what a choking day! Shocked by the picture, Zhang Ailing murmured: "There is no magnificent past here, only the desolation of the middle class, so it is even more desolate and emptier! It is the appearance of the rest of Shanghai after the catastrophe!" She covered the album, It seems that he doesn't want to think about the past scene: the window of the empty house of the Zhang family's old house is sealed, it is the one-eyed empty house that is so stuffy that it will burst.In the bombardment, outside the window is the desolation under the pale daylight. It seems that Hu Lancheng's voice came from far away: "If there is still life left after the catastrophe, it must be to see you!" Zhang Ailing raised her eyes in a daze, the words were beyond grasping, but the lingering sound was still in the air, Hu Lancheng pressed Zhang Ailing's hand with one hand, Zhang Ailing struggled to decline, both of them froze at this touch, if this step was crossed, There is no going back.Hu Lancheng bowed his head submissively, and spread out one hand in front of Zhang Ailing, he wanted Zhang Ailing's own heart. Zhang Ailing gently covered her hands, and the fingers of the two overlapped.Hu Lancheng held her, stroking her fingers carefully, rubbing the calluses on her middle finger rubbed with a pen, and lingering with both hands. Hu Lancheng said in a hoarse voice: "I want to be completely broken, but I can't! I'm afraid you won't see me again!" Zhang Ailing lowered her head, feeling exhausted: "It's up to me!" Both of them sat there blankly as if they had been punished.Hu Lancheng went to hook Zhang Ailing's face, Zhang Ailing is just a silly girl, all the sophistication and maturity in the words have been deciphered, she is just such a pure child.Hu Lancheng couldn't help but lower her head to kiss her, kissed her forehead first, and asked softly: "Are you afraid?" Zhang Ailing shook her head, not knowing what to be afraid of.Hu Lan let out a long breath, sighed and laughed at herself: "I'm asking myself!" He kissed her again, this time on her lips, with only a light peck, and the two looked at each other in a daze. with.Zhang Ailing's words were inaudible: "So you are here!" Hu Lancheng said: "The grass is overgrown, and the road is gone! I found it myself!" Outside the window was Xiao Sa's misty rain, Zhang Ailing took Hu Lancheng to the roof balcony on the top floor, and the two of them stuck to the wall under the narrow eaves, watching the raindrops hanging in front of them like a curtain. Zhang Ailing stretched out her palm, letting the raindrops dance in her palm. Hu Lancheng lit a cigarette, and the white smoke blew into the rain, making the sky gray and dark. They stood together silently, leaning against each other. Although it was just a foothold under the eaves, it felt that the sky was wide and the earth was wide, and the rain surrounded them. But no matter how intimate, Zhang Ailing never mentioned the word marriage, as if it had nothing to do with her.Instead, Hu Lancheng went around in circles to inquire about her, and Zhang Ailing said straightly: "You are not pursuing me, and I don't have the burden of being in love! I don't want to waste my energy. It's still early, and I will wait until the future When you get married, you just find someone and you get married, and you don’t pick and choose! You won’t get a divorce!” Her lack of interest in marriage is still the shadow of her parents.He also had a rational and calm attitude towards her and Hu Lancheng's sudden emotional outburst, which made Hu Lancheng feel ashamed, after all, he was the one who wrinkled the pool of spring water. Sweet love cannot be hidden from anyone, and Zhang Ailing can't think of anyone to hide it from.Yanying said that she "blossoms when she smiles recently", and Eileen Chang did not evade.In Yanying's world, there is only the difference between happiness and unhappiness. Zhang Ailing would rather be like her at this moment, closing her sharp eyes for insight into the world.Zhang Maoyuan didn't like to meddle in her niece's business, but she knew from other people's gossip that Hu Lancheng had been married three times, and her current wife was originally a singer, nicknamed "Little Baiyun".Once she wanted to remind her, but she was stopped by Zhang Ailing at the beginning: "I didn't think too much, but I didn't hate this person! Now, I can't think too much. I like him, and that's all I can do!" Zhang Ailing herself felt wronged after she finished speaking.My aunt didn't believe it at all, so she threw out a sentence to amuse her: "If you can treat your feelings the same as you treat money and would rather die than suffer, then I can rest assured!" Zhang Ailing remained silent, and the troubles of love should be quietly here night crawled into my heart.