Don’t Turn from Summer - Chapter 66

Today, the sky was overcast. The trees below the hotel also seemed especially still. Mu HanXia walked with Lin MoChen to the parking lot. From far away, the familiar, black Cayenne car came into view. Even the license plate number had not changed.
She was a little startled.
“You don’t recognize it anymore? ” He said.
“No. ” She replied.
Lin MoChen didn’t speak. The two people, like the old times, sat down in the car.
He silently drove the car for the whole trip. Occasionally, Mu HanXia’s gaze would stop occasionally on his face without leaving any traces. Perhaps it was from not sleeping the entire night, but her eye socket looked a bit more hollow. Her complexion also appeared slightly green.
” Actually …… we don’t really have to go out. We could also just talk in the hotel room. ” She slowly said. After talking, it once again became silent. Is it really possible there? In the room that they grew their love every day?
” There won’t do, ” said Lin MoChen while looking ahead.
Mu HanXia lifted her head, looking at the layers and layers of clouds moving in the middle of the sky.
It was already spring. However, the weather was still quite cold. The trees and grass had already turned green, but, on this kind of cloudy day, the outskirts still had a bleak and desolate scenery. Lin MoChen drove the car for two hours and brought her to the middle of a wide expanse of green plains. A single yellow and narrow dirt road continued continuously to the depths of the green plains. Mu HanXia found that the green grass vegetation on either side was taller than a person. The land had patches of water and some places even had litter rivers winding through. On the side of the road was a sign with a name written on it: “Chen Jiang Wetland”.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I heard that there was a newly opened hotel here, right in the middle of the wetland. The scenery is very nice. ” He said.
Consequently, Mu HanXia once again became quiet.
The mentioned hotel very quickly came into view. It was an elegant and peaceful cottage that mingled harmoniously with the surrounding reeds and lake. Seemingly like a paradise, it was very beautiful.
Lin MoChen went to the front desk to check in while Mu HanXia stood, waiting, in the lobby. She looked for a while at the scenery outside before once again looking at his back, thinking: will the two of them still stay here for the night? No, there will only be him, alone. Thinking of this, her nose suddenly felt a little sour. She immediately repressed this feeling down.
The receptionist at the front desk smiled and said, “Sir, the restaurant is already serving lunch. The dishes are all local specialties. The fish are also wild, caught from the lake. You can’t necessarily eat this anywhere else. You guys can try some. ”
Lin MoChen glanced at Mu HanXia, who was not that far away, before replying “sure.”
It was already noon. The two people since last night to now had not eaten anything. Lin MoChen walked back to her side: “Let’s first go eat. ” After saying this, he directly started walking towards the nearby restaurant. Mu HanXia was left with no choice but to go with him upstairs.
The peak season for tourism had not yet arrive. Furthermore, it was a weekday. In such a big restaurant, there were only two to three tables with guests. After sitting down, Lin MoChen picked up the menu and started ordering from the beginning of the menu.
Mu HanXia said: ” That’s enough. We won’t be able finish anymore. ” The waiter beside their table smiled and said: “Sir, with just two people, you won’t be able to finish so many dishes.”
Lin MoChen closed the menu and passed it over to the server, saying: “We are done ordering, you can begin serving now.”
The server could only withdraw. Mu HanXia looked outside the window. She did not utter a word.
After a while, a full table’s worth of dishes were served. He picked up his chopsticks, and, with an exceptionally serene face, began tasting a small amount of each dish. Mu HanXia also started eating absent-mindedly. She suddenly thought of how last year, when she just arrived in Beijing, he had brought her to eat at a high-class restaurant for the first time. He was also like this that time, ordering a full, full table’s worth of dishes. At that time, she had also urged him, saying that they wouldn’t be able to finish that much. However, he only smiled slightly and said “I also don’t like to waste. If we can’t finish, then you can just pack up the rest.”
At that time, he had seen the her who had just entered a big city for the first time. She was both poor and timid back then. After seeing that, did he then decide to order all those dishes and allow her to pack up the leftovers out of compassion?
……
Mu HanXia used her chopsticks to pick up some of the fish, the most famous local specialty, to put into her mouth. Yet, suddenly, she was completely unable to taste any flavor. Feeling only some kind of sour taste in her throat, she swallowed down both.
She swallowed bite by bite, counting.
Lin MoChen also ate very little, eating practically only one mouthful of each dish, before putting down his chopsticks. The rice also had not been moved. After waiting for her to also put down her chopsticks, he showed a weak smile before saying: “Let’s go walk a bit.”
Mu HanXia only felt that she was unable to see through what he was truly thinking in his heart, and lightly said an “Ok”.
Outside the hotel, there was a long walkway that lead directly to the surface of the water, extending continuously into the distance. The walkway was approximately two meters wide and made of wooden planks with thickets of reeds and lotus leaves on either side. Today, other than these two, there was no one else seen on the walkway. The afternoon sky was only slightly clearer. Between the sky and water, the dusky atmosphere remained the same as before.
After walking for a moment, he remained silent. After finding a topic to talk about, Mu Hanxia opened her mouth: ” Why is this place called Chen Jiang wetland? ”
Lin MoChen replied: “It is said that the dry land sank and the river also sank before this area finally became a wetland.” (T/N: Chen= to sink, Jiang= river)
As Mu HanXia listened, her heart became perplexed. Lifting her head, she stared into the distance at the green forest in the midst of the wide, wide expanse of water that appeared to not have a limit. It was rather unexpected that it formerly had undergone a transformation.
“Why do you want to leave,” he asked.
Mu HanXia temporarily did not speak a word.
Under the pale ash-gray color of the sky, he looked at her and suddenly smiled: “It is still the matter from that time that you are unable to move on from, am I right? If you can’t move on, why do you still want to stay with me for these days? Mu HanXia, what do you mean by this? ”
Mu HanXia’s tears started to come out and she lost the ability to argue.
What should she say?
Say that I only want to be together with you, one more time.
Say that I also longed for, that I nearly succumbed to the dream of us growing old together.
Or say that I truly am selfish. I can’t let go, yet I also am unable to resist you?
“Sorry, “she quietly said.
He smiled yet again: ” Who would have thought that there would be a day when I am played by a woman. So, I let you down once. You also owe me once. Does that make us even? ”
His tone was uncertain. During this time, Mu HanXia did not dare to answer.
In the lotus leaves by their feet, there was the croaking sound of a frog. In addition, there was the sound of the wind blowing the reeds around. These two people were in the midst of this silence that was only interrupted by the occasional rustling sounds. They stood quietly in the corner of the bridge.
After a while, he spoke: “Where do you plan to go? (expel breath)….. even if we break up, we are still friends. Do you need any assistance? ”
Mu HanXia: “No, I don’t need any. ”
“Are you hiding anything from me” he asked.
Mu HanXia was startled. She was quiet for a moment before replying: “Senior Fang introduced …… I applied for New York University. The acceptance letter has already been issued. ”
No expression can be seen from Lin MoChen’s face.
“What about your visa?” He once again smiled.
Mu HanXia slowly answered: “It’s in progress.”
He nodded: “Okay.”
Mu HanXia stared at the tranquil, dark green water surface, nonetheless hearing his ice-cold voice. Once again she heard a voice by her ear: “Therefore, you began preparing to go abroad at least three months ago?”
Mu HanXia immediately explained: “No, it’s not what you think. At first, I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t tell you. Later …… Feng Chen had some problems. How should I say this? ”
” Then, what about these days? We sleep together every night. How hard was it for you to just open your mouth? You didn’t even say a thing?” he said.
Mu HanXia bit her lower lip.
He said it ever so adroitly, how could she even reply? Remaining between leaving and staying, tossing and turning, only brought an aching indecision.
After saying it, how can she bear to leave?
“This is my own future. I want to make a decision by myself. ” she ultimately stated slowly.
Lin MoChen’s complexion finally became incomparably cold: “Fine. It’s okay as long as you have thought through it well.”
For a while, the two seemed to have nothing more to say to each other.
Lin MoChen calmy took a step forward, and Mu HanXia slowed followed him. After walking past a section of tranquil scenery again, he said: “When do you leave? ”
Mu HanXia paused for an instant before answering: “I plan to leave Lin city the day after tomorrow. ”
“Then, I won’t send you. ” he weakly said.
“Yeah. ” Mu HanXia’s tears were once again seeping out only to be slowly repressed back down.
Lin MoChen turned his head and looked at her right at this moment . The boundless water and sky together became merely a background behind his back. His eyes became especially deep and indifferent.
” Mu HanXia, has anybody said before that you are actually an extremely vicious and merciless woman. ”
Mu HanXia contained her tears, and lightly smiled saying: “No, you are the first one to say that. ”
He also smiled and pointed at his stomach: “Yes, if you wished to insert a knife right here, you would easily be able to insert a knife here. ”
Mu HanXia’s tears all at once fell down. His ever so calmly said words nonetheless made her quickly have a feeling that her emotions were on the verge of going out of control. In an exceptionally calm manner, she reached out her hand to press her face, wiping her tears away. Then, she said: “I see that we have basically finished talking and there also isn’t anything more to say. Let’s go, Lin MoChen, goodbye. ” With the last syllable, her voice nearly broke. She turned around and took quick steps in attempt to leave. Unexpectedly, just as she walked a few steps, the sound of his footstep already approached her and with one grasp, he captured her.
Mu HanXia knew very well further entanglement like this would only bring more suffering. Also, she absolutely could not let her heart soften and remain like this here. Hence, she hardened her heart and forcefully pushed him away. Lin MoChen saw her fierce and willful look and only felt an unprecedented grief in his heart. His finger was almost going to dig into her flesh.
When Mu HanXia raised her head, she indeed saw his face. In the gray light of the day, in the midst of the floating and drifting clouds, the boundless water and grass, there was only his face. Incomparably handsome and very close. Those two eyes, those two deep eyes that she have admired ten million times. In the middle of those two eyes was a very weak, very hidden light from water.
In a moment, her state of mind silently crumbled. Her whole body was like a wooden statue, and she remained standing where she was. However, in her eyes flashed a glance that was even more fierce than her own. He held her before abruptly jumping into the water beside them.
Mu HanXia’s whole body was shocked stupid. Mouthful after mouthful of fishy smelling astringent water entered her body from her oral and nasal cavities. Buried in the middle of the water, she could not see the sky clearly. Instead, filling her vision was the shaking glare of the water and the clumps of vegetation. Not to mention, she was also entangled. There was simply no way to escape. The never-before-experienced pain of drowning quickly submerged her.
The struggle that shook her to the core finally stopped. His arm from out of nowhere stretched over and with one grasp hugged her waist. Mu HanXia was hateful yet scared and was hugged very tightly by him. Instinctively, she wanted to push aside him, but she had no choice but to hold him tightly. He didn’t care at all about her struggling and suffering and kissed her ruthlessly in the water. Mu HanXia felt extremely uncomfortable. The lake water, the water plants, there was also his strength. It seemed as if they all poured into her thoracic cavity. In the water, she began silently crying heavily while continuously choking on the water until he finally used his hand to help support her head, keeping it out of the water. As if her life depended on it, she pushed away him. With her hands, she grabbed the edge of the bridge and exhausted her full strength to climb up. Lin MoChen extended his hand to support her body, helping to send her up.
Mu HanXia’s entire body was drenched and she fell down until sitting on the walkway. He lowered his head and with his face unable to be seen clearly, he propped his hand on the bridge and climbed up. The clothes on his body had already become shapeless. Mu HanXia couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. She got up and immediately started walking in the direction they came from.
” Lin MoChen, let’s never see meet other again. Also, I never want to see you again. We are over, completely over! We will never have another future together, no more! Don’t look for me again, never look for me! ”
She dropped these words. Then, as if chased by a ghost, she began running with all her might away. The spring wind turned out to be actually very cold. It blew at her until her whole body felt as if it was inside an icehouse. Every bone in her body ached. Her cheeks streamed with tears, but at the seemed as if she was finally liberated. At the same time, she also at last lost the last bit of hope that was hidden in the depths of her heart.
She ran continuously until there no longer was the sound of footsteps following her.
He didn’t continue to follow her.
She ran all the way to the entrance of the hotel. At this time, by coincidence there was an available taxi as customer had just got off the car. She pulled open the door before immediately sitting inside. The taxi driver stared at her in surprise with her pale white face and her drenched body. However, her voice was extremely calm: “Sir……let’s go.”
——
Lin MoChen remained where he was originally. Not knowing how long he had stood, he then ran out from the thicket of water plants. He ran to the parking lot and started his car. And rushed back on the road they came from. The yellow soil and green plains extended boundlessly during his journey as he drove along this section Chen Jian Wetlands for very, very long but the figure of Mu HanXia was nowhere to be found.
In the end, he suddenly rapidly hit the steering wheel, and the Cayenne finally drove headfirst into a swamp, becoming stuck.
He did not get off his car, yet he also did not start the car. There was no one around and the air was silent.
A long time passed until the twilight like a muslin veil covered the sky, enveloping these plains.
Finally, a ring was thrown out of the car window, sinking into the water.