hooklinebooks Chapter 66 Vast Mountains and Rivers, Sparks of Humanity
Chapter 66 Vast Mountains and Rivers, Sparks of Humanity
This time, Zhou Yuji's reply was even slower.
A full three minutes passed before a voice message was sent.
Su Yiyi clicked on the link, and Zhou Yuji's voice wasn't as cheerful as before, but rather tinged with a thoughtful teasing tone: "Oh, so our teacher Yiyi is... having a crush? Who do you want to travel with? Do you want your older sister to give you some advice?"
Su Yiyi blushed and quickly typed: "No, I just watched your videos and thought the outside world is wonderful."
"Come on," Zhou Yuji sent another voice message, this time with an even more teasing tone, "You've seen so many of my travel videos before, how come you've never said you wanted to go out? But now that Wang Bo wrote a poem, you suddenly want to travel? Yiyi, do you think I can't see through your little schemes?"
Su Yiyi's cheeks burned even hotter after her secret was exposed, and she didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Zhou Yuji continued sending voice messages, her voice tinged with laughter, but upon closer listening, something else seemed to be hidden beneath the laughter: "Sure, wanting to travel is a good thing. When I get back, the three of us sisters will go together! But Yiyi, I have to remind you, the most beautiful thing about a trip isn't the scenery, but the person you're with. Have you decided who you want to go with?"
These words were like a tiny needle, gently pricking Su Yiyi's heart.
Who does she want to go with?
The first image that popped into my mind was Wang Bo's focused profile as he bent down to adjust the equipment in the recording studio.
Su Yiyi was startled by her own thought and hurriedly shook her head, as if that would shake the image out of her mind.
She typed a reply to Zhou Yuji, trying to change the subject: "Yuji, when are you coming back? Xiaoxiao has been very busy lately, she's even lost weight."
Zhou Yuji sent a text message this time: "I don't know yet, at least not in winter. I haven't climbed enough snow-capped mountains yet. But Yiyi, about that question you just asked... don't change the subject."
Su Yiyi looked at the screen and sighed.
Her best friend seems carefree, but she's actually very perceptive.
Finally, she honestly said, "I don't know, I just suddenly felt that I should go out and see more of the world."
Zhou Yuji replied with an "I understand" emoji, then said, "Okay, you can think about it first. I'm going to go stargazing, the desert starry sky is amazing! I'll send you photos later!"
Conversation ends.
Looking at the stars?
Su Yiyi looked out the window. Where would there be stars in broad daylight? The Western Regions aren't like Europe or America.
She put down her phone and walked to the window.
The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the glass, bathing the classroom in a warm golden light.
She recalled Wang Bo's line, "The setting sun sinks into the long river," and Zhou Yuji's line, "The most beautiful thing on a journey is not the scenery, but the person who accompanies you to see the scenery."
Something stirred gently within me.
Western Regions, desert camp.
Zhou Yuji, wrapped in a thick wool shawl, sat on the sand dune, looking at her conversation with Su Yiyi on her phone screen, her chin resting on her hand, her eyes somewhat unfocused.
Night falls quickly in the desert; the sky, which was just moments ago a golden-red expanse, has now sunk into a deep blue-black, and the first star quietly begins to shine.
"Want to travel?" Zhou Yuji repeated Su Yiyi's words in a low voice, a smile playing on her lips.
She knows Su Yiyi too well.
That gentle girl, as soft as water, was a well-behaved child who followed the rules and never even skipped class.
After graduating from university, I settled down to be a music teacher, and my life was as simple as a blank sheet of paper.
Su Yiyi, like this, is always dragged along on trips by her family, her younger sister, and Zhou Yuji.
She suddenly said she wanted to travel today, and that was after seeing the poem Wang Bo wrote for her.
Zhou Yuji is not stupid.
She could tell that Su Yiyi had feelings for Wang Bo, and that these feelings were slowly developing into something deeper.
"Tsk." Zhou Yuji leaned back, sinking into the soft sand, and looked up at the increasingly dense starry sky.
The desert starry sky is indeed breathtakingly beautiful. The Milky Way stretches across the sky like a luminous ribbon, with countless stars twinkling so close that they seem within reach.
Looking at such a magnificent scene, Zhou Yuji felt inexplicably empty inside.
She recalled the original purpose of her trip—to escape the circle that she was tired of, to find freedom, and to find a sense of authenticity in being alive.
She found it.
The snow-capped mountains of the Western Regions awed her, the desert sunsets captivated her, and the starry sky over the grasslands brought tears to her eyes.
She took many photos and videos and posted them on social media, garnering countless envious comments and praise.
But when the night is deep and quiet, when she lies alone in the hotel or in the tent, listening to the howling wind outside, that familiar feeling of loneliness still creeps in.
Just like right now.
No matter how beautiful the starry sky is, it feels lonely if there's no one to share it with.
"The person who accompanies you to see the scenery..." Zhou Yuji murmured to herself, Wang Bo's face flashing through her mind.
The boy who was once unknown in her company and whom she "transferred" to her best friend has now become a talented man in the eyes of countless people and someone Su Yiyi secretly cherishes in her heart.
And so she became... the person Zhou Yuji would think of in the dead of night.
Zhou Yuji rolled over and buried her face in the sand.
She, Zhou Yuji, has lived for over twenty years, carefree and unrestrained, living life to the fullest. When has she ever worried about a man?
But Wang Bo is different.
His talent amazed her, his sincerity moved her, and the composure and insight he occasionally revealed beyond his years made her want to get closer to him.
What moved her even more was the way he looked at her—not with the respect one would show a boss, nor with the awe one feels for a beautiful woman, but with an equal gaze filled with appreciation and warmth.
That look in her eyes made her realize that she wasn't just Zhou Yuji, not just that rich, willful, crazy woman who lost money running her company and would just leave whenever she wanted.
Rather... someone who deserves to be taken seriously.
"You'll get tired of the scenery eventually," Zhou Yuji whispered to the starry sky. "One day, I won't be able to endure the hardships of wandering and I won't be able to go far away."
She recalled her vow before setting off to "travel around the world," and the routes and itineraries she had planned.
But now, she suddenly feels that perhaps traveling the whole world is not as good as staying in one place with one person and watching the gentle flow of time.
This thought startled her.
Zhou Yuji, has actually started to yearn for stability?
"I'm going crazy, I'm going crazy." She sat up and shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off those messy thoughts.
But once a thought pops into your head, it's impossible to suppress it.
Just like her feelings for Wang Bo.
Just like Su Yiyi's feelings for Wang Bo.
Just like... the subtle, undercurrent of feelings between the sisters.
Zhou Yuji picked up her phone and opened Wang Bo's photo—a profile picture of him playing the piano, which she had secretly saved from Su Yiyi.
She stared at the photo for a long time, but ultimately didn't send a message to Wang Bo.
I simply set it as my chat background.
Then she looked up and continued to look at the stars.
The desert wind was cool, and it stung my face a little.
But the starry sky is truly beautiful.
So beautiful it makes you want to cry.