The streets were much livelier on the weekend than usual.
Sunlight slanted in from the east, spreading a layer of golden light across the clean asphalt road.
The trees lining both sides of the street had already grown dense green leaves.
A gentle breeze blew, rustling the leaves.
There were quite a few people on the sidewalk.
Yan Yu slowly moved her wheelchair along the sidewalk.
The wheels rolled over the tiles, making a rhythmic, soft sound.
She noticed people looking at her.
Some were furtive glances, others were gazes that couldn’t help but take a second look.
A little girl holding her mother’s hand passed by her, and even after she walked past, she turned back to look at Yan Yu.
Yan Yu heard whispers coming from behind her.
“So pretty… is she a celebrity?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her.
But she’s really beautiful.”
“Where did she buy that dress?
I want to buy one too.”
The voices weren’t loud, but they were just loud enough to drift into Yan Yu’s ears.
She didn’t turn around, only the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
The subway station was two streets away.
Yan Yu moved her wheelchair to the entrance.
The accessible ramp was on the side.
She slowly slid down the slope, swiped her card to enter, and took the accessible elevator down to the platform level.
The platform was packed with people.
There were far more people traveling on the weekend than on weekdays, most of them young.
The train pulled into the station.
Air rushed out from the tunnel.
The doors opened.
Yan Yu moved her wheelchair inside and found a spot near the doors that was reserved for wheelchair users.
She locked her wheelchair in place, fastening the straps to connect the wheels to the securing device on the train, then held onto the vertical handle with one hand while the other rested on her shoulder bag, waiting quietly for the train to start.
The doors closed.
A clear female voice came over the PA:
“This train is headed for—Binhai New City.
The next stop is—Central Park.”
The train slowly started, and the platform lights outside the window began to move backward.
Yan Yu turned her head and looked out the window.
The PA announcement went off every few minutes.
She listened carefully.
She was counting the stops.
The aquarium she had agreed to meet Su Qinghan at was alight at Binhai New City station.
“Binhai New City station—we have arrived.
Please make sure to take all your belongings and alight from the left door.”
The train came to a stop, and the doors opened.
Exiting the subway station, the view suddenly opened up.
Binhai New City was a newly developed district in recent years.
The urban planning was done well—the streets were wide and clean.
There was none of the crowding and noise of the Old City District here.
The aquarium was diagonally across from the subway station exit.
Yan Yu could see the building from a distance.
The overall shape was like a giant water droplet, the exterior covered with silver metal panels and blue glass curtain walls.
At the entrance of the building was an open square, the ground paved with light-colored granite tiles, and a fountain stood in the middle.
There were already quite a few people in the square, mostly families with children, as well as many young couples.
Children ran around the fountain, adults chasing after them and shouting, laughter and the sound of water intertwining.
Yan Yu swept her gaze across the crowd.
And then she saw Su Qinghan.
She was standing under a large tree on the right side of the aquarium entrance, her back against the trunk, one hand in her pocket, the other holding her phone, her head slightly bowed as she looked at something.
She was a bit far away, but Yan Yu still recognized her at a glance.
Su Qinghan was dressed very differently today.
She was wearing a dark, form-fitting long dress.
The fabric was a stretchy knit material that wrapped from her shoulders down to her calves, the dress clinging to the curves of her body.
The dress had a androgynous design—a small stand-up collar, sleeves that went to the wrists—but the tailoring at the waist and hips perfectly outlined the soft lines of a woman’s figure.
Her hair seemed a bit longer than before.
The last time they met, her short hair was just past her ears.
Now it had grown to her shoulders, the ends curled slightly inward, falling softly over her shoulders.
A few strands of hair were tucked behind her ears, revealing the small silver earring on her earlobe.
Yan Yu looked at her from afar, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind—
‘Su Qinghan seems to suit long hair better.’
With short hair, Su Qinghan was cold and sharp.
But with her hair a bit longer, she looked much softer.
‘Why does she always keep it short?’
Yan Yu was a bit curious, but didn’t dwell on the question for long.
She took a deep breath, moved her wheelchair, and slowly approached Su Qinghan.
The sound of the wheels rolling over the tiles wasn’t very loud in the open square, but Su Qinghan, as if sensing something, suddenly looked up when the wheelchair was still about ten steps away.
Their eyes met.
The moment Su Qinghan’s gaze fell on Yan Yu, she seemed frozen in place.
Her eyes moved from the light makeup on Yan Yu’s face, to the light blue floral dress, and finally to her fair wrist.
The whole process might have only taken two or three seconds, but to Su Qinghan, it felt like an eternity.
Yan Yu was very beautiful today.
Even though she was still in that frail, sickly body, still sitting in a wheelchair.
But that light blue dress added an indescribable vibrancy to Yan Yu.
And there was that fragrance that, once she got close, Su Qinghan could never forget after smelling it.
Faint, sweet, like jasmine petals covered in dew after the rain, gently scattered in the air by the wind.
This wasn’t Jiang Muyun’s style.
For the first time, Su Qinghan so clearly realized that Yan Yu had her own style, a unique temperament.
She wasn’t anyone’s substitute.
She was Yan Yu.
The Yan Yu that no one could replace.
For some reason, that thought came to Su Qinghan’s mind.
“Qinghan, do I look good today?”
Yan Yu moved her wheelchair in front of Su Qinghan, looked up, and smiled at her.
Her smile was so clean it was almost transparent, carrying a gentleness that made people want to get close.
Su Qinghan lowered her head, opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Her gaze lingered on Yan Yu’s face for a moment, then looked away, and after looking away, she couldn’t help but look back.
Her brain felt like it was stuck on something, all the words blocked in her throat.
In the end, she just said dryly:
“Mm, beautiful.”
Her voice was very soft, so soft it was almost drowned out by the sound of the fountain in the square.
After she said it, she immediately regretted it.
Those two words were too thin.
But she didn’t know what else to say.
Yan Yu didn’t seem to mind her perfunctory answer, and instead casually said:
“Qinghan looks great today too.”
Being looked at with that kind of gaze, Su Qinghan felt her ears getting hot.
She pretended to cough twice, trying to cover up the awkwardness.
“Ahem, ahem—”
Then she awkwardly walked behind Yan Yu and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.
It had been a long time since she last did this.
‘When was the last time I pushed Yan Yu’s wheelchair?’
Su Qinghan couldn’t remember.
In her memory, it had happened a few times, but they were all somewhat obligatory.
“Alright, the sun is strong outside.
Let’s go in first.”
She said.
“Mm.”
Yan Yu responded.
Just as Su Qinghan was about to push the wheelchair, Yan Yu added softly:
“Qinghan, it’s been a long time since you last pushed me.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, light as if she were talking to herself in the wind.
But Su Qinghan heard it loud and clear.
Every word fell into her ears, landed on her heart, like a feather gently brushing past.
Su Qinghan didn’t answer.
She just gripped the handles of the wheelchair and headed toward the entrance of the aquarium.
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