"This is the Zhenhai District..."
A young man in his twenties stands in front of Zhenhai Passenger Station, gazing at the surrounding skyscrapers, the constant stream of traffic on the streets, and the diverse crowd. He feels a bit dizzy and cannot help but sigh.
The young man's name is Zhang Yu, who has lived in a small town since childhood, which is off the beaten path where young people generally travel for work. During the Chinese New Year, family and friends at home gathered, and those working outside also returned, all of whom seem to be doing pretty well, especially a young aunt from the next door, reportedly married a wealthy man in Zhenhai and has become a car owner.
For Zhang Yu, the big city has no appeal, but his mother is a competitive person. Seeing that the young people in the town are doing well outside, but her son is carrying on without any achievement, she decided to harden her heart, let her son go to Zhenhai to seek refuge with the young aunt, and hope he could make something out of himself there.
Zhang Yu pulls out an old-fashioned phone book and a dual-card orange mobile phone that his mother just bought him from his pocket. Just when he was about to dial the young aunt's number, a tremble rose in his heart.
The young aunt's name is Yang Ying. The Yang and Zhang families have been family friends for generations, Yang Ying's father and Zhang Yu's grandfather were apprentice brothers in a carpentry workshop. Yang Ying is the late-born daughter of Old Yang and is three years older than Zhang Yu. The two grew up together, can be considered childhood sweethearts.
Four years later, Yang Ying decided to leave the small town and pursue a new life in the big city. Zhang Yu remembered their last conversation very clearly. Yang Ying returned the silver bell he had lost for four years and said, "I'm leaving, this is for you. Take good care of yourself in the future, get married, have a child, and your aunt can be a grandmother then."
Zhang Yu nodded his head in a daze, watching Yang Ying get on the long-distance coach. Since then, Yang Ying never came back until this Chinese New Year. Yang Ying was wearing a jade green cashmere coat at that time, she's become a completely different person, so noble and elegant, with a transcendental temperament compared to the pure little girl from the past. The two seemed not from the same world, only greeted each other symbolically when they met.
Now that he was about to call Yang Ying, Zhang Yu didn't know what to say. He didn't want to see Yang Ying, but there was also some expectation, he was so contradictory.
Suddenly, a woman's shout came from not far ahead, "Someone's snatching my bag! Someone's snatching my bag!"
Such things never happened in their town. When he heard that someone was stealing, Zhang Yu thought, "In broad daylight, what a nerve he must have."
He quickly stuffed the phone and phone book into his pocket, picked up the oversized travel bag at his feet, and charged towards the source of the voice. He hadn't run a few steps when he saw a man in his twenties holding a woman's bag and rushing towards him. The man was very fast, and although there were people around, no one tried to stop him. Judging by the man's appearance, Zhang Yu was certain that he was the thief. As the man approached, Zhang Yu lifted his travel bag and threw it at him.
"Ah..."
With a cry of pain, the man was thrown a good two meters away, and the women's bag flew out of his hands. Zhang Yu quickly followed up and was about to catch the man, but seeing his guilty face, the man didn't even care about the dropped bag, quickly rose to his feet, and rushed towards the other side of the road.
The street was bustling with traffic, and Zhang Yu didn't dare to chase too recklessly. He watched as the man crossed the street and fled away.
Zhang Yu picked up the bag on the ground, then saw a woman coming towards him, hopping and skipping with a pair of high heels in her hand, shouting, "Someone robbed my purse! Someone robbed my purse!"
"Your bag is here!" Zhang Yu greeted her and immediately recognized her face.
The woman looked like she was in her mid-twenties, dressed in a white large-collared shirt and a black pencil skirt. Her face was filled with anxiety and some pain, which made her look more pitiable.
"Auntie!" Upon recognizing the woman, Zhang Yu was startled.
As it turned out, the woman before him was none other than Yang Ying, the source of Zhang Yu's inner struggle.
"Zhang Yu!" Yang Ying was also taken aback when she saw him, but then she noticed the purse in Zhang Yu's hand and her face lit up. "That's my purse," she said promptly.
"I knew it was yours." Zhang Yu ran over to return the bag to Yang Ying, adding, "Auntie, what a coincidence! I just wanted to call you, and here you are."
"What do you need me for?" Yang Ying asked curiously.
"You told my mom during Chinese New Year that I could stay with you, so she sent me to Zhenhai to find you," Zhang Yu said straightforwardly.
"Did I say that..." It had been half a year, how could Yang Ying remember what she had said during Chinese New Year? Moreover, it was a home gathering, even if she had said it, it would have been merely a polite remark. Seeing Zhang Yu's attire made Yang Ying frown: a white shirt, an outdated pair of dress pants from probably the 90s, and even a pair of double back sneakers. With a giant travel bag in his hand, Zhang Yu looked like the typical migrant worker just arrived in the city.
"You definitely said it. Otherwise, my mom wouldn't nag me every day to find you and even said I couldn't come back if I didn't make something of myself," Zhang Yu, an honest person, could not imagine how people would change when they moved to big cities. Seeing Yang Ying frown, he assumed it was because her foot was in great pain and asked with concern, "Auntie, it seems like you twisted your foot, does it hurt badly now? Can you still walk?"
"In order to chase that jerk, I twisted my ankle just now. It hurts a lot. But I really have to thank you for getting my bag back," Yang Ying said. Her ankle was indeed in pain - it had even started to swell.
"We're family, no need to be polite. You seem to have difficulty walking, let me carry you," Zhang Yu offered, turning around and bending over to present his back to Yang Ying.
There were many people around the bus station. Given how they were both dressed, if Zhang Yu carried her, wouldn't that be terribly embarrassing? But now she had twisted her ankle, and walking really was a problem. And there was one key factor: if she let Zhang Yu carry her home, she would have to let him stay.
Zhang Yu waited for a moment, and seeing that Yang Ying wasn't moving, he thought it was because her foot was in so much pain she couldn't stand up. He had no idea about all the thoughts going through Yang Ying's head. He squatted down in front of her, reached back with both hands to grasp her knees, and with a little force, lifted her onto his back. Then he straightened up, steadying Yang Ying on his back.
Yang Ying hadn't expected Zhang Yu to carry her like this and yelped, "Ah..."
Immediately she scolded, "What are you doing?"
Zhang Yu sincerely replied, "I saw you weren't moving and figured you couldn't put weight on your foot, so I just carried you. Do you remember, when we were kids, and you twisted your ankle in the mountains? I carried you back home just like this, for almost ten miles."
