Chapter 2 Underlying Turbulence · Secrets Amidst Cicada Chirps
As the days went by, Lin Yan gradually got used to the rhythm of the new class. But every afternoon, when the cicadas chirped like a tide, he would still fall into contemplation. Those clock parts that had been disassembled and reassembled were like his fragmented memories that he couldn't piece together.
Su Wantang always seemed to be acutely aware of his emotions. During a self - study class, she quietly slipped him a note: "There's an abandoned observatory at the back of the hill. Wanna go after school?"
As soon as the school bell rang, Su Wantang, as lively as a deer, skipped ahead to lead the way. The path to the observatory was overgrown with weeds, and soon her canvas shoes were splattered with mud. She chattered on: "I heard you could see the brightest stars here before."
The iron gate of the observatory was rusty. With a hard push, Su Wantang made it "creak" open, kicking up a cloud of dust. Inside, there was a smell of old wood and damp walls. A large astronomical telescope leaned against the corner, its lens covered in a layer of dust.
"Look!" Su Wantang picked up an old notebook from the ground. The cover read "Stargazing Records". She opened it, and it was filled with crooked star charts and some scribbles in blue ink: "Orion was very bright tonight", "A meteor appeared for 3 seconds".
Lin Yan leaned over and scanned the words. Suddenly, he saw a line that read: "If time could turn back, I'd like to see him again." His heart tightened, as if someone had gently poked at a hidden worry in his heart.
"Who wrote this?" Su Wantang murmured. She flipped through the pages casually, and a photo that had been tucked between the pages fluttered down. In the photo were a young couple, smiling brightly in front of the observatory, with the deep night sky in the background.
Lin Yan picked up the photo and ran his fingers along the edge: "Maybe it was someone who used to stargaze here."
At that moment, a gust of wind blew, making the tattered curtains flutter up and then fall. Su Wantang sneezed. Turning around, she found Lin Yan staring blankly at the photo. She leaned in, her nose almost touching his face: "What are you thinking about?"
Lin Yan quickly turned his head away: "Nothing."
On the way back, the setting sun stretched their shadows long. Su Wantang suddenly said: "Lin Yan, you know, I always think time is a very mysterious thing. Some things seem to be hidden by it."
Lin Yan looked at the shadows at his feet and said in a low voice: "I also want to retrieve what has been hidden."
The chirping of cicadas was noisy in his ears, like countless fine needles pricking the softest part of his heart. After that, every time he was with Su Wantang, Lin Yan could feel an undercurrent surging, like a secret, or some kind of inexpressible affection, quietly growing in the gaps between the cicada chirps and old times.
One day later, Chen Ye secretly pulled Lin Yan aside: "Hey, you and Wantang have been getting close recently. Don't tell me you..."
Lin Yan blushed: "Don't talk nonsense." But his heart beat faster involuntarily.
And Su Wantang also seemed to sense this subtlety. During breaks, she no longer casually teased Lin Yan as before. When their eyes met occasionally, her gaze would quickly dart away like a startled bird.
But during a self - study class with a power outage, in the dim candlelight, Su Wantang quietly stuffed a folded note into Lin Yan's hand. The note read: "I think I kind of understand what you said about the things you want to retrieve."
The cicadas outside still chirped enthusiastically, but Lin Yan felt that this undercurrent of secrets and affection had just begun.