Chapter 81
Chapter 81 (How Did You Find Him?) Zhao Yuan Managed to Find Yun Che
“Ziyun Piano store gets a new boss, and this new boss is Yun Che,” Zhao Yuan said gleefully on their way to the piano store.
“How did you find him?” Lin Wenxi asked curiously. He himself had never figured out how to find Yun Che as he knew only his name. The reason he studied the piano score was that he thought he might be able to meet him somewhere and remind him of Zhu Ziping by playing the song on the piano in the future.
Zhao Yuan was always a problem solver. Since knowing that Lin Wenxi often went to Ziyun Piano Store, he had been wondering, “Ziyun? This name sounds somewhat familiar. Is this just a coincidence?”
He had asked Wang Xiang to write a poetic line containing the names of Yun Che and Zhu Ziping and managed to persuade Ziyun Piano Store to solicit investment by publishing this line as an ad on many local websites.
As Lin Wenxi was a frequent visitor to the piano store, the store owner and clerks all knew this boy from Ji Fu University and agreed to help him. Among the intentional investors, Zhao Yuan quickly discovered a man named Yun Che. He did everything in his power to help the store to get the investment from Yun Che and then managed to meet and have a drink with this man. As at that time, he was busy doing part-time jobs. He decided to take Lin Wenxi and Yun Che to find Zhu Ziping when he had time.
Upon knowing how Zhao Yuan had found Yun Che, Lin Wenxi could not help but be impressed. “It’s not an easy thing to find Yun Che, although Zhao Yuan made light of what he has achieved. He had to find out whether Ziyun Piano Store is underfunded and then convince the owner of the store to publish the ad on the websites, which is designed to intrigue Yun Che. Well, he also has good luck.” Lin Wenxi thought when they were heading toward the piano store after skipping the lecture.
Yun Che was surprised upon hearing that some students had come to the piano store to find him, as he had just taken over this store. He was a well cultured man and admired Lin Wenxi’s artistic temperament very much. He felt that this boy was somewhat like himself. Both of them were good-looking and kind of detached from the earthly world.
Lin Wenxi looked at Yun Che. He wore a white suit, a white shirt and a pair of white shoes. He had thick eyebrows and bright eyes. His face was somewhat pale. Under the incandescent lamp, it seemed as if he was enveloped in a white mist. He stood close to them but at the same time seemed to be detached from them. Lin Wenxi did not say anything. He went directly to the piano in Yun Che’s room and played Colorful Clouds Chasing The Moon on it. He played it well, albeit not so well as Zhu Ziping did.
Yun Che did not think too much at first, as many people in this world liked this song and many people knew how to play it on a piano. He thought that this boy probably just came to seek his guidance, so he gave him some advice and planned to send them away.
“Zhu Ziping lives alone by the Yinshui River in Damu County,” Lin Wenxi said solemnly.
Yun Che’s face suddenly changed.
Lin Wenxi told him everything. He became pale after hearing that and murmured, “Take me to find her.”
As they were busy with studies in the university, Zhao Yuan planned to take Yun Che to find Zhu Ziping on a weekend. When Zhao Yuan was about to refuse Yun Che’s request, Lin Wenxi, who seemed not to care about anything recently, readily promised him.
Zhao Yuan hurriedly dissuaded Lin Wenxi. “Are you serious? Do you know how to go to Damu County? Are you sure that you still remember the route? Don’t forget that we still have lots of things to do at the university. Yun Che, please give us some time to prepare. Can you give me your number? We’ll call you later.”
Yun Che nodded and then sent them to the door of the store. When they walked out of the store, Lin Wenxi looked back and saw Yun Che dejectedly slump down into his chair near the door. He wanted to go back to comfort him, but Zhao Yuan dragged him away.
“That’s none of your business. No matter how much you want to help them, you have to take care of yourself first. Do you forget what happened the last time when you protected that old man from the street hooligans?” Zhao Yuan said grumpily. Even he himself did not understand why he felt angry at this moment.
Lin Wenxi nodded after some thought and said, “Oh, I see, but you don’t need to be angry.”
“I just don’t want you to be alone,” Zhao Yuan said seriously. He realized that he just felt worried about Lin Wenxi’s safety and did not want him to go to the depths of mountains with a stranger.
Lin Wenxi smiled upon hearing that. Zhao Yuan frowned slightly.
The next morning, Zhao Yuan finally came to know that he should have never trusted Lin Wenxi so much.
Lin Wenxi’s bed was empty, but his computer was still on. The screen was filled with all kinds of maps of Damu County. Zhao Yuan immediately called Lin Wenxi, and Lin Wenxi told him that he was on his way to Damu County. Zhao Yuan could not help but sigh inwardly, “Why did I have to connect the wires to give him the chance of using the computer at night? He must’ve searched for maps on the Internet last night and sneaked out early in the morning.”
“Fuck! I’ve told you that this is none of your business!” Zhao Yuan cursed angrily. He hurriedly checked the maps on the computer and asked Wang Xiang to help him answer the roll call today.
He tried every possible way to persuade Lin Wenxi and finally made him promise to wait for him in Damu County. He still felt worried as he knew that cellphones could not receive any signal near the branch of the Yinshui River within Damu County. After talking with Yun Che for a few times on the phone, he finally ensured that everything was alright. He felt relieved and fell asleep on the long-distance coach.
After the three of them gathered at Damu County, they took a tractor to Yunzhong Village where Zhu Ziping lived. Lin Wenxi thought to himself, “The name of the village sounds great. No wonder Zhu Ziping chose to live there.”
On the tractor, Lin Wenxi and Yun Che kept talking about piano music. Lin Wenxi was so impressed by Yun Che’s opinions. He got so excited that he nearly fell from the tractor. Fortunately, Zhao Yuan pulled him back in time. When Yun Che promised to teach him, Lin Wenxi was so moved that he nearly kow-towed to Yun Che. Upon seeing that, Zhao Yuan sighed inwardly, “Why does Lin Wenxi become a different person every time he leaves the university?” Later, when he talked about this thing with Gu Xi, Gu Xi told him. “Lin Wenxi becomes a different person only when he stays with you.”
Before the tractor reached the branch of the Yinshui River, Lin Wenxi insisted on getting off the tractor and walking to the village. The tractor driver reduced the price a little and dropped them off. After the tractor made its way back, Yun Che asked confusedly, “The tractor driver said that we were going to reach the village in half an hour. Why do we have to get off the tractor here?”
“Whenever you go, she’s waiting for you over there. She’s your destination. But for me, all I have is the scenery along the road,” Lin Wenxi said with a smile.
After that, he told Yun Che some interesting things that had happened during his wilderness training. Upon hearing that, Yun Che understood his decision and stopped complaining.
The Yinshui River is diverted around the Niutou Hill.
Lin Wenxi stood in front of the hill for a long time, lost in thought. Half a year ago, Zheng Kai had carried him all the way up to the cliff here, Zhao Yuan had taken off his shirt in a tent on the top of the hill, and Shu Xiaoman had crawled into the tent to dress his wounds. His teammates had been woken up by a landslide on a rainy night and then carried him all along the way as he was sick. With this in mind, Lin Wenxi snapped a dead branch off a plant near the river and walked while beating the deep grass with the branch. As it is summer now, the scenery here is different from that of the autumn. Lin Wenxi somehow had mixed feelings now.
When they were walking along a path on a rice paddy field, it suddenly began to rain. Zhao Yuan took off his shirt and walked beside Lin Wenxi to protect him from the rain. Yun Che walked behind them silently.
The paddy fields looked fresh and green. The smell of the rice plants mixed with that of the soil. Egrets flew over the fields, and orioles chirped among the trees. They felt refreshed and forgot about all their troubles. Lin Wenxi wondered, “Why do I feel that I had a similar experience before? On a rainy day, a boy walked by my side and said teasingly, ‘I’ll marry you in the future.'”