03

She said, I beg you, do not torment yourself any longer, the summer solstice has already disappeared for a year, you cannot find him! Ximan, could you please come back soon? We are all very worried about you

I stood there in a daze, unsure of how to respond. Is the summer solstice really that wonderful? This is a question I have asked myself many times, yet countless times I have been unable to provide myself with the most accurate answer

I stared blankly at the phone screen, feeling a deep sadness that made me want to cry. My mother had no idea that I had run so far from home just to find a boy. On the sixth day of the vacation, I lied to my mother, saying that Weilan had invited me to her aunt's house in Suzhou for the summer. I asked Weilan to help me with the lie; she had grown up with me since childhood, and my mother liked her very much, so she naturally believed her words

During those days, Wei Lan scolded me harshly, shouted at me in public on the street, and once ignored me for half a month. The most serious incident was when she slapped me across the face. I understand her concern and the pain she feels for me, but time and again, I have disappointed her.

Upon learning that I would be embarking on a journey westward during the summer vacation, traveling through mountains and rivers to Shaanxi and ultimately to Dunhuang in search of the summer solstice, she screamed that I was crazy. She said that I had never left this city in all my years, and that I was recklessly running off to such a distant place just to find a boy who might have left without a word because he no longer loved me. Was it worth it to do this?

The latest text message was sent at 1:30 AM, and I can almost imagine the sorrowful expression and the sense of collapse she must have felt while typing those words.

Finally, she wiped away her tears, reached out to touch my hair, and said softly: "Is he really that good? Do you love him so much?"

Yachen is a carefree person, whose warmth is always hidden within playful teasing, making one feel both amused and comforted

His words became a prophecy

She shook my shoulder fiercely and said hysterically, "Ximan, wake up!" By the end, her tears fell to the ground. I was momentarily flustered; the usually strong Yulan was crying for me. I held her, and we both cried together. With a choked voice, I promised Yulan, "Don't worry, I guarantee I will take good care of myself, eat well, sleep well, and I won't lose a single pound when I come back! Just one month! Can you give me a month? Please help me tell my mother." I promised Yulan again with a choked voice, "Don't worry, I guarantee I will take good care of myself, eat well, sleep well, and I won't lose a single pound when I come back! Just one month! Can you give me a month? Please help me tell my mother."

So far, what is the most beautiful love confession you have ever heard? I like you? I love you? I want to grow old with you slowly? Come with me? In my seventeen years of life, the most beautiful little love confession I heard was in the autumn of my fifteenth year, when the eighteen-year-old Summer Solstice said to me, Ximan, I will grow up with you.

During the year of searching for Xia Zhi, I often think of a character named Ma Da from the movie "Suzhou River," which I once watched with Xia Zhi in his rented room. I still remember how, in a whimsical manner, Xia Zhi asked me, "Xi Man, if one day I disappear, would you search for me like Ma Da?" I scolded him for being crazy, then with a slight smile at the corner of my eye, I replied emphatically, "No, I wouldn't be that foolish!"

The most frequent messages come from Weilan, who angrily shouts through text. She says, "Sheng Ximan, if you don't come back within a week, I will no longer cover for you!" Now, every time I see your mother's number appear on the phone screen, I feel a surge of fear and wish I could just smash my phone to pieces. The message was sent five days ago at eleven o'clock in the evening

At the very beginning, she accompanied me in a frenzied search everywhere. As time went on, her patience and hope gradually dwindled. She said, "Don't be foolish; he left without a word on purpose. What is the point of your desperate search?"

However, I did not act as I had claimed. During that summer when he went missing, I wished I could dig three feet into the entire city, and many times I found myself squatting on the bustling streets, weeping uncontrollably.

I received a message from my mother, asking, "Ximan, why did you turn off your phone? How are you and Lanlan enjoying your time in Suzhou? I wonder if you are getting used to the food there? Come back soon to avoid causing trouble for Lanlan's aunt"

I am on the train home, arriving at the station in one hour. After typing the above content and pressing the send button, I tossed my phone back into my bag and turned to look out the window

As the train was about to arrive at the final station, I turned on my phone, which had been off for a week. Countless text messages popped up, the beeping notifications striking my heart, one after another, as if they were heavy sighs from deep within me

Since the summer solstice has passed, I can no longer recall how many times Wei Lan has pleaded with me in such a tone that is almost desperate. She has always been such a proud girl, and seeing her in that state actually makes me feel worse than she does.

There is a message from Luo Yachen, who said, "Brave classmate Sheng Ximan, are you still alive? Have you not been swallowed by the sands of Mingsha Mountain? If the answer is no, then make sure to come back alive!"

I do not need meaning, I only want an answer. I do not believe that the Summer Solstice, who once said he would grow up with me, would suddenly disappear from my life without even a word of farewell. The person I know him to be is not like that.

I do not know how to tell Weilan that some people, even if they have only briefly passed through your life, occupying an extremely small part of our long lives, leave a mark like a brand etched into the skin, which can never be erased