That night, the snow kept falling quietly in Jianghai.
The snow fell silently outside the windshield, trapping a taxi on the side of the road, as well as the quiet inside the car window.
The falling snow reflected the two silent faces in the front window. No one spoke.
âWhen did you come back?â Yang Lei asked, breaking the silence.
âJust came back,â Fang Yu replied quietly.
Shadows covered most of Fang Yuâs face. His voice was even deeper than it was in the past.
âWhy did you start driving this?â
Yang Lei chatted calmly, like they were just friends who separated yesterday.
âI came to see someone. He has something to do, so Iâm taking his place for two days,â Fang Yu said.
âThatâs not cool. Youâre in Jianghai, and you havenât come to see me.â
Yang Lei smiled slightly, as though he were joking. He reached into his pocket to take out a cigarette.
Fang Yu didnât reply. He was silent.
Yang Lei didnât speak. He took out a pack of cigarettes.
ââŚAfraid of seeing me?â Yang Lei said. He laughed in self-mockery, lowered his head, and knocked out a cigarette.
He tapped it, but he didnât light it.
Yang Lei thought that he had to smoke one to calm himself. However, he didnât expect that he was calmer than he thought.
He had thought about the circumstances when he met Fang Yu again. He thought that it would be many years later. At least, not now. He also thought about many situations when they met, but he hadnât thought about this one.
The years hadnât left too many marks on Fang Yuâs body. Fang Yu was still so handsome and clean. He just looked colder than he was in the past, and he was more silent.
âAre you doing well?â
Yang Lei heard Fang Yu ask him.
âIâm okay,â Yang Lei said. âStill in the army. Used to be in the Zhou Qiao brigade. Right now, Iâm in an armor regiment.â
On his day off, he came out without wearing a military uniform. Yang Lei knew that Fang Yu didnât know about his current situation.
âThat place is remote, next to a small town. Even if I said it, you wouldnât know it.â
Fang Yu didnât speak. He was listening.
âI heard that you have a factory in the south. The situation has been pretty good in recent years. How is it? It must be profitable.â
Yang Lei smiled, asking Fang Yu.
Three years ago, when Yang Lei went to the south to find Fang Yu, the two veterans told him that Fang Yu was running a factory. At that time, the speed of economic development in the south was much faster than that of the north. In those years, there were a bunch of people who set up factories in Guangdong and Fujian. As long as they were willing to bear hardships, many had become the new rich.
Fang Yu was capable. He could succeed anywhere. Yang Lei knew this.
Fang Yu didnât reply. Yang Lei didnât ask again.
When they stopped, neither of them spoke.
It was snowing heavily outside. There were fewer and fewer pedestrians.
Snow fell on the front window and melted quietly.
In the silence, Yang Lei heard Fang Yuâs deep voice.
âAre you getting married?â
Yang Lei was stunned.
He realized and thought of that wedding photo. Over the past few days, there were always people who knew him who had seen that photo and called him, blaming him for not being cool. He was about to get married, but still kept it a secret.
On the back seat of the car was a big bag of stuff. The packaging of the red happiness character was bright and festive. It was obviously wedding supplies.
âYeah.â
Yang Lei made an affirmative sound as an answer.
âIs the date scheduled?â
âProbably after New Yearâs.â
Yang Lei looked out of the window.
Fang Yu didnât answer.
âWhat about you? Ying-zi didnât come back with you?â Yang Lei asked.
Fang Yu paused for a moment and said, âSheâs in Chaozhou.â
No one in Jianghai knew where Fang Yu had been in the past three years. It was only now that Yang Lei heard of this city.
There was a doll accessory hanging in the car. The owner had hung it up, and it swayed slightly.
âYou must have children,â Yang Lei said.
Three years. Most of Yang Leiâs friends who had dated and married three years ago already had children running all over.
Fang Yu didnât reply.
Yang Lei looked at the snow outside.
Starting from 1999, it would snow heavily every year during the winters of Jianghai. Once he saw snow, Yang Lei would realize that another year had passed.
âThere wasnât any news about you these past few years. I thought that you were probably doing pretty well, so I didnât bother you,â Yang Lei said calmly.
âThereâs no need to hide from me. Really. Thereâs no need.â
Yang Lei knew why Fang Yu didnât leave a message to the old brothers in Jianghai and why he insisted on leaving initially.
In recent years, Yang Lei had become mild and mature. He was no longer that boy who was completely dominated by emotions a few years ago. He was already a man.
Throughout these years, he had thought about what he would say to Fang Yu if he met him again. Every year, his thoughts were different and changing. By now, Yang Lei could already sit calmly with Fang Yu, chatting and talking to him like an ordinary old friend he hadnât seen for a long time.
Time made the bygones be bygones.
âThereâs no need for the two of us to not even be brothers. Donât you think so?â
Yang Lei said. He glanced at Fang Yu, smiling peacefully, with bitternessâŚ
Someone pulled open the car door.
âYoung man, letâs make an agreement and share a car! Itâs too difficult to get a taxi!â
A middle-aged man covered in snow got into the back seat, discussing with Yang Lei.
Yang Lie hesitated for a moment.
âYou sit. Iâm getting out.â
Yang Lei opened the car door and took his things.
âOkay, you can keep working,â Yang Lei said to Fang Yu. He turned around and walked into the heavy snow.
âYang Lei!â
Yang Lei stopped.
Fang Yu got out of the car and stood on the snowy ground.
âGet in the car. Iâll take you.â
Under the streetlamp, Fang Yuâs shadow was very long.
Yang Lei turned around. The two of them looked at each other across the snowy ground.
An empty car came behind Yang Lei. The taxi driver honked his horn.
âAre you coming?â The taxi driver stuck his head out and asked Yang Lei.
Yang Lei lowered his head and opened the car door.
âOkay, this one is the same.â
Yang Lei looked at Fang Yu.
âGoodbye.â
The taxi driver stepped on the accelerator, turned the car around, and drove away.
In the back view mirror, Fang Yu was still standing alone in the snow. Yang Lei didnât look backâŚ
Yang Lei leaned against the car seat and rolled down the window.
The snow was heavy, and with the cold wind blowing hard on his face, it was bone-piercingly cold. Yang Lei didnât feel anythingâŚ