That morning, after packing our luggage, the four of us drove to Shanghai, then flew to Guilin from Shanghai, and transferred to Jinping from Guilin. If everything went smoothly, this thousand-mile journey could be completed within a single day. At this point, any setbacks or unexpected events would be torment for Luo Ben.
On the plane, CC and Luo Ben sat in the front row, while I sat with Leyao in the back. We didn’t speak much until close to takeoff when Leyao, somewhat worried, asked me, “Zhaoyang, with the guesthouse so busy these days, is it okay for you to come with us to Guizhou?”
I was worried too, and replied after a pause, “But there’s Tongzi, and several capable head waiters from Zhou Zhaokun’s guesthouse, and Ahfeng is helping out. I think things should be fine.”
Leyao nodded, then softly said, “I wonder what will happen when Luo Ben sees Wei Manwen again… I really hope he can take her out of that big mountain and bring her back to city life.”
“I think he probably prefers to stay there and doesn’t want to go back.”
Leyao looked toward Luo Ben, then turned back to me and said, “If this happened to you, you’d probably make the same decision, right?”
“Maybe, if that day ever comes…”
“What would you do?”
“We’ll talk about it when that day comes.”
…
The flight arrived in Guilin after two and a half hours. After getting off the plane, we immediately rented a car and headed to Jinping County without even having time to eat at the airport. The 300-kilometer journey was expected to take about five hours, but it would already be evening when we arrived. Reaching Chonghuo Village, where Wei Manwen lived, would definitely be late at night, and it was uncertain whether the car could even reach the remote mountain village. This was why I insisted on accompanying Luo Ben despite having to leave the guesthouse behind.
I drove the first 200 kilometers. Midway, the sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds, followed by a torrential downpour so heavy that the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up. I wasn’t familiar with the local road conditions at all, yet the car kept navigating the dangerous mountain roads.
Finally, Leyao became frightened. Looking at the sky, which seemed to be covered by a black curtain, she said to me, “Zhaoyang, find a safe place to park the car. Let’s wait until the rain eases before continuing.”
I slowed the car to the lowest speed, constantly switching lights to warn oncoming vehicles around the bends, and finally found a relatively open and flat stretch of road with good visibility to stop. There, in the evening of cold rain, we all fell silent inside the car.
I tossed a cigarette to Luo Ben and lit one for myself, slightly opening the window as we smoked. Outside, the sound of rain striking the car windows grew louder, and rain even seeped through the crack, dampening our clothes. But we still smoked because it was so stifling.
I gently exhaled a puff of smoke and said to the distracted Luo Ben, “It’s raining too hard. Let’s go into the mountains tomorrow. We’ll stay overnight in the county town tonight.”
“You guys stay. I’m going ahead.”
“Don’t be silly. With this rain, there could be landslides.”
“Who cares about that anymore?”
“It’s almost been three years. There’s no need to rush this one day.”
Luo Ben didn’t reply, just took a deep drag from his cigarette…
Leyao chimed in, “Luo Ben, this isn’t a joke. We don’t know this place at all, and with this heavy rain, any danger could become a lifelong regret!”
Luo Ben remained silent, his thoughts unreadable.
CC, who had been quiet all along, finally spoke, “If you insist on going tonight, I’ll go with you. If it’s absurd and crazy, I can handle it.”
Luo Ben turned to look at CC, then finally said after a long pause, “I know you’re all worried about me, but I really don’t want to wait anymore.”
I patted Luo Ben’s shoulder, signaling him to stay quiet, then asked Leyao, “Can you get Wei Manwen’s phone number? Maybe we should call her first.”
“If I had her number, I would’ve mentioned it already. Since she chose to stay in a place almost cut off from the outside world, she probably has no desire to connect with the outside. Carrying a phone would only be a disturbance to her.”
I thought about it and agreed, then turned to the silent Luo Ben, “Please don’t take any risks tonight—for your safety and for all of us, okay?”
Luo Ben looked again at the sky filled with rolling dark clouds, then finally nodded and took one last drag on his cigarette before stubbing it out.
…
At eight o’clock at night, the rain was still pouring heavily. Driving at a snail’s pace, we finally arrived in Jinping County. Only then did I let out a sigh of relief, driving the car to a hotel and parking in front of it.
The hotel in front of us seemed to be the best in the county, though far from luxurious. The entire county hardly had buildings taller than ten stories, so it was easy to imagine how harsh the conditions were in the small villages outside the county.
Leyao went to the front desk and booked two rooms—one for her and CC, and one for me and Luo Ben. After bringing our luggage to the rooms, we took umbrellas and walked out onto the street, looking not only for a place to eat but also for someone familiar with the route to lead us to the village the next day.
It was only eight o’clock, but the cold street was already nearly deserted. We walked and asked around, inquiring several taxi drivers, all of whom said their cars couldn’t reach the mountain village. Finally, we negotiated with an experienced taxi driver—we’d pay him one thousand yuan, and he would drive us as far as possible before leading us on foot into the mountains.
After resolving this issue, we finally felt a little lighter. We found a restaurant by the roadside, ordered some food, and sat around a table eating. But conversation remained sparse, and the atmosphere stayed heavy until my phone suddenly rang.
I took the phone out of my pocket, checked the number, and saw it was Mi Cai calling from the United States. This was our first contact since she had left 26 hours ago.
I held the phone and walked out of the dining room before answering the call.
I asked her, “Have you arrived in New York?”
“It’s been 26 hours. Of course I’m here… Is it raining where you are? The rain sounds really heavy!”
“Yeah, it started raining in the afternoon and hasn’t stopped since.”
I gave Mi Cai a response that easily created gaps in conversation, leaving her, who wasn’t very talkative, in silence.
So after a brief silence, I finally said to her, “There’s news about Luo Ben’s first love.”
“Ah!… Tell me quickly. How has she been all these years?”
Instinctively, I lit a cigarette and said, “After leaving Luo Ben, she developed depression. After recovering, she went to teach in a remote mountainous area of Guizhou. She’s been alone all these years, so she hasn’t been doing well!”
Mi Cai remained silent for a long, long time, as expected, before asking, “What does Luo Ben say?”
“We’ve already arrived in Guizhou, and CC came with us too… I think Luo Ben and CC must have already broken up, even though he hasn’t said so yet!”
“This outcome was predictable, but it’s still hard to bear.”
“Yeah, who can say what love is? There’s no need to judge who’s right or wrong. Let’s just respect the decision of the person involved.”
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