On a Stormy Night, the Campus Belle Knocked on My Door Seeking Shelter
Chapter 29: Where the Paper Kite Rides the Wind, Old Memories Illuminate the Clear New Day

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Where the Paper Kite Rides the Wind, Old Memories Illuminate the Clear New Day

Some people are born with a strong capacity for empathy.

Su Yuqing didn’t know what had caused the profound sadness that erupted from Chen Mo while he listened to the song, but she had sensed it all the same.

Now, however, it was clear the storm had passed for them both.

Because the one who had occupied their thoughts was now, as they had wished, right beside them.

After they transferred to the third bus running between the New City and the Old Town, the scenery along the route gradually grew familiar.

Childhood memories began to surface.

The Old Town held so many of their memories.

The bus slowed to a stop beside a faded sign. Chen Mo was the first to jump off, turning to offer his hand to Su Yuqing.

The moment her fingertips touched his palm, he grasped her hand firmly. The grip was gentle, much like when he was a child dabbing her tears away with a handkerchief, yet it now held a firm resolve that wouldn’t allow her to pull away.

The Old Town’s breeze carried the clean scent of camphor leaves as it swept past the corner breakfast stall, its glass windows fogged with condensation.

The SIZZLE of fried dough sticks tumbling in a wok, the DING-A-LING of bicycle bells, and the distant, boisterous laughter of chasing children wove together, forming the ambient soundtrack of a bygone era.

In that instant, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing were transported back to their childhood.

Nothing around them had changed.

As Su Yuqing’s canvas shoes stepped onto the bluestone path, she felt for a moment as if she had turned back into that little girl clutching the hem of her dress.

"The kite stall is at the end of the alley," Chen Mo said, turning into a narrow, wisteria-draped lane with practiced ease. As he glanced back from amidst the mottled shadows of the vines, the hem of his jacket brushed the back of Su Yuqing’s hand, leaving a ticklish, tingling sensation.

Kites of all colors, crafted from bamboo strips, were laid out on a display board that extended from the shop’s entrance.

"Come take a look. Which one do you like?" Chen Mo said with a smile, pulling Su Yuqing to his side.

Su Yuqing scanned the shop, inside and out, before extending a rosy finger to point at a peach-pink butterfly kite hanging on the wall.

The blended, gradient peach on its wings truly captured the essence of spring.

As Chen Mo reached for it on his tiptoes, the small copper bells on its frame went DING-DONG, startling a few sparrows under the eaves into flight.

"How about one for each of you lovebirds? This blue butterfly kite would be a great match for the pink one." The proprietress was a shrewd businesswoman; after selling one, she was already trying to push another.

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head. "If we fly two, how will I find a chance to hold her hand?"

The proprietress was stunned by his words and looked at Su Yuqing in surprise, only to see Su Yuqing covering her mouth and chuckling softly.

Who would be so brazen as to announce their intention to take advantage of someone right to their face?

So Su Yuqing knew perfectly well that Chen Mo was just trying to shut the proprietress up.

She found it funny, not embarrassing at all.

’But sometimes, the truth is spoken in jest.’

「Soon, in the park.」

The wind was perfect today. A gentle spring breeze cooled their faces, which had begun to feel a little too warm under the sun, instantly creating a perfect balance.

"I’ll show you how to do a running launch. You’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment if you get it airborne yourself in a bit," Chen Mo said with a smile, handing the spool to Su Yuqing as he took the kite and sprinted off.

As Su Yuqing watched his backlit silhouette, she suddenly remembered that time she had waited for him all day, but he never came. She had curled up on a park bench, sobbing and shivering. ’Who would have thought,’ she mused, ’that one day I’d be able to do all the things I’ve always longed to do, right here beside him?’

Flying a kite was just the first step. Su Yuqing, now honest with her own feelings, was already fantasizing about all the other intimate "firsts" they could experience together.

Love makes you feel insecure, but it also makes you greedy.

Who wouldn’t crave more love?

The grassy slope of the riverbank was still dotted with morning dew. Chen Mo demonstrated by running backward, the kite lifting crookedly into the air behind him.

He had practically succeeded, but he intentionally held back from letting it soar, wanting Su Yuqing to experience the thrill for herself.

"So, think you got the hang of it?" Chen Mo smiled, took the spool from Su Yuqing, and placed the kite in her hands.

At first, Su Yuqing’s run was a bit reserved, and she didn’t build up enough speed.

"Faster, faster! That’s it, run! Perfect!" With encouragement from the veteran, Chen Mo, Su Yuqing tried and failed to launch the kite three times before finally, under his guidance, sending it soaring diagonally into the air.

With a few skillful tugs on the line from Chen Mo, the kite was soon flying high.

"When I was a kid, I always imagined I could ride a kite up to the clouds." He smiled, looking at the kite in the sky and recalling his childhood self. The WHIR of the line unwinding from the spool in his palm mixed with the ebb and flow of old memories.

At this moment, Su Yuqing was staring at the spool in his hands with a look of anticipation.

"Want to give it a try?" Chen Mo smiled slightly and handed the spool to her.

Su Yuqing imitated his movements and tugged on the cotton line but was sent stumbling by a sudden gust of wind.

Just as the butterfly kite was about to nose-dive into the willow branches, Chen Mo came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his warm palm covering the back of her hand.

He made it look like a perfectly natural way to teach her how to fly a kite, but in truth, he had seamlessly pulled her into his embrace, his large hand covering hers. The blatant scheme he’d joked about with the proprietress had come to fruition. "Tug gently," he said. "Don’t rush it."

At that moment, Su Yuqing felt like a willow catkin caught and scattered by the spring breeze—light, airy, and trembling with a tingling sensation.

The warmth of his body seeped through her cotton shirt, warming her back. It was like the gentle heat that used to radiate through the handkerchief when he wiped her tears as a child, only now it carried an extra thrill that made her heart race.

As his arm circled her shoulder, the sharp, clean scent of camphor leaves mingled with the faint citrus notes from his collar. It merged with her memory of the little boy who had comforted her, his own hands clutching a mint candy wrapper. But now, the scent carried a fiery intensity unique to a young man.

Her fingertips trembled at the guidance of his palm, and a subtle warmth from the friction of the cotton line spread from her fingers all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Alternate pulling and releasing, like a heartbeat." The boy guided the girl’s small hand in an arc. A sudden gust swept past, and the kite shot high into the sky, riding the wind. The gale skimmed across the glittering river, scattering shimmering flecks of light.

The cool morning breeze offered a slight reprieve, cooling her overheating body.

With her back pressed against the rise and fall of his chest, she felt dazed, unable to distinguish the rushing in her ears from the wind or the sound of their mismatched heartbeats.

She could almost hear the flutter of her own eyelashes. The wild beating of her heart felt just like the mesmerized feeling she’d get as a child, secretly watching him show off with his somersaults. It was also like the restless tossing and turning from the night before, when she’d curled up in her new bedding, listening to him wish her goodnight through the door.

The vibration of his heartbeat against her shoulder blades did more to stir her heart than the chiming of the tiny bells on the kite.

"I remember when we were little, you always said the clouds looked like cotton candy and you wanted to taste them." She looked up at the kite flying higher and higher, trying to find a topic of conversation to calm her accelerating heartbeat.

But she had forgotten that she had just subconsciously admitted that she was, in fact, the girl Chen Mo had been talking about that morning.