Once Upon in Nanjing-Chapter 13 - 12 September 8

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Ban Xia set out early.

She carried a backpack and pushed her bike, leisurely stepping out of the residential complex gate, walking through knee-high grass.

The girl's heart was in turmoil.

It was strange; she was excited and thrilled when she just came downstairs, but as she got closer to the intersection of Zhongshanmen Street, and as time ticked closer to six o'clock, Ban Xia's heart started beating faster, and her anxiety grew.

Would they come? How many would show up?

One? Two? Three?

What would they look like? Would they resemble Daniel Wu, Eddie Peng, or Tom Cruise?

Would it be easy to interact with them?

What should she say when they meet?

As Ban Xia pushed her bike, she imagined someone in front of her, waving at the air, simulating what might happen later:

"Hello, hello! I'm Ban Xia! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

No, that's not right, the girl frowned, not solemn enough.

Maybe she should clench her fists in greeting?

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"Greetings! I am Ban Xia, and I have been waiting for a long time."

That's also not right, Ban Xia shook her head, it didn't sound human.

Her shabby mountain bike clattered, and Ban Xia walked alone in the middle of the road, as the hardened asphalt was easier to navigate than the sidewalk overrun by weeds, which might even conceal snakes.

She casually kicked away the dry, cracked cow dung on the road, breaking them into small balls that rolled into the grass on the roadside.

From the gate of Meihua Villa to the intersection of Zhongshanmen Street, it only took a ten-minute walk. The broad road of Zhongshanmen Street was lined with mature French plane trees thick enough to be embraced by an adult. Over the years, with no one caring for them, the leaves on the road were knee-deep, and stepping on them revealed a layer of rotten black mud from decayed plane tree leaves.

Ban Xia pushed her bike across the street, then stopped at the opposite side of the intersection.

This was an excellent spot to observe, looking left in the direction of Zijin Mountain Peninsula, and to the right was Xuanwu Bay, while directly ahead was the deserted Muxuyuan Street.

She took the pocket watch out of her backpack and glanced at the time, four-twenty.

There was still one hour and forty minutes until six o'clock.

The girl took a deep breath, the air filled with the scent of fallen leaves and soil, she looked down at her feet and then up at the lush French plane trees, the dim yellow sunlight filtering through the overlapping leaves, falling on Ban Xia's shoulders.

She softly hummed a song.

From a distance, a sika deer with its fawns crossed the street; it noticed a figure in its sight, that slim white silhouette standing by the roadside, standing under the highway bridge, tall and slender like an egret, unaware of why she stood there motionless for a long time.

The wind rustled the tree canopy, and the speckled light on the girl's body ripple.

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Quadratic functions are truly the bane of life.

When Bai Yang finished the last quadratic function question on the practice test, it was already five-fifty in the afternoon.

Seeing the time, Bai Yang thought, "Oh no, I'm going to be late, 'Five-Year College Entrance Exams, Three-Year Simulations' deceived me!" He grabbed his phone off the desk and dashed out of the room, hurriedly changing shoes at the entrance.

"Yang, did you finish the paper?" his mother asked from her room.

"All done! I'm heading out now, it's almost six, I'll be late if I don't leave now!" Bai Yang shouted while pulling on his sneakers and stomping his feet, "I'm not coming home for dinner tonight!"

He thought he should at least treat the other party to a meal, not letting the girl make the trip for nothing.

"Come back early!"

"Got it!"

Bai Yang hurried out the door and dashed downstairs.

Running from the gate of Meihua Villa to the intersection of Zhongshanmen Street, occasional passers-by glanced sideways at this sweaty young man running as if his life depended on it.

Bai Yang leaned on a traffic light post at the intersection to catch his breath, then looked around.

People were coming and going on Zhongshanmen Street, especially near the intersection with the overpass where various people – men and women, young and old, walking, biking, or scootering, and a large group waiting at the zebra crossing for the traffic light made a noisy, chaotic crowd.

Bai Yang stood on the sidewalk, took out his phone to check the time – exactly six o'clock, he was not late.

The sky was already dark at six in the evening, and cars had their headlights on; Bai Yang craned his neck, looking for that girl, the one wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a black backpack, pushing a mountain bike with her hair in a ponytail.

There were many girls wearing white shirts.

There were also quite a few in blue jeans.

There were girls with black backpacks too.

And there were sisters pushing bicycles.

But putting them together into one, Bai Yang couldn't find her.

Could it be she hasn't arrived yet?

Bai Yang pondered for a moment.

Then he decided to stand here and wait for her.

As the red light turned green, the crowds waiting for the traffic lights on both sides of the road started moving, crisscrossing the streets, brushing past Bai Yang one after another.

Half a minute later, the green light turned red; a minute after, the red light turned green again. People gathered and scattered on both sides of the street, with only Bai Yang standing still, rooted on the spot like a nail, as the crowd parted around him. Standing under the traffic light, his gaze swept through the crowd, unable to find the person he was looking for.

He regretted not leaving a contact number; a quick phone call or a message on WeChat would have sufficed. Waiting like this, what was the point? But then he remembered, the girl didn't even have a mobile number. That was truly absurd.

"Sister, where on earth are you?"

Bai Yang sighed, looked at his phone again—it was six-thirty.

Could it be traffic congestion due to rush hour?

That was possible.

But doesn't she know to take the subway?

If she took the subway, she might come from the direction of Muxuyuan Subway Station.

Bai Yang looked towards the subway station. The city and street lights under the night sky were brightly lit, cars flowing incessantly. Half of the city's people were returning home, the other half going out. He hoped a young girl with a black backpack, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, pushing a bicycle would appear in his view.

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The night grew deeper.

Ban Xia glanced at her pocket watch; it was already half-past seven. She had been waiting here for three hours, until two moons had risen.

Yet, until now, no second person had appeared.

Her teacher had admonished her never to go out at night. Today was the first time Ban Xia had broken the teacher's rule; she was trying to connect with other survivors and couldn't care less.

But the person she was supposed to meet did not show up.

Why was that?

Could they have encountered some danger?

Ban Xia was worried that the person might have faced an unforeseen event on their way to the meeting, but she dared not leave the spot, fearing that walking away might cause them to miss each other.

The bicycle leaned against the trunk of a French sycamore; the night was pitch black, yet the moonlight was bright. In the distance, something wailed eerily. The girl, tired of standing, slowly squatted down, taking cover under the thick pillar of the viaduct, holding her bow and arrow.

She had never stayed out this late before; she felt apprehensive and uneasy, watching the road under the moonlight from afar.

"Why won't you come to meet me..."

This day, at the intersection of Zhongshanmen Street and Muxuyuan Street, Ban Xia ultimately did not meet the person who was supposed to come.

That tiny figure squatted in the darkness, fingers gently tapping on the tiles each second, time slipping through the universe and within her heart.

Here is Nanjing City, Qinhuai District.

Today is September 8, 2040.

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"Hello? Mom? Okay, okay, I'll be home soon, I know it's past eight-thirty, I know..."

"People? No, nothing, she didn't show up at all, stood me up."

"I ridiculously stood at the intersection for two and a half hours... Dinner? I haven't eaten anything, nothing at all."

"Do we still have dinner at home? Okay, okay, I'll be home soon, right away."

Bai Yang ended the call.

Leaning against the lamppost, he scratched his head.

This would be a laughable matter if He Leqin and Yan Zhihan got wind of it.

Being called out to stand in the middle of the road for two and a half hours, only to be stood up, what kind of situation was that?

"Bai Yang, oh Bai Yang, you really are foolish to the core."

Bai Yang jabbed the lamppost hard.

"Go home! Just go home! There's still school tomorrow!"

He stomped on the sidewalk tiles, venting his frustration.

That day, at the intersection of Muxuyuan Street and Zhongshanmen Street, Bai Yang also did not meet the person he was waiting for.

He retraced his steps and his silhouette gradually vanished into the city lights.

Here is Nanjing City, Qinhuai District.

Today is September 8, 2019.