Parallel Lines Chapter 7 - A Maiden's Carol on Christmas Eve

At night, You Lan read trivial things in school, and fell asleep beside Xuan Lan when she was tired. The bed was already very small, and with two people being squeezed, Xuan Lan didn't sleep well all night. Before dawn, she was awakened by the sound of her mother's footsteps back and forth.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of her mother's door closing that she carefully stepped over her sister's body, picked up the book beside her pillow, and walked out of the room on tiptoe, closing the door gently, fearing that the sound of her grooming would disturb her sleeping sister.

In the small silent living room, she sat at the dining table and continued to read.

Sure enough, Cheng Dieyi's story developed in a tragic direction. Duan Xiaolou's brotherly love for him, no matter how deep, could not satisfy his thirst for love. From the moment he fell in love with the object who could not respond to him, he was doomed to fall into endless loss and envy. . . .

She accidentally thinks of He Huiwen, which is also an object who can't respond to her. But her feelings for He Huiwen are really insignificant compared to Cheng Dieyi's dependence and love for Duan Xiaolou since childhood. For Cheng Dieyi's tragedy, she will only be a bystander and cannot be involved in it.

Yesterday, she taught her what she was annoyed about, and after reading the sad song of the Cultural Revolution, she felt that it was nothing to worry about.

The friends around her are nothing but long-distance passers-by. Over time, as the environment changes, they always fade out of the stage. During the summer vacation when she was promoted to junior high school, she moved to another school, and she lost contact with her close neighbors and playmates. It was the same when she was in high school. Friends who were close to her in elementary school asked her out several times, but they didn't see her again.

She would never initiate contact with anyone because she didn't think anyone would expect to see her again.

It was impossible for anyone to be so close to her that she would fall into a doomed situation.

He Huiwen should be no exception. After half a year, they will go their separate ways. Really, there's nothing to worry about.

"Everyone...?" Jun Lin rubbed his eyes and walked out of the bedroom.

"Wake up?" Actually, it was almost eight o'clock. Xuan Lan closed the book in her hand: "Have you breakfast? Is the milk barley good?"

"Well, thank you." After saying that, he nestled on the sofa and turned on the TV with the remote control, which was broadcasting "Hong Kong Morning".

After Xuan Lan boiled the water, he remembered that he was only reading books and forgot to eat breakfast. She had to add some cold water to the boiling water to prepare the oatmeal for two. While waiting, she went back to the dining room to turn two more pages of the book. Glancing at my younger brother, he had already shifted positions and was playing computer games.

She didn't understand why computer games were fun; Jun Lin also didn't understand how my sister could study all day.

Neither of them had any intention of persuading the other, so it could be considered that they were living in the same room as harmonious and different.

"Hey, eat it." After a while, Xuan Lan hurriedly brought out the two bowls of hot oatmeal.

Jun Lin opened the refrigerator, took out the condensed milk bottle, and poured a lot into his bowl.

"You are so sweet."

"Sweet is delicious, sister, do you want it?"

"Do not."

"It's strange, how can you eat such a bland thing..."

Xuan Lan smiled and did not answer. In fact, she also thinks that the wheat peel is delicious, but she can't drink a little condensed milk.

She was afraid that after she got used to the sweet taste, it would get worse and worse, just like her brother.

Just then, a familiar whistle came from outside the door. Without saying a word, the younger brother happily ran to open the door.

Whistle is their code word.

The whistleblower once said that the doorbell was ringed by the visitor. When the master goes home and asks the family to open the door, it should be done in another way.

"I'm back!" Outside the door, the tall, dusty man in a coat was full of smiles, hugging him dotingly and exclaiming excitedly like a child.

"dad!"

"Wow, Jun Jun has grown a lot taller!" He touched his son's head, then looked up at his eldest daughter: "Xuan Xuan is also, he is about to be taller than me!"

"Has Xie Youlan woke up? Dad is in a hurry to take a shower!" The mother put her husband's suitcase aside, and hurriedly pushed her husband into the bathroom.

"Where's Yoyo? Are you still sleeping..." Yoyo is Xie Youlan's nickname.

"Yeah, yeah, let's talk after the shower!" After saying that, the mother also walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Xuan Lan looked at the happy backs of the two and smiled unexpectedly. The mother, who is usually cold and frosty, is so excited only when her father is there.

She finally tasted the long-lost, "home" feeling again.

After bathing together, the mother was busy packing up the things that the father brought back from Australia, and the father ran back to the bedroom to wake the second daughter up.

"Dad is home..." When You Lan saw her father, she leaned sleepily into his arms: "That's good." She said coquettishly, but there was no sign of getting up at all.

"Sleep a little longer, I'll go out to chat with my sister." He gently stroked his second daughter's forehead, and was about to get up, but she was pulled: "I'll get up soon, three minutes..." Standing by the door, Xuan Lan couldn't help but stare at each other with a wry smile.

"Xuanxuan..."

"Um?"

After not seeing each other for almost half a year, my father tried to open the chat box: "How is this semester going?"

Xuan Lan thought for a while: "It's not bad." In terms of academic performance, there is really nothing to worry about.

"Dad, you still need to ask, everyone is always in the top three in the exam..."

"Then of course I know..."

"The score sheet will only be released in February, so I might not know it yet." Xuan Lan hurriedly added.

"It doesn't matter, I know you can do it." Father wanted to ask him what he was more concerned about: "How are you doing with your classmates?"

Unlike other children, the eldest daughter is surprisingly reticent. He always felt that she might not get along with her peers.

"It's okay..." She thought about the classmates in her class and had nothing to say.

As for this friend He Huiwen, she doesn't want to mention it to her family for some reason.

"Everyone is very popular, her classmates asked her to perform in a stage play..." You Lan said again.

The father was quite surprised: "Really?"

Xuan Lan hurriedly corrected: "That's just a joke."

"What drama?"

"Zhong Shi Ke role-playing..." If He Huiwen hadn't involved her in these things, she wouldn't want to get involved. In order to cope with her father, she lied casually: "I did it for my homework, it's nothing special."

Seeing that Xuan Lan had no desire to say more, he felt like he was being forced, so he didn't ask any further.

It seems that the eldest daughter is still the same...

At this moment, the younger brother walked into the bedroom, sat down on Dad's lap, and asked, "Dad, where are we going tonight?"

"Well..." After a whole night of flying, he was really tired and had no idea: "What do you think?"

The younger sister has already taken the lead: "I want to go to Tsim Sha Tsui to see the lighting."

"Where's Xuan Xuan?" Father asked.

Xuan Lan thought that on Christmas Eve, there must be many people in Tsim Sha Tsui, and it would be too inconsiderate to ask her father to accompany him to the street after the exhaustion.

But remembering that she promised He Huiwen that "if I can, I will definitely go to the beach to cheer," she still replied, "...Alright."

"It's so rare, it's the first time you agree with my proposal!" Youlan immediately woke up halfway.

"You said that? When did everyone not accommodate you?"

"She always only says 'it doesn't matter', and she never says 'OK'." After thinking about it, Youlan asked again curiously, "Sister, do you have any special place you want to go?"

"It seems... I haven't been to the seaside in a few years." Xuan Lan said and felt that he was too much: "Uh, but if you are afraid of crowding, don't go."

"Wow, isn't it!" Youlan's chin was about to drop. "Isn't you the one who was most afraid of crowding? I thought you agreed to go to Tsim Sha Tsui because you were going to buy books for business."

(Note: At that time, the largest commercial press in Hong Kong was in Tsim Sha Tsui.)

"Uh..." Xuan Lan said with a guilty conscience, "I guess you wanted to go, so I suggested it."

"Really...?" Youlan was dubious, but since someone supported her, she wouldn't let it go: "Dad, since everyone agreed, let's go to the seaside tonight!"

.

In the evening, the family went to a restaurant in Ho Man Tin Square to eat hot pot. You Lan and Jun Lin recklessly ordered plates of fat beef, and when they checked out, the table was full of empty plates—the last time I went out for consumption like this was more than half a year ago.

After dinner, the five of them squeezed into a taxi and headed to the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui.

After getting off the bus, I saw that all the people on the street were dressed in deep and thick clothes, rubbing shoulders one after another, walking slowly in the crowd. Even though the surroundings were so noisy, Xuan Lan could still hear the crisp melody of "Blue Danube" coming from the ice cream truck. Many children held their parents' hands, fearing the severe cold, and shouted to buy ice cream. Next to the five flagpoles, several middle school students were playing the violin. The two open piano cases in front of their feet were filled with purple and turquoise banknotes.

Xuan Lan looked around carefully—that person was probably nowhere to be found.

"Let's hurry up, if it's too late, there will be too many people to squeeze in!" You Lan grabbed Xuan Lan's arm with one hand and urged Jun Lin's shoulder with the other.

It was hard to squeeze into the seaside garden, and the crowd became denser. Fortunately, the flow of people was still moving forward, and it was not to the point of being impassable. The streets are lined with colorful stalls selling dazzling Christmas ornaments. The peddler's wrists and necks were wrapped in rings made of fluorescent sticks, and their faces were submerged in the black screen under the fluorescent light.

"What are these in all directions on the road?" Jun Lin pointed and asked, "I've seen several along the way."

"I heard that it is used to engrave celebrity handprints." Youlan replied.

"But there's nothing on it."

"The Avenue of Stars won't open until next year..."

Xuan Lan didn't listen to the conversation between the younger brother and sister. She walked casually, her eyes going back and forth among the backs of countless pedestrians.

Somehow, when you want to meet someone, the backs around you will always fill you with fantasies, fantasizing that she is the person in your heart, occasionally looking back, meeting your eyes and smiling... Of course, this kind of expectation will continue Failed. After those irrelevant people turned around, their backs became unfamiliar again.

"Dad, go and have a look..." Jun Lin seemed to have found something interesting, he turned back and dragged his parents to a tented booth where a child was pulling his hand from a tray of plastic paste, waiting for the glue After the pulp was dry, the clerk carefully took the child's hand out of the plastic model, and a small hand model was completed.

"It seems like a lot of fun, I'll go get one too, okay?" Jun Lin said excitedly, "V sign!"

"You can make something special if you want..."

Parents smiled and followed behind him, telling the clerk himself. When Jun Lin was about to dip his hands into the glue, he suddenly naughty put away his index finger. You Lan saw it and hurriedly stopped him: "How do you raise your middle finger!"

"It's you who said to be special again, the V word is very common!"

"Dad, my brother made a foul gesture!"

Seeing the two of them fighting, Xuan Lan smiled helplessly - why do people always want to leave traces of their existence?

.

At this time, a girl's poems came from not far away, and the crowd in the center of the road gradually retreated to both sides after hearing the sound:

"Long lay the world in sin and error piningTill he appear'd and the soul felt its worth..."

She subconsciously took a few steps towards the human wall and looked out from the gap between the heads.

"A thrill of hope the weary world rejoicesFor yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!Fall on your kneesOh hear the angel voices…Oh night divine…"

(Note: This hymn is called O Holy Night, and the author found the version performed by Celtic Woman on Youtube)

"The Voice of an Angel".

Dozens of chicly dressed girls, holding hands in pairs, holding snow-white and bright candlesticks in the other, lined up neatly in a straight line, singing with sweet smiles on their faces. Almost all of them have long hair, which is soft and snug on their chests, and the pure white and pure light makeup on their faces is just right.

"oh, night when Christ was born..."

No matter which angle you look at, which person you put your eyes on, it's a pleasing sight.

However, only that angelic face could grab Xuan Lan's sight without a moment.

In the last chorus, the voices of the girls singing in unison (unison) are staggered into different parts. Xuan Lan was in the crowd, admiring the angelic girl safely and intoxicatedly—she closed her eyes so deeply that she sang the highest note above the harmony of her companions with a prominent and round voice. solo:

"Oh, night divine, oh, night…"

The girl slowly opened her eyes and coincidentally met Xuan Lan's gaze. Xuan Lan's heart was hot, and her eyes seemed to be smashed away like a billiard ball. After a second, she dared to look at the other party again, only to see the other party still staring at her, and she completed the last sentence of the poem with a smile: "Oh night divine."

The passers-by didn't hesitate to applaud. That unique soprano has won a lot of envious eyes. While the other girls were still enjoying everyone's appreciation, the soprano couldn't wait to pull her companion, trying to pass through the human wall and walk in the direction of Xuan Lan. Everyone's eyes were drawn by her like bundles of filaments. come over.

Xuan Lan also wanted to move forward, but was suddenly pulled, "Sister, look!" Jun Lin raised his dipped model with a V-shaped gesture in front of her.

"How arrogant you are at him! This thing cost a hundred dollars!" Youlan muttered angrily.

Before Xuan Lan could say anything, she was called again, "Jacky!" As soon as she raised her head, the girl had already dragged her companion to her.

"He..." The name they used when they were alone, but they didn't say it in the end: "Rebecca, Shirley!" Shirley also greeted Xuan Lan with a smile.

"Is that your brother and sister? You really brought your family here!"

"Yeah, let's see you."

"Really? How did we sing? Are you okay?"

"What do you think? Everyone stopped to hear you sing." Both girls laughed happily.

"It's a rare encounter, why don't you take a picture! Did Denise bring an instant camera?" Shirley nodded.

At this time, the other companions of the Shiyong team also came over: "Rebecca, who are you looking for?"

"I'm the "quarantine" (adjacent seat)!"

All of a sudden, the classmates of the Shiyong team all stared at Xuan Lan—who didn't know Xuan Lan, and looked curiously at this tall, thin, fair-skinned guy in black wind tower and blue jeans; Denise, a classmate, was a little impressed by her unisex dress for her autumn trip, and she was stunned for a while before shouting, "...Oh, it's Jacky! Come and take a photo together!"

Xuan Lan did not forget to instruct her sister: "Tell my parents that I will take a picture with my classmates, soon..." It was too late to say, He Huiwen happily hooked Xuan Lan's arm with one hand, and the other girls also surrounded them. , and instantly found a position where the lens of Denise's camera could be seen, and everyone gathered together almost face to face.

Denise crouched down: "Okay, get ready! One, two..."

"Hey Denise, come here! Find someone else to take a picture, come here!" How could everyone miss their companions when taking pictures.

Denise hesitated, and the girls continued to call her again. When she was about to find a passerby who was willing to help, a tall man patted her on the shoulder: "I'll pat her for you."

"Huh?" It was a very young man, definitely less than forty years old.

"I'm Xie Xuanlan's father."

Denise paused for half a second before realizing it, grinning, "Trouble Uncle!" After saying that, he handed the camera to him and quickly returned to the team.

"Ready? One, two, three... lol!" Card swipe!

.

.

.

"It turns out that everyone has a lot of good friends!" Youlan, who slept in the upper frame, seized the time when the three brothers and sisters were in the same room and asked, "Why didn't you mention it?"

Jun Lin, who got off the bed, also thoughtfully stared at Xuan Lan on the mattress on the floor.

"No, it's just a classmate." Xuan Lan said casually.

"What about the one standing next to you?"

"Just next door."

"She seems to like you very much, she is super happy to see you!"

"how could be."

"You guys are holding hands and taking pictures." Youlan then wanted to say, isn't this good enough friends?

Unexpectedly, Jun Lin suddenly smiled wickedly and interjected, "Hooked hands, like boyfriend and girlfriend!"

"..." It was Xuan Lan's turn to stare at Jun Lin.

"Xie Junlin, be careful with your words, you are the one sleeping on the bed now, not me," You Lan reminded.

Jun Lin knew what tricks the eldest sister had to deal with him, so he had to hold back his laugh, but he couldn't help it later: "Boyfriend, girlfriend..."

Without saying a word, Xuan Lan jumped onto Jun Lin's bed and tickled him: "You want a girlfriend? Don't you!" Jun Lin screamed loudly. But afraid of waking up his father, Xuan Lan Youlan hurriedly "shush" him again. Everyone slipped back to their beds and pretended to sleep, knowing that their mother would come to teach them a lesson again.

However, there was still no movement at the door for a long time. Xuan Lan could only hear the regular breathing of Jun Lin and You Lan—they were already asleep.

She quietly took out the group photo of everyone from the pocket of the wind jacket hanging on the door handle.

The group photo of the classmates who relieved the father and made the younger siblings envy was just an illusion—these classmates might not even be called acquaintances with a nod?

The streetlights that came in through the window were so weak that they seemed to only illuminate the face in the photo.

That face, and the blurry self, are so close, so close that you can feel the temperature of the other person's cheek. The faint fragrance accompanied by the warmth of her cheeks—that was just her breath—made Xie Xuanlan distracted for a moment, and immediately let go of his arms before taking a photo.

This girl, in order to find her, retreated from the spotlight to the dim light; this girl, willing to vacate the precious little corner of her mind, to carry her things-when Denise pulled her to eat sugar water with everyone, she insisted on calling her Cherish the time to enjoy the rare family happiness.

Xie Xuanlan felt that the girl was kind to her and taught her to be flattered.

But so what? To this girl, she may just be a passerby. It's not hard to imagine that next year, in the arts and sciences division, or even just after the class teacher's transfer, she will be submerged in the sea of people again, and she will be so far away this night that she will feel at ease, admiring the stunning girl under the spotlight.

She reached under the bed and pulled out a small cardboard box. The box contains small gifts that have been received over the years: keychains, birthday cards, Christmas cards... all from elementary school classmates. One of the more interesting things was a keychain given by a classmate before the junior three transferred schools. The pattern is a little grizzly bear holding a wooden sign of "Best Friends". The bump on the bear's left arm can be paired with the keychain of the other party.

On the day she left school, the classmate hurriedly wrote her phone number and address. However, when she was moving, she accidentally lost the note. They have lost contact since then.

She didn't know if the other party was disappointed because she couldn't wait for her call or letter, but after so many years, the "Best Friends" of the past was at best just a section in the memory, and even took up a little space in the memory. Not qualified.

She knew that as long as she didn't revisit it repeatedly, time could always dilute everything.

She silently hid the photo taken with her today, as well as her ulterior admiration for her, in the box.

Christmas, the Xuan Lan family spends leisurely at home. medium.com