"Lunch? Oh... I've ordered this. Let me see what's available nearby. Okay, okay, I'll look for something to eat when I'm hungry, that's it! Didn't you have an appointment with someone today? I understand.
,Know it."
Tao Xiaman turned off the phone and continued her pace.
The pace in this city.
As a photography enthusiast, how could she not play with her SLR when she had such a rare vacation?
Time cannot preserve time, but photos can.
Moreover, she also felt that she had been in a bad mood recently...somewhat inexplicably irritable. She knew her reasons clearly.
A hobby is an activity that helps you forget about things.
The camera turned around buildings and passers-by. Sitting on an ordinary bus, she compared the city in her memory with the city today.
Things change and people change, which can probably describe her mood at this time.
When the sightseeing tour bus called out the name of a stop, Tao Xiaman got off the bus. But when she paused at this place and looked at the name on the street sign, she hesitated unexpectedly.
Jihua Road.
Somehow...are you back to this place again?
Tao Xiaman shook his head.
She lives here.
once.
Here, she is truly revisiting her old place, right?
Tao Xiaman somehow started her own pace again, but on this old road, the number of times she mentioned her SLR could almost be described as a handful.
Although it was the place in her memory, it was now unrecognizable. A large number of new buildings had appeared. But there were very few places where she could regain her memories.
Tao Xiaman stopped in front of a noodle shop.
Dad, I want to eat noodles with lots of toppings.
Sliced noodles are sliced noodles, and noodles with toppings are noodles with toppings. Where can you eat them like this?
No matter what, I want it! Okay?
OK OK.
Hearty laughter.
Tao Xiaman thought of the conversation that had happened here a long time ago. She seemed to have seen a scene where a little girl was hurriedly dragging her father in... a scene that she would occasionally think of, but should not think of.
Tao Xiaman suddenly felt that she was right to say that she was in love with a scene. But even so, she did not want to go in. At least at this moment, her feet seemed to be pulled by something. This made it difficult for her to continue moving forward.
further.
Maybe it would be good to take a photo, she thought, silently grabbing the lens of the camera.
"Aren't you going to go in?"
Such a voice suddenly appeared behind her. Tao Xiaman turned around and saw only a young man in casual clothes who was younger than her, like a college student, about twenty years old.
The facade of this noodle shop is a bit small, with an ordinary door. Tao Xiaman never thought that such an ancient noodle shop could still survive to this day... What I really want to say is that she blocked the way for others to enter.
"Sorry." Tao Xiaman said apologetically and took a step away.
The young man just nodded, smiled slightly, and walked into the noodle shop. When the young man walked in, Tao Xiaman took steps forward for some reason, as if something was moving towards her.
She also walked into the noodle shop and heard the conversation between the young man and the noodle shop owner... Tao Xiaman still had some impression of the owner's appearance, but his hair was already full of white.
"Brother, you're here again! As usual?"
"Yes, please, boss."
"Okay! You can sit down for a moment, it will be ready soon!" The white-haired boss responded angrily, and then shouted towards the kitchen: "A bowl of topping noodles, a bowl of shaved noodles! Topping noodles
Put the shaved noodles as toppings and pack them all!”
So the young man randomly found a stool and sat down.
Tao Xiaman watched this scene with interest.
She had rarely seen such a quiet young man: while waiting for time, he did not play with his mobile phone like the general public, but took out a small book, opened it and started reading.
There are also bookmarks on the books, which is a habit only people who read frequently have.
"Why put the toppings on the noodles? Wouldn't that make the noodles taste less delicious?"
She sat down in front of the young man.
This is a public canteen, where you can sit wherever you want. However, the business of this old noodle shop is not very good. It should be lunch time, but there are only three tables of customers.
The one this young man is sitting on is already one of them.
"Is there any question?" The young man raised his head slightly, as if he didn't care about this abrupt question.
Tao Xiaman shook his head: "No problem, I just rarely see people eating like this, so I'm curious. Oh, I'm sorry, I was abrupt. Hello, my name is Tao Xiaman, and I am... a photography enthusiast."
"Hello." The young man nodded.
This is the time to introduce yourself, right?
But what makes Tao Xiaman interesting is that this young man's simple hello seems to be much better than a self-introduction.
What should I say?
Just right.
This was Tao Xiaman's only feeling when he recalled it later.
She asked: "Do you... come here often?"
The young man nodded: "In recent times."
She asked: "Live here?"
The young man shook his head and said, "I don't live here."
So Tao Xiaman smiled and said, "I don't live here but I came here to buy food. It seems that I really like the taste here."
The young man smiled in response: "I actually bought it for someone else. Well... I recently met a friend who often forgets to eat because of work. I'm afraid his body won't be able to bear it."
Tao Xiaman nodded: "He is so lucky to have you as a friend."
The young man didn't say anything, but opened the corner of his mouth slightly in a small arc. At this time, the owner of the noodle shop came over with two boxes, "Okay, brother, your noodles!"
The young man simply paid the money and stood up. He suddenly glanced at Tao Xiaman and said softly: "No matter whether the toppings taste good or not, my friend will always finish it."
She just felt strange.
…
Until the end of this short conversation, Tao Xiaman still didn't know the young man's name... Of course, this was not a magical encounter.
Because she already has a fiancé who loves her and whom she also loves deeply.
She just felt that such an encounter was like an episode: a quiet song in the metropolis.
"Hey...girl, do you want to eat something?"
But the owner of the noodle shop is still standing here.
Tao Xiaman, who was already sitting here, was embarrassed to say that he didn't want to eat.
She lowered her head and thought for a while, then looked at the chopstick barrel on the table, "Give me a bowl of shaved noodles, and then add money for the toppings on the noodles."
"Okay!"
…
After leaving the noodle shop, Tao Xiaman passed by the place where she once lived. She had the urge to go up and have a look, but when passers-by walked by on the street, she was startled by this impulse.
The momentary impulse faded away after being frightened, leaving only a trace of indifferent melancholy.
She looked up one last time, took a deep breath, and walked towards the exit of the street.
That meal of shaved noodles with toppings still tasted good, but it might be the last time she tasted it.
Because she didn't know if this noodle shop would still be there when she still had the chance to pass by.
Interestingly, when she was about to leave this old street, Tao Xiaman met an acquaintance: a classmate of hers in elementary school... her deskmate.
Looking at the past from a distance, the thin man at that time has become a little fat now. It seems that he must have married early. Tao Xiaman looked at this old classmate holding his four or five-year-old child and buying ice cream from a small shop.
Walk past the stall.
The old classmate did not recognize her, and she just watched silently as she held her son like this and finally disappeared around the corner.
Tao Xiaman thought that maybe she should go up and say a few words of greetings, but some memories from her childhood were like shackles, locking up the nostalgia she had just managed to condense in that old noodle shop.
Some injuries may last a lifetime.
Time will eventually erase all traces of this old street, and at the same time, it will also erase her memory.
She hoped so.
Tao Xiaman's return to his hometown has ended here.
…
But Tao Xiaman never thought that she would encounter some unexpected things today.
"Are you Tao Xiaman?"
She met a very tall man downstairs in her house, wearing sunglasses and tattoos, who called himself Hadron. (To be continued.)
