Erina picked up the large basket of vegetables and continued walking towards the farm. This was the first time she had gone down the mountain since the day she followed Henry to learn martial arts.
At first, Henry also wanted to go with her, but he didn't know if it was because the fish cooked with wild vegetables yesterday was too cool or something, but his stomach hurt all night until morning. At noon, he lay in one place, unable to move, so he had to let her run and jump alone as she wished.
Just entering the gate, Erina suddenly saw a shiny black car speeding past her. In a short moment, through the car window, she could still recognize that the man in the backseat with his head bowed was Clement.
Reflexively, she quickly put down the basket of vegetables, and ran after him, waving her hand repeatedly.
The car quickly disappeared at the end of the road, leaving only a faint trace of dust. If possible, she wished she had wings to catch up with him.
“Clement, why don't you go to the mountain to visit me when you come back? If I had come a little earlier, maybe I would have met you.”
Erina muttered to herself and turned back, going straight to the back of the farm. This afternoon, she harvested a few rows of vegetables.
Because she had grown too many vegetables and couldn't eat them all, she was afraid that they would be old and rotten and would be a waste, so she asked Orson's permission to bring them down the mountain and give them to Nelly so that she could distribute them to the gardeners.
Entering the house, Erina saw Nelly busy in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, Nelly turned her head to look.
Realizing that the corners of the woman's eyes were still wet, Erina knew that she had just finished crying.
“Auntie, these are the vegetables I grew. Please take some for yourself, and share the rest with the gardeners.”
Erina took each bunch of vegetables and arranged them neatly on the wooden shelf. Nelly also helped quickly, her voice a bit weak because she was still emotional.
“Clement just stopped by. Did you see him?”
“Yes, but he didn't see me.” Erina answered softly.
“I don't know how he eats or drinks, but he looks very thin and pale.”
After saying that, Nelly continued to cry. Not knowing how to comfort her, Erina approached, hugged her thin body, and patted her. She also wanted to cry loudly but tried to hold back.
“Please call and ask him a little, he's so pitiful.”
Nelly quickly pushed Erina away and put the phone in her hand. She nodded slightly and called Clement. After two rings, the deep, warm voice that she had been missing day and night gently rang out.
“Yes, I'm listening.”
Erina's throat was choked, she was so emotional that she couldn't speak. After several consecutive questions from him, she regained her composure and spoke.
“Clement, it's me, Erina.”
“Erina, Erina, is that really you? You are at Ms. Nelly's house, right?” His voice trembled on the other end of the phone.
“Yes, I saw you sitting in the car just now and I couldn't catch up with you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she burst into tears, surprising Nelly. She did not expect Erina to love Clement more than she did.
Over the phone, Clement kept comforting, encouraging, and promising her all sorts of things, like he was coaxing a child.
Ending the tearful call, Erina said goodbye to Nelly and went back up the mountain with the basket and the box of braised meat. Anyway, hearing his voice was already a blessing to her.
The sun left the dark clouds, shining bright afternoon sunlight onto the deserted road. When Erina stopped by the waterfall, the sunset gradually spread down, and the mountains and forests quietly let themselves rest after a long hot day. Somewhere, the clear chirping of wild birds calling their flocks back to sleep further evoked the feeling of loneliness.
Erina was lost in thought when the sound of footsteps lightly stepping on dry leaves startled her, and she quickly turned her head to look.
Henry approached her with a white umbrella in hand and sat next to her. Looking at her eyes like rippling autumn lake water, he guessed that she had just cried.
“Has your stomach ache gone?” Erina turned her gaze towards the rushing waterfall and asked softly.
“I'm better now. I saw that it was about to rain and you hadn't come back yet, so I was going to pick you up. But Erina, did you just cry?”
“Ah. It's been so long since I've seen Ms. Nelly, so...”
Before she could finish her sentence, she fell silent. Henry pursed his lips and nodded. This reason was not convincing at all.
Erina had lived in his house for a long time, sometimes she was busy with her studies and only visited Nelly once a month, so she should have gotten used to it.
Hearing the thunder rumble, Erina quickly stood up and turned to Henry, telling him to hurry back. He took the basket from her hand and signaled her to go ahead.
Henry sadly watched the cold afternoon wind unintentionally blow the young woman's hair in one direction, the yellow leaves absentmindedly following her footsteps. He felt so bitter in his heart. She came into his life gently and now wanted to leisurely leave him behind.
“Erina, do you miss Nelly or do you miss Clement? If we are apart in the future, will you miss me?”
Henry asked her as if he were questioning himself. In response, there was only the sound of the afternoon wind and the sound of trees and leaves rustling.
Tonight's meal, Orson continued to eat alone because Erina had brought braised pork up the mountain. Henry took all the fatty meat and gave the meat to her because he knew she didn't like it.
This action of Henry made Erina miss Clement even more, every time they had meals together, he was the same.
“Erina, the master said to let you practice sparring with me tomorrow.” Henry spoke up, dispelling the quiet atmosphere.
“I have only learned a few lessons, how can I beat you?” She frowned, the chopsticks in her hand also stopped.
“Beat me? Erina, martial arts are divided into two parts: boxing and sparring. This is to help you practice to perfect your techniques into skills.” He gently looked into her eyes and explained in a low voice.
“Then I'll bother you tomorrow, senior brother.”
After saying that, Erina smiled, a crooked smile. She couldn't help but worry in her heart, wondering if tomorrow he would be too enthusiastic and kick her into the bushes. She and he were like chicken eggs and goose eggs when comparing.
After dinner, Henry ran to the kitchen and came back a moment later with a large plate full of wild strawberries.
“Where did you pick them?” She opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“The master picked them. You eat these ripe fruits, they are sweet, and the unripe ones are a bit sour.”
Henry happily chose the berries for her, and the sour ones took them all for himself. Erina's pink lips smiled slightly, it had been a long time since she had enjoyed this wild fruit.
The moment he divided the fruit, he accidentally brought them both back to their childhood. In their minds now, they were simply like children in the past, without grudges, calculations, love, or sadness.
Today, Henry continued to do the cleaning and washing of dishes. He told Erina that she was tired from delivering vegetables, so she should rest early and let him do it.
Returning to the empty room, her sadness increased. Outside, the wind was still blowing and the rain began to fall, each drop landing on the tiled roof, making a pattering sound, ending the series of peak hot days.
Daytime rain is sad, nighttime rain is even sadder. How many raindrops are how much nostalgia is in her heart. She didn't know if Clement had received the rain in the middle of this season or not in that far away city.
For more than ten years they went to school together, the rain and sunshine of the four seasons fell endlessly on their innocent love, nurturing it until today, becoming more and more passionate.
In her fitful sleep, the burning yacht suddenly appeared, the image of a man writhing to find a way to escape behind the glass, and a scream startled her and woke her up.
It was cold, but her whole body was drenched in sweat, and her breathing became difficult. Her eyes were filled with panic as she looked towards the flickering, dim oil lamp.
Thunder and lightning rumbled everywhere, seemingly wanting to split mountains and block rivers. If she remembered correctly, the times she tried to let go of her hatred to be gentle with Henry, those cruel memories would reappear, haunting her in her dreams.
“Dad, Henry is not at fault, he is very pitiful.”
The sound of crying mixed with the sound of rain drifting into the night but could not wash away the pain. In the next room, Henry could not sleep either. After tossing and turning for a while, he got out of bed, took his coat, opened the door, and walked to her room.
In the afternoon, he saw Erina's red eyes and now that it was raining, he was afraid that she would continue to cry. Through the gap, he recognized her silhouette on the wall with her thin shoulders shaking.
Thinking about Erina being heartbroken because of that man, Henry's tears suddenly flowed down.
“Erina, if I can't wipe away the tears from your eyes, then let me cry with you.”
That girl was his whole sky, the moment he was desperate and wanted to let go of everything, she appeared like the warm morning light that healed all his wounds. From that moment on, he could only see her.
The wind grew stronger and stronger, throwing raindrops against the eaves, and drenching Henry's entire body. However, he no longer felt the cold of the night because his heart was too numb.