The time of the city

Around six in the afternoon, there was a roar of a car outside the door. Mo Yu's eyes suddenly lit up, and then she excitedly opened the door and ran out.

The car door opened, and the people who got out were Qiao Mu and Lin Xiao instead of Ni Jiamu. Mo Yu's smile seemed to be frozen on her face, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

Lin Xiao came over with her hands on her hips, a hint of teasing on her lips, and said, "Hey, are you unhappy to see it's us?"

Mo Yu lowered her head slightly, her voice small and a little disappointed: "No, I thought it was my brother."

Qiao Mu stepped forward and comforted him, "Jia Mu is so career-oriented that he can't take care of anything else once he's busy. Mo Yu, don't take it too seriously."

Mo Yu nodded gently, raised her head and asked, "Xiaoxiao, why are you here?"

Lin Xiao said, "You haven't been looking at your phone all day, have you? Xiao Hecheng asked you to go to the maple forest, and I couldn't get in touch with you, so I asked me to come check on you."

Mo Yu shook her head slightly, frowning: "I'd rather not go. My brother hasn't been feeling well recently, and I'm afraid he'll be angry."

Lin Xiao stepped forward and took Mo Yu's hand: "Xiao Hecheng has loved you for so many years and suffered so much for you. It's quite pitiful. His leg hasn't healed yet, but he went to the maple forest on crutches. If you didn't go, he might have been waiting there."

Qiao Mu also echoed: "Jia Mu won't be back these days, so why don't you go over there? It's a good opportunity to talk to him and make things clear."

Mo Yu lowered her head and pondered for a while. She felt that what Qiao Mu said was indeed reasonable, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go change my clothes first."

Before long, Qiao Mu dropped Mo Yu off at the entrance to the maple forest. Lin Xiao got out of the car, touched Mo Yu's head, and pulled a scarf from her bag, wrapping it around her. She whispered, "It's autumn, and the weather's cold. Don't catch a cold. We'll be waiting for you here."

Mo Yu wrapped her scarf tightly, took a deep breath, and walked forward with a brisk yet slightly nervous pace.

In the maple forest, the leaves rustled in the autumn breeze. Xiao Hecheng stood in the same spot. Even with the help of a cane, his posture remained as straight as a pine tree. His back revealed a sense of loneliness and forlornness. He tilted his head back, gazing off into the distance, not knowing what he was looking at.

Mo Yu saw his slightly trembling legs, and her heart ached. She called out softly, "Hecheng."

Xiao Hecheng heard the voice and slowly turned around. The moment he saw Mo Yu, a gentle smile bloomed on his face. His eyes were still so clear and bright, without any impurities, like a clear spring, reflecting Mo Yu's figure.

The autumn wind blew, ruffling the strands of hair on his forehead. He just smiled quietly and looked at Mo Yu affectionately, as if everything around him no longer existed and there was only her in his eyes.

Mo Yu felt a little embarrassed by his fiery gaze. She took a few steps forward and asked softly, "Hecheng, why did you think of asking me to come to Maple Leaf Forest again?"

Xiao Hecheng lowered his head, his voice carrying a barely perceptible trace of loneliness: "Xiaoyu, I'm about to leave City A, so I want to watch the maple leaves with you one more time before I go."

Mo Yu was stunned when she heard this, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. She looked at Xiao Hecheng's leg and said, "Your leg isn't healed yet. Wait until it's healed before leaving, okay?"

Xiao Hecheng didn't answer, but just walked forward slowly with his cane. Mo Yu didn't ask any more questions and followed him silently.

The two figures looked particularly lonely against the backdrop of maple leaves.

Before they knew it, they were under the wishing tree, which was still hung with colorful little bottles. When the breeze blew, the little bottles collided with each other, making a crisp and pleasant "ding ding ding" sound.

Xiao Hecheng raised his head and looked at the small bottles all over the tree, with a hint of sadness in his eyes: "I can't find the bottle I hung." His voice was low and a little melancholy.

Mo Yu also looked up at the densely packed small bottles and said softly, "When the tree is full, it will be taken down and replaced with a new batch. No matter how big the tree is, it can't hold so many people's wishes."

Xiao Hecheng took out two small bottles and two small notes from his bag and handed one to Mo Yu. "Xiao Yu, let's hang up again."

Mo Yu took it. The moment she picked up the pen, Ni Jiamu's sickly appearance that morning flashed through her mind. After a moment, she carefully wrote on the note: "I hope my brother will always be healthy and safe, and stay with me year after year."

Xiao Hecheng looked at Mo Yu, who was writing seriously beside him, his eyes filled with affection and tenderness. He lowered his head and wrote on the slip of paper: "Fulfill all of Mo Yu's wishes."

After writing, Mo Yu held up the bottle with a look of longing and expectation on her face: "I have always felt that the wishing tree here is very effective. This time, all our wishes will surely come true." After that, she stood on tiptoe and hung the bottle up.

But no one expected that just a few seconds after it was hung, a strong wind suddenly blew, and the bottle fell down instantly, shattering with a "bang", and the note was also carried by the wind, flying higher and higher, and farther and farther.

Mo Yu looked at the note that had been blown away, her heart trembling, and she was completely stunned. When she came to her senses, the note had already disappeared without a trace.

"The note was blown away. My wish may not come true. It's all my fault that I didn't hang it up properly." Mo Yu smacked her head in frustration, tears welling up in her eyes and her voice choked with sobs.

Xiao Hecheng quickly grabbed Mo Yu's hand, patted it gently, and comforted her, "The bottle I bought was of poor quality, and the wind blew your wish away. Maybe it didn't want to be taken away, and wanted to carry your wish far away. It will definitely give priority to your wish."

After saying that, Xiao Hecheng hung up the bottle he had written on, turned to look at Mo Yu, and said with a firm look: "Xiao Yu, your wish will definitely come true."

Mo Yu's eyes lit up instantly after hearing this, and she nodded vigorously: "Yes, it will definitely come true."

The two of them walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. Maple leaves fluttered down in the autumn wind. Mo Yu bent down and picked up a handful of maple leaves, gently holding them in her palm against the wind.

Soon, the wind blew away all the leaves in her hand. She turned her head, looked at Xiao Hecheng, and asked softly, "Hecheng, are you going home? Back to the United States?"

Xiao Hecheng shook his head slightly: "I don't have a home."

He actually wanted Mo Yu to give him a home, but he couldn't. In his heart, he was never worthy of her. The sun could illuminate him and warm him, but it didn't belong to him.

She didn't want his ring, or his vile heart.

Xiao Hecheng raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile: "I want to travel around and see the beautiful rivers and mountains of China."

Mo Yu picked up the largest, reddest maple leaf from the ground and handed it to Xiao Hecheng: "Hecheng, I wish you happiness."

Xiao Hecheng took the maple leaf, stroking it gently with his fingers, his voice trembling a little: "Can I hug you?"

Mo Yu was slightly startled, then opened her arms. Xiao Hecheng smiled and walked forward to hug her gently.

He took a deep breath, sniffing her scent, wanting so badly to hold her tightly in his life, but he couldn't. He only hugged her for a moment before letting her go.

"Xiao Yu, I wish you happiness. It's getting cold, so go back quickly." Xiao Hecheng's voice was a little hoarse.

"What about you? I'll let Xiaoxiao take you there."

"I want to sit for a while." Xiao Hecheng said softly, looking into the distance.

"Then, see you in Hecheng!" Mo Yu waved at him, then turned around and left step by step.

The moment Mo Yu turned around, Xiao Hecheng's tears burst out and slid down his cheeks.

He raised his head, looked at the sky, and murmured to himself: "Xiaoyu, you said that the sky is big and can accommodate all my sadness. I remember it."

At night, the lights in the hospital ward were dim. Ni Jiamu sat on the bed, his phone in hand, flipping through a photo album. His face was pale, but his eyes were unusually gentle.

He pointed to a photo and said to Ji Lin, "Linzi, look, this is a photo of Xiaoyu when she was 8 years old in the orphanage. She looked silly back then, but she was so cute."

He flipped through the pages again: "This is a photo of her when she was 18. Isn't she very pretty?"

As Ni Jiamu watched, his eyes gradually turned red and tears began to flow. Seeing this, Ji Lin nervously stepped forward and asked, "Jiamu, are you in pain again? Where do you feel uncomfortable? I'll go call a doctor."

Ni Jiamu wiped away his tears and shook his head. "I'm not feeling uncomfortable. I just feel sad when I think about not being able to see Xiaoyu grow old when she's 28, 38, or older. People tend to get sentimental when they're sick."

Ji Lin looked at Ni Jiamu and said earnestly, "Jiamu, tell Moyu about your illness. You're treating her this way, and it makes her sad, and it makes you feel bad too. If you continue like this, you'll regret it."

Ni Jiamu looked out the window, the night darkening. “I am in the wind, gathering and parting are beyond my control. Life is like the sea, and perhaps regret is the norm.”

In the dimly lit room in the early morning, Nan Feng woke up. He reached out and touched his head. There was a big bump where he had been hit, and the pain made him gasp.

He rubbed his sore legs and feet, slowly stood up, and searched the room for paper and pen.

As he wrote, he muttered to himself, "It seems that stopping the medication does help me remember things. I should be able to remember a lot later, but I knocked myself out. I must persevere next time."

Nan Feng carefully wrote down what he remembered on a piece of paper. After writing it down, he went into the kitchen and made some simple food.

After eating, he leaned tiredly on the sofa. After a while, he fell asleep again in a daze. The only sound in the room was his even breathing.