Glass Butterfly

Ruan Youqing took a bus from Otaru to Sapporo to change lines to Hakodate, climbed all the way to the mountain foot station of the cable car and waited in line.During autumn and winter, people go to the observatory at three or four in the afternoon to watch the night scene after sunset.He was wearing a thin thermal suit and a fleece sweater, and he was already sweating slightly when he got on the cable car.

In late November, when the sun began to sink, the temperature approached zero, but it still couldn't stop the tourists. The red leaves were not over, waiting for the first snow.It would be better to say that Hokkaido is even more lively when it enters winter.

Ruan Youqing bought a bottle of hot green tea and held it in his hand, not wanting to squeeze into the crowd, so he continued to climb up to the terrace above the restaurant, where there were far fewer people.

He watched the sky turn from light blue to gray blue, and then was dyed a layer of red by the setting sun, showing a gradual change of color until the moment when the lights came on.

The night of the city does not belong to the stars. The lights on the land are lit up one by one, spreading to the edge of the distant mountains, driving away the last bit of red natural light, and the night is completely here.

According to legend, the grand night scene that must be seen once in a lifetime spreads out in front of the eyes. The light spots in the distance produce hazy halos due to the distance, flowing like liquid under the dark sky.

The wind was too strong, so he squinted his eyes to avoid tears from being stimulated by the strong wind.Someone tapped him on the shoulder, spoke English, and asked if he could take a photo.

It's a young couple.Ruan Youqing just heard them speak Chinese, so she said: "Yes."

When the other party saw that he was a compatriot, they looked at each other happily: "The main purpose is to help us take pictures of the night scene behind us. We just took a selfie, but the front camera is very poor."

Ruan Youqing nodded, raised their mobile phones high, and focused.Just a second after pressing the shutter, the young couple turned their heads at the same time, their lips touched each other lightly, and then parted shyly.

At this moment, he suddenly understood what Kawai said.

You don't feel lonely when you are alone, you are lonely when you stand alone in the crowd.When you are alone, you don't feel lonely. You will be lonely when you don't see the person you want to see.

"Thank you! It's so beautiful!" The young couple expressed their sincere admiration towards the phone screen. It was a light kiss printed in countless lights. Ruan Youqing accidentally caught their eyes at the moment when they were about to part. It was a pair full of love. Their eyes met, lingering and satisfied.This photo may be looked at countless times by them until eternity.

The temperature was too low, many people hid in the restaurant, and more people chose to leave after taking pictures of the so-called Michelin-level night view.

Ruan Youqing took out his mobile phone and took a picture of the brightly lit city to share with someone. This time he didn't send it to Moments, but directly sent it to Tang Tu.

The night of the city belongs to the lights.

People hold hands, kiss while people look down.

Distant lights exercise romantic power in place of the stars.

- very beautiful.Have you been to Hakodate?

Tang Tu recognized it at a glance.That's right, a successful person like him has already experienced a lot of scenery even though he is young.Time is cruel to some people. They bury their heads and live hard for their livelihood, and then raise their heads before they have time to appreciate and understand something, and their life ends hastily.But time is kind to some people, they are born to be entrusted to a high place to overlook the whole world, Tang Tu is obviously the latter.He is mature, he is knowledgeable, and he possesses exquisite calmness.But Ruan Youqing understood that he was not perfect, and he also had inner fears.

—I want to talk to you.

After Ruan Youqing pressed the send button, the call came, but he immediately pressed the red button to hang up, and sent the video request back.

"What's wrong with you?" Tang Tu's voice was calm, but Ruan Youqing stared at his slightly serious expression for a second and found some clues.

There was worry and tension written all over that face.

The background behind Tang Tu was the oil painting on the wall of his office, and he didn't even sit down.

"I'm fine, I'm watching the night scene. Have you seen this?"

"No, I've heard of it." Seeing that he looked normal, the other party slowly sat down, "I've only been to Hokkaido once, it happened to be winter, it was too cold, I almost didn't go anywhere, I just watched the snow in the hotel room by myself. "

That's right, it's only November and it's so cold, it's too hard for people who are afraid of the cold.

"Can you see it?" Ruan Youqing raised the phone, walked to the railing where the young couple took a picture just now, leaned back slightly, looked at the selfie picture in the upper right corner and stretched his arms to adjust the angle, so that he stood in the prosperous halo.

The person on the screen dragged his chin with one hand and said with a smile, "I can see it, it's very beautiful. Be careful."

"It would be great if you were here." Ruan Youqing sighed, and took the phone back to its original place.Tang Tu's smile froze at the corner of his mouth for an instant, looking quite uncomfortable.He began to bite his lips subconsciously again, turning red and white at times, which made people worry that the thin skin there would be broken at any time and blood would gushes out.

"Don't bite..." Ruan Youqing couldn't help reminding him.

"...Huh?" Tang Tu was taken aback.

"Don't bite your lips." He couldn't touch anyone, so he could only poke the glass screen with a muffled sound, "You get off work, I'm going back to Otaru too."

"Okay..." The other party answered absently, ready to hang up.

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Ruan Youqing yelled into the screen, "Tang Tu, it's snowing!" After saying that, he suddenly felt that his tone was too childish.He looked down at the crowd. The line that had been waiting for the cable car to go down the mountain in the cold wind came alive. Everyone swept away the restlessness of waiting and took out their phones one after another.

"You didn't wear a snow jacket." Tang Tu said, "Go back quickly. It will be very cold when your clothes get wet."

Ruan Youqing was busy looking at the snow and didn't speak. The snow flakes were bigger than those in her hometown, and she could still see some shape when she stuck to her clothes and was reflected in the dim light.

"Go to a place with a roof and don't let your clothes get wet." Tang Tu raised her voice and urged him, "Or go buy an umbrella."

Ruan Youqing nodded and put the phone back into her pocket, put on the hood of her sweater and went to a convenience store to buy a transparent umbrella, and didn't go down the mountain until the crowd dispersed.

The snow announced the arrival of winter with great fanfare, and it has lasted almost non-stop since then into the New Year.

On New Year's Day, Zhang Wenbin called Ruan Youqing at New Chitose Airport, said to come and see him, and asked him to meet at Sapporo Station.

Ruan Youqing was originally burning glass in the studio, so she hurried home and changed her clothes before rushing to Sapporo Station.Zhang Wenbin stood in front of the convenience store at the station with big bags and small bags. He wore a camouflage embroidered down jacket, a bright scarf, hat and gloves, all wrapped up like a beautiful Christmas tree.

"Where's Tang Tu?" Ruan Youqing saw that he was alone.

"...Handsome guy...Don't look, it's just me, the boss is so busy that I don't have time to come..." He curled his lips with dissatisfaction, "I came all the way to deliver things, don't be so disappointed..."

"Don't be disappointed, happy new year. Thank you for your hard work." Ruan Youqing knew she had made a slip of the tongue, "Why are you here?"

"Accompany my family to take a hot spring vacation in Japan during the New Year, and then 'drop in' to see you and give you something." Zhang Wenbin deliberately emphasized the word "drop in".

Ruan Youqing nodded and took his bag.The small bags inside were all wrapped in sulfuric acid paper, so we couldn't tell what it was.

"This bag is for home clothes, hats and scarves, and a snow jacket. The boss gave it to you. This bag is for food. I bought it for you on the way."

"Thank you... why did you buy me something again..." Ruan Youqing looked at him still tired from the bumpy journey, "Do you live nearby? Do you want to go back and rest first?"

"I just flew over from Osaka, and I'm flying back at six in the evening. My family is waiting for me there. We're going to eat first. It's snowing, and the flight was delayed for two hours. We should have arrived after 11 o'clock. I didn’t even have lunch. Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat delicious food, but you’re welcome!” Zhang Wenbin said mysteriously, “I’ve reserved a seat while you’re there. I heard that Mr. Kawai’s salary is not low. !"

It was only then that Ruan Youqing understood why he had emphasized the word "by the way" just now. From Osaka to Sapporo, he made a special trip for him. Of course, there is no need to ask who it is.

They braved the mild snowstorm and came to the front of a simple shop. The wooden plaque read "Takahashi House" in black calligraphy.

Ruan Youqing has heard of this place, and it is also a well-known shop in Sapporo. It used to be an izakaya, which was upgraded to a high-end restaurant by the previous generation of chef and owner.It is said that the popularity is very high, at least half a month in advance to book.

"Isn't it difficult to locate a child?" Ruan Youqing asked.

"Yes, but this is a branch store. The third generation of the main store sent his son here to be the chef to practice. Although this future fourth generation is still young, I heard that he went to France and Australia to study and learn cooking. He only came back two years ago. of."

The menu is issued by a fixed chef, and all seasonal fresh products are used.There are not many people in the store, and the young chef can speak Chinese.

"You speak Chinese very well!" Zhang Wenbin stretched out his thumb, "Excellent."

"Thank you. Is it to your liking?" Perhaps because Zhang Wenbin was the only one talking non-stop from the beginning to the end, the chef leaned forward and asked Ruan Youqing, "Is there anything you want to mention?"

Ruan Youqing looked up at him and shook his head: "They are all delicious."

"No, how can we be dissatisfied, our teacher Ruan doesn't like to talk." Zhang Wenbin hurriedly tried to make amends for him, "Artists are a bit cold."

"Oh? Is it an actor?" The chef steamed the freshly cooked sea urchin tea bowl in front of Ruan Youqing, served it with a small wooden spoon and reminded him, "Be careful."

"If you are handsome, you have to be an actor. Our teacher Ruan is an artist, a sculptor, glass sculpture." Zhang Wenbin opened the photo album on his phone, turned the screen and gave the chef a look, "Amazing!"

The chef looked closely at the screen for a while: "It's so beautiful!" He glanced at Ruan Youqing, who didn't respond to the compliment, and continued to eat in peace.

I ate a meal for two hours, with more than a dozen dishes, most of which were fresh.Ruan Youqing held the last bowl of Hokkaido-style soup curry to warm his stomach, and the chicken matsutake soup base was delicious and mellow.

"Can we take a photo together?" When they paid the bill, the chef left and walked to them.In the blink of an eye, the white chef's top hat has disappeared, and the hair looks like it has just been scratched.Seeing that Ruan Youqing was confused, he pointed to the photo wall: "It's our habit to take photos with celebrities when they come to the store."

"I'm not a celebrity..." Ruan Youqing was even more confused.

"Maybe it will be in the future, artist." Takahashi put his shoulders involuntarily, Ruan Youqing didn't want to refute him, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly while staring at the camera of the beautiful waiter in kimono.After all, this restaurant is really delicious, and the chilly taste is very suitable for Tang Tu. Maybe there will be a chance to come back in the future, when Tang Tu has time to visit him.

Zhang Wenbin also took a picture at the side.

After bidding farewell to Ruan Youqing in the evening, he returned to New Chitose Airport alone, sat in the waiting hall and waited for boarding, and sent all the photos he took today to Tang Tu, which was regarded as a work report.

I didn't expect the boss to be unhappy after all the hard work. He didn't get rewarded or praised for working overtime during the festival, so he asked him angrily: "Who is in the last photo?"

"Just... the chef who cooks for us..." Zhang Wenbin looked at the photo carefully, and it was just a shoulder. As for...

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winter is coming!