He stared at the flickering name on the screen for a long time, holding his phone tightly, but he dared not move or press the answer button, afraid that this was just a dream. The music continued to play, and he finally pressed the answer button. “Qian Zhi?” His fingers holding the phone trembled slightly, and his voice was shaking. “May I ask if this is Mr. Xing?” A strange voice came through his ear. “We are staff from the train station. We found this phone on the platform and noticed it was full of your missed calls, so we called to try to find the phone’s owner.” “Train station?” “Yes.” “Thank you, I’ll come right away.” Xing Tuo restarted the engine, a bright light flashing in his eyes, as if he had suddenly come back to life.
At eight in the morning, the train slowly entered the platform. She carried her luggage and followed the crowd towards the exit, not knowing where she was going. Throughout the night, she kept waking up on the train, her body’s exhaustion causing her to fall back asleep repeatedly.
This was a remote, unnamed coastal town. The winter sun shone on the quiet sea, white seabirds circling above. Qian Zhi leaned on the railing, looking at the azure sea in the sunlight, taking a deep breath of the briny air, closing her eyes and feeling the tranquility of the moment.
In this simple small town, Qian Zhi began her solitary life, finding a teaching job at a local primary school. Her life was pure and quiet. After the New Year, the weather gradually warmed.
There were no movie theaters, no supermarkets, no large advertising billboards, no crowded streets or noisy vehicles, not even a few traffic lights. But there was clean, fresh air, a blue sky, and seawater. Qian Zhi liked this small town, sometimes thinking she might live here forever.
She noticed subtle changes in her body due to pregnancy, gaining a bit of weight and gradually developing a rounded belly. Besides teaching, she had no social activities and rarely went out. She enjoyed walking alone along the seaside at dusk, spending most of her time sitting on rocks, gazing at the vast sea, drifting clouds, and the distant, winding railway tracks.
