The old saying was right: the fires of July flow down, and August has not yet reached its end. As the seventh lunar month gave way to August on the solar calendar, the air seemed to carry the scorched scent of parched earth.
Xia Yiyan had requested to stay at his sister’s place, both to escape their parents' supervision and to share a roof with her. Their father had been the first to disagree, arguing that Yinuo was busy in the lab all day and often worked late, and that a child shouldn't get in her way. The young boy lowered his head in silence. It was Xia Yinuo who stepped in, suggesting she could drop Yiyan off at a nearby drawing class during the day and pick him up in the evening. The boy jumped for joy.
That evening after dinner, Xia Yinuo took him for a stroll around the residential complex. By the time the siblings had circled the grounds several times, they finally spotted Liang Juejun.
Xia Yinuo took the boy’s hand, her face lighting up. "Senior!"
"Sister Liang!" the boy shouted at the top of his lungs, revealing his bright little milk teeth.
Liang Juejun smiled. "Xiaobao? Yiyan? Good evening!"
Xia Xiaobao asked, "Just getting back?"
"Yes, I just finished dinner at the campus cafeteria," Liang Juejun replied.
"Oh, we’re just out for a walk after dinner," Xiaobao said.
"Yeah, we've been walking for an hour already," the boy added.
Liang Juejun knelt down and patted the boy’s head. "I haven't seen you in a while, Yiyan. You’ve grown taller!"
The boy didn't shy away; instead, he straightened his back and said proudly, "Mom says I’ll grow even taller than Dad!"
Liang Juejun broke into a tender smile. Her gaze was so full of affection that it was impossible to look away.
"Ahem," Xia Xiaobao cleared her throat. "Senior, are you free this Saturday? I’ve invited some friends to Dongzhuang. Would you like to join us?"
The boy scrambled to help. "Sister Liang, please come with us!"
"Yiyan will be there," Xia Xiaobao continued, "along with Mai Mai, Ji Kang, my brother, and my junior, Ke Dinghao. He’ll probably bring Chen Diandian too."
Faced with two pairs of bright, pleading eyes, there was simply no reason to refuse.
Liang Juejun laughed. "Alright, then."
"We’ll drive there ourselves," Xia Xiaobao said. "Food and lodging are all arranged. You just need to bring a change of clothes."
"Okay."
Early Saturday morning, the group gathered at the main gate of C University. Chen Diandian was overjoyed to see Liang Juejun. Qi Qian’s appearance, however, was a bit of a surprise; it was clear that Li Xiuheng had brought him along. Mai Shining leaned in to whisper in Xia Yinuo’s ear, "You’d better be careful."
Li Xiuheng and Xia Yinuo each drove a car as they set off for Dongzhuang.
Because of her astigmatism, Xia Yinuo wore her glasses and drove with focused seriousness. Chen Diandian and Xia Yiyan were rowdy in the back, while Mai Shining leaned back comfortably with her headphones on, fiddling with her array of professional camera lenses. Liang Juejun spent most of the time staring out the window in a daze, occasionally engaging the "lady driver" in idle chatter about the nice weather.
Dongzhuang was the home of Xia Yinuo’s maternal grandmother. Her grandfather had passed away before she was born, and her grandmother had left Dongzhuang early on to live with her daughter in C City. During summer vacations as a child, her uncle, Li Qingfeng, would occasionally bring Li Xiuheng, Xia Yinuo, and Li Mu to stay in Dongzhuang for a few days. Those were the childhood memories Xia Yinuo cherished most. As an adult, her visits to Dongzhuang were almost exclusively during the Qingming Festival to sweep the graves. In her memory, Dongzhuang during Qingming was always filled with endless fields of golden rapeseed flowers.
Once they left the city and hit the highway, the car settled into a steady, rhythmic pace. Liang Juejun suddenly reached out and lowered the volume of the stereo. Xia Yinuo instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the boy and Chen Diandian fast asleep, slumped against each other in the back. Mai Shining was either sleeping or lost in her music. Xia Yinuo turned off the rear air conditioning and gestured toward the mirror with a smile. "They really are just children."
"Aren't you much the same?" Liang Juejun teased.
"How am I the same? I'm an adult."
"If you insist on saying so, then fine."
"Do you want to sleep for a bit? It’ll take another two or three hours to get there."
"I'm not sleepy."
"Oh. Well, suit yourself."
Xia Yinuo returned her focus to the road, but soon realized Liang Juejun had been staring at her for quite a while. She felt a sudden wave of self-consciousness. "Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Oh, I just think you're good-looking, so I wanted to look a bit more."
"..."
"Why are you blushing?"
"..."
"Actually, I’ve always been curious—why do you only have a dimple on your right cheek?"
"Because I grew in crooked..."
Lush green rice paddies blurred past the window as the car glided smoothly along. Gradually, Liang Juejun grew quiet; she had fallen asleep against the headrest. *And she just said she wasn't sleepy,* Xia Yinuo thought, suppressing a grin. Checking the road, she leaned over to gently flip down the sun visor above the passenger seat.
Most of the villagers in Dongzhuang were named Dong, followed by the Li and Wei families. Wei Ping and Li Qingfeng had been best friends since childhood; when they were young, Li Qingfeng had saved Wei Ping from drowning. The two families remained close. Since the Li family didn't live in Dongzhuang year-round, their ancestral home was left in Wei Ping’s care. Wei Ping often sent seasonal fresh produce to the Li siblings, and years ago, when Wei Ping’s mother was seriously ill, it was Li Qinglan who had managed everything at the hospital. When Wei Ping’s son went to study in C City, Li Qingfeng had also been a great help. At Li Qingfeng’s suggestion, Wei Ping had opened a fishing pond at the village entrance. For city dwellers tired of skyscrapers and concrete, it was a peaceful place to relax on weekends, and the business was thriving.
The group arrived at Dongzhuang right at noon. Wei Ping and his wife had already prepared a feast. Xia Yinuo thanked him. "Uncle Wei, we’ll be troubling you for the next two days."
Wei Ping waved it off. "Ai, why are you being so polite with me? We’re happy whenever you come back to stay! If you keep talking such nonsense, Uncle Wei is going to get angry!"
Lunch consisted of authentic, delicious farmhouse dishes. After eating her fill and being warmed by the midday sun, Xia Yinuo felt a bit sluggish. Li Xiuheng urged her to go take a nap while the others, most of whom had slept in the car, prepared to head out for activities. Xia Yinuo couldn't resist the drowsiness, but she repeatedly emphasized that they must not take the little boy swimming.
She hadn't expected to sleep until three o'clock. When she stepped out of the room, she found the house empty. Just as she was heading into the courtyard, she ran into Chen Diandian. "Senior Xia, you're finally awake!" Her expression was so surprised it was as if Xia Yinuo had just woken up from a two-hour coma after giving birth.
Xia Yinuo asked, "Where is everyone?"
"The guys went to Uncle Wei’s pond to fish. We’re playing by the stream at the foot of the mountain. I just came back to grab some drinks for everyone."
"Oh, I'll go with you."
Dongzhuang sat within the hilly landscape of Jiangnan. The surrounding mountains weren't high, mostly covered in bamboo and tea trees. By the time the two of them reached the stream with a bag of water and sodas, Mai Shining had already "occupied" several vantage points, setting up multiple cameras and tripods in a grand display of equipment.
Xia Yinuo turned to Chen Diandian. "See? That’s what a professional obsession looks like."
Hearing this, Mai Shining protested, "I think you mean an 'artistic obsession.'"
Liang Juejun was huddled with Xia Yiyan, fiddling with something. The adult and the child were both laughing happily.
Xia Yinuo leaned in to look. It was a small stone crab. "Oh, where did that come from?"
"Sister! You're awake!" the boy cried happily.
"We found it under a rock by the stream. Pretty great, right?" Liang Juejun said, looking delighted.
The stream flowed down from the mountain, becoming wide and clear at the base. The water was only knee-deep on an adult—perfect for playing in the summer. Xia Yinuo remembered her uncle taking her to this very stream, flipping over stones to find the tiny crabs hiding in the crevices. Her childhood memories were like hazy paintings; though the details weren't always sharp, the feeling remained etched in her heart.
Looking at the innocent, radiant boy and thinking of her own childhood, Xia Yinuo patted his head and whispered, "So lucky."
Liang Juejun heard her and offered a small smile.
Chen Diandian called everyone over for drinks. The boy gave a cheer, broke free from Xia Yinuo’s hand, and ran over.
"Watch your step!" Xia Yinuo called after him. As she watched his retreating back, her eyes glowed with a gentle warmth.
Liang Juejun arched an eyebrow. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about coming here as a kid. My uncle used to take me crab-catching just like this. Don't you think time flies? In the blink of an eye, Yiyan is already this big." As she spoke, she crouched down, dipping her hand into the cool stream and trailing her fingers through the water.
"Yes," Liang Juejun stood beside her, unmoving.
Flicking the water from her hand, Xia Yinuo stood up. "Sigh, I haven't been to Dongzhuang in so long, I’ve suddenly started talking nonsense."
"Not at all," Liang Juejun said. "Having a grandmother's home that feels like a hidden paradise is a blessing." Seeing Xia Yinuo’s questioning look, she explained, "Oh, the others told me earlier that Dongzhuang is your grandmother's village."
By four o'clock, the mountain heat began to recede. Shadows of trees grew long and dappled, and the stream gurgled softly.
Liang Juejun walked along the bank toward a small stone bridge. Xia Yinuo followed.
Liang Juejun turned around and asked, "Xiaobao, what do you think a 'hometown' is?"
"Hometown?" Xia Yinuo tucked her hands into her pockets, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds with a sigh. "My childhood was like many city kids'. My understanding of phrases like 'the fragrance of the native soil' was quite shallow. If I had to say what a hometown is, I’d rather call it a sentiment. Dongzhuang is that kind of special place for me. I love its stillness, its elegance, and the way it rests in its own quiet corner. To others, it might just be an ordinary, scenic Jiangnan village—neither grand nor ancient—but to me, it’s unique. I suppose that’s what they mean by 'where my heart finds peace, there is my home.'"
Liang Juejun nodded with a smile. "A fine sentiment indeed: 'Where the heart finds peace, there is my home.'"
Xia Yinuo continued, "When I was little, I didn't know how to cherish it. Only as I grew up did I realize that the softest place in my memory could be something as simple as a field of rapeseed flowers, a clear spring, or even a gentle breeze. That is likely the sentiment of a hometown. You might not know the people who live there, and you might not care how long you stayed, but that place is already etched into your bones. Sometimes, you aren't even willing to speak of this feeling lightly; you’d rather keep it hidden deep in your heart until you meet someone you truly want to share it with."
Liang Juejun leaned against the stone railing of the bridge, her eyes fixed on the water and stones below. The wind blew through the bamboo forest, making a soft *shasha* sound. Neither of them spoke. The silence wasn't awkward; they were immersed in the atmosphere where "the cicadas' buzz makes the forest seem quieter, and the birds' song makes the mountain feel more secluded." Perhaps, there was also a layer of blossoming ambiguity.
After a long moment, Xia Yinuo asked, "Senior, may I ask why you came back to C City?"
"My mentor once told me that too many intellectuals neither care about the land beneath their feet nor understand the world far away. They can't handle local issues, yet they don't grasp global ones either. These people live as if they are floating in mid-air; they're called the 'suspended tribe.' I stayed in America for over a decade, and I asked myself if I had been suspended for a long time too. C City is my hometown. When the chance to come back and work arose, I felt I shouldn't miss it. Besides, a change of environment might be a new beginning. I think that way sometimes, but I don't know how to say it. I’m afraid that if I say it out loud, it’ll sound ridiculous."
"Chinese people are reserved; we express our feelings subtly," Xia Yinuo said. "Some things feel too sentimental to say, but if you don't say them, they feel like a fishbone stuck in your throat."
"Sometimes I feel like the things you say don't match your age."
"Do you mean I'm young, or are you saying I'm old?"
"What do you think? Haha."
Summer, bamboo forest, mountain stream, stone bridge, dusk—a perfect pair. In the distance, Mai Shining pressed the shutter.
***
