I remembered what Ding Ying said to me on the day of the graduation dinner:

Set sail, the reason why I chose to go to the north is to stay away from you, the farther the better. You are in the south, and I am in the north, one at the end of the world and the other at the cape.

Don't be angry. That doesn't mean my desperation, it just reflects my deep affection.

Because, only far enough away from you, can we suppress every urge that pops up from my heart to find you. I had enough reason to warn myself not to go to the airport where I could fly to the south, not to go to the station where I could go to the south.

However, if you find Hao Junqi, and Hao Junqi is married and has children, you will no longer have any mental burden; Or, if accurate news comes from anywhere, Hao Junqi is no longer in the world (I hope there is no such news), and you can accept this cruel reality, then you will come to me in the north. Come to me in the north.

It doesn't matter if that's a year from now, a few years from now, or ten years from now, you're coming to me.

"You haven't been in touch for so many years, how do you find it? Do you know where Ding Ying is? Hao Junqi's face was full of concern.

"I know, she's in the north." I said with a smile.

"In the north? It's so vast, how do you find it? How can I find it? ”

"As long as I go along the north," I said, "I will find it." As long as Ding Ying is in the north, whether it is in a big city with high-rise buildings or in a deserted borderland, you can rest assured that as long as she is still in the north, I will definitely be able to find her. ”

"Oh."

If, walking on the wide city streets in the north, there are very few pedestrians coming and going, and I can see Ding Ying holding a child on one hand and a man on the other, then I know that it must be in the cold winter - the winter in the north.

It must have been snowing for a few days and nights, and all the traces left on the streets were the snow plows. Everyone was tightly wrapped, around their necks, wearing hats, and wearing thick down jackets, but even so, I still recognized Ding Ying at a glance.

Ding Ying also saw me. I walked up to her, and she politely extended her hand to me, "Hi, old classmate, how did you meet you here?" It's such a pleasure to meet you. This is my husband, this is my son. Come, son, call uncle. I'm here on a business trip, right? Do you have time to sit at my house? My home is nearby. ”

"Oh, no, I'm on my way to the station, and I've already bought my tickets. I can't catch the car any later. It's a business trip. Yes, business trips. I said.

"Oh, that's not a coincidence. It's so rare to see each other. But that's okay, next time. Call me next time. Son, goodbye to uncle. ”

"Goodbye, uncle." The little boy said.

On such occasions, it is right to rush goodbye. After all, it's so cold. Mainly, unnecessary embarrassment can be eliminated.

This is the winter of the north, the winter of the north that makes you feel cold all over. It is the winter in which former lovers are frozen in a position called "politeness". It is the winter that yesterday's vows have been abandoned in a corner

……

And if you walk in a small town, the window lattices of every house are covered with golden corn. At this time, the mobile phone that has not been ringing for a long time suddenly rings, it is an unfamiliar call, so you press it, but soon, this number calls in again. That's when you get through. It was a man's voice.

"May I ask if you are Zheng Qihang? Ahh I am Ding Ying's husband. Ding Ying wants to meet you. Where are you? "Standard northern accent.

I said my location.

"Oh, it seems that God wants you to meet each other. Come and take the shuttle bus directly to the station in town. We're in the county. Up to an hour's drive. Ding Ying is dying. The man said eagerly.

"Almost gone? What do you mean it's dying? What happened to Ding Ying? "Every pore I strained up.

"She's terminally ill for more than a year. Consecutive coma for the last few days. When she woke up, she said she wanted to see 'Zheng Qihang', but we didn't know who Zheng Qihang was? Then I thought it was probably her college classmate, and that's when I got your phone number. Oh, let's talk about all of this when we meet, come here. ”

If this is the case, if this is the case, then I know that this must be autumn, it must be autumn in the north where the continuous autumn rain lasts for more than ten days. The houses in the town are still dripping with eaves water, and the fields near the town are full of devastated scenes after harvesting.

You walk towards the station with your umbrella in hand, your steps as heavy as lead. The wind blows the umbrella to the side, and you can't feel the rain on your head, face, and neck.

In fact, you can't even pay attention to the word "husband", and your mind is full of the verdict of "terminal illness".

What you can't figure out is, why did God give such a cruel sentence?

……

And if, the sun is like fire, the air is full of heat waves, and there is not a trace of wind.

It can be in a busy street market, for example, in front of the Xinhua Bookstore, and you can see a woman holding a girl's hand in the distance, waiting for a person to arrive.

You don't have to walk in, you don't have to see the woman's face clearly, you know by a trace of unique breath caught in the heat wave, that is Ding Ying.

Her other hand was not holding a man.

It can also be in a quiet park, such as in the afternoon, where only a few elderly people are walking. Cicadas hissed through the dense foliage, and occasionally a bird flew tiredly.

On a wooden chair sat a woman, and beside her sat a little girl, waiting for a man to arrive.

You don't have to walk in, you don't have to see the woman's face clearly, you know by a trace of unique breath caught in the heat wave, that is Ding Ying.

The person they're waiting for, you know, is you.

If this is the case, then it must be summer. It's summer in the north.

Ding Ying has one reason or another, married to a man, just like I married Xu Mo. Unlike me, she had a girl because she was married.

Then she divorced the man just like me and Xu Mo. There is no such reason or that reason, there is only one reason, and that is that she doesn't love that man at all.

She didn't want to live against her will for the rest of her life. So he decisively divorced. Then begins a kind of endless waiting, just as I went to the north and began a kind of endless search.

If this is the case, if Ding Ying and I meet unexpectedly in such a background, then it must be in the summer, the summer in the north where the sun is blazing and there is no trace of wind.

……

And if the snow still keeps falling, the snowflakes will soon melt away as soon as they fall on the ground; If the wind is still blowing, there is no more piercing feeling on the face; If the tree wakes up from its sweet sleep, the bird wakes up from its warm nest, and the frog wakes up from the soft earth, then spring in the north has arrived.

It may be under an old banyan tree at the head of a rural village, and if you look closely, the old banyan tree has grown many tender green leaves, and the old and new leaves are densely stacked together, blocking the sun tightly. There may also be a vine that crawls around the banyan tree like a child holding its mother. It may be under such a tree that Ding Ying stood there quietly waiting. There are no children on the left, and no men on the right.

It may also be in the central square of a city, at first glance, the rows of poplar willows that have been picked are still bare, but when you look closely, the tender yellow buds have poked their heads out, so shy and lovely. It may be that under such a row of poplar willows, Ding Ying stood there quietly waiting. There are no children on the left, and no men on the right.

Ding Ying, who was standing under the old banyan tree, or Ding Ying, who was strolling under the poplar willows, watched me approach her very calmly.

The years have carved traces on Ding Ying's face, and it has also been engraved on her character.

"You're here, you're coming to me six years later, you're finally coming to me after six 365 days." Ding Ying looked at me stupidly.

"Yes, I'm here. I'll come to you as soon as the curse is gone, and the day after my sister's wedding, I'll get on the train north. ”

"Your sister?"

"Hao Junqi is my own sister."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll come to me. So, I stayed in the north and didn't go anywhere. Because I know that as long as I stay in the north, as long as you go north, there will always be a time when we will meet, whether it will be three years from now, six years from now, or twelve years from now. ”

"Not bad. If I didn't come, it must be because I couldn't come, I couldn't come. And as long as you stay in the north all the time, no matter how vast the north is, I can find you, because I will always go to the north. Yingying, I love you. ”

"I love you, set sail." Ding Ying threw herself into my arms.

I opened my arms and hugged Ding Ying tightly in my arms, and used all my strength in my life to hold her in my arms.

Two tears spilled down my eyes, slid down my cheeks, and finally landed on Ding Ying's already long hair.