"Lunch? Oh … It's late. Let me see what I can eat nearby. Well, I'll find something to eat if I'm hungry. That's all! Don't you have an appointment today? I know, I know. "
Tao Xiaman hung up the phone and continued her pace.
She walked in this city.
As a photography enthusiast, it was rare for her to have such a holiday. How could she not fiddle with her DSLR?
Time couldn't keep time, but photos could.
Besides, she felt that she was in a bad mood recently … She was inexplicably irritable. She knew the reason clearly.
Hobbies are activities that can make you forget some things.
The camera turned to buildings and passers-by. Sitting on an ordinary bus, she compared the city in her memory with the city she was in now.
Things remained the same, but people had changed. This was probably the best way to describe her current mood.
When the tour bus shouted the name of a stop, Tao Xiaman got off the bus. But when she stopped at this place and looked at the name on the road sign, she hesitated unexpectedly.
Jihua Road.
Did she … come back to this place?
Tao Xiaman shook her head.
She lived here.
Once.
Only in this place could she be considered to be revisiting her old haunts, right?
Tao Xiaman didn't know why she started her pace again. But on this old road, the number of times she mentioned the DSLR could be counted on one hand.
Although it was the place in her memory, it was completely different now. A large number of new buildings had appeared. However, there were very few places that could make her recall her memories.
Tao Xiaman stopped in front of a noodle restaurant.
"Dad, I want to eat shaved noodles with lots of toppings."
"Shaved noodles are shaved noodles, toppings are toppings. How can you eat like this?"
"I don't care, I want it!" "Okay!"
"Okay, okay."
She laughed heartily.
Tao Xiaman remembered the conversation that happened here a long time ago. She seemed to see the scene of a little girl hurriedly pulling her father into the restaurant … Sometimes she would think of a scene that she shouldn't think of.
Tao Xiaman suddenly felt that it was true that she was reminded of the past. But even so, she didn't want to go in. At least at this moment, her feet seemed to be pulled by something. This made it difficult for her to take a step forward.
Maybe a photo would be better. She thought, silently grasping the lens of the camera.
"Don't you want to go in?"
Such a voice suddenly appeared behind her. Tao Xiaman turned around, only to see a young man in casual clothes — He was younger than her, like a college student, about 20 years old.
The door of this noodle restaurant was a little small — Tao Xiaman didn't expect that this old noodle restaurant could survive until now … In fact, she wanted to say that she blocked his way in.
"I'm sorry." Tao Xiaman apologized and stepped aside.
The young man nodded, smiled, and walked into the noodle house. When the young man walked in, Tao Xiaman stepped forward as if something was pulling her.
She also entered the noodle house and heard the conversation between the young man and the boss … Tao Xiaman remembered the appearance of the boss, but his hair was white.
"Little brother, you're here again! Is it the usual? "
"Yes, sorry to trouble you, boss."
"OK! Have a seat first. It'll be ready soon. " The white-haired boss replied in a loud voice. Then, he shouted towards the kitchen, "A bowl of topping noodles and a bowl of knife-shaved noodles! The toppings, noodles, toppings, and shaved noodles are all packed! "
Then the young man found a stool and sat down.
Tao Xiaman looked at this scene with interest.
She rarely saw such a quiet young man. When he was waiting for time, he didn't play with his phone like the others. Instead, he took out a small book, opened it, and began to read.
There was also a bookmark on the book. This was a habit that only a regular reader would have.
"Why did you put the topping on the shaved noodles? Won't the topping noodles taste bad?"
She sat down in front of the young man.
This was a public cafeteria. But the business of this old noodle restaurant was not so good. It should be lunchtime now, but there were only three tables.
The one that the young man was sitting on was already one of them.
"Is there a problem?" The young man raised his head slightly and didn't seem to mind the abrupt question.
Tao Xiaman shook her head. "No problem. I'm just curious because it's rare to see someone eat like that. Oh, sorry, I'm so rude. Hello, I'm Tao Xiaman, a … a photography enthusiast. "
"Hello." The young man nodded.
Shouldn't he introduce himself at this time?
But what made Tao Xiaman feel interesting was that this young man's simple greeting seemed to be much better than his self-introduction.
What should she say?
It was just right.
This was the only feeling Tao Xiaman had when she thought about it.
She asked, "Do you … come here often?"
The young man nodded, "Recently."
She asked, "Do you live here?"
The young man shook his head, "No."
Tao Xiaman smiled, "You don't live here, but you came here to buy food. It seems that you like the food here."
The young man responded with a smile, "I'm actually buying for someone. Well … I made a friend recently. He often forgets to eat because of work. I'm afraid he can't stand it. "
Tao Xiaman nodded, "He's so lucky to have you as a friend."
The young man didn't say anything but slightly smiled. At this time, the boss of the noodle house came with two boxes, "Well, here are your noodles!"
The young man simply paid and stood up. He glanced at Tao Xiaman, whispering, "No matter whether the noodles taste good or not, my friend will finish them."
She just felt strange.
…
Until the end of this short conversation, Tao Xiaman still didn't know the young man's name … Of course, this was not a strange encounter.
Because she already had a fiancé who loved her, and she also loved him deeply.
She just felt that this encounter was like a small episode, a quiet song in the metropolis.
"Hey … Miss, what do you want to eat?"
But the owner of the noodle house was still standing there.
Tao Xiaman was too embarrassed to say no since she had already sat down.
She lowered her head and thought for a while, looking at the chopstick holder on the table, "Give me a bowl of knife-shaved noodles and add the topping."
"OK!"
…
After leaving the noodle house, Tao Xiaman passed by the place where she used to live. She had an impulse to go up and have a look, but the passers-by on the street startled her.
After a moment of shock, the impulse faded away, leaving only a trace of melancholy.
She looked up one last time, took a deep breath, and walked toward the exit of the street.
The knife-shaved noodles with topping still tasted good, but this might be the last time she tasted it.
Because she didn't know whether this noodle house would still be there when she had the chance to pass by.
Interestingly, when she was about to leave this old street, Tao Xiaman met an acquaintance — her classmate … her deskmate in elementary school.
Looking at her from a distance, she was a little fat now. It seemed that she got married at a young age — Tao Xiaman watched her old classmate walking past a small stall selling ice cream with a child of four or five years old.
Tao Xiaman didn't recognize her, and she just watched her holding her son's hand and disappearing at the corner.
Tao Xiaman thought that she should go up and greet her, but some memories of her childhood were like shackles, locking her nostalgia in the old noodle house.
Some hurt would probably last a lifetime.
Time would eventually erase all traces of this old street, and at the same time, her memory would be erased.
She hoped so.
Tao Xiaman's trip to the old place ended here.
…
But Tao Xiaman didn't expect that she would encounter something unexpected today.
"Are you Tao Xiaman?"
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