Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 515 You Live, I Live (Bonus Chapter for Monchhichi, Please Vote!)

Seeing Jingqiu's slight trembling, Xi Meijuan's gaze and words came crashing down: "Come with me, all of you."

She can't say certain things in public; her daughter's probationary period isn't over yet, and she doesn't know how many envious people are watching her.

The third brother hurriedly put on his faded work jacket, his actions betraying his inner panic.

Jingqiu, on the other hand, was suddenly tightened by an invisible rope, returning to the body of a meek and submissive girl who was always on the verge of being scrutinized.

The shot zooms in from a wide shot to a medium shot, emphasizing the tension in Jingqiu's body and Lao San's forced composure.

In the cramped home, the light was fragmented by the low window frames, and the mother sat on the edge of the narrow bed, her expression as solemn as a stone sculpture.

The environment is minimalist and oppressive, with faded furniture and tattered curtains emphasizing the hardship of life.

The younger sister timidly wrung out a towel and handed it to the third brother. The coolness of the water contrasted with the stuffiness of the room. The third brother didn't dare to take it and instead looked at Jingqiu's mother with a cautious, inviting gaze.

"Wipe your face! It'll cool you down a bit." The mother said, and the third son did as she was told. His sleeve slipped down, revealing a fresh, gruesome knife wound on his arm.

The close-up shot focuses on this scar, a concrete representation of an individual's helpless struggle under intense emotions and the high pressure of the times.

The mother, played by Xi Meijuan, had a detached yet sharp gaze: "What happened to your arm?"

"It's nothing," the third brother tried to cover up, but the bravado in his voice was clearly audible.

She stopped asking questions, or rather, she was so burdened by the weight of her responsibilities that she had no time to care about anything else. Her superb acting skills left the audience feeling breathless.

"So," the mother's voice fell like a gavel, "the walnuts, rock candy, paint, and rain boots were all gifts from this 'Comrade Sun,' weren't they!"

The shift in address emphasizes the scrutiny of class and identity, turning a warm gift into potentially career-ruining evidence.

The third child tried to close the distance: "Auntie, you can call me Xiao Sun."

The mother said firmly, "Don't call me Auntie, call me Teacher Zhang."

The correction of the form of address is the last bastion of dignity for intellectuals under high pressure, and it also clarifies the boundaries of official business.

"Yes, Teacher Zhang."

The mother dismissed her younger siblings, and the camera briefly panned across the backs of the two children as they left anxiously. Only three people remained in the room, with Jingqiu still standing to one side as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

The actress Liu Yifei's tall and slender figure made the portrayal of this solitary figure even more complete.

The interior space, which should have been much more spacious, appeared even more cramped and suffocating to the viewers.

“Teacher Zhang, you come from an intellectual family,” the third son tried to smooth things over, “I suggest that Jingqiu sit down and talk to me!”

This thoughtfulness seemed all the more poignant at this moment; Xi Meijuan's tightly pursed lips and the weariness and determination in her eyes were chilling.

The third brother stood up and silently stood next to Jingqiu, who was still standing stiffly: "Then I'll stand too."

This is a silent act of mutual support and cooperation.

"Sit down!" the mother finally relented.

The third brother immediately moved the only chair to Jingqiu, his movements gentle yet firm, before sitting down on a smaller stool next to her.

"Teacher Zhang, please go ahead and speak, I'm listening." The third brother sat humbly and upright, his eyes earnest.

Looking at this clear and pure male lead, whether it was Zhang Yimou, Han Shanping, or other old acquaintances of the actor, or all the audience who could only see him through the internet, news, and movies, they all forgot his identity at this moment.

The stark contrast at the beginning of the film disappears as the story unfolds. What the audience sees is not Lu Kuan, but simply a young man struggling to pursue love.

The mother's monologue is a huge shadow cast on individuals by the times: "I am not against free love, but I do not allow Jingqiu to have a relationship too early."

Her gaze was fixed on a non-specific point of view, as if she were reciting the rules of the era.

The camera cuts to Jingqiu's lowered head, her eyelashes trembling violently, her hands clenched tightly on her knees.

"Jingqiu must have told you about my husband's situation. There is no future for a family like ours."

The camera then employs the classic triangular composition, with the three people positioned to form a small triangle, appearing small and isolated in the dim and oppressive interior space. The narrow ray of light from the window seems to be the only exit, yet it is also out of reach.

The third brother's response was imbued with idealism, but also contained immense pain: "Teacher Zhang, our understanding of the future may differ."

The mother immediately shattered the illusion with cold reality: "Of course it's different. Jingqiu is in the process of becoming a full-fledged student, and the school could expel her at any time. I've already heard the rumors."

"It's all my fault."

“If you really care about her, you wouldn’t mind not seeing her for a year or two! You come from a good family, so you probably don’t understand families like ours.”

The camera pans back to the mother, whose face is cut off by the shadows of the window frame.

"I understand." The third brother's voice was low but clear.

“Then our goals are aligned,” the mother said, guiding the conversation.

"We agree." The third brother's words were clear and firm, carrying the weight of a heavy promise. "I promise I won't come looking for her until she's officially hired."

The mother added insult to injury, eliminating any hope of escape: "If she makes a mistake after being officially hired, the school can dismiss her at any time."

“Yes, we can’t let Jingqiu make a mistake,” the third brother repeated, his eyes filled with pain but determination.

"Alright, then I hope you keep your promise and don't ruin Jingqiu's future."

In the medium shot, the mother and Jingqiu are in the same frame. Xi Meijuan leans forward slightly, applying pressure, while the daughter almost curls up in the chair.

Liu Yifei plays Jingqiu, who is slender yet tall, but at this moment it seems she has nowhere to hide.

"Don't worry, Teacher Zhang," the third brother's voice was filled with unwavering sincerity and deep affection that transcended the weight of time, "I can wait, no matter how long it takes."

The third son's gaze passed over his mother and landed on Jingqiu, filled with boundless tolerance and determination.

The mother's voice softened, yet carried a cruel foresight: "You are still young, you have plenty of time."

The third brother repeated almost subconsciously, as if trying to convince himself, or as if fighting against the merciless time machine: "Yes, we still have a lot of time."

Jing Tian couldn't help but tighten her grip on Liu Yifei's hand.

How many unfulfilled vows will now vanish into the wind?

The girl looked at the man she secretly admired, who was playing the third brother. The latter managed a bitter smile, but his eyes held a deep uncertainty and fear about the future, making him look pitiful.

"Alright, everything's been explained." The mother breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I understand." The third brother stood up to leave, but then stopped and made one last humble request, "Teacher Zhang, I have one more request before I leave. Could you please bandage Jingqiu's foot again?"

This is the last way to express care and connection.

“Our house is small, so I won’t avoid it,” the mother agreed, but made the boundaries clear with her actions. She got up and walked to the simple wooden table in the corner, and picked up the tools for pasting envelopes.

Sticking envelopes together was a physically demanding job to supplement the family income, and it also symbolized the poverty of Jingqiu's family.

The camera zooms out to a medium shot, and the composition divides the space:

On the right in the foreground, the mother, with her back to the two, stiffly and mechanically pastes an envelope, her figure blending into the shadows of the dim corner;

In the middle ground, on the left two-thirds of the screen, Lao San is kneeling beside Jing Qiu, carefully taking off her pink rain boots that seem out of place in their impoverished environment.

This gift seems so jarring and sorrowful at this moment.

The last sliver of light filtering through the window fell upon the two of them, creating a small, soft patch of light that seemed out of place in their oppressive surroundings.

At this moment, even Zhang Yimou, who was watching time slowly flow by, had to admit that the script that came out of nowhere and the discussions and exchanges with his junior brother Lu Kuan had benefited him greatly.

Those who lived through that era, such as Han Shanping and Zhang Weiping, felt an enduring power.

Jingqiu looked at her mother's deliberately avoiding view of her back, then looked down at the gauze fluttering between the fingers of the third brother, feeling the unspeakable pity and responsibility in his actions.

An over-the-shoulder subjective shot shows Lao San's gesture from Jingqiu's downward perspective, gentle and steady.

Liu Yifei, playing a pure and innocent young girl in her natural role, cried silently once again.

The immense grievances, the uncertainty about the future, the understanding of her mother, the attachment and heartache for her third child... all eventually turned into scalding tears, which uncontrollably burst from her eyes and silently slid down her pale and thin cheeks.

Tears dripped onto Lao San's rough work pants, spreading a small, dark stain, as if proclaiming the first clear mark of this "purest love" under the oppression of the times.

The room was deathly silent, save for the rustling of paper pasting and the soft sound of tears falling, together composing the prelude to a destined turbulent love story in those gloomy times.

Jingqiu silently saw off the third son, but her mother was not at ease.

"I have a question for you, and you have to tell the truth. Did she hug you?"

Jingqiu shook her head.

"Did he kiss you?"

Jingqiu shook her head again.

"Was he well-behaved when he was with you? Did he touch you everywhere...?" Xi Meijuan realized her choice of words was inappropriate, but she still said it: "touching and pinching."

The girl looked up abruptly: "Mom! Why are you saying such hurtful things?"

"Do you have?"

"no!"

……

There seemed to be footsteps outside, and the mother and daughter's argument stopped abruptly. The scene gradually faded out until white text appeared on a black background:

As expected, the third brother didn't come for a long time, until one day, Jingqiu heard that the third brother was hospitalized.

The air in the county military hospital was thick with disinfectant and a hidden sense of unease. An old three-wheeled vehicle came to a stop in front of the dusty porch, its wheels kicking up dust.

Xiao Liu, playing Jingqiu, is wrapped in a slightly oversized old coat. Her slender figure rushes out urgently, her steps quick and swift, towards the door leading to the ward filled with unease and heartbreak.

The medium shot follows Jingqiu's back, with the somber gray walls of the hospital forming a depressing frame, and the backlighting outlining her thin and anxious figure.

The ward was dimly lit. The third brother, looking pale, leaned against the bed and glanced at the door when he heard it open.

The initial weariness vanished the moment she saw the figure at the door, her surprise mixed with delight: "What are you doing here?"

Jingqiu practically rushed to his bedside, her rapid breathing still catching in her throat: "I haven't heard from you for a whole month! I was so worried! Then I heard from Changfang that you were hospitalized..."

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, and her large eyes were fixed on him, filled with undisguised fear. "What disease do you have?"

"Our geological exploration team has regular medical checkups and is frequently hospitalized."

Jingqiu keenly noticed the shift in his tone and frowned: "Since it was a routine check-up, why didn't you tell me you were hospitalized?"

The girl's question was tinged with coquettishness and the hurt of being kept in the dark.

The third brother avoided her gaze and softened his voice: "I was just worried you wouldn't trust me."

He reached out, wanting to touch her fingertips to comfort her.

The camera pans down to the two people's fingers. Jingqiu's hand is nervously curled up at her side, while Lao San's hand is raised and then hesitates, hovering just inches away.

"Don't hide it from me!" Jingqiu's voice suddenly rose, trembling with tears, "What illness do you have?"

The third brother rolled out of bed, his movements deliberately appearing swift: "Let's go, we'll talk outside."

He naturally and gently brushed Jingqiu's wrist, their fingertips briefly touching.

The handheld camera movement caused the footage to shake slightly as the two walked quickly through the dimly lit corridor, their hurried steps revealing the heaviness of their hearts.

The corner of the stairs was relatively quiet. The third brother took a deep breath and tried to take the initiative: "Tell me first, what disease did Chang Fang say I have?" He even curled up a forced smile.

Jingqiu's defenses crumbled instantly, tears streaming down her face as she choked out, "She said... it's leukemia..."

The third brother acted as if he had heard an absurd joke, shaking his head and waving his hands exaggeratedly, his voice deliberately loud: "What leukemia or leukemia? I just have a bit of a cold and a low-grade fever, my immunity is weak! What does Chang Fang know?"

He leaned closer: "Think about it, if it really is leukemia, can this small, run-down county hospital treat it?"

The camera quickly switched between the two faces, with Lao San's exaggerated facial expressions and Jing Qiu's tearful scrutiny intertwined.

The man grabbed Jingqiu's hand and made as if to leave: "Don't believe me? I'll take you to ask an internist right now!"

“No need to go…” Jingqiu suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping his exaggerated pursuit of confirmation, “…I believe you.”

She dared not go, dared not face it, just as she remained silent when faced with her mother's attempt to separate the lovers.

In the close-up of the two, the third brother's eyes are filled with complex emotions—heartache, guilt, and a sense of relief.

Jingqiu's tearful eyes were a mixture of fear and stubborn tenderness.

At this point, the actress, Xiao Liu, already knew she was pregnant. She completely immersed herself in the role, vividly expressing her fear and desire to escape from her lover's illness.

Jingqiu finally took a stubborn step: "I asked for three days off. I said I was going to work on the school farm, and they believed me. I'll stay here with you."

The third brother was both angry and anxious, and felt sorry for her, because of her "carefree" attitude. His tone suddenly became stern: "You're too naive! This will ruin your future!"

Jingqiu stood rooted to the spot like a rock, head held high, meeting his "angry" gaze: "I'm going to stay here with you."

"This is a hospital! Where are you going to stay tonight?" The third brother looked around the simple and cold environment, extremely anxious.

Jingqiu's gaze swept over the simple bench at the end of the corridor, and she said with a touch of naive certainty, "Isn't there a chair over there?"

"You're being too silly, your mother will be angry."

"I'm just being silly!" Jingqiu's rebellion against what was called motherhood but in reality the oppression of the times suddenly erupted!

"Don't you always say I'm timid and afraid to make mistakes? This time I'll make a mistake and show you!"

The camera slowly pulls back, freezing the two in this tense yet intimate moment of confrontation.

Jingqiu ultimately failed to get what she wanted, and the strict nurse "sent" her out of the hospital.

The hospital's dark green wooden doors slammed shut behind Jingqiu, creaking shut and separating the world inside from the outside.

Jingqiu stood with her back to the tightly closed hospital gate under the cold moonlight. Her figure was cut off by the door frame, making her look particularly lonely, like a symbol of exile.

She stood frozen in place for a moment, as if she had exhausted all her strength to take a breath, before plopping down heavily on the stone steps in front of the gate.

The rough stone surface transmitted a bone-chilling cold through the thin fabric of her trousers, but she was completely unaware of it.

Almost as soon as she sat down, Jingqiu suddenly turned her head and looked at a window on the third floor.

There, the third brother's figure was clearly reflected on the windowpane.

The wide-angle shot of the two people in the lens is touching. He tried to force a pale smile and waved gently in the direction of the girl.

The movement was so subtle, almost like rubbing the glass with fingertips, a silent signal to her:

I see you.

Jingqiu felt a prickling sensation in her heart. She immediately straightened her back, waved rapidly and dramatically towards the window, and silently mouthed, "Go—back—!"

She even impatiently stomped her toes twice on the cold steps.

From Jingqiu's perspective, the low-angle shot shows Lao San being framed by a narrow window, as if he were in another distant, closed world.

All these hints have already caused female movie fans, apart from the original author Amy, to start sobbing.

The actresses who came to support the event today, including Jing Tian, ​​Bing Bing, and Zhou Xun, looked at the third brother with Lu Kuan's face on the screen as if they were looking at a visitor from another world.

Xiao Liu, who knew his deepest secret, had already experienced this feeling long ago.

The third brother's smile deepened, radiating a comforting warmth, but his body remained completely still.

He seemed rooted to the spot by the window, gazing greedily at the small figure on the stone steps, as if drawing the last warmth and strength from his life.

Jingqiu's anxious stamping of her foot made his eyes slightly warm, but he just smiled, gently shook his head, and told her with his eyes:

Let me take another look at you.

After a long while, the window frame was once again filled with darkness and the single light source of the ward.

Jingqiu stared at the now empty window, her tense shoulders suddenly relaxing, a sense of relief mixed with immense loss.

She weakly shifted her body backward, leaning her thin back against the cold, rough hospital wall, like a leaf blown away by the autumn wind.

At that moment, the girl was unaware that the third brother had actually been standing behind the curtain watching her the whole time, until the moonlight stingily spilled onto Jingqiu, outlining the angular curve of her hunched shoulder blades, as thin as a sheet of paper.

Tears blurred his vision, and the figure huddled upstairs guarding him in the autumn night became even more hazy and distant.

The actor Lu Kuan's superb acting skills on the screen are moving. A long, silent two-minute shot powerfully portrays the sorrow of lovers being forced to separate.

At least the actress who played Jingqiu, along with her mother Liu Xiaoli, had already silently shed tears.

Liu Yifei thought of herself in the real world at that time. This relationship was never given to her by anyone, and she had gone through countless difficult choices.

In the darkness outside the screen, sobs gradually spread.

This deep gaze across time and space, this protective bond that seems so close yet so far, is like a soft needle, precisely piercing the softest corner of today's audience's hearts.

On Valentine's Day night, the national premiere of the film was held, and couples snuggled together.

They enjoy conveniences that Jingqiu and Lao San can hardly imagine. They can make video calls with a tap of their finger and send messages instantly when they miss someone. Distance is no longer a barrier to communication.

However, as she came to her senses, looking at Jingqiu and Lao San on the cold stone steps, confirming each other's existence only through a window, a complex and intense sense of envy welled up in her heart.

Separated by the hospital wall were not just two people, but two souls communicating in a single, unadulterated way.

The audience wiped away tears brought on by Lu Kuan's silent weeping, staring at the flashing light of their phone screens, and sighed in quiet emotion.
Tools have shortened all distances, but they have diluted the initial excitement and anticipation that needed time and obstacles to settle and be confirmed.

That profound affection, where even saying "I miss you" feels too direct and can only be expressed through actions, is gradually becoming a thing of the past amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life and convenience.

At this point in the film, the artistic goals of the main creators, including Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan, have been fully achieved. They have truly presented the audience with a love so pure that it is without a trace of impurity.

Is it real?

Those who didn't live in that era won't understand, but that doesn't stop everyone from yearning for truth, goodness, and beauty.

But viewers, including Jing Tian, ​​knew that the cruelest ending was about to arrive in the remaining thirty minutes.

The next morning, the third brother forcefully took Jingqiu to the street to buy toiletries.

"I asked Nurse Gao to let me borrow a dormitory room yesterday, so you have to sleep in a bed today."

Jingqiu nodded with a sweet smile and did not object further.

Although she was unsure of the exact nature of her third son's condition, she could no longer refuse any of his requests.

The girl secretly made a decision in her heart.

The scene shifts to a cloth shop in a county town's supply and marketing cooperative. The afternoon light is dim, and the air is filled with the smell of cotton and dust.

The third brother led Jingqiu closer to the counter. His eyes searched among the fabrics, finally landing on a roll of striking red cloth.

"Let me make you a dress. If the hawthorn tree you mentioned had red flowers, it should be this color."

Jingqiu stared at him in astonishment, drawing the audience into deep thought.

Everyone vividly remembers the beginning of the film, when the third brother encouraged Jingqiu to "seek truth from facts" and use her own brushstrokes to draw normal white hawthorn flowers.

Why are we now willing to believe that hawthorn flowers can indeed bloom in red?

The less than one-second pause on the screen struck a heavy blow to many people.

Zhang Yimou's arrangement of the third brother's psychological shift from "seeking truth from facts" to "yearning for miracles" here is extremely dramatic and poignant.

He knew better than anyone that the white blossoms of hawthorn trees were the natural order, but now, knowing his illness, he rationally accepted the "withering" (white blossoms) deep in his heart, yet emotionally he resisted it immensely, longing to see a different ending, a red miracle symbolizing life, vitality, and breaking with convention.

This imagined or politically propagated "red flower" is no longer a lie, but has become his last faint hope for survival and for the future with Jingqiu.

He wanted to "see" this red flower, just as he wanted to see the miracle of his own life, to see that the disease was not invincible.

Because he couldn't bear to part with the girl in front of him.

When a person is about to die, his words are also good.

When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful.

The incredibly simple dialogue greatly amplifies the characters' tragic sense and foreshadows the inevitable ending. At the same time, it reinterprets the film's theme of "the purest love in history" in an extremely contradictory yet deeply moving way.

This purity, even in the face of the immense shadow of life's passing, still shines with an indomitable yearning for beauty and hope.

Jingqiu was wearing her signature faded blue cotton jacket. The moment she saw the red cloth, her eyes lit up, like ripples spreading across a lake after a pebble has been thrown in.

"Isn't it too flashy?"

"Not too flashy! You look good in it." His gaze lingered on her face, filled with hope and pity for her long-suppressed youthful radiance.

"Don't always wear blue, like everyone else."

Xiao Liu's signature dimples were brimming with affection. She seemed to be burned by the heat of the red cloth, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes: "As long as you say it looks good..."

After a moment, he added a pragmatic arrangement, his voice regaining some energy: "I asked Wei Hong to help me with it; she has a sewing machine at home."

The third brother seemed to have accomplished something great, a warm smile spreading across his face, and he immediately took her to the photo studio.

The opportunity was precious, and time was running out; he wanted to finish everything he could.

Jingqiu didn't ask any more questions. The two sat side by side on the long wooden bench, their bodies stiff like two wooden figures, with a deliberate "38th parallel" between them.

Their expressions were tense, their eyes fixed on the empty space ahead, as if looking directly at the camera itself would bring some kind of danger.

The photographer peeked out from behind the camera, which was covered by a black cloth in a wooden box, and directed in a professional tone: "Men, move closer to the women!"

As if given permission, the third brother slowly and cautiously moved an inch closer to Jingqiu, clearly feeling the heat from their shoulders touching.

"Closer!"

The third brother took a deep breath, as if he were carrying out an important mission, and moved a large distance, gently pressing his arm against Jingqiu's stiff arm. He could almost feel the cool skin and taut muscles under her fabric.

The distance was acceptable, but the photographer was still not satisfied with their expressions:
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about! This is the revolutionary friendship of the proletariat! A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near!"

The camera clicked away.

After a normal photo was taken, the two simply dressed, stiff-faced young people in the frame exchanged a few words and rolled their eyes in unison!
The master chef exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? Eh? Eh!" and the third brother couldn't help but burst out laughing.

When Jingqiu saw him smile, her tense nerves completely relaxed, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards, revealing a bright, carefree smile rarely seen in the film. The two of them laughed so hard they almost fell over, their laughter echoing in the empty photo studio, temporarily dispelling all the gloom and oppression of the era, leaving only the relaxed resonance of youthful heartstrings in that moment.

That smile was so pure and untouched by worldly dust, as if suffering would never befall them.

The audience watched these sweet moments with a mixture of enjoyment and pain, wishing the film could freeze at that moment and end.

The scene fades out, transitioning to nightfall, where Nurse Gao, played by Gao Ye, reluctantly leads Jing Qiu to the dormitory.

The third brother saw that his roommate was using a basin with a red hawthorn tree on the bottom, so he excitedly went to the convenience store downstairs and bought one too.

The sound of light footsteps approached from the voice-over, stopping at the door and hesitating slightly.

Jingqiu's body trembled slightly, as if she had been injected with vitality. She almost jumped up and quickly turned off the light switch.

She was curled up on the bed, and in the dim light, her slightly rapid breathing and flickering eyes could be vaguely seen.

Even if she was prepared to give herself completely to him, how could a girl in this era remain calm?

The third brother, played by Lu Kuan, appeared at the door. His silhouette was elongated by the peripheral light of the corridor, and he seemed somewhat hesitant.

He was holding a brand-new enamel basin in his arms, the hawthorn tree pattern outlined in red on the bottom of the basin was faintly visible in the dim light.

"Go to sleep," the third brother's voice rang out in the darkness, deep and gentle, with a comforting power, "I'll stay with you like this."

He gently closed the door behind him, and darkness returned, isolating him from the outside world.

Jingqiu's voice came in a muffled tone, carrying the stubbornness unique to young girls and a hint of barely perceptible coquettishness: "I don't want you to stay with me like this, I want you to lie down on me too."

The third brother's figure moved hesitantly by the bedside.

A few seconds of silence flowed in the darkness, and Jingqiu could clearly hear his suppressed breathing and her own heartbeat.

The man's voice rang out again, softer than before, yet containing a promise as heavy as a mountain: "No, I'll just watch you like this, watch you for the rest of my life."

This vow, which was almost a farewell in a special context, was spoken by him in the simplest and most sincere tone, and it resonated silently in the dark space.

The theater was filled with sniffling and sobbing. After a moment of silence, Liu Yifei on the screen spoke up firmly:
"You...you lie down next to me!" These words exhausted all her courage. After saying them, she moved further in, facing the wall.

The sound of clothes rustling and shoes hitting the ground came from the darkness.

Although Jingqiu had her eyes closed, she immediately felt the fully clothed third brother lying down beside her.

Same as her.

The girl didn't know what the next step was, just like the performer herself had experienced. So the two of them lay down obediently, their faces toward the ceiling, like two silent rocks.

The air seemed to freeze, with only the faint sound of each other's breathing proving that time was still flowing.

After a long silence, the third brother turned his head to look at Jingqiu, a cautious movement that broke the silence.

He reached out, with boundless tenderness and care, and gently, almost tenderly, stroked the girl's cheek.

The camera zooms in on Jingqiu, played by Liu Yifei. The warmth of their skin touching makes her body tense instantly, and her eyes widen suddenly. Such a natural performance is no challenge for her.

The third brother's hand, with its distinct knuckles, moved very slowly down her cheek with a slight tremor.

Finally, with hesitation and tentativeness, his fingertips gently and little by little slipped inside Jingqiu's clothes.

The girl's eyes were incredibly complex at that moment. Her initial panic was replaced by a soft, almost sacrificial devotion, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly like the wings of a startled butterfly.

Xiao Liu's camel-humped nose twitched slightly, and her lips tightened and loosened, revealing a pure and innocent naivety, and a beautiful and charming naivety of complete trust in her lover.

The white knuckles from gripping the fist and the constant trembling betrayed the turbulent emotions churning within.

But the tension only lasted a second or two. The tightly clenched hands, as if all their strength had been drained, slowly, with great determination, loosened.

She didn't move, but instead transformed her awkward nervousness into silent acceptance, her eyes still fixed on the blurry profile of the third brother's face with a touch of naivety.

Pure as the hawthorn blossoms in her own writing.

The third brother was ultimately deterred from taking the next step by that look.

Without hesitation, he withdrew his exploring hand and, with unprecedented tenderness, carefully straightened and smoothed out every wrinkle in Jingqiu's open collar.

The camera zooms out to a medium shot of the two people. The man takes a deep breath and seems to deliberately move an inch further away from Jingqiu.

The girl could clearly feel his rapid heartbeat and calming breathing, and her tense body relaxed accordingly.

"The book says that if a man and a woman lie together, a woman will get pregnant. Are you afraid I'll get pregnant?"

This innocent question, in the dim light, creates a striking contrast with the girl's pale, slightly flushed face.

The third brother's voice echoed in the darkness, hoarse and distant, yet filled with endless longing and entrustment for the future:
"You will get pregnant in the future, have children, become a mother, then a grandmother, and have children and grandchildren."

Each word is like a faint lamp, trying to illuminate Jingqiu's long and unknown future path; this is his greatest hope.

Jingqiu immediately pressed on, her voice filled with childlike concern and undisguised affection: "And what about you?"

The atmosphere in the hospital ward and countless cinemas across the country froze for a few seconds, then came the third brother's soft, almost whispered, yet resolute reply from the darkness:
"I live only if you live; if you die, I will truly die."

These words were like a bolt of lightning in the night, instantly cleaving through the layers of confusion and unease that had been weighing on Jingqiu's mind for days.

The girl stared blankly into the void, an indescribable shock and grief sweeping across her face like a tsunami.

She still didn't dare to ask, because she was sure the answer would be that she was fine.

The third brother lay down again, this time not with his back to her, but firmly turning to face her, so close they were almost touching.

He reached out and groped in the darkness, accurately grasping Jingqiu's cold, trembling little hand.

Jingqiu immediately clenched her fist back, their fingers intertwined tightly, like a drowning person grabbing onto the only piece of driftwood, or like two lonely souls embracing tightly for the last time before the eternal abyss.

The camera slowly zooms out to a panoramic overhead shot. On the cramped single bed, the couple, who have endured the hardships of the era and are about to be cruelly separated by fate, face to face, holding hands tightly. In the boundless darkness and despair soaked with tears, they use their bodies to interpret the most poignant, pure, and restrained love of that era.

Jing Tian, ​​Bingbing, and countless female fans in the audience covered their mouths tightly, all silently shedding tears.

This is a male-female relationship that is completely different from modern expressions of lust.

Three days passed quickly, and Jingqiu was about to leave.

The third brother took her to the bus, and the two of them kept a distance of several meters from each other. They also sat separately on the bus.

The camera is positioned slightly behind and to the side of Jingqiu. The girl appears to be looking at the receding gray-green fields outside the window, but her gaze is fixed on the blurry reflection in the car window—

In the reflection, the third brother was gazing in her direction, a warm smile on his face, which appeared distant and unreal in the reflection of the glass.

Jingqiu's fingers unconsciously tightened around the backpack strap, her body stiffening slightly as she tried to remain calm.

The bus swayed and came to a stop, and the passengers filed out.

The murky river water spreads out in the lens, its surface gleaming a dull, leaden gray under the not-so-strong sunlight.

An old, peeling ferryboat was moored beside a simple wooden pier, forming the first physical barrier between the two.

Jingqiu lowered her head and silently walked across the wooden planks of the pier, stepping onto the swaying deck. She did not immediately go into the cabin, but turned around, stood by the ship's side, and looked towards the shore.

The third brother stopped on the shore, standing outside the crowd, his figure tall and solitary.

He no longer needed to fake a smile; he simply gazed silently and intently at Jingqiu on the boat.

Backlit, his slender figure was outlined by a blurry halo, facing the small, gray-blue figure on the ferry across the river.

The ferry sailed to the middle of the river and arrived at another simple ferry crossing on the opposite bank.

Jingqiu silently disembarked, and Lao San slowly turned around and walked towards their respective "homes." The two walked in the same direction along the parallel and never-intersecting paths along the shore.

The camera rises to an overhead angle: the leaden-gray river water is like an insurmountable chasm, coldly dividing the scene into two worlds.

The two walked on their respective paths along the riverbank, forming two parallel lines that would never intersect, their gazes repeatedly meeting and probing each other on the wide river surface.

Liu Yifei, who plays Jingqiu, burst into tears without warning. She waved frantically at the man on the opposite bank, a fear of losing her beloved gripping her heart.

The third brother also cried. He slowly, with all his might, opened his arms towards the river and towards Jingqiu.

A futile embrace that crossed the river.

His arms were outstretched so firmly, as if they could transcend physical distance and embrace the people on the other side tightly.

The camera returns to Jingqiu, who sees that embrace across the distance!

Without the slightest hesitation, she also turned towards the opposite bank, mimicking the third brother's gesture, and opened her slender arms, making a similarly futile yet incredibly solemn embrace.

The camera pans to a medium shot of two people embracing across the river with outstretched arms:

The gray sky, the turbid river, and the tiny boat shadows formed a desolate backdrop.

On both sides of the river, two solitary figures stubbornly embrace each other with body language in the vast expanse of sky and earth.

Without physical contact or words, only silent love surged across the river, instantly pushing the audience's emotions to a climax.

Jingqiu took one last deep, deep look at the opposite bank, as if trying to etch that figure into her soul. She suddenly turned around and strode forward, her thin back revealing a resolute, albeit unsteady, determination.

One step, two steps...

The camera fades out to the sound of the river, and music begins.

The river's sobs became the grandest lament for the silent end of this couple.

Several more months passed after that separation.

That day, Jingqiu was processing envelopes to supplement her family's income when her best friend Wei Hong suddenly knocked on the door and came in.

Tong Liya, who plays Wei Hong, asks with a distressed expression: "Is no one home?"

"Why did you suddenly come back?"

Wei Hong, her hair disheveled, pouting, walked in and sat down with heavy steps.

Before she could speak, tears streamed down her face: "I'm pregnant. If he dared to admit it, I would have given birth to the child, but that coward ran away!"

The intelligent Jingqiu pursed her lips. She remembered the day she sent Wei Hong to the countryside, and the young man she had pointed out to her with affection.

"What should I do?"

"It's leaked."

Wei Hong had clearly thought things through during her trip: "I can't do it at the city hospital. What if someone tells my mom? I have to go to the county hospital, but nobody there knows me. I'll need to find someone to give me a letter of introduction. You have to come with me. I also need to get my hair permed to look older."

"You can't let this man get away with it. Don't be as stupid as I was."

Jingqiu had a question: "What does 'success' mean?"

"Are you really unaware or pretending not to know? What about the third brother? Did you sleep in the same bed?" Wei Hong asked rather cryptically.

Jingqiu hesitated before nodding, then explained after a long pause, "He seems to be seriously ill..."

"Ha! You can believe men?" Wei Hong was furious. "That coward even lied to me that he had cancer! Just you wait, once this third brother gets what he wants, he'll definitely run away!"

She looked at her best friend with a sigh: "You're so silly! You'd be a million times better off as a teacher than me!"

Jingqiu, who was still quite clueless about matters between men and women, couldn't understand so much, and took a trip to the hospital when she had some free time.

Gao Ye, who had been entrusted by the third brother, told her: "Sun Jianxin has recovered and been discharged from the hospital."

"Does he...do he have leukemia?"

"How could that be! We can't treat that here. Go ask around yourself." Gao Ye waved his hand and walked away, looking at the distraught Jing Qiu from upstairs, shaking his head helplessly.

Wei Hong, who was pregnant out of wedlock, had an abortion and had a big argument with her mother, who was angry at her for not living up to her expectations. Only Jing Qiu was left to accompany her in the ward.

"Qiu, the D&C really hurt. This time it really hurt so much."

Looking at her childhood friend, who was deathly pale after the miscarriage, the latter couldn't help but ask, "Will I get pregnant?"

Wei Hong looked at her speechlessly: "Did you let him succeed or not? How did you do it? Tell me in detail?"

Jingqiu blushed and recounted what happened that night in a hesitant manner.

"That's all? She didn't take off her clothes, she didn't..." Wei Hong looked at the girl in front of her in disbelief. Could any man resist that?
Even though this is already a heavily aged version of Xiao Liu.

After a long pause, Wei Hong sighed and said, "You've met a good man. He truly cherishes you."

Jingqiu jumped up: "But when I went to the hospital, the nurse definitely said he didn't have leukemia!"

"Tch, those nurses and staff are all arrogant and haughty. Why would she lend you her dorm room to sleep in?" Wei Hong had far more social experience than her best friend.

"If you want to ask, go to Xiping Village."

Yes!

Jingqiu didn't have time to eat the red eggs that Wei Hong peeled for her. She had miscarried and needed to rest during her postpartum period, and eating eggs was a local custom.

She bought a bus ticket, got off the bus, and ran like a madwoman towards Xiping Village. The audience suddenly realized that this time the route and shots were exactly the same as at the beginning of the film.

We passed by the big hawthorn tree, the rapeseed fields, and the ridges where we once strolled together.

The palindromic narrative, however, is a breakdown of emotions.

Zhao Benshan, playing the village chief, looked at the female teacher on probation with astonishment: "Jingqiu, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

Huanhuan hadn't seen Jingqiu for almost a year, and ran over to hug her leg, crying, "Aunt Jing!"

The old woman heard the commotion and rushed over. Jingqiu calmed her rapid breathing, and Changfang finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Sister Jingqiu, you're here to see Third Brother, right?"

The whole family fell silent, except for Huanhuan, whose innocent big eyes looked around.

The woman's tears streamed down her face as she wiped them with her apron and walked out, lamenting, "Poor third son, how did he get this disease?"

Chang Fang's voice was hoarse: "We haven't seen him for several months, it's like he suddenly disappeared."

"Third brother... third brother should be alright." The old village chief tapped his pipe on the table, seemingly trying to comfort Jingqiu or himself.

The girl's pupils suddenly contracted, trembling violently in the dim light of the room, before losing all focus.

Her slightly parted lips remained open, as if her breath had been instantly sucked away.

The next second, Jingqiu turned around stiffly and unsteadily, like a puppet whose support had been removed.

She even forgot about the threshold under her feet, stumbled and tripped, her body only leaning forward slightly by instinct, before she managed to straighten up.

Xiao Liu's strong body control ability was on full display here. His movements of stabilizing himself just before falling were natural and normal, showing no signs of anything unusual.

The camera followed her back closely; her steps were no longer the careful ones of the past, but rather heavy and unsteady, as if crushed by immense sorrow.

The scene briefly cuts to Jingqiu's dazed, subjective perspective:
The stone-paved road at the village entrance twisted and deformed in the dim light, like a long, cold serpent with no end in sight.

The outlines of the roadside haystacks flared wildly in the wind, like a silent mockery.

The dark silhouettes of the distant mountains pressed heavily against the sky, creating a suffocating sense of oppression...

Once again, it formed a stark contrast to the path she and her third brother had taken in the past, where the colors were so vibrant.

In the evening, Jingqiu didn't even know how she got home. As soon as she entered the yard, she saw a military vehicle.

The audience, whose eyes were already brimming with tears, felt their hearts clench, just like Jingqiu, who was unable to move her heavy legs at that moment.

She dared not go inside.

"Jingqiu? Come in." Xi Meijuan called her daughter in, her eyes slightly red. There was another girl standing in the room.

The girl's eyes were almost swollen from crying: "I'm Sun Jianxin's sister. Father asked me to come and take you to see him one last time..."

In the footage, a muddy, military-green jeep violently bumps across a potholed stone bridge, its engine roaring and tearing through the silence of the mountain road.

The layered mountains rushing past the car window now appear as oppressive gray silhouettes, and the rapid tracking shots amplify the suffocating feeling of the approaching final moment.

The jeep braked violently at the entrance of the makeshift county hospital, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The car door was suddenly pushed open, and Sun Jianxin's sister anxiously pulled Jingqiu, played by Liu Yifei, out of the car.

The girl's face was ashen, her breathing rapid, her eyes vacant yet filled with immense fear. It was as if an invisible force had ripped her bones away, leaving only her last fragile support.

She was pulled forward in a daze, her steps faltering.

The two rushed into the dimly lit corridor filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant, their hurried and chaotic footsteps echoing hollowly in the empty space.

The younger sister's voice was choked with sobs and desperate urgency: "Quick! He's still waiting!"

The moment the door opened, the scene inside the ward crashed into the screen like a hammer blow:
The small ward seemed somewhat crowded. In the foreground were several solemn-looking soldiers in crisp green uniforms. Like silent pine trees, they formed a solemn and oppressive barrier around the hospital bed, enveloping it completely.

The audience below the stage watched as Jingqiu was reduced to a pile of crushed ashes, her slightly parted lips trembling silently. They had no idea how difficult it was to film this scene.

Due to pregnancy hormones, actress Liu Yifei couldn't help but burst into tears every time she hadn't even opened the door.

In the chaos, a middle-aged man with a resolute face, graying temples, and wearing a crisp military uniform suddenly turned around.

His bloodshot eyes, filled with a mixture of majesty and profound sorrow, precisely captured the desperate red figure at the doorway.

"You must be Jingqiu..." The tone wasn't a question, but a confirmation: "Go see him, Sun Jianxin has been waiting for you."

The camera moves forward slowly but steadily, using Jingqiu's first-person perspective.

The soldiers surrounding the hospital bed parted like a receding tide, silently retreating to both sides to make way for Jingqiu, creating a narrow and straight passage.

The intense sense of oppression and the visual guide lines ultimately converge on the emaciated body covered by a white sheet on the hospital bed.

Liu Yifei's portrayal of Jingqiu is so agonizing that every step she takes feels like walking on a knife's edge, her movements heavy and slow.

These few steps seemed to encompass a lifetime; Jingqiu finally moved to the bedside. She no longer looked at anyone, her knees buckled, and she slowly, silently squatted down on the cold cement floor. Her gaze, greedy yet filled with unbearable pain, fell upon Lao San's face—

The actor, Lu Kuan, had his once handsome face completely destroyed by the disease. His face, which used to be full of sunshine and vitality, became sunken and withered beyond recognition.

His skin was a lifeless, sallow yellow with bruises, and his deeply sunken eye sockets were tightly closed, like two dry wells of despair.

The long, cold oxygen tube was roughly inserted into the nostril, as if it were the only umbilical cord to another cold world, and the chest cavity only rose and fell very faintly, almost imperceptibly.

The youngest sister's tearful voice urgently rang out from off-screen: "Call out quickly! If you don't call out now... it will be too late!"

Jingqiu sniffed sharply, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders convulsing violently. She opened her mouth, but the sound caught in her throat, only a broken, breathy whisper escaping her lips: "I...I am..."

The woman's voice grew even more anxious: "Call him! Call him the way you normally would! He... he can still hear you!"

Jingqiu seemed to be suddenly ignited, gathering the last bit of strength in her life, and facing that unresponsive face, she called out in a trembling but clear voice, over and over again: "I am Jingqiu..."

The scene flashes back to the riverbank, where he smiles and hands her a candy, bathed in bright sunshine.

"I am Jingqiu..." the girl's voice rose a little.

The scene flashes back to him grinding paint under a hawthorn tree, while she focuses intently on painting.

"I am Jingqiu!!!" She finally broke down in tears, perfectly expressing the progression of her emotions.

Jing Tian, ​​sitting in the audience, couldn't hold back her sobs and burst into tears, seemingly trying to force everyone else to shed tears as well. The scenes on the big screen flashed back even faster:
In the autumn mountain stream, a profusion of flowers blooms on bare branches, and a hand with frostbite gently caresses the mica-shimmering flower clusters.
The blade grazed his arm, blood gushing out and staining his stubborn eyes red; her tears of compromise mingled with the pungent smell of rust.

On the speeding bicycle frame, the sunlight gilded a carefree smile, only to be pierced in an instant by the mother's icy gaze from beneath the tree;

On the cold night, on the stone steps of the county hospital, a young girl curled up like a shivering young animal. He gazed at her through the window, tears hanging precariously in the backlight.

The sobbing in the theater was like waves crashing on the shore.

Every frame on the screen is a pure imprint etched in the amber of time, the last heartbeat echo that lovers, swept up by the torrent of the times, desperately try to hold up before sinking into the abyss.

Jingqiu seemed to remember something, and suddenly lowered her head, clutching her bright red top tightly with both hands. Her knuckles turned white from the force of her grip, creating a stark contrast with the red fabric.

She raised her tearful eyes, staring intently at the third brother's somber face, and cried out, "Didn't you say I looked good in red...?"

The voice carries both bittersweet memories and a jarring reality.

"I came wearing it..."

The camera then focused again on the tear stains at the corner of the third brother's eyes, as if they had frozen at the moment he stopped breathing.

The ward fell into a deathly silence, broken only by Jingqiu's suppressed, intermittent sobs.

A low-angle shot slowly pans upwards, passing over the cold, still oxygen tube, and finally settling on the corner of the mottled, yellowed ceiling of the ward.

The tape carefully covered their awkward yet sweet photo together:

The two young people sat side by side. The third brother smiled, revealing a set of white teeth, while Jingqiu shyly tilted her head slightly. The edges of the photo were slightly curled and yellowed, yet it carried their most carefree moments.

Music fades in, and subtitles overlay.

A mournful, low-pitched string melody flowed in like a sob, and the photograph gradually faded from the frame, replaced by simple captions:

The third brother is gone.

In accordance with his last wishes, his ashes were buried under that hawthorn tree.

Years later, the incident ended, and Jingqiu went abroad to study.

Later, this area became the reservoir area of ​​the Three Gorges Reservoir, and all the people and mountains were relocated. The hawthorn tree that bore the vows and farewells also disappeared into the dust of history in the silent submersion of the mighty river.

Jingqiu returns every year and stands by the water.

She always believed that even if the hawthorn tree sank to the bottom of the deep water, it would surely bloom again.

It's a safflower.

……

The camera finally focuses on the vast reservoir where the water and sky meet, and the water seems to reflect the lonely red-clad figure of Jingqiu leaning on the railing.

Beneath the surface, several hawthorn blossoms, rendered with special effects to appear hazy and dreamlike, floated and swayed in the murky river water.

The End.

The screening room fell into a frozen silence, with only suppressed sobs breaking out intermittently.

(End of this chapter)