The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 1

“Woo…”

The deep, long whistle cut through the blue sky, the golden rain trees on both sides of the road lush and flourishing. The river wind rustled the leaves, finally dispersing some of the midsummer heat.

Carrying bags large and small, Chen Xian briskly ran out of the shipping company’s gate. He flagged down a taxi on the roadside without waiting for the driver to ask, eagerly giving the address of the shipping company dormitory.

“It’s just a few steps away,” the driver glanced at the rearview mirror, clearly reluctant to take this fare.

Indeed, the dormitory wasn’t far from the company. Just past the overpass and down a street, and he would be there. Normally, Chen Xian wouldn’t take a taxi for such a short distance, but after spending eight months on the river, he was eager to get home quickly.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his smile somewhat restrained and sincere, “Um, I’m in a hurry to get back.”

The driver glanced at the things in the back seat, infected by Chen Xian’s urgency. “Alright.”

Stepping on the gas, the car stopped by the roadside. After paying, Chen Xian thanked the driver and then hurried towards the dormitory building.

Just as he entered the courtyard, a staff member sitting under a big tree recognized him, “Isn’t this Chen Xian?”

Chen Xian was honest and straightforward. When someone spoke to him, he couldn’t just ignore them and walk away. No matter how urgent it was, he had to stop and exchange a few polite words.

“Yeah, I just got back.”

“You’ve been away for almost half a year, right?” Once the conversation started, it seemed hard to stop.

Chen Xian answered as he fiddled with the bag in his hand, his eyes constantly glancing in the direction of his own home, “Yeah, eight months. I’m back to rest for a few months.”

Sharp-eyed Auntie noticed Chen Xian’s little movements, teasing, “You guys better let Chen Xian go back soon, it’s been almost half a year without seeing Jiang Ying, she must be anxious by now.”

Chen Xian couldn’t help but blush at the teasing. A thirty-year-old man, teased by others, his face turned bright red. He tried to argue back a bit, but his voice wouldn’t cooperate, stammering for a while before he could speak, “Then I’ll go back first, we’ll catch up another time.”

Without waiting for the neighbor’s response, Chen Xian turned and hurried into the hallway. At that moment, someone muttered behind him.

“Eh? Didn’t Jiang Ying sell the house…”

Chen Xian was focused on going home and didn’t hear what the person said behind him. He ran up to the third floor, knocking on the door and calling out Jiang Ying’s name, “Ah Ying!”

The iron door banged loudly, and Chen Xian’s heart started pounding violently. He paused for a few seconds. When the door didn’t open from the inside, the smile on his face gradually froze.

Is there no one at home?

Chen Xian was inexplicably disappointed. He put down the things in his hands, took out the key, and planned to open the door himself.

The key slid against the iron door, making a piercing sound. The key just wouldn’t go into the keyhole. Chen Xian crouched down, trying to look closely, only to find that the lock had been changed.

Why was the lock changed?

He leaned against the iron door and forgot to stand up. His mind was blank, and he even forgot what he was supposed to do. Just then, the iron door next to him creaked open.

“Chen Xian?” It was Aunt Wang next door, who was quite surprised to see him. “Why are you…”

Chen Xian hurriedly stood up from the ground, his reaction was a bit urgent. He felt a flash of white light in front of his eyes, dizzy and disoriented. After standing still for a moment, he slowly recovered and finally spoke, “Aunt Wang, did Ah Ying go out?”

“Jiang Ying rented out the house.”

The sun was scorching his back, and large drops of sweat rolled down Chen Xian’s forehead. He blinked uncomfortably and repeated Aunt Wang’s words in his mind.

“The house… rented out?”

Jiang Ying didn’t tell him.

Aunt Wang hugged her arms. She knew everything about this building, “It’s been rented out for a couple of months now. Didn’t she say you guys were preparing to move? Planning to buy a new house?”

A couple of months?

Chen Xian opened his mouth in astonishment, his mind buzzing, his ears almost deaf, unable to hear other sounds.

Aunt Wang approached mysteriously and glanced at the window. “Don’t you know, the person who rented your house…”

Before she finished her sentence, there was a sound of something falling inside Chen Xian’s house. Aunt Wang pursed her lips and made a strange expression at Chen Xian.

Chen Xian didn’t understand. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, the wooden door behind the iron door was opened.

The dim room was torn open by sunlight, an indescribable smell rushing towards him. Through the crack, Chen Xian saw the mess on the ground, chairs strewn about, shattered glass cups. If he hadn’t recognized the lawn chair he brought back from Hubei, he wouldn’t have believed his eyes, wouldn’t have been sure it was his home.

Even if it was rented out, there was no reason to turn someone else’s house into this mess. An unnamed anger rose within him, but as Chen Xian looked at the boy hiding behind the door panel, his anger subsided by half.

Although only half of his face was visible, it was a beautiful face, with a pair of pretty eyes, but they were dull and unfocused, unable to focus at all. Blind?

“Who are you?” the boy questioned, his body tensed, hands gripping the door panel tightly, showing no intention of opening the iron door, his whole body as alert as a startled cat.

Aunt Wang fanned the air in front of her, a little disgusted, and whispered to Chen Xian, “It’s the one who rented it.”

Perhaps Aunt Wang’s words had triggered something in the boy, as his cheekbones tensed, his breathing becoming noticeably heavier.

Chen Xian’s mind was in chaos. He wanted to ask but didn’t know where to start. Aunt Wang asked him, “Didn’t you call your wife before you came back?”

Because there was no signal on the river, every time he had to wait until the boat docked to go ashore and make a call. Moreover, he was out of town, and roaming charges were expensive, so he couldn’t call often. So, considering this, the last time he called Jiang Ying was two months ago. At that time, she didn’t mention anything about wanting to move, let alone renting out the house.

“You should call your wife first.”

Chen Xian came to his senses and took out his pager from his pocket. He quickly dialed the number labeled “wife,” but the mechanical female voice on the phone was cold.

Seeing Chen Xian’s serious expression, Aunt Wang asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Can’t get through?”

Indeed, he couldn’t get through; Jiang Ying’s phone was turned off.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m closing the door.” the boy gestured as if to close the door.

Chen Xian quickly stopped him. “Wait, when my wife rented the house to you, did she mention anything else?”

the boy seemed to sense Chen Xian approaching, his alertness growing heavy. His expression visibly became fierce, and his voice rose several degrees. “Go away! Don’t come any closer!”

His sudden burst of anger made Chen Xian and Aunt Wang look at each other in surprise, watching the boy close the door without being able to stop him.

Aunt Wang craned her neck to peer through the glass window, then turned to complain to Chen Xian, “Did you see that just now? This kid’s temper is really strange, making the house smell foul. With the sun so strong now, sometimes we can smell it inside our house. He used to live with his dad, who kept things tidy, but I don’t know what’s happened lately; I haven’t seen his dad around, and he doesn’t care about the cleanliness anymore. You talk to Jiang Ying later, how could she rent the house to someone like him?”

Under the scorching sun, Chen Xian’s temples throbbed. His head felt heavy, as if a sign of heatstroke. He picked up his things and staggered downstairs.

Aunt Wang followed him, continuing to ask urgently, “Chen Xian, did you not get through to Jiang Ying’s phone?”

People cooling off downstairs cast curious glances, but Chen Xian was too busy to respond. Ignoring the gossip around him, he hurried out of the dormitory courtyard.

Someone quietly asked Aunt Wang, “What’s going on? Didn’t Jiang Ying rent out the house?”

Aunt Wang pursed her lips.Who knows? It seems that Chen Xian doesn’t know about renting out the house. Jiang Ying even said they wanted to buy a commercial house. Can’t reach her.”

The nosy neighbors’ eyes lit up. “Did Jiang Ying run away with someone else?”

“Get out! Don’t talk nonsense.” Aunt Wang looked in the direction Chen Xian left,  “No, Chen Xian is so honest, he spends all his salary on Jiang Ying. What more does she want?”

The sun shone brightly in the sky. Chen Xian’s temples throbbed, his mind hazy, as if on the verge of heatstroke. He grabbed his things and walked unsteadily toward a guesthouse. After hesitating for a moment, he went in and opened a room. Once in the room, he put down his things and collapsed on the bed.

The room faced the sun, and it was as hot as a huge steamer. His frustration was not relieved in the slightest. He didn’t have time to think about anything else. He took out his phone and called Jiang Ying’s number again, but it was still turned off.

Still off. A grown woman couldn’t just disappear like this for no reason, right?

Chen Xian stood frozen for a moment, then called Jiang Ying’s hometown number. The call only reached the village’s small shop. Chen Xian tried to inquire discreetly, but Jiang Ying hadn’t gone back. He had to hang up on some random excuse.

Jiang Ying didn’t work and had no friends in the city. If she didn’t go back to her hometown, where else could she go? Was she in danger? Should he call the police?

Once he thought of calling the police, Chen Xian couldn’t sit still. He stood up abruptly and hurried to the nearest police station. After explaining the situation to the public security officers, they told him to go home and wait for news.

Leaving the police station, the sun had already begun to set. The sparse sunset was making its final struggle, but the heat of the entire city still hadn’t dissipated, weighing heavily on Chen Xian’s chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

Just a few hours ago, he was clearly excited and looking forward to it, and now he couldn’t go home.

He tried hard to remember the last time he talked to Jiang Ying on the phone. Jiang Ying didn’t seem to have any abnormality on the phone that time, and that call was no different from any other. What had happened in these past two months? Where did Jiang Ying go?

Author’s note:

The background of the story is around the early 2000s.

Due to not being able to see, the beautiful younger man became stubborn and strange in temperament.