Late at night, outside the window, there was an airtight curtain of rain, like a cold palm covering the entire city.
In the old rental house, willow catkins were wrapped in a thin blanket, rubbing the old-fashioned mechanical watch left by her father in her hand.
The case is old, and the faint scratches on the dial are the marks of time, but the ticking sound of the timekeeping was once the most reassuring background sound of her childhood.
She gently shook her wrist, feeling the slight vibration of the gears meshing inside, as if she could hear her father's gentle voice again: "Xu 'er, time waits for no one. Cherish it well."
"Xu Xu, are you looking at this junk again?" Su Qing, drenched in moisture, pushed the door open and came in, her face showing exhaustion and a hint of impatience. He casually threw his coat onto the sofa and his gaze swept over the watch in Liu Xu's hand.
Liu Xu frowned and held the watch close to her chest, saying, "This isn't junk. It was left to me by my dad."
"Is it interesting to hold a dead person's thing every day?" " Su Qing approached and tried to get the watch, but her force was rather rough.
What are you doing! Liu Xu let out a cry of surprise and instinctively dodged. Their hands made a mistake in the air. The watch slipped out of my hand and with a "pop", it landed on the cold concrete floor.
The glass on the dial shattered instantly, with fragments flying everywhere. Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Liu Xu was stunned and then burst out with a long-suppressed cry.
She threw herself to the ground, trembling as she picked up the fragments, the glass that had once protected her father's time but was now cold and sharp, cutting through her fingertips.
Bright red blood drops fell on the broken dial, as shocking as tears.
Isn't it just a broken watch? Why are you crying! Su Qing's voice carried a hint of irritability. He probably didn't expect Liu Xu to react so strongly.
Liu Xu paid no attention to him. She just held her broken watch and cried her heart out.
That was not merely a watch. It was her last, visible connection with her father, a fragile layer of protection for her against this cold world.
Now, it's broken, too.