A missed call

He is a 26-year-old male, currently working as a procurement manager, and has been in this job for 5 years. When we were kids, we once wore the same tattered pants and slept on the same hard plank beds.\ The night before last, at 5:47 PM, he called me. Because my phone happened to freeze for a few minutes, I couldn't answer this sudden call. Later, when I restarted it, the screen showed 'Your friend XXX called you three times from 5:47 PM to 5:50 PM.' Seeing this number that felt both strange and familiar, my heart raced. It's been over two years! The last time I interacted with him was during the New Year, I believe!\ I swiped through my phone contacts, carefully looking at each passing number. It had been so long that I had even forgotten what name I had saved him under in my phone. Suddenly, a famous saying flashed through my mind: 'Review the old and learn the new, and you can be a teacher!' If only I had looked more often, maybe now...\ It took about 4 minutes to finally find his number. Following that 'bridge of communication,' I pressed the 'green button' hard. The words 'Calling' proudly appeared on the screen. And the continuously rising ellipsis behind it felt like huge boulders crashing into the depths of my long untouched heart.\ 'There are thousands of kinds of sadness. All happiness is the same.' This song, which I usually never tire of listening to, became a barrier to the spiritual communication between him and me at this moment.\ 'One second, two seconds, three seconds...' I silently counted, quietly suppressing the impulses in my heart. The phone, because of my excited hands and trembling legs, became less 'obedient.'\ 'There are thousands of kinds of waiting, all greetings are the same.' I altered the lyrics like this, starting a stiff rap with my mouth.\ 'Calling' suddenly changed to 'In call,' with 00:00:01 immediately following.\ 'Hello, Zhengping, it's me, Shuifeng. Did you just call me?' I asked, knowing the answer.\ 'Yes! I went to Haining, and coincidentally passed by your door, thought I'd come over for a visit, long time no see.' My heartbeat raced even faster. I turned on the speaker and increased the volume.\ 'My phone just froze. Where are you now? Can you come over now? Or should I come pick you up, or what.'"I threw a lot at him in one breath, my excited emotions turning into printer commands, leaving the printer sweating profusely yet oblivious. I thought of all possible responses: 'Hmm! Wait, I'll come over. Hmm! Let's eat together. Hmm!...' \ "I'm in Haining now, next time then! I have weekends off! Lots of free time, I'll call you then. Does your phone keep freezing? Should I buy you a new one?' \ 'I see! I'll wait for your call.' I hung up on speaker, my voice gradually fading. \ 'Hello! What did you say!' \ 'Nothing,' perhaps a mischievous breeze, or maybe my voice was really too soft. On the other end, only repeated 'what did you say' mingled with a sense of loss slowly rippled out. \ I pressed the speakerphone button again. 'I said I could buy you a phone, if you want. Not just the freezing issue! Even the quality is so poor, the sound is too soft.' \ 'A phone! I don't really need it. Next time, if I miss your call, you must wait at home for me, okay?' \ 'Hmm! Hmm! Hmm!' Knowing the transmission quality might not be very good, he became so concise. Perhaps he had long known that over these 20-odd years, time had already acted as a matchmaker, building a bridge called 'tacit understanding' between him and me. I told myself this. \ I pressed the large red button to end the call. I looked at the time: 00:04:13. \ Shi Shuifeng