Ruan Mian had a dream.

She dreamed that she had returned to No. 8 High School and had become deskmates with Chen Yi again. Scenes from the past replayed one by one in the dream. Those moments of heartache and sadness were also copied, making Ruan Mian in the dream unable to let go for a long time.

That dream was very long and chaotic, with many fleeting fragments. As a bystander, she saw the Ruan Mian who charged forward fearlessly at the sports meet, the Ruan Mian who was sad for a long time because of a sentence from the person she liked, the Ruan Mian who tossed and turned in countless deep nights secretly crying.

The her in the dream was always chasing after a shadow she could never catch up to.

Suddenly, that shadow disappeared. Those scenes at No. 8 High School also began to change completely. Tall buildings became ruins, the surroundings vast and empty, the entire sky gray and dim.

Ruan Mian heard someone crying in the distance. Following the sound, she saw many people standing beside a pile of rubble.

She slowly approached. Those people seemed to see her, their eyes hesitant to speak.

At this moment, Ruan Mian saw Shen Yu half-kneeling on the ground, and a man lying in front of him covered in blood, completely still.

Shen Yu stood up and walked in front of her.

Ruan Mian heard herself asking him, who is this?

Shen Yu’s expression showed some reluctance. Ruan Mian took a step forward, grabbing his clothes, almost unable to stand, crying and asking who this was.

“Chen Yi.” The Shen Yu in the dream said, “Ruan Mian, this is Chen Yi. He’s dead.”

He’s dead.

Those three words replayed non-stop in Ruan Mian’s ears like a curse. Her whole person collapsed. She couldn’t help crying out loud, her vision gradually becoming blurred.

The sky around suddenly darkened. Ruan Mian saw two people standing to the side, taking away another “Chen Yi” from Chen Yi’s body.

She grabbed Shen Yu’s clothes saying someone had taken Chen Yi away, but Shen Yu said he didn’t see anyone else. Chen Yi was still lying there.

The people around who were silent looked at her as if looking at some kind of monster. No one believed Ruan Mian’s words. She collapsed crying, chasing after those three shadows in panic, shouting with all her strength, “Chen Yi!”

…

“Chen Yi!” The sky was bright. Ruan Mian suddenly woke from the dream, her whole body covered in cold sweat from this nightmare.

The despair and helplessness in the dream made her still have lingering fears in the real world, not even daring to close her eyes again.

“You’re awake?”

The sudden voice from beside made Ruan Mian come back to her senses. She turned her head to look to the left, her expression both surprised and delighted. “How did you get here?”

“Business trip. I just happened to pass by here, so I came over.” He Zechuan picked up the water cup on the table and handed it over. “Have some water.”

Ruan Mian rubbed her face, sat up from the hospital bed, took the water and drank more than half the cup. After recovering for a while, she asked, “When did you arrive?”

“This morning around five o’clock.”

Ruan Mian leaned against the headboard. Outside, sunlight with warmth shone in. Only then did she have some sense of solid existence in this mortal world.

He Zechuan stared at her somewhat pale complexion for a few seconds. Thinking of that “Chen Yi” full of despair just now, he lowered his eyes and averted his gaze.

The surroundings were still bustling with activity. Ruan Mian put down the water cup, lifted the covers, and lowered her head to put on her shoes. “So when are you going back?”

“Today.” He Zechuan asked, “What about you all? When are you returning to City B?”

“Probably in the next couple days.” The rescue mission here had already entered the follow-up stage. The new batch of medical personnel who came to take over also arrived in Luolin yesterday, gradually beginning to take over the work here.

He Zechuan watched her put on her shoes and stand up before also standing up. His tall figure cast a shadow on the white hospital bed with the light. “Let’s go. I brought you some food. Eat in my car or should I bring it over?”

“Let’s go to your car. I’ll wash up first.” With people coming and going here, it wasn’t very convenient. Ruan Mian had slept for a long time and felt sore all over.

She walked out while rubbing her shoulder. He Zechuan, seeing this, raised his hand to pound her shoulder twice, not forgetting to complain, “You’re so thin it hurts my hand.”

Ruan Mian turned her head to look at him, speechless with laughter. “You try staying in this place for a week. Let’s see if you get thin or not.”

He Zechuan didn’t refute. The hand pounding down just used a bit of force.

“Wow, you’re a pig, He Zechuan.” Ruan Mian called out a sentence and stood to the side rubbing her shoulder. Unexpectedly, this scene was just seen by Chen Yi who came to find her.

The three people stood there forming a triangle. He Zechuan reacted first. He actually wasn’t unfamiliar with Chen Yi. After becoming close with Ruan Mian earlier, the two had once had an open-hearted chat about emotional matters. It was also then that he had seen a photo of Ruan Mian and Chen Yi together.

The youth stood against a cloudless blue sky background, his appearance handsome and extraordinary. When he smiled, amazement was hidden in the corners of his eyes and brows.

No wonder Ruan Mian would fall for him. This kind of boy really was hard not to remember.

Although He Zechuan had never actually seen Chen Yi, at this moment he seemed blessed with sudden understanding, recognizing at a glance who the person in front of him was.

He tilted his head close to Ruan Mian and said quietly, “Isn’t this your secret crush?”

“Shut up.” Ruan Mian lowered her hand. Thinking of the dream from not long ago, she walked forward a few steps. “You all didn’t go to the scene today?”

“No, going this afternoon.” Chen Yi raised his hand to scratch his eyebrow. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much better.” Ruan Mian still had some impression of the scene before fainting yesterday. She laughed. “Did I scare you and Shen Yu yesterday?”

Chen Yi hummed in acknowledgment, raised his eyes to glance at He Zechuan standing behind, and said without much tone, “Then you go ahead with your business. I still have matters to attend to, so I’ll leave first.”

“Okay.” Ruan Mian thought for a moment, then still said, “You all pay more attention to safety.”

He nodded and left with large strides.

He Zechuan slowly approached Ruan Mian. “Didn’t you say before that this secret crush of yours went abroad to study physics? How come he’s now a soldier?”

Ruan Mian shook her head. “Don’t know.”

“You never asked?”

“No.” Since their reunion, Ruan Mian actually had many questions she wanted to ask, but had no way to start, let alone knowing how to ask.

He Zechuan didn’t continue asking further. “Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about this. Come on, let’s go eat.”

The two walked out side by side. Ruan Mian went to the rest area to wash up. He Zechuan stood to the side telling her about things that had happened outside during this period.

People came and went all around. On the flat ground not far away, several soldiers sat there resting. Shen Yu was talking to Wu Mu there, his gaze casually glancing to the side.

Wow, with this glance, his eyes brightened.

Shen Yu withdrew his gaze, turned his head to look at Chen Yi standing to the side, smiling gleefully. No wonder—when this guy came back from the center just now, he seemed off. Turns out he encountered this situation.

He stood up from the ground, patted the dry grass off his pants, and walked toward Chen Yi. “Hey, isn’t that Ruan Mian over there?”

Chen Yi turned his head to look, but didn’t respond to his words.

Shen Yu touched his chin and continued, “Who’s that guy next to her? Don’t tell me it’s her boyfriend. They look quite compatible too.”

Chen Yi looked at him. “Are you very idle?”

Shen Yu was tremendously amused, putting his arm on his shoulder. “I’m idle. Of course I’m idle. I’m so idle that now I have to play matchmaker for an old classmate.”

“…”

Shen Yu didn’t say more to him though. He raised his hand to put on his hat and strode forward. Wu Mu asked where he was going. He replied, “Going to scout out the enemy situation for our Team Leader Chen.”

Wu Mu listened incoherently and went to ask Chen Yi instead.

Chen Yi lowered his eyes smoothing his hat, tossing over a sentence neither salty nor bland. “Are you very idle too?”

“…”

Wu Mu pressed his lips and slowly turned away.

On the other side, before Shen Yu could walk over, he saw that Ruan Mian was about to leave with someone. With a few quick strides, he ran over.

“Hey, what a coincidence?” He caught his breath and said, “Are you feeling better? When you fainted yesterday, you really scared me. Chen Yi too—he directly rushed out holding you and ran.”

Although Ruan Mian had an impression of what happened before fainting, she knew nothing about what happened after. Hearing Shen Yu’s words now, she was obviously stunned for a moment before remembering to say, “Much better. Already nothing serious. Thank you both yesterday.”

“Just thank Chen Yi. He’s the one who carried you in.” He had his hand on his waist, looking at He Zechuan beside her. “Is this your friend?”

“Yes.” Ruan Mian’s heart was thrown into chaos by the few words he repeatedly mentioned, but she still pretended to be calm as she introduced them. “This is my high school classmate from the class next door, Shen Yu. This is my university friend, He Zechuan.”

The two men briefly shook hands, two “hellos” said with courtesy and distance.

Actually, He Zechuan recognized Shen Yu at a glance because he was also in that photo from back then. And He Zechuan’s memory of everything and everyone related to Ruan Mian was always remarkably deep.

Sometimes he would marvel at this skill of his.

The three hadn’t chatted for more than a few sentences when the military district sent an emergency assembly signal. Shen Yu hurriedly ran back. He Zechuan followed his figure with his eyes and saw Chen Yi also running in the same direction.

A somewhat uncomfortable feeling suddenly arose in his heart, just like a long time ago when he learned that Ruan Mian was together with his senior.

Ruan Mian, with things on her mind, didn’t notice his abnormality. She shook the water off her hands and said, “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Both of them ate breakfast absent-mindedly. Ruan Mian held a small bowl of chicken soup, sitting in the open trunk, but for a long time made no movement.

He Zechuan raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

She came back to her senses and smiled lightly. “Nothing much.”

“Thinking about your secret crush?” He Zechuan also sat over, his long legs stepping on the ground. “You might as well just write Chen Yi’s name on your face.”

“Is it that obvious?” Ruan Mian finished the last bit of soup in a few gulps, put down the bowl, and was silent for a while before saying, “I always thought I didn’t like him that much anymore, but I seem to have overestimated myself and underestimated the weight of this fondness. But I really don’t want to go back to being that Ruan Mian from before.”

So humble and blind, yet deeply immersed and unable to extricate herself, her state of mind disturbed by a single sentence from someone.

“Do you regret liking him then?”

Ruan Mian almost didn’t think about it. She shook her head and said, “No.”

She had never regretted liking Chen Yi. But if there was a chance to do it over again, she hoped the sixteen or seventeen-year-old Ruan Mian could be a bit braver, to speak out that fondness in her heart at the most suitable age. Even disappointment would be better than the current attempted concealment.

He Zechuan looked at her. Perhaps thinking of himself, perhaps out of selfish motives, he was silent for a while before saying, “Then just keep looking forward. In any case, you’ve already done very well these past few years. Although they say taking initiative creates a story, who can guarantee whether this story’s ending is good or bad? Since that’s the case, better not to take initiative—just let it stop at the best place. Maybe when you’re old and remember it, it will still be a fortunate thing.”

“Maybe.” Ruan Mian laughed and sighed, no longer continuing this topic. “Alright, I need to get busy. What are your plans next?”

“We’ll see. Once things are more or less done, I’ll leave.” He Zechuan came this trip not only to see Ruan Mian—he also brought a batch of supplies. He’d probably still need to meet with Luolin’s local leadership in a bit.

“Then be careful on the road back.” Ruan Mian picked up the white coat beside her and put it on. “We’ll gather again when we’re back.”

“Alright. You be careful here too.”

Ruan Mian hummed in acknowledgment, turned and walked back. He Zechuan stood there staring at her retreating figure for a very long time. In the end, he lowered his head and sighed.

…

The next day, Ruan Mian didn’t run into Chen Yi again. Later in the evening, Meng Fuping and Jiang Jinhai assembled the medical team for a meeting to arrange the upcoming withdrawal work.

The day after tomorrow morning, they would be returning. They needed to complete all work handovers within these two days. After the meeting dispersed, Ruan Mian and Lin Jiahui walked back together.

The two inevitably chatted about Chen Yi again. Lin Jiahui asked, “What are you planning to do?”

“What?”

“Still pretending with me?”

Ruan Mian lowered her head. “What can I plan? Take it one step at a time.”

He Zechuan was right. Not every proactive story has a good ending. She was no longer that sixteen or seventeen-year-old Ruan Mian from back then. That fondness for Chen Yi had long been worn down by time. Perhaps deep in her heart that initial flutter still remained, but so what? The current Ruan Mian had long passed the age of recklessness. For her, letting nature take its course was perhaps the best option.

In matters of the heart, Lin Jiahui could advise and help, but couldn’t make decisions for her. At this point, she couldn’t say anything more and could only let it go.

On the military district side, Chen Yi was also preparing for withdrawal. They belonged to the first batch of rescue teams to arrive here, also returning the day after tomorrow.

After explaining what needed to be explained, with one order to dismiss, everyone jogged back to their respective tents. Chen Yi stood in place for a while. Shen Yu walked over and asked him, “Not going to say something to Ruan Mian?”

Chen Yi glanced at him and said, “Later.”

Since their reunion, Chen Yi had been immersed in Ruan Mian’s changes over the years, but had overlooked the reasons that led to these changes, as well as some very important matters.

So much so that this morning when he saw Ruan Mian laughing and talking with He Zechuan at the center, there was a moment of being at a loss.

Ruan Mian’s mode of interacting with He Zechuan was different from how Shen Yu interacted with him. Chen Yi could feel that she was very relaxed in front of He Zechuan, just like back in high school when she was different in front of Li Zhi versus in front of him.

He felt like he had overlooked something, but thinking carefully, he had no clue at all.

Author’s note: /So this time it’s my turn to take initiative/

I heard a sentence before that really fits Ruan Mian’s attitude toward Chen Yi. I don’t know if you’ve heard it, but Chen Yi, this blockhead, definitely hasn’t:

—Being magnanimous and natural means friends; being cautious and careful means fondness.

Next Mei You Ren Xiang Ni – Chapter we’ll return to the big city =v=

And tomorrow is Thursday again, so we’ll meet at 8pm tonight/