That night, Chen Yi didn’t return to the hotel. He walked alone along the street by Pingjiang West Lane for a long time. The summer night sky was like a vast chessboard, densely studded with stars.

The street ended at Eighth Middle School. At this hour, only the buildings housing the senior year students still had their lights on. Chen Yi hadn’t brought his ID card, and the old spots where they used to skip class and climb the walls had all been fitted with barbed wire fencing by the school. He couldn’t get inside.

Later, around eleven o’clock, the senior year classes let out. Students wearing blue and white school uniforms walked out from inside. Chen Yi stood across the street and watched for a long time.

He tried to recall memories related to Ruan Mian—every conversation they’d had, every encounter, even Ruan Mian’s expressions and reactions at the time.

But time was cruel. No matter how hard Chen Yi tried, many things had still been obscured and forgotten by the torrents of the years.

Before long, the campus emptied. Chen Yi followed the path he’d come by to walk back, accompanied by teenagers on bicycles whooshing past him.

He walked to the lane entrance.

After all these years, the aging, poorly maintained streetlights had long been replaced with new illumination lamps. The bluestone and rubble road surface had also been repaired and leveled. Many people in the lane had moved away, and those aluminum-framed plastic signs for the grocery stores and fruit stands had also been replaced batch after batch.

Chen Yi walked in, turning left and right following his memory. He quickly arrived at the entrance of that small internet café. In a trance, it felt like he’d returned to that sweltering summer night.

He stood in the position where Ruan Mian had once lingered, belatedly realizing that perhaps it hadn’t been an illusion back then.

—She really had been looking at him, only like many times afterward, she’d hidden her gaze at him very well.

……

There was also a direct lane from the internet café to Pingjiang Mansion. When Chen Yi got home, it was already late at night, and the house was quiet.

He returned to his room. After showering and coming out, he searched for something at the bookshelf where all his high school textbooks were kept.

Chen Yi found that yearbook among his English and Chinese textbooks. Back before the college entrance exam break, when he and Shen Yu and the others had gone out to eat, Shen Yu had insisted on buying it, saying they should compete to see who would receive the most confessions in the end.

He had already received his acceptance letter from the University of California at the time and rarely returned to school. After the yearbook was bought, Jiang Rang had taken it back to school, and later he was the one who brought it back.

Chen Yi had never paid much attention to such things. After receiving it, he hadn’t really looked through it carefully. After all this time, the pages inside had already yellowed somewhat, and some of the handwriting had even become blurred.

He flipped through it and quickly found Ruan Mian’s page. She had only written her name and a blessing, her handwriting as messy and flamboyant as always.

—”Wishing you success in the college entrance exam and high honors.”

Ruan Mian.

May 30, 2010.

Chen Yi removed the yearbook page that Ruan Mian had written years ago from the binder, held it in his hand, and stared at it for a long time.

He felt some regret that he hadn’t said a proper goodbye to her when they parted, and even their last meeting had been especially rushed.

Chen Yi gripped the paper in his hand tightly, lowered his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. He thought with some sadness that he had truly missed so much.

Outside the window, the moon and stars filled the long night. Some were happy, some worried.

The next morning, Ruan Mian, who had also barely slept through the night, was woken by several consecutive phone calls from her mother. Outside, day had already broken, and sunlight squeezed in through the gaps.

Fang Ruqing didn’t say much, only asking when she would come over.

Ruan Mian rubbed her eyes and sat up, her voice hoarse. “A bit later. I haven’t gotten up yet.”

“All right then, we won’t wait for you for breakfast.” Fang Ruqing said, “Shutang has also come back and brought a friend home. Hurry over once you’re ready.”

“Mm.” After hanging up the phone, Ruan Mian sat and recovered for a while. When she got up to wash, she pondered over those words “brought a friend back,” estimating it was probably more than just a friend.

She thought of Fang Ruqing’s previous words and sighed with some frustration.

After eating breakfast at home, Ruan Mian accompanied Zhou Xiujun on two strolls around the residential complex before leaving to take a taxi to Pingjiang West Lane.

Pingcheng had developed rapidly in recent years, but Pingjiang West Lane had been designated for preservation by the government. Apart from routine maintenance, the authorities had no plans to demolish and rebuild the area.

After Ruan Mian arrived, Fang Ruqing pushed her to go greet Duan Ying. Since his stroke, Duan Ying’s attitude toward family members had improved considerably.

After greeting him, Ruan Mian was pulled by Fang Ruqing to the living room downstairs, where the topic of blind dates inevitably came up.

Fang Ruqing said, “Shutang has brought a boyfriend home, and you still don’t even have a partner. I arrange blind dates for you and you won’t go.”

“……” Ruan Mian pressed her lips together without speaking.

“Last year I told you about Auntie Liu’s son. You didn’t want to go. This year he already has a child coming in October.”

Ruan Mian: “His speed was quite fast.”

Fang Ruqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You child, after I’ve said all this, is that what you want to say?”

Ruan Mian touched her nose. Just then, the phone rang at home. She grabbed this lifeline like a drowning person and fled outside.

The world inside the lane was narrow and complex. In all these years, Ruan Mian had only gotten lost once, and it was that one time she had encountered Chen Yi there.

He was like a rose blooming in her barren life. Even with thorns, she wanted to get close. Even if she was covered in wounds from the thorns, she had never regretted it.

Ruan Mian once again wandered aimlessly through the lane as she had when first arriving here, with sunlight casting shadows through the overhead wires.

She soon walked near that internet café again. People came and went at the entrance. Several male students wearing T-shirts stood on the steps, looking down with cigarettes between their fingers.

Very different from the boy in her memory.

She remembered—he didn’t smoke.

Ruan Mian didn’t continue walking forward. Just as she was about to go back, she turned around and froze.

At the other end of the lane, Chen Yi was walking this way, holding a white convenience bag in one hand and looking down at his phone in the other.

On a day with excellent sunshine, two people unexpectedly encountered each other in a narrow lane. The instant their eyes met, Ruan Mian saw surprise on his face.

“What a coincidence.” She said with a smile.

Chen Yi put away his phone and walked forward a few steps. “Are you alone?”

“Ah, yes.” Ruan Mian said, “It was a bit stuffy at home, so I came out for a walk. What are you doing?”

“Delivering something to Li Zhi.” Chen Yi walked over, blocking the sun in front of her. “Want to come along?”

“Sure. When did he get back? I remember seeing on his social media a few days ago that he was still in Yunnan.”

Although Ruan Mian had maintained contact with Li Zhi over the years, it wasn’t frequent.

“He came back the day before yesterday.”

“Oh.”

Chen Yi turned his head to look at her, as if he had something to say.

“What is it?” Ruan Mian noticed his gaze and thought there was something on her face, instinctively raising her hand to touch it.

“It’s nothing.” He smiled. “Just remembered some things from the past these past few days.”

“Huh?”

He said unexpectedly, “Our first meeting was here, wasn’t it?”

“……” Her heartbeat suddenly quickened. She said ambiguously, “Was it? I don’t remember. It should be, I guess.”

Chen Yi glanced at her, his gaze meaningful. “I remember it was.”

Ruan Mian: “……”

Li Zhi’s grandfather had passed away a few years ago, and the family shop relied entirely on his father to support it. When they arrived, Li Zhi was unloading goods at the entrance.

He still looked like he had in high school, wearing an oversized T-shirt and black shorts, with medium-length hair. He looked like he hadn’t changed at all.

He rolled up the hem of his shirt to wipe sweat. Looking up and seeing Ruan Mian and Chen Yi, he smiled. “Hey, how did you two come together?”

Chen Yi: “We happened to run into each other.”

Li Zhi raised his eyebrows. “What a coincidence. Come in and sit for a while.”

The three of them walked in one after another. Li Zhi called out his father to do inventory while he carried a teapot and led them to the courtyard in back.

“How long are you back for this trip?” Li Zhi poured Ruan Mian a cup of tea and asked.

“Four days. I arrived yesterday and I’m going back the day after tomorrow.”

“Perfect timing then. I’m going to B City in a few days. I’ll contact you then.” Li Zhi put down the teapot. “Are you planning to stay and develop your career in B City?”

“That’s the current plan.” Ruan Mian took a sip of tea—it was refreshingly sweet. “Counting it out, I’ve only just graduated. I still want to stay in the big city and learn more.”

“That makes sense.”

The two of them chatted intermittently while Chen Yi sat beside them the whole time without speaking. After a while, Ruan Mian received a call from Fang Ruqing saying Zhao Shutang had left.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll come back now.” After hanging up, she said, “Someone came to the house. I need to go back first.”

Li Zhi: “Okay, go ahead. Contact me when you’re free.”

Chen Yi also stood up. “I’m heading back too. Remember to put those zongzi in the fridge.”

“Got it. Help me thank your grandmother.”

“Already thanked her.”

“……”

Chen Yi and Ruan Mian left the shop together. The two weren’t exactly going the same way, but neither said they’d leave first, so they simply walked back along the path they’d come.

When they reached the fork where they’d met earlier, Chen Yi asked, “What time are you going back today?”

“Probably after dinner.”

He nodded. “Tell me before you leave. I’ll take you.”

She froze.

Chen Yi smiled. “What?”

Ruan Mian felt somewhat flustered and avoided his gaze. “I’ll head back first.”

Her retreating figure looked like she was fleeing in panic. Chen Yi found it amusing and, with mischievous intent, called out to her again. “Ruan Mian.”

The person before him stopped again and turned around, her expression indescribably cute.

He stood there, his smile becoming more obvious. “See you later.”

Ruan Mian made an “oh” sound and lifted her feet to walk forward. After walking quite far, she looked back and saw his figure flash past at the corner.

She withdrew her gaze and smiled too.

At lunch, the Zhao family table was full of people. Fang Ruqing used Zhao Shutang as an excuse to say several things about Ruan Mian’s romantic situation.

Zhao Shutang smiled. “Auntie, these things can’t be rushed.”

Ruan Mian nodded in agreement, but this time Fang Ruqing refused to compromise no matter what. After lunch, she immediately contacted her old friends.

“……”

Zhao Shutang’s boyfriend was also a local from Pingcheng. After lunch, he went back. When Ruan Mian was resting in the upstairs room, Zhao Shuyang, who was preparing for the senior high school entrance exam this year, walked in with test papers.

After solving the difficult problems, Zhao Shuyang sat at Ruan Mian’s desk, writing while saying, “Sis, you’re really amazing.”

She stood by the window enjoying the breeze and smiled at his words.

“Sis, when you studied at Eighth Middle School, were you always first in your grade?”

“No.” Ruan Mian said, “But I was classmates with the person who was first in the grade.”

“Wow.” Zhao Shuyang stopped writing, his eyes shining. “What is he doing now? Is he doing something really cool?”

“He’s a soldier now.”

Zhao Shuyang became even more interested, pulling her to ask all sorts of questions. Ruan Mian got a headache from all the questioning and deflected, “If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll introduce you. You can ask him yourself, okay?”

“Really? I can?”

Ruan Mian paused, raised her head to look at Pingjiang Mansion across the way, and said softly, “Probably.”

Later, Zhao Shutang came back and the three of them played poker for a while. Ruan Mian felt a bit sleepy, went back to take a nap, and woke up to find an unread WeChat message on her phone.

[CY]: Something came up suddenly. I’ll probably be a bit late taking you back.

The message was sent an hour ago. Ruan Mian fumbled around for a long time and only replied with “okay.” After that, he never replied. Ruan Mian put down her phone and went downstairs to the living room.

Fang Ruqing and Zhao Yingwei were preparing dinner in the kitchen. Three children were watching TV in the living room. Outside, the sun was setting in the west—the prelude to the evening rush hour.

On the road leading to the city center, cars flowed like water. A black Audi was stuck among them, unable to move. The driver’s side window rolled down, revealing a strikingly handsome face.

The surrounding honking sounds rose and fell, giving one a headache. Chen Yi closed the window again. This trip, he’d been dispatched by his mother Song Jing to pick up his father Chen Shuyu, who had been having a small gathering with old friends at noon. After eating, he’d gone to a teahouse and had his driver go back first.

This happened to be evening rush hour. He was stuck in traffic for over forty minutes before reaching the teahouse. After getting out of the car and picking up his phone, he saw Ruan Mian had replied to his message.

Chen Yi asked her what time they were eating dinner, then put away his phone after sending it and entered the teahouse.

Chen Shuyu and his friend were waiting in the lobby’s rest area. The two were there chatting and laughing. Chen Yi walked over. “Dad.”

Chen Shuyu responded and stood up, pulling him over for an introduction. “Chen Yi, this is your Uncle Ruan, a senior in nuclear physics research.”

Chen Yi greeted him properly. “Hello, Uncle.”

Ruan Mingke nodded in acknowledgment.

Chen Shuyu: “If you had insisted on pursuing physics back then, you and your Uncle Ruan might be colleagues now.”

Ruan Mingke smiled. “Young people trying more things is also good. Aren’t you still young and promising now?”

Chen Shuyu chatted with him. Later, after getting in the car, he had Chen Yi take Ruan Mingke home first. Throughout the journey, Chen Yi barely spoke.

By the time they dropped him off, it was already dark outside.

Chen Shuyu didn’t say much to his son. When they got home and the family sat together for dinner, Song Jing brought up the topic. “Your father’s friend has a daughter about your age who’s also still single. I’ve seen photos—she’s quite pretty too. How about having your dad arrange for you two to meet?”

Hearing this, Chen Yi put down his chopsticks and laughed lightly. “So the reason you had me pick up Dad today was to let them check whether I’m suitable first, right?”

Song Jing picked up some vegetables with her chopsticks and said calmly, “With your line of work, most families don’t want to match their daughters with you.”

“……” Chen Yi raised his hand to scratch his brow. “Forget about blind dates. Besides, I already have someone I’m pursuing. You two don’t need to worry about this.”

“Which girl?” Song Jing said, “I think your uncle is right—you just don’t want to get married and randomly found someone to placate us.”

Chen Yi, grown as he was, was still left speechless by his parents’ words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. After thinking about it, he had nothing good to say, so he lowered his head, ate a couple bites of rice, put down his chopsticks and said, “Think whatever you want. In any case, I’m not going on blind dates. I still have things to do and need to go out. I’ll be back late. Don’t wait up for me.”

Finished speaking, he walked straight out, leaving Chen Shuyu and Song Jing with helpless expressions.

……

On the other side, afraid that Fang Ruqing would pull her aside to talk again, Ruan Mian sent Chen Yi a message right after dinner saying she’d be going back soon.

He replied quickly.

[CY]: I’m at Li Zhi’s place.

[Ruan Mian]: Then I’ll come find you later.

[CY]: Okay.

Ruan Mian looked down at her phone and smiled. Zhao Shutang came over and sat beside her. “Hey, what are you looking at? You’re smiling so happily.”

She hurriedly closed her phone. “Nothing. When are you going back?”

“In a couple days.”

“Are you planning to keep working there?”

Zhao Shutang had attended university in Z City and had stayed there after graduation. Like Ruan Mian, she only returned for holidays or Spring Festival.

“Not sure.” Zhao Shutang smiled. “Depends on my boyfriend. His family wants him to return to Pingcheng. I also want to come back—after all, it’s closer to home.”

“That’s good too.”

After chatting for a bit, Ruan Mian saw it was about time and prepared to leave. Fang Ruqing couldn’t help but bring up blind dates again. “It’s no use avoiding me. I’ve already talked to your father about it.”

“……”

“All right, how are you getting back? Did you drive here?” Fang Ruqing wiped her hands. “If you didn’t drive, Uncle Zhao and I will take you back.”

“No need. I called a car. It’ll be here soon.” Ruan Mian didn’t let them take her. She picked up two packages of zongzi and went to Li Zhi’s place.

Chen Yi and Li Zhi were standing at the supermarket entrance talking. They didn’t know what they were discussing, but Chen Yi turned his head and smiled, just in time to see Ruan Mian walking toward them.

He withdrew his arm from Li Zhi’s shoulder and stepped forward to meet her, naturally taking the items from her hands. “What’s this?”

“Zongzi.” Ruan Mian gave one of the packages to Li Zhi.

Chen Yi made an “oh” sound. “So this package is for me?”

Ruan Mian clearly hadn’t expected him to say this. She froze for a moment before denying it. “No.”

“……” He gave an indifferent laugh, as if expressing dissatisfaction.

Ruan Mian hesitated, then tentatively asked, “Then… should I give this package to you?”

He looked up. “Forget it. Let’s go.”

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together and followed his steps. Once in the car, Chen Yi asked for her address.

“Huabang World Trade City.” Ruan Mian was fastening her seatbelt and didn’t notice Chen Yi’s momentary pause when he heard this address.

He asked, “The one at South Second Ring Road?”

“Yes.”

Chen Yi opened the navigation. The first item in the history was this location. He clicked on it and drove away from the area.

There were far fewer cars on the road at night, and the evening breeze was cool.

Chen Yi turned off the navigation halfway through—the remaining route wasn’t unfamiliar to him, having just traveled it that evening.

They quickly arrived.

Chen Yi stopped the car and watched her unbuckle her seatbelt. His voice was measured. “You participated in the physics competition class in high school, right?”

He kept bringing up things from the past today. Ruan Mian suppressed her panic and turned to look at him. “Yes. Why?”

Chen Yi tapped the steering wheel. “I remember Teacher Zhou said you were more suited for the math group. Why did you go to the physics group later? Was it because of someone?”

Ruan Mian’s breath caught. She unconsciously gripped the bag in her hand tightly. Her lips moved but no sound came out. She had to swallow before saying, “Because my dad does research in physics.”

“You have your father’s surname, right?”

“……” The topic shifted too quickly. Ruan Mian froze for a moment. “Yes.”

Chen Yi seemed to have received good news and laughed to himself. “I see. You should go up. It’s late. Get some rest early.”

Ruan Mian made a confused “oh” sound, got out of the car, and walked a few steps. Thinking about his inexplicable behavior today, she couldn’t help but look back, only to find Chen Yi still sitting in the car watching her.

She hurriedly withdrew her gaze and quickly walked into the residential complex.

Chen Yi watched her go in, then rushed home at the fastest speed. But at a red light, he suddenly remembered Ruan Mian’s reaction when answering his questions.

Earlier, he’d only paid attention to other things, but thinking about it now, her answer and her reaction didn’t quite match up.

The red light changed. Chen Yi continued forward. In a certain instant, he vaguely felt that a large part of the reason Ruan Mian had chosen physics back then might have been because of him.

Chen Yi didn’t dare to think further. He took a deep breath and increased his speed. Even so, it was still half an hour later when he got home.

Song Jing and Chen Shuyu were still in the living room, video calling the two elders who were traveling. Chen Yi sat on the sofa nearby, propping his elbow and resting his chin in his hand, lost in thought.

After a while, Song Jing got up to wash up. Chen Shuyu kicked his calf lightly and asked gently, “What’s wrong? You went out and came back all dejected.”

Chen Yi came back to his senses, pinching his left thumb with his right hand. Looking down, he asked, “Dad, let me ask you something.”

“What?”

“Uncle Ruan’s daughter—” He pressed his lips together and asked three questions in one breath. “What’s her name? Where does she work? Do you have a photo?”

“……” Chen Shuyu was completely confused.

Chen Yi touched the corner of his lips. “Aren’t you arranging a blind date? At minimum, you should let me understand the other person’s situation first, right?”

Chen Shuyu found it funny. “Understand the situation for what? Weren’t you acting all tough before you left?”

Chen Yi laughed and sighed. “Everything before was me being immature, okay? Don’t make this difficult for me.”

“If you’d been like this from the start, why throw a childish tantrum?” Chen Shuyu took out his phone. “Your Uncle Ruan’s daughter is a doctor who works at B City Union Hospital. Her name is Ruan Mian. Let me look for a photo.”

He scrolled through the chat history and found one. “Here.”

Chen Yi was actually already one hundred percent certain they were the same person, but he still took the phone and looked. It should be a work photo of Ruan Mian.

She wore a white lab coat—a fair, clean face, clear and bright eyes, a light smile on her lips. But looking carefully, one could still see traces of a professional fake smile.

Chen Yi laughed and handed the phone back. “When can you arrange for us to meet?”

Chen Shuyu, now getting a definite answer, began to worry he had some bad intentions. His tone was somewhat suspicious. “You’re not planning to mess around, are you?”

“If that’s the case, then forget it.” Chen Yi cut through the mess quickly. “In any case, I’ll never go on blind dates again.”

“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll arrange it for you.” Chen Shuyu said this and sent a voice message to his old friend. Chen Yi sat beside him listening to the conversation while sending Ruan Mian a WeChat message.

[CY]: Are you free tomorrow?

Ruan Mian never replied. It wasn’t until half an hour later, when Chen Shuyu and Ruan Mingke had set the time and place for tomorrow’s meeting, that he received a new message. He opened it.

[Ruan Mian]: I might not be free tomorrow. My family has something going on.

Chen Yi stared at those words for a while, then smiled with curved lips.

Fine.

Family matters.

He’d like to see what exactly these matters were tomorrow.

—

**Author’s Note:** When it came to the yearbook, Ruan Mian didn’t know it was Chen Yi’s at the time. On the day of graduation break, she received many from people—those she knew and didn’t know—and everyone wrote the same thing.

If she had known, what she wrote for Chen Yi might have been different.

But there are no “ifs.”

Just like if there hadn’t been others, Ruan Mian might have seriously confessed to Chen Yi at graduation. Whether he rejected or accepted her, at least they wouldn’t have missed each other for so many years.

Her sadness and regret stemmed from having no outcome with Chen Yi—no outcome whether good or bad.

But although life has no “ifs,” it has the present and the future. This time, they won’t miss each other again.