The day before the wedding, Huan’er met Huang Lu for an intimate afternoon tea.

Huang Lu chose the venue – the rooftop café of a local five-star-plus hotel, with exquisite tableware and a pleasant environment. The entire city spread out before their eyes, the comfort subtly tinged with luxury.

“I’ve always wanted to come here,” Huang Lu said frankly after ordering, looking around. “With others, I’d probably just be taking photos, making it feel like an influencer meetup. Only with you can I sit quietly and truly enjoy the essence of this place.”

Blue and white parasols with an oceanic theme blocked the afternoon sun, and the high-quality artificial turf felt soft underfoot. In the early autumn of the south, everything was just right.

Hearing this, Huan’er handed over her phone, “Quick, take an influencer photo of me.”

Huang Lu gave an exaggerated “hehe,” but immediately contradicted herself after taking the photos, pushing her beauty camera app to Huan’er, “Me too, take my side profile – it’s too beautiful.”

This girl, despite being breathtakingly beautiful, occasionally showed such endearing simplicity.

Photographer Huan’er… only took about ten shots.

When the two-tier afternoon tea set arrived, they exclaimed while photographing and sharing drinks, concluding that – money makes everything taste good.

“I heard,” Huang Lu affected a delicate pose, using her fragile-looking fork to lift a large piece of cake into her mouth, “Oh my god, you must try this, the cream isn’t cloying at all.”

Huan’er couldn’t help but laugh at her, asking, “What did you hear?”

“Tian Chi and Senior broke up.” Huang Lu licked the remaining cream from her lips. “Our company took on the PR case for Senior’s uncle’s private hospital, where she works in finance, and coincidentally interfaces with my colleague. It happened early this year – her family introduced her to some finance hotshot, they hit it off during matchmaking, and Senior immediately dumped Tian Chi.”

Huan’er shrugged without commenting.

“Now that guy probably can’t stay at the hospital either, since it’s their territory. Career and love both dead – I want to send him a congratulations card.”

Huang Lu’s sharp tongue was unmatched.

“Though that matchmaking guy isn’t any better. My colleague is fair-skinned, beautiful, with a perfect figure. After one dinner together, that guy immediately asked for her WeChat.” Huang Lu sneered in contempt. “My colleague described his face as having two words written on it: scumbag.”

“Don’t care to hear about them,” Huan’er said, lowering her eyes.

She had no time to pay attention to irrelevant people.

“Why not listen?” Huang Lu grew excited. “I want to know the grand finale – soap operas have their unique charm.”

Just then, Jing Qi Ci messaged: “I’ll need a bit longer, let me know when you’re done.”

He’d been called by Da Lin to play soccer. His transfer back was like releasing a tiger to the mountain – these old teammates organized games every few days.

Huan’er guessed he was messaging during halftime, so she cautioned, “Be careful, come down immediately if your knee bothers you.”

“Little Jing?” Huang Lu smirked. “Can’t even sit still without worrying about you?”

Huan’er put down her phone. “He’s coming to pick me up later. Their dormmate Zhao Wei is getting married tomorrow, and I want to buy a dress.”

“You’d look good even without makeup.” Huang Lu took a sip of black tea and suddenly seemed to remember something, scrolling through her phone before showing Huan’er an electronic invitation. “This couple?”

The invitation showed the newlyweds’ names and wedding photos. Huan’er confirmed with an “Eh?” “You know them?”

“I’m from the bride’s side. We often worked together in student council, and got along well.” Huang Lu kept exclaiming, “So the groom was Little Jing’s roommate? The world is fucking small.”

You never know who will end up with whom – fate is always mysterious and interesting.

They naturally began discussing the girls they once shared a room with – Hui Xin still working hard in Guangzhou, and Qiu Li who returned to inherit the family business after wandering abroad. Everyone was racing along their tracks at full speed, the past like thin pages of a book, turning lightly to the next chapter.

“I’m happy you and Little Jing chose to stay here.” Huang Lu propped her chin on both hands, smiling at Huan’er across the table. “Worst case scenario, if you ever face difficulties or feel homesick, my eighty-eight square meter two-bedroom apartment will always have space for you to crash.”

“Right, right, eighty-eight square meters, got it.” Though Huan’er teased, she couldn’t hide the smile in her eyes.

You know, the word “friend” is a very moving existence.

Because at the very beginning, no one would include a stranger in the category of “friend.” You might not be in the same city, might not meet often, and might even forget each other’s birthdays, but friends are those who remain after time’s sedimentation and mutual selection through experiences. In most cases, it’s not a one-way relationship – what you can do for me, I’m willing to do for you too.

Even without great storms and waves, even in ordinary passing years, friendship still carries profound and brilliant meaning.

Just like Huang Lu’s casual mention of a place to crash – that’s the most sincere promise between friends.

When Jing Qi Ci came to pick up Huan’er, the heart-to-heart between the girlfriends wasn’t finished. Huang Lu, ever shrewd, pushed Huan’er toward him, “We’ll continue tomorrow when we meet, you two go shopping first.”

Only then did Huan’er think to tell him about the connection to Zhao Wei’s bride. Jing Qi Ci first sighed “What a coincidence,” then smiled at Huang Lu, “Keep an eye on the groomsman later, he fits your looks-only mate selection criteria.”

Hearing this, Huang Lu immediately shot back, “Oh, so they chose the groomsmen based on looks? No wonder you lost out.”

“There’s only one bridesmaid on the bride’s side, so Zhao Wei had no choice but to get a bunch of us to grab red envelopes – whoever gets the biggest one goes on stage.” Jing Qi Ci pretended to cover Huan’er’s ears. “Don’t listen to her, they didn’t choose based on looks.”

Huan’er looked up at him, “So how’s the groomsman’s appearance?”

“Just… okay, about the same as me.” Jing Qi Ci said dismissively.

“What about his character?”

“Don’t know. Though I heard he’s Zhao Wei’s high school classmate, can’t be too bad.”

Huan’er grew enthusiastic, pinching Huang Lu’s face, “Dress up nicely tomorrow, you never know.”

“What are you talking about?” Huang Lu laughed. “You two are still standing still, why should I rush?”

“We’re getting there soon,” Huan’er suddenly blurted out.

“Huh?”

“Soon,” Jing Qi Ci answered for her, arm around Huan’er’s shoulders. “If we don’t hurry up, I can’t even sleep soundly.”

After parting with Huang Lu, they walked to the nearby shopping center.

The holiday atmosphere was in full swing, with groups of girlfriends, young parents with children, elderly couples with graying hair – all sorts of people crisscrossing in this ocean of laughter and joy. Bustling, yet carrying the world’s most genuine warmth.

Jing Qi Ci walked with his arm around Huan’er’s shoulders through several stores. Faced with the soul-searching question “Does this look better or that one?” he was mentally exhausted, wishing he could upload the clothes to a system and run some programs to get an optimal ranking. Saying he liked shopping would be a complete lie – even for online shopping, he stuck to just one or two stores with consistent style, easy sizing, and friendly customer service who would occasionally recommend: “We’ve got new arrivals in your size, want one?”

It was practically the future form of artificial intelligence.

And now Huan’er held up two dresses before him – which do you think looks better?

Jing Qi Ci rubbed his eyes, “Is there a big difference?”

“This one is black with white dots,” Huan’er held up one in each hand to explain, “This one is white with black dots, and they’re different lengths.”

Jing Qi Ci somehow thought of the “101 Dalmatians” cartoon, and he even began to doubt whether those dogs were black with white spots or white with black spots.

“The left one,” he pointed randomly at one.

Huan’er thoughtfully hummed in response, then handed the white one back to the waiting sales assistant, “My husband says this one doesn’t look good.”

Jing Qi Ci had been watching them listlessly, but his ears perked up at this. He hesitantly asked, “What?”

Huan’er ignored him, continuing to talk with the sales assistant, “We won’t take this one then, right, husband—”

She deliberately dragged out the word, and this time Jing Qi Ci heard it crystal clear.

He first turned away to hide his smile, then turned back still unable to suppress it, “Say that again.”

“Husband.”

“One more time.”

“Husband—” Huan’er glanced at the rejected dress from the corner of her eye, “You think… it doesn’t look good?”

“It looks good! Who said it doesn’t look good!” Jing Qi Ci hurriedly nodded to the sales assistant, “We’ll take both, thank you.”

The sales assistant, who had enjoyed watching this entire show, covered her mouth in delight, taking the dress from Huan’er while asking, “The size fits, right?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Your husband is so good to you, and handsome too,” the sales assistant smiled warmly. “Please follow me to check out.”

“You rest here, I’ll go.” Jing Qi Ci pressed Huan’er onto the waiting sofa and quickly followed.

So this was possible too.

Huan’er watched his back, finally unable to hold back her laughter.

There was a direct bus to their place from the shopping center’s main entrance. Huan’er said she felt stuffed from afternoon tea and wanted to walk, so Jing Qi Ci checked the navigation app before putting away his phone and taking her hand, “This way.”

It was the opposite direction from the bus route, making Huan’er ask, “Are you sure?”

He ignored the question, “A little detour doesn’t matter.”

Indeed, the price of taking the regular route is losing the chance to see more scenery.

Thinking Huan’er was worried about going the wrong way, Jing Qi Ci ruffled her hair, “This is a shortcut, and if you get tired, we can just call a car home.”

“Mm.” Huan’er nodded, “Actually, a detour isn’t bad.”

Just like the two of them – taking the winding road made them better understand each other’s importance.

The city was still that city, with the scent of its river, the weight of its history, and its dialect that sounds fierce but is bright and straightforward. At eighteen, she took the train south full of aspirations, and this city recorded both her and his stories of youth – some dejected, some brave. There were always regrets, always belated realizations, and always helpless situations that could only be laughed off in retrospect. But those days, ah, they remain forever vivid in memory, forever frozen at certain points with genuine sincerity.

Under the phoenix trees, Jing Qi Ci stopped. He stopped a passerby, “Could you help take a photo of us?”

The stranger took them for tourists, accepting the phone and adjusting the camera angle, “One, two, three.”

The shutter flashed several times, and the passerby returned the phone, “I took quite a few, take your time choosing. Have fun.”

Jing Qi Ci thanked them and casually opened one photo. Huan’er leaned in at this point, “Wow, so beautiful.”

Under the dense row of trees, he had his arm around her shoulders, both wearing jeans, solid-colored T-shirts, and sneakers – the most ordinary outfits you could find in a crowd, and they were both smiling at the camera.

A bit silly, perhaps adding a filter would make it more artistic.

But undoubtedly, those were smiles that bloomed from feeling happiness in their hearts, smiles that carried many, many layers of meaning, and the most important layer was –

Meeting you makes me feel wealthy.

In the upper right corner of the photo, in the deepest background, as if sheltered peacefully by the trees, there was a faintly visible red house that seemed to belong in a fairy tale.

—END—