Afterward, they played for two more days, and on the seventh, they had to return to China.

“Are you thirsty? Want me to buy you some water?” Jiang Wang leaned down slightly, whispering next to Shi Niannian.

The girl was soft and limp, one hand clutching his sleeve. She merely lifted her eyes and shook her head: “Not thirsty.”

Jiang Wang still went and bought a cup of coffee, carrying it in his hand in case Shi Niannian got thirsty later.

After that first night, Jiang Wang had been considerate, not exhausting her during the following days. It wasn’t until last night that he coaxed Shi Niannian into doing it twice more.

The little girl’s stamina wasn’t particularly good. Each time after they finished, she would wilt, even though her physical education grades had been quite decent before.

Once they boarded the plane, she fell asleep immediately. Jiang Wang asked for a blanket to cover her and softly asked, “That tired?”

She made a soft “mm” sound, obediently leaning against his chest, nuzzling her head like a kitten that had found its owner, without saying a word.

Jiang Wang kissed her hair and patted her back: “Sleep.”

She didn’t sleep deeply. When she woke up, they still had some time before landing. Shi Niannian blinked in confusion, spaced out for about two minutes, then turned her head to look at Jiang Wang beside her.

He hadn’t been sleeping. Sensing movement beside him, he opened his eyes, his voice showing no signs of drowsiness: “Had enough sleep?”

“Mm.” She leaned closer against Jiang Wang.

Shi Niannian’s nature was quite cold. It was perceptible when they weren’t so familiar with each other. Back when she was cornered by Cheng Qi and her group, the young girl had lunged forward like a small animal with its fur standing on end—like a fierce little panther cub, with her ferocity and pride.

But once this little panther truly likes you, she completely retracts her claws. Stroke her fur, and she won’t resist at all—soft and obedient.

Jiang Wang curved his lips, placing one hand on her abdomen over the blanket, not applying much pressure. Suddenly, he spoke softly: “Do you think—”

“Hmm?”

He lowered his eyes and said slowly, “Could there already be a little Niannian in here?”

She froze: “Huh?”

Jiang Wang’s thumb moved slightly, still looking down without speaking.

Shi Niannian said, “Probably not, didn’t you always finish outside?” The latter half of her sentence was barely audible.

Jiang Wang chuckled, his voice somewhat lazy: “That’s not entirely reliable either.”

Shi Niannian was stunned; she knew nothing about this.

She was still in school, and the coming period, her studies would be demanding, plus she would occasionally have to rush to the hospital for internships and work. It certainly wasn’t a good time to be pregnant. Knowing Jiang Wang’s personality, he might even want her to take a year off from school.

Shi Niannian became quite nervous. She spent quite a while searching for information online, then bought a pregnancy test online.

Along with the pregnancy test, another package arrived addressed to Jiang Wang. Shi Niannian signed for both and brought the two packages home.

This was the first time she had seen Jiang Wang receive such a package; the occasional ones delivered to their home were usually documents. She took her package straight to the bathroom and studied the instructions for quite some time.

Shi Niannian felt relieved seeing the single line. Pregnancy was something that needed to be postponed for a while.

After washing her hands and leaving the bathroom, she took a photo of the package and sent it to Jiang Wang. Jiang Wang had been busy these days, not getting home until around 8 o’clock.

The man had just finished a meeting and returned to his office when he received Shi Niannian’s message. He unbuttoned his shirt collar and replied: Open mine for me.

Shi Niannian didn’t think much of it and opened the package.

Inside was a jumble of various condoms—ultra-thin, ribbed, textured, scented—all kinds, filling the entire box.

“…”

After a while, Jiang Wang sent another message: Did you open it?

Shi Niannian replied: Pervert.

When Secretary Zhao pushed open the door, she saw her boss leaning back in his chair, laughing helplessly. The man’s magnetic, deep voice made her heart skip. She paused, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin.

In the past, all of the boss’s public personas completely crumbled when it came to Miss Shi. Anyway, she had never seen the boss laugh like this before.

However, Secretary Zhao maintained her professionalism. Even though her heart was racing, her face remained composed as she placed the documents on Jiang Wang’s desk: “Mr. Jiang, these are from Shen Corporation.”

Jiang Wang glanced at them, made an “mm” sound, and continued replying: If you don’t want to use them, that’s fine too. I’m okay with anything.

Shi Niannian tossed her phone aside without replying and went upstairs to read.

A few days later, Shi Niannian visited the cemetery. She didn’t let Jiang Wang accompany her. Her relationship with her father was even more distant than with Xu Shu, but he was still her father. When she learned of her father’s suicide, she cried for a long time.

This matter was indeed Time Dehou’s fault, and during the funeral arrangements, her mother had held her hand one night and apologized to her.

She was in her senior year of university at the time, and her graduate school recommendation had already been announced.

After the funeral was completely over, Shi Niannian told Xu Shu that she wanted to give up her spot for direct admission to graduate school and return to China to study at B University.

Xu Shu agreed.

It was mid-October, with a few drops of rain falling. The wind was cool, and the summer heat had silently retreated.

The cemetery was very quiet, regularly maintained by professionals, and very clean. Shi Niannian quietly placed the flowers down and looked at her father’s photograph on the tombstone.

She actually couldn’t remember when she had last truly talked with her father. She and Shi Dehou rarely communicated.

Not knowing what to say, she stood silently under her umbrella before the tombstone for a while and then left.

There was an inexplicable sadness in her heart.

On the day of Shi Dehou’s cremation, Shi Niannian had a dream. She dreamed of her distant and aloof father when he was still young, and she was only 5 or 6 years old. At that time, Shi Zhe hadn’t been born yet.

In her dream, Shi Dehou held her on his knee, smiling very gently, and asked: “Niannian, do you like Daddy the most?”

When Shi Niannian woke from the dream, her pillow was wet with tears. She didn’t know if that memory was real or false; she couldn’t recall her father ever speaking to her like that.

It was probably fake, something she had imagined, but after waking from that dream, she finally forgave her father.

Walking out of the cemetery gates, a familiar pair of shoes appeared before her.

She paused, looked up, and saw the man standing straight with a black umbrella, with a car behind him, its wipers continuously moving.

She blinked, and tears suddenly fell.

She hadn’t wanted to cry, but when she looked up and saw Jiang Wang, she suddenly felt a tightness in her nose. She couldn’t even hold back before the tears came down. Shi Niannian lowered her head, hiding her face as she used her sleeve to wipe away the tears.

Jiang Wang sighed, folded his umbrella and stepped under hers, holding her as he whispered: “Not letting me come, and crying secretly instead?”

He let Shi Niannian carelessly wipe her tears on his suit, his fingertips gently wiping her eyes. “Don’t cry, baby.”

Shi Niannian’s heart skipped a beat.

Time seemed to rush back, sweeping up years of longing and torment, as if she could see that schoolboy in uniform, ruffling her hair, ignoring the gazes around them, covering her eyes with his hand, tenderly saying: “Don’t cry, baby.”

The days that followed passed quickly. By November, the temperature had suddenly dropped. Shi Niannian’s midterm exams at school had ended, and Professor Chen Qing had gone to conduct research with some undergraduate students, giving her some temporary free time. Jiang Wang made time to go abroad with Shi Niannian again, also to tell Xu Shu about their marriage.

Shi Niannian had lived in this land for five years and was very familiar with it.

She had called her mother in advance to tell her they were coming for a visit. As the car drove closer to their residence, the surrounding scenery became increasingly familiar.

Jiang Wang looked out the window; he had been here several times and wasn’t unfamiliar with it.

“Are you nervous?” Shi Niannian asked, turning her head as they approached the door.

He made an “mm” sound.

Shi Niannian blinked: “You get nervous?”

Jiang Wang lowered his gaze to look at her: “When it comes to matters concerning you, what don’t I get nervous about?”

She smiled: “I’m quite nervous too.”

Jiang Wang held her hand.

The doorbell rang. Xu Shu knew Shi Niannian would be arriving around this time, so the door opened quickly: “You’re back.” Her voice paused, her gaze lifting upward to see the man standing behind Shi Niannian.

Jiang Wang nodded slightly, his voice very deep: “Hello, Auntie. I’m Jiang Wang.”

Only at times like these could Shi Niannian clearly and accurately feel how different the man was from before, shedding the youthful naivety or impulsiveness of the past, becoming a steady and excellent man.

Seeing such a person appearing at the door with her daughter, carrying gifts, Xu Shu quickly realized the capacity in which Jiang Wang had come.

She was stunned for two seconds, quickly recovered, and invited him inside.

The conversation that followed was quite awkward. Xu Shu’s understanding of Shi Niannian was far less than Jiang Wang’s understanding of her. She only asked some questions, which Jiang Wang answered politely but firmly.

Xu Shu made an “oh” sound, leaning slightly against the sofa, and asked: “What are your plans for the future?”

She wasn’t the type of mother who frequently interfered with Shi Niannian’s life and rarely imposed restrictions.

Shi Niannian pursed her lips, speaking for the first time since entering the house, not directly answering Xu Shu’s question: “Mom, Jiang Wang and I were high school classmates; we’ve known each other for a long time.”

Xu Shu was startled, suddenly feeling a wave of bitterness.

Shi Niannian’s voice was gentle, as if narrating a story, unwittingly making people relax and listen: “Mom, we got together in high school, in our second year, and until now, we’ve been together without separating.”

She closed her eyes briefly and continued: “During the time I studied abroad, we didn’t keep in touch. I chose to return to China for graduate school also because of him.”

Xu Shu had never imagined that her extremely obedient daughter had been with a boy since her second year of high school, and their relationship had continued unbroken until now.

She also recalled the few times her extremely obedient daughter had rebelled against her decisions, all during that period, and only today did she learn the reason.

Jiang Wang reached over, squeezed her palm, and interlaced their fingers.

Shi Niannian looked at Xu Shu and said, “The day after I returned to China and met him, we got our marriage certificate.”

“Mom,” she paused, “…the decision was quite sudden, and I didn’t tell you beforehand.”

“Ah.” Xu Shu didn’t have much of a reaction, leaning back against the sofa, “Ah.”

Explaining the marriage was easier than Shi Niannian had anticipated. Her bedroom remained unchanged. Xu Shu invited them to stay for dinner, but since it wasn’t mealtime yet, she led Jiang Wang into her room.

When she initially returned to China, most of her belongings had been shipped back, leaving only a few basic medical books on the bookshelf and a few scattered pieces of clothing.

It was an ordinary girl’s bedroom with a white, small-flowered bedspread and quilt, a neat and clean desk with a simple bookshelf in the upper left corner holding various notebooks of different sizes that showed signs of age on their surfaces. Small sticky notes peeked out from the edges. Just a glance would tell you that the owner of these notebooks must be a very meticulous person.

Just as Jiang Wang was about to reach for one, the bedroom door opened.

“Xiao Zhe,” Shi Niannian called out.

He was now in his teens, only slightly shorter than Shi Niannian. His skin wasn’t as fair as hers, but they both had large eyes, though Shi Zhe’s eyes lacked luster, making him appear to be in a daze.

Shi Zhe grabbed her sleeve, softly calling “Sister,” and stood beside her, looking at Jiang Wang.

“This is your brother,” she bent down slightly, pointing at Jiang Wang as she spoke to him.

Jiang Wang protested in a low voice: “Shouldn’t I be ‘brother-in-law’?”

Shi Niannian also spoke softly, as if they were whispering: “He can’t understand the concept of ‘brother-in-law,’ so just ‘brother’ is fine.”

She looked back at Shi Zhe, very patiently slowing her speech to repeat: “Xiao Zhe, say bro-ther.”

Shi Zhe looked up at Jiang Wang, his gaze unwavering, not even blinking, and without opening his mouth, he extended his hand toward Jiang Wang in a handshake gesture.

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and extended his hand to shake with him.

Shi Niannian was quite surprised. Shi Zhe had always been resistant to strangers, so when he first came to this new environment, he had tantrums every day for the first month, screaming until his throat was hoarse without stopping. Yet this time, he took the initiative to shake hands with Jiang Wang, whom he was meeting for the first time.

It was truly rare.

Shi Niannian took a wind chime from the wall at her desk and gave it to Shi Zhe to play with.

Shi Zhe’s temperament was similar to before; once given something to play with, he could sit quietly by himself for quite a while.

Shi Niannian sat with Jiang Wang on the edge of the bed. She watched Shi Zhe for a moment and said, “He rarely initiates contact with strangers. It seems he likes you quite a bit.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Wang raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Shortly after, Xu Shu called Shi Niannian to the kitchen, leaving only Shi Zhe and Jiang Wang in the bedroom.

He had heard about Shi Zhe from Xu Ningqing before, who had roughly described the grievances Shi Niannian had suffered because of Shi Zhe. Although he knew it was due to Shi Zhe’s illness, he couldn’t warm up to him. He sat to the side watching Shi Zhe for a while, but Shi Zhe was engrossed in playing and showed no intention of acknowledging him.

He walked to the desk and casually pulled out one of Shi Niannian’s notebooks.

Her handwriting hadn’t changed much since high school—flowing, with strokes connecting in a somewhat running script style. The characters were quite large, not like what you’d expect from a petite girl like her, but more like a boy’s handwriting.

He flipped through it casually; it seemed to be her notes from freshman year.

Even in high school, her notes were exceptionally good, clean, and detailed annotations. Opening this one, the first page contained date and course information, along with a list of recommended books. Several had small checkmarks in pencil behind them, presumably indicating those she had already read.

Jiang Wang put the notebook back, his gaze lightly scanning the row of books. Among them was a particularly thick one that was visibly different from the other notebooks. This book didn’t have colorful sticky notes inserted.

Jiang Wang didn’t know why his heart suddenly started beating faster, but as if guided by an invisible force, he pulled that book out.

This was a diary that had witnessed five cycles of springs, summers, autumns, and winters. The edges of the book had been smoothed to a glossy shine from repeated handling, yet showed no damage, evidencing the owner’s careful treatment.

“After sitting on a plane for ten hours, I finally arrived at a new place. It should be early morning there, everyone should be asleep, right? Xiao Zhe is throwing a tantrum outside, mom is coaxing him. I’m a bit sleepy, and I kind of miss Jiang Wang, but this is just the beginning.”

“Like Xiao Zhe, I seem unable to adapt well either. I’ve lost a lot of weight; today I almost fainted on the roadside. Thankfully, a kind sister helped me sit down until I recovered. I still need to eat more, Shi Niannian. I must work hard and excel, everything will get better, much, much better.”

“Couldn’t sleep again last night. Looked through chat histories—plenty with Jiang Ling, but not many with Jiang Wang. A bit regretful for not chatting more before, but it’s okay, there’s still the future.”

Met some new friends, including a Chinese girl. Everyone is nice. Hope the people around Jiang Wang are good to him too.”

…

“This morning when I woke up, my phone vibrated. Jiang Wang messaged saying he finished his college entrance exam. Time passes quite quickly. I’m sure he did extremely well. Jiang Ling is preparing to travel with her parents. Wonder if he’ll come here to travel. I miss him so much, but I’m afraid if I see him, I won’t be able to hold on anymore.”

“I haven’t cried for a long time, but today I saw a boy wearing a black T-shirt whose back looked exactly like his. I suddenly felt a lump in my throat and cried. I even scared Chengcheng.”

…

And finally, at the very end, were seven characters.

“I’m going back to find him.”

At last, Jiang Wang glimpsed those five locked-away years of Shi Niannian’s life.