In the early morning hours, the hospital building was still brightly lit, with the red cross on top flashing hope in the darkness.

Chen Yi had been waiting outside for over ten minutes and was preparing to go back when he saw Ruan Mian walk out of the duty room.

He put away his phone and went to meet her. Just as he was about to speak, Ruan Mian suddenly reached out to hug him, her arms threading through from his waist and crossing behind him.

There was no one in the hallway at night. Chen Yi also raised his hands to hold her back, his chin resting against her head as he nuzzled it, asking in a low voice: “What’s wrong?”

Ruan Mian’s face pressed against his chest. She didn’t make a sound, but her mind kept replaying what Fang Ruqing had just said.

—”I’ve heard a bit about Chen Yi’s profession from your father, and I’ve learned quite a bit about it online myself. For the country and its people, his work is indeed very great, but as a husband, as your lifelong companion—Mom actually doesn’t approve.”

—”During those days when you were in Lorraine, I couldn’t sleep every night, terrified that when I woke up the next day I wouldn’t receive your message saying you were safe. Mom has tasted the bitterness of constant fear and worry. I don’t want my daughter to live her entire life in this kind of anxiety.”

—”I know it’s selfish of me to think this way. Chen Yi is a good kid, and he’s not wrong in this matter. But I only hope that my daughter can live a happy and joyful life.”

……

Chen Yi let Ruan Mian hold him quietly for a while, raised his hand to rub the back of her head, then slid it down and gently pinched the back of her neck. “Did you have an unpleasant call with Auntie?”

Ruan Mian’s face pressed against his chest as she said in a muffled voice: “No.”

Fang Ruqing’s starting point wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t know how important Chen Yi’s significance was to Ruan Mian, nor did she understand the so-called fate between the two of them. Although Ruan Mian had countless things she could say on Chen Yi’s behalf, at that moment she didn’t know where to begin.

Chen Yi didn’t ask more. His hand intermittently squeezed hers. After a while, he saw a figure approaching from the other end of the hallway and patted Ruan Mian’s shoulder. “Someone’s coming.”

“Hm?” Ruan Mian turned her head from his embrace to look back. The next second, she immediately let go and stood properly. “Teacher Meng.”

Meng Fuping nodded in acknowledgment, his expression tired but gentle. “Why are you standing here talking? There’s no one else in the duty room.”

Ruan Mian was slightly formal. “We came out to get some fresh air.”

Meng Fuping didn’t ask more. After giving a few instructions, he returned to his office. Chen Yi watched Ruan Mian’s visibly relieved expression and thought of her reaction in high school when she saw the Chinese teacher—exactly the same as now. He couldn’t help but laugh.

Ruan Mian didn’t understand. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Chen Yi half-pushed, half-embraced her back to the duty room. As the door closed, he held her in his arms again. In the movement, someone touched the switch on the wall, and the room was left with only a hazy beam of light falling in from the window.

Chen Yi leaned against the door panel, his chin resting on her shoulder. His warm lips lightly pecked a few times at the side of her neck before he raised his head to ask: “What did you talk about with Auntie on the phone?”

Being held and kissed by him like this, Ruan Mian’s whole body felt somewhat weak, but she still didn’t tell the truth. “Nothing much, just missed her a bit.”

“What about me?”

“Hm?” It took her a few seconds to understand the meaning behind his words. She looked up to meet his gaze, suddenly stood on tiptoe and tilted her head to kiss the corner of his lips, saying softly: “I miss you too.”

Chen Yi didn’t stay at the hospital until dawn. He returned to the military district around four in the morning. Regarding what Fang Ruqing had said, Ruan Mian never mentioned it to him from beginning to end. She was only considering when to be honest with her parents about her relationship with Chen Yi. As for what would happen after, that still had to be left to time to handle.

The days turned page by page in B City’s increasingly hot weather. Soon August was coming to an end. The 24th was Chen Yi’s birthday, which also happened to fall on a weekend. More coincidentally, during that time Liang Yiran was accompanying Meng Xinglan on a business trip to B City, so several people arranged to meet for dinner on the evening of the 23rd.

All five of them weren’t the type who liked to make a fuss. Plus, with Meng Xinglan being pregnant, after finishing dinner the group returned to Chen Yi’s place.

Upon arrival, Chen Yi gave the keys to Shen Yu to let him take Liang Yiran and Meng Xinglan upstairs first. “Ruan Mian and I are going to the supermarket to buy some snacks.”

“Got it.”

After the three of them went upstairs, Chen Yi turned to look at Ruan Mian. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” As the words fell, Ruan Mian walked forward on her own, missing Chen Yi’s extended hand. By the time she realized he hadn’t followed, she had already walked quite far.

She turned back. Chen Yi was still standing there maintaining his reaching-out posture, looking a bit silly and somewhat amusing.

Ruan Mian couldn’t help but laugh. She quickly walked back and obediently held his hand, not forgetting to explain: “Sorry, I’m just not quite used to it yet.”

Chen Yi raised his eyes slightly. “Not used to what?”

“Not used to—” Ruan Mian gripped his hand and raised it, saying seriously: “Walking hand-in-hand with my boyfriend.”

Chen Yi was pleased by the three words “my boyfriend.” His fingertip pinched the back of her hand as he said lightly: “It’s fine. I’ll help you get used to it gradually in the future.”

Ruan Mian curved her lips and said okay.

The supermarket was outside the residential complex—a large lifestyle supermarket with three floors. Chen Yi grabbed a cart at the entrance, and Ruan Mian held onto his arm as they walked into the supermarket.

There were quite a few people in the evening. The two of them circled around to the snack section from the perimeter. Ruan Mian stood in front of the shelf with potato chips and picked a few flavors she and Meng Xinglan used to love, putting them in the cart. She then asked Chen Yi: “What flavors do Shen Yu and Liang Yiran like?”

“I don’t know. Probably anything is fine.”

“What about you? What do you like?”

“You.”

“Hm?” Ruan Mian looked up at him. After a few seconds, her gaze wavered and she uncomfortably looked away, no longer asking what he liked.

The two spent more than half an hour at the supermarket. While waiting in line to check out, Ruan Mian received a WeChat message from Meng Xinglan saying she wanted to eat preserved plums.

When she sent the message, Chen Yi happened to see it too and said: “You wait in line. I’ll go buy them.”

Ruan Mian: “I should go instead. You don’t know what flavor she likes.”

Chen Yi was puzzled that preserved plums even had different flavors, but he didn’t say anything. He pushed the cart out of the crowd and got to the back of the line. “You go ahead.”

“Mm.”

There were already many people in the evening, and the checkout counters had long queues. Chen Yi walked to the end of the line. Before long, a few more people stood behind him.

After about ten minutes, Chen Yi finally saw Ruan Mian walking over from not far away, though her gait looked somewhat strange.

His expression tightened. He placed the cart aside and quickly walked toward her. “What happened?”

“I got bumped.” Speaking of bad luck—Ruan Mian had grabbed a few packages of preserved plums from the snack section and had just walked out from the shelf area when two children playing with shopping carts nearby, one unable to brake in time and the other unable to dodge, crashed directly into each other.

There was a child sitting in the cart. After Ruan Mian was knocked down, the cart’s wheel rolled directly over her ankle.

The two children’s parents hurried over to apologize. Ruan Mian was helped up by a supermarket staff member. She bent down to check—no bone injury.

She accepted the apology and didn’t pursue any other responsibility.

……

Now, after hearing what happened, Chen Yi directly squatted down, lifted her pant leg to look, and saw that the skin at the ankle bone had been scraped off.

He touched the surrounding area with his hand. Ruan Mian hissed lightly and dodged back.

“Don’t move. Let me look.” Chen Yi gripped above her ankle. His palm was slightly cool, and the patch of skin it touched was quickly warmed up.

Ruan Mian was somewhat unsteady on her feet—partly from the pain, partly from the ticklish sensation. Supporting herself on his shoulder, she said quietly: “It’s fine. I probably didn’t injure the bone.”

Chen Yi quickly came to the same conclusion. He stood up, supporting her arm, his gaze scanning her inch by inch from top to bottom. After confirming there were no other injuries, he said: “Why didn’t you call me?”

Ruan Mian looked up. “I thought it wasn’t very serious.”

Chen Yi didn’t argue with her about this kind of thing. He helped her to the side, took out his phone and called Shen Yu, telling him to come to the supermarket.

Shen Yu arrived quickly, almost at a jog. Seeing the two of them, he asked: “What happened?”

Ruan Mian explained: “I accidentally got bumped by a shopping cart.”

Chen Yi took over: “You settle the bill. I’ll take her to the hospital to get it checked.”

“Okay, you two go quickly.”

Ruan Mian actually felt it wasn’t necessary to make such a big deal out of it, but to put Chen Yi’s mind at ease, she didn’t insist on not going.

The two came out of the supermarket. There were people coming and going everywhere. Chen Yi looked at her ankle—it was already slightly red and swollen.

There was a community hospital right across the street, about one or two hundred meters away. He thought for a moment, then reached out and directly lifted her up in a princess carry.

The sudden loss of balance startled Ruan Mian. She instinctively reached out to find something to hold onto. By the time she came to her senses, her arms were already wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

Her eyelashes trembled. What met her eyes was his Adam’s apple bobbing occasionally, as well as his sharply defined jawline. The man’s body temperature transmitted through the thin layer of clothing.

Suddenly, Chen Yi lowered his head. His gaze fell on her face for a few seconds, then he raised his head to look at the road ahead, saying in a low voice: “You need to get used to this too.”

Ruan Mian’s lips moved, but for a long time she couldn’t think of what to say. She only turned her head to lean closer, her ear against his steady, rising and falling heartbeat.

The two walked quietly along this stretch of road. After a thorough examination at the hospital revealed no other major problems, Chen Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Only after the doctor treated Ruan Mian’s wound did he help her out of the hospital.

The hospital and the residential complex were on the same roadside. The evening temperature wasn’t as hot as during the day. Occasionally, a breeze would blow by, bringing a bit of coolness.

By now, Ruan Mian wasn’t as painful as before. She didn’t let Chen Yi carry her or give her a piggyback. “It’s just scraped skin. It doesn’t affect walking.”

She held Chen Yi’s hand. At first, she was a bit limping, but later she could walk almost normally—it just hurt a bit if she exerted too much effort.

By the time they got home, it was almost eleven-thirty. What should have been a happy time staying at home waiting for midnight to arrive turned out to be exceptionally rushed due to this unexpected accident.

Shen Yu took out the cake he had ordered early from the refrigerator and lit the candles. The five of them sat around the sofa as candlelight flickered in the room.

Liang Yiran handed Chen Yi the crown that came with the cake. “Come on, birthday boy, make a wish.”

Chen Yi took the crown but didn’t put it on his own head. Instead, he placed it on Ruan Mian’s head. “I won’t make a wish. Let’s just cut the cake.”

“Why not? It’s a once-a-year birthday.” Shen Yu smiled: “Maybe this year’s wish will come true.”

Chen Yi glanced at Ruan Mian and suppressed the smile in his eyes, but still insisted on not making a wish. “Let’s finish early and rest. We still have a pregnant woman and an injured person here.”

“Alright, alright.” Shen Yu handed him the knife. “Then you cut it.”

“Okay.”

Several people had only finished dinner after midnight, so they weren’t very hungry now. They ate a couple of symbolic bites of cake, and the five of them took a group photo together.

After taking it, Chen Yi asked Shen Yu to help take a separate photo of just him and Ruan Mian. Once these were done, the pregnant Meng Xinglan prepared to return to her room to rest. She was in early pregnancy and had severe morning sickness, occasionally waking up at night. For convenience in caring for her, Liang Yiran was sharing a room with her.

There was one guest bedroom left—Shen Yu’s. Every time he came here before, he would stay in that room. Everyone found rooms according to their needs. In the end, what remained was a study without a bed and the master bedroom where Chen Yi slept.

Those who had rooms returned to them. Roomless Ruan Mian and homeowner Chen Yi sat in the living room. Ruan Mian hadn’t realized anything yet and sat there looking at photos. Occasionally looking up, she saw Chen Yi viewing her social media feed.

Specifically, the post where she had sent birthday wishes to He Zechuan.

Ruan Mian seemed to realize something. She selected a group photo of the five of them and posted it to her social media. Without naming anyone, she only wrote “Happy Birthday” with four characters and a crown emoji.

Her relationship with Chen Yi hadn’t been fully disclosed to their parents yet. Plus, with Fang Ruqing’s current attitude, Ruan Mian hadn’t figured out how to be honest with her for the time being.

Chen Yi soon also saw her latest post. He raised his hand to like it, put away his phone and looked up at her. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

Ruan Mian didn’t react. “What?”

A few seconds later, she turned her head to look at the two guest bedrooms behind her with tightly closed doors and said haltingly: “Actually, I could sleep in the study.”

Chen Yi pinched her fingers, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The two sat in silence for a while.

Chen Yi got up and put the remaining cake back in the refrigerator. When he came out, he saw Ruan Mian still sitting there. He turned off the dining room light and walked over. “Want to take a shower first?”

“Ah?” Ruan Mian snapped back to attention. “Okay.”

Chen Yi was just about to speak when Liang Yiran came out of the room with clothes and went directly into the bathroom outside. He pressed his lips together and looked down at Ruan Mian. “There’s another bathroom in my room.”

“…” Ruan Mian thought it was just taking a shower—no need to be so fussy. Moreover, they were already a couple now, so she didn’t say anything and took her change of clothes to the master bedroom.

Ruan Mian had been to Chen Yi’s place a few times, but this was the first time entering the master bedroom. The room was obviously much larger than the other two rooms, with simple and elegant decoration in a cool-toned style.

She brought her clothes into the bathroom. Realizing she had forgotten to bring makeup remover, she went out to find Meng Xinglan. Passing by the study, Chen Yi saw her and came out to ask: “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to bring makeup remover.” Ruan Mian didn’t elaborate with him. She knocked on Meng Xinglan’s door, went in to get what she needed, and came back out.

Finishing her shower was something that happened ten minutes later. She was drying her hair that had gotten wet, found her phone and sent Chen Yi a message saying she was done.

The doors of the master bedroom and study faced each other. Right now, neither door was closed. Ruan Mian soon saw Chen Yi walk out from across the way and then head straight toward the room.

She put down her phone. Their gazes met. Chen Yi’s gaze stayed on her face for a few seconds, then traveled downward. “Did water get on the wound?”

“No.” Before showering, Ruan Mian had wrapped it with a layer of plastic wrap, and she had been very careful while washing. Aside from the edges of the gauze being somewhat damp, no other areas had gotten wet.

Chen Yi made an affirming sound and walked to the wardrobe to get his own clothes. “You’ll sleep here tonight. Remember to take the anti-inflammatory medicine. I’ve already poured water for you and left it in the living room outside.”

“Oh.” Ruan Mian stopped drying her hair and, after hesitating for a few seconds, asked: “Where will you sleep tonight then?”

“Where else could I sleep?” He smiled meaningfully. “Isn’t this my room? Of course I’m sleeping here.”

Ruan Mian was stunned. “…”

Seeing her slightly frightened reaction, Chen Yi walked over and rubbed her head. “I’m joking. I’ll sleep on the sofa outside. You rest early.”

Ruan Mian couldn’t tell whether she felt relieved or something else. For a long time, she couldn’t think of what to say. Chen Yi, worried she would forget to take her medicine, went out and came back again, bringing both the water and medicine inside. As if she were someone with terrible memory, he reminded her again: “Don’t forget.”

She nodded. “I know.”

Chen Yi said goodnight and walked out. Ruan Mian stood there for a while, walked to the table to take her medicine, then sat on the bed and saw a photo frame on the bedside table.

It was a family portrait.

She picked it up to look at it, then remembered something and turned her head to look at the other bedside table. There was also a photo frame there—it was the group photo of the six of them taken in the hallway outside the classroom during their high school graduation year.

Ruan Mian put down the frame in her hand, stood up and walked over. That photo had been well protected. The smiles and features of the six of them were still incredibly clear.

She stared at the photo for a while, thinking of many things from the past. Lost in thought, she didn’t hear the knock on the door. Chen Yi stood in the doorway. The door wasn’t closed, and he saw all her movements at a glance.

He suddenly remembered the two brief exchanges they’d had on the day of the graduation photos.

……

Chen Yi remembered it was a particularly sunny day—blazing sun with no clouds, stuffy and hot, noisy. A group of people stood in front of the library building, the atmosphere both sad and lively.

After taking the group graduation photo, Shen Yu and the others called over Liang Yiran, and the six of them took that group photo outside the Science Class (1) classroom.

Meng Xinglan and Shen Yu competed to look at the photo results. Chen Yi and Ruan Mian stood in the hallway for a while. Later, friends from other classes called him over to take photos.

Before he left, remembering something, he turned back to say to her: “Good luck on the gaokao.”

In his memory, she should have smiled, then said: “Okay, thank you.”

Later, Chen Yi saw Ruan Mian again at the farewell dinner after the gaokao ended, but he arrived late that day and didn’t stay long in the private room. They didn’t get to talk.

In the nine years after that, Chen Yi never saw Ruan Mian again—not once—until that night in Lorraine.

The reunion came unexpectedly and was beyond expectation.

Later, Chen Yi thought more than once—if he and Ruan Mian hadn’t met in Lorraine but had instead reunited at Liang Yiran and Meng Xinglan’s wedding, would it have been like before, where after a brief encounter, there would be another few years or even longer of blankness?

This was an unsolvable proposition.

Just like the years he and Ruan Mian had missed—if his younger self had been more sensitive, would there have been a different outcome?

The outcome of what was missed could no longer be known, but what was fortunate was that their present, their future, and even a hundred years later, they would become each other’s concern and only one.

After a long while.

Ruan Mian put down the photo frame and turned around to see Chen Yi standing in the doorway. Her expression froze for a moment before she said: “I haven’t seen this group photo in a long time.”

“What happened to yours?” Chen Yi remembered that Shen Yu had later printed out the photos and given each of them one.

“I lost it.” Ruan Mian said: “A few years ago when traveling with friends out of town, even my wallet was stolen.”

“Want it? I should still have the original image.” Chen Yi walked in and rummaged through the drawer for a charger. “It’s in my QQ space. You can go look for it.”

“Okay.” After responding, Ruan Mian suddenly remembered something and asked: “What’s your QQ number? My QQ was hacked the year I was repeating, and after I got it back, all my friends had been deleted, so I stopped using that account.”

“No wonder.” Chen Yi thought of the year she was repeating—he had returned to the country for summer vacation, and his grandmother had found the materials he’d used to tutor her in essay writing in the study and casually asked him about her current situation.

At that time, WeChat was already widely popular in China, and Chen Yi rarely used QQ. After hearing his grandmother’s words, he opened QQ intending to ask, but after scrolling through his entire friends list, he couldn’t find her name.

He hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time and instead asked Li Zhi, learning that she was that year’s top gaokao scorer and had gone to a northern city for university.

When people miss each other, what they lose is never just one thing. All those things they didn’t care about back then have now become regrets.

……

Chen Yi’s QQ was still the same old one. Ruan Mian used the QQ account she had been using and added him as a friend. His profile picture and screen name hadn’t changed.

Ruan Mian found that photo in his QQ space. After saving it, she directly sent him a message on QQ.

[Ruan Mian]: Is the orange cat in your profile picture the same one as your WeChat profile picture?

[Chen]: No, the one on QQ passed away a few years ago. The one on WeChat is her cub, called Little Orange.

[Ruan Mian]: Oh, very cute.

[Chen]: I can take you to meet it this New Year.

The meaning in these words was already very clear. Given the current relationship between their two families, meeting the parents by the end of the year actually wasn’t too fast.

Chen Yi waited a while and received her reply.

[Ruan Mian]: Okay.

The two chatted on QQ for a while and soon had several pages of chat history. Before reaching ten pages, Chen Yi told Ruan Mian to rest early.

[Chen]: What do you want to eat tomorrow?

[Ruan Mian]: Are you cooking?

[Chen]: Mm.

[Ruan Mian]: Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I can’t think of anything right now.

[Chen]: Okay, goodnight.

[Ruan Mian]: Goodnight.

In the room, after Ruan Mian sent this last message, she put down her phone, rolled up in the blanket and turned over, burying her head in the pillow. She caught a faint fragrance—the same scent as the body wash on her.

Though clearly very sleepy, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Staying awake like this until after two o’clock, Ruan Mian felt thirsty and got up to get water.

The night light was still on in the living room. Chen Yi was lying on the sofa, his long legs unable to stretch out and resting outside. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he sat up. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Ruan Mian: “I’m a bit thirsty.”

Chen Yi threw off the blanket and stood up, walked over and turned on the dining room light, found the kettle and poured her a glass of water. Ruan Mian took it and asked: “Why aren’t you asleep either?”

“Not used to it.”

“…” She made an acknowledging sound.

After drinking the water, Ruan Mian put down the cup and walked back. “You should sleep soon.”

“Okay.”

Ruan Mian walked a few steps and looked back to see him sitting down on the sofa. She stood there hesitating. After quite a while, Chen Yi didn’t hear the sound of the door closing. He looked back and saw her standing there. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Ruan Mian took a light breath, as if making some important decision. She looked up at him. “Chen Yi.”

“Mm?”

“How about…” She scratched her face. “You come sleep in the room.”

—

**Author’s Note:** Tomorrow’s update will be delayed until before midnight. It’s still a double update. I’ll try to finish early and update early. Thanks for your support.