“Oh! My grandfather’s here — stand up, everyone!”

Lu Huaiyi caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and was the first to spring to his feet, standing ramrod-straight as though at military attention. Having grown up under his grandfather’s strict upbringing, Lu Huaiyi held a combination of deep respect and no small amount of fear toward the old man.

The moment Professor Lu stepped into the classroom, every student rose. They bowed in unison.

In the hearts of these students, Professor Lu was a man who had devoted his entire life to the nation — a figure of great prestige, widely revered. To have the chance to attend one of his lectures was an honor.

Professor Lu was already well past sixty, yet his posture remained upright and vigorous. He wore a pair of reading glasses, with kind and gentle features, carrying a thermos cup in hand as he walked to the lectern with measured, unhurried steps.

Rong Qian watched him through the crowd, and something welled up in her that she couldn’t find words for.

Yesterday, he had still been a young man full of spirit and vigor. And yet here, after what was for her only a single day, she was looking at him again — and he had become a white-haired old man worn down by the years.

Rong Qian’s eyes grew red at the corners without her realizing it.

It was strange — when she had seen Xu Zhiwei, the impact had not been nearly as strong. But seeing Lu Xuan like this, Rong Qian suddenly found herself unable to hold it together. Perhaps, she thought, it was because she had spent time with him, had grown genuinely fond of him.

“Why are you crying?” Lu Huaiyi noticed her moist eyes.

Rong Qian wiped the corner of her eye. “It’s nothing. Just seeing the renowned Professor Lu in person — a little moved, that’s all.”

“I see. I thought something was wrong with you. Don’t cry — sitting here next to me, you’re definitely going to get my grandfather’s attention, because he always has his eye on me.” Lu Huaiyi smiled, trying to comfort her.

Zhang Hao also noticed that something was off with Rong Qian at that moment. He was about to say something when a male student stopped him — the other student put a finger to his lips, signaling that the professor was about to begin and they should be quiet.

Zhang Hao could only swallow back the words on the tip of his tongue.

Professor Lu taught with great attentiveness, but, as Lu Huaiyi had said, his gaze drifted frequently toward Lu Huaiyi’s direction.

Today, however, it wandered there more times than usual — because he had noticed a young woman.

Professor Lu suspected more than once that he was seeing things, but that young woman really did bear a striking resemblance to a friend he had known in his youth.

Still, the world was vast and full of surprises — people who looked alike were not so uncommon. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Yet Professor Lu’s gaze kept being drawn back against his will.

As a result, his lecture that day was halting and disjointed, with several errors along the way, prompting real concern among the students — surely the professor wasn’t getting forgetful in his old age?

“Professor, why don’t you take a short rest?”

A student with a kind heart suggested that the professor take a break and have some water. The other students heard this and immediately agreed.

Professor Lu smiled, feeling proud to have such students. And so he stepped back from lecturing and invited the students to take over. He put forward several questions and called on students at random to come up and answer.

The moment those words left his mouth, every student who had been so enthusiastic a moment before suddenly found something to look at on their desks — and more than a few instantly regretted ever suggesting the professor take a rest…

“Let’s have that student there. Back row, fifth seat.”

With one sentence from Professor Lu, every gaze in the room fell simultaneously on Rong Qian.

Lu Huaiyi let out an enormous breath of relief. Thank goodness — he had been half-convinced his grandfather was about to call on him. Lu Huaiyi sent Rong Qian a look that said, well, better you than me.

Rong Qian stood up. The room was very quiet. Everyone waited to see how this unfamiliar student — who had turned up to sit in on the class out of nowhere — was going to respond to the extremely difficult question Professor Lu had posed.

“Student — I don’t believe I’ve seen you before. Are you new here?” Professor Lu’s smile was kind and benign. He knew she was not one of his students. The real reason he had called on her was that she looked so much like “that person” — he hadn’t been able to stop himself from wanting to speak to her.

Rong Qian smiled slightly. “No — we’ve met before.”

“Oh? Have we? I don’t seem to recall.” Professor Lu prided himself on his memory, and especially with a face like hers — if he had met her, he couldn’t possibly have forgotten.

Rong Qian held his gaze and said quietly, “We have. It’s just been a while. You may have forgotten.”

“Is that so? When, then?” The professor was not going to let this go without a clear answer.

Since he asked, Rong Qian told him. “About forty-eight years ago, I’d say.”

At those words, everyone in the room stared wide-eyed. To joke around with the professor in this kind of setting — was she trying to get herself thrown out of the class?

But just as they were bracing for the professor to get upset, they saw that the professor, at this very moment, looked far more shocked than any of them — he was staring at her with his mouth agape, completely stunned.

“What are you talking about?” Lu Huaiyi was openly displeased. That was his grandfather. He himself would never dare speak to his grandfather like that — who did this woman think she was, having absolutely no manners or sense of propriety?

Rong Qian did not look at him. Instead, she continued addressing Professor Lu: “You haven’t forgotten what was written in that letter, have you? I said — that forty-eight years later, I would come and find you all.”

“You — what is your name?” Professor Lu’s body was trembling uncontrollably, his eyes growing wet.

Rong Qian smiled gently. “My name is Rong Qian. Lu Xuan — it’s been a long time.”

Professor Lu’s lecture that day ended ten minutes early.

And to avoid raising unnecessary speculation, Rong Qian also presented her identification as a police officer, explaining that what she had said was a code exchange between herself and Professor Lu, and carried no literal meaning.

This was enough to put a stop to the wilder theories already forming in some students’ heads.

When Rong Qian left with Lu Xuan, she left Zhang Hao behind to keep Lu Huaiyi occupied.

Lu Huaiyi, upon learning that Rong Qian was a police officer who needed to speak privately with his grandfather, became convinced that his grandfather must have done something wrong and absolutely insisted on coming along.

Since Rong Qian didn’t want Zhang Hao tagging along either, she simply had him block Lu Huaiyi from following.

Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi ordinarily lived in a dormitory building arranged by the university. They had the means to live somewhere better, but the couple had no desire for special treatment, so their living quarters were no different from those of ordinary residents.

The apartment they shared was not large. The living room was furnished with traditional Chinese-style pieces; a world map was pinned to one wall, and a bookshelf along another was lined with all manner of books and textbooks.

On days when Chen Shiyi had no classes, she would knit at home. Although winter was still a long way off, her eyesight had dimmed with age — not what it used to be in her youth — and a single sweater took her a very long time to finish.

Chen Shiyi was sitting in the living room, listening to a Peking opera recording, wearing a pair of reading glasses on a gold chain, humming along softly as she unhurriedly worked through a tangle of yarn — when the door was suddenly flung wide open!

Chen Shiyi gave a startled flinch. She pressed a hand to her chest — at her age, her heart could not take such sudden shocks.

“Old woman!”

Hearing the familiar voice of her own husband, Chen Shiyi looked up at him with exasperation and muttered, “I swear — at your age, and you’re still this scattered. Take it easy, don’t walk so fast, mind those old bones of yours —”

But before she could finish, she caught sight of Rong Qian walking in behind Lu Xuan, and she went completely still.

This — this young woman — why did she look so familiar?

Rong Qian smiled and greeted her warmly. “Shiyi, do you remember me? I’m Rong Qian.”

“Rong — Rong Qian?” Chen Shiyi’s expression went blank. The young woman in front of her overlapped with a figure from her memory — Chen Shiyi stared in astonishment. “You are — Qianqian jie?”