ATLAS TRANSLATES

The notebook cover was already somewhat faded, the pages inside were yellowed, and the writing was a bit blurred, but it was still legible.

Chen Yi opened the first page. There were only two lines written on it. One line was a date that didn’t leave much of an impression on him and was from long ago. The other line was a sentence he was extremely familiar with.

Chen(?) from Erdong, the Yi(?) in “standing tall at Buddha’s feet, able to pluck a star”.

Chen Yi was stunned for a few seconds. In an instant, he recalled that hot and stuffy summer night, and that timid, reticent girl who was even afraid to make eye contact with him.

After learning about Ruan Mian’s past affection for him, he had countless times thought back on his memories related to her, trying to find the origin of this affection from some point in time. But he had never thought that in this world, there was a kind of liking called love at first sight.

His casual remark was actually her enduring moment of heart fluttering in her long years.

Chen Yi suddenly realized what this notebook in his hands was. His entire being seemed to have his breath seized. The hand holding the notebook was even trembling faintly.

His Adam’s apple moved up and down. His fingertips lightly flipped open the second page. The friction of the paper made a subtle sound. This page also had two lines of bold writing.

What’s wrong?

Chen Yi was no stranger to this date. It was the first day of school at No. 8 High School, and also the day he had mistakenly thought was his first meeting with Ruan Mian.

From the beginning, he had taken the wrong path. Only more than ten years later did he find the right track again.

Chen Yi flipped through a few more pages in succession. Most of the dates and contents were still fragmented and blurry for him now.

In those years he didn’t know about, all the girl’s heart flutters and heartaches seemed to have nothing to do with him, but they were paradoxically related to him.

He played a grand leading role in her world, but she was just an insignificant supporting character.

She came quietly and left without anyone knowing.

Just like on January 30, 2009, she made a wish at Xishan Temple to “meet him year after year”, while he just carelessly and casually hoped it wouldn’t snow the next day.

And on September 1, 2009, she was probably sad that he was going to study abroad, so the writing on this page had traces of being dampened by water stains. But at that time, Chen Yi was so busy preparing to go abroad that he was overwhelmed, though occasionally he would feel fortunate to be able to escape the bitterness of senior year early.

The 17-year-old Chen Yi didn’t know that his departure was a short, forced separation for the sake of his studies. But in the eyes of the 17-year-old Ruan Mian, it was a regret of never seeing each other again.

She said she wouldn’t like him anymore.

But on the next page, there was another sentence: My liking for him seems to be even more than I imagined. I don’t know how to cut my losses in time. Even though I want to call for a stop, my eyes are still full of him.

She failed in the competition; he gave up the guaranteed admission.

She returned to the dull and monotonous life of senior year; he left the campus and gradually drifted away from her. She couldn’t see the joys and sorrows of his life.

On the day they took graduation photos, he wished her good luck on the college entrance exams. Later, she gave him a classmate album with the words “I wish you success in the college entrance exams and may your name be on the golden list.”

At that time, she probably didn’t know that classmate album was given by him.

At the farewell dinner, he came and went in a hurry. He didn’t see a hint of affection in Jiang Rang’s unspoken words or in her reddened eyes.

In the height of summer, she failed the college entrance exam and returned to her old school to repeat a year. His parents held a teacher appreciation banquet for him at the best hotel in Pingcheng. Amidst the flowing wine and lively conversation, he never felt regret for her absence.

On August 17, 2010, in the lively and noisy streets, there was a moment when she really wanted to let him go.

She hoped to stop at the best moment of those two years. That’s why she left such sad words the day before he was going to study abroad.

“Unrequited love is very bitter, like the summer wind. It sounds nice, but it’s full of heat when it blows.

So summer is over, and I don’t like you anymore.”

“Chen Yi, I wish you a smooth journey and a bright future.”

When he flipped to this page, Chen Yi suddenly stopped. His mind went blank for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, he took out that old, shabby cell phone from the box.

Charge it, turn it on.

When he clicked open the sent messages, Chen Yi’s fingertips were trembling. As expected, he saw a text message with the same content in the sent box.

The recipient was him.

Chen Yi’s throat was dry and his heart was unsettled.

That day was nothing special to him. At that time, he often received similar confession messages, so much so that when he received this message, he didn’t take it seriously and just deleted it as spam.

Until today, when he opened this diary and saw the date when she wrote “Chen from Erdong, the Yi in ‘standing tall at Buddha’s feet, able to pluck a star’”, when he saw the sentence “I secretly liked him for another year, hiding it from everyone”.

Only then did he realize that the spam message he casually deleted back then was actually the end of an entire youth for the 17-year-old Ruan Mian.

When Ruan Mian came out of the airport, she saw that Chen Yi had sent her a WeChat message more than half an hour ago, saying that he was waiting for her in the parking lot, followed by the license plate number and location.

She went down to the second basement level and easily spotted Chen Yi’s car. When she got in, she smelled a faint scent of cigarette smoke in the car.

Ruan Mian was puzzled. She leaned closer to Chen Yi and sniffed like a puppy.

Chen Yi lowered his head and saw her action. He grabbed the back of her neck with his hand. When he spoke, his voice had an unusual hoarseness, “What are you doing?”

She frowned, her thoughts quickly distracted by this voice, “Do you have a cold?”

“No.”

He adjusted the seat back a bit and grabbed her hand, saying, “Come here.”

Ruan Mian obediently unfastened her seatbelt and climbed over from the passenger seat to sit on his lap, her knees kneeling on either side. But that hint of cigarette smell became even stronger at this distance.

She looked up and, in the dim light of the parking lot, glimpsed the redness at the corner of his eyes. She fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

Chen Yi lowered his head and met her gaze. His chest was surging with an extremely strong sadness. He tried his best to control his emotions, his Adam’s apple moving up and down, swallowing silently.

Ruan Mian was a little at a loss. She had never seen Chen Yi like this, as if enveloped by many negative emotions, unable to escape no matter how much he struggled.

His whole being seemed to have sunk to the bottom of the deep sea.

She leaned over, rubbing her cheek against his neck, her warm breath rising and falling, as if blending with his pulse.

After a long silence, Chen Yi stroked the back of her neck, his voice still low and hoarse, “I’m sorry, I came too late.”

“What?”

Ruan Mian raised her head and looked at him. His gaze was deep and obscure, but carried an unshakable sadness.

The tacit understanding between lovers is always wondrous and inexplicable. As if suddenly enlightened, she quickly denied, “No.”

Chen Yi looked down at her, his throat seeming to be blocked, unable to speak.

“No.”

She repeated, looking at him intently, slowly and earnestly, “The fact that you could come, and that I’m still here, is already a great blessing.”

In this world, there are so many twists of fate. In the years when we didn’t have each other, we gradually drifted apart. But as time went by, at the right moment, the people who were meant to meet eventually met.

The beginning of the story is always extremely gentle, but our ending is no less gentle than any other.

After returning that day, Ruan Mian saw those two large boxes in her room, and the vague notion in her heart was confirmed. She even felt a sense of settling.

Now, when she opens that diary that she no longer has much impression of, the heartaches and sadness in her memories seem to have been washed away by the flow of time, leaving only faint traces.

It’s no longer the appearance of the past, but all the evidence that she once liked him. It’s something worth being forever remembered.

Ruan Mian put the diary on the bookshelf, together with her bright and brilliant student days, as if those years of liking him had also become glorious, no longer as obscure and unclear as before.

Her unforgettable love finally had a response.

After the Chinese New Year, before the end of the holiday, Ruan Mian went to meet Chen Yi’s family. It was not much different from the warm family she had imagined.

Whether it was Chen Yi’s parents or his grandparents, although the modes of affection between them were quite different, one could still see the tacit understanding and tenderness between the couples.

Before leaving that night, Grandma Chen held Ruan Mian’s hand and handed her a yellow velvet pouch embroidered with the words “peace and safety” in red thread, “This peace lock was something Grandpa and I got by chance when we were traveling. We’re old and have no use for it. You and Ah Yi have a special nature of work, so keep it with you for safety and peace.”

Ruan Mian had seen the quality of Chen Yi’s peace lock before. It was not as casual as Grandma Chen said, but was a very rare piece of jade, not to mention the price.

But Shen Yunmiao didn’t give her a chance to decline. She stuffed the peace pouch into her hand, “After I got this peace lock, I asked your mother-in-law Chen to take it to the temple to be blessed. She also used your and Ah Yi’s birth date and time to seek a peace talisman to put inside. So now this jade is yours, just take it.”

Ruan Mian accepted it, “Thank you, Grandma.”

“This peace talisman is very effective. The year Ah Yi participated in the competition in his third year of high school, I also sought one for him. Later, he won first prize.”

Chen Yi, who was walking over with his coat, retorted unwillingly, “Grandma, my winning the prize didn’t have much to do with that, right?”

Shen Yunmiao said “oh you child” and then said to Ruan Mian with a smile, “In the end, it’s just for peace of mind. You both need to be safe and sound when you’re out.”

“Mm, we will.”

Ruan Mian put away the peace pouch. Chen Yi walked over and held her hand, the peace lock hanging around his neck revealing a bit of the black string.

On the way back, Ruan Mian took out the peace lock and looked at it, then put it away again with extra care.

Outside the window, the lights of the tall buildings and the street lamps flashed by. She watched and suddenly laughed. Chen Yi glanced at her while waiting for the red light and reached out to hook her finger, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.”

Ruan Mian turned to look at him, “I just feel like this year’s winter doesn’t seem as cold as before.”

The red light changed ahead. Chen Yi withdrew his gaze and chuckled softly, “I feel the same way.”

The road ahead is long. A new year has begun.

After the new year, as the spring breeze blew in the southern town, the whole city was abloom with warmth. But B City in the north was still blowing with cold winter winds.

After the short holiday ended, Ruan Mian returned to her usual busy life, even busier than last year. After all, this year Dr. Ruan gradually started performing surgeries independently. In her spare time, she also had to take into account meeting the publication quota for the department’s papers and research projects, keeping her extremely busy.

Compared to Ruan Mian’s nonstop work, Chen Yi had much more free time this year. During his two-month sick leave, he unprecedentedly did not return to B City to accompany his girlfriend, but stayed in Pingcheng and spent time with Li Zhi every day.

Later, when his sick leave ended, he returned to the team and underwent a systematic physical fitness test. The sequelae of his right shoulder injury were somewhat evident. He didn’t go on any missions for the entire first half of the year. Except for necessary rehabilitation training, occasionally when he had time off, he also shuttled back and forth between B City and Pingcheng.

Ruan Mian didn’t notice this at first. It wasn’t until one day in May when she had a day off and was looking for a spare key at home that she accidentally found more than 20 round-trip plane tickets between B City and Pingcheng in a drawer of the shoe cabinet by the door.

Calculating the round trips, Chen Yi had returned to Pingcheng more than a dozen times in the past six months, which added up to almost more than the number of times in the past few years combined.

The next time Chen Yi had a break, she took out these plane tickets, her tone a bit serious, “Are you hiding something from me?”

When they were talking about this, Chen Yi was still looking at his phone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the stack of plane tickets on the table. He turned off his phone and sat up straight, “No.”

“Then why do you run to Pingcheng every time you have a break?”

Ruan Mian had been very busy this past six months and barely had any overlapping time off with him.

“Hm?

I mentioned it to you before, did you forget?”

Chen Yi stood up and took her hand, “Li Zhi has a friend who is filming a military movie. He doesn’t have the funds to hire professionals, so he asked me to go help out.”

Ruan Mian thought for a moment. It seemed there was something like that, but she had already posed the questioning stance and couldn’t retract it, so she could only give a bland “oh” sound.

Chen Yi laughed and pulled her to sit down. “Teacher Zhou called me a few days ago. The school is planning to invite a group of outstanding graduates to come back and give speeches to the seniors before the college entrance exam. He wanted me to ask if you’d be available too.”

Ruan Mian clicked her tongue. “That doesn’t seem right. I was held back.”

“A student who was held back but still scored 683 points and became the top scholar after repeating a year.” Chen Yi grinned. “Shouldn’t that be a major event recorded in the school history?”

Ruan Mian didn’t banter with him. “Forget it. If I had repeated the year at Eighth Middle School it might make sense, but I didn’t even take the exam from there in the end. I’ll call Teacher Zhou later to let him know.”

“Okay.”

Chen Yi felt the soft flesh around her waist and quickly detected something off. “Have you not been eating well again lately?”

Work had been busy for her the past six months, her diet irregular. In the two months since returning, she had rapidly lost fifteen pounds. With her already petite frame, she looked even more skeletal.

Having lost the moral high ground, Ruan Mian felt guilty. She lifted an arm to hug him. “Not really. I eat on time, except for special circumstances.”

That wasn’t true. Now that she was performing surgeries, scheduled ones were fine, but if there were emergencies or when assisting Dr. Meng, she often went over a dozen hours without eating or drinking.

Chen Yi didn’t believe her at all. He hugged her onto the scale. Not only had she not regained the lost weight, she had shed another seven pounds.

His expression darkened at the time. Although Ruan Mian felt bad, she still defended herself. “I swear, I really have been eating properly. Maybe I’m just overworked lately.”

“Bullshit.”

Ruan Mian was both annoyed and amused. “Then I promise, when you’re on vacation next month, I’ll make sure to get back to 99 pounds.”

Chen Yi reluctantly agreed. That night, he cooked a whole table of dishes and watched her eat two bowls of rice and drink a bowl of soup before relenting.

Soon, May was drawing to a close.

Eighth Middle School set the speech date for the last day of May. Ruan Mian wasn’t free that day and didn’t even watch the livestream. Later, when she looked online for a replay, she only found a few short video clips.

One of them was a clip of just Chen Yi, though incomplete. It started midway through the speech. The man was wearing a simple, clean white button-up shirt and black slacks. His features were unrestrained and uninhibited, each movement exuding the unique maturity and sexiness of an adult male.

After the speech was the typical student Q&A segment, which rarely offered anything novel. It was nothing more than asking what kind of person he was back then and what he was doing now.

Towards the end, Ruan Mian saw the microphone get passed to a girl in the corner. She asked the final question, “Senior, what was your most memorable and regrettable experience in high school?”

The video quality wasn’t high, but it couldn’t obscure the man’s outstanding appearance. He paused for a few seconds as if pondering, one hand resting on the podium, the other holding the microphone as he leaned forward slightly. His deep voice was still crisp and clear despite multiple transmissions.

“The most memorable thing was probably sitting next to Ruan as deskmates.”

Screams erupted from the audience, but they soon hushed and held their breaths as his voice came through the speakers again. The man lowered his eyes, smiling a bit helplessly. “The most regrettable thing is that the time I spent as Ruan’s deskmate was too short.”

The video ended there, the final screams and cheers cutting off abruptly. But Ruan Mian’s heart still surged uncontrollably, as if for a moment, she had been there too.

Later, Ruan Mian saw the continuation of the video from Meng Xinglan. When Chen Yi finished talking about his biggest regret and was about to leave the stage, someone from the audience asked, “Are you still in contact now?”

Chen Yi, who had already walked down the steps, borrowed the director’s mic. Standing in the packed auditorium, he raised his hand to show off the ring on his fourth finger. His tone was carefree and unrestrained. “Of course.”

When she saw this video, it was already July. Summer arrived late in B City, unlike the humid heat of southern cities. The air here was dry but not stifling, a tangible coolness mixed in the breeze.

Ruan Mian watched this video over and over, unwilling to let go even of the short time before bed. When Chen Yi came out from his shower, he saw her cradling her phone, watching gleefully. He walked over, toweling his hair. “What are you watching…”

His words abruptly stopped upon seeing the video content.

He reached out to grab her phone. “Stop watching. What’s so interesting about this?”

“It’s interesting. I think it’s interesting.”

Ruan Mian blocked him with her arm, not letting him take her phone. She then turned to look at him. Seeing the tips of his ears flushed red, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you embarrassed?”

“No.”

He stubbornly denied it. Taking advantage of her inattention, he snatched the phone and exited out of the video in a few clicks. Then he suddenly pushed her down. “You think it’s funny?”

His momentum was fierce. Ruan Mian held back her laughter and shook her head. But as soon as she spoke, it was exposed, her voice full of mirth. “It’s not funny.”

Chen Yi angrily bent down and bit the tip of her nose. Then he straightened up and stood by the bed, ruining the mood. “Get up. Let’s weigh you.”

Ruan Mian tugged the blanket around her feet and yawned. “Tomorrow. I’m sleepy.”

But Chen Yi didn’t indulge her. He directly bent over and picked her up in a princess carry.

Seeing it had come to this, Ruan Mian struggled a bit. “I’ll weigh myself, I’ll weigh myself. But let me use the bathroom first.”

This time Chen Yi listened to her. He let go and went to find the scale. After waiting a few minutes with no sign of Ruan Mian coming out, he returned to the bedroom. The sight made him laugh in exasperation. “You might as well come weigh yourself wrapped in the blanket.”

Hearing this, Ruan Mian put down the thick coat in her hands. She picked up the blanket and tentatively asked, “Is that really okay?”

In the end, after much fuss, she still weighed herself. Ruan Mian steeled herself as if heading to her execution and stepped on the scale. Squinting, she was delighted by what she saw.

She pointed to the 89.99 pounds on the scale. “Round it up, that’s 90.”

Seeing she had indeed regained the weight, Chen Yi didn’t say much. Before bed, he made her another cup of sleep-inducing milk. “Remember to keep the 24th of next month free.”

“I know.”

That day was Chen Yi’s birthday. This year he planned to spend it back in Pingcheng. Afraid she wouldn’t have enough time, Ruan Mian kept the following day free too.

When it was time to go back, Ruan Mian caught the last flight on the evening of the 23rd. It was already late at night when she arrived in Pingcheng. Chen Yi’s car was still parked in the same spot as last time.

The two returned together to Pingjiang West Alley. The night was quiet, few people walking in the alley. The small path passing by Li Zhi’s home was temporarily closed for sewer pipe repairs.

Chen Yi led Ruan Mian through the small alley by the internet cafe like before. There didn’t used to be a barbecue stand, but now one was really set up. The internet cafe entrance had a fresh new look, though the surrounding area still showed traces of its former shabbiness.

A few boys were standing on the steps. One of them wore a loose black t-shirt and black sweatpants with white stripes. His hair was fluffy and soft, his side profile contours beautiful.

Ruan Mian gave him an extra glance.

Chen Yi followed her gaze. He forcefully pinched her finger.

“That boy.”

After they passed by, Ruan Mian hooked her finger with his. “Don’t you think he looks a lot like you?”

Chen Yi’s tone was light as he said without looking back, “How so?”

“The first time I saw you, you were wearing clothes very similar to his. Even the spot you were standing in is alike.”

Ruan Mian turned to look again as she spoke. The boy seemed to notice something and glanced over. This time, she didn’t avoid his gaze or get nervous. Instead, as if discovering something interesting, she said, “Even your reactions are the same when caught being stared at.”

Hearing her talk about the past, Chen Yi wasn’t as bothered. He even turned to look at the boy with her.

She kept listing their similarities, as if no matter how many years passed, what attracted her attention was still always related to him.

Thinking of this, Chen Yi retracted his gaze and let out a soft chuckle.

Chen Yi’s 28th birthday was spent quite ordinarily, but brimming with warmth everywhere. The longevity noodles were hand-pulled by Grandpa and Grandma. The cake was made together by his girlfriend and mother.

Even the table of dishes at night was prepared solely by his father, not letting the auntie or servants intervene at all. The family ate together harmoniously, properly celebrating his birthday.

After making a wish, cutting the cake, and chatting with his family for a bit, Chen Yi and Ruan Mian left Pingjiang Mansion at 9:30 PM so as not to disturb the elderly folks’ rest.

The summer night in the small city was quite lively, the breeze warm and carrying a familiar scent.

The two walked along the roadside, unconsciously making their way back to the gates of Eighth Middle School. In this season, only the seniors remained at school for supplementary lessons. The guard post by the entrance had been reduced from the usual three people to one.

Chen Yi looked at the academic building for second years back then and suggested, “Want to go in and take a look?”

“Sure.”

Ruan Mian then thought of something else. “We didn’t bring IDs. Will they let us in?”

“We’ll find out.”

Chen Yi held her hand and walked over. In the end, before they could say much, the old man waved them through.

Ruan Mian sighed in lament. “Security is so lax now. A few years ago when I came back to visit Teacher Zhou, I brought my ID but still wasn’t allowed in. In the end, I had to call Teacher Zhou to come out and get me.”

“It is summer break after all.”

Chen Yi said, “And it’s so late too.”

Ruan Mian also thought that made sense. Her gaze unintentionally drifted to the basketball courts on the side. Even at this hour, there were still boys playing, seemingly quite lively.

She stopped walking.

Chen Yi stopped too. The two of them stood there feeding mosquitoes for a while. He raised his hand to check the time. “Let’s go. Take a look inside.”

Ruan Mian retracted her gaze. When they reached the academic building, they actually ran into an acquaintance. “Li Zhi?”

“Hm?”

Li Zhi raised his hand to stub out his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. He walked down the steps. “Why are you guys here?”

“Nothing much, just came by.”

Ruan Mian looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, a friend came here for a location scout. They’re done now, watching a movie upstairs.”

Li Zhi waved away the cigarette smell in the air. “Want to come up and see?”

“Sure.”

The three of them went upstairs together. By coincidence, the classroom they were playing the movie in was Ruan Mian and Chen Yi’s second year classroom.

The lights weren’t on, the room illuminated only by the dim glow of the projector screen. A scattering of people sat around. Ruan Mian and Chen Yi entered from the back door and took a seat in the last row by the wall.

This spot was too familiar.

The moment Ruan Mian sat down, she felt a sense of déjà vu, as if transported back to their school days at Eighth Middle School.

She turned to look at Chen Yi and was suddenly reminded of the time before their first monthly exam in second year, when Mr. Zhou played a school-arranged psychological health education video in the classroom.

The boy was leaning against the wall lazily just like this, his expression indifferent as he watched the screen. The dim light and shadows divided his face into contrasting silhouettes, making his features hazy and indistinct.

Ruan Mian inexplicably felt the urge to cry. She looked at Chen Yi, gradually superimposing him with the boy in her memories. But there seemed to be some differences. The sixteen-year-old Chen Yi wouldn’t have cared about any gaze from the sixteen-year-old Ruan Mian.

But the twenty-eight-year-old Chen Yi would.

He turned to look at Ruan Mian. Under the table, he took her hand, as if they were secretly dating in the classroom, hiding it from the teachers and classmates like in their student days.

Ruan Mian saw his lips move, but unfortunately, the light was too dim to make it out clearly. She leaned in closer. “What did you just say?”

The next second-

“I want to kiss you.”

He said.

They had come in late. The movie was already at the ending. Not long after, the end credits song started playing. Ruan Mian sat in her seat, surveying the classroom.

Compared to more than a decade ago, this room had clearly been renovated. Aside from the person beside her, she could hardly find anything that was the same as the past.

Time changed everything.

Soon, the screen at the front of the classroom began playing a new movie.

Ruan Mian spotted Li Zhi in another corner. Next to him sat a man with his arm draped over Li Zhi’s chair back.

She retracted her gaze without much thought and focused on the movie playing in front.

The movie opened with an alleyway. Ruan Mian recognized the internet cafe and barbecue stall inside. She leaned over and asked Chen Yi, “Was this filmed on location in Pingjiang West Alley?”

Chen Yi made an affirmative noise. “Probably.”

“How come I never heard about any movies being shot in Pingjiang West Alley?”

Ruan Mian muttered to herself as she continued watching the screen.

The scenes in the movie were very familiar. But slowly, Ruan Mian suddenly realized that familiarity didn’t stem from her having lived here before.

That familiarity felt as if she had personally experienced everything happening in the movie.

Upon realizing this, an unbelievable thought suddenly popped into Ruan Mian’s mind. She watched the young girl in the movie run out from the dim alley.

Watched her catch sight of the boy she fell for at first glance, as if in that instant, she was also transported back to that sweltering and stifling summer night.

The boy that the sixteen-year-old Ruan Mian saw in panic and unease had a pair of deep and sharp eyes. He gave her an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime heart flutter.

At that time, the Chen Yi in reality hadn’t looked over at Ruan Mian. But the Chen Yi in the movie turned his gaze towards her after she averted her eyes.

They walked together to the alley leading home and reunited in the Eighth Middle School classroom. This time, the boy didn’t forget their first encounter.

He said, “Hello, Ruan. We meet again.”

He introduced himself in the classroom. “I’m Chen Yi, with the ‘Yi’ for ‘lofty’.”

At the sports meet, the girl rushed forward towards the light, towards the boy in her heart. But he had already arrived early at her finish line, just like in reality. After so many years since graduation, Ruan Mian had thought she would have no further connection to Chen Yi, never expecting that he had long been standing at her finish line.

The movie had just begun, but Ruan Mian was already crying nonstop. Every moment she had liked Chen Yi in the past was reciprocated in the movie.

He wished her a Happy New Year before she did.

At Xishan Temple, he made a wish: “I hope Ruan and I will rejoice year after year, finding everything to our heart’s content.”

He could see her every bit of fondness.

At the end of the movie, Chen Yi returned to this classroom at Eighth Middle School again.