They met one winter in their first year of middle school. Six years together, gradually becoming part of each other’s lives.
After the class meeting in their senior year of high school:
“Where are you planning to settle down?”
“Nancheng. The economy’s doing well here. Besides, my relatives and friends are all here. I really don’t want to leave. What about you?”
“Me? Maybe here, too.”
She thought that once the college entrance exams were over, their relationship would begin a new chapter and their lives could keep running alongside each other. But that was when she deliberately began pushing him away. When the results came out and it was time to choose a university, she couldn’t bring herself to care. All she could think was that she never wanted to return to Nancheng.
They met again during winter break of their first year of college. She had no more ties keeping her there and was about to leave Nancheng.
Watching her walk away, he knew she really would never return.
Everyone she could rely on had left her.
They spent years apart, but neither forgot the other. His shadow lingered in the words of books, and her memories lived in the lyrics of songs.
They met again in the new year. He had succeeded in his studies, and she had been promoted at work.
The next six months felt like a dream to her.
Unlike the dreams she’d had before, this one held no accusations from demons or ghosts. Every laugh and happy moment felt utterly real.
Just like the time they graduated that year, the dream ended.
After all these years, it seemed they no longer belonged to the same world. It was time to part ways.
He deserved someone better.
She wasn’t that person.
It had only been six months, yet it felt as if they had been together for ages.
The ache it left behind was even stronger than the one after their six years together.
They met again, then parted again.
She made up her mind: she would never push him away again.
Separated by circumstances beyond their control, they spent nearly three years in a long-distance relationship before returning to Nancheng.
She was there, and so was he. The person by her side was still the same one.
