In the midsummer of seventeen years old, with the chirping of cicadas enveloping the young boy's chilly breath, Lin Wan and Shen Zhizhou met for the first time in the senior high school classroom. The ten centimeters distance between the desks was the most distant light in her entire youth.
He is the proud son of heaven, and she is a transfer student from a poor family, but in each other's company, they quietly develop a deep love that transcends classes. On a rainy night during self-study, he held an umbrella and sent her home. His words, "When the college entrance examination is over, I have something to say to you," became her obsession for the next eight years.
The college entrance examination ended, but Shen Zhizhou disappeared without any warning - his father's business failed and the family moved abroad, cutting off all contact and even saying goodbye. Lin Wan kept her promise to apply for the same university, but only waited for no news; she took care of her seriously ill mother, spent countless helpless days and nights, visited every place the two of them walked, clutching the candy wrappers and scratch paper he left behind, waiting for someone who would never come back.
Things have changed after eight years, and the reunion at a business reception shattered all her pretense. He was already an upstart in the business world, and he was surrounded by others, but she was so tired that all she could say was "Mr. Shen, long time no see". The truth was belatedly revealed. It was his relatives who had withheld the thousands of letters he had sent across mountains and seas. It was a mistake caused by fate, not a lack of love.
She finally put aside her grudge and prepared to rush to the future where they could reunite, but she waited for the sad news that he had passed away in a car accident. He held the engagement ring in his hand, and that unspoken confession became an eternal regret.
Later, Lin Wan returned to the small town, planted the plane trees he loved, and spent the rest of his life guarding the room full of memories. The evening wind still blew through Xizhou, but it could no longer blow near the boy she longed for.
Seventeen
