In the fall of his freshman year, Lin Yuan noticed for the first time the girl in the front row whose eyes turned into crescents when she smiled. Her name was Su Wan. She didn't speak much and her voice was soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing anyone.
A note from a group assignment allowed them to really get to know each other. From the side-by-side seats on the third floor of the library, to the fixed tomato beef brisket noodles on the second floor of the cafeteria, to the edge of the umbrella quietly leaning towards her on a rainy day, the two people went from strangers to familiarity, from friends to lovers, like the phoenix leaves from sprouting to thick shade, everything happened slowly. They walked around the playground on a summer night, watching the shadows under the street lamps overlap each other, and no one said it was the street lamps. She fell asleep listening to him telling stories about sloths and squirrels on the phone, saying that if it were her, she would run to find him.
But graduation will come eventually. When the choice of a different place and the future was before her, Su Wan was afraid for the first time. Lin Yuan took out the sycamore leaf that had been hidden for more than half a year from his pocket. It said: "You are here, I am here."
It turns out that the sloth walked for three years to the door of the squirrel's house and had no intention of leaving again.
This is a story about slowing down. From the moment the sycamore leaves fall to falling again, three years is just a blink of an eye. And when you meet some people, you will miss them for a lifetime. 🍂
