Only later did Wen Zhiyi understand that the unexpected joys in life are usually not grand, earth-shaking events.
Maybe someone is still waiting at her desk after evening study ends. Maybe on a rainy day, an umbrella happens to appear beside her. Or maybe, the day after she finishes her mint candies, an identical box quietly appears on her desk.
The person who does these things is Jiang Yuan'an, her new deskmate in the second year of high school.
On the day they meet, he looks at her and says, "We meet again."
But she doesn't remember him at all.
Wen Zhiyi initially thinks they just happen to sit together. After spending more time with him, she realizes that Jiang Yuan'an remembers things she mentioned in passing and always manages to appear when she needs him. He just never explains why he is so kind to her.
They go through exams, class reshuffles, and the college entrance exam together, then head off to different universities with their own dreams. Jiang Yuan'an learns to ask before reaching out, and Wen Zhiyi slowly gets used to the idea that she doesn't have to bear everything alone forever.
Many years later, when she thinks back on high school, what she remembers most clearly are still those evenings before school let out. The wind blows outside the window, someone is beside her, and tomorrow always seems worth looking forward to.
