In the summer before my senior year of high school, Jiang Qingyan sent me his last message.
It's not a farewell, but a question: "I = 1".
Then, he disappeared together with the chirping of the cicadas that summer.
I sealed all my confusions and regrets, along with his half-empty desk.
I thought the youth story had ended in a hurry.
It wasn't until my freshman year started that I turned around to take pictures at the school gate, and I was caught off guard and fell into his calm eyes. The shutter was pressed, the friend snickered, everything seemed like a carefully planned "accidental encounter".
I thought what followed would be a heartwarming scene of reunion after a long separation.
Unexpectedly, he turned around and became my number one competitor, taking control of my project and overwhelming me with my thesis.
Everyone is waiting to see how our "former tablemates" will fight.
It wasn't until he made a mistake that he shouldered all the responsibilities for me in public, and in the empty laboratory late at night, he showed the cracks of fatigue for the first time... I later learned that his family had undergone tremendous changes that summer, and that piece of paper with "I = 1" written on it was the only belief he kept touching repeatedly as he endured the long night.
And now, he's back with a repaired life and belated answers.
"Lin Zhiyu, you are the starting point and benchmark of all my meanings. With you, my world is established and unchanged."
"Jiang Qingyan, your proof process should be longer this time."
"Longer than all the time we missed."
It was an unsolved mystery when he disappeared, and a standard answer when he returned.
Intention: Time will prove everything, please be patient and grow well
