Ling Lin couldn't remember how many times she had dreamed of that boy.
In psychology, some people call this phenomenon the "Zeignik effect" - it refers to people's unfinished attitude towards things that have no clear ending. The memory will be deeper than the things that ended successfully, and the subconscious mind will always remember it, trying to find opportunities to complete the closed loop.
Just like her and Jiang Xing, their relationship ended abruptly in the midsummer of seventeen without even a good goodbye.
Later, her preferences changed because of him. She would watch the World Cup every four years in front of the TV. She would also stop subconsciously when passing countless open-air stadiums, looking through the running teenagers, searching in vain for the figure wearing the No. 4 Jersey, with sweaty forehead and smiling openly at her.
The cruelest thing about the Zeigarnik Effect is never the worry, but the fact that you know that the closed loop will never be repaired, but you still can't help but spend your whole life waiting for someone who will never come back.
Intention: Unfinished regret is not the end. Real growth is learning to reconcile with the past and moving forward with love and regret.
