On the day Jiang Chao left, a typhoon was approaching and the ferry departed early in the evening.
Shen An did not see him off. He stood at the top of the lighthouse and watched Jiang Chao dragging his suitcase towards the dock. Jiang Chao looked back at the lighthouse before boarding the ship - a light was extinguished on the sinking bank. That was their agreed code: "I'm fine, don't look back."
Jiang Chao understood, so he didn't look back.
Three years later, Jiang Chao read a paper about that island in an academic journal, which mentioned that "the lighthouse keeper died of illness two years ago. According to his will, his ashes were scattered into the reef waters under the lighthouse."
Jiang Chao finally understood what the extinguished light meant.
He quit his job and returned to the island to become the new lighthouse keeper. Every stormy night he lights all the lamps except the highest one.
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One ordinary morning, Jiang Chao picked up a glass bottle washed up by the waves under the lighthouse. Inside was a yellowed note, written by Shen An:
"Jiang Chao, if you come back one day, don't be sad. The luckiest thing in my life is meeting you before I die. That light is not telling you not to look back, but I want to tell you - I am here to guard your way home."
Jiang Chao clutched the note and knelt on the rock. Behind him was the rising sun, and in front of him was the sea where he was sleeping forever. The whistle of the ferry came from afar, but no one was waiting for him at the dock.
Intention: love