"We Met Again When We Were Young"

He has never been in love since he was a child. He would not open the love letters handed to him by others, but would fold them into paper airplanes. So he couldn't see Su Weiqing. I couldn't see her tidying up his desk and stuffing gloves into his schoolbag every day. There is a letter sandwiched between the second and third chapters of the mathematics textbook. The letter read: "Cheng Yubai, I like you." "I've liked you since I was a freshman in high school." "If you see it, just look back at me." "Just one glance." He had turned it over. The letter fell to the floor. He picked it up, glanced at it, and threw it to Duan Ye. "Hold it for me." The first life, winter. Su Weiqing died in winter. The sound of the heart monitor is getting slower and slower. She counted in her mind, the classroom, the fan, the sycamore leaves. Counting to zero, the snow is still falling. The letter is in Duan Ye's drawer. Not dismantled. Jiang Tingnan was the second to rush to the hospital. She is Su Weiqing's only best friend, and she can't let go of her best friend. One step slower than death. She stood at the door of the ward, looking at the empty bed without going in. Turn around to go through the formalities and inform everyone. The third one from Jiangyu North arrived. He is the brother of the next door neighbor, and he has taken care of Su Weiqing everywhere since she was a child. He didn't go upstairs. Standing alone in front of the pay window holding a black umbrella, the wind and snow kept beating on the umbrella surface, and the umbrella ribs shook slightly. He settled the bills one by one. He has been doing these things since he was seventeen. That year, Su Yuanshan called him to the balcony and told him about Qingqing's congenital frailty. He didn't cry, he just started saving money silently. He stood alone in the snowy sky downstairs, holding the cold umbrella handle tightly with one hand, his fingertips turned red from the cold, and the edge of the umbrella was covered with thick white snow. Cheng Yubai ran down, raised his hand to steady his umbrella that was blown away by the strong wind, and whispered sorry. Jiang Yubei opened his mouth but didn't say anything. That concern that has been hidden for many years has been kept in my heart for so many years that it has taken root and cannot be pulled out. Duan Ye stuffed the letter back into Cheng Yubai's hand. On the back of the letter paper is a pencil impression of half a sycamore leaf. At the celebration party that night, the champagne had just been opened. He suddenly remembered the classroom when he was seventeen, and she looked back at him. Then there was a hammer in the chest. In the first life, the letter was not opened, the snow never stopped, and the person never looked back. Second World·Xia. Cheng Yubai came back with memories. Opened the letter and turned around. She said her life has been good. It's good that he doesn't want this. The letter was opened but no one kept it. The cicadas chirped loudly in midsummer, but she didn't hear them. Jiang Tingnan also came back with memories. All she could see was her best friend, holding Su Weiqing's hand tightly and talking to her. The ending has not changed. She wrote in her notebook: If there is a next time, I will take good care of her and never let her be alone again. Jiangyu Bei's reserve fund is full again. It ended up being spent on the funeral. On a rainy day, he walked alone on the road to the funeral holding an umbrella. The umbrella was tilted to one side, and half of his shoulders were soaked. He wanted to protect the little girl's thoughts, but he still couldn't express them. That sentence is still in my heart, pressing deeply and getting heavier. In the second life, the letter was opened, the person left, and summer came in vain. The third life, autumn. After three reincarnations, the memory begins to wear away. It's not just him. Everyone's memory is getting thinner, like turning over the pages of an old book, and the handwriting is fading little by little. Cheng Yubai lost Su Weiqing's name and face, and mistook Jiang Tingnan next to him as the person he was obsessed with. He started making money like crazy. I don't know why, I just feel panicked when I stop. The letter is still in the textbook. He turned over that page every day and copied his homework, never looking down once. Jiang Tingnan wanted to say, you got the wrong person. The words came to my lips, but I couldn't remember what was written in the letter. She always glanced at that seat when she passed by. The letter is still there, the handwriting is familiar, but I can't remember whose handwriting it is. Su Weiqing didn't remember what she had written. It's just that every time I see his back, I feel panicked. Like forgetting something very important. Jiang Yubei stopped persuading. Put the medicine on Su Weiqing's table and keep warm water at hand. The resignation letter was slapped on the table. But he was still depositing money into that account. On rainy autumn days, he often walked the long streets alone with an umbrella. He forgot why he saved money, but he only knew that this account could not be empty. The concern that had been hidden for four lifetimes was still there, but he could no longer remember the first half of it. In the third life, the letter was in the same place and no one broke it. It's not that I forgot to dismantle it, it's that I didn't remember to dismantle it. Autumn is very short, and it's too short to remember. The Fourth Life·Spring. The sycamore leaves just sprouted outside the window. The wind is still cool, but no longer biting. He opened the textbook and turned between chapters two and three. The letter is there. The handwriting became clear again. He took it apart and looked back. She was looking at him. He said, I understand. After the letter was opened, he folded it and put it back in its place. It's not that I don't want to take it away, it's that position that has held four years of my heart and is more suitable than any drawer. Jiang Tingnan posted a note next to it. Stick it next to the letter. The note read: I will keep you for four whole lives. This time I no longer have to watch you suffer alone. Jiang Yubei's reserve fund was changed from "for spare" to "for them", then to "for brothers", and finally to "for her". There was a yellowed note next to Su Weiqing's letter. Thanks. I know. I never dared to trouble you before, that's okay. Jiang Yubei added: Brother is here. After walking for four lifetimes, we finally arrived. He finally said the words of protection that he had hidden for many years. That money was not spent on funerals in this life. In the drizzle of spring, the four of them walked along the street holding a big umbrella. He watched the account balance return to zero and smiled. Duan Ye put the envelope back on the table, turned around and left. Later. Four people live together. Su Weiqing planted a pot of sycamore sapling on the balcony and watered it every day, saying that when it grows up, she can paint under the tree. Cheng Yubai learned how to cook, but his apron was tied crookedly, and the dishes he brought out were unevenly salty. Jiang Tingnan was responsible for buying groceries. She always bought so much that the refrigerator was so full that she couldn't close the door. Jiang Yubei canceled the reserve account and opened a new account named "Group Money". Duan Ye comes here occasionally to have a meal, and every time he comes in, he says, "You guys are having a really boring life." Then he sat down and didn't leave. That letter is still in the textbook, between Chapters Two and Three. No one touches it anymore. Occasionally, someone would open the page and copy the homework, and they would see the words on the envelope - "Read. Returned." A letter, sandwiched between Chapters Two and Three. In the first life, I didn't dismantle it. In the second life, I dismantled it but didn't keep it. In the third life, I didn't remember to dismantle it. In the fourth life, I dismantled it and put it back in its original place. Four people. One who has been waiting for four lifetimes is finally seen. A best friend who has been with me for four lifetimes finally no longer has to suffer alone. A girl who has protected her for four lifetimes no longer has to endure the storm alone. A person who regretted it for four lifetimes finally understood that belated confession. Winter snow, summer cicadas, autumn leaves, spring breeze. In the past, I held an umbrella alone every year in the wind and rain, but now there are people shoulder to shoulder in all seasons. The wind finally warmed up. Same for the rest of my life. Intention: A letter carries regrets, youth, forgetfulness and beauty. Four reincarnations are just waiting for someone to open it.