Year After Year, Thinking of You

"Hey, would you dare marry me?"

"No, you're so fierce."

"If you don't marry me, I'll beat you up!"

"I will, I will. I'll definitely marry you."

When they were fifteen, Chen Nian asked Lin Nian,

"Am I the only one for you?"

Lin Nian replied,

"Yes. You always have been."

"Do you remember when we were little and I asked if you were willing to marry me?" Lin Nian asked Chen Nian, tilting her head.

"I remember, of course I do. If I hadn't said yes, you'd have beaten me to death."

"What about now? Are you willing?"

"Of course I am." Chen Nian smiled at Lin Nian.

"Louder. I can't hear you."

Chen Nian stood up and shouted at the mountain, "I, Chen Nian, will marry only Lin Nian in this life!"

When he turned around, the young girl was beaming like a flower. The mountain scenery was beautiful, of course, but to Chen Nian it was all just a backdrop for Lin Nian.

When Lin Nian was sixteen, her father died. She followed her mother to live with her uncle, while Chen Nian's aunt was critically ill. The two of them didn't even get a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Lin Nian was gone for four years, without a word.

During those four years, Chen Han came into Lin Nian's life and protected her. But Chen Nian had always remained in her heart. She couldn't forget him.

When they were eighteen, Xia Yu lied and told Chen Nian that Lin Nian had died in a car accident. Chen Nian searched for Lin Nian at all costs. When Lin Nian found out, she returned to City R with her mother, and the two of them missed their chance to meet.

Lin Nian returned to City R for university, changed her name, and refused to let Chen Nian find her. Chen Nian searched high and low, but still couldn't find her.

After four years of companionship from Xia Yu, Chen Nian had let down his guard. Lin Nian, meanwhile, had always kept tabs on him.

Her mother developed stomach cancer, and her uncle was in a car accident. The hardships of life nearly suffocated Lin Nian. Despite his family's objections, Chen Han insisted on staying by her side.

"Chen Han... I can't forget him. I can't forget Chen Nian."

"That's okay, Niannian. As long as you're happy, I'll be here watching over you."

At twenty, Chen Nian was persuaded by his grandmother and had no choice but to get engaged to Xia Yu.

By then, with Chen Han at her side, Lin Nian had already founded several publicly listed companies.

At the engagement party, Lin Nian wore a red dress and a pair of slim black high heels. Her softly curled hair made her look especially lovely. Her eyes red, she asked, "Chen Nian, you said you'd marry only me."

"Niannian, I'll marry only you. You're the only one I'll ever marry." Chen Nian knelt on one knee, tears in his eyes. "Do you know I've waited four whole years for you? Do you know what every night was like for me? How can you be so heartless, leaving for four whole years?"

On their wedding day, Lin Nian and Chen Nian went to choose rings. They ran into their old teacher, who said with a sigh, "I never thought you two would really make it to the end together."

"Chen Nian, cut down on the smoking. It's bad for you. You'll die sooner, you know. If you die, you'll have to watch me be with another man."

"Hey, how can you be so heartless? Can't you wish me something nice for once?"

"Chen Nian, Chen Nian, Chen Nian~" Lin Nian rested her hands on Chen Nian's shoulders. "What is it?"

"Quit smoking, okay? From now on, be addicted only to me." "Okay."

Not long after they married, Chen Han went abroad. Before he left, Lin Nian went to see him off at the airport. Chen Han wrapped her in a tight hug. "I can't believe you got married so soon, little girl. Take good care of yourself while I'm away."

Not long after giving birth to a daughter, Lin Nian died of stomach cancer. Chen Han returned to the country. "Didn't I ask you to take good care of her?" "I'm sorry." Chen Nian held Lin Nian's hand, drained of all color. His tears fell onto the blanket, soaking a large patch.

One day, their daughter asked Chen Nian, "Dad, why have I never seen Mom?"

"Because Mom went somewhere very, very far away."

"After being apart for so long, do you still love Mom, Dad?"

"Yes. I love your mom very much." Chen Nian lowered his head, eyes red, and smoked. In his hand was a photo of him and the girl, taken when they went out together at fifteen. Lin Nian's bright smile was etched into Chen Nian's heart.

Until the day he died, Chen Nian never met anyone like Lin Nian again. He never dreamed of her, either.

Before he died, he complained to his daughter, "Your mother is so cruel. After all these years, she hasn't even appeared in a dream to tell me how she's doing, whether she's eating properly, whether her stomach still hurts, whether she still cries easily, or whether she still loves me. But it's all right now. I'm going to find her."

Theme: Before I knew it, the days spent missing you had become longer than the time we shared.