Lin Shuchen always felt that Zhou Shu was like an accurate watch.
At 7:15 every day, Zhou Shu would appear under the sycamore tree behind the teaching building, with a silver pocket watch pinned to the collar of his school uniform, and the watch chain flashing in the morning light. Lin Shuchen squatted on the steps not far away and counted the number of times he pressed the watch. When the watch clicked for the third time, he would look up in the direction where Lin Shuchen was hiding, and the corners of his mouth would curve into an almost invisible arc.
The class schedule was tight, but Zhou Shu could always find Lin Shuchen during the breaks. The last period on Wednesday was for self-study. He would stuff a piece of scratch paper filled with problem-solving steps through the window. His handwriting was as neat as his own. On Friday, when he was on duty, he would stand behind Lin Shuchen and watch Lin Shuchen wipe the blackboard.
Until it rained heavily that day, Zhou Shu's pocket watch stopped at 3:07. Lin Shuchen tilted the umbrella towards Zhou Shu and heard him say, "Actually, I had set my watch three minutes ahead" - it turns out that those precise encounters were never a coincidence of clocks.
The schedule is still turning, and the time that belongs to us has just begun.
Purpose: cherish the present moment