Where the Ginkgo Fell, I Thought About It for a Long Time Without Saying Anything

In the autumn of 1999, Su Nian and Chen Yi met for the first time due to an unexpected encounter in the ginkgo forest on the northern campus. The warmth and gentle instructions from his fingertips became the longest foreshadowing in youth. In the years that followed, Chen Yi used silence as armor and hid his passionate love in details: companionship when he was falling out of love, notes when preparing for exams, hot milk after staying up late. He remembered her preferences and weaknesses, but never dared to break the boundaries of "AUO and above". More than 600 kilometers apart after graduation, Chen Yi returned to his hometown to work within the system, while Su Nian stayed where he was and worked hard. He stuck to his obsession, and despite his parents' gentle words to persuade him to get married and his worries about the future, he planned to go to her city to express his love for her, but was repeatedly interrupted by accidents such as her grandmother's serious illness. She ignorantly enjoyed this stable companionship, shared daily moments, and experienced blind dates introduced by colleagues. She never realized that behind this "friendship", there was his deep love and struggle that spanned the years. As four years passed, he was repeatedly torn between family responsibilities and the love of his children. He carved his unspoken love into a ginkgo bookmark and hid it in a locked notebook. She occasionally yearned for love in her free life, but she always regarded him as her most reliable friend. Distance, fear, and the obstacles of reality have always kept the two people separated by a thin layer of window paper. Those unspoken confessions have eventually become indelible regrets in time as they are missed again and again. This is a youth chronicle about silent protection, belated courage and regret of missing out.