The two stood side-by-side for a long, long time, until the man turned his head and asked her a question in a hoarse voice

Ruan Mian instinctively took a step back. She looked at his deep eyes, then parted her lips.

“She said, ‘Live well.'”

Seven words, caught bitterly in her throat. Not a single word could come out.

The man could almost see the deepest part of her heart with a single glance. She couldn’t lie to him. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him; she truly couldn’t say the words.

Ruan Mian looked away, staring at a fresh bouquet of peace lilies placed before the tombstone. “I… I don’t remember.”

Qi Yan’s expression remained calm and still. He looked at her again, but did not press the matter.

The mountain wind was gentle. The two walked in silence through the lush flowers and trees.

The sunlight was shaken down by the wind through the gaps in the trees, like shattered gold, covering him in a mix of light and shadow. For a moment, Ruan Mian almost blurted out, “She didn’t say anything.”

She felt that she should tell him the truth.

“She…”

The wind gently broke up her voice and swallowed it. He didn’t hear her and continued walking forward.

Ruan Mian bit her lip and followed.

There would always be another chance to tell him.

Once they were in the car, Ruan Mian was still lost in her thoughts. She inadvertently looked up and saw the driver glance at her through the rearview mirror. Her heart jumped.

She looked down and saw a few footprints tracked onto the snowy white floor mat, the wet mud from the mountain path was clinging to her white canvas shoes.

She cautiously lifted her feet slightly. Her heart was filled with apology for having caused trouble for others, and she felt a little uneasy.

Qi Yan noticed her abnormality and also lowered his gaze, a small patch of distinct black and white entered his view. The footprint was tiny. His thoughts shifted slightly: her foot… he could probably hold it completely in one hand.

He gently tapped her knee twice with his long finger. Ruan Mian sensitively felt the sudden closeness of his masculine presence. Her legs immediately felt weak, and her feet obediently settled back onto the floor mat.

Breathe, breathe.

Wait, how was she supposed to breathe?

The black car drove smoothly, bathed in shimmering light, without obstruction.

Qi Yan seemed to suddenly remember something. He withdrew his gaze from the window and looked at her. “What do you want for lunch?”

Ruan Mian hadn’t expected him to ask this question. It was almost a reflex. “No need. I’m not…” hungry.

Rumble, rumble.

She covered her stomach, her face flushed crimson with shame, and dared not look at him again.

Qi Yan curved his lips and gave an address to the driver.

He had left this city at eighteen and returned nine years later. Things had changed, people were gone.

What was once the outskirts had now become a bustling city center, filled with tall buildings and heavy traffic.

Fortunately, the small noodle shop from his memory, though surrounded by prosperity and clamor, still stood quietly in its original location, welcoming customers.

Ruan Mian followed him out of the car, full of doubt.

He brought her here to eat noodles?

They waited for half an hour before someone brought the noodles. A large, full bowl of plain noodles was placed in front of Ruan Mian.

The bowl was nearly as big as her face.

Ruan Mian was famished. She took a sip of the soup first, it tasted good. Just as she was about to eat the noodles, she remembered something and put down her chopsticks.

“What is it?”

She placed her hands on the table and told him softly, “Waiting to eat with you.”

Qi Yan put down his teacup.

His fingers were long and distinctive. He casually picked up the long black chopsticks, gently flicked the scallions floating on the soup, and gave the noodles a beautiful twirl. The noodles climbed onto the chopsticks like soft vines.

It was another visually pleasing scene.

Yet, Ruan Mian could distinctly feel that his mood was not good right now, very much not good.

However, not a hint of emotion showed on his face. He hid it too deeply, too well.

Was it because she had lied when he asked about his mother’s dying wish, saying she didn’t remember?

She didn’t mean to.

She didn’t want to lie to him, but she kept hesitating because of Director Zhou’s repeated plea.

Ruan Mian buried her head in her noodles, her heart heavy with complicated emotions.

Her chopsticks hit something. She scooped it up and found a golden fried egg. She was startled. She scooped again and found another one…

Every year on her birthday, her mother would cook her a bowl of longevity noodles, topped with two deliciously fried eggs. Her mother would watch her eat and say, “After you finish this bowl of noodles, my Mianmian has grown another year older.”

Ruan Mian raised her hand to cover her eyes.

People moved constantly around them. The owner’s little son was being shouted at by his mother, who was pinching his ear, yelling, “Count how many bowls you’ve broken now!” The little boy frowned and began counting on his fingers…

Only in their corner, the two of them, preoccupied with their own thoughts, were quiet as dust motes.

The little boy finally finished counting and ran over to tell his mother excitedly, “Twenty-two in total!”

His small face was wreathed in smiles, proudly waiting for praise, he had finally learned to count a total number over twenty.

Unexpectedly, his mother, busy counting change, glared at him and gave him a sharp rap on the head. He pouted tearfully and ran off.

“Sorry about that.” The proprietress handed over the change, then took another look at the man and woman in front of her. The man’s appearance was truly outstanding, and the girl was also pretty, but she looked… too young.

But the two stood out when they were together.

Qi Yan merely looked at the change. Ruan Mian instinctively reached out…

Her movement was so natural it surprised even herself.

The proprietress smoothly handed the stack of loose bills to her, smiling meaningfully.

What exactly was this situation?

Ruan Mian felt like she was holding a hot potato again. “Um…”

“Just keep it for now.”

Huh?

The area had undergone extensive development years ago, making land extremely valuable, so the driver had to park the car quite far away. Ruan Mian slowly followed Qi Yan out of the noodle shop, clutching the stack of soft bills tightly in her hand.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to a spot in a nearby shopping mall.

A family of three stood in front of a claw machine. The mother was trying to grab a doll, and the daughter was tilting her head, whining playfully to her father in a sweet, childish voice, “Mommy is so clumsy!”

The father poked his daughter’s nose. “Don’t talk about my wife like that.”

Ruan Mian watched, feeling both happy and sad.

So, there really were people in this world who were that happy.

But this kind of happiness had never belonged to her.

Over there, Qi Yan walked a short distance, noticed the person behind him hadn’t caught up, and turned back. He saw her trying hard to smile despite looking on the verge of tears.

The emotions in his heart could no longer be entirely hidden, showing through his lowered, thick eyelashes.

Many fragments of memory began to overlap

The small girl, her face covered in dust, sitting amidst the ruins. “We’ll definitely get out, right?”

Her voice was trembling, but her eyes were bright as light.

She was about to leave, so she drew him a rainbow, naming it Hope.

She told him over and over, “Don’t be sad. Things will get better.”

All these years, she had forgotten him, and she had forgotten her hope.

Qi Yan walked toward her.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t say a word, leading her forward. They stopped in front of the claw machine. The family of three had already left.

He took the stack of loose bills from her hand, exchanged it all for coins, briefly scanned the operating instructions, put a coin in, and gripped the joystick. The silver claw began to move slowly…

Ruan Mian finally realized, He saw her staring at this side and mistook her intention? Did he think she wanted a toy doll?

Before she could speak to explain, he had successfully grabbed a small cloth bear. He glanced at her, his eyes dark and deep.

The sight of such a cold-tempered man holding a cute little bear was somewhat incongruous, yet Ruan Mian couldn’t bear to blink. She smiled faintly, reached out to take it, and pressed it to her chest.

Qi Yan turned around again and dropped a coin into the machine slot.

In less than two minutes, Ruan Mian had a Doraemon doll added to her collection.

He dropped another coin in.

Ruan Mian suddenly remembered Pan Tingting complaining several times that claw machine owners, to make money, often adjusted the strength of the claw and the gripping time, reducing the success rate to one percent.

Just as she was about to warn him, the claw flickered, and a small sheep doll was tossed out…

She was so lucky! What were the odds? Her eyes curved into crescents with surprise and joy.

Following that, Qi Yan started retrieving the dolls from the display case at an average rate of one per minute. To make it easier to operate, he slightly rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing a length of lean arm.

From this angle, Ruan Mian could unabashedly look at his profile: his straight nose, his faintly pursed thin lips… meticulously reviewing every curve of his features.

She had never met a man who looked better than him.

“Wow, he’s amazing!”

“Oh my god, is he clearing out the case?”

“Am I the only one looking at his face?”

Ruan Mian snapped out of her daze.

She noticed a crowd had gathered around them. Several middle school-aged girls looked excited and thrilled, and some were even taking photos with their phones. On the other side, two or three young women were also staring intently.

She vaguely disliked this feeling, disliked this man being watched by so many people.

“Case-clearing god!”

“God, please accept my respect.”

“Ahhh, I saw his face! I can’t take it, I can’t take it…”

Qi Yan retrieved the last doll from the display and walked toward her.

Ruan Mian watched him approach.

He was the focus of everyone’s attention, yet at this moment, his eyes held only her.

Qi Yan handed the small monkey doll to her and asked in a low voice, “Are you a little happier now?”

Ruan Mian was holding a huge pile of stuffed animals, with many more scattered at her feet. She stared at him unblinkingly, her chest thump-thump-thumping, as if being struck repeatedly by a downpour.

So he did all this to make her happy?

He added, “Happy Birthday, Ruan Mian.”

The outside world, all the people and sounds, seemed to be automatically blocked out. Ruan Mian’s heart and eyes held only the man in front of her. Her heartbeat seemed to jump into her ears, becoming clearer and clearer.

He knew it was her birthday? He even gave her so many birthday presents… on the anniversary of his mother’s death, when he wasn’t in a good mood?

Happiness and emotion couldn’t even begin to describe what she was feeling right now. She didn’t want to say “thank you” anymore, not since she learned he was the “him” from nine years ago.

The words she wanted to say swelled up like spring water, too numerous to count, but she couldn’t utter a single one.

They were all too meager, too pale.

Finally, the crowd dispersed. The shop owner, who had been craning his neck inside, walked out. He “thoughtfully” gave them a large bag and smiled broadly as he waved them off. Turning back to stare at the empty display case, he wore a bitter, distressed expression, shook his head, sighed, and went back inside.

That night, the moonlight outside the window was faint, but inside the room, the wall was covered in stars.

The bedside table and the foot of the bed were piled with various dolls. Ruan Mian lay in bed in her nightgown, hugging a small monkey.

She snapped shut the romance novel Pan Tingting had given her, her cheeks burning.

The sentence in the book flowed through her heart as if by magic: He held her close, and the two kissed quietly under the moonlight.

Imagination was more heart-stopping than reality, more likely to make a person dizzy with emotion.

Late at night, Ruan Mian had a gentle dream.

When she woke up, a lingering, tender smile remained on her lips.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the first light of dawn outside the window, her heart filled with an unprecedented sense of peace.

Slowly, the sun was completely peeled from behind the clouds. The sky was washed clean with red clouds.

Qi Yan closed his file, preparing to go back to the bedroom to rest. His phone on the desk gently vibrated. A new message came in from “Ruan Mian.”

He clicked it open

I think I’ve fallen in love with someone…

His brow furrowed slightly.