If they can see Meng Beiyan, then Meng Beiyan can naturally see them as well.

Chen Wenzhi was tall and stood out from the crowd.

For Meng Beiyan, the first person he always saw was Ying Qian.

She seemed to be surrounded by some kind of halo; as long as she was within sight, Meng Beiyan could find her immediately and accurately. This strange phenomenon lasted for many years.

He discovered it when Ying Qian was in elementary school.

At that time, Ying Qian had been attending junior high school in Qincheng for a few months. Evening self-study sessions ended very late, and Ying Qian and her mother would wait for him at the gate after school. Even if there were crowds of people, Meng Beiyan could still make Ying Qian rush into his arms.

He always manages to find her; it's like a destined attraction.

At that time, the sky was full of stars, and they only had each other.

Meng Beiyan leaned against the curtain backstage and silently watched Ying Qian and Chen Wenzhi walk together, playfully teasing each other, and finally find a table to sit down.

Chen Wenzhi, a person who rarely smiles, always laughs in front of Ying Qian.

"Xiao Meng!" The woman's mother jogged towards the backstage area.

Meng Beiyan looked closely and realized that it was the little boy running ahead.

He pressed one hand against the boy's forehead, preventing him from taking another step.

"Brother Meng! Tell me!" the boy said, pointing in Ying Qian's direction, "Is that older sister your sister?"

The middle-aged woman rubbed her hands together, letting the child make a fuss while she watched quietly.

Without hesitation, Meng Beiyan replied, "Yes, she is my younger sister."

"Then can you tell me what her name is?"

Meng Beiyan narrowed his eyes, “...Meng Xuhe, her name is Meng Xuhe.”

"Oh... I thought she was my older sister."

The middle-aged woman, unaware of the situation, lightly tapped the little boy on the back of the head. "Silly child, you don't have a sister. If you want a younger sister or brother, just tell your mom and dad..."

"Then I want a little sister!" the little boy said with a bright smile, "like Brother Meng wants Sister Xuhe!"

Meng Beiyan smiled wryly, watching the affection between the grandfather and grandson, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the watch strap on his wrist, his face showing the demeanor of a gentle older brother.

The little boy skipped and hopped away.

Meng Beiyan stood alone, enjoying the warm air from the air conditioner behind him.

There was a makeup artist backstage, where the bridesmaids were touching up their makeup, while the groomsmen were smoking inside, which annoyed several of the bridesmaids, who argued and told them to go outside to smoke.

The men obediently walked out, and as they passed Meng Beiyan, knowing he smoked, they offered him a good cigarette.

Meng Beiyan glanced at the man, took the cigarette, and followed the others to the window to smoke.

"Hey, Meng, you're already 26 by the Chinese age reckoning, right? Why aren't you dating anyone yet?" someone much younger than Meng Beiyan asked. "I've dated several people already..."

“Then can you be like them? They’re top students!” another person said.

"Tsk! You're making a fuss! Do you think top students aren't easier to find jobs than us vocational school graduates?"

Meng Beiyan exhaled a smoke ring, which dissipated into the air.

"I don't plan to find a partner for the time being." He held a cigarette between his index and middle fingers, gazing into the distance.

Some people joked, "I think it's not that they don't want to find a partner, it's that they can't find the right person!"

Meng Beiyan finally smiled.

He's right, we really can't find the person we're looking for.

I really want to take her to settle down in another city, where there are no complicated interpersonal relationships, no tormenting relatives, just the two of them sharing the mundane details of daily life.

Their vision stretched ever further into the distance, becoming unrealistically distant. Just like their future, it seemed so far away and uncertain, like a blue sky that stretched as far as the eye could see.

*

"I'm going to the restroom," Ying Qian suddenly said, casually placing her phone face down on the table.

Chen Wenzhi nodded.

After she left, Chen Wenzhi headed straight for Meng Beiyan.

Everyone around him had left, and he stood alone by the window, the lonely wind blowing against his upper body, gently caressing every inch of his skin, and a sudden chill ran through his entire body.

Chen Wenzhi witnessed his trembling shoulders and thought he was crying. Then he saw the faint smoke rings in the air and remembered that Ying Qian had said she didn't want her brother to smoke so much.

So he walked over and gently patted Meng Beiyan's shoulder, "Smoking so many cigarettes, aren't you afraid Ying Qian will scold you?"

After being reminded, Meng Beiyan put out his cigarette and threw it into a nearby trash can.

Looking back, he raised an eyebrow: "Is there something you need?"

It seems that he is only slightly gentler towards Chen Wenzhi in front of Ying Qian.

Chen Wenzhi handed the unlimited credit card he had just received that morning to Meng Beiyan untouched, his nose twitching as he involuntarily wrinkled his nose at the smell of cigarettes on Meng Beiyan's body.

Meng Beiyan took the card, held it between his fingers, and shifted his gaze from the card to Chen Wenzhi's beauty mark. He then scanned Chen Wenzhi's entire body with a mocking look, his provocation obvious.

It was as if they were saying, "You used my money, so don't talk to me with that look on your face."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chen Wenzhi said frankly, standing straight, "We haven't touched a single penny of your money."

"She didn't want to buy anything?" Meng Beiyan took a deep breath, seemingly processing this fact.

“Ying Qian isn’t the little girl who used to follow you around calling you ‘brother’ anymore.” Chen Wenzhi glanced at the card in his hand with interest. “Whatever she wants, I’ll buy it for her within my means.”

“What she wants… even if it’s expensive, it’s still worth buying.” Meng Beiyan’s gaze was intense, his smile tinged with a rare weariness. “When she was little, she wanted many things, but she didn’t have the money to buy them. Now that she has the money, she doesn’t want any of them anymore…”

“I cherish her, both then and now.”

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