A night of drinking together, a night of sorrow and joy, a night of drinking together, a night of love and hate ...

The lights seeping through the layers of buildings left only a thin layer of blackness on the playground at night. Ye Yi's clear voice echoed beside him, but it was clearly lacking in strength.

"Xiao Shi, does this look like the place we know?"

Xue Jiuyue's tone was somewhat sad, "It's similar, but there's no moon like it was back then."

"Yeah, but I can't go back to the way it was before. Silly girl, didn't we break up? Why can't you let go? From the first time I saw 'Inch by Inch of Time', I knew I was still in your heart. I also ate the most delicious croissant in the world."

"You chose to separate, why did you come back to me?"

"I was so wrong back then. I thought everything should be as planned, everything should have its trajectory. I feared, I hated, I resented accidents, just like how my mom and dad both passed away due to accidents... They raised me with great difficulty, I carried their hopes, but they still haven't seen the results? Time, isn't the purpose of time to wait for the final fruition? So I cherish time, I chase time, I believe every second should have its purpose. I would rather have no hope than die in vain. So I chose to leave without hope... But fate played a joke on me. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with an incurable disease abroad, and I had at most three years left..."

Xue Jiuyue had already gotten a rough idea from the phone call before coming, but still couldn't accept this reality: "Medicine is so advanced now, don't give up, this is not you! Everything should have results, and there is still a lot of happiness waiting for you! Ye Yi, you can't give up, there is still a chance, right? Ye Yi..."

"Listen to me, I may not have much time left..." Ye Yi gasped heavily, "The blow two years ago made me completely understand that you were right. Life is not about results, but about feelings. Just like the fable I told you, 'It tastes so delicious!' Don't cry, silly girl, I'm just a past, representing the end. After I'm gone, don't be sad, don't be heartbroken. You cried, laughed, felt sad, and were happy... Those bright and eye-catching emotions show that you are alive, and your heart is as fresh as if it were held in the palm of your hand..."

The familiar words brought years of buried longing to the surface, unstoppable. Xue Jiuyue desperately hugged Ye Yi, clumsily attempting a kiss... The stinging pain piercing her soul was unbearable. But she seemed determined to embrace a life falling into the abyss, to kiss a soul on the verge of annihilation, even if it meant being torn to pieces.

Ye Yi felt Xue Jiuyue's unbearable pain from her violent trembling. After their lips touched lightly, he broke free from Xue Jiuyue's embrace.

"I am very satisfied and have no regrets in my death. Thank you, Xiao Shi..."

"Ye Yi, no..."

Ye Yi waved his hand weakly to stop Xue Jiuyue from interrupting him. "When I knew I only had three years left, the first thing I wanted to do was come back to you. But I didn't know how to contact you. Luckily, as soon as I returned to Xia Lin, I ate the most delicious croissant in the world, learned about 'time flies by the minute,' and met you. Was it made for me?"

Xue Jiuyue nodded with tears in her eyes, "But why didn't I see you?"

"Lazy Xiaoshi, adding Gynostemma pentaphyllum to the croissant can improve your sleep." Ye Yi first warned before continuing, "I don't have much time left, how can I disturb your life. So I secretly watch you every day, and walk around in the remaining time, taking a photo of everything I see, and experiencing the remaining life in your way. Originally, I wanted to send you a letter every day in the countdown of my life, including these photos, to apologize to you. Do you remember the ginkgo tree in our school? You advised me that life is like the ginkgo leaf. It is not a flower, nor a fruit, but it is the most beautiful in itself, more brilliant and glorious than flowers and fruits. Life and time are like ginkgo leaves. They are not for the purpose of bearing fruit, they are the most beautiful in themselves! But my condition suddenly worsened, and I can't wait to send you these letters..."

Ye Yi pointed to a large cardboard box beside him and said, "Here is the prepared letter. You always said you wanted the most romantic confession, but I can't. Now these are my last wishes and romance. They belong only to you. Please send them to Xiao Shi, whom I will love forever. Let's consider this our agreement. I'm sorry, my Xiao Shi, I was wrong..."

Xue Jiuyue was already sobbing and could only nod her head vigorously, saying intermittently, "I, I, I love you too, love you... You, you, you are not wrong, you are not, right... It's me, I'm wrong..."

"Silly girl, I didn't want to disturb your life, but my last wish in life is to leave this world from your arms. You are my only and last concern in this world. Forgive me for being willful one last time, okay, Xiao Shi? Then forget me, forget me completely, and start your new life. Every inch of time, every inch, every inch, is new, new..."

Ye Yi's clear voice ultimately failed to bring back the magic, and it gradually withered...

A group of medical staff rushed to rescue Ye Yi, carrying him to the ambulance. As the ambulance's creaking sound faded away, it was finally swallowed up by the dark night, leaving only the hollowed-out Xue Jiuyue standing there alone.

Everything seemed like a dream.

"Ah..." A miserable cry tore through the chaos of the night. In return, it was the chaos of consciousness - "Where am I? What happened? There is a big box here. Yes, I want to send a letter, one every day. This is a promise that belongs only to me..."

A few drops of cold rain brought Xue Jiuyue back to the present.

"Ah..." She clutched her head in her hands and screamed once more. She remembered, she remembered where she had forgotten, she remembered why she had forgotten. She remembered everything, but she was powerless...

I don’t know how long I stood there, the night had become as dark as my heart, and the rain finally began to fall.

The young security guard from before came over holding an umbrella and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

The warmth of concern from the stranger brought Xue Jiuyue back to consciousness. "I'm fine, thank you."

Xue Jiuyue drove aimlessly in the rain, like a small boat in the vast ocean. She thought about using her usual "traffic light" method to find a destination, but she found that her heart was so broken that she no longer had the energy to count.

As she walked, she found that she seemed to have lost the strength to even hold the steering wheel. She wanted to pull over, but her feet seemed to be out of control, and the car chassis finally stopped by scraping against the side of the road.

The car wasn't going very fast, and there were no pedestrians on the rainy street. I wasn't injured, and even if I were, could it be worse than the pain in my heart?

Through the thin curtain of rain, the buildings on the roadside seemed familiar. Taking a closer look, Xue Jiuyue got out of the car and stepped inside.

The self-service bar was just right for Xue Jiuyue's current state. She drank glass after glass.

"Why does it still hurt? Keep drinking..."

I don't know how much I've drunk, but through my hazy drunken eyes, I seem to see a few people approaching and surrounding me. What are they going to do? They're not Ye Yi, and they're certainly not Liu Che... What are they going to do? Never mind, just drink...

They seemed to be talking to themselves, but why couldn't I hear them clearly? Whatever? Drink...

They seemed to be trying to pull themselves, but where were they going? No, they were not going, but they could not move, they had no strength…

At this moment, a familiar figure stood in front of me. Was it him? I couldn't see clearly... It must be him. That embrace was so warm. He came to protect me...

Xue Jiuyue stared at the ceiling, her eyes narrowed, not daring to move. She recalled the past few months, even the past few years, but she still didn't dare turn to face them. The only thing she knew for sure was that the beginning of all this was indeed a dream, and that last night and now were not dreams.

The even breathing beside my ear was disturbed by my thoughts and the light, and finally merged into a gentle and lingering greeting, "Sister Yue, you, you are awake...?"

The voice was as light as a floating and spinning feather, trying to hide its timidity, but it pushed Xue Jiuyue into the abyss.

Thick darkness swallowed up all of Xue Jiuyue's senses, isolating her from the world. After an unknown amount of time, a series of sounds dragged her back into the nightmare.

Ke Yike, who was already dressed neatly, was leaning over in front of her, calling out softly, "Sister Yue, Sister Yue, please say something. What's wrong with you? Don't scare me. I'm sorry. I was wrong..."

"Ah..." Xue Jiuyue raised her hand angrily with a scream. She tried her best to vent all her emotions in that slap.

Ke Yike did not dodge, but silently waited to be judged. However, he did not receive the slap in the face he had imagined.

Xue Jiuyue used that hand, raised high and then gently lowered, to caress Ke Yike's slightly soft face. Her fingertips glided across those textured lips, a trace of sorrow lingering in her voice, and then, sinking to the upright nose, she wailed in a long song. Her narrow eyes were like a weeping crescent moon, dripping a shimmer of moonlight. On her fingertips, on her face, in her heart, the words of the past, "The cold stars are like tears, filling the sky," rippled, and the present, "A night of shared joy and sorrow, drunken together," emerged...

Is it fate? Or is it a predetermined destiny?

Hate? Or pity?

No matter what it was, how could I bear to give him another fatal wound in exchange for relief and innocence?!

Is your heart clear and white like moonlight?

Whether it was shame or regret, Xue Jiuyue curled up, pulled the quilt over her head, and cried loudly.

Ke Yike sat at the head of the bed and tried to comfort her as much as possible, but heard Xue Jiuyue crying, "Don't touch me, go away, go away..."

He couldn't leave, but he couldn't stay either, so he just stood up and sat in silence in the corner.

Xue Jiuyue cried until she was dizzy, until she saw a chrysanthemum in the darkness, which brought light with its golden petals.

"Turn your back." Xue Jiuyue knew that Ke Yike had not left.

Hearing the voice slightly hoarse but no longer muddy, Ke Yike did as he was told and said forcefully: "Sister Yue, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I am willing to be punished and I am willing to take responsibility!"

Xue Jiuyue put on her clothes and asked coldly, "How are you going to take responsibility? Let me marry you and then ignore everyone else's feelings, including your own?"

"Myself?"

"Come here and look at me!" Xue Jiuyue's voice was still cold. "If I wanted to marry you, I would have agreed long ago!"

"Then, then you can sue me, I won't deny it."

Xue Jiuyue looked at the stubborn boy in front of her with pity and asked, "If I did that, would you hate me?"

Ke Yike shook his head firmly, "I, I deserve it..."

Before he could finish, Xue Jiuyue interrupted him, "Believe it or not, you are my first man, and before..."

Xue Jiuyue still refrained from using a single curse word to open up the scars of the past. She covered Ke Yike's face with her hands again before continuing, "If I did that, I would hate myself..."

"Sister Yue, I was wrong..." Ke Yike knelt down on his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"Ahem, don't cry. Get up. A man's knees are made of gold. We are not suitable for each other. Let's just treat last night as a dream and let it go, okay?"

"No, no, that would be too unfair to you. I can't..." Ke Yike burst into tears.

"I told you, it's impossible for us! Haven't you realized it recently? Can you tell the difference between love and desire? Shouldn't you be able to see more clearly after the desire? If we were really together, would you be relaxed and happy?"

A series of questions made Ke Yike confused. "I, I, I don't, I don't know, I just..."

"Let's leave it like this for now...be quiet, and see you in the coffee shop later." Wasn't Xue Jiuyue also in a state of confusion?

Eager to escape, she simply shut the door, leaving behind last night's mistakes—a mark or a variable that distinguishes this life from the past. Perhaps there will be regrets, perhaps tomorrow it will be an unrecoverable pain, but right now, isn't this dreamlike, imperfect existence beautiful?