Wanghai Villa is waiting for its little owner to return.

The journey home from the hospital was not long, but not too short either. Leaving the bustling city behind, it is only a dozen minutes' walk along the wide coastal road to reach the destination.

Minglu had asked the driver to drive as smoothly as possible and had specially chosen a time when there would not be any traffic jams. But Mingchi's body had just recovered after all, and he couldn't open the window on the road, so he still couldn't avoid feeling carsick.

The car drove into the villa, slowed down as Minglu instructed, and slowly stopped at the gate of the main house.

Minglu got out of the car, asked the driver to open all the windows, walked around to the side and opened the door, leaning over to check: "Sir, how is it?"

Ming Chi rested his head on Mr. Shadow's hand, and without waiting for his reply, he raised his hand with his eyes closed: "Dizzy on land."

Ming Chi opened his eyes as he spoke. Although his face was slightly pale due to the dizziness along the way, he was still energetic and his eyes were still clear.

"That's troublesome." Minglu breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, turned sideways, and protected the top of the car door with one hand, "There should be at least one person at home who is responsible for not getting dizzy when we are on the shore, right?"

Ming Weiting had been with him all the way, and knowing that Ming Chi was in good condition, he was not nervous: "What should we do?"

He slowly exerted force on his hands and helped Mingchi sit up.

"I'll do it." Ming Chi was full of confidence and patted his right leg lightly. "Small problem."

Mingchi held on to the seat and sat up straight. Once he had gained complete control of his body, he held on to the cane and slowly got out of the car door and stood on the ground without help.

The car was driven very steadily and was parked under the shade of a tree. Mingchi thanked the driver, walked slowly to the tree with his cane, and stood up in the pleasant cool breeze.

Life in the hospital is also very good, but after all, you have to be stuffy in the building, and there is the inevitable smell of disinfectant and medicine. Mingchi closed his eyes and couldn't help but take a deep breath of the fresh seaside air, then slowly exhaled.

Mingchi is also a good driver and he never gets sick when riding in a car or on a boat. He knew it was still the influence of his physical condition, so he was not in a hurry at all, waiting for the dizziness and discomfort along the way to be taken away little by little by the sea breeze.

When you close your eyes, your hearing becomes more acute to your surroundings.

After the operation, Mingchi's hearing on the right side was restored. Xun Zhen took this opportunity to have his left ear re-examined and a new hearing aid made for him.

Mingchi can't hear clearly with his left ear. In addition to the hearing loss caused by the original trauma, it is more due to tinnitus. I have had enough rest and sleep these days, my physical condition is good, and my mood is relaxed and happy, so the tinnitus has been reduced by more than half.

With the help of hearing aids, his hearing has almost returned to normal levels.

So when Mingchi stood under the tree, he realized that the world was more lively than he had imagined - it seemed that he had not heard so many noises for a long time.

The wind is blowing, the leaves are rustling, and the cicadas are chirping loudly.

The waves rose and fell, and the whistle of a cargo ship setting sail could be heard from the harbor. Exactly at the top of the hour, the clock tower rang out a long sound.

Mingchi wants to play the guitar again.

He opened his eyes and met Mr. Shadow's gaze, so he slowly walked over and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"This outfit is a good choice," Mr. Shadow commented objectively, "suitable for playing guitar."

Ming Chi blinked, and a smile almost burst out of his chest.

He really likes this kind of completely casual and coincidental moment, but he still has to be honest: "Playing guitar requires changing into a hoodie or T-shirt, and some of them wear leather jackets."

Mingchi has never dressed like that. He remembered that he grew up with his aunt. Although he had been asked to try all kinds of exciting things, he was still traditional at heart. His aunt always rubbed him while lamenting that he was too obedient.

Ming Chi tried to accept the scene for a long time, but still couldn't help laughing, reminding some lucky fans that they failed the make-up class: "How can someone play the guitar in a windbreaker?"

The lucky fan took note of this new knowledge and took the initiative to reflect: "I'll say it differently next time."

Ming Chi was a little curious: "What?"

"I messed up the sentence. This sentence is not appropriate." Ming Weiting sighed and answered his question again, "I'm looking at you."

"You stand here and I look at you. Just doing this can make a good day."

Ming Weiting said: "Next time when I want to tell you this, remember to change the sentence."

Mingchi walked up to him and stopped just in time to hear the answer. He opened his mouth and his ears quickly turned red.

...It seems that there is no need to change the sentence.

Mr. Shadow said this directly, and his mind was full of this sentence.

There seems to be nothing wrong with wearing a windbreaker and playing the guitar.

The windbreaker is cool and steady, and the guitar is cool and handsome.

Why can't someone play guitar in a windbreaker? He can do it. He can be cool, calm and handsome.

Ming Chi was completely unable to stop the thoughts that popped up in his mind - sometimes he even thought that there were large gaps in his memory, and brain capacity might be a fixed value, so these gaps would be quickly filled with new content.

He tried to sort out the remaining memories himself, and just as Dean Xun said, the time series effect was very obvious. He remembered everything that happened ten years ago, but he had almost no recollection of what happened or who he met in the past ten years.

In ten years, even if one lives one day at a time like a diary, the amount of memory generated should be of considerable scale.

So many places have been completely cleared out, becoming blank spaces waiting to be written with new content.

He could use so many places to pretend happy things, every corner of the sea-view villa, the beautiful scenery and the boat they were going to sail on, Uncle Lu and all the people who had greeted him with a smile...

…He could use so many places to put Mr. Shadow.

Ming Weiting stood in front of him. Seeing him thinking for a while, and then his eyes suddenly brightened, he took the cane from Mingchi's hand and put his own hand in it: "What are you thinking about?"

"Think of something lucky." Ming Chi calculated for a long time and whispered, "It's so lucky."

The more he thought about it, the happier he became. He immediately shared this with the person involved: "Mr. Shadow, there are so many blank spaces in my mind, and they can all be used to hold you."

This time it was Ming Weiting's turn not to answer immediately.

Ming Chi decided to mark out a "Mr. Shadow Zone" in that blank space. He concentrated on thinking about the things in his mind. After a while, he realized that Ming Weiting did not say anything: "Mr. Shadow?"

The two people were very close, and Ming Weiting was still looking down at him.

Ming Chi was wearing a shirt, a windbreaker, and a fedora. This outfit, coupled with the cane, did not make him look like a recuperating patient.

Mingchi's body recovered a little and he had enough strength, so his shoulders and back were straight whether he was standing or sitting. He stood under the shade of a tree by the sea, the golden sunlight leaking through the gaps in the leaves, all over him.

Those ten years were erased, and he had the honor of being invited into the blank space of Mingchi's life.

…

“How lucky.”

Ming Weiting finally found the same words to describe his feelings quite comprehensively and accurately.

He raised his hand, touched Ming Chi's ear, and asked softly, "How can you be so lucky?"

Ming Chi's thoughts were still on the previous topic, and he immediately became interested: "Right?"

Ming Weiting smiled and nodded. He held Mingchi's hand and let Mingchi transfer his body weight to his right leg without any worry. Mingchi held his hand and they walked out of the shade of the trees together.

Uncle Lu was already waiting at the door, with his arms folded, waiting for the two men with a smile on his face.

Ming Chi used the strength of Ming Weiting's hand to walk up the stairs steadily. He stood firm at the door, touched the door that had obvious signs of renovation but was almost the same as he remembered, and took the cane back from Mr. Shadow.

Ming Chi closed his hand on the door, and gently placed his forehead against it, saying softly, "I'm back."

Under the unfamiliar new paint, the door that he had pushed open countless times shook and made the most familiar sound.

"Mr. Shadow, Uncle Lu." Ming Chi pushed the door open with force, "Welcome home."

…

The time I spent recuperating at the Sea View Villa was so comfortable that it felt like I was on vacation.

The memories Ming Chi could retrieve ended ten years ago, when he still lived in Wanghai. The past and the present were almost seamlessly connected, and he knew this place better than Ming Lu and Ming Weiting.

The first thing some lucky fans wanted to do when they got home was to learn how to make pine nut-filled bread. Mingchi agreed with a smile, found a map of the nearby area, and marked out several rather inconspicuous small markets where he could buy the freshest pine nuts.

Winter wheat happens to mature in this season and can be harvested at the farmyard. Freshly harvested wheat has a special aroma, and even if it is ground in circles with a stone mill, this aroma will not change.

Learning to make bread and shrimp dumplings is a huge project, especially since we can’t waste food, so we can only learn a little bit every day, and the rest of the time is spent being well entertained by the owner of the villa.

Even Minglu, who personally supervised the renovation of Wanghai Villa, did not know that there were so many tricks involved.

On the seventh day of recuperation, the evening tide finally reached after sunset, and Mingchi took them to a relatively shallow bay.

The water here is so shallow that at low tide only the rocky beach remains, pale and dry from the sun, and the scattered shells are dull and ordinary - but once the sea water rises, everything becomes different.

Led by Mingchi, they found a large flat rock and sat down to wait until the moon slowly climbed to the zenith.

Stones of varying sizes were embraced by the rising tide. The stone surfaces moistened by the sea water became darker in color, and under the bright moonlight, patterns gradually began to emerge.

Those are the extremely moving patterns in the water - even if you have not received any art training, it is not difficult to discover and acknowledge this when you see the water surface shimmering in the moonlight.

The stones have been washed by sea water for years, and different textures and structures have been peeled off layer by layer. Some are ochre red, and some appear dark blue under the moonlight. Shells are dotted among them, and each piece is no longer dull, but emits a moist glow that is almost like pearl.

"It was the first time I discovered this place. I was so excited that I picked up all the stones and shells and brought them back to show my aunt."

Ming Chi said, "But when they come out of the water and leave this place, they have no color."

Mingchi thought for a while and then said, "For a while, I wondered if they were bound here."

He remembered that he must have thought about this problem - he thought of many solutions during that time.

He tried to fetch a lot of sea water from here and soak all the stones he picked up in it, but he still couldn't replicate the scenery here.

Minglu was sitting not far away and looked up.

Ming Weiting put down the stone in his hand and looked at Ming Chi: "What's the answer?"

Ming Chi laughed and shook his head seriously: "No."

"If you really think of it as a stone, you won't think so. It's not necessary for a stone to be beautiful."

Mingchi said: "If I were a stone, I would feel so happy every day. The sun here is not too strong. I can get warm in the daytime and cool down in the water at night. I can also stay with so many stones. Maybe they chat every day."

Ming Weiting asked: "So you often come here to play guitar for them?"

Ming Chi opened his eyes wide and looked at him. Before he could ask, Ming Weiting smiled: "I guessed." He said, "I guessed right this time."

The stone that Mingchi took him to sit on was very flat, with something to lean on at the back and a perfect place to step at the front.

That fire from ten years ago would not only burn brightly and hot on the beach. It will also shine gently in a place where no one can see it, in the moonlight embraced by the tide, playing guitar for a group of stones that cannot move around.

"If I were a stone," Ming Weiting said, "I would pass the time by counting other stones every day, wondering why the sun hasn't set yet, and why the guitar hasn't sounded yet."

Ming Chi laughed out loud and gave the lucky fan a perfect score for his improvisation: "Almost there, just a little bit more."

Mingchi's right hand has recovered, and he treats the guitar more seriously. He goes to the cabin alone to practice every day, and does not allow Mr. Yingzi and Uncle Lu to eavesdrop.

One time, Mingchi was tired from practicing and just wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while. He accidentally fell asleep in the cabin with his guitar in his arms. He had a dream that he turned into a boat and was swaying on the water.

When the boat drifted into the harbor with the current, he woke up from his dream and found himself lying on the bed in his room in the main house.

The room was super quiet, and everything seemed to be fast asleep in the night. The curtains on the terrace were drawn, leaving a gap at the farthest point for the moonlight to come in.

The moonlight came in as a visitor and helped him to describe the room clearly so that he could see it without turning on the lights.

Guitar lay beside him, covered with the quilt together.

Mr. Shadow was also lying beside him, sleeping soundly, his arms protecting the wound on his head that had not yet healed completely, and also helping him protect the guitar.

…It’s actually a pretty amazing feeling.

That night, Mingchi lay on the bed, resting his head on Mr. Shadow's arm, staring at the ceiling with his eyes open.

He thought about painting a picture when he got up in the morning, but then he thought he should re-arrange the song he wrote today. He had thought about it, of course he had - even if he couldn't remember anything about what happened in those ten years, the thought was still in the corner somewhere.

He thought it would be nice to drift downstream. The water would take him anywhere, and he could stop there and have the most peaceful and comfortable sleep.

This wish was not clear to him until now. He had no idea that there was such a good thing in the past. He fell asleep comfortably in the water and the water would take him home.

…

That's what I said.

Having said that, in the following few days, some people who would rather forget about sleep and food when they touch the guitar did restrain themselves a lot. I would go home as soon as it got dark and never fell asleep during exercise again.

The high-intensity training these days has been quite effective. Mingchi roughly estimated that in a few days he would be able to basically recover to the level he was at ten years ago.

Although this seems a bit disappointing compared to myself ten years ago, considering the twists and turns that happened in between, it is already an achievement worth celebrating.

Mingchi held the walking stick beside him and gently stirred the water reflecting the moonlight. The moonlight was like scattered silver pieces, spreading out with the ripples, and the colors of the stones also changed.

"Mr. Shadow." Ming Chi suddenly whispered, "Good night."

Ming Weiting was practicing building a pavilion with shells. Hearing this, he turned around and looked at him, with a rare look of surprise: "Now?"

Ming Chi controlled the amplitude and shook his head slowly: "To make up for what happened a few days ago... I didn't have time to talk about it one night."

"I was practicing the piano in the cabin," Ming Chi said, "and I fell asleep that day."

Mingchi's ears turned a little red again. He lowered his head to look at the water and gently poked the stone in the water with his walking stick.

There was a hard rocky beach underneath the rock, and no matter how hard he poked it, it couldn't move, so it pushed him back unceremoniously.

Mingchi slowly moved his fingers.

It is impossible not to hurt your hands with this intensity of exercise. No one who plays the guitar will not hurt his hands at the beginning. One has to practice until he can gradually get used to and adapt to the hardness of the strings, and practice to the point where the fixed plucking position will no longer be worn out. Only then can it be considered as having mastered it.

The moon that sneaked into the room that day was very bright, illuminating everything clearly, so he also saw that his hands were covered with medicine... This was not surprising, as he had been caught by Mr. Shadow and had medicine applied to his hands many times these days.

Mingchi was not used to it at first, after all, he had started applying medicine to himself when he was quite young. But Uncle Lu told him that this was no different from the head nurse changing the bandage on the wound on his head, and it actually made sense. He thought about it all night but couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Mingchi knew that his hand had been medicated and that the feelings in reality would extend into his dreams. He actually dreamed about it that day.

In his dream, he turned into a boat. The water gently touched him, wrapping up the bumps and bruises on him, and the pain subsided gently.

He was familiar with the feel of the medicine, and could tell it with his eyes closed, but there seemed to be something else.

…

There seems to be something else that I am not quite familiar with.

Ming Chi quietly grasped his cane, encouraged himself, and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Shadow, did you do anything else that day?

He waited for a long time but received no answer. When he raised his eyes, he met Ming Weiting's eyes that were staring at him.

...Oh no, Mingchi thought.

Mr. Shadow might really be a rock.

Otherwise, why would those eyes usually look at him like this, but sitting in the sea water slowly washing the rocky beach, sitting under the moon, it became completely different.

Ming Weiting raised his hand and suddenly tapped his forehead.

Mingchi blinked, and his hand was taken away by Mr. Shadow, and the cane was put aside carefully.

"Who is it?" Ming Weiting imitated his tone and sighed, "I practiced until dark. I fell asleep with the window open. I almost caught a cold."

"The first thing I want to ask is this." Ming Weiting said.

Every time he spoke, he tapped Mingchi's forehead gently, with such gentle force, almost just the touch of his knuckles.

Perhaps because he observed too carefully, Ming Weiting was always able to imitate Ming Chi's tone very well, and with his own habitual pronunciation and voice, the stones in the water seemed to have turned into periods one after another.

Ming Chi was suddenly reminded of his past, and immediately felt extremely guilty. He lowered his head and quietly admitted his mistake: "Who is it?"

This matter was actually quite serious. Mingchi really knew he was wrong - he really just wanted to take a break at the time, and he never expected that he would practice for so long once he got excited. He also didn't notice that it was already dark with the window open.

But wrong is wrong, Ming Chi lowered his head and honestly admitted: "It was me."

"It's me." Ming Chi apologized humbly and resolutely corrected himself, "How could this person be like this? I will never allow him to do this again."

Ming Weiting didn't want him to reflect on himself to this extent, so he took the initiative to speak for him: "It's not that serious."

Ming Chi hesitated for a moment, blinked quietly, and put his hand on Ming Weiting's hand: "Really?"

"Really. You were wearing a windbreaker, and the wind wasn't cold that day."

Ming Weiting nodded: "Besides-"

...Besides.

When he saw Mingchi falling asleep with his guitar in his arms, the first thing he thought of was not these.

He didn't wait for Mingchi to go back to rest, but went to the cabin to look for him, and saw a familiar figure leaning against the window.

Mingchi sat on the bay window, his back against the window and his cane leaning against his side.

There were traces of drawing on the several sheets of sketch paper on the table, but they were all covered up. Ming Chi was holding a guitar, half of his face was covered by the collar of his windbreaker, and his eyes were quietly closed...but in fact, he could still be seen clearly at a glance.

It's obvious that before falling asleep, some people must have been thinking hard about how to pose coolly while playing guitar in a windbreaker.

Ming Weiting couldn't say anything. He just stood in front of Ming Chi, looking at the person who was sleeping soundly, and felt soft in his heart.

He closed the window and took the medicine beside him. He wanted to take advantage of Mingchi's rare sleep to help him heal the wound on his hand... He didn't know why, but he felt soft in his heart.

Is this the experience of chasing stars?

He wasn't sure, maybe if they became friends and family it would happen, but it didn't seem entirely accurate.

He held Mingchi's hand, but for some reason, he suddenly wanted to do something... just like now, Mingchi's hand covered his hand.

If he just sat here, doing nothing and saying nothing, and waited for the night to pass, there would certainly be no problem.

But perhaps decades later, when he writes his log on the ship, he will still inevitably think of tonight. Haifeng would jump in and ask him why he was doing nothing but just sitting there.

"Besides," Ming Weiting said, "this matter should also be acknowledged."

Ming Chi opened his eyes slightly.

Before his eyes, Mr. Shadow, who was covered by his hand, turned gently and held his hand.

…

Mr. Shadow must have been a rock.

Under the moonlight, the rising tide sparkled with silver light. The rocky beach is still quiet, yet very different from its usual simplicity and plainness. The colors are brilliant and mysterious, like a silent fireworks display in the water.

The wind came to join in the fun, creating soft ripples on the water's surface. The moonlight, stirred up by the ripples, rushed into the field of vision, and lit up for a moment.

Ming Weiting took Ming Chi's hand, supported himself with one hand behind Ming Chi, and leaned his shoulders slightly to the side.

At the silent fireworks display, Ming Weiting kissed his knuckles lightly.