"Oh, let me see. He has a lot of graduation albums that he treasures. I'll go find them for you. Which year was he in?"

"Class of 2013".

Jiang Jiayan held the phone to her ear and heard the sound of searching on the other end of the line. She could also hear the thumping of her heart.

...

After taking a long detour, Jiang Jiayan stopped in front of a dilapidated residential building.

Go up to the fourth floor, and you'll find Ye Zhou's home.

Jiang Jiayan's mind was a complete blank; she hadn't yet figured out how to answer Ye Zhou's question.

Why didn't you keep your promise?

Moreover, because of her father, Ye Zhou's father died.

She now knows why her mother had been preventing her from coming back.

She went upstairs.

A mouse darted quickly down the stairs, startling her.

Then, a woman appeared from around the corner, startling her again.

"Hey, what's with the yelling? You scared me to death! You're not from this building, are you? Who are you looking for dressed like that?"

"Find Ye Zhou," Jiang Jiayan said, panting heavily.

"Ye Zhou, this kid is so pitiful. His father died, and his mother cried herself blind. They used to be such a good family. It was all because of that evil capitalist. That migrant worker was also very simple and honest. They were forced to their doom and had no other choice but to fight to the death."

Now, the capitalists are still alive, but all the honest people are dead! If you need to find them, go to 410, that's their house.

...

The door was unlocked, and Jiang Jiayan slowly pushed it open.

She walked in quietly.

The furniture and decor inside are very old-fashioned, almost identical to those from the 1990s.

The house was quiet, with only a middle-aged woman with gray hair sitting on the sofa with her back to her. The television screen was dark, but the sound coming from it was very clear.

This should be Ye Zhou's mother; it seems Ye Zhou isn't here.

Jiang Jiayan stopped and looked at the television. The television was too dim, and she could hardly see anything on it.

As Jiang Jiayan looked on in confusion, the woman on the sofa turned her head.

His empty eyes were fixed on a spot next to her.

"Xiao Qing? Why didn't you make a sound when you came back? What did you and Tian'er buy to eat again? I told you, stop taking advantage of Tian'er's honesty."

Jiang Jiayan shivered; it was a natural bodily reaction.

Ye Zhou's mother has really gone blind.

Zhou Ping sensed something was wrong. She stood up, and apart from her unchanged eyes, her expression turned puzzled. "Who are you?"

Jiang Jiayan covered her mouth to keep herself from making a sound. She stepped back, turned around, and rushed out the door.

Ye Zhou returned with his hands full of New Year's gifts from the company, his face beaming with a smile.

At the corner, he was bumped into by a clumsy person. He looked over in confusion and saw only a strand of golden hair that vanished in an instant.

But this did not affect his mood at all.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Ye Zhou put his things aside and gave his mother a big hug.

"Mom, aren't you surprised? Aren't you surprised?" Ye Zhou said excitedly.

He worked for a year and finally returned home for the Chinese New Year.

Zhou Ping sat on the sofa, and Ye Zhou also moved over and sat down.

"Mom, is the TV so dim because you want to save electricity? Can you even see anything?"

Zhou Ping deliberately avoided looking directly at her son. "Of course I can see clearly. Your mother has such good eyesight. By the way, someone came to the house just now, didn't say anything, and left. I wonder if they went to the wrong house?"

"Boy or girl?"

"Judging from the voice... it looks like a girl."

Ye Zhou suddenly had a premonition, the feeling that the person who brushed past him gave him.

How could that be? How could Jiang Jiayan possibly come back?

Ye Zhou rushed out, ran out of the residential building, and walked a long way before stopping by the roadside.

This once again confirmed his stupid idea.

Ye Zhou laughed, a self-deprecating laugh. "Ye Zhou, Ye Zhou, haven't you been tricked badly enough? What good will her coming back do? Can you still look at her the same way as before? How shameless!"

The boy walked away, looking dejected.

Behind a bare tree not far away.

Jiang Jiayan looked at the boy's lonely figure.

She can't even see him now.

It was all caused by her.

Her phone rang, and she quickly pressed the answer button.

"Jiang, you have successfully passed our university's doctoral entrance examination. Congratulations!"