Jiang Jiayan never imagined that would be the last time they would meet.

The boy's image is forever frozen in time on that sunny afternoon when she left.

When they met again, Ye Zhou was lying in a cold place.

Jiang Jiayan was somewhat distressed, burdened by guilt.

After the funeral, Jiang Jiayan stayed in China for a while, walking on the unfamiliar streets, searching for the unchanging evidence in her memory amidst the changes.

That coffee shop used to be a steamed bun shop. She thought the steamed buns were delicious back then, and Ye Zhou would buy herself different kinds of steamed buns with different fillings for breakfast every day.

The milk tea shop is still there, but it's now a brand I've never heard of, and it doesn't sell mango pomelo sago anymore.

In her memory, Ye Zhou treated her extremely well, even risking his life for her.

Jiang Jiayan walked along the road to school again, and the campus was full of young, energetic faces.

Even the style of the school uniforms has changed.

After all, so many years have passed, and everything has changed.

No one stays eighteen forever, but there will always be someone who is eighteen.

The protagonist of the story has long since changed.

Jiang Jiayan strolled through the campus, dressed in a smart black dress.

There were people playing basketball on the playground, and the girls were all playing around on the side, some walking hand in hand.

Jiang Jiayan didn't feel extremely sad. Not counting the time she secretly came back, she and Ye Zhou hadn't seen each other for eight years.

From a psychological perspective, people's memories and emotions tend to fade with distance.

Ever since she turned off the phone with Ye Zhou's number and put it in the box, she hadn't thought about Ye Zhou for a long time.

She knew there was someone who had loved her as much as his own life.

But all of that is in the past. She came back this time only to be saddened by Ye Zhou's sudden death.

But that's all.

She has already let go; those who have never invested are the easiest to let go.

"Sister, are you senior Jiang Jiayan?" a girl with a youthful appearance and some freckles on her cheeks asked Jiang Jiayan.

Jiang Jiayan nodded with some doubt; she didn't know such a young girl.

The girl happily reached out her hand behind her, "Come on over, it really is Senior Jiang Jiayan."

Then, a group of girls jogged over and surrounded them.

"Wow, Senior Jiang Jiayan is even prettier than in the photos."

Jiang Jiayan was a little embarrassed. "Excuse me, how do you know me?"

The girl smiled and said, "Your presence can be found in every corner of the school, it's hard not to recognize you."

Jiang Jiayan was a little confused. Then, she was surrounded by the girls and walked forward to a graffiti wall.

The words on it were written in various colors of colored chalk, many of them about her.

"Jiayan, I like you."

"I want to spend my whole life with you, Jiayan."

"Jiayan, your name is the most beautiful love confession I have ever heard."

Jiang Jiayan was stunned by the words on the entire wall, as if she had traveled through time and vaguely saw the stubborn boy writing.

Then, she was pulled by the girls to a marble goddess statue.

As Jiang Jiayan was wondering, a girl squatted down and pointed to a line of small characters on the back of the statue.

"Senior, look at this! I found this!"

It read, "Jiayan, I want to protect you for the rest of my life."

Jiang Jiayan felt a tightness in her chest for no reason. She forced a smile and said, "Ye Zhouye, you have no sense of public morality at all."

“How could that be? We all think it’s so romantic!” the girls chimed in protest.

The library still contains the borrowed books from back then.

The girls turned the yellowed pages one by one, as if they were flipping through time.

These are all books borrowed by senior student Ye Zhou.

Jiang Jiayan looked intently at the titles of the books Ye Zhou had borrowed, all bearing Ye Zhou's sharp pen.

How to Date?

108 Ways to Pursue a Girl

How I Won Over My Wife?

Tips for Winning at Dating

These are all books that Ye Zhou borrowed.

A girl found a book in the library and handed it to Jiang Jiayan. "Senior, look, there are notes tucked in all these books. They were left by Senior Ye Zhou. He must have forgotten about them and put them in when he returned the books."

Jiang Jiayan looked at the note, which listed the things she liked.

Ye Zhou was a diligent student, and he also worked very hard in pursuing other people, but his efforts did not yield good results.

Finally, the group of girls led her to a willow tree that had withered and died.

Jiang Jiayan remembered that she had once thrown the hat that Ye Zhou had given her under this tree.

The once tenacious willow tree had withered and died at some point, its branches bare, now adorned with many red ribbons.

The red ribbons covering the tree fluttered in the wind, making a sound like leaves.

The entire tree embodies Ye Zhou's longing for her and his love for her.

"Senior Ye Zhou's love is so touching. I have never seen a boy as devoted as Senior Ye Zhou."

"Senior, did you two end up together? Senior Ye Zhou is so good to you, he only has eyes for you."

Jiang Jiayan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She really didn't want to shatter these naive young men's fantasies about love.

She was unwilling to reveal the fact that Ye Zhou had passed away; she herself could not accept that Ye Zhou was truly gone.

The girls laughed and cheered.

"The academic star and the school beauty, what an enviable love story!"

On the flight leaving China, Jiang Jiayan looked at the book in her hands and remained silent.

Water droplets, one by one, soaked the pages of the book.

She originally thought she had never thought about Ye Zhou, but in fact, Ye Zhou had always occupied a place in a corner of her heart for a long time.

There was once a warm and sunny boy who loved her dearly, but she could never find someone who loved her like Ye Zhou did.

Jiang Jiayan left and never came back.

...

Since Ye Zhou's funeral, An Youhe's world has returned to peace.

She was still an ordinary office worker, doing an ordinary job.

Life was monotonous, day after day. If she didn't pay attention to the time, she would find that today was no different from yesterday, and tomorrow would be the same.

She had no relatives left in the world to care about. Her grandmother had passed away that cold winter. She had worked part-time to earn several thousand yuan so that she could have a good New Year with her grandmother.

Later, she didn't have time to celebrate the New Year with her grandmother, nor did she have time to see her grandmother one last time.

When I came back from school for the holidays, all I saw was a new grave standing beside my grandfather's grave.

During the New Year, only Anyou and he were left to guard the house.

However, soon even the old lady's courtyard in her hometown was gone, as her second uncle demolished it and built a new house for his son's wedding.

An You and herself were alone in this world, without anyone to rely on, and with little desire to live.

Because even Ye Zhou is gone.