"When we get old, we'll take out this photo and see who looks the ugliest."
"It must be Zhong Hua; he's already starting to lose his hair."
"Lin Wanqing, don't spread rumors!"
The rain outside had started falling sometime earlier, pattering against the glass. Zhong Hua placed the photo frame in the most prominent spot on his desk. The three people in the photo were laughing carefree, as if they would never grow up or be separated.
His phone rang again; it was a message in the company group chat, announcing an emergency meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow. He took a deep breath, put the braised beef in the refrigerator, and then started replying to emails.
At 1:30 a.m., he was finally the only one left in the office. The rain was still falling, and the glow of the streetlights spread across the wet ground like a piece of melted butter. Zhong Hua locked the door and saw his reflection at the elevator entrance. His suit was wrinkled, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes. He did look much more haggard than in the photos.
As the elevator descended, he took out his phone and opened his WeChat Moments, which hadn't been updated in a long time. Ah Yu's profile picture was from last year, a photo of the starry sky taken by Wan Qing in Africa, captioned "Seeing the world side by side with you." The latest post was from three months ago, a photo of them together in front of the Louvre. Wan Qing had cut her hair short, and Ah Yu had more fine lines around her eyes; their hands were clasped tightly together.
Zhong Hua's finger hovered over the screen for a long time, but he ultimately didn't like it. He exited his WeChat Moments, opened his mother's chat window, and replied, "Mom, come home for dinner this weekend."
When Zhong Hua stepped out of the office building, the rain had stopped. The air smelled of damp earth, mixed with the cumin aroma wafting from a distant barbecue stall. The convenience store on the corner still had its warm yellow light on, and Zhong Hua, almost as if possessed, went inside.
"Welcome." The lady behind the cashier looked up, paused for a moment when she saw him, and said, "Young man, you look familiar."
Zhong Hua picked up a bottle of mineral water and smiled, "I used to come here often."
"Oh! I remember now!" The aunt clapped her hands. "You and two other young people always sat by the window. One loved taking pictures, and the other always had a book with him."
His heart skipped a beat, and his Adam's apple bobbed: "You still remember?"
“How could I not remember?” the aunt said, handing over her change with a nostalgic look in her eyes. “That girl spoke so gently, and that young man always loved to joke around. And you, you just quietly watched them and laughed. It was so nice, like siblings.”
When Zhong Hua walked out of the convenience store, he had a tuna sandwich and a carton of strawberry milk in his hand. He sat by the window, watching the city gradually awaken outside, took a bite of the sandwich, and tears fell unexpectedly.
It turns out that some habits are never truly broken. Just like people you always think about, and times you always miss, they always surge into your heart unexpectedly.
The phone vibrated on the table; it was a request for revisions from the project team. Zhong Hua wiped away his tears, opened the file, and began making changes. Sunlight streamed through the glass window, warming him, just like that bright afternoon many years ago when Ah Yu held up her camera and said to him, "Zhong Hua, smile. This one will be in our memoir."
He looked at the computer screen and gently curved the corners of his mouth into a smile. Life goes on, and although some people are no longer by his side, the time they spent together has long become the warmest backdrop in his life, giving him the strength to move forward in every weary moment.
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