As the night deepened, the restaurant became deserted and the old manager sat alone under the dim light, his eyes deep and complex.

He tapped lightly on the table, called over a young waiter, and whispered a few instructions.

The waiter nodded in agreement and quickly disappeared into the night, leaving the old store manager alone, stroking his fingers on an old yellowed photo. The woman in the photo was strikingly similar to Shangguan Qing.

After a while, the back door of the restaurant opened quietly, and a middle-aged man in casual clothes and with a capable face walked into the store.

Upon seeing this, the old store manager immediately stood up to greet him. The two men talked in low voices and the atmosphere was solemn.

The man took out a notebook and several files from his backpack and spread them out on the table one by one. Every time he turned a page, the old manager's brow furrowed a little.

In the picture, the light stretches the two people's shadows into long ones, interweaving them together, as if telling a secret that transcends time and space.

Upon hearing this, the old store manager's eyes turned slightly red. He took the photo with trembling hands and looked at it carefully, as if he had traveled through time and space and reunited with his past memories.

"How...how is this possible? It's been decades, and I thought..."

He murmured to himself, his voice full of disbelief and excitement. The dim light in the store cast mottled shadows on the photo, adding a bit of mystery and sadness.

It was quiet all around, with only the sounds of their breathing and the occasional turning of pages.

It echoed in this old shop late at night, as if even the air had frozen, waiting for some secret to be revealed.

......

Shangguan Qing and Cheng Ji walked into the house side by side.

It was late at night, with only a soft floor lamp left in the room, stretching the two people's shadows long and entwined together.

Cheng Ji noticed that Shangguan Qing's steps were heavier than usual, and there was an imperceptible worry in his eyes.

He gently put his arm around her shoulders and asked softly, "I noticed that you have been worried since we left the restaurant. What's wrong? Tell me if there is anything wrong and we can face it together."

Shangguan Qing looked up and his eyes met Cheng Ji's deep eyes, which were full of tenderness and determination.

She sighed softly, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said, "It's okay, just a little tired."

As she said this, she walked into the bedroom.

She looked in the dressing mirror with mixed feelings.

Why did it happen to be this restaurant?

She opened the store a hundred years ago, but later gave it to a homeless boy because she didn't want to run it anymore. Unexpectedly, he is still the store manager now.

More importantly, I still remember what she looked like.

The next morning, the sunlight shone through the gauze curtains, casting patches of light into the antique shop.

Yu Simin gently pushed open the half-open wooden door with light steps, holding a stack of yellowed papers tightly in his hand, with a bit of eagerness and anticipation in his eyes.

Inside the store, Shangguan Qing was wiping an antique porcelain piece with his head down, his movements gentle and focused.

Hearing the sound, she looked up, her eyes met Yu Simin's, and she smiled slightly, "So early, what's the matter?"

Yu Simin took a few steps forward and gently placed the information in his hand on the table, his eyes flickering, "I found some information about General Shangguan, and thought you might be interested, so I hurriedly sent it over."

The papers spread out gently as he moved, as if telling the past glory and vicissitudes.

Shangguan Qing's hands trembled slightly as he flipped through the yellowed papers quickly and eagerly.

Each one seemed to carry a heavy dust of history. Her eyes jumped between the lines, sometimes solemn, sometimes flashing with disbelief.

She looked up at Yu Simin, with a barely perceptible urgency in her voice: "Where did you find this information? Are they... true?"

Yu Simin stood aside, his eyes gentle but firm.

He nodded slightly, running his fingers lightly across the table, as if searching for the right words to explain it all.

"It was found among the relics left by my grandfather. When he was young, he was a historian and was particularly obsessed with General Shangguan's deeds. It is said that these materials were collected by him from many sources in an effort to restore the historical truth.

I have carefully compared them, and many of the details match known historical records, and I believe they are authentic.”

Shangguan Qing's gaze suddenly froze on those lines of words, as if frozen in ice. His fingers gently stroked the words "died on the battlefield, buried unknown", as if he could feel the sadness and loneliness that transcended time and space.

Her breathing became heavy, her eyes gradually turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

The air around her seemed to grow heavier along with her mood, and the light and shadow of the antiques in the shop became dim.

She slowly stood up, walked to the window, pushed open the half-closed window frame, and let the morning breeze blow across her face, trying to blow away the haze in her heart.

Outside the window, there is a busy yet quiet street with people coming and going, but no one can understand her sorrow at this moment.

Shangguan Qing gazed into the distance, with complex emotions surging in his heart, including admiration for the heroic sacrifice of his ancestors and lament for the fickleness of fate.

She closed her eyes and let the tears slide quietly, blending into the wind along with the unfinished love, as if she was paying her deepest respect and longing to the ancestor she had never met.

Shangguan Qing turned around, staring into Yu Simin's deep eyes with a sharp gaze, and there was an imperceptible tremor in his voice.

"Since General Shangguan's resting place remains a mystery throughout history, how did you get assigned the mission of grave keeper?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Simin's expression became solemn and dignified.

He slowly walked to the side and took out an ancient jade pendant from his pocket. The jade pendant was carved with intricate patterns, and the word "Shangguan" could be vaguely seen in the center.

He gently stroked the jade pendant, a gentle light flashed in his eyes, "This jade pendant was given to me by my grandfather before he died. He said that it was left by General Shangguan on the battlefield and was picked up by a villager and then handed to him.

My grandfather firmly believed that finding the jade pendant meant he had a connection with General Shangguan, so he vowed to ensure that the general's heroic name would not be forgotten. Even though he did not know where he was buried, he would take it upon himself to protect this piece of history and let future generations remember it."

Shangguan Qing's gaze lingered on the jade pendant in Yu Simin's hand, with an indescribable complex emotion condensed between his brows.

The old porcelain and ornaments in the store cast mottled shadows under the dim light, and each ray of light and shadow seems to carry the whispers of history.

Just then, the door opened slightly, and a breeze carrying the noise from the outside world quietly rushed in. Youxuan walked into the store with brisk steps.