Ch1 – Meeting Again

Guo Jingyu accompanied his mom in cleaning out the basement.
In the last two years, he had established a studio and an art gallery, and he had made enough money to buy a large house for his parents.
Mama and Papa Guo were too old, yet they couldn’t change their old practice of storing things rather than tossing them away.

Everything was in bits and pieces in the basement, even his school textbooks from when he was studying were kept.
“You were in high school when you used these.
Time flies so fast, you’ve grown so big in the blink of an eye.
You may as well save them for later, if you want to have a look,” Mama Guo reminisced. 

Guo Jingyu organized it according to the elder lady’s directions.
He asked, “Who are you keeping it for, ah?”

“For me to see, ah.
It truly has sentimental value whenever I look at it…”

“You can keep the books if you want, okay? But what on earth is the use of keeping these old carton boxes? Others would think they’re mementos from your hometown, but others who don’t know will assume I don’t provide for my parents, so you and dad went out to gather carton boxes, ne!” remarked Guo Jingyu, lifting up the old carton box next to him, trying to move it; he didn’t know if it was because the box was too old and fragile or the contents were too heavy, but it collapsed and the contents dispersed over the ground.

Mama Guo let out an “aiyo!” and dashed off to clean it up.
Guo Jingyu quickly followed her and bent down as well.
He had barely taken up more than two items when he squatted still without saying anything. 

He was holding a collection of Song poems.
Without even unfolding it, he knew that there were photo stickers on the flyleaf.

It was his 17th birthday.
He had dragged Li Tongzhou to a small commercial street beside the school.

Li Tongzhou didn’t like taking photos.
When he faced the camera, his face would unintentionally stiffen.

Guo Jingyu on the other hand, loved to smile since he was young.
When he was younger, his face was particularly attractive, in contrast to Li Tongzhou’s air of indifference, which repelled people from afar.

Unlike him, he was very easy-going and had buddies scattered over the campus.

But Guo Jingyu loved hanging out with Li Tongzhou, as seen by their shot at the photo booth.
He’d dragged Li Tongzhou over, then taken a bunch of shots before settling on the one with Li Tongzhou smiling.

To say it was a smile, it was more like he just worked hard to hook the corners of his lips together so he could express his emotions.

Li Tongzhou indulged him.
He had an excellent temperament, and would always go along with him. 

He’d also say things repeatedly like, “I’m good with anything,” “you do as you see fit,” “anything you want, ba,” and so on.

Guo Jingyu silently wiped the contents of the box one by one before putting them away.
Inside were all the things he’d given to Li Tongzhou, from the badge he gave him as a present in elementary school to the gold-embroidered tapestry he bought for him when he went overseas for university.

Li Tongzhou collected and kept them well, regardless if they were expensive or not, and then placed them in this box, picking a day to return the original items and mailing them back to his home.

He was studying overseas at that time, and it was already half a year later when he’d opened the box with his own hands. 

He had planned all their futures and weighed all possibilities, but never for a moment did he imagine Li Tongzhou would leave him.

He last saw Li Tongzhou at a barren cemetery, on a white stone slab with his 19-year-old photograph.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Guo Jingyu bowed his head as he packed his belongings.
He didn’t say anything.

Instead, Mama Guo, who was alongside him, sighed profoundly and then got a clean handkerchief, went over, and helped him wipe the items together, softly persuading, “Jingyu ah, mom knows that deep in your heart, you haven’t moved on yet, but after all, that person has been gone for so many years.
Being alone isn’t the answer, either.
Regardless of gender, you should at least get to know a few more people…” 

“Zbw, qifjrf, pera vgbq la.”

The elder lady took one look at him, stood up with a sigh and mumbled, “If I had known, I would have allowed you two be together sooner, at least there would have been someone to support him. Sigh. Xiao Zhou and his mom were miserable, and got that bastard of a man.”

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Guo Jingyu opened it and looked inside.
The majority of them were his solo photos, but some were of him with Li Tongzhou.

He placed his finger on the photo.
His eyes were incredibly bright, and his thin lips were slightly elevated; the 17–18-year-old teen appeared attractive. He happened to be photographed with a little smile on his face.

Guo Jingyu stared at the photo for a long time before taking it out and placing it in his pocket.

Whether it was because he had suddenly seen and gone over all those old stuff, but when he fell asleep that night, memories of his adolescence resurfaced one after the other. 

Guo Jingyu was muddling along when he had a long dream, as if he had returned to that humid, scorching summer.

The fan over the classroom creaked as it whirled incessantly.
An occasional warm breeze would blow in throu