She initially hung her head down, then suddenly lifted it up and stared at me: "What did you say?"

  "I said Ive always wanted to find out the truth, but theres been no progress."

  She stared at me again, with a mocking smile, and said: "You say one year? Where did this one year come from? Didnt just a few weeks pass by?"

  The room seemed to fall into a deep silence for the second time. I looked at her eyes, where fear flickered, and then raised my head to glance at the calendar on the wall, which clearly marked the passage of time. For a moment, I was also confused about what had happened. But I calmly opened my mouth: "Tan Jiao, we boarded that ship on June 23rd, 2016, and now its July 18th, 2017. One year and three weeks have passed."

  I dont know how to describe her expression at that moment. Her face was pale, and her eyes, which were originally full of spirit, now seemed to be sinking into a black mud. She followed my gaze and stared blankly at the calendar, then pulled out her phone from her bag and checked the time. It was as if she had just realized the passage of time. It was an expression similar to waking up from a big dream. Her teeth were biting into her lower lip, and the deeper she bit, the more I felt that she was about to cry, and her whole person suddenly became disheveled.

  "I... " she started, her voice faltering. "I really thought it had only been a few weeks, I looked at the time every day, looking at 2017, and didnt realize... that a whole year had passed, my mind was completely blank. Its as if nothing had happened."

  I suddenly understood.

  We all lost a memory. Mine was just a few days.

  And she still has to attend school for another whole year.

  Whats going on here?

  I even had a guess in my heart, was it that we encountered some kind of attack on the boat, so we lost our memory. And she suffered a more severe attack, so her memory loss lasted longer?

  "So we havent seen each other for a year?" She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "Thats why youve changed so much? I didnt recognize you."

  My heart suddenly ached and I reached out to hug her, but she pushed me away and stood up, stumbling and staggering as she ran out the door.

  I got up and chased after him: "Where are you going?"

  "She said: I want to go home and be quiet by myself. Dont follow me! Dont follow!"

  I stood at the door, watching her rush into the car and drive away instantly. Like a flustered rabbit.

  But in my heart, a faintly painful fire had been lit, I got on my motorcycle and followed him.

  The night was deep, and the citys scenery retreated quietly. Even when she lost control of her emotions, her speed was only a little faster than usual. As I followed her, my heart seemed to be calmed down by the wind as well. With the bright moon shining above our heads, even if we were trapped in an unsolvable puzzle, the road was quiet at this moment.

  I followed her all the way down to her apartment building.

  She parked the car slightly crookedly in the parking space, got out and saw me, more than ten meters away, without saying a word. I was wearing a helmet, sitting on the motorcycle, quietly looking at her.

  She had no more tears to shed, indeed a strong-hearted girl. Her face looked very calm and her eyes had an unusual quietness. She finally spoke up, saying: "You go back, Im fine."

  I said: "Good." Didnt move.

  "Go back!"

  "I answered: Okay."

  She showed a slightly sad expression and said: "If you dont leave, I will."

  "I said: Okay. Ill watch you go up."

  She gave me a glance and went upstairs with quick steps. I smiled, anyway, she still looked very energetic.