Xin Di walked to the window and looked out at the somewhat gloomy sky, with thick clouds bearing a leaden color, pressing down low. Standing in the cold air-filled room, she could still feel the heaviness of the weather. She couldn't help but think of that summer many years ago. Come to think of it, was the mutual liking between Xin Chen and Lu Fei not just the simple youthful infatuation she had always thought it was?

  At this time, her phone rang. It was Lu Fei calling. He asked in a flat tone, "Xiao Di, do you have any plans for tonight? If not, come and have some drinks with me."

  Xin Di agreed, and the two hung up after setting a time. Lu Fei was her friend, they had known each other for over 20 years, but she felt that this time when Lu Fei came back, he seemed a bit strange. The former him was calm and didn't easily reveal his emotions, but recently she could often feel the melancholy and helplessness hidden beneath his calm exterior.

  Lu Fei was also standing alone in front of the office window, gazing into the distance. After leaving Xin Chen's house, he went straight back to the office, but had no heart to deal with work and was equally immersed in memories of that summer.

  Lu went to the United States seven years ago for his master's degree and started working at a private equity venture capital firm in the US after graduation. The company is low-key, managing over a dozen large-scale private fund investments worldwide, with significant investment scale and scope in mainland China. He worked in the US for one year and applied to return to China three years ago, taking up a position at the company's Beijing office. This time he returned to his hometown, not only for personal reasons but also to participate in the development project operation of Huatian Group as part of the company's investment.

  His office is located in the downtown area of the city, on the 29th floor of a high-rise building rented by Huatian Group. From there, he can see far into the distance and also has a view of the residential area where Xinchen lives, but it's just a gray blur of buildings that are packed too tightly together to make out any distinct shapes.

  The project he participated in is about to flatten the place and rebuild a prosperous shopping mall, while the girl who left her mark on his youth seems to have no qualms about erasing old memories in this way.

  Not long after Lu Fei first met Xin Chen, she began her brand new university life. Xin Di and Xin Chen started their senior high school and junior high school respectively, which made them breathless. The three didn't keep in touch much.

  Xin Chen doesn't love studying, but she knows that if she can't get into the high school affiliated with her elementary school, she'll have to trouble her uncle, so she still diligently attends classes and reviews, doing endless mock exams.

  Xin Kaiyu continued to do business and fall in love in a lackadaisical manner, living a rich and colorful life. Occasionally, he would remind his daughter not to stay up too late and that exams weren't that important. Xin Chen was good-natured, but only she was lucky enough to have such an undemanding father. However, she had an demanding older brother who wouldn't let her slack off, and then there was Lu Fei, whom she also didn't want to disappoint.

  During the winter break, Lu Fei came as promised to tutor Xin Di and Xin Chen. Seeing Xin Chen's exam results, he nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, keep up the effort."

  Xin Di's home was equipped with electric heating, the old house had thick walls, narrow doors and windows, which kept warm, the cold wind of local winter was all blocked outside.

  Lu Fei taught the two sisters the key points of mathematics, physics and chemistry separately, assigned them exercises to do, urged them to recite English words, and when they were free, brought an international chess set to teach the sisters to play chess as a supplement. However, Xin Di was completely uninterested in this, while Xin Chen learned quickly and had time to play against him, of course using tactics such as cheating, taking back moves and secretly moving pieces.

  It snowed for half a day, and Li Xiang returned home from work. She happened to see in the courtyard under the arborvitae tree, Xin Chen had made a big snowball, mischievously trying to throw it into Lu Fei's collar. Lu Fei dodged while smiling indulgently, holding her frozen red hands, "Stop playing, be careful not to catch a cold."

  Li Xiang's face suddenly fell, and Xin Chen only looked up at her expression and restrained his laughter. Lu Fei also felt a bit awkward, let go of Xin Chen's hand, and said goodbye to her before leaving. Xin Chen and Li Xiang entered the house together, while Xin Di was as usual fully focused on painting, completely unresponsive to what had just happened outside.

  Li Xiang couldn't help but secretly sigh at her daughter's simplicity. To be fair, she didn't have a strong utilitarian heart, and it wasn't that she hoped for any development between her daughter and Lu Fei when she was barely 18 years old. However, Lu Fei's excellence was very obvious, he had been serious since childhood, his grades were outstanding, and he didn't have the slightest bit of arrogance like a child from a wealthy family, and he got along well with Xin Di all the time, as a mother, she couldn't help but have some small hopes.

  If Xīn Kāiyǔ were like other prodigal sons, indulging in vices while knowing he was in the wrong, and if Xīn Chén were like other motherless children, with a hint of "small white vegetable, yellow earth" melancholy or timidity, then Lǐ Xiāng might have forgiven that troublesome but handsome little uncle of hers, and would have been more affectionate towards Xīn Chén.

  Unfortunately, Xīn Kāiyǔ didn't live up to his reputation as being very confident and self-assured, but Xīn Chén did a great job of inheriting this trait from him. She always dressed fashionably and beautifully, and acted lively and carefree. The father-daughter duo lived freely and contentedly, making it impossible for anyone to feel sorry for them.

  In Li Xiang's view, Xin Chen is a girl who lacks discipline, too wild and too willful, with too much content in her eyes. In comparison, her own daughter Xin Di is really too simple, it can be said that she doesn't have any mind or intentions.

  Her vague dislike became even stronger after discovering that Lu Fei and Xin Chen had a close relationship.

  Xin Chen is lively but also sensitive, so later on, she found all sorts of excuses to visit her uncle and aunt's house less often.

  Xin Di participated in the early-held art joint examination and scored an excellent score. Next, the sisters' college entrance examination and high school entrance examination scores were not bad, making Xin Kai Ming overjoyed, saying "Double happiness arrives at the door".

  That summer, Li Xiang took a vacation and brought her daughter back to her hometown to visit relatives. While Xin Kaiyu was busy running around everywhere, Lu Fei would often come over to accompany Xin Chen, urging her to do her homework, taking her to watch movies, drink soda, buying her favorite chocolate ice cream cones, playing chess with her, and chatting with her.

  It was in this summer that Xin Chen first kissed Lu Fei.

  After watching the movie, they returned on a summer night with high temperatures. The streets were filled with people strolling and cooling off, while Xincheng's pace was even more languid than usual.

  As she walked down to the Xincheng Building, she suddenly asked Lu Fei: "I heard that many people in college are dating, do you have a girlfriend?"

  Lu Fei shook his head, this question made him somewhat embarrassed.

  "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

  Lu Fei became even more uncomfortable. In the movie just now, there was a kissing scene. In the darkness, he couldn't help but turn his head to take a peek. Xin Chen watched with rapt attention, seemingly without any shyness at all. Now facing Xin Chen's inquiring gaze, he could only confess: "I don't have a girlfriend, so it's not possible for me to casually kiss just any girl?"

  Xin Chen's face was thoughtful, "In high school, there was a boy who pursued me and asked me to be his girlfriend."

  Lu Fei was shocked, but then thought about it and realized there was nothing to be surprised about. He had just graduated from high school and knew that even in a prestigious middle school with strict teachers and heavy coursework, young love could still blossom, and having a small romance was a way to relieve the stress of daily life.

  "Do you like him?" He swallowed back all the big principles that students should focus on studying and asked.

  "He's not bad-looking, doesn't have acne, looks quite clean, and is also the champion of the school's 100-meter dash."

  Lu sighed silently. As expected, she was still a child. Her requirements for her boyfriend were just like that. He despised himself but couldn't help asking: "Do you plan on being his girlfriend?"

  The little kid in his eyes suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked at him, "Unless you don't acknowledge me as your girlfriend."

  Xin Chen looked at Lu Fei with her head tilted, her eyes shining like stars, with a mischievous smile that seemed to be a matter of course. However, acknowledging a 15-year-old girl as his girlfriend was beyond Lu Fei's rational thinking, and for the first time, he was tongue-tied in front of her.

  But before he could say anything, she suddenly opened her arms and hugged him, tiptoed to touch his lips quickly, then let go of him. "It's okay if you don't admit it, anyway your first kiss belongs to me."

  Xin Chen didn't wait for him to say anything, and ran all the way up to the fifth floor to go home. Xin Kaiyu rarely came home early, handed a chilled watermelon to his daughter, "Chenzi, is someone chasing you? You're sweating profusely."

  She didn't respond, took the watermelon and bit into it heavily, but what was left on her lips wasn't the taste of watermelon, but a warm, soft, intimate touch...

  This was also Xincheng's first kiss.

  When Lu Fei was sitting alone in his 29th-floor office in the city center, thinking of that kiss, Xin Chen put away the chess pieces and let her memory stay in the same place.

  Those were the most memorable days in their memories, and Xincheng clearly knew that those days were not only meaningful to her alone. Even Lu Fei, who later went to study in the United States and saw a wider world, cherished the time they spent together; otherwise, he wouldn't still be gazing at her with gentle eyes until now.

  It was precisely because there had been such a pure and happy time that Xin Chen forgave and allowed himself to occasionally indulge in the past.

  The sky gradually darkened, and Xin Chen put the international chess into the corner of her closet. She didn't intend to indulge in memories that she couldn't extricate herself from, yet the girlhood version of her seemed to be full of life's power and courage, and also had love. She only allowed herself to seek some warmth from memories when she was too weak to continue, and borrow some strength from the past.

  Xin Chen returned to his studio, opened the computer, and began to edit the original pictures from David Fan's album, starting with one by one refining the outline and skin. This was not as simple as using software tools for ordinary enthusiasts to beautify photos, but it was also a kind of mysterious work that could be considered a skilled profession.

  She started as a freelancer, processing photos for several small wedding photography companies for many years. The pay wasn't great, but the source was stable and she had already done it so many times that it didn't take any effort at all. Later on, even larger wedding photography institutions began to look for her from time to time.

  However, the requirements for advertising and portrait photography are a bit higher. She adds layers one by one, adjusts the transparency, removes acne, freckles and small blemishes, and retouches the skin texture to make it close to real. When doing these things, she doesn't need to think at all, so she can completely understand the joke that the child in the photography studio was so excited to PS that he accidentally removed the customer's belly button.

  When she was concentrating on her work, another laptop rang with a QQ message prompt. She installed QQ just for the convenience of working back and forth, usually hanging around, but rarely chatting with people. Opening it up, it turned out to be her net friend Bruce, who is currently studying at the University of California, Berkeley. Three years ago, the two had traveled together on that near-fatal Qinling hike, later becoming good friends, occasionally exchanging hiking experiences in different places on QQ.

  "Hello, is anyone there?"

  Hehuan is her online name, which she uses on both QQ and the hiking forum. Some people with ulterior motives say that this name is easy to associate with something else, but she just shrugs it off and ignores them. What she likes are those tall trees growing in the courtyard of Xindi, with pinnate leaves that close quietly at night, and every June and July, the tree is full of red and white flowers that bloom profusely, leaving a lingering impression like a dream. The faint fragrance always lingers in her imagination and memory of local summers.

  At 15 years old, he moved to Canada with his family and at 18 went to university in the US. Bruce also explained his name: "My surname is Lin, foreigners hear Bru and Bruce Lee as similar, more powerful."

  "You're online at this hour, did you sleep too late or wake up too early?"

  "The long night is endless, and I am too disheartened to sleep." Bruce was three years younger than her. In order to prove that his Chinese hadn't deteriorated, he liked to say some clichéd lines.

  "I'm working now, talk to you later."

  "Hey, wait a minute, spare some time for overseas compatriots and ask me what I'm doing now."

  "Need you ask, you're bored out of your wits."

  "I'm in the same city as you now, just arrived this afternoon, would love to meet up with you."

  Xin Chen was taken aback, and the two of them had previously sat on Mount Taibai in Qinling Mountains chatting idly. Bruce had indeed told her that before he was 15 years old, he lived in Hanjiang City, and he even listed the streets where he used to live, the middle school he attended, the shopping mall where he often played video games, and the small restaurant where he ate beef noodles, proving that what he said was true. Later, he also mentioned that he planned to return home to visit his relatives at an appropriate time and visit her, this "fellow sufferer" who had gone through life and death together.

  "I've already gone out once today, it's too much for a homebody like me to go out twice in one day." She joked as she typed, "Make an early reservation for tomorrow, let's decide what we want to eat first and I'll treat you."

  "Get out, just today, I was stuffed by my relatives and couldn't eat anything. Tonight we're going to drink, we've been saying for a long time that we want to find a place to have a good drink, you're not allowed to slack off."

  Xin Chen thought, going out for a drink to relax today wasn't a bad idea after all. Otherwise, when the night was deep and quiet, memories might uncontrollably turn into nightmares. She agreed and made an appointment with Bruce about time and place.

  On a non-weekend evening, the local famous slow bar was crowded with people, making Bruce's eyes widen in surprise. The air was filled with the sounds of chatter and the strong, spicy music made their eardrums vibrate. They finally found seats at the high stools by the bar, ordered beer and started drinking.

  Xin Chen inadvertently turned her head and saw her ex-boyfriend Feng Yi'an sitting at a not-too-distant table with a girl, drinking. Although the girl was heavily made up, it was clear that she was not the same person Feng Yi'an had introduced to her last time. She immediately looked away, not intending to greet him, but he caught sight of her and walked over, his expression cold as he said: "Xiao Chen, aren't you going to introduce me?"

  She could only make the simplest of introductions: "Feng Yi An, Bruce."

  Bruce stood up, stretched out his hand in a friendly manner. Feng Yi'an didn't look at him and shook hands perfunctorily before turning to leave, but suddenly stopped and leaned close to Xin Chen's ear, saying with a hint of sarcasm: "So, you've found someone new to keep you company?"

  The last time they met, he introduced his new girlfriend to her and was very polite. She couldn't understand his unfriendly behavior now and could only assume that he had drunk too much. She dodged his body and ignored the provocation. Bruce stretched out his hand to shield Xin Chen and asked, "What's wrong?"

  Fortunately, Feng Yi'an didn't make any out-of-line moves, gave her a stern look and walked away. Bruce saw Xin Chen's uneasy expression and said: "This commotion is making me short of breath, my heart can't take it, let's get out of here." She immediately nodded in agreement.

  Standing outside, Bruce took a deep breath of fresh air, "I'm really a local from overseas, can't take this noise."

  Xin Chen smiled wryly and said, "No way, I'm an old man who's still fine."

  "Poor me, a bookworm. When I was in Vancouver, my family was strict and only at home parties did I see high school students go wild when adults weren't around. After becoming an adult and being able to buy alcohol, everyone could go wild but instead nobody does, I prefer it quieter."

  He is 22 years old, wearing a white V-neck T-shirt and processed trousers, with stylishly messy hair, tall and handsome face with a mischievous smile, without any bookworm air.

  Xin Chen doesn't often go to bars, but every time he comes out, he doesn't mind the noise. On the contrary, he thinks that such a lively atmosphere is just right for a group of people with their own thoughts to drink and have fun until they are satisfied, without having to think about responding to others. Now looking at the time, it's still early, thinking, "Why not go to another place, Blue Sky, I heard it's run by foreigners, the atmosphere is good, many locals and foreigners go there, it seems a bit quieter than here."

  "Don't take me as a foreigner, and I watch foreigners every day, no interest in going back to watch them."

  "Hey, you're quite hard to serve, young master. How about this, go to my cousin's friend's bar, it's called Forever. It's a place where people just drink and chat, but there are rarely people as young as you who go there."

  "Don't discriminate against my age, Huanhuan, I'm only a little over two years younger than you." Bruce grasped her hand and gazed at her with a serious expression, "Since you rejected me, I've been gradually declining, my youth is gone. Those lost years seem to be separated from me by a dusty glass, visible but unreachable."

  "Please, don't watch Wong Kar-wai's movies anymore." Xincheng withdrew his hand and made a vomiting gesture.

  Bruce burst out laughing, "Why? Banana people with yellow skin and white hearts can't help it if they don't understand Chinese. Generally, little sisters who do understand Chinese fall for this kind of thing."

  "It's been many years since I was considered young."

  Bruce couldn't help but laugh, "In the early years after arriving in Vancouver, I really missed everything about China. Whenever a Chinese movie was showing, my mom would take me and my sister to watch it. As soon as you mention little sister, I think of that hilarious movie."

  Xin Chen knew what he was saying and couldn't help but laugh, Bruce looked at her with appreciation, "I've told you more than once, no, I have to say it again today, you're really beautiful."

  Xin Chen wore a yellow silk sleeveless top, black pencil pants with golden sandals, and a large colorful triangular scarf around her waist, like a short skirt. Because she was going to the bar, she had slightly more makeup on, with shiny eyeshadow, pink lip gloss, and looked stunning. When others complimented her appearance, she always responded calmly, smiling and saying "thank you".

  The two bars were not far apart, so they decided to walk over. This area has many old rental houses, Bruce studied architectural design and looked very carefully, "I often go to that hiking forum's photography section, the feeling of seeing it in person is really different from others' photos, I was too young when I came here before, didn't feel anything, next time I'll come on a sunny day to take a good look."

  Standing in front of the Forever bar, which was converted from a two-story old house with a neon sign that wasn't too eye-catching at the entrance, Bruce couldn't help but exclaim: "This idea is really clever, using an old house like this and blending it in with the surrounding atmosphere."

  They entered a small bar, where jazz music was playing, and indeed, it was mostly older people sitting at small tables with candles, quietly drinking and chatting. The two of them walked up the somewhat steep old wooden staircase, and the space upstairs was relatively large, but not many people were there. They sat down at a table by the window in the corner, ordered some wine, and chatted idly about everything under the sun.

  "It seems the boss here also loves outdoor activities." Bruce said, looking at the large off-road vehicle, rock climbing and landscape photos posted on the walls.

  "Yes, Boss Afeng also hangs out on our forum, but he's into extreme sports like mountain climbing and rock climbing. He looks down on gentle hiking. Unfortunately, he's not here today. Sometimes he sings, and it sounds really good. You should learn from him, it's much more effective than those clichéd lines."

  Bruce laughed, "You always hit me. Sweetheart, I'm so envious of your trip to Tibet this time, the photos your companion posted are too great. But there's no photo of you, and you never post the main thread. Every time you guys travel, from head to toe, I only see a group photo of you all, with you wearing big sunglasses, showing just a little bit of your face, which can't alleviate my longing at all."

  "It's about the scenery, not the people." Xincheng had known him for three years and was used to his casual lies, so he didn't mind at all. "I only brought a card camera when I went out, I really didn't have the energy to be fully equipped like them with a single-lens reflex camera, lenses, and a tripod, and what they took out of their hands was naturally not worth sending."

  "Last summer, I went to Germany with my classmates and hiked along the Rhine River for half a month. It felt great! If there's another chance, I'd also like to visit Austria. Are you interested in going together?"

  At the mention of Austria, Xin Chen's mind wandered off for a moment. Eleven years ago that summer, a strange woman stood in front of her, claiming to be her mother, saying she would leave that day and settle in Austria, never to return again.

  She certainly didn't intend to satisfy the woman's wish to recognize her and leave without regret, but later Lu Fei told her that the woman had left an envelope with an address written on it, and as long as Xin Chen was willing, she could contact her at any time.

  Xin Chen didn't have that intention, but every time he heard the name of Austria, he had a strange feeling.

  They were complete strangers to each other, without any impression, yet she had hardly any doubt about what the woman said, even though she had never mentioned her birthday and physical characteristics. The connection was wonderful, as soon as she saw her, she knew that she had been in that belly for ten months, after that encounter, she carefully examined herself in front of the mirror, looking for similarities with the woman.

  But this cannot make her feel naturally close to her, she has no yearning for her mother, nor can it be said that she loves or hates her. The mother she comes into contact with the most in life is Xinde's mother Li Xiang, unfortunately they have never been close either.

  It's possible that the woman only carefully looked at her on the day she was born, remembered the mole on her foot, and with an unknown emotion, regretted her youth or feared the vast future, then let this newborn baby be taken away. When she was about to leave the country, she suddenly felt a inexplicable attachment.

  Xin Chen couldn't imagine the scene of sitting and talking with her, she thought it was absurd. Not to mention that from the night she saw that woman, she started having nightmares about being trapped in a dark corridor unable to find home, or walking tiredly on an endless road without direction.

  "Hey, you're spacing out." Bruce wiggled his fingers in front of her eyes. "It's cruel to space out like that on a guy, what are you thinking?"

  Xin Chen smiled apologetically, just about to speak, but saw two people walking up the stairs one after another. She thought that today was probably not a good day to go out, and she would run into familiar faces everywhere. Suddenly, she regretted coming to this bar on impulse. Both of them were people she knew, the first one being Xin Di, and the second one was Lu Fei.