At six in the evening, the city sky was washed in a pale orange-red by the setting sun.
Lin Wanqing stood at the entrance of the office building, her phone clutched in her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to tap the screen.
Ten minutes earlier, she had received a message from Shen Yuan'an.
“Are you free tonight? I want to talk to you.”
It was only a short sentence, but she had stared at it for a long time.
Since they had met again, Shen Yuan'an had never asked her out so directly.
The Shen Yuan'an of the past had always hidden his emotions deep inside.
Just as he had many years ago.
Back then, Shen Yuan'an couldn't say “I miss you.” He couldn't say “I need you.” He couldn't even force out a single “Stay.”
He had always believed that as long as they held each other in their hearts, they wouldn't truly lose each other, even if they said nothing at all.
But later, she came to understand that some feelings, if left unspoken, would slowly disappear in the silence.
And they were the best example of that.
Lin Wanqing drew a deep breath and finally replied.
“Okay.”
The instant the message was sent, she felt as if someone had given her heart a gentle squeeze.
It had already been so many years.
She had thought she had moved on long ago.
But when that person appeared in her life again, she realized that some people weren't forgotten. They were simply hidden in the deepest part of your heart.
As long as you didn't touch that place, it was as if nothing was there.
But the moment you did, every memory came rushing out without warning.
They agreed to meet at a café near the office.
Lin Wanqing arrived early.
She chose a seat by the window and ordered a hot latte.
A faint mist of steam rose from the coffee, but she didn't drink it.
She didn't know what Shen Yuan'an wanted to say today.
Even less did she know what kind of feelings she should face him with.
A friend?
An old acquaintance?
Someone she had once loved?
Or…
Someone she still cared about but didn't dare admit it?
The wind chime by the door rang once.
Lin Wanqing looked up.
Shen Yuan'an stood in the doorway.
He wore a dark gray shirt, the cuffs rolled up slightly, his expression as calm as ever.
Only his eyes softened noticeably the moment he saw her.
He walked toward her.
“Have you been waiting long?”
Lin Wanqing shook her head.
“No. I just got here, too.”
Even she found the words a little absurd after saying them.
Because she had clearly been waiting for him for many years.
How could she have only been waiting for ten-odd minutes in this café?
Shen Yuan'an sat down.
When the server came over, he didn't look at the menu. “An iced Americano,” he said simply.
Lin Wanqing paused.
“You still drink iced Americanos?”
Shen Yuan'an looked up at her.
“You remember?”
She froze.
The next second, he smiled faintly.
“I thought you'd forgotten.”
Lin Wanqing lowered her eyes.
“Some things aren't worth forgetting. I don't deliberately forget them.”
That made Shen Yuan'an fall silent.
The space between them suddenly grew quiet.
Outside the window, traffic moved slowly past, while neon lights came on one after another.
The city remained noisy.
Yet between the two of them, it felt as though countless years lay between them.
Neither of them spoke first.
Finally, Shen Yuan'an broke the silence.
“Wanqing, have you been doing well lately?”
She looked up at him.
“Very well.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You're not forcing yourself?”
Lin Wanqing smiled.
“Shen Yuan'an, we're not who we used to be.”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“I know.”
“Then why do you keep asking?”
He didn't answer.
Only after a long while did he say quietly, “Because I want to know.”
Those five simple words made her heart jolt painfully.
She tightened her grip on the cup.
“What difference does it make if you know?”
Shen Yuan'an looked at her.
“At least I don't want to be completely in the dark anymore.”
Lin Wanqing said nothing.
He continued, “I used to think that if we gave each other enough time, a lot of things would get better on their own.”
“But later I learned that time doesn't solve problems.”
“It only makes what we've missed grow farther and farther away.”
Her eyes grew slightly warm.
Words she had thought she no longer cared about could still strike her so easily when they came from him.
“So?”
She asked.
“Is that why you asked me out today? Just to tell me this?”
Shen Yuan'an shook his head.
“No.”
He took a small paper box from his pocket.
Then he placed it in front of her.
Lin Wanqing froze.
“What is this?”
“Open it and see.”
She hesitated for several seconds before slowly opening it.
Inside was a very simple silver bracelet.
A tiny star charm hung at its center.
Lin Wanqing stared at the star, her whole body suddenly going rigid.
She remembered.
It was the bracelet she had admired in a little shop many years ago.
Back then, she had stood in front of the display window and looked at it for a long time.
Shen Yuan'an had asked whether she liked it.
She had stubbornly said, “It's okay.”
The truth was, she had loved it.
She had simply thought that if she openly said she liked it, it would seem as if she were asking something of him.
Later, they broke up.
She had thought that memory had long since been forgotten.
But now…
It had actually appeared in front of her.
“This…”
Her voice trembled.
Shen Yuan'an looked at her.
“I went back to buy it back then.”
Lin Wanqing looked up.
“What?”
“After you left, I went back and bought it.”
“But the shop had already closed.”
“I know.”
“Then how did you…”
“I searched for a long time.”
His voice was very soft.
“In the end, I only managed to find one that looked very similar.”
Lin Wanqing stared at the bracelet, and tears suddenly fell.
She quickly turned her face away.
Shen Yuan'an didn't reach out to wipe them away.
He simply sat there quietly.
Because he knew.
At that moment, what she needed wasn't comfort.
She needed a little time.
After a long while, Lin Wanqing finally asked, “Why are you giving this to me?”
Shen Yuan'an was silent for a moment.
“Because I never gave it to you back then.”
She closed her eyes.
Tears slid down her cheeks.
So the person she had thought never understood her had actually remembered all along.
They had simply both been too young.
Too proud.
And too inexperienced to know how to cherish what they had.
By the time they left the café, it was completely dark.
Shen Yuan'an walked with her down the street.
Half a step separated them.
Not far.
But not close enough to touch, either.
Lin Wanqing lowered her head and looked at the bracelet on her wrist.
She didn't know why she had put it on.
Perhaps because she had no way to refuse him.
Or perhaps…
There had always been a place in her heart that had never truly closed.
When they reached the intersection, the light turned red.
They stopped.
Shen Yuan'an suddenly asked, “Do you still remember where we first met?”
Lin Wanqing smiled.
“I remember.”
“Where was it?”
“The school library.”
“You bumped into me that day.”
She frowned.
“You were the one standing in the middle of the aisle.”
“Was I?”
“Of course.”
“But I remember you were walking too fast.”
“Shen Yuan'an.”
She glared at him.
He finally laughed.
In that moment, Lin Wanqing suddenly felt as if he had become that boy from so many years ago again.
In the sunlight, wearing a white shirt, his features clean and bright, his smile carrying a hint of irresistible tenderness.
She had once loved him so deeply.
So deeply that she had believed she would never love anyone else in this life.
The light turned green.
The crowd began moving forward.
But Shen Yuan'an didn't move right away.
“Wanqing.”
“Hmm?”
“If we could start over…”
He paused.
“Would you still choose to leave?”
Her steps came to a halt.
Her heart felt as if something had slammed into it.
She didn't answer.
Because she knew what the question was really asking—
If they could return to that time, would they still have had a chance?
After a long time, she finally said softly,
“I don't know.”
A shadow fell across Shen Yuan'an's eyes.
But she added,
“But if we really could start over, I would hope that both of us would be a little braver back then.”
He looked at her.
“It's not too late now.”
She froze.
Shen Yuan'an didn't say anything else.
He simply walked her across the street.
But those four words stayed in her heart.
It's not too late now.
Was it really not too late?
She didn't know.
The next morning, Lin Wanqing had just arrived at the office when she saw her coworker, Su Yan, standing beside her desk.
“Wanqing.”
“What is it?”
Su Yan looked mysterious.
“Did you have dinner with President Shen yesterday?”
Lin Wanqing froze.
“How did you know?”
“The company group chat is practically exploding.”
She took out her phone.
Lin Wanqing glanced at it.
In the photo, she and Shen Yuan'an were standing outside the café.
The angle was clever.
It made it look as if Shen Yuan'an were looking down at her.
And she was wearing the star bracelet on her wrist.
“Who took this?”
“No idea.”
Su Yan frowned.
“But everyone is guessing whether you two are…”
“No.”
Lin Wanqing immediately denied it.
But after the words left her mouth, she stopped.
Not what?
Not a couple?
Not starting over?
Or not still in love?
She couldn't even answer herself.
Su Yan looked at her and suddenly grinned.
“Your face is red.”
“It is not.”
“It is.”
“Really, it's not.”
“Okay, okay. It's not.”
Su Yan turned and walked away.
Lin Wanqing sat back down at her desk.
She lowered her head and looked at her wrist.
The tiny star shimmered faintly in the morning light.
She reached out and touched it.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
It was Shen Yuan'an.
“Are you free at lunch?”
She stared at it for a long time.
Finally, she replied:
“I am.”
A few seconds later, he sent another message.
“Then let's have lunch together.”
Lin Wanqing looked at the screen, the corners of her lips lifting before she realized it.
She suddenly understood.
Some feelings hadn't disappeared.
They had only been hidden by time,
waiting for the right moment to reappear.
At noon, Shen Yuan'an took her to a very quiet restaurant.
Only after Lin Wanqing sat down did she realize that this was a place they used to visit often.
“How did you know I still liked this place?”
“I didn't.”
He poured her a glass of water.
“I just wanted to bring you here.”
“To see what?”
“To see what we used to be.”
She paused.
Shen Yuan'an looked out the window.
“This place has changed a lot.”
Lin Wanqing looked over, too.
“Yeah.”
“But I still remember that you used to love sitting by the window.”
She smiled.
“You really remember a lot.”
“I remember everything connected to you.”
The air suddenly fell silent.
She lowered her head.
“Shen Yuan'an.”
“Hmm?”
“Isn't what you're doing now a little unfair?”
He looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“You never used to say things like this.”
“I didn't understand back then.”
“And now you do?”
“Now I know.”
“Know what?”
He didn't hesitate.
“That when you like someone, you should let them know.”
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
“That when you want to hold on to someone, you can't just stand still and wait.”
“That after you miss someone, not everyone will keep waiting in the same place.”
“So…”
He paused.
“I don't want to make the same mistake again.”
Lin Wanqing lifted her head.
Their gazes met in midair.
In that instant, she suddenly felt as if time had returned to many years ago.
That boy stood before her.
And this time, he didn't stay silent.
Before the end of the workday, Lin Wanqing received an email.
It was a company transfer assignment.
She had been assigned to the Shanghai branch for three months.
She was leaving the following week.
She stared at the email without moving for a long time.
This was the opportunity she had been looking forward to for ages.
If she accepted it, her career would make a major breakthrough.
But three months…
She thought of Shen Yuan'an.
She thought of everything that had happened recently.
Suddenly, she didn't know whether she should go.
After work, she walked out of the office alone.
Her phone rang.
It was Shen Yuan'an.
“Are you off work?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm downstairs.”
She froze.
When she reached the entrance, she saw him there, exactly as he had said.
He stood beside his car.
When he saw her, he walked toward her.
“What happened?”
He quickly noticed that something was wrong.
Lin Wanqing was silent for a while.
“I'm going to Shanghai.”
His steps stopped.
“For how long?”
“Three months.”
He didn't speak right away.
She thought he would be disappointed.
She even thought he might try to stop her.
But in the end, he only asked:
“When are you leaving?”
“Next week.”
Shen Yuan'an nodded.
“That’s good.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“This is the opportunity you want. Go.”
She froze.
“You don't mind?”
He smiled faintly.
“Why would I mind?”
“Because…”
She didn't finish.
But he understood.
“Wanqing.”
He looked at her.
“I don't want to use love as an excuse to limit you again.”
Her eyes instantly turned red.
“I didn't understand that before, and that's why I made you feel as if staying would mean sacrificing yourself.”
“I won't do that this time.”
“If you want to go, I'll support you.”
She lowered her head.
Tears nearly fell.
But Shen Yuan'an continued,
“It's just…”
She looked up.
“What?”
“It's only three months.”
He smiled at her.
“I can wait that long.”
Her heart softened all at once.
“You really will wait?”
“I will.”
“What if I don't come back after three months?”
Shen Yuan'an looked at her, his tone calm but firm.
“Then I'll go find you.”
She smiled, even as tears fell at the same time.
“Why are you still so stubborn?”
“Because this time, I know what I want.”
“And what do you want?”
Shen Yuan'an was silent for several seconds.
Then he said,
“You.”
A single simple word.
Yet it left her unable to hold back any longer.
She turned around to wipe away her tears.
Shen Yuan'an stood behind her without moving closer.
He waited until she turned back on her own.
Their eyes met again.
This time, she didn't run away.
That night, Lin Wanqing returned home.
She pulled her suitcase out of the closet.
Then she began packing her clothes one piece at a time.
Her phone lay on the table.
The screen lit up.
Shen Yuan'an had sent her a message.
“Are you home?”
She replied,
“I am.”
“Have you started packing?”
“Yeah.”
“Don't forget to bring that bracelet.”
She lowered her head and looked at her wrist.
She smiled.
“I won't forget.”
After a while, he sent another message.
“Wanqing.”
“Hmm?”
“I'll miss you while you're in Shanghai.”
She stared at the words.
Tears suddenly fell.
She typed a line, then deleted it.
She typed another, then deleted that one, too.
In the end, she sent only one sentence.
“Me too.”
After sending it, she held her phone against her chest.
The night outside the window was deep and dark.
But for the first time, she felt that the future wasn't so frightening.
Because she knew there was someone waiting for her in another city.
And she finally understood.
True love wasn't about demanding that two people remain in the same place forever.
It was about being willing to stand right where you were and wait, even when the person you loved had to go somewhere farther away.
Not because you were afraid they would leave.
But because you believed that one day, they would come back.
Three months.
It wasn't exactly long.
But it wasn't exactly short, either.
For them, perhaps it was the first stretch of the road toward learning how to love each other again.
And this time, they wouldn't miss each other.
They wouldn't stay silent.
And they wouldn't let all those words left unsaid become a lifetime of regret.
Lin Wanqing lowered her head and looked at the star on her wrist.
She suddenly thought of herself many years ago.
Back then, she had stood in front of the display window, looking at this bracelet without saying what she felt.
Many years later, she had finally received it.
Though it had come many years late.
Still…
It seemed to have arrived right on time.
Some people come too early, before either of them understands love.
Some people leave too quickly, leaving behind too many regrets.
And some people circle around for many years before finally meeting again at the perfect time.
It wasn't love that had been late.
It was the time it took them to learn how to love each other.
And this time,
she was willing to believe.
Even people who arrived late could still meet each other right on time.
Fall in love right on time.
And find their way back to each other's side right on time.
Even with three months of distance ahead of them,
she was no longer afraid.
Because she knew—
People who truly belonged together would return to the same starting point in the end, no matter how far they had gone around.
And that starting point was the love they had once set down, but never truly lost.
End of Chapter Five.