Chapter 525: Zhang Yan! Zhang Yan!

November 3, 2023, Friday, cloudy.

6:00 AM, Shenzhen Bay No. 1.

Accompanied by the pleasant alarm clock sound.

Liu Qingning propped herself up from the soft bed, used voice to wake up the indoor lights, and soft light instantly spilled over the room.

She tidied her messy hair, her fingertips subconsciously stroking the warm [Qingnang Gourd] on her chest, and whispered "Good morning."

She lifted the quilt and got out of bed; the cool air made her wake up quickly.

She stretched, picked up her phone to look, and there were no unread messages.

Her eyes moved imperceptibly, she changed into sportswear, and walked out.

"Good morning, Miss Qingning." Aunt Mei, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, greeted her softly.

"Good morning, Aunt Mei."

Coming to the fitness area in the corner of the living room, Liu Qingning turned on the treadmill, placed her phone on the stand in front, and started warming up.

She knew that at this moment, Tang Zong was likely sleeping with Wen Ruan.

In fact, before Wen Ruan set off for Yangcheng, she even specifically called her, her words carrying probing and closeness, and they even agreed to find time to come to Shenzhen to see her alone.

If it were before, Liu Qingning would probably have subconsciously refused.

Having another woman of Tang Zong’s come to visit her after spending a night with him made her feel uncomfortable from the bottom of her heart.

But now, the Su Yu matter was like a heavy mountain pressing on her chest, heavy, making her almost unable to breathe.

By comparison, Wen Ruan’s existence didn't seem so hard to accept.

The speed of the treadmill was increasing bit by bit, and her heart rate soon reached the optimal fat-burning range.

Liu Qingning looked at the city outside the window that hadn't woken up yet, her breathing gradually quickened, and sweat slid down her temples.

In her mind, thoughts were like a galloping torrent, never stopping for a moment.

The Xuanji Light World financing project was about to start, and she would represent Qingmi AI to go to Modu.

Before long, she would officially meet this legendary "top beauty."

Not on TV, not at a concert, not in the news.

But in real life, in Tang Zong’s world.

Face to face, with no way to retreat.

Liu Qingning felt an unprecedented tension and fear.

No one could ignore Su Yu’s beauty and talent; even women would like such a beauty, let alone men.

At the same time, deep in her heart, a wave of regret surged again.

She had lived in the halo of being surrounded by stars since she was a child, with powerful talent, top grades, and outstanding appearance, which made her develop a kind of near-arrogant rationality and independence.

It was precisely because of such a growth environment that she had some blind spots in emotional cognition.

She couldn't fully empathize with Tang Zong’s feelings for her.

She had always thought that as long as she was good enough and excellent enough, he would always follow her and meet her at the peak.

She took his pursuit for granted, but never truly valued the fatigue and longing in his eyes.

She never thought that she would reach this step today, nor could she accept a failed future without Tang Zong.

Over the years she had known Tang Zong, it wasn't that other girls hadn't appeared by his side.

Whether it was female classmates in the same grade or some cute junior schoolgirls,

After all, Tang Zong in high school was tall, thin, sunny, and cheerful, which was very likable in itself.

It was just because of her existence that those girls tacitly and actively chose to step back.

And Tang Zong’s gaze had never left her.

Of course, besides these people, the one Liu Qingning had a deeper impression of was a girl from No. 2 Middle School.

She was also Tang Zong’s junior high classmate.

It seemed her name was Zhang Yan.

From the first year of high school, she could occasionally see the other party’s figure on the No. 1 Middle School campus, and every time it was when she was with Tang Zong.

A woman’s sixth sense, coupled with her natural intelligence, naturally allowed her to perceive that the other party was aiming for Tang Zong.

The reason she still had an impression now was that she had met the other party in the Imperial Capital more than two years ago.

Once at Tiantongyuan South Subway Station.

Another time, it was at the headquarters building of Gaosi Education.

Century Wisdom, which she founded in university, was itself an AI-driven intelligent education technology company, and its service objects were these training institutions.

She had met the other party when she represented the company to talk about cooperation.

She could vaguely guess some things, but out of selfishness, she didn't tell Tang Zong about this.

Later, as policies tightened, Gaosi Education’s business shrank significantly, and it was even reported and rectified by the Education Commission, so naturally, the cooperation couldn't be talked about.

Just as she was letting her imagination run wild.

"Deng, deng, deng~" A WeChat video call came through.

[Tang Zong]

Liu Qingning smiled uncontrollably first, then her face tightened, and she slowed down the treadmill speed.

She waited for a few seconds before answering the video.

"What? Were you exhausted last night? You got up so late today? Don't get sucked dry by Wen Ruan!"

Tang Zong froze, then said awkwardly: "Last night I had dinner with an executive of 'Zhi Lian Future,' drank a lot of alcohol, and overslept. They are currently accessing the lime 3.0 multimodal large model to build their own e-commerce content generation engine—"

As he spoke, he walked to the fitness equipment and started warming up.

Sure enough, once it came to work and AI, Liu Qingning’s attention was instantly pulled back.

Tang Zong breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

Because he had a high-intensity ball game with the big sister in the afternoon, the two were actually very "calm" before going to sleep last night.

However, at two in the morning, the big sister who had recovered her strength launched a night raid and bit him.

Tang Zong was groggy and caught off guard.

It took a lot of effort to defeat Wen Ruan.

The two tossed and turned until three in the morning before falling into a deep sleep, which was why they got up late.

One hour later.

Tang Zong walked out of the hotel fitness center drenched in sweat and returned to the suite.

Wen Ruan was still sleeping soundly, her whole person curled up in the soft bedding, revealing only a section of round and fair shoulders.

Tang Zong lightened his steps and walked into the bathroom.

He took a shower and changed into a more formal outfit.

He picked up the tablet in the room and ordered a breakfast with Yangcheng characteristics.

Soon, the doorbell rang, and the exquisite breakfast cart was sent into the room.

Tang Zong looked at the time and walked to the side of the master bedroom bed.

He leaned down and whispered in Wen Ruan’s ear: "Zhuangzhuang, time to get up and eat."

Wen Ruan’s long eyelashes trembled, and she let out a lazy, nasal light hum.

She opened her eyes slowly, her peach blossom eyes filled with confusion.

She stretched an extremely alluring stretch, the La Perla silk nightgown clinging tightly to her body with her movements, the breathtaking E-cup about to burst out.

Immediately after, she hugged Tang Zong’s waist, lifted the hem of his shirt, and rubbed her face lightly against his solid lower abdomen.

Kisses fell all the way from his eight-pack abs, lingering on his mermaid line.

Tang Zong’s breathing instantly became heavy, and he reached out through her silky hair, feeling the delicate touch from her scalp.

His other hand followed the edge of her nightgown, feeling the warmth and fullness unique to the big sister.

Wen Ruan licked her full lips and said in a hoarse royal sister voice: "Your figure is really too tempting, if I were with you every day, I couldn't stand it."

Tang Zong’s appearance perfectly fit her sexual preferences.

Now the mermaid line, dog waist, and chocolate abs were simply fatal, and she couldn't hold on at all.

Tang Zong blinked and leaned into the big sister’s ear: "Then find a teammate."

"Hehe, I knew you had this kind of thought." Wen Ruan bit his lower abdomen and turned to look at him with charming eyes: "Actually, it's not impossible."

"Ah? Really?" Tang Zong’s throat rolled, his fingers tightened.

Wen Ruan nodded, panting: "Liu Qingning is in Shenzhen, tomorrow is the weekend, you call her over. It just so happens that the presidential suite bed is very big, and sleeping three of us is no problem."

Hearing this, Tang Zong’s eyelids jumped: "That—that still forget it."

Let Liu Qingning play this kind of game with himself?

Just thinking about it would make him explode.

With the white moonlight’s personality, she might really take scissors and "snip" him off.

"Hmph!" Wen Ruan snorted and gave him a white look: "You just think I'm easy to bully, when it comes to Liu Qingning, you immediately soften."

"That's because sister is too tempting."

"Go to hell."

The two fought a few words.

Coming to the restaurant, sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the panoramic view of Yangcheng, enjoying a leisurely and delicious breakfast.

Cantonese dim sum, wonton noodles, ginkgo dried scallop abalone porridge—the two ate to their heart’s content.

After eating, Wen Ruan walked into the walk-in closet, and when she came out, she had changed into a high-end professional suit.

Elegant and capable, exquisite makeup, confident and composed eyes.

It formed a huge contrast with the lazy and alluring demon before.

Wen Ruan raised her chin slightly, her expression indifferent: "Let's go, Tang Zong, time to work."

After saying that, just as she was about to turn around to get her bag, she was pulled into his arms by Tang Zong and given a wet kiss.

9:00 AM.

The two arrived at the Fuli Yingkai Plaza in Tianhe District, where the Yangcheng branch of Nebula International Group was located.

This was located on the west side of the central axis of the Pearl River New Town CBD, adjacent to the IFC Four Seasons Hotel where they lived.

As the core branch in the South China region, the company was located on the 39th floor of the building, renting half a floor of 1200 square meters of office space, equipped with high-end reception halls, conference rooms, live broadcast rooms, etc., with more than 120 employees.

Basically covering all business.

Wen Ruan’s arrival caused great attention from the branch.

When she walked into the branch on the 39th floor of the building side by side with Tang Zong, all the executives who had been waiting in the reception hall immediately greeted them, each face hanging with a professional and enthusiastic welcome.

"Wen Dong!"

"Good morning, Wen Dong!"

"Welcome Wen Dong to come and guide us!"

Amidst the respectful greetings, Wen Ruan smiled and nodded with ease, her gaze sweeping across the crowd, and finally lingering on several familiar faces.

She had been to the branch many times, so she was some "old acquaintances."

However, things had changed, and the ordinary marketing planner at the time had now become the helmsman of the group.

Her mood was indescribable.

Wen Ruan introduced some main persons in charge of the branch to Tang Zong.

Then, she turned to the side, her posture elegant: "This is the Chairman of Rongliu Capital, Tang Zong. Next, he will participate in this joint investment in 'Zhi Lian Future' together with our Nebula International Group."

When Branch General Manager Wang Chongxian heard the four words "Rongliu Capital," the smile on his face instantly froze, and his pupils contracted visibly.

Not just him, the other two or three senior executives present also had their faces turn incomparably shocked.

As executives in the media and marketing industry, their sensitivity to information was far beyond ordinary people.

Just last week, that name that stirred up the entire Hong Kong capital wind and clouds and exploded countless financial headlines in a short time was naturally not strange, but they never expected that the chairman of this company would be so young and handsome.

They had previously guessed whether the other party was Wen Dong’s "little boyfriend."

"Tang, Tang Dong! Long admired your name, long admired your name!" Wang Chongxian almost immediately stepped forward, held Tang Zong’s hand with both hands, and his waist bent down a bit subconsciously.

The others also quickly gathered around, enthusiastic to the point of flattery.

Wen Ruan blinked playfully at her man, a look of "proud of you."

After a grand and enthusiastic pleasantry, led by Wang Chongxian, the group entered the conference room.

The temporary due diligence team composed of elites from the Yangcheng branch of Nebula International was also waiting here, and both sides quickly entered a working state.

Half an hour later.

The motorcade set off, driving toward the headquarters of "Zhi Lian Future" in the Tianyu Business Building in Yuexiu District.

Noon.

Shuocheng Technology.

"Let's go, Zhang Yan." Lulu tapped on her office desk partition, "Eat! Eat!"

"Oh oh, coming." Zhang Yan hurriedly saved the manuscript she had just finished writing, tidied up the desktop, and stood up.

The two squeezed into the slowly descending elevator and went downstairs.

Walking along the street for a while, they drilled into a nearby cramped fast-food restaurant.

The air was filled with the mixed aroma of oil smoke and rice.

Zhang Yan was still the same, ordering a 12-yuan box lunch, one meat and one vegetable.

Lulu seemed quite generous, directly ordering an 18-yuan two-meat-one-vegetable set meal.

The two sat down in front of a greasy small table.

Lulu excitedly shoveled rice, "Zhang Yan, you don't know, that fund I lost the most miserably has completely broken even! Plus the others, calculated, I earned 2200 yuan this month!"

Zhang Yan opened her eyes in surprise: "So much?"

"Yeah! It’s a pity I didn't dare to buy stocks at the time, otherwise I would have earned more—"

Zhang Yan ate her bean curd skin with meat and shredded potatoes silently, listening to Lulu’s mouth constantly popping out professional terms seen from the forum like "10-billion-dollar mother fund," "market sentiment reversal," "geopolitical benefit stimulation."

She felt that these things were like clouds floating in the sky, too far away from her life.

She didn't have as many savings as Lulu; there was only 17,000 yuan in her account.

She had to pay three months’ rent at once at the end of this month, and she had to raise an Orange that could eat a lot.

Chatting and chatting, the topic naturally returned to business trip expense reimbursement and salary. Lulu lowered her voice and started complaining: "Our company is getting worse and worse. Look recently, it’s either checking attendance or managing discipline, and they have to drag us to meetings for trivial matters. I tell you, the more the company goes downhill, the more the leaders love to toss employees, this is an iron law! It’s just to force us to leave ourselves!"

Zhang Yan nodded along, her eyes filled with worry and anxiety.

The rice in her mouth didn't seem to taste good anymore.

After lunch, the two returned to the company.

The atmosphere in the office was even more dull and oppressive than in the morning.

Zhang Yan sat at her workstation, feeling restless.

Her gaze always drifted subconsciously to the time in the bottom right corner.

Lulu beside her asked curiously: "What's wrong, Zhang Yan? Are you not feeling well?"

Zhang Yan shook her head and whispered: "I—I want to take two hours of compensatory leave this afternoon."

Last night, it was because of temporary overtime that she missed those two comic books she was thinking about.

Today is Friday, no matter what, she must buy them today.

"Then hurry up and ask for it! Your 100+ hours of compensatory leave can't be cashed out, and it will definitely be cleared by the end of the year, hurry up and take it!"

Zhang Yan whispered "Hmm," opened DingTalk, and clicked the "Apply for Compensatory Leave" button in the upper right corner of the page.

Looking at that familiar compensatory leave application page, she hesitated for a while.

Thinking of her comic books.

She took a deep breath, quickly selected the time period and type of compensatory leave, and clicked "Submit."

Immediately after, the process status showed that the application had reached her direct leader Bai Rui, waiting for approval.

Time passed bit by bit.

Zhang Yan worked seriously while also unable to help refreshing her DingTalk page from time to time.

The application had not been approved.

She felt anxious in her heart, clicked on the chat interface with Bai Rui, and tapped the keyboard lightly to type a reminder. But before sending, she deleted it word by word.

After 3 PM.

Zhang Yan’s gaze lowered, her heart...

"Ding—" A group message popped up suddenly.

[Content Director - Bai Rui: "@Everyone, everyone stay and work overtime tonight, the big boss is having a meeting outside, and he will come back to the company around 7 PM, try to stay until after 7 PM."]

A burst of fragmented discussion sounded in the office area.

Immediately after, in their small group of colleagues, they also started to discuss fiercely.

["No way? I already made an appointment with my girlfriend to watch a movie!"]

["Forget it, let's work overtime. The leader probably wants us to 'perform' so that our department won't be laid off."]

["I think it’s more like Bai Zong is 'performing' for himself, afraid that he will be laid off first?"]

Zhang Yan bit her lip, and her heart sank bit by bit.

Just like what Lulu said, the company’s attendance and discipline management were very strict recently, just wanting to seize the opportunity to lay off people without compensation.

Recently, everyone in the office had become cautious, and even those who slacked off at work were gone, let alone asking for leave.

Time passed bit by bit, and it was getting closer to 4 PM.

From the entrance of the office, a fat figure walked in.

Looking at the approaching figure of Director Bai Rui.

Zhang Yan, who was sitting at the workstation on the edge of the corridor, started to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

The footsteps were getting closer.

"Flash!" She stood up from her seat abruptly and whispered: "Bai Ge."

Bai Rui, who was about to pass by her, scanned over impatiently: "Whatever it is, talk about it later."

He waved his hand, signaling her to sit down, and prepared to continue walking forward.

Zhang Yan raised her head and said: "I submitted a compensatory leave on DingTalk, two hours this afternoon, please approve it."

Bai Rui’s footsteps paused, and his brows instantly rose.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

Colleagues around looked over one after another, with different expressions.

"I saw it." Zhang Yan averted her gaze, her hands clenched into fists nervously at her sides: "But I have urgent matters to deal with, I have to leave at four o'clock."

Bai Rui looked at her, his tone already carrying obvious anger: "Must take compensatory leave today? Zhang Yan, are you intentionally trying to make things difficult for me?"

Now that the company’s business had problems and repayment was difficult, the boss had been blocking finance and personnel recently, and the intention of layoffs was already obvious—his position as content director was already precarious.

At such a time, he naturally wanted to perform well in front of the boss, bringing the employees of the entire department to work overtime, letting the boss see his "effort" and "loyalty."

But now, this Zhang Yan, who was usually the most obedient and honest, dared to tear down his stage in public!

Zhang Yan’s lips moved, her fingers exerting slight force.

She was a very introverted person, and coupled with her childhood experiences, she had been accustomed to following the rules since she was a child, not wanting to offend people, and not daring to make others angry, especially a direct leader like Bai Rui.

Her handwriting was just like her person.

Until she graduated from high school, she still wrote like an elementary school student, stroke by stroke, neatly, afraid of writing a wrong stroke, afraid of any deviation.

Until she went to university later and started practicing calligraphy alone, her stiff brushwork gradually gained some of her own character.

She also knew that the safest and least offensive way to handle it was to transfer the money to the boss of "Shiguang Bookstore" on WeChat first.

Let him keep the books, and she would go get them this weekend.

But... she really didn't want to miss it again.

In her mind, the 32 "Dragon Ball" books neatly arranged on the bookshelf appeared.

She wanted to get them immediately.

She wanted to.

She had never been so strongly wanting to get something like this moment.

An unprecedented impulse surged and collided in her chest.

"Continue working, I have things to do." Bai Rui said impatiently, restarting his steps, preparing to walk toward his office.

"Clap," a crisp sound rippled in the quiet office.

In the shocked gaze of all colleagues in the entire office area, Zhang Yan slammed her laptop shut.

She grabbed her backpack, looked at Bai Rui’s back, and said: "I'm leaving first."

Then, she walked toward the company entrance without looking back.

Her footsteps were a bit hurried at first, but she walked faster and faster, steadier and steadier.

The moment she walked out of the company’s glass door, the gazes of the colleagues and leaders behind her seemed to be isolated in an instant.

As if she had rushed out of an invisible, long-suppressed cage.

Zhang Yan’s footsteps became unprecedentedly light.

She rushed into the elevator, rushed out of the Huiming Building, and rushed into the cool, free air of the Yangcheng afternoon.

Running, subway, transfer, shared bike—when she finally arrived at the door of "Shiguang Bookstore" panting, the sky had already gradually darkened.

Seeing the shop sign that still shone with warm light, a big smile appeared on Zhang Yan’s face.

Pushing the door open, the wind chime "ding-dong" rang.

"Step! Step! Step!"

"Boss, I'm here. Where are volumes 33 and 34 of "Dragon Ball"?"

The shop owner who was organizing the bookshelf was a gentle middle-aged man; seeing Zhang Yan who rushed in panting, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted.

"Oh, over here, over here, I kept them well for you."

Saying that, the boss smiled and took out two comic books carefully wrapped in kraft paper from under the counter.

Zhang Yan stretched out both hands and solemnly took the two books.

The moment her fingertips touched the pages, she felt as if she were holding a world lost and found.

She unwrapped the packaging with trembling fingers, checking the two books over and over again.

Qiongdao Photography and Art Publishing House, 2009 edition.

The condition was very new, with only a hint of yellowing belonging to the years on the edges of the pages.

After confirming there were no errors, she raised her head and bowed deeply to the boss: "Thank you."

"Heh," the shop owner was made a bit embarrassed by her solemn attitude: "Little girl, you are too polite. These ending volumes are relatively scarce, so the price I reported to you before was 70 yuan each. How about this, just give me 120, I'll give you a discount."

"Just follow 70 each." Zhang Yan hurriedly picked up her phone and scanned the code to pay 140 yuan.

The books truly belonged to her.

She finally gathered the last two volumes.

"Do you want to see other books? A lot of good goods have been entered recently." The boss asked with a smile.

"No need, thank you." Zhang Yan thanked him again and put the comic books into her backpack like treasures, carefully.

Walking out of the bookstore.

She stood at the street corner, looking at the endless stream of vehicles and flashing neon lights, dazed for a long time.

It wasn't until a "ding-a-ling" phone ringtone sounded that she finally came back to her senses.

Answering the phone.

Lulu’s voice sounded: "Hello? Zhang Yan, are you okay? I kept sending you messages and you didn't reply."

"I'm fine." Zhang Yan said softly: "I bought the books."

Lulu whispered: "Sigh, you. The fat white guy was not lightly angered by you; you were a bit too impulsive before, at least don't make him lose face in front of him."

"I—" Zhang Yan’s lips moved, her gaze lowered, and she said nothing more.

"Alright, alright, just know you're fine. I'm quite worried about you, I'll go see you tonight."

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment and said "Hmm."

Hanging up the phone, she exhaled and rode the shared bike toward the subway station.

The twilight gradually swallowed her thin figure.

Lanxinyuan Community, Liwan District.

"Creak—" The old anti-theft door was pushed open.

"Meow—" Orange immediately drilled out from the corner of the sofa, walked with light cat steps, rubbed intimately against her trouser legs with its body, and a satisfied purr sounded in its throat.

Zhang Yan squatted down, dotingly stroked its furry head, and then walked quickly to the desk in the living room.

Opening her backpack, she solemnly took out the two brand-new comic books, pushed aside a row of books on the simple bookshelf, and placed these last two,

neatly into it.

Thus, "Dragon Ball" 2009 Qiongdao edition, all thirty-four volumes, were all gathered.

Her fingers started from the spine of the first volume, one by one, slowly sliding backward, until touching the edge of the last volume.

Time seemed to be compressed at this moment, and those fragmented memories about youth and comics that had been sealed were surging into her heart like a tide.

She closed her eyes and exhaled a long, light breath.

That wish that had been buried in her heart for a long, long time had finally reached the moment it could be made.

The sky outside the window was completely dark.

Zhang Yan sat upright at the desk, took out the letter paper with the "Yancheng Agricultural University" header from the drawer, and pulled out the carbon pen she was used to holding.

Unlike those years in the past, this time, there was no hesitation or timidity in her heart.

It seemed that "Dragon Ball" really gave her the courage to do anything.

The paper was flattened, the pen tip hovered, and fell.

Neat handwriting appeared on the letter paper: "Classmate, hello: —Eight o'clock tonight, inside the presidential suite on the 97th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, in the quiet independent office."

"Ding-dong—" The WeChat notification sound rang suddenly.

Tang Zong’s gaze moved away from the laptop and fell on the phone.

Several new message notifications were lying quietly on the lock screen interface.

[Breathing in a Smile: "Photo.jpg""]

Seeing this familiar yet strange nickname, Tang Zong’s thoughts paused imperceptibly, and some memories surged into his heart.

It seemed that a few months ago, this "Breathing in a Smile" took the initiative to add him as a friend.

Because she called him "Classmate Tang Zong," he accepted it.

He unlocked his phone, clicked on the notification, and entered the long-dormant chat box.

The previous chat records were still saved, and it had been 4 months ago.

[Breathing in a Smile: "Hello, Classmate Tang Zong. I am not looking for you to help with Pinduoduo, nor do I want to borrow money, and I am not trying to sell any products, I have no malice. I just haven't thought about what to say yet, can you not delete me?"]

[Tang Zong: "Okay, classmate."]

[Breathing in a Smile: "Thank you."]

Further down were the photos she sent.

Tang Zong clicked on the photos.

A meticulously photographed letter paper filled the screen.

The edges of the letter paper were slightly curled, obviously having been carefully preserved for a long time.

On it was handwritten text.

Neat, stroke by stroke, carrying a near-clumsy seriousness, like an elementary school student in a practice book, afraid of writing a wrong stroke, carefully.

Immediately after, lines of text flowed before his eyes,

Classmate, hello:

I thought for a long time, not knowing what title to use to appear both formal and sincere; nor did I know what opening to use to not appear abrupt and presumptuous.

In the end, I decided to use this simplest and clumsiest way.

I think the most romantic thing about print media is that it can be folded, touched, and preserved for a long time, becoming a tangible piece of evidence of time.

But my handwriting really can't be called good; they are always so ordinary, lacking character. I could only try my best to make it neat, but I was too embarrassed to really send this letter carrying too many emotions to you.

In the end, I could only send it to you in this electronic way.

I think you probably don't remember me much anymore, so I won't introduce myself (actually, I am a bit ashamed).

I am already 26 years old this year, not knowing on which day I will be pushed by the waves of life into the next stage of life. So before everything changes completely, I want to make a summary and farewell to my past.

From my hometown to Yancheng, from high school to university, and then drifting from the Imperial Capital to Yangcheng in the south.

In these long ten years, my heart seems to be composed of only three things: study, work, and you.

I have no intention of causing you any harassment, nor am I hoping to get anything.

I just want you to know that there was once someone whose gaze followed you for a long, long time.

I don't know if you have read a book—"The Place That Exists Everywhere, The Me That Doesn't Exist Anywhere."

If I had to give the most precise summary of everything I am about to say, I think nothing is more appropriate than this book title.

You might notice that the playground on Tuesday is a bit emptier than usual; you will remember which volume the new "Slam Dunk" at the book cafe opposite No. 1 Middle School is; you will know that the spicy hot pot on the first floor of the Yancheng University canteen has gone up by another yuan; you might even be distracted for a moment by the broadcast sound in the crowded subway of the Imperial Capital.

However, you probably won't notice me.

Every detail of your life, I have tried to glimpse a corner of from afar.

The opportunities to meet you were actually not many, and I cherished every one of them.

When you appeared in front of me, in my eyes, it seemed as if a square frame would immediately appear.

It wasn't very big, just enough to hold your figure; it wasn't very long, just enough for a Shakespearean sonnet to be carved.

And I was outside that frame, watching quietly, until the frame disappeared along with your figure.

Later life is like a book being flipped through rapidly by the wind.

I drifted from one city to another, from the north to the south.

Sometimes, waking up in the cold late night in Yangcheng, listening to the fine rain outside the window.

In my eyes, the image of you wearing a white shirt, washed-out blue jeans, riding a bicycle past me would always appear—the image of that clean, glowing boy in my impression supported me through countless long, difficult days.

The faces that crossed in my youth are mostly blurry, only your outline, in my heart, becomes clearer day by day.

This is a complete set of "Dragon Ball" that I spent a long time collecting, the 2009 edition. If you are willing, I want to send it to you.

I think your life will definitely be very wonderful, like the youth comics you love, full of hot-blooded companions and exciting chapters.

So, I hope you are always like you were in your youth, enthusiastic, brave, with light in your eyes.