Xuanji Light Realm, global headquarters building.
In the president's office.
Tang Song didn't know how long he had been looking.
By the time he came back to himself, the open dark-blue suitcase on the desk was already empty.
Yet his heart felt as if something had filled it.
So full it ached a little, so sour his eyes had begun to burn.
Every sticky note from Su Yu was not merely recording a year and a city, but recreating for him a stretch of time he had never been present for.
Her confusion, her waiting, the habit she had formed of looking again and again toward an empty seat amid seas of people...
It was a sacrifice and a journey spanning years, without the slightest reservation.
Few people could face feelings like these and remain unmoved.
He reached out and touched a small stone, his fingertips rubbing over its rough edges, feeling the seaside wind of some autumn long ago;
Then he picked up a shell, its lines seeming still soaked with the coolness of the tide.
Just like that, he looked at each item, touched each item.
The concerts he had been absent from.
The cities she had walked through alone.
The longing he had never seen.
At this moment, all of it gathered before his eyes.
Only after a long while did he gather those things together again and put them away.
When the clasp shut, it made a faint "click."
He lifted the suitcase, carrying that heavy weight, walked into the walk-in closet in the lounge, and placed it squarely in the innermost part of the cabinet. Then he turned and returned to the broad office desk.
His gaze fell once more on the black-and-gold desktop.
Ouyang Xuanyue's jade pendant, Secretary Jin's Ginkgo Bookmark.
These two items