Chen Shu had always felt that being moved to tears lasted only an instant. What endured was the quiet companionship that survived the tempering of years. The most beautiful love was finding each other in a vast world, finding that they happened to be right for each other, then spending countless Dusk and dawns together, sharing the beauty of time.
Meeting Ning Qing was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
The timing had been just right, and so had the two of them. If anything had been even slightly different, those dozen-odd years spent side by side would never have happened.
Nothing could have been luckier than that.
And when he thought back carefully, every moment of those dozen-odd years, uneventful as they had been, was worth savoring.
The song was understated, rich with story and imagery, just the kind he liked. Its only flaw was the faint regret in it, but that hardly mattered when he was singing it simply because he liked it, to someone he loved.
He hoped that many years from now, they would still be together as they were today. Perhaps they would sit beneath a tree at Dusk, looking back, and remember this moment.
"One more song!"
"One more song..."
Chen Shu ignored the crowd's calls and stepped off the stage. He had eyes only for the young woman sitting in the chair.
"Did it sound good?"
"It did."
"Did you like it?"
"I did."
"Were you moved?"
"I was."
"Then can I have a kiss?"
"..."
"Great. You said yes."
Chen Shu had already sat down beside her. Following the principle that silence meant consent, he turned to face Qingqing and slipped an arm around her shoulders. Qingqing happened to turn toward him too, meeting his eyes. He cupped her cheek with his other