By the time they returned from Apricot Blossom Street, it was already afternoon. After saying goodbye to You Hongxuan, Xie Mi and Shen Yeqing walked side by side along a landscaped path in the villa complex.
Remembering what You Hongxuan had just said, and thinking of everything Shen Yeqing had quietly done over the years, Xie Mi gave it some thought.
Suddenly, she hurried ahead of Shen Yeqing and stopped him, looking up with a focused, earnest expression.
"Old Shen, let's make more fun memories together."
Shen Yeqing stopped in his tracks. Meeting her unusually sincere gaze, his expression shifted slightly.
Then a smile slowly spread through his eyes.
"Teacher Xie, your heart aches for me."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
He always seemed to understand her feelings.
Even when she expressed them differently from other people, even when she said something that seemed entirely unrelated, he always understood.
Xie Mi didn't deny it. She readily admitted it.
"Yes, my heart aches for you."
"I feel like I can imagine you over the past few years, holding on to those few memories and revisiting them again and again as you missed me. That's why my heart aches."
"Rather than remembering the past, I want you to enjoy the happiness you have right now."
"So."
Xie Mi gazed at the man before her and spoke each word clearly.
"Let's make more happy, fun memories together. Not just now, but in the future too."
The long wait was over.
From now on,
"We'll keep being happy together."
In truth, Shen Yeqing had started experiencing happiness long ago.
From the moment he reunited with Xie Mi on his first day on the show.
Even though she hadn't known him then, even though he had been the only one who knew about