Martha and Will's story had come to an end, but the movie continued.
Ten years later, Martha had become a young woman who loved capturing life through her camera lens. With a swift transition, the story moved to another setting at the same train station, delving into a second narrative.
The characters were introduced more simply, employing a plethora of flashbacks and cuts to tell the story of an artistic young man's life in less than three minutes.
He worked at a company during the day to make a living and part-timed at a music instrument shop in the evenings, where his true passion lay.
Only when the night was quiet and devoid of people did the young man dare to pick up his guitar and sing the songs he had written himself.
One day, due to a work mistake, he was summoned to the office by the company's creative director.
When the creative director, played by Sophie Marceau, lifted her head to speak, the entire cinema emitted numerous gasps.
Sophie, dressed in office attire, still exuded a unique charm, and few could resist the mature allure of such a woman.
The young man found it nearly impossible to speak coherently in her presence.
For Bella, the two parallel stories unfolding from different perspectives were quite intriguing.
One was from Martha's point of view, and the other from the young man's perspective, both narrating a love story that was neither here nor there.
The young man still sang his own songs in private, sitting in front of the music shop's door on quiet nights, playing his guitar alone.
Unexpectedly, he encountered the director on her way home, as she lived nearby.
Sometimes fate worked in mysterious ways. Before they knew each other, the young man had never noticed her during her many passings. However, once certain circumstances brought them together, it made a profound impact.
The director found the young man intriguing and became his only audience.
The heart of an unrecognized artistic youth is fragile, and at such times, even a smile of appreciation feels like a great encouragement.
The relationship between the young man and the director deepened. Gradually, a mutual, unspoken emotion grew between them.
Their relationship always seemed to be in a state of ambiguity. Whenever the young man gathered the courage to take a step further, the director would step back.
She had experienced a failed marriage in the past, and she was also ten years older than him, making it difficult to overcome the hesitations in her heart to pursue this relationship.
In terms of expressing their feelings, the second story was far more restrained than the first.
"In Czech, how do you say "Do you love him"?" the young man asked. The director was proficient in many languages.
"Do you love her?" the director replied in Czech.
The young man mumbled for a moment, then repeated, "So, do you love him?"
"I love you," the director said with a smile.
She said it in Czech again, and the young man didn't understand, so he asked in confusion, "What did you say?"
"Nothing, let's go."
Love or no love, it wasn't necessarily a problem that needed to be solved. This kind of suspended state, where feelings hung in the balance, made the subsequent plot feel incredibly comfortable.
They went to see the sea together, attended opera performances, and even played musical compositions together in the music shop when there was no one else around.
In the end, the director still withdrew, transferring to the company's British branch and parting ways with the young man.
In her letter, she wrote:
"Choosing someone to spend your life with is one of the most important decisions anyone can make, forever."
"Because when you make the wrong decisions, life turns gray."
"Sometimes, we don't even realize it until we wake up one morning and find that many things have passed. I think we all know this, Alex."
"I hope I didn't assume too much, but I think I might have because sometimes, I'm afraid."
Alex, the young man, looked at the letter with tears welling up, accompanied by Coldplay's song "Yellow", and his emotions welled up again.
[
Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called "Yellow"
]
...
The song was gentle, much like Alex's character.
The lyrics were pure, brimming with love for the girl.
Combined with the young man's silence, the audience and critics watching the film were all deeply moved.
"Is it another case of unrequited love?"
Bella whispered softly, regardless of whether the director could hear her.
She watched the screen quietly.
Sensing the young man's sorrow.
The scene shifted, and the young man was back in the music instrument shop, wiping away dust.
It seemed like he wasn't going to do anything about it.
Was it all coming to an end?
Rain fell from the sky, and the story seemed to have revealed its ending.
If it were a typical romantic movie, Bella would be confident that the two would undoubtedly end up together, sealed with a passionate, epic kiss. However, the style of the first story had already shown that Director Lyman was different from others.
So, she couldn't guess.
Inside the movie theater, sporadic comments murmured around.
"Is it going to end like this again?"
"Come on, the young man isn't Will, why not go after her?"
"Forget about the damn societal prejudices, what's wrong with being ten years older? Go for her."
"What a cold-hearted director. Maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend."
...Personal attacks are not acceptable, hey!
If the ending turns out this way again, Bella finds it a bit cruel.
She hoped for a turning point, but Alex continued to live his life as usual.
Bella furrowed her brows, and outside, the rain continued to fall, seemingly indicating that Alex still hadn't made up his mind.
It wasn't just her hesitating; he was as well.
Suddenly, a montage, and the scene shifted back to the director in England.
She was in her office at the company, handling business affairs.
The camera zoomed out, and it was clear that it was sunny outside.
This was a very clear signal. But it wasn't clear whether the timeline of this shot was as jump-cut as before.
Maybe several more years had passed.
At the edge of the frame, the office door was knocked.
A man entered the frame, although his face wasn't shown, the joy on the girl's face couldn't be hidden.
Bella straightened up, her eyes locked on the screen, and her sense of anticipation began to build.
"I love you." This was the man's first sentence, and the director still didn't show his face directly, but the audience knew he was speaking in Czech.
The melodious background music gradually swelled.
The camera shifted again, this time to a music instrument shop.
The woman and the young man played a song together as they always did.
Outside on the streets, sunlight streamed through the windows, rendering the entire composition in golden hues.
The whole scene was ridiculously beautiful. It was the charm of light and shadow created by the movie.