The soft strains of jazz music floated through the romantic French restaurant, mingling with the quiet clink of cutlery. Outside the window, sycamore trees swayed gently, their silhouettes glowing under the neon lights of the bustling city.

It was already the seventh question from the woman seated across from Cheng Xing. If it weren't for her striking features and composed demeanor, he would have left long ago.

"I heard you're a writer?" she asked, her voice lilting with curiosity.

"Yes," Cheng Xing replied, nonchalantly.

"And I heard you were a troublemaker in school?"

"Yes."

"So how did you go from being a troublemaker to a successful writer?"

Cheng Xing sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Can you ask something else?"

She shook her head, undeterred. "I'm just curious about that."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question," he replied flatly.

The woman's smile faltered. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and said suddenly, "You know, giving birth is really painful. I don't think I want to be a mother. And I don't want to get married either. My parents forced me to come to this blind date."

Cheng Xing gave her a faint smile. "Same here. My parents made me come too."

"That's good," she said with a sigh of relief.

For a moment, silence settled between them. Then, almost in unison, they both glanced at their watches.

"It's getting late. I should go," they said simultaneously.

Their eyes met, and they shared a brief laugh.

"I'll cover the bill," she offered.

"No, I insist," Cheng Xing said, signaling to the waiter.

She studied him, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Even if we don't get married, we could exchange numbers and stay friends."

"No need," Cheng Xing said, standing. "I'm in a rush. Some old classmates organized a dinner, and I need to get going. Have a good evening, Miss."

Without waiting for her response, Cheng Xing left the restaurant.

The woman sat frozen, staring at the door as it swung shut behind him.

Outside, Cheng Xing stretched under the cool night air and pulled out his phone to call Zhou Yuan.

"Hey, Zhou Yuan. Have you guys started yet?"

"We just got here. What about you? Aunt Chen said tonight's blind date was perfect for you—great looks and a stellar family background!" Zhou Yuan teased.

"It's over."

"So soon?"

"It wasn't a match. Anyway, send me the address. I'll be there soon."

Moments later, the location popped up on his WeChat. Cheng Xing hailed a taxi and made his way over.

"The great writer is here, come and sit, come and sit." Seeing Cheng Xing push the door open, Zhou Yuan got up and greeted him with a smile.

Not only did he get up, but so did the others at the wine table.

There were a dozen or so men and women, some of whom Cheng Xing didn't recognize, but others he knew well—mostly high school classmates.

Cheng Xing sat down next to Zhou Yuan.

Facing this classmate who was now doing quite well and had become a writer, many people came over to greet him and toast him.

After exchanging greetings, Cheng Xing raised his glass and drank with them.

Then everyone started drinking and chatting.

They were all in their thirties, and since it was a class reunion, they naturally talked about things from their student days.

And the stories of youth were endless.

So, the more they talked, the more they drank.

The more they talked, the more stories emerged.

"Cheng, the great writer, do you still remember me?" After a few rounds of drinks, a woman in a pink dress with bright red lipstick leaned against Cheng Xing's seat and asked with a smile while looking down.

In the wide V-neck of her dress, Cheng Xing saw a flash of white.

He glanced at it, then looked away, raising the glass in his hand. "Wang Yan."

"Hehe, you still remember me," she said, finishing the red wine in her glass in one gulp. Smiling charmingly, she added, "But the reason you remember me is probably because I had a very good relationship with Chen Qing back then. We were inseparable."

She laughed. "Cheng, the great writer, you were so infatuated with chasing Chen Qing back then. You chased her from middle school to high school for a full six years. I saw it all with my own eyes. But it's a pity. Chen Qing didn't have good eyesight and actually missed you."

"You can't say that. In fact, Chen Qing is doing pretty well now. The fact that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing didn't end up together back then can only be attributed to fate," a man wearing glasses suddenly said.

"Way back in high school, I had a feeling that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing wouldn't work out," Zhao Jing piped up. "Remember all the talk about them dating during our senior year? I was curious, so I asked Chen Qing straight up if they were a couple. She told me Cheng Xing was just a troublemaker and no one would want him. Right then, I knew they weren't meant to be."

Everyone was a little surprised and sighed when they heard this. Back then, they all thought Cheng Xing and Chen Qing were already a couple. After all, Cheng Xing was considered the boy closest to Chen Qing.

"I didn't expect such a thing. Really, I had such a good relationship with her at that time, yet she didn't even tell me. Back then, I really thought she was with Cheng Xing," Wang Yan laughed.

"Okay, that's all in the past. Let's drink," Zhou Yuan suddenly said.

Everyone knew about Cheng Xing's pursuit of Chen Qing back then, and Zhou Yuan was afraid that by mentioning Chen Qing, he would remind Cheng Xing of the past and make him feel sad. So he raised his glass to break the ice.

It's just that Zhou Yuan didn't know that even though he heard this name again after so many years, Cheng Xing no longer felt any ripples in his heart. In fact, he had seen her at an Ancheng No. 1 High School reunion a few years ago.

She was still as beautiful as ever.

At that reunion, though, what impressed Cheng Xing the most wasn't her, but another girl from their class.

"I saw a sentence online before: 'In the labyrinth of high school, we encounter enigmatic souls who leave an indelible mark on our hearts and minds forever.' If there was such a person in our high school days, who do you think it would be?" Deng Kai, sitting next to Zhou Yuan, had suddenly asked with a smile.

"I think it was Chen Qing."

"No, I think it was Li Yan from the next class."

"I think it was Li Zi from the second year of high school."

"I'll mention one, and I don't think anyone will disagree," someone said suddenly.

"Who?" everyone asked

"Jiang Luxi" he replied

Everyone fell silent.

"She really was," Zhou Yuan sighed.

"If you're talking about someone amazing, then it could only be her. Whether it was Chen Qing or Li Yan, we interacted with them, joked around a few times. But Jiang Luxi? I don't think I ever said a word to her throughout all of high school," Deng Kai remarked.

"If it were someone else in our class with whom we barely interacted, we would've forgotten them long ago. But Jiang Luxi is different. She had an extraordinary ability to leave a lasting impression on anyone who encountered her," Sun Li said, unfazed. "She's the kind of person who, even after years, remains unforgettable."

Zhou Yuan chuckled. "Sun Li, you're married. Aren't you afraid your wife might hear this?"

"I'm just stating facts. My wife isn't here anyway," Sun Li said with a laugh. "And don't pretend. Remember when she asked you to collect homework? You were so flustered you couldn't even look her in the eye."

"It's truly unfortunate that someone as extraordinary as Jiang Luxi chose to become a nun and dedicate her life to Buddhism," Li Li, a female classmate, lamented. "She even vowed to remain unmarried and devote her life to spiritual pursuits."

"What? Jiang Luxi became a nun?" Deng Kai exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah, it's true. It was announced last summer, around this time. Jiang Luxi quit her job at Shenli and became a Buddhist nun, living a secluded life," Zhou Yuan explained.

"Really? I can't believe it. She was at the peak of her career at Shenli," Deng Kai murmured, still in disbelief.

"You're so out of the loop. Last year, her decision to become a Buddhist nun even trended on Jitterbug," Zhou Yuan added.

"We were equally shocked when we first heard the news. At that time, she was on the rise in her career at Shenli. Her female boss even saw her as a potential successor, bringing her to almost every event. Who would've thought she'd suddenly announce her resignation and decision to become a nun?" Li Li said.

"It's a shame. Such a talented woman," someone else sighed.

"She could have been a bright star if she hadn't left Shenli or chosen to become a nun," Wang Yan mused with a tinge of envy.

"Yeah, retiring at the height of her career to become a nun takes incredible willpower. She must have given up so much fame and fortune. She really didn't care about those things," Deng Kai exclaimed.

"It's just a pity that she didn't get married," someone added.

Even as they discussed Jiang Luxi's decision again, it still evoked sighs and regret.

Such a girl who had amazed their entire youth had ultimately chosen a path so distant from theirs.

How could they not feel regret?

"She was never really one of us after all. But Cheng Xing, didn't you also attend the high school reunion last time? I heard Jiang Luxi was there too. Did you talk to her? Come to think of it, we haven't seen her since we graduated from high school," Sun Li asked.

"No," Cheng Xing shook his head.

At the high school reunion three years earlier, the school had invited many famous alumni. Among the five from their class, there were Cheng Xing, Jiang Luxi, and Chen Qing. Back then, seeing Chen Qing again hadn't stirred up any feelings in Cheng Xing. But seeing Jiang Luxi again had brought back many memories.

Cheng Xing's family hadn't been considered poor during his school days; on the contrary, they were seen as middle to upper class in Ancheng. However, in 2017, the family faced a major setback.

Misfortune, as the saying goes, never came alone.

The following year, Cheng Xing's mother was hospitalized due to overwork.

At that time, the family urgently needed money for surgery, and Cheng Xing borrowed from many people but still couldn't gather the last 10,000 yuan. Those friends who had seemed close to him before had distanced themselves when his family fell on hard times, unwilling to lend him money.

When his friends couldn't help, Cheng Xing turned to his classmates. But of the classmates he'd been close to in high school, apart from Zhou Yuan—who lent him the two or three thousand yuan he had saved from working—the others declined. That included Chen Qing.

Cheng Xing had stayed in touch with Chen Qing during her college years, but after she graduated, they had communicated less and less.

When Cheng Xing asked Chen Qing for money, she had replied that 10,000 yuan was too much. That was their last conversation in the years that followed.

Three years later, at the school reunion, Chen Qing took the initiative to greet him, and they chatted for a while.

But Cheng Xing had long forgotten the details of that conversation.

After failing to borrow money from Chen Qing, Cheng Xing had approached almost everyone he could think of.

When he was almost desperate, he contacted someone he thought was the least likely to help him.

That person was Jiang Luxi.

In high school, Cheng Xing had been the biggest troublemaker. Apart from studying hard, he had done everything else—fighting with students from other schools, writing love letters, dating early, smoking, and drinking.

In Jiang Luxi's eyes, none of these were things a student should do. And as class monitor, she naturally disapproved of people like Cheng Xing.

Because of this, Cheng Xing never thought someone like Jiang Luxi would lend him money.

Moreover, Jiang Luxi's family hadn't been well-off. Unlike Chen Qing, who had received a monthly allowance of one or two thousand yuan in college, Jiang Luxi's salary had been modest when she first graduated. The 10,000 yuan he needed was likely most of her savings. At the time, she was working in Hai City, where living costs were high.

Yet when Cheng Xing asked her to lend him money, she gave a simple answer: "When Sun Qi bullied me, you helped me. We're even now."

Cheng Xing had fallen silent.

He hadn't expected that Jiang Luxi would help him with her hard-earned savings just because of that small incident. If that could even be called help, then Cheng Xing had helped countless people during high school.

In their class, whenever someone was bullied by students from other classes or schools, Cheng Xing would step in to help. He had felt that no one in their class should be bullied by outsiders.

Actually, he hadn't done much for Jiang Luxi back then.

He'd known in advance that Sun Qi planned to bully Jiang Luxi, and it had involved Chen Qing. Ordinarily, Cheng Xing wouldn't have intervened, but that evening, on his way home, he happened to see Jiang Luxi being harassed.

The sight of the girl standing stubbornly in the wind and rain left a deep impression on him.

Perhaps he hadn't wanted to leave such an unpleasant memory of this cold and aloof girl in his youthful years, so he had stepped in to help her.

The last time Cheng Xing had seen Jiang Luxi was at the high school reunion three years earlier.

The last time they had spoken was six years ago, during that cold winter when she helped him.

Yet those two encounters were enough to etch her image deeply into Cheng Xing's mind.

He would never forget her words: "When Sun Qi bullied me, you helped me. We're even now."

"Come on, Brother Cheng. Because of you, we weren't bullied by anyone from other classes in high school. I have to toast you for that. Let's drink," Sun Li said, finishing his glass in one gulp.

The others raised their glasses to toast Cheng Xing as well.

At that moment, already tipsy, Cheng Xing drank one glass after another.

For reasons he couldn't explain, he—who hadn't been drunk in a long time—just wanted to get completely intoxicated, as if it would help him forget his sorrows.

By the time the dinner ended, everyone was drunk.

"Brother Cheng, do you want me to help you?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"No, you guys go ahead," Cheng Xing replied.

Zhou Yuan, with his girlfriend supporting him, couldn't offer much assistance.

"It's okay, Zhou Yuan. You two go first," Wang Yan said, stepping forward to help Cheng Xing.

Cheng Xing, his head spinning, couldn't quite make out who was helping him. All he noticed was a faint fragrance. When they got outside and the cool night air hit him, he sobered slightly and realized it was Wang Yan supporting him.

Discreetly avoiding Wang Yan's lips, which seemed about to brush his, Cheng Xing hailed a taxi. After getting into the car and fastening his seatbelt, he looked at Wang Yan outside the window and said, "It's late. You should go home."

Watching the taxi pull away, Wang Yan pouted and sighed.

When Cheng Xing arrived home, he collapsed onto the sofa.

He turned on the air conditioner and opened Douyin, scrolling aimlessly through videos.

Eventually, his eyes stopped on one video.

It was almost September, and schools across the country had already started the new semester.

The video showed a welcome party at a high school.

A girl on stage wore a red hat, an orange shirt, and a gray plaid skirt. Her slender, fair legs were bare, clad only in white socks and sneakers. She had glasses, and her hair was braided into two pigtails that hung down to her chest.

For a moment, Cheng Xing thought he saw the shadow of Jiang Luxi in her.

It was as if he had traveled back to the graduation ceremony of their senior year, seeing Jiang Luxi's ponytail sway as she performed on stage.

The girl in the video wasn't as beautiful as Jiang Luxi.

But the youthful atmosphere of the campus stage, her pure outfit, and her clear, healing voice mesmerized Cheng Xing.

♫♫♫

Beneath the celestial dance of sun and moon,

I'll gently grow, a seed beneath the noon.

A whisper to the flora, a silent, soulful tune.

Then, borne on winds, I'll scatter far and wide,

A cosmic seed, adrift on nature's tide.

I'll root and sprout, where destiny resides.

Await my bloom, in time's fleeting flight,

Though years may test, with all their might.

I'll rise again, beneath the moon's soft light.

I'll come, a dawn-kissed dream, a twilight's sigh,

A fleeting moment, beneath the vast, celestial sky. 

♫♫♫

As Cheng Xing listened, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he gradually fell asleep.