Shine on Me

It's really strange. When I used to think about that summer vacation, it was like recalling a book filled with rich details. Every little thing was so vivid—what clothes he wore, every subtle expression on his face—I could dwell on them for ages. But now, talking about it with Lin Yusen, it feels like I'm just summarizing the plot of a story.

I didn’t deliberately blur the details, but many scenes, including the people in them, suddenly lost their color in my mind.

I know I was once passionate about it, happy, in pain, and in tears—but now, I only remember.

The plot remains, but the emotions are gone.

Yet the listener seemed to gradually furrow his brows. By the time I finished, he had already pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Sorry."

I didn’t expect Lin Yusen to apologize to me.

"Back then, I should have come to find you sooner."

I leaned quietly against his chest, thinking about what happened between us before, and couldn’t help but laugh. "Find me for what? 'Revenge'?"

Lin Yusen laughed too. "That probably would’ve been a pretty cute story."

Cute?

I imagined the scenario—back then, I was still a junior in college, attending classes obediently every day, when suddenly a handsome guy in a luxury car stopped me on campus.

And then?

I told Lin Yusen the setup. "You take it from here—what would you say?"

I pulled him to sit side by side on the stone steps of the bridge, putting on a serious face as if we were brainstorming a story.

But Lin Yusen had some objections to my plot. "Does it have to be a luxury car? Can outside cars even enter the campus? Wouldn’t parking randomly in front of someone seem rude?"

"...Never mind that. We’ll take turns writing the story. You go first—what’s your opening line?"

"I’d say—" Lin Yusen, who clearly lacked literary talent, pondered for a long time before answering, "'Excuse me, which way to the teaching building?'"

I was stunned. "You’re here for revenge, though. Isn’t that a bit... cowardly?"

Lin Yusen had a logical explanation. "I can’t reveal my intentions right away. I’d have to pretend to be friendly first to gain your trust, then take revenge later."

"...But that’s not what you did when you caught me at the company. Back then, you tormented me every day. I hated you so much—don’t you remember?"

Lin Yusen: "..."

I sighed. "Lin Yusen, I don’t think you know yourself very well. You definitely wouldn’t ask for directions. Try again."

He deftly changed the subject. "Let me think about it some more. First, tell me in detail—how much did you hate me back then?"

"Uh... Do you really want to hear this?" I glanced at his expression and cautiously offered an example. "Like, remember that time you took me, Yin Jieyu, and Hua to Jing’an Temple in Shanghai?"

"I remember. What about it?" After a brief pause, he frowned unhappily. "You didn’t want to sit in the passenger seat? You deliberately avoided me when my clothes brushed against you?"

???

What kind of person remembers things like that?

I quickly brought up something worse to downplay those details. "No, it’s that I made a wish at Jing’an Temple."

Lin Yusen clearly sensed the gravity of the situation and frowned at me.

"...I wished for you to disappear... Then on Monday, I heard you’d been in a car accident."

Lin Yusen silently grabbed my hand and sighed deeply. "Nie Xiguang, you really..."

"Misunderstanding! We got along fine soon after." I hurried to comfort him."Then I must be quite charming. Even after wishing for my disappearance, she became my girlfriend so quickly." He consoled himself.

"Right, right, you're handsome."

"...Anything else?"

"Nothing else, how could there be? I soon discovered how smart, outstanding, handsome, and peerless you are, and happily threw myself into your arms."

"...Alright."

His somewhat dissatisfied expression amused me, but I couldn't laugh.

Stay serious.

"Lin Yusen."

"Hmm?"

"What I want to say is, I did like someone else before, but that's truly in the past now. You can't have even a tiny bit of doubt or distrust in your heart."

Lin Yusen said, "There's never been any distrust."

"Why?" Was my good character that obvious?

I waited for him to shower me with compliments in return, but instead, he leaned over and kissed me on the lips, then stood up and walked off the bridge with a carefree stride. "Of course, it's because I'm smart, outstanding, handsome, and peerless."

I froze for a few seconds before jumping up indignantly to chase after him. "Lin Yusen, don't you know what reciprocity means?"

The only response was his cheerful laughter.

In the evening, we had a lively dinner at my grandparents' house, then followed Grandma to play mahjong at a relative's place—I suspected Grandma just wanted to show off—before finally returning home to Wuxi.

By the time we got home, it was past ten. Under my mom's watchful eye, I didn't dare stay up late and obediently went to my room to sleep.

I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep and would secretly call Lin Yusen or something, but perhaps because we'd been running around all day, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I had sweet dreams all night and woke up refreshed the next morning. Walking into the living room, I saw Mom and Lin Yusen already sitting there, chatting over tea.

"You started university so early?" Mom sounded surprised.

"Yes, I was considered quite smart as a child," Lin Yusen said with a smile.

"Xiguang was smart as a child too. She was always sensible, never picky with food, and hardly gave us any trouble..."

It was an utterly ordinary scene, their conversation nothing more than small talk, yet for some reason, I paused, not wanting to disturb them.

Suddenly, I understood more deeply the meaning behind what Lin Yusen had said yesterday.

"I've found the right person, arranged my life properly, and can soon regain everything I want."

At this moment, I truly felt the same way.

Because I, too, had regained everything I wanted.

I had a complete family again.

And I was absolutely certain that scenes like this would often appear before me in the future—my mother, Lin Yusen, they would always be by my side.

The wound from my parents' sudden divorce in my youth was something I'd never told anyone about. But today, it seemed to have quietly, silently, and unknowingly healed.

No, perhaps Lin Yusen knew.

Everything he did told me that he knew.

I blinked, holding back the sudden warmth in my eyes, and walked toward them with light steps.

Lin Yusen saw me first and immediately stood up. Mom turned her head. "You're up? I've already had breakfast, but I saved you some knifefish dumplings—someone just brought them this morning."

"You haven't eaten yet?" I asked Lin Yusen.

"Not yet. I was waiting for you."Mom teased, "Xiao Lin has been keeping me company drinking tea all morning. I could even hear his stomach growling."

Really?

I immediately focused on his flat stomach. Lin Yusen looked both amused and exasperated. "No, don't stare like that. Auntie is just joking."

Mom laughed even harder. "Go on, you two."

I pulled Lin Yusen into the kitchen and opened the fridge—three neatly stacked boxes of knife fish dumplings sat inside.

As I took out the dumplings, Lin Yusen volunteered, "Let me handle this."

"Sure." I handed him the dumplings, then rummaged through the cabinet for a frying pan. "Want a fried egg with it? I like adding one to the dumpling soup—makes the broth richer."

"Sounds good. I'll fry it. Be careful of oil splatters."

"No need, I can do it. You focus on cooking the dumplings and preparing the seasoning. Oh, check if there's any scallions in the fridge."

With our tasks divided, I heated the pan, poured in oil, and began frying the eggs with care.

Our kitchen faces east, with two large windows. At that moment, the newly risen sun streamed in unobstructed, bathing both of us in golden light.

As the eggs sizzled in the pan, I glanced up at the bright sun outside and inexplicably remembered the letter Lin Yusen had sent me before the New Year.

Looking down at the perfectly round fried egg in the pan, I couldn't help but smile.

"Lin Yusen, when we have time, let's go visit your mom."

The dumplings were already boiling in the pot, and Lin Yusen was preparing the soup base. At my words, he paused and turned to look at me. After a long moment, a smile finally lit up his eyes, and he simply replied, "Okay."

"Mm." It's settled then. "Also, do you remember the email you sent me before the New Year, asking me to give you a blazing sun?"

"Did I?" He pretended to think.

"You did."

I turned off the heat, carefully slid a fried egg onto a plate, and handed it to him. Showing him the perfectly round egg, I smiled and said, "For you."

The blazing sun I want to give you is the dazzling moments, the mundane everyday things, the first rays of morning sunlight at dawn, and hopefully, the last glow of sunset many years from now.

I want to give you all of these.

Please cherish them.

(The End)

Book Two - End