Before He Jichen could take two steps, Ji Yi suddenly cried out to him, "He Jichen!"
She's calling me with the same desperation from when we were younger...
Heaven knew just how many times he envisioned her crying his name like that over the past few years.
Every time he stopped to look for her, he turned his head in bewilderment only to see face after face of strangers.
He Jichen's fingers trembled but he didn't stop walking.
He was afraid that this time was a hallucination like every other time, even if she really was behind him.
Ji Yi stared at He Jichen walking further and further away. Then Ji Yi cried even louder, "He Jichen!"
Chen Bai, who was just two steps behind He Jichen, heard Ji Yi's two consecutive cries. Seeing as He Jichen didn't stop, Chen Bai figured that he hadn't heard her and nudged him. "Mr. He, Miss Ji is calling you."
At the sound of Chen Bai's voice, it was like He Jichen had been electrocuted as his entire body violently jolted for a moment. Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
So it's not an illusion. It's real. She's really calling me...
Time passed, some things remained the same but people changed over the years. He couldn't believe he actually saw the day when he could hear her call him with that kind of tone. "He Jichen!"
Chen Bai saw He Jichen stop but didn't turn around. He curiously peered his head forward and glanced at the expression on He Jichen's face. Chen Bai realized he looked a little vacant as though he was in a daze.
Chen Bai was confused but continued to remind He Jichen with "Mr. He?"
He Jichen's long, curly eyelashes fluttered gently and the expression on his face reverted to its usual calmness.
He didn't look at Chen Bai but calmly looked over at Ji Yi.
He silently balled up his hands at an angle where people nearby couldn't see his movements, indicating his slight nervousness.
The second Ji Yi's eyes met his, her mind snapped awake.
In a moment of desperation, she called for him, but she hadn't even thought of what she was going to say to him.
She hurriedly turned her head and thought about how to start. She had no idea why she was at such a loss for words either. For no reason at all, she thought back to the conversation between him and Fatty that she accidentally overheard last night at Lou Wailou.
"To this day, I remember how I did the most regrettable thing in my life at twenty-four minutes past ten that evening."
"Had I known all the things that would happen after, had I known just how guilty and ashamed I would feel now… then I wouldn't have done what I did that night."
He said he regrets it... He said he's always felt guilty...
Ji Yi's train of thought was in disarray once again.
Seeing as Ji Yi hadn't made a sound at all, He Jichen took the initiative and said, "Is there something you need?"
Ji Yi stared unflinchingly at He Jichen, but she didn't hear what he said.
The words he said last night still echoed in her ears: "If you experienced just how beautiful those years at Sucheng Yizhong were... You don't know just how much I miss them. Recently, I've practically been dreaming about her every night..."
How was the time spent in Sucheng Yizhong not also the most wonderful time of my life?
He misses the past me, yet when did I ever not miss the past "him"?
Even after so many upsetting things happened between us, this He Jichen is still the same He Jichen from Sucheng Yizhong.