You say life is beautiful, I have no objection

The sun blazed brightly.

Lin Chun'er's bicycle sped along the road like a whirlwind. This trip had taken her 47 days, starting in Beijing and following the Beijing-North Grand Loop, with countless breathtaking views of mountains and rivers along the way. She had planned to continue north to Mohe and then return across the vast plains.

She was watching the slaughter of sheep at a herder's home when Chen Kuannian called. The freshly slaughtered sheep, cleaned and placed in a pot of water, the aroma wafted into the air as the pot boiled. Once the mutton was out of the pot, Lin Chun'er took a knife, cut a piece, dipped it in chives, and just as she was about to put it in her mouth, the phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello~" Lin Chun'er always said this first word when answering the phone, the rising syllable at the end of the word "good" warm and pleasant. "Is that Chun'er?" A cheerful male voice on the other end was filled with excitement. Before Chun'er could answer, he peppered her with questions like a machine gun: "Is it Lin Chun'er? It must be! I knew it just by the sound! Come on, guess who I am!"

Lin Chun'er was stunned by his barrage of questions. The flesh in her hand nearly fell to the ground. She groaned in pain, but luckily, she was quick enough to retrieve it and stuff it into her mouth, swallowing it whole. Then she spoke: "I can't guess!"

The other end was clearly disappointed: "Think about it, sixteen years ago, Class 6, Grade 1..."

"Chen Kuannian?"

"Yes, that's me!"

"I heard you were in America?"

"I'm back. In Beijing. I heard you're in Beijing too. How about a get-together with old classmates?"

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A breeze blew across the grassland, caressing Lin Chun'er's face. Many past events suddenly flooded back into her mind, leaving her feeling a little dazed. "When? Who's there?"

"All my classmates in Beijing, Xiaomei, Zhaoyu, the school beauty..."

"Okay, but I'm in East Ukraine, 1,500 kilometers away... It'll take at least two weeks to get to Beijing..."

"Then see you in two weeks. Are you eating mutton? I can smell it even through the phone! I'm telling you, send me some mutton after you hang up. Is your phone number your WeChat? I'll add you and send you the address." Without waiting for Lin Chun'er to reply, he hung up.

Some people still act like this after more than a decade, still calling themselves "little master." She ignored him, leisurely finishing her meal, then followed her teammates and the herders out to round up the cattle and sheep. Only then did she leisurely pull out her phone and contact Chen Kuannian on WeChat.

The next day, she woke early, said goodbye to her teammates, and set off toward the misty clouds. She wasn't particularly afraid of the lonely journey; she had brought enough supplies and planned a daily itinerary, stopping when necessary and moving when necessary. She rode for fifteen days straight, passing herds of sheep, cattle, and horses, vast expanses of grassland and unknown wildflowers, rippling creeks, hailstorms, scorching sun, gentle breezes, and torrential rain, without stopping for a single day. Lin Chun'er thought as she rode: when she set out, she'd told all her colleagues in Beijing that she wouldn't return early, even if the gods came and the sky fell. She'd never imagined there would still be a group of people in this world who would bravely travel thousands of miles to get back. Those people had been gone for over a decade.

During this time, Chen Kuannian kept asking her where she was, asking her to send him her real-time location. He even sent her links to articles, teasing her, asking if she was some artistic middle-aged woman on the run, risking her life. Aside from sending her her location, Lin Chun'er barely responded to his nonsense, except when he teased her about being an artistic middle-aged woman, to which she replied, "Get lost."

The day she arrived in Chengde, she called Xiaomei and asked if she was going the next day. Xiaomei naturally had to go. She'd just published a few papers, graduated with a doctorate, and was now a useless, idler at home, living a life of idleness and waiting to die.

"Forget Chen Kuannian. Even if Teacher Xiao asked me to go out and play right now, I'd still go!" Teacher Xiao, their high school homeroom teacher, often gave everyone a sour look. Even Xiaomei, a "Three Good Student," had been punished by him to stand several times.

Xiaomei was the only classmate Lin Chun'er had contact with in over a decade. At first, she'd texted a few, but gradually the conversations faded, until Xiaomei was the only one left. The two of them had lived together in the same city, sharing countless holidays and important moments, a lifelong friendship.

When she arrived, the lights were already on in Beijing, and the early autumn evening was chilly. It was the heat of summer when she left, and early autumn when she returned. She checked her watch and saw there was no time to go home to put her luggage away, so she rode straight to where she'd eat.

It was a private kitchen in an alley. The owner only took one table each for lunch and dinner each day. Lin Chun'er had been there before. After entering the courtyard and parking the car, she dug a T-shirt and jacket out of her luggage. She'd been wearing them all day, soaked with sweat several times, and felt they were about to go bad. It was time to change.

After changing, she looked in the mirror at her sunburned face and smooth forehead, and couldn't help but laugh. How awful!

Chen Kuannian's urgent call came again: "Where are you? Grandpa! We're almost done eating, waiting for you to open the wine!"

"Outdoor, come in now!"

Lin Chun'er hung up the phone and pushed open the rosewood door, her smile fading. Chen Kuannian hadn't mentioned a whole table of people arriving today: "Wow." Everyone laughed at her embarrassment. Lin Chun'er clasped her hands together and apologized: "Sorry, sorry, I rushed back at 5:30 this morning, and I'm still late." The moment she lowered her hands, she saw Song Qiuhan, a stark contrast to the young Jinshi, and he too was looking at her with a smile. Lin Chun'er was stunned for a moment, looking away at the others. The air was quiet. Xiaomei waved at her, "Come on, nigger, sit here!"

"You're the nigger!" Lin Chun'er walked over and tapped her on the head before taking a seat, diagonally across from Song Qiuhan. Lin Chun'er could hardly recall the girlish expectations she had for Song Qiuhan. She had experienced so much over the years that she felt those years had been shrouded in a frost, untouchable.

"Is this... Lin Chun'er?" The speaker was Yuan Ru, the campus beauty who had become a second-tier actress this year. She gestured with her slender hands, then retracted them, implying that the chubby Lin Chun'er had lost weight.

"Yuan Xiaohua, I'm so surprised you're here too. Please sign an autograph for me later. You're loved by so many people around you," Lin Chun'er replied politely. Lin Chun'er couldn't recall the names of many of the classmates present, but she remembered Yuan Ru. A large painting of her still hung in the jewelry counter on the first floor of Lin'an Department Store. Xiaohua had become an actress approaching middle age, and the brands she endorsed had shifted from fashion and skincare to jewelry. What a gift of time! "Lin Chun'er," the bespectacled hipster said. Who else could it be but Chen Kuannian? His expression was that of a mischievous teenager: "You're late. Shouldn't you drink three cups as punishment?"

Lin Chun'er had been riding all day and was now starving. She picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and brought it to her mouth: "Wait for me to eat something. Don't rush." Lin Chun'er had maintained a high metabolism over the years, moving a lot and eating a lot. Seeing that the dishes on the table had been mostly eaten, she lowered her head to drink her bowl of soup.

Just then, the waiter pushed open the door, carrying a cart with several large dishes. Chen Kuannian asked in confusion: "You haven't ordered more yet!"

"I just stopped by to get more for you. What you had just wasn't quite there." Song Qiuhan's gaze fell on Lin Chun'er's forehead, where she half-lowered her head to drink her soup. She had a beautiful hairline. "Come on, come on. Everyone's here. Let's clink glasses." Chen Kuannian raised his glass. Everyone at the table stood up and looked at each other intently. They realized they had changed compared to before.

"Cheers to the young man," Xiaomei said, her hand clasping Lin Chun'er's from the side. Her palm was damp, clearly showing her nervousness.

"Now, every clink of glasses is the sound of heartbreak," Yuan Ru added, her eyes fixed on Song Qiuhan, as if lost in a tragedy. Song Qiuhan remained silent, drinking from his glass.

The game began, and the clinking of glasses followed. Lin Chun'er had set out at 5:30 in the morning and had ridden all day, so she was feeling a bit drunk. After that drink, she didn't move again and ordered a glass of hot water to calm the churning in her stomach. After listening to everyone's casual conversation, Chen Kuannian suggested that everyone introduce themselves: "How about we stick to a template and share our key information? I'll go first. I now own a collectibles company, specializing in international collectibles trade."

"Are you married?" asked Zhao Yu, a truly outstanding student in school and now teaching at Huazhong University.

"Alone."

Lin Chun'er listened carefully to everyone's current situation. Some had realized their childhood dreams, like Yuan Xiaohua, who became an actress; Xiaomei, who immersed herself in the ocean of knowledge; and Chen Kuannian, who had multiplied the wealth of the previous generation.

"Industry investment. Engaged." After Song Qiuhan finished speaking, Lin Chun'er glanced at Yuan Ru. The fleeting look of disappointment on her face was heartbreaking. "Your turn, Squad Leader Lin." Song Qiuhan tossed a melon seed onto the back of Lin Chun'er's hand. Lin Chun'er picked it up and threw it back. Xiao Mei laughed out loud: "We haven't seen each other for over a decade, and you two are still fighting!"

Everyone suddenly remembered that afternoon, when Class Monitor Lin and Song Qiuhan had a paper-ball-throwing competition in the classroom.

"Who won in the end? That game?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Of course, Young Master Song won." Chen Kuannian had been close friends with Song Qiuhan for nearly twenty years, and in his heart, Song Qiuhan was number one.

"No, Chun'er won. I was the counter," Xiao Mei protested, correcting Chen Kuannian.

"There's no point in talking any more. Let's have another competition another day. Young Master Song will be staying in China for another six months anyway," Chen Kuannian suggested.

Lin Chun'er stuffed another blueberry into her mouth and smiled at Chen Kuannian.

"Class Monitor hasn't said anything yet!" Zhao Yu leaned over, clearly interested in Chun'er's recent situation. "Well, I'm... currently freelancing. I have a stable boyfriend."

"Does freelancing count as being unemployed?" Yuan Xiaohua, with years of experience in the film and television industry, knew how to stab people in the heart. However, she didn't think twice after she stabbed. Chun'er nodded, "Right, right," she said lightly, and it was over.

Chun'er's stomach churned. She knew she'd ridden too hard today, pushing her body to its limits, and now she was having a stress reaction. She stood up and walked out. She ran straight to the bathroom across the street and vomited everything in her stomach. After struggling for a long time, she sighed and pushed the door open. She saw Song Qiuhan leaning against the wall smoking. He's so tall! Chun'er thought, even taller than before.

The lanterns hanging in the courtyard swayed in the wind, and Song Qiuhan's face flickered in the shadows. Seeing Lin Chun'er come out, he put out his cigarette and tossed the butt into a nearby trash can. He pulled a bottle from his pocket and handed it to Lin Chun'er, "Let's go home after we finish drinking."

"Oh." Chun'er stood beside him, unscrewed the cap, brought it to her lips, and took a sip. The warm pear soup flowed into her stomach, instantly warming and comforting. "Thank you."

No more words.

I didn't know where to begin. Lin Chun'er once led a team on a special project called: Those Young People Disappeared in the Wind. Back then, she was still working at a top company, toiling day and night to select topics, create content, and promote it. One night, as she walked out of the office building, the first snow of the year began to fall. Suddenly, she remembered that young man from that year, who had vanished after graduation. I wonder if he's doing well? She worked on that project for months, interviewing one person after another, breaking down countless times after each one. Those heartwarming stories touched countless people. During a project review meeting, a management trainee asked her, "How did this topic become so popular, with a title that's deadly pessimistic and no marketing tactics involved?" What did she say? "Maybe it's because everyone loved someone in their youth, or maybe you could just view its spread as a fluke."

This topic made Lin Chun'er a success.

And that young man now stood beside Lin Chun'er.

Neither of them spoke. Lin Chun'er smoked another cigarette with Song Qiuhan before they crossed the corridor and returned to the private room.

Chen Kuannian was chatting up a group chat, and the room buzzed with cell phones. Everyone suddenly laughed. Seeing Chun'er didn't take out her phone, Xiaomei held hers out to her: "Is this a preview?"

Lin Chun'er looked closely. It was the day of the graduation photo shoot, and before the photo was frozen, everyone was laughing. Faces brimming with youthful smiles, Chun'er smiled the brightest. She tilted her head, her slightly plump body slightly tilted, her eyes fixed on someone unknown. "Lin Chun'er, who were you looking at at that time?" Chen Kuannian suddenly asked her.