Regarding quitting a job, getting a car, having no clear goals or direction, just a rough plan, and then traveling the world, Li Younan only mentioned it to Lu Haibo and his mother; he didn't make a big deal about telling others.
However, if someone asked, Li Younan would be willing to share what was going on in his mind at that moment.
Li Younan and Jing Chaoyi sat on a bench by the roadside, chatting for a long time.
Jing Chaoyi, who graduated just two or three years ago, looked at Li Younan in surprise and lowered her head silently, saying, "Senior, I didn't think you'd have such courage. I thought you were a very rational person."
She looked up, a radiant smile on her face, and said, "Turns out you're more romantic than those artsy guys I know."
Li Younan was a bit surprised, chuckled, and said, "Is this considered romantic?"
Jing Chaoyi nodded earnestly and said, "Your choice is full of poetry, trust me, those artsy girls will be fascinated by you."
Li Younan slightly opened his mouth, helplessly smiled, and said, "Artsy? Poetic? But I'm a science and engineering guy."
At this beautiful moment, Li Younan's phone rang.
He picked up his phone and glanced at it; it was a text message from an unknown number. But after seeing the content, Li Younan fell silent, immediately knowing who it was.
The message read: "Are you in Jinling now? I saw your moments from a friend's WeChat, and I'd like to see you."
Li Younan didn't reply, slowly put away his phone.
A breeze blew over the flowerbed in front of him, scattering a few dandelion fluffs, those soft white things, suddenly disappearing.
Li Younan took out his phone again and replied: "Better forget it."
The other person didn't reply, and Li Younan officially put away his phone and continued chatting with Jing Chaoyi.
Suddenly, Jing Chaoyi remembered something and asked, "Senior, I remember you had a girlfriend after graduating college, are you still together?"
Li Younan smiled, "We just broke up."
Jing Chaoyi blinked and smiled, "Even such a beautiful girl, you broke up with her; she must not be artsy, right?"
Li Younan's expression turned odd, and he said, not too kindly, "Why are you so sure I'd be with an artsy girl? Artsy girls are only good from afar, the further, the better. From afar, they seem clean and quiet, but only when you get close do you find that the more artsy a person is, the harder they are to get along with, sensitive."
Jing Chaoyi lightly hummed, saying, "I don't know where you heard that from, but it's surely not the case. What you're doing is so romantic, you can only find a girl as artsy as you to roam the world together, otherwise, you'll just wander alone. Plus, there's one thing you didn't get right: artsy girls wouldn't be overly sensitive all the time. Being artsy is a state, but sensitivity is a personality trait. You're quite artsy yourself."
Li Younan laughed heartily, "You're saying someone like me, who uses 'Oh my' as adjectives at any time, is artsy?"
Jing Chaoyi looked at him seriously and nodded again. "Senior, I said being artsy is a state. Although you might only say 'Oh my,' you're truly super artsy."
Li Younan's smile froze momentarily. He coughed, looked elsewhere, and sulkily said, "Really?"
"Definitely!"
...
Zhu Qingyue was lying on the bed, sobbing with a red nose, wiping tears with a tissue.
Just because the TV was playing the remastered version of "Titanic."
Sweetness exclaimed, "Oh no, Zhu Qingyue, you're going to fall for an artsy guy!" with a tone full of helplessness.
Zhu Qingyue threw the tissue into the trash can, breaking into a smile, "What nonsense are you talking about all day?"
Sweetness suddenly jumped onto Zhu Qingyue's bed from the side, kneeling in front of her, staring at Zhu Qingyue with wide eyes.
Looking at the glistening tears at the corner of Zhu Qingyue's eyes, Sweetness sighed leisurely, just about to make a statement but was knocked on the head by Zhu Qingyue, who said, "Are you looking at a specimen?"
Sweetness simply lay down next to Zhu Qingyue and continued chatting about the previous topic: "Qingyue, let me tell you, artsy guys are no good, unrealistic. Just like that Li Younan, he's handsome, but he has no purpose, no direction. Clearly, he could take a camera and open a photo studio to take wedding pictures for people, or set up a small stall by the roadside to fry some rice noodles."
Sweetness smiled mischievously at Zhu Qingyue and said, "Last time you had his fried rice noodles, your eyes were shining."
Sweetness lowered her head, humming, "You see these artsy young people, all inexplicable. They could obviously live comfortably; travel should just be a spice of life, isn't it nice? Have your own career first; now is the time to work hard. Once feeling tired, go out for a walk, that's the fate of a man. You have to have a foundation to pursue art."
Sweetness looked up only to find Zhu Qingyue in a slight trance, so she asked discontentedly, "Were you listening to me?"
Zhu Qingyue nodded, casually responded, "I am listening, really hard."
She picked up her phone and flipped to the photo Li Younan sent her.
She thought, this time being apart might really only become a relationship where they like each other's moments.
Actually, it should be like this. Although they met twice in the vast sea of people, the probability is as small as two identical leaves growing on Earth, it doesn't mean anything.
But why is it so sad inside? Why is it so hard to let go?
The plan is to leave Jinling City the day after tomorrow, just leaving like that, why does it feel like never seeing each other again?
Sweetness was right, those fried noodles were delicious, and this photo, he captured it so well.
If he has a girlfriend, that girlfriend must be very happy.
That guy is good-looking, speaks gently, other than frying rice noodles, he must cook many delicious things, and then he captures your mood at a moment you don't know, freezing it with his camera.
Many years later, looking at that thick stack of photos, would tears fill your eyes?
Zhu Qingyue thought, if someone treated her like that, she surely would.
He can also play the piano. A guy who plays the piano, how elegant he must be, even if he doesn't do anything else, just quietly sitting in front of the piano, whether with the lights on or off, can turn himself into a poem.
His girlfriend must be so happy...if he had one.
But then Zhu Qingyue's mood brightened; in her phone, Li Younan's WeChat was first...because it was just added.
At this moment, Li Younan should not have left Jinling City, and she suddenly filled with expectation.
This expectation overpowered hesitation, in a fit of heat, she suddenly picked up her phone and sent a message: "What are your plans for tomorrow?"
After sending this message, Zhu Qingyue's heart started pounding.
She didn't think of continuing anything with Li Younan, just wanting to see him lightly, to meet him lightly, once more.
Zhu Qingyue glanced at Sweetness beside her, who frowned, still loquaciously judging Li Younan's kind of behavior.
But Zhu Qingyue didn't take in a word, yet she still smiled and nodded at Sweetness, saying, "Mm-hmm."
Then she mentally added: Not bringing Sweetness for the next meeting.
The phone rang, and Li Younan replied, saying: "Just thinking of aimlessly strolling the streets of Jinling."
Zhu Qingyue hesitated for a second, then suddenly her eyes grew firm, swiftly typing a few words: "Let's go together."
Putting down the phone, Zhu Qingyue felt extremely relaxed.