Today is August 8th, a lucky day.

These few days have been busy. Three of my novels are about to be recommended, so I have to crazily type whenever I have free time. Coming back from a business trip, I have a lot of pending work to catch up on and it urgently needs to be completed.

So I fell ill within two days.

I have myocarditis, a moderate heart disease. These past few days, I have been having difficulty breathing and even caught a slight cold. So, today I made up my mind to spend the whole day in bed.

When people are at a loss while holding their phones, they tend to overthink.

I opened WeChat and saw her still at the top of my messages. We've chatted on and off several times, but I just don't know what to say.

Since it's already over, why bother to stay in touch?

In my mind, I thought otherwise, but my hand, out of control, still ended up selecting a random funny video that I stumbled upon last night and sent it to her.

"Ahri: This is so hilarious hahaha, look at this."

It was sent at 8 o'clock, now it's 12:30, and there is no news.

Let's continue with the story from two years ago.

For the first time in two years, we arranged to meet at the New Zhongguan Shopping Center in Haidian, Beijing. In addition to me and her, there were also a few close sisters with excellent relationships.

I'm not someone who loves to be late, but I don't really like being early either. However, this time, I arrived at the agreed location an hour before the appointed time.

The autumn in Beijing is extremely dry. Just a gust of wind feels like it can take away half of the moisture from your body. I rubbed my slightly staticky sweater and found a spot with fewer people to smoke and wait.

Everyone has experienced the feeling of being at a loss when facing someone they like, right?

At that time, I was feeling that way.

It's been so long since we last saw each other, what should be the first thing to say? How should one react? Do people who have been abroad become more open-minded? Should we give each other a hug?

Just thinking about the last point made me blush.

Give me a hug, um, we must hug tightly.

As the appointed time drew closer, there were already four or five yellow cigarette butts littering the trash can beside me. They were the cigarettes I enjoyed smoking, a Korean brand that couldn't be bought in China. Usually, I smoked them cautiously, to avoid running out before my next business trip. But on that day, within an hour, I had finished off more than half a pack.

I can't calm down. I am well aware that smoking is bad for my health. But just standing here waiting, my mind is in a complete mess. The only thing that can fill the emptiness in my heart is the smoke.

The group of close girlfriends arrived first. Among them, one of them had a very good relationship with her, and we had known each other for eight years as well.

After chatting casually for a while, that lady received her call.

I was actually a bit upset at the time. Why wasn't this phone call for me? My phone number hasn't changed in two years, even if I switched phones and deleted contacts, we can still use WeChat voice calls, right?

Later, I thought to myself again, "Huh, in the past year, I hardly ever proactively reached out to her. How did she come up with the idea to contact me first?"

Perhaps it's because I come across as aloof.

The waiting time is always astonishingly long. I chatted with these girls until there was nothing left to say, but I still didn't see her figure.

"Where is she? Why hasn't she arrived yet?" Unable to hold it any longer, I interrupted the conversation my sister was engrossed in and asked.

"Ah, right. This brat..." One of her closest girlfriends raised her eyebrows and cursed under her breath. She took out her phone, opened the call log, and dialed a number. After waiting a few seconds, she spoke confidently, "Hey sis, where are you? We agreed to meet at half-past five, didn't we?"

I didn't know what she said on the other end of the phone, so I could only wait silently.

"Alright, alright, we're right by the main entrance. You're quite something... Taking a taxi all the way here, weren't you afraid of getting stuck in traffic?"

Traffic congestion, one of the wonders of Beijing.

No wonder she arrived so late. I remember she doesn't have the habit of being late.

I found a spot leaning against the wall, but my gaze began to survey the surroundings.

This shopping center is located right in the middle of several schools, and many children gather here to go shopping and have dates. Especially at around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the crowd is so dense that it's like a swarm of ants, too numerous to count.

I was getting a headache from searching one by one like this. So, I decided to lock my gaze on the T-junction where taxis were usually parked, hoping to catch a glimpse of her by observing people getting out of the cars.

I was so immersed in what I was reading that I didn't even notice the high-heeled footsteps getting closer and closer to my ear.

Until an arm wrapped around my neck.

"I missed you so much!"

A pleasant scent of fragrance enveloped the air, accompanied by a gentle touch by my side and a sudden kiss landed on my left cheek.

I was really foolish at the time.

I didn't expect to meet under these circumstances again, and the only reaction I could muster was turning my head to smile at her, who suddenly appeared beside me, and saying, "I missed you too!"

She still has long hair, very long. I really like her long hair. Her narrow double eyelids and porcelain-white skin haven't changed, only the makeup on her face has become a bit heavier.

I noticed that her lips were painted with a bright red lipstick, which was different from how I remembered her.

But at that time, I didn't take these into consideration. I just unconsciously smiled more and more brightly. I even forgot that she didn't like the smell of smoke, and my mouth was full of the stench of cigarettes.

"Oh my goodness, I printed a pair of large lips for you!" She stared at my face with her two crossed eyes for a while, then reached out and rubbed my cheek, "Uh-oh... can't wipe it off now, I accidentally made blush for you!"

I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. I just turned my head and lightly tapped the other side of the cheek, saying, "Let's have one on this side too, for symmetry."