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Teacher Ding quickly sent a message, informing Huang Qi that she had bought a train ticket for four days later; she had no choice but to hurry back to school to book a hotel for her parents’ accommodation. Sha Zhouyin was supposed to have his stitches removed, but after she leaned on his arm, the doctor advised waiting another two days to see how it healed, so he couldn’t go back with her. The young Lady Huang had to board the train back to school all alone.

Xiao Ying’s injury hadn’t fully healed. She only let him accompany her as far as the bus stop not far from the construction site. Before getting on, Huang Qi asked, "Xiao Ying, are you coming back to my side of the construction site, or heading home directly?"

Sha Zhouyin understood her meaning and smiled. "I’ll come over once more. You should spend these days with your parents. When you’re free, I’ll come to see you, then head home."

"Then… after you go back, can I still text you?"

His smile grew a touch bitter. "Of course. Didn’t we always write letters in high school? But we can’t send thousands of messages a month like now."

Young Lady Huang forced a smile. "Sending fewer is good too; let’s consider it saving money."

But as the ancients said, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to return from extravagance to frugality. When they weren’t together, a letter a month, or hearing a bit of news after half a year, didn’t seem so hard. But after being together and then parting, unable to keep in touch, longing became overwhelmingly intense and impossible to dispel.

After half an hour on the bus to the train station, as she waited in the lounge, Huang Qi felt a wave of longing crash over her. She had only been separated from Xiao Ying for less than an hour, and already she missed him so much—wanted to hear his voice, see him, hold him. Yet there were still three years ahead, more than twenty-six thousand hours; how could she endure it?

She took out her phone and sent Xiao Ying a message: I’ve arrived at the station.

It was just a travel update, nothing more than what she’d send an ordinary friend; it couldn’t be counted as losing control.

After boarding, she texted again: I’m on the train.

The train departed.

The train arrived.

I’m back at school.

He didn’t reply to a single one. He had more self-control than she did, so he held back. If Xiao Ying had answered, even with just a word, Huang Qi knew she’d have replied endlessly, perhaps even called him, or even turned around to go back to him.

He silently endured and digested this torment on his own.

As graduation approached, hotel rooms really did become scarce—there were several colleges nearby. Huang Qi searched all the hotels within five kilometers of the school and finally snagged a double room two bus stops north. It took her an entire day.

But what about the three days left? Her parents wouldn’t arrive for another three days. How was she supposed to get through them? Her thesis was finished, her classmates had gone traveling, graduate school wouldn’t start for a while, and the days were especially long and empty.

The other two girls in her dorm had gone traveling; only Ruan Jing was still there, reading a paper. Huang Qi asked, "Haven’t you finished your thesis? Why are you still reading papers?"

Ruan Jing answered, "I turned it in ages ago. This is for next semester’s research topic; I’m starting early."

Huang Qi was surprised. "Isn’t it too early for that? You should take a break while you can; graduate school vacations aren’t this free, and some advisors don’t even give time off."

Ruan Jing said, "A PhD isn’t as easy as undergrad—you’re lucky if it’s only five years, but seven or eight isn’t rare. I’ve got nothing else to do, so I might as well start early. It’s all my own time anyway. If I waste it now, I’ll only have to make it up later."

Huang Qi felt ashamed. She had nothing to do and was tormented by longing for Xiao Ying, so she went to the lab and volunteered for work.

Professor Fang was gratified to see her so proactive. "You really are a hardworking and self-motivated student—a perfect fit for research. It’s a pity you’re not planning on a PhD."

Huang Qi was too embarrassed to admit that she was throwing herself into research to cure her lovesickness.

After two days in the lab, Professor Fang came to talk to her again. "Huang Qi, I’d like your opinion on something."

The matter was simple—it was about the joint research project with the University of Melbourne he’d mentioned last year. He’d planned to send a new PhD student, but of the two he recruited this year, one had accepted an overseas offer and the other had a cushy state-owned job lined up and didn’t want to pursue a doctorate. Both backed out, and the senior student who’d been handling it was about to graduate. There was no one to take over. Professor Fang admired Huang Qi and wanted her to go for a year or two.

As she listened, Huang Qi thought: Thank goodness I didn’t take a job elsewhere; otherwise, Professor Fang would really be unlucky this year. Breaking a commitment really does affect others.

"Honestly, this project is a rare opportunity. Following it, you could write your master’s thesis, publish a few major journal articles, and a PhD would be no problem. If you want, you can transfer to a PhD next year, stay in my group, and not lose any time compared to a direct PhD program. If you really don’t want a doctorate, I’ll recruit someone to replace you next year—this paper alone is enough for you to graduate, and you get a free trip abroad. Why not?"

Huang Qi was tempted. "Professor Fang, my parents are coming for my graduation tomorrow. Let me ask their opinion, and if they agree, I’ll go. Is that all right?"

Professor Fang smiled. "Of course. Just let me know as soon as possible."

The next day, Teacher Ding and Mr. Huang arrived, and Huang Qi met them at the train station. There were still three days until graduation, so she took them sightseeing around the city’s historic landmarks.

By the end of June, the weather was already hot. The student dorms had no air conditioning, so Teacher Ding told Huang Qi to stay with them at the hotel. That meant she spent twenty-four hours a day with her parents, not even getting a chance to send Xiao Ying a stray message.

Her lovesickness only grew worse.

She’d visited all the famous city sights with Xiao Ying before. Now, revisiting those places with her parents, everything was the same but the people had changed. It was as if someone was twisting a knife in her still-bleeding heart. But accompanying her parents, she couldn’t show it. She had to force a smile and pose for photos with a peace sign.

Back when they first started dating, he’d wanted to borrow a digital camera for photos, but Huang Qi, thinking herself plain and unphotogenic next to Xiao Ying, refused. Now she regretted it bitterly—she didn’t have a single picture with him. She’d take even a quick sticker photo from a roadside booth if she could.

While her parents went to the restroom, Huang Qi waited outside with their bags. The park’s center was a wide lake, filled with boaters in spring, summer, and autumn. Last year she and Xiao Ying had come here, foolishly thinking it romantic to choose a pedal boat, only for her legs to tire halfway through so that Xiao Ying pedaled the rest of the way. She’d had sore muscles for days.

Moored near the dock were idle boats. She remembered choosing boat number 1927 last year—their birthdays side by side, just like Xiao Ying’s phone number, a good omen.

She walked along the bank, searching, and to her surprise, she found 1927. It was a yellow duck-shaped pedal boat. Its head had been broken somehow, and it sat tied among a heap of rusty, abandoned boats, covered in dust, huddled in a corner of the riverbank, drifting with the current, surrounded by leaves, foam, and trash. The red paint on the stern showing "1927" was faded and hard to make out.

A wave of indescribable sadness rose inside her. She took out her phone and typed: Xiao Ying, I’m at the park with my parents and saw the boat we rode last year.

The message sent successfully, but there was no reply.

It was the boat numbered 1927—the little duck boat I thought was such a coincidence, so we picked it. Do you remember? You said your phone number was our birthdays together, and so was the boat’s number; it was fate, and we’d always be together.

But the boat is broken now, abandoned.

Xiao Ying, I miss you so much.

This time, he finally replied—just three words: Me too.

A sourness surged to her nose; she immediately pressed call. The phone rang with a busy tone, and a mechanical woman’s voice repeated, "Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."

She listened to that voice without hanging up, as the cool breeze from the lake dried the tears in her eyes.

"Xiao Qi, why didn’t you say you were coming over here? We’ve been looking for you," Teacher Ding and Mr. Huang came over, sounding worried.

She put her phone away and took a deep breath. "I just got a call and it was too noisy to hear clearly."

Mr. Huang asked, "Was it a teacher or a classmate? Is it urgent?"

Mentioning teachers reminded Huang Qi of Professor Fang’s proposal, so she said, "Dad, Mom, I have something to discuss with you."

She explained Professor Fang’s offer. Her parents were a bit stunned. Mr. Huang asked, "Xiao Qi, you never planned to go abroad before. Now you suddenly want to, so far from home, maybe not coming back even once a year? The language and customs are different—the environment so unfamiliar. Can you get used to it?"

Huang Qi replied, "Honestly, being away from home is the same wherever I am. Right now I only go back twice a year, and I’m used to it."

Her father said, "It’s up to you. Do you want to go?"

Huang Qi really did. Not just because it was a great opportunity, but because she wanted a change of scene. If she stayed at the university for her master’s, she’d be surrounded every day by the places she’d shared with Xiao Ying—memories at every turn. She hardly saw Xiao Ying, and her heart was already in turmoil. How did couples who broke up but saw each other every day at school ever get over it?

"I think it’s a good opportunity; I’d like to try."

Mr. Huang asked Teacher Ding, "What do you think?"

Teacher Ding, being more thoughtful, noticed Huang Qi’s distraction these days. She’d been involved in her daughter’s relationship with Sha Zhouyin and could guess how Huang Qi was feeling. "I have no objection. It’s only a year or two, not like you’re emigrating. It’s good for you to see more of the world; maybe you’ll figure things out you couldn’t before."

With her parents’ blessing, Huang Qi gave her answer to Professor Fang, who hoped she could leave as soon as possible. After graduation, it would be July. Getting a visa, booking flights, and handling the handover would all take time—the schedule was tight. After her parents returned home and told her grandparents, they were a little sad that Huang Qi wouldn’t be coming home for the summer but felt it was a great and honorable thing; they were all very happy.