As soon as she stepped outside the hotel, Mo Sheng found herself on the bustling Zhenguan Road, the most vibrant street in Y City. Known for its beautiful scenery, Y City was a popular tourist destination, and the road was teeming with visitors. Being there brought back a memory—this was the place where she had first seen Yi Chen in Y City.

Back then, they were already dating. But during her freshman winter break, when Yi Chen went home, he refused to give her his home phone number. Mo Sheng felt hurt and upset. How could she not even have her boyfriend’s number? She tried to talk to him at the train station before he left, but he remained firm. Angry and heartbroken, she turned and ran off.

Yet, after only a few steps, she regretted it. Why had she gotten so mad? Maybe if she’d held on a little longer, he would have relented. She looked back—but Yi Chen was already gone.

When she got home, a deep sadness set in. She lost her appetite, couldn’t focus on TV, and felt restless. Then, out of nowhere, a wild thought took over—what if she went out every day? Maybe, just maybe, she’d bump into him again.

And unbelievably, she did.

It was just after Chinese New Year. Snow was lightly falling. Across the street, she suddenly saw him—walking with a woman she didn’t know back then, Yimei. Mo Sheng was stunned. She hadn’t really expected to find him in a city full of people. But there he was. Without thinking, she ran toward him, crossed the road, and threw her arms around him.

It was right here—under this very tree—that a girl in a white furry hat had hugged a startled boy, who looked awkward under the curious stares of strangers, while she exclaimed, “Yi Chen, I knew I’d see you again. I just knew it!”

Mo Sheng closed her eyes.

Even though everything between them was in the past, the memory remained vivid—like it had happened just yesterday.

Possessed by nostalgia, she took out her camera and snapped a photo of the empty street where no one now stood.

When the photo was developed, it captured exactly what was there—an empty road, a blank space.

After the holiday, Mo Sheng’s work schedule became even more hectic.Only her friend Xiaohong had spare time. Her column had just ended, and she was in between projects. She hung around Mo Sheng’s office, preoccupied with matchmaking.

“Ah Sheng, you can’t keep wasting time like this. You know, youth and beauty don’t last forever. If you find a guy now, you’re saving society. But if you wait a few years, you’ll just be hurting the male population,” Xiaohong teased. Then she leaned in and whispered mysteriously, “Besides, this is the perfect time, biologically speaking. Don’t you want to fall asleep in someone’s warm embrace?”

“Xiaohong, did you have that kind of dream again last night?”

“Just occasionally,” she said with a mock blush, shaking with fake shyness. Then she turned serious. “You’re finally acting normal again. Remember how your guy was snatched away not too long ago?”It was a typical Xiaohong remark, and Mo Sheng couldn’t help but laugh.

As long as she didn’t dwell on the past, it was easy to put on a happy front—laugh with coworkers, joke around, and fool everyone into thinking she was doing fine. Eventually, you even begin to believe it yourself.

Mo Sheng didn’t want to explain her feelings, so she looked at the clock. It was already 10 a.m.

“Time for the meeting.”

Today was the quarterly staff meeting.

The magazine Mo Sheng worked at was a large publication. In addition to the famous women’s magazine Xiu Se, it also ran a weekly lifestyle magazine. Without those, they probably couldn’t afford two full-time photographers.