It is a flight ticket to a small island abroad on February 4th.

　　The next day, Shen Mo told Yang Yue about this matter, and Yang Yue’s cheeks puffed up again: “Traveling abroad? Boss, you are too lazy. You go out to play at this time every year.”

　　Shen Mo had no choice but to say, “I’ll let you take your annual leave when I come back.”

　　Yang Yue then showed some joy and asked, “Boss, where are you going this time?”

　　“The old place.”

　　”S Island again?” Yang Yue was slightly surprised. “It’s a honeymoon resort, couples go there together. Why do you, a single person, go there every year? Are you waiting for a romantic encounter or poaching someone?”

　　Shen Mo’s reason was legitimate: “I ran out of inspiration to paint, so I went there to collect inspiration.”

　　Yang Yue was indeed speechless and asked, “When are we leaving?”

　　”Ticket for February 4th.”

　　Yang Yue flipped through the calendar and said, “That day is exactly the beginning of Spring.”

　　Then he said, “I remember that you go out around the Spring Festival every year, is there any special meaning?”

　　She smelled something unusual and turned to look at Shen Mo.

　　Shen Mo’s heart skipped a beat, but he still smiled: “Of course. The best time of the year is spring. In spring, everything comes back to life and flowers bloom. It’s perfect for an outing.”

　　Having said that, Yang Yue couldn’t ask any more questions, and Shen Mo took the opportunity to send her to make a cup of coffee.

　　Soon, Yang Yue brought the coffee over. Shen Mo didn’t sleep well last night, and smelling the aroma of coffee still made him feel a little sleepy. It was almost noon, and the sunlight cast a long shadow on the coffee cup. Shen Mo half-closed his eyes and looked out the window, feeling that life couldn’t be more leisurely.

　　But in such a peaceful state, he always felt that something was missing, no matter how happy he was, it was still inadequate. Perhaps, as Yang Yue said, there was a name that had taken root in his heart, taking root and sprouting over the years, often jumping out when he was least prepared, suddenly filling his entire chest.

　　He misses someone like this.

　　Even if one puts one’s hand in and presses again and again with all one’s strength, until the heart bleeds, one still cannot suppress the pain.

　

　　Shen Mo spent this New Year very simply. He gave Yang Yue a day off, cooked a few dishes at home, and drank a bottle of red wine. Because he was eating alone, no matter how delicious the dishes were, they were tasteless, just like the usual takeout, and tasted lonely. He went to bed before twelve o’clock, wrapped in a thick quilt, and fell asleep listening to the sound of firecrackers outside the window.

　　After the New Year, it is the beginning of Spring.

　　Shen Mo had been to S Island several times, so he didn’t need to make any plans. He just exchanged cash, packed his luggage, and got a haircut the day before leaving. He looked young, and his short bangs revealed a pair of eyes, making him look younger than his actual age.

　　Just like… four years ago.

　　At this time four years ago, he was looking forward to going to S Island with Ji Mingxuan, but things had changed and he ended up having to go alone.

　　Early in the morning of February 4, Shen Mo dragged his suitcase out of the door. He had to change planes on the way and it took more than ten hours to reach his destination. S Island is a rumored honeymoon destination, and its most famous feature is the beach, with white sand and blue water, and the scenery is breathtaking.

　　The hotel where Shen Mo stayed was built on the cliff in the south of S Island. The suites and villas were built according to the terrain. You could hear the sound of the waves hitting the waves from inside the house. When you opened the window and looked out, you could see the ocean in full view. The scenery was magnificent. The interior decoration design was also unique, incorporating various modern elements while retaining the original natural scenery. This hotel was recently completed. I heard that the investor was also Chinese. Although the price of staying for one night was not cheap, Shen Mo didn’t care so much when he was away from home.

　　It was already evening when he arrived at the hotel. He had a good sleep to adjust to the jet lag, and then woke up the next morning to leisurely enjoy the sea view.

　　He chose to come to S Island at this time. Although he had some unspeakable thoughts, the official reason was to come to collect folk songs, so after lunch, he started to tour the island with his drawing board on his back.

　　He rode his bicycle through the small villages on the island, lay on the beach to watch the sunset, and tasted the authentic local food. He had a great time in the past few days. Of course, he also completed a lot of paintings, some of which were quite charming and eye-catching.

　　Shen Mo originally wanted to rent a speedboat to go out to sea, but he really couldn’t play anymore, so he just stayed in the hotel room and focused on painting for the next few days. The hotel faced a cliff on one side and a swimming pool on the other. Sometimes when he was tired of painting, he would walk to the pool for a walk.

　　The sun was shining brightly that day, and Shen Mo had no plans for the afternoon, so he went to the swimming pool after dinner, basking in the sun while thinking about the composition of his new work. More and more people were swimming in the afternoon, and Shen Mo ordered a cup of coffee when he suddenly heard someone calling out in Chinese: “Ming Xuan…”

　　The sweet female voice seems to be acting coquettishly in a thousand ways.

　　Shen Mo’s ears were quiet for a moment, as if all sounds had disappeared, only those two words were particularly clear. A little sweat oozed from the tip of his nose, and he stood up involuntarily and looked in the direction of the sound.

　　What caught my eye was a beautiful woman in a swimsuit, with straight white legs, a curvy figure, and particularly beautiful long black hair. She was holding the arm of a man – the man was also Chinese, about 40 years old, with most of his hair gone and a beer belly as round as a ripe watermelon.

　　Ah, not Ji Mingxuan.

　　Shen Mo relaxed completely and secretly laughed at himself for being so suspicious. Ji Mingxuan was a very common name, and there were probably hundreds of thousands of people with the same name. How could he think it was him just by hearing the name?

　　He watched Mingxuan and the swimsuit beauty walk over affectionately, and couldn’t help wondering what Ji Mingxuan looked like now? Would he also be extremely fat? Then he shook his head, thinking, they would never see each other again.

　　Shen Mo smiled bitterly and was about to sit back in his original seat, but when he turned around, the smile froze on his face.

　　He saw Ji Mingxuan standing a few steps away.

　　Ji Mingxuan was well-dressed and had an upright figure, only more outstanding than Shen Mo had remembered. He looked straight over, his face still pale and handsome, as if he stood outside of time.

　

　　There was a lot of noise around, and it was still a foreign hustle and bustle. There were several blond and blue-eyed foreign children chasing and playing around. One of them was being chased by his friends and ran towards Shen Mo screaming. Shen Mo was so stunned that he forgot to dodge and was pounced on by him without thinking.

　　What followed was like a chain of car^[1]refers to children accidents. Shen Mo was knocked back a few steps, and the parasol behind him was knocked over. A waiter happened to pass by and the drink in his hand spilled, and the cup of hot milk was all over Shen Mo’s hand.

　　The whole process took only a few seconds, but Shen Mo seemed to have been slowed down, his thinking became slow and dull, and under the scorching sun, everyone’s movements became slow motion, and all the details were stretched and magnified. In the chaos, he saw Ji Mingxuan showing a slightly surprised look, and then strode towards him.

　　It was not until Ji Mingxuan held his hand that Shen Mo came to his senses and realized that his burned hand was burning with pain. He finally said, “Mr. Ji…”

　　Ji Mingxuan didn’t respond, but just lowered his head to look at his hand. Seeing a red spot on the back of his hand, he couldn’t help but frowned and dragged him out of the swimming pool and walked into the hotel.

　　Shen Mo met all kinds of people on the road, but he didn’t think about anything and just followed Ji Mingxuan.

　　Ji Mingxuan pulled him into the bathroom and turned on the faucet to rinse his hand. The cold water flowed over the back of his hand, making a loud sound. Shen Mo looked up at Ji Mingxuan in the mirror and called out again, “Mr. Ji.”

　　It was only at this time that Ji Mingxuan spoke his first words to him, but he just said “hmm” very softly.

　　With just this sound, Shen Mo’s uneasy heart suddenly settled down.

　　Ji Mingxuan lowered his head and stared at his hand intently. The slightly red back of his hand turned a little white after being washed by the cold water. Shen Mo said, “Mr. Ji, it’s OK.”

　　Ji Mingxuan still held his wrist tightly and said, “Keep going for a while longer.”

　　As he spoke, he raised his eyes and glanced at Shen Mo quickly, then quickly turned away and said, “You haven’t changed much.”

　　Shen Mo looked at him openly through the mirror, tracing the outline of his face with his eyes, and said, “Mr. Ji is the same.”

　　Ji Mingxuan suddenly let go of his hand, took out his cell phone and made a call: “Yes, it’s me… I think it is burned, bring the medicine box…”

　　He stopped in the middle and directed Shen Mo: “Keep going.”

　　Shen Mo had no choice but to continue washing the back of his hands with cold water.

　　A few minutes later, the hotel manager came over with a medical kit and said respectfully, “Mr. Ji.”