The voice abruptly stopped. Yi Chen stared at her in disbelief and asked, enunciating every word clearly, “What did you just say?”

Mo Sheng kept her eyes on her own shadow on the ground and softly replied, “I got married three years ago in the United States.”

Yi Chen’s expression turned ice-cold, his face darkening with fury. The chilling aura surrounding him felt like it could freeze the air. He glared at her with such intensity, it seemed he might reach out and strangle her at any moment.

After what felt like a long silence, she finally heard his frosty voice: “Zhao Mosheng, I must have been insane to let you walk all over me like this.”

Time passed without change. One day, while at work, Mo Sheng noticed the National Day holiday notice posted on the magazine’s bulletin board and realized September was already coming to an end.

Just like that, summer had slipped away.

As National Day approached, the atmosphere in the office grew lighter. On the afternoon of the 30th, just before work ended, Xiaohong came over and asked, “Ah Sheng, what are your plans for the holiday?”

“It’s the same every year,” Mo Sheng replied.

Xiaohong looked surprised at first, then quickly caught on. “Oh, right! You’ve been abroad for a while, so you probably don’t know that we’ve had a seven-day holiday for a few years now to promote tourism. I’m planning to visit Fenghuang Ancient Town this year. Want to come with me?”Judging by her cheerful expression, it was obvious she was going with the doctor. Mo Sheng smiled and teased, “Do you want me to tag along the whole way and be your photographer for all the couple pictures? My rates are high.”

“Oh, you’re so annoying!” Xiaohong laughed, playfully covering her face in a cartoonish gesture. But when she lowered her hands, she noticed Mo Sheng—who had just been laughing—suddenly quiet and lost in thought.She nudged her gently. “Ah Sheng, are you okay? You’ve seemed a bit off lately.”

“Huh? Oh… no, I’m fine,” Mo Sheng said, snapping back to the moment. “It just feels strange to suddenly have so many free days. What are you planning to do?”

After work, she still had no idea how to spend her time. The streets were noticeably livelier, and the storefronts had all been refreshed. She wandered past the bright display windows, occasionally stopping to buy a snack or two, then continued walking aimlessly through the bustling streets.

It wasn’t until Mo Sheng saw the familiar, old-fashioned gate of C University that she realized where her feet had taken her. She was stunned—she had walked all the way here from her workplace, likely covering half the city without even noticing.The campus entrance was livelier than usual, filled with students dragging suitcases and wearing carefree, cheerful smiles.

Mo Sheng remembered how, back when she was a student, she would get excited for days just because of an upcoming holiday. Thinking about it now, those days felt almost like a distant dream.

With her hands tucked into her pockets, she wandered along the school’s tree-lined path. Unlike her last visit with Yi Chen, her emotions weren’t swinging wildly. Instead, she felt a quiet calm mixed with a sense of confusion. It was as if everything had started going off course the moment she left this place. But now, standing here again, she didn’t know how to move forward.

Yi Chen’s deep voice echoed in her mind once more: “Do you want to come back to me now?”

Mo Sheng halted, shut her eyes, and waited in silence for the ache in her chest to ease.