The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

"So, are you leaving again this time you're back?"

Ling Qianxue asked directly, looking at Qin Lili nestled on the sofa, she said:

"If you don't want to go home, you can come work for me and help me manage the company. I'll pay you a salary."

Ling Qianxue meant what she said sincerely, but Qin Lili just laughed:

"Hmph, no way. Aren't you afraid I'll shut your company down?"

Seeing Qin Lili like this, Ling Qianxue rolled her eyes at her:

"Stop changing the subject, I'm talking to you seriously."

The room quieted down for a moment, with only the rain pattering against the windowpane, but the sound was muffled through the French windows.

Qin Lili's playful expression slowly faded. She didn't respond or continue acting; she just looked at Ling Qianxue, her lips slowly drooping.

Ling Qianxue's voice softened somewhat as she addressed Qin Lili:

"You've been searching for him for so many years, it's time you came to terms with it. You have to face it eventually, right?"

Qin Lili's expression became more serious as she looked into Ling Qianxue's eyes...

She had known those eyes for so many years, and they had never changed. When they were cold, they were truly cold; when they were serious, they were truly serious.

"But... I just don't believe it..."

Qin Lili spoke, her voice so soft it was almost drowned out by the sound of rain outside the window.

Ling Qianxue seemed to have anticipated her response, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Even if you don't believe it, it's still a fact that he has already..."

"Okay, I understand."

Qin Lili interrupted Ling Qianxue, not letting her finish speaking.

It wasn't that she was impatient, but rather that she had heard those words far too many times.

From other people's words, from my own mind, from every sleepless night.

She wasn't unaware; she simply didn't want to face it.

Qin Lili rolled over, from lying on her side to lying on her back, face up, staring at the ceiling above her head.

There was nothing there, just a blank white expanse, just like her mind right now—empty, yet incredibly heavy.

"I know……"

She repeated it to herself again, this time in a softer voice, as if she were talking to herself.

Ling Qianxue looked at her, who was lying flat on the sofa, motionless, with her eyes open, but seemingly not looking at anything.

There were no tears, no grievances, and not even much sadness on Qin Lili's face.

It's just... empty.

Seeing her best friend like this, Ling Qianxue felt a little uneasy.

But she didn't move, didn't speak, didn't reach out, and didn't say anything like, "It's okay, you'll get better. He definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."

Qin Lili had heard these words far too many times before. From that day until now, from home to abroad, from relatives to friends, comforting words fell on her like snowflakes. But too many snowflakes can be overwhelming.

She doesn't need comforting anymore.

Ling Qianxue knew her too well; Qin Lili wasn't the type to need to be coaxed to stay alive.

All she needs is someone to be with her, quietly, without speaking, without trying to persuade her, and without telling her nonsense like "time heals all wounds."

Because time, damn it, can't cure anything.

Ling Qianxue sat there beside her, watching her.

Qin Lili raised one hand, resting her wrist on her forehead to block the somewhat dazzling ceiling light and Ling Qianxue's view.

Her eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling, which was nothing but gray and white.

The raindrops outside the window kept crashing against the glass like moths to a flame, dense and numerous.

Listening to the sound of the rain, many, many sounds flooded Qin Lili's mind...

These sounds seemed very, very far away, so far that she could hardly hear them.

But these sounds seemed so close, as if they had happened just yesterday…

Will we always be this happy?

We'll travel the world together!

We want to leave proof of our love in every corner of the world!

I will wait for you at the ends of the earth...

Sentence by sentence, broken and intermittent, the voice contained laughter, joking, and that reckless confidence that "forever" truly existed.

Qin Lili listened to these sounds, took a deep breath, and then slowly, very slowly, exhaled.

She slowly closed her eyes, but didn't sleep; she simply listened to the sounds again.

……

It was a mountaintop, not a famous scenic spot. It was just a deserted hillside that the two of them randomly picked while driving, and it didn't even have a proper name.

The weather was beautiful that night; there were no clouds, and when I looked up, the sky was full of stars—a sight you can't see in the city.

The two sat close together on the ground, legs stretched out, shoulders touching.

The girl kept talking while looking at the starry sky, and the boy kept smiling while looking at the girl.

Suddenly, the boy spoke to the girl:

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

The girl stopped talking and turned to look at the boy in surprise, as if she hadn't expected him to say this at this time, or as if she had been waiting for these words for a long time and didn't know how to react when they finally came.

I looked at him for a while, then nodded.

It's very light, but very certain.

That night, the two of them talked for a long time on the mountaintop, about what kind of house they would live in in the future, whether they would raise a dog, and where they would travel. They said these were the happiest things in the world.

"We want to travel the world hand in hand."

"it is good."

"We want to leave our photos in every place."

"it is good."

"We'll be together forever."

"it is good."

Back then, forever was just a matter of course.

But before their world tour could even begin, the boy disappeared.

It wasn't an argument, it wasn't a breakup, it wasn't that I didn't love you anymore, it was just gone without even a goodbye.

When the girl arrived at his house, the door was open, and a black and white photograph was hanging on the wall in the living room.

The person in the photo is smiling, exactly the same smile she had when I watched her speak from the mountaintop that night.

The only thing the boy left her was a note. Although the handwriting was a bit crooked, it was clear that the boy had written it himself.

Live well, I'll be waiting for you at the ends of the earth.

The girl stood in front of that photo for a long time.

She doesn't believe it.

She didn't want to believe it.

She clutched the note in her hand, crumpling it into a ball, but finally unfolded it gently and put it away carefully.

After her family found out what she was going to do, they blocked the door.

They said you can't go, that you're crazy, that the person is gone and you're nowhere to be found, and finally even threatened you never to come back if you dare to leave the house.

But the girl didn't argue with them. She just pushed them away, threw her luggage into the car, and drove off.

They didn't even plan a proper route, they just went on like that, and several years passed.

The girl went to many places, including places the boy had said they would go together, and places the boy hadn't mentioned but were on the map.

At each place she visited, she would take a photo and say to the boy in front of the camera, "Look, I've arrived."

The girl always believed that the boy had not left; he was just waiting for her at the end of the world.

Once she finds the end, she will see him.

Unfortunately... the Earth is round.

You walk to the end, but in the end, you still return to the starting point.