[Esports] Pheromones say we're a match made in heaven.

Chi Feifan walked out of the Hawk base and turned on his phone.

What time is Wanlin Temple on weekends?

Brother Yuan: Didn't you say you weren't going?

: I've changed my mind, any objections?

Brother Yuan: How could that be? I didn't even give you a gift for your birthday this year. You're the birthday boy, so you're the boss.

Wanlin Temple is located on a mountain more than 100 kilometers away from Haishi. Although it is in a remote location, it attracts many tourists from all over the world due to its long history and beautiful scenery.

It was early January, the beginning of the new year, and many people came to admire the plum blossoms during the holiday.

The hill is not high, and the mountain road is not rugged. It only takes half an hour to reach the top. There are not only plum groves, but also ginkgo groves. In autumn, the ginkgo groves turn yellow first, and then in the cold winter months, the winter plum blossoms turn yellow.

The weather was sunny over the weekend, and Chi Feifan went out early.

I bought breakfast when I passed by a convenience store.

There was no way around it; eating breakfast too often had gradually become a habit.

Even after Chi Feifan sent out the edited message that day—

How's your hand?

Hawk and his team were busy at the time, and Chi Feifan waited for half an hour before his phone finally made a sound.

Y: It still hurts a little.

Chi Feifan typed and edited for a while, and finally blurted out a sentence: Don't make breakfast anymore.

Y: Why?

Why do you think that is?

This was a good idea that Chi Feifan came up with after careful consideration, eliminating the possibility of Qin Yi's hand being cut again at the source.

However, the other side suddenly sent a few messages.

Y: Do you think my cooking is bad?

Y: I've never cooked before, this is my first time learning to cook.

Y: If you don't want to put the band-aid on for me, I can find someone else to do it for me, so it won't bother you.

Y: I also learned a lot from the aunties at the base. I will be more careful when cutting things in the future.

Chi Feifan picked up his phone and started typing furiously, somewhat annoyed.

: Perfect, if you don't know how to do it, don't do it.

Delete...

I didn't find it unpalatable.

Delete...

No matter how he edited it, he was never satisfied; something always felt off.

finally--

.:oh.

*

When they arrived at the place, Chi Feifan found that it was actually quite beautiful.

He doesn't remember coming here as a child at all. The red walls of Wanlin Temple are hidden among the yellow wintersweet blossoms covering the mountains. Most of the ginkgo trees lining the mountain path have lost their leaves, with only a few still hanging on the branches, rustling like golden rain when the wind blows.

Many people stood devoutly under the Bodhi tree in the middle of the temple to make wishes. The thick branches were covered with wishing plaques wrapped with red ribbons, on which all kinds of wishes were written in black ink.

Chi Feifan glanced at them briefly and saw several plaques with wishes for wealth, good health, and academic success.

Hanging a wishing plaque here costs 120 yuan, but many people believe that spending money represents sincerity and therefore don't care about the price.

Cheng Yuan waved his hand and bought two pieces from the small pavilion, giving one to Chi Feifan.

Chi Feifan glanced at Cheng Yuan: "Actually, you didn't come here to admire the plum blossoms at all; you just came to make a wish, didn't you?"

Cheng Yuan, caught out, rubbed his nose abruptly: "Hehe, you found out! I'm going to wish for a partner in the new year. You should write one down too, just in case it works."

Chi Feifan looked at the wooden plaque in his hand without saying a word.

After Cheng Yuan quickly wrote down his wish in a few strokes, he looked up and found that Chi Feifan hadn't written anything and had just hung up an empty sign.

Chi Feifan: "I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll add it when I come up with something."

Cheng Yuan looked up at the signs covering the tree: "By the time you figure it out, will you still be able to find it?"

The wind rattled the signs on the trees, and the red ribbons fluttered in the wind.

Chi Feifan stood directly opposite the big tree, able to reach the sign that had just been hung up with a slight raise of his hand. His hands were in his pockets, and his clothes were a little wrinkled from sitting in the car for a long time: "If you can't find it, so be it."

Cheng Yuan knew that Chi Feifan didn't believe in these things. It was true that these things only worked if you believed in them and didn't work if you didn't. He happily hung up his sign and tied several tight knots on the red ribbon to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"Alright."

Just as Cheng Yuan jumped down from the stone pier, a middle-aged man with a camera hanging from his neck and stubble on his chin came over to show off his signboard.

It clearly states: Professional photography, rock-bottom price 288 RMB/person.

"Hey handsome guys, wanna take a picture? We'll retouch it, professionally, until you're completely satisfied."

Chi Feifan dislikes having his picture taken and immediately wanted to refuse.

Cheng Yuan stared at the sign, hands on his hips, and said, "Master, I've been here many times. Is this a rock-bottom price? I remember it was only 88 in April?"

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands and smiled awkwardly: "It's peak season, it's peak season. I've been taking pictures here for over ten years, and the price is always the same during peak season."

Fearing Cheng Yuan wouldn't believe him, he immediately flipped the sign over, revealing his shop next to the temple on the other side.

"Let me tell you, all the photography around Wanlin Temple now is a recent phenomenon. Before this area became popular, it was just me and my fellow apprentice taking photos for tourists. I still have the original negatives developed and kept in the shop. If you don't believe me, I can take you to see them. My skills are definitely worth the price."

Anyway, it wasn't far away. Cheng Yuan and Chi Feifan exchanged a glance, and seeing how confident this man was, they followed him to his shop for a stroll.

Surprisingly, the owner wasn't lying; the store really had been open for nearly twenty years. The store wasn't very big, the furnishings were a bit old-fashioned, and the windows were the kind of green glass that was popular many years ago.

He bent over and laboriously pulled out several thick photo albums from the cabinet.

"Wow, it's like an old relic." Cheng Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right, I've been here since I was in my twenties."

Chi Feifan, who had been leaning to the side indifferently, rubbed his phone, glanced at Qin Yi's WeChat profile picture, and then swiped aimlessly through his Moments.

But when the boss opened these thick photo albums, his gaze suddenly froze.

The photos in the album were all taken in that locked courtyard, where the century-old ginkgo tree was lush and golden.

Because Chi Feifan was too young at the time, he couldn't remember whether the photo he had kept was taken by a passerby or a photographer. However, the angle and position of the photos in the album were similar to his photo, and he was almost immediately certain that the person who took the photo of his family back then was the unkempt-looking man in front of him.

Cheng Yuan casually flipped through two pages when Chi Feifan suddenly took the photo album from his hand.

"Boss, it seems your skills are really good." Cheng Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement.

My brother was completely mesmerized by it.

Each photo in the album is arranged in chronological order, and Chi Feifan quickly flipped to a photo from a certain day in November more than ten years ago.

Cheng Yuan leaned closer, his eyes wide, finally understanding why Chi Feifan was so interested in this photo album: "Holy crap, isn't this... isn't this your family...?"

The shop owner was surprised to run into a regular customer after so many years: "Oh, since that's the case, I'll give you a discount, how about 266?"

Cheng Yuan: "Can you be any stingier?"

Chi Feifan looked at the photo quietly; it had been a long time since he had seen the photo in its entirety.

Just then, Chi Feifan squinted and noticed that there was another photo on top of this one, taken by a photographer behind Chi Jianye for another family of three.

Coincidentally, the people in these two photos became each other's backgrounds.

Chi Feifan glanced indifferently at the little boy in the photo above.

The kid wasn't very old. He stood among the adults with his hands in his pockets and his chin slightly raised, as if he knew he was pretty handsome. He looked a bit arrogant and pretentious.

So arrogant at such a young age.

Chi Feifan looked up at his parents. The man, wearing a long trench coat and sporting a side-parted hairstyle, looked quite intellectual. The woman…

Aunt Lu, whom I had just had dinner with not long ago, suddenly appeared in my sight.

Chi Feifan thought he was seeing things; for a moment, everything around him seemed to freeze.

A long time passed.

"Is there a name on the back of the photo?"

Perhaps because he hadn't spoken for too long, Chi Feifan heard that his voice was a little hoarse.

After receiving an affirmative answer from the boss, he couldn't help but reach out, his fingertips involuntarily pulling both photos out of the album.

How could that be?

What a coincidence!

He had no idea that there were people taking photos behind him, because he had cut those people out along with Chi Jianye.

When the two photos were placed side by side, Chi Feifan was deeply moved, and a force urged him to uncover the back of the photos.

The moment he saw the name, the surrounding sounds returned.

He heard the sound of the wind whistling through the forest, the crisp clinking of wishing plaques on the Bodhi tree, and the faint chanting coming from the temple.

— "Qin Yi".