A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

Jiang Yi continued singing.

"And in my memory"

Searching painstakingly for every little detail

Hope for love

You can change your mind

You told me people

One lifetime is just this one life.

But you're unwilling to give up for me.

……

Upon hearing this, Aihemaiti's body trembled slightly.

These lyrics seem to have traveled through decades, bringing back the memory he least wanted to touch.

During the days when he didn't receive a reply, he also complained.

He repeatedly recalled the words they had spoken when they parted, trying to find signs of the girl's change of heart in every glance and every movement.

He even concluded that she was the one who gave up on the agreement first.

Young and impetuous, he was also driven by a sense of pride.

Many years later, he finally returned to his hometown and received the old wooden box from the girl's relatives.

It was filled with letters she had written to him.

Some were returned, and some had no idea where they should be sent.

His name was written at the beginning of every letter.

At the end of each letter, he asked when he would return.

It was at that moment that he realized the girl had never forgotten him.

She just never received a message from him.

The young man in that story did indeed return.

At that moment, he sat at the very back of the crowd, gazing at the two poplar trees leaning against each other, listening to another person sing about his past misunderstandings, resentment, and regrets.

Aihemaiti lowered his head, his rough hands slowly tightening.

So many years have passed, and he no longer resents fate for letting them miss each other.

He would occasionally wonder if things would have turned out differently if he had written one more letter or returned a little earlier.

Unfortunately, we only live once.

Some things you only get to miss once.

The singing continued.

I think I should

Meeting you in a different way

Even if

We can't be together in this life

I'm willing to wait...

In the next life, I will be with you.

You will develop new feelings for me.

……

Upon hearing this, Aihemaiti looked up.

His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the two poplar trees whose branches were intertwined.

After the girl left, he dreamed countless times of the two of them reuniting.

In their dreams, they didn't miss those letters, nor were they separated by the vast distance.

He returned to his hometown as promised, and the girl was still standing under the poplar tree, smiling and waiting for him.

But every time I wake up, all I'm surrounded by is the endless night.

Later, Aihemaiti stopped hoping that those dreams would come true.

He simply returned here to stay with these two trees and watch them go through cycles of withering and flourishing.

New buds sprout in spring.

Autumn turns the sky golden.

In winter, the leaves fell again amidst the wind and snow.

Year after year, it seems like there's no end in sight.

Perhaps, the trees have waited for the next life that people didn't get to live.

One of them is him.

One of them is her.

They meet again in the wilderness, their roots buried deep in the same soil, their branches leaning towards each other over the long years.

The path that was not completed in this life has finally continued in a different way.

I will pray silently.

Heaven has been kind to you.

Don't let yourself change.

No matter in remote villages

bustling city

I could spot you at a glance.

……

Aihemaiti reached into his pocket and slowly took out a yellowed photograph.

The photo is small, worn around the edges, and has several creases on the surface, indicating that it has been carried around by someone for many years.

The girl in the photo has long braids and stands under a poplar tree, smiling.

A young man was standing next to her.

Although time has changed his appearance, one can still recognize that the young man is Aihemaiti from the faintly similar eyebrows and eyes.

Aihmaiti looked down at the girl in the photo.

Decades have passed, and he can no longer remember many things.

I can't remember which road I took when I left, nor can I remember how many letters I wrote.

But he still remembered what she looked like.

I remember her eyes curving slightly when she smiled.

I remember her long braid blowing in the wind as she stood under the poplar tree.

I also remember that when she saw me off, she urged me to hurry up, but she never turned around.

The song has reached its climax.

"Let me grow over three thousand years"

Wandering in the world

Even if I am

Populus euphratica in Kashgar

I will also be very careful

Searching for you for centuries

Find you in the cycle of life.

I am not afraid of rain, wind, or sun.

Harmed by desert sandstorms

Let your heart be exposed to the sunlight

Confessing my feelings to you

I would rather my body

weathered by time

You should also feel

My true love

……

The pent-up emotions finally erupted at this moment.

The drumbeats suddenly intensify, with the guitar and strings building up layer by layer.

Jiang Yi no longer suppressed his voice; his slightly rough voice pierced through the wilderness, as if he wanted to send all the words he hadn't been able to say for decades into the depths of the sandstorm.

Behind them are two poplar trees, one scarred and the other with broken branches.

Yet they still keep their roots firmly planted in the same soil, and no matter how the cold wind blows, their intertwined branches never separate.

The song, the story, and the scene before my eyes completely overlapped at this moment.

Aihemaiti stared at the two trees, his vision gradually blurring.

In his youth, he traveled to many places.

Whenever he arrives in a new city, he subconsciously pays attention to the people passing by, imagining that the familiar figure will appear at the end of the street the next moment.

But he never saw her again before she left this world.

Later, he returned to this poplar forest.

The wind and sand have turned his hair white, the years have bent his back, and even the road that once led to the village has long since changed its appearance.

Only these two poplar trees remain.

So he stayed.

Year after year, we clear away the dead branches.

I stroked the cracked bark again and again.

Watching them endure the harsh cold, drought, and sandstorms.

Others thought he was guarding a forest.

Only he himself knew that he was using the rest of his life to fulfill a promise that was far too late.

Aihemaiti clutched the yellowed photograph tightly.

A tear slowly slid down the old man's deeply lined cheek.

He looked at the girl in the photo, but a smile appeared on his face.

If they are destined never to meet again in this lifetime, then he will continue to wait.

We've weathered one sandstorm after another, and endured one cycle of reincarnation after another.

Even if he were to transform into a poplar tree on this desolate plain, he would still recognize her at a glance in a sea of ​​people.

Many viewers in the live stream had watched yesterday's live stream.

Therefore, from the moment the song began, they naturally connected the lyrics with the story told by Aihemaiti.

In their view, Su Fan was clearly moved by the love story that took place in the poplar forest, which is why he wrote the poem "Kashgar Poplar".

They felt sorry for the two people in the story, and were also moved by the unwavering devotion that transcends time in the song.

However, no one knew that Aihemaiti was not just a storyteller.

The person who left his hometown, wandered for many years, and returned too late was himself.

At this moment, he stood at the very back of the crowd, listening quietly as Jiang Yi sang his past stories through the shadows of people.