Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

The ginkgo tree avenue at Erxiang Paradise is covered in golden leaves.

This road is on the edge of Pigeon River District, far from the hustle and bustle of the commercial street, and few people pass by on weekdays.

The ginkgo trees on both sides were planted in some unknown era. Their trunks are straight, and their branches intertwine in mid-air to form a golden dome.

The fallen leaves covered the ground thickly, rustling underfoot as if walking on fragments of time.

At the end of the road stands the oldest ginkgo tree.

The trunk is so thick that it takes two people to hug it, and the canopy is so large that it blocks out most of the sky.

The fallen leaves piled up exceptionally thick at its feet, as if time had specially laid out a soft cushion for it.

Under the tree, a small white dog sat crouching, its tail gently brushing against the fallen leaves on the ground.

At the other end of the road, Perkui's figure slowly walked towards them.

She held a bouquet of white daisies in her hands. She walked slowly, each step firm and steady, as if measuring the length of the road with her footsteps.

She walked this road for fifteen years.

From the night before she was wheeled into the operating room, from the dusk when Rocket licked her fingers for the last time, from the morning when she was stripped of all emotion and could no longer remember Rocket, she had been walking this path.

After fifteen years, she finally arrived at this ginkgo tree.

The rocket's ears twitched.

It raised its head, squinted its eyes, and looked at the figure walking towards it.

It stood up. Its tail began to wag slowly.

One, two, faster and faster, until the whole body swayed from side to side.

Perkui squatted down in front of it.

A mere half-step distance, yet a full fifteen years separated them.

The man and the dog stared at each other for a long time.

Rocket's eyes were still the same as they were fifteen years ago, bright and sparkling, reflecting her face.

"……Rocket."

The puppy jumped into her arms.

Perkui hugged it tightly, burying her face in its furry nape. The little body was trembling.

The warm body temperature emanated through the hair, no longer the ghostly coldness, but a real, living temperature.

"I'm sorry," her voice muffled by the rocket's fur, nasal, "I kept you waiting so long."

Rocket broke free from her embrace, touched her cheek with his wet nose, then her forehead, and licked away the tears that were sliding down her cheeks with his tongue.

Perkui didn't flinch; her eyes were red-rimmed, but a smile played on her lips.

She picked up the rocket and walked to the oldest ginkgo tree.

The thick layer of fallen leaves crunched softly underfoot, like the sound of time shattering, or like the first crack in the thawing ice of spring. She knelt down and placed the bunch of daisies beside the tree roots.

The white petals looked exceptionally pure against the backdrop of golden fallen leaves, and the tiny stamens trembled gently in the wind.

A gust of wind blew by, and the ginkgo leaves fluttered down like golden rain.

A few petals fell onto the bouquet, as if the tree itself was offering its blessings.

"Thank you for waiting for me here all this time," Perkui said softly. "I'm here now. I've come to pick you up."

The rocket looked up at her, its tail swaying gently.

Perqui reached out, and Rocket placed his paws on her palm. They were warm and real, with soft paw pads and neatly trimmed nails.

"Let's go home."

She stood up, and Rocket followed closely at her feet.

A person and a dog walked along the ginkgo-lined avenue, with fallen leaves carpeting the ground behind them, creating a golden path.

This time, she didn't leave alone. Because the rocket was right beside her.