Nostalgia.

Hu Li looked at Chen Liang.

I pondered for a while.

She didn't mean to refuse.

Chen Liang walked up.

He gently hugged Hu Li.

Hu Li broke free after just one hug.

He said, "Go back. If the landlady finds out you're doing this, it'll be terrible."

Chen Liang didn't know why he was so extraordinary.

Perhaps the landlady set a rule for them: they couldn't cause trouble outside.

Or perhaps they are relatives, or even the closest of relatives.

"Um."

Chen Liang then agreed to Hu Li's discomfort.

The two walked back.

……

As they reached the edge of the hotel, by the roadside, Hu Li suddenly said, "I know what you mean. Let me think about it, and then I'll ask you out."

Chen Liang: "Okay."

He didn't know if Hu Li would ask him out.

But he felt that Hu Li would probably ask him out.

……

Sure enough, two days later, Hu Li made an appointment with Chen Liang: "I'll get off work at 9 o'clock. Wait for me on the east side of the restaurant. We'll go to the city."

This is the edge of the city; the real city center is to the east.

Chen Liang: Okay.

He is very happy.

He knew that Hu Li's invitation to him was a ploy to get him to sleep with her.

But then Hu Li sent another message: Give me a thousand yuan.

Chen Liang was taken aback, thought for a moment, and immediately replied: Okay.

Hu Li: Hmm.

……

That evening, before 9 p.m., Chen Liang arrived at the east side of the restaurant, carefully hiding so as not to be seen, waiting for Hu Li.

Hu Li arrived at 9:20.

The two hailed a taxi and headed towards the city.

Chen Liang chose a high-end hotel.

The two of them came up.

Hu Li was very cautious and somewhat afraid.

She cautiously entered the room.

Chen Liang closed the room door.

Lock it.

Chen Liang looked at Hu Li, at her thin body.

"Take a shower."

Hu Li turned and glanced at Chen Liang: "You go first."

"Um."

Chen Liang went into the bathroom.

……

After Chen Liang came out, Hu Li slowly walked into the bathroom.

……

She came out again very soon.

Chen Liang barely heard the sound of water.

It seems they heard it too.

Chen Liang asked, "Did you wash up?"

Hu Li said, "I washed it."

Chen Liang hesitated for a moment before entering the bathroom. He noticed that the floor wasn't very wet.

It seems that the faucet, in the same spot he placed it, hasn't changed.

Chen Liang didn't know why.

But he knew that Hu Li probably hadn't washed it.

Or perhaps she just washed it briefly.

Suddenly, Chen Liang had a thought: perhaps she simply didn't know how to wash it.

Because, during this time, Chen Liang already knew that Hu Li was from the countryside.

Her home is in the mountains.

Moreover, it is a densely mountainous area.

Chen Liang closed the bathroom door, entered the room, and looked at Hu Li.

She is young.

She is naive.

In fact, she was quite ignorant about many things.

Chen Liang sighed inwardly: Alas...

"Go to sleep."

The two went to bed.

Hu Li was wearing clothes.

Chen Liang said, "Take it off."

Hu Li simply took off her coat.

Just as Chen Liang was about to start, Hu Li said, "Give me the money first."

Chen Liang was stunned for a moment.

He had already prepared the money.

But he didn't expect Hu Li to distrust him so much.

Chen Liang took out the money and gave the thousand yuan to Hu Li.

Hu Li took it.

She was very happy.

That's when she finally made Chen Liang move...

Chen Liang vaguely remembered that Hu Li was wearing purple thermal underwear that night...

……

She definitely didn't take a shower.

Chen Liang felt that perhaps she had only washed her hands in the bathroom.

……

They did it, they loved each other...

Chen Liang was deeply moved.

He really likes Hu Li.

Even love...

Chen Liang fell in love...

……

A few days later, the weather got colder again.

Suddenly, Hu Li sent a message: I'm leaving, I'm going home to visit.

Chen Liang asked: Will you come back?

Hu Li: No. But I might come back.

Chen Liang: Oh.

My heart is aching.

He didn't want to lose Hu Li, but marrying her seemed unrealistic to Chen Liang.

It's not time yet.

Or perhaps, Hu Li simply didn't want to.

Because the two are, after all, different in age.

Chen Liang: I'll take you.

Hu Li: Hmm.

Chen Liang: I'll take you to the main station.

Hu Li: Hmm.

Perhaps, now, she also understands Chen Liang's feelings for her.

Or perhaps, she also wanted to spend more time with Chen Liang.

……

The next day, in the morning, Chen Liang and Hu Li took a taxi to the bus station and boarded a bus to another city.

Hu Li was going to take a bus from there back to her hometown.

There is no direct route from here, from this city.

On the way, Chen Liang and Hu Li chatted quietly...

Hu Li was telling Chen Liang about her hometown...

……

We arrived in the capital city of that province.

Chen Liang said to Hu Li, "Why don't we stay another day and leave tomorrow?"

He couldn't bear to part with Hu Li.

He didn't want Hu Li to leave.

He was very upset.

Extreme discomfort.

For example, when his wife had just passed away.

Yes.

Losing a lover is like losing a family member.

However, Hu Li did not agree to his request.

Hu Li said, "I have to go back today; I've already told my family."

Chen Liang made repeated requests, but Hu Li ultimately refused.

Therefore, we have no choice.

Chen Liang bought Hu Li a ticket and saw her onto the train.

As he watched her sitting in the car, tears welled up in Chen Liang's eyes.

He really didn't want her to leave.

Her departure seemed to have taken away the apple of his eye.

The car slowly drove away...

They eventually disappeared from Chen Liang's sights...

Chen Liang was utterly dejected...

The freezing rain continued to fall, gradually turning into ice pellets...

……

In a daze, Chen Liang arrived at the Northwest Ridge.

He was very distressed.

They were so exhausted that they no longer had the energy to take care of the construction site.

He came to the great river in the west once again.

He walked along the riverbank, retracing the path he and Hu Li had once walked.

For those days, Chen Liang was consumed by the pain of Hu Li's departure.

Lost in thought...

He had truly fallen in love with her...

……

That winter, Chen Liang lingered by the river for a long time, many times...

I've been constantly reminiscing and searching for Hu Li's image...

He wanted to go back to the city where Hu Li had left and see that train station again.

But it's really too painful...

……

Hu Li never came back...

……

Time is the best thing.

The passage of time can wear down and eventually destroy one person's feelings for another.

……

Yes.

Chen Liang's feelings for Hu Li gradually faded.

He focused on his career again...

However, it was not completely eliminated...

He still remembers Hu Li in his heart, and that feeling continues to this day.

Therefore, he dared to go and see Hu Li.

Whether she is married or not.

……

During the time Hu Li was away, Chen Liang contacted Cui Yun.

Cui Yun told them the location and name of their hometown.

At that time, Chen Liang wrote an article and posted it on his QQ space, which is still there today.

Chen Liang had already read the articles on that space during his trip to the Northwest Ridge.

I remembered Hu Li's hometown.

I wrote down the location and name in my phone's notes app.

……

Oh, right, later, in the summer of the following year, when Chen Liang was still in Northwest Ridge.

Hu Li called Chen Liang.

We talked for a long time and said a lot.

At the time, Chen Liang was eating at that restaurant. Outside, there was a lot of noise, including the sound of cars.

Chen Liang didn't hear anything clearly.

Later, Hu Li asked Chen Liang for 100 yuan, but Chen Liang didn't give it to her.

The purpose was that Chen Liang felt Hu Li was too heartless.

She was in so much pain when she left, but she still insisted on going.

Since she's heartless, I'll be heartless too.

One hundred yuan?

Chen Liang felt it was too little.

I still have to go to the bank to transfer money and run errands.

Chen Liang felt it wasn't worth it.

Therefore, now, and in the past, Chen Liang felt that this was something he had done wrong to Hu Li.

Perhaps, Hu Li mustered up her courage to ask for that hundred yuan.

However, Chen Liang disappointed her.

From that moment on, Hu Li stopped sending Chen Liang a single message.

Chen Liang ignored her.

Gradually, the two lost contact...