Three years after our breakup, you came back to China, and I'm just giving up. Why are you cryi

As dusk settles, the city reveals a decadent neon glow.

Lu Hao walked into Mochou Bar, the place where he first met Xiao Xiyue.

Even now, he still can't figure out how he ended up meeting Xiao Xiyue in such a chaotic place.

According to Xiao Xiyue, this was her first time.

The probability of a girl retaining her "first time" in a nightclub is lower than winning the lottery jackpot.

The deafening DJ music was playing in his ears, and laser lights swept across the dancing crowd in the dance floor, but none of this affected Lu Hao in the slightest.

His gaze swept across the entire room, passing through the faces that shifted under the lights.

He walked straight to the booth that used to be his "exclusive" spot.

Today, however, several unfamiliar faces were already sitting there, and a slick-haired man was boasting to several heavily made-up women.

Lu Hao paused, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He leaned against a nearby pillar, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, shook out a cigarette, and lit it.

As the smoke curled upwards, the face of the man in the booth seemed to transform into his past self, while the woman's face opposite him remained blurred and indistinct.

It seems she's not here.

After taking the last drag, Lu Hao stubbed out his cigarette on the trash can, losing all interest in staying any longer.

Just as he turned to leave, a familiar female voice, tinged with a hint of teasing, rang out behind him.

"Have you reformed in the past two months?"

Molly, the bar owner, wearing a bright red tight-fitting dress, held a glass of whiskey and leaned against the pillar he had just been leaning against, looking at him with a playful gaze.

Lu Hao shrugged and gestured with his chin toward the booth: "The seats are all taken, what's the point of coming here?"

"I own a shop."

"I also need to make a living."

Molly and Lu Hao exchanged a glance, then suddenly laughed. "If you want to come over next time, just tell me in advance."

Lu Hao smiled, gave her an "OK" sign, said no more, turned around, squeezed out of the crowd, and left the noisy place.

Perhaps he will never set foot here again.

As he got into the old Santana, the car roared to life, and Lu Hao stepped on the gas, heading towards the Dream Man Bar.

Compared to the frenzy of Mochou Bar, this place is much quieter.

He pushed open the door and went in. There weren't many people; they were sitting in twos and threes.

On stage, Wang Jile was holding a guitar and softly singing a song called "Waves".

Lu Hao's gaze swept across every corner, and as expected, Xiao Xiyue was still nowhere to be seen.

He didn't greet Wang Jile and was about to leave when Wang Jile's singing drifted over.

"I heard the sound of the waves, standing in the very center of the city. I remembered the resolve in my tears, the day you said you were willing. How did you disappear then, without a trace? How could I let you give up and leave..."

Lu Hao unconsciously thought of Su Yu.

At the airport three years ago, tears couldn't undo the vows we made back then.

It is absurd that someone who left would return.

Perhaps this is a hurdle in life.

Whoever you meet is meant to be in your life, to teach you something, and then to turn around and leave.

Lu Hao always believed that wherever he went was where he was meant to be, where he was meant to experience, and where he was meant to meet.

It's like... how could you possibly hear the sound of ocean waves in the middle of a city?

Those so-called ocean waves are nothing more than the turmoil within one's own heart.

and many more!

Lu Hao paused as he was about to step out the door, a detail he had overlooked flashing through his mind.

"This water doesn't have a fishy smell."

Besides seawater, other waters that smell fishy include…

江！

Lu Hao's pupils suddenly contracted, and a jolt ran through his entire body.

The waves are fake, but the river is real!

He turned around abruptly and rushed out of the Dreamer's Bar with all his might, even bumping into a customer who was just about to enter, without even having time to apologize.

He quickly jumped into the car, and because his hands were shaking, he had to try several times to insert the key into the lock.

"Buzz—"

The Santana let out an angry roar, its tires screeching across the ground as it sped off towards the riverbank.

He knows where Xiao Xiyue is!

……

The Yong River divides the city of Yong into two worlds.

Across the river, the new urban area is ablaze with lights, neon beams shooting into the night sky, weaving a false sense of prosperity.

On the other side of the river, there are rows of dilapidated old towns, with only scattered dim lights flickering in the damp air, giving off a sense of everyday life.

Lu Hao parked the Santana on the side of the road, didn't even lock the doors, and drove straight towards the river.

The evening breeze, carrying the dampness of the river, swept over him as he walked along the stone path to the riverside running track.

Without streetlights, the only way to see the road was by the cold moonlight overhead.

Several joggers brushed past him, creating a gust of wind, but it did nothing to affect his pace.

His gaze swept across every dark corner ahead.

Outside the stone railing, the river water lapped against the rocks on the shore, making a dull sound.

Several men who were night fishing sat motionless on small stools like statues; it was hard to tell if they were out of the game.

Lu Hao didn't stop, following the route he remembered, and continued walking quickly.

Finally, he stopped.

My gaze passed through the stone railing and settled on the large rock protruding into the river outside the railing.

A slender, dark figure sat at the very front of the rock, with his back to everything on the shore.

Her flowing long hair was blown wildly by the river breeze, with a few strands even wrapping around her neck, but she was completely unaware.

She was still wearing that same black, tight-fitting short-sleeved top and a black tulle skirt. Her legs were curled up, her hands hugging her knees, her whole body huddled together, as if trying to hide herself in the boundless night.

Lu Hao felt a pang of pain in his heart at that lonely and desolate figure.

She was like a black cat abandoned by the world, aloof yet...helpless.

Lu Hao touched his nose, took a deep breath, climbed over the half-person-high stone railing, walked step by step to her side, and sat down at a distance of one person.

He turned his head, and the cool moonlight outlined her exquisite profile. Two tear tracks on her cheeks, still wet with tears, gleamed faintly in the moonlight, like a silent knife piercing Lu Hao's heart.

He didn't know how long this woman had been waiting there.

Did you wait from the afternoon until now, or did you only arrive after dark?

But Lu Hao knew he wasn't too late.

"I knew you would come."

Xiao Xiyue's voice was very soft, and it was blown away by the wind and dispersed into the air.

Lu Hao twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a wry smile: "You really have a lot of faith in me."

"I have confidence in myself." Xiao Xiyue didn't look at him, still gazing at the river.

"To prove you didn't misjudge him?"

"right."

Lu Hao opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin.

He simply shut his mouth, and like Xiao Xiyue, hugged his knees, casting his gaze upon the river surface bathed in moonlight.

The soft murmur of the breeze sounded like a mournful lament.

As if she had finished listening to a song, Xiao Xiyue turned her head, her originally cold and aloof peach blossom eyes now carrying a trace of sorrow.

She just stared at Lu Hao quietly for a good ten seconds.

Just as Lu Hao was feeling a little uncomfortable under her gaze and was about to say something, she spoke first, her voice not loud, but every word clear.

"What's your relationship with Fang Ruoyun?"