After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

After paying back the money, she could leave.

Shen Yi had always planned it this way. From the day her mother was buried, and from the day Lin Ye said he owed her 16,000 yuan, she knew that the only reason she remained in this world was to pay off a debt.

Once the debt was paid off and the reason disappeared, she disappeared as well.

But during the days she waited for the money to arrive, she found herself not as calm as she had imagined.

She thought she would be like a clock that had reached zero on a countdown, stopping naturally at the last second without hesitation or looking back.

The truth is, she would hesitate, be absent-minded, and drift off for very short moments.

For example, when she wakes up in the morning, the sunlight shines through the window onto the plush rabbit that Zhao Jiaxin hangs on the headboard of her bed across the street, and she stares at that rabbit for a long time.

Or on her way to the cafeteria, the wind blew leaves down, and one of them landed on her. Instead of brushing it off immediately, she picked it up and examined the veins of the leaf.

It was like coming back from a barbecue restaurant at night, passing by the guardhouse, where an old man was watching a small TV. It was a dating show, and the guests were nervously introducing themselves. She slowed her pace, listened for a couple of minutes, and then continued walking in.

These were all very small things, so small that they weren't worth remembering, but she did linger on them.

She wouldn't have done this before.

Previously, she didn't see these things, or rather, she actively removed them from her field of vision.

A person who decides to die doesn't need to pay attention to where the sunlight falls, doesn't need to study the veins of a leaf, and doesn't need to care what a strange old man is watching.

But now she can look, stop, and get distracted.

She didn't know if this could be considered lingering affection.

If we're talking about it, what is it that she misses?

It wasn't this world; this world had never been kind to her. From Changshui Town to Ningchuan, she received very little kindness. Most of the time, she was just enduring and calculating.

It wasn't about any specific future; she had never seriously thought about what she would be like at thirty or forty. Those images were blank in her mind.

She thought about it for a long time and finally realized that what she cherished was probably just some very specific and small things.

The way the person across from me, sitting in that usual corner of the cafeteria, looks with their hair hanging down as they eat with their head down.

After closing time at the barbecue restaurant, the two walked onto the street without saying a word, but their footsteps were in sync.

There was also that bowl of braised pork ribs that she didn't like to eat, which she bought specifically to put in other people's bowls.

She couldn't explain what all these things added up to, but they did slow her down a little on her way to the end.

It was just a little slow.

She did not change her mind.

The money arrived on a Wednesday. Shen Yi checked her phone during the break between the first and second classes and saw the bank's notification.

She stared at the screen for a few seconds, opened the transfer page, entered Lin Ye's account number, and transferred 16,000 yuan.

The transfer was successful, and a green checkmark appeared.

She should have felt relaxed, but that relaxation didn't come; instead, her chest area sagged and felt empty.

She returned to her dormitory and took out the items from the closet one by one.

Several pieces of clothing were folded and placed on the bed, the CET-4 vocabulary book was placed on the corner of the table, the library card was put in the pocket, and there were still two books to be returned.

She did these things slowly, and then carefully put away the ballpoint pen she bought at the stationery store on the first day of school. It was the cheapest black gel pen in the store, and there was still a little bit of ink left.

After tidying up, she picked up her phone and opened her chat history with Lin Ye.

At the bottom is the notification that the transfer was successful; looking up, there are a few scattered conversations.

Scroll to the top, and you'll see the first message she sent.

"Hello, I'm Shen Yi from Chinese Language and Literature. We chatted during military training."

Lin replied, "Mm."

Shen Yi's lips twitched, it was hard to tell whether she wanted to laugh or something else.

The sea in Ningchuan is located to the east of the city, and it takes more than an hour to reach it by bus.

After finishing everything, Shen Yi waited at the platform for a few minutes before boarding a bus heading east.

The final stop was a place called Shihejiao. The bus stopped in front of a dilapidated bus stop sign. The driver looked back at the bus and saw that she was the only one left.

"arrive."

"Thanks."

She got out of the car. The air smelled salty and fishy, ​​and the wind was much stronger than in the city, blowing her hair in one direction.

Walk forward for about ten minutes from the bus stop, and you'll see the sea.

It's not the kind of beach you find in tourist areas; there are no railings, boardwalks, or trash cans.

Only a black reef extends from the shore, like rows of crooked teeth biting into the sky-blue sea.

Today is a weekday, no one will come to a place like this.

Shen Yi stepped onto the rocks and walked a short distance away, then stood for a while on a relatively flat rock.

The distant horizon was blurry, making it impossible to distinguish where the sea ended and the sky began, as they merged into one.

She continued walking forward. The water below wasn't deep, but the edges of the rocks were extremely steep, and the tips of her shoes were already sticking out of the rocks.

She looked down at the sea below, where waves crashed against the rock walls, splashing water droplets onto her trouser legs.

She took a deep breath, the salty air filling her lungs.

Footsteps sounded behind me, at a leisurely pace.

Shen Yi didn't turn around; the wind blew the stray hairs by her ears onto her cheeks.

She paused for a few seconds, then said, "Have you been following me the whole time, or is your ability related to tracking and location?"

Lin, who was standing behind her, did not answer.

Shen Yi's attitude was gentler today compared to the previous few days: "Did you receive the money?"

Lin nodded: "Received."

He added, "You still owe me two favors."

Shen Yi was stunned for a moment. She recalled that, not counting deliberately falling into the artificial lake, there was also the unfinished building and the two times she was followed by Zhang Qingqi.

"What do you want me to do?" Shen Yi stood still. She knew that Lin wasn't the kind of person who would ask questions casually. If he said it, it meant that he really wanted her to do something.

"Someone told me that with my personality, I won't be able to find a girlfriend in the future." Lin Ye looked at her, his expression slightly unnatural, a very subtle one.

Shen Yi didn't respond, wondering why he suddenly brought this up.

"So I'd like to ask you for a favor."

The sea breeze blew between the two of them.

"Be my girlfriend."

Shen Yi simply stood there, the rocks at her feet being repeatedly washed by the sea.

The numerous tiny holes on the stone surface are traces of years of erosion by seawater. Several small snails are attached to the depressions, with sand grains stuck to their shells.

On the distant horizon, the sun is slowly sinking, its bottom already touching the sea surface, compressed into a flattened oval shape, its color changing from orange to dark red.

The wind subsided, becoming gentle, carrying the coolness and saltiness unique to the evening.

There are only two people on this rocky outcrop at Shihejiao, standing at the edge of the world.

During that period of silence, no one knew what Shen Yi was thinking; all we heard her say at the end was:

"OK."