I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

As the passersby watched, Yang Sisi hugged me tighter. I felt a tenderness, followed by an unreal touch. I didn't understand how this feeling arose if she really liked me, or whether I was worthy of her affection.

Or perhaps she simply mistook dependence for affection? After all, she's still at an immature age; she's prone to impulsiveness and easily deceived by appearances.

I finally spoke to her, saying, "Sisi, let go..."

"I won't let go, and I don't want to hear what you have to say... I know what you're going to say to me."

You're going to miss your flight.

"Come with me, let's go back to Shanghai."

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if I were to go back to Shanghai, it wouldn't be now... I still have a lot of things to do."

"Then I'll stay in Dali and wait for you."

After Yang Sisi finished speaking, she finally let go of me, and then looked at me with an expectant look... This look put a lot of pressure on me, and forced me to tell her what was on my mind.

"Sisi, don't talk to me about waiting... Lu Jia waited for me for three years, but I couldn't give her anything she wanted... So, I can't give you what you want either... I can't go back to Shanghai, and studying abroad is your destiny, so neither of us is the kind of person who can wait for the other."

Yang Sisi looked at me with an extremely complicated expression. After a moment of silence, I said to her again, "Calm down, calm down... Maybe you won't think this way in the future."

"I really wish I could stop thinking like that, but people can't control their emotions."

"Yes...you're right. Like me, I still think about Lu Jia, especially recently, with new choices in my life, I think about her more and more often."

Yang Sisi cried again...

She's a smart girl; she knows what I mean by saying that.

I patted her on the back and said with a smile, "Your luggage is checked in, hurry up and board the plane... See you again sometime."

She really calmed down, glanced at me, and then ran back into the terminal. As I pondered her last look, I realized that you can really exert force with your eyes; she really did give me a hard look.

……

Outside the airport's security fence, I lit a cigarette and glanced at my watch... Not long after, a plane plunged from the airport runway into the clouds. I knew Yang Sisi was inside, because Dali's airport isn't very big, and there aren't many flights taking off and landing each day, so it's unlikely that two planes will take off within ten minutes.

As the plane completely disappeared from my sight, my heart felt empty... I wondered who would be the next to say goodbye after Yang Sisi left. And who would come to see me off on the day I left?

……

Back at the inn, everyone was sitting in the bar. As soon as I entered, they asked me with concern, "Has Sisi boarded the plane yet?"

I tossed my car keys on the table, feeling my mouth dry. I took a sip of beer before replying, "I watched the plane take off."

There was a hint of reluctance on everyone's faces, but knowing that this parting was inevitable, no one voiced their feelings. They simply asked me, "Did this girl cry when she left?"

I laughed and replied, "It's not like those melodramatic novels where people hug each other all the time or burst into tears all the time... She seemed pretty calm." After thinking for a moment, I added, "Maybe she's a little sad inside."

Coach Ma coldly replied, "She's not crying because her heart is bleeding... Seriously, I'm not trying to be mean, but I really can't see a shred of humanity in you guys!"

Although Coach Ma's words shocked the group, everyone chose to remain silent because our choice was heartless. We let Yang Sisi down, choosing to benefit ourselves, while she was the most vulnerable among us, and also the one who most wanted to stay in Dali.

My mood plummeted. I finished my beer and said to everyone, "You guys chat... I'm going back to my room to sleep for a while."

Everyone responded and then fell silent again. I knew that Yang Sisi's departure was also a hardship for them.

……

As I walked out of the inn, Xiao Song, who had come to pick up the car, called out to me, "Brother, did you forget something in the car? I found a box inside when I was checking the car just now."

"I'll go take a look."

Xiao Song opened the car door for me, and I took the box out from the back seat. Inside, I found a pair of basketball shoes, which was exactly my size 43.

I hesitated for a moment, then said to Xiao Song, "I didn't buy basketball shoes. Did someone leave them in the car?"

"Take another look. Didn't you just take that girl to the airport? Wasn't this what she left behind?"

I picked up the shoes; underneath was a letter that read: "Michael, by the time you see these shoes, I'll probably already be on a plane… Although we always bicker, I'm actually quite sad to part ways… Haha, I guess that's normal. After all, we live together every day. Even if you're an old dog and I'm a kitten, we'll still have feelings… I'm leaving, and I'm giving you these basketball shoes as a reminder to exercise more. Don't be like Coach Ma and Iron Man, those two lazybones. Their belly fat could be used as a swimming ring… As for you… in my heart, you're still kind of handsome!… smiley face… In this life, we might really never have the chance to meet again. I hope these shoes can always be with you, just like I'm by your side, accompanying you step by step, helping you walk steadily on every path ahead… Don't be smug. I don't want to put on such a lowly act in front of you, but what can I do? I'm like a bottle of skincare for you." Women who can be bought off with water?! ...Sigh! You better not remember how cowardly I looked; I've always been arrogant and domineering...Speaking of arrogance and domineering, I just remembered something: you really can't be so impulsive and reckless in the future. Although women like heroes, this is still a society governed by law, and I'm really worried you'll get hurt...The days you were in the police station, I couldn't sleep at night, wishing I could suffer with you! ...Okay, enough rambling...If you're still in Dali next spring, remember to pick a cherry blossom for me at Dali University and mail it to me. By the way, I scouted out Dali University; the basketball courts there are incredibly beautiful. When you play, you can see Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, which would be perfect for the basketball shoes I gave you, so you must play basketball there often...Finally, I wish you find a girl on the basketball court who doesn't mind that you're poor...smiley face!

I lowered my head, and accidentally, her letter slipped from my hand. I picked it up and read it again…

My heart felt like it had been melted by something, and I felt an urge to burst into tears. I desperately held back, and finally hugged the pair of Jordan 13 basketball shoes she had given me tightly, and subconsciously looked up at the sky...

Time seemed to become something I could touch; with a flick of my finger, it moved backward… I thought it was real, and I strained to look up at the clouds, but the passenger plane carrying Yang Sisi never looked back…

……

In the evening, I went to Dali University for the first time in my life. The school really has a basketball court that is so beautiful it's heartbreaking. Watching those young people playing so energetically on the court, I was eager to try it myself, but I was afraid of getting the shoes she gave me dirty, so in the end I just sat in the stands...

I asked a classmate who was eating a tea egg in the stands, and I learned that there are no cherry blossoms this season. We really have to wait until next spring for the scenic avenue on campus to be full of cherry blossoms!

As the sun gradually set, I lit a cigarette, facing the wind blowing from the back of Cangshan Mountain. It seemed like only a cigarette had been burned before the sky darkened, and it also seemed like a good time for couples to fall in love. So, many student couples gradually arrived at the stands.

They embraced each other without a care in the world, feeding each other. I've been through these things, so I can't say I envy them, but I feel lonely and then particularly lost, especially when I see the neon lights shining on the other side of the sea... I even hate myself.

I let out a heavy sigh, then stubbed out my cigarette and left Dali University.