After graduating from university, Qin Qiao'an was transferred to a military district in the south.
It was more than a thousand kilometers from home, so going back was never easy. Fortunately, the area was fairly close to Yangcheng, and he would sometimes return to visit his maternal grandfather.
His middle-school classmate, Yuan Zhi, often wrote to him. Although neither of them had ever broken through that final barrier, their relationship had long since gone beyond that of ordinary friends.
But Qin Qiao'an had never taken the initiative to say anything, because Yuan Zhi had once opposed his decision to apply to a military academy. The issue had even led to a heated argument between them. They had parted on bad terms, and for roughly half a year afterward, neither of them contacted the other.
Now he had graduated from university and been assigned a job, while Yuan Zhi had become a teacher at a school and had a stable career. After he returned home and reunited with their old classmates, he and Yuan Zhi gradually began speaking again.
Still, their relationship was destined to remain unstable.
The last time Yuan Zhi wrote to him, she had told him that she planned to study in Japan. Qin Qiao'an had asked whether she could stay, whether she had truly made up her mind to go, and told her that if she insisted on leaving, there would be no need for them to keep in touch afterward.
From then on, they lost contact once again.
Of course, it was Qin Qiao'an who had unilaterally cut things off. He never wrote back.
And so, during the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, Yuan Zhi found his unit and came to see him in person.
His comrades nudged one another and gave Qin Qiao'an knowing looks.
“Company Commander, your girlfriend is here to see you.”
Qin Qiao'an had just finished training and was about to return to the dormitory. Hearing that, he froze for a moment.
“What girlfriend? I don’t have one.”
Another soldier hurriedly added, “She says she’s your girlfriend. She came all the way from Wencheng to see you, and she’s pretty attractive, too.”
Qin Qiao'an: “...”
Then it dawned on him, and his expression turned complicated.
He had never expected Yuan Zhi to actually come.
He had made himself perfectly clear in his letter. He had assumed that, like before, she would stop contacting him after their argument.
They had been classmates in middle school. From high school onward, they had attended different schools, but during the years they were both in Wencheng, they still saw each other often.
Back then, Yuan Zhi had been struggling financially. Qin Qiao'an had even brought his friends to set up a stall at the night market, taking Yuan Zhi along with them. They had given most of what they earned to her.
They might have become the best of friends—or perhaps childhood sweethearts.
But their values were ultimately too different.
Yuan Zhi had not wanted him to apply to a military academy. She had not wanted him to leave home and become a soldier elsewhere. All she wanted was for him to stay in Wencheng, find a job, and live a stable life with her.
Then she had found an opportunity to study in Japan.
She knew perfectly well that he was a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army. She knew that Japan was the country he despised most of all.
And yet she still wanted to study there.
Qin Qiao'an was not particularly angry.
He was simply disappointed—disappointed in the friend he had valued most during his youth and adolescence, and in the girl he had liked most.
Of course, he was even more disappointed in himself.
But all of that was in the past. Qin Qiao'an had grown up and become more mature. He understood that everyone had their own ambitions, and that people who followed different paths could not walk together.
He took a shower, changed his clothes, and went to see Yuan Zhi.
Yuan Zhi had a delicate, wholesome sort of beauty. She was not strikingly beautiful, but after working as an elementary school teacher for several years, she had acquired a gentle, scholarly air.
She was waiting for Qin Qiao'an in a café. The moment she saw him enter, her eyes lit up, and she waved him over.
Qin Qiao'an was looking more and more like Qin Yuanzheng, especially after being tanned by the sun over the past few years.
Yuan Zhi had not seen him in a long time. Every time they met, she still found it difficult to let him go.
She looked at him. “Qiao'an, you finally came. I thought you weren’t going to see me.”
Qin Qiao'an sat down across from her and looked at her. “Why did you come?”
Yuan Zhi’s expression was complicated as well. She remained silent for a long while before asking, “Why didn’t you write back to me?”
Qin Qiao'an said, “I thought you knew why.”
Yuan Zhi grew displeased. “What era are we living in, Qin Qiao'an? You’re actually going to cut me off just because I’m going to study in Japan? Do you know how many people from our country study in Japan every year? And how many Japanese scholars come to our country to conduct research?”
Qin Qiao'an’s face darkened. He had always been bad at hiding his emotions, and his displeasure was plain to see.
“So what? How many people go there to study has nothing to do with me. I don’t care.”
He paused, then stared at Yuan Zhi and added, “What I care about is my...”
He did not finish the words my girlfriend. Instead, he only said, “Since you’ve already made your decision, why did you come all this way to see me? Train tickets aren’t cheap.”
With that, he stood up. “I still have training to get back to. From now on, we shouldn’t see each other anymore. You don’t need to write to me either. I won’t reply.”
Seeing him stand up after barely saying a few words, Yuan Zhi hurriedly rose to her feet and called after him.
“Qin Qiao'an! Back when I didn’t want you to apply to a military academy, you insisted on doing it. Didn’t I forgive you in the end? Now I’m only going abroad to study. I’ll be back in a few years. This is an extremely rare opportunity, and it will help my future tremendously. So I hope you can understand me, too.”
Qin Qiao'an paused. His lips parted, as though he wanted to say something.
But he knew that nothing he said would make a difference.
Just as he had stubbornly insisted on applying to the military academy back then, even though it had caused them to quarrel, Yuan Zhi had clearly made up her mind to study abroad.
So Qin Qiao'an said nothing and strode out of the café.
The two of them had met and parted in less than ten minutes.
Yuan Zhi continued saying something behind him, but Qin Qiao'an did not stop to listen.
...
After returning to his unit, Qin Qiao'an thought about it for a long time.
He had once imagined being with Yuan Zhi. But after they had argued during the year he applied to university, whatever feelings they shared could no longer return to the way they had been before.
Over the years, Yuan Zhi had written to him from time to time. This time, she had even come all the way to see him.
He felt that things could not continue like this.
Dragging things out and hesitating was not his style. He needed to make a clean break.
Then he thought of Han Ye and Xiaxia. The two of them had actually gotten married.
They had even carried on a secret relationship for several years behind his back.
The three of them had been as close as siblings since childhood. But now those two had become a family of their own and were leaving him out.
Qin Qiao'an realized that he was already in his twenties. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about marriage.
Maybe he should take advantage of his youth and find a partner whose values were compatible with his own.
