Zheng Wei returned to school just in time for her dormitory friends' hot pot gathering. The six of them arrived at the hot pot restaurant by the side gate of the school, ordered a full table of ingredients, and Zhu Xiaobei even bought a discounted beer from a nearby supermarket.

  Several people were eating spicy hot pot, Zheng Wei was so spicy that she drank a mouthful of beer in desperation, choked for a moment, and hurriedly wiped away the tears from her eyes with a paper towel. Although she was as lively and smiling as usual, Ruan Ruan always felt that her mood was slightly off after returning from the book market with Chen Xiao Zheng, but it wasn't convenient to ask her immediately in front of so many people.

  They called themselves the "six queens", except for He Luyao, they all had a good capacity for liquor, and in no time, more than half of the beer was gone. After finishing the last one, the six girls started bragging and boasting. When it was their turn to speak, Zheng Wei and Zhu Xiaobei were both outspoken, with Zhu Xiaobei loudly telling an off-color joke, leaving everyone in stitches.

  "Zhu Bei, you're so yellow!" Zheng Wei leaned against Ruan Ruan and couldn't stop laughing.

  "What's that, people like me are like bananas, the skin is yellow, but the inside is very clean and white, take a bite, it's still fragrant, unlike some people, who look smooth on the outside, but are actually stinky eggs, crack them open and they're unbearable!"

  "Who are you talking about?" Zheng Wei pointed at Zhu Xiaobei with a smile and scolded, "I think you're the durian, the smelliest one is you!"

  "Some people think durians smell bad, but some people think they are the most fragrant in the world." Zhuo Mei reminded, "For example, I think it smells very good, haha."

  "What's wrong with what you're eating?" Li Wei Juan gave Zhuo Mei a white eye, "I like pomegranates, peeled open and inside one by one, women, should have multiple hearts."

  Zheng Wei covered her red face, foolishly smiling and saying, "Then I must be the red apple, both beautiful and delicious. Green sprouts are persimmons, even when they're ripe, you can't squeeze them hard. Zhuo Mei is a pomegranate..."

  "Why?" Even Zhu Mei, who didn't care about anything, stopped.

  "You look like Hong Ma Dan, very Southeast Asian at first glance." Everyone laughed, and Zheng Wei said, "Our Ruan Ruan is a ginseng fruit, everyone wants to eat it, but not everyone can afford it, so Zhao Shi Yong's monkey got lucky."

  Ruan Ruan laughed, "You're just a weirdo. I'm telling you, girls can handle anything, but they're afraid of meeting the legendary Onion Prince. If you want to see his heart, you have to peel off his outer layers one by one. In this process, he keeps making you cry, and finally, you realize that onions don't even have a heart."

  Zheng Wei was taken aback for a moment, "The heartless Onion Prince... but if you haven't tried it and haven't shed tears, how do you know it doesn't have a heart?"

  Li Wei Juan stood up, pressing her hands down, "Listen to me, I think the best man is like the most expensive fruit on the shelf, delicious but you have to see if you have the ability and strength to eat it. We are all ordinary people's children, no one is a descendant of royalty, so this is a game of wits, the key is to be accurate with your eyes and ruthless with your hands, use the most reasonable price to do the best thing. Don't stare at the most expensive ones, we can't afford them, by the time they go on sale they'll be rotten; don't be greedy for cheap deals and buy those low-quality ones, after taking a bite you won't even have time to spit it out. The correct choice is to conduct extensive market research, understand the market trends, make your move when necessary, use every penny wisely, and try to get the most valuable thing."

  Zhu Xiaobei applauded half-jokingly and said, "Master Li, this is a profound truth. We've been educated again."

  Zheng Wei looked puzzled, "Li Weijuan, I think what you said is not right. What if the most valuable fruit is one that I don't like to eat? Shouldn't I still find one that I like?"

  Li Wei Juan disagreed, "That's where you're stupid. No matter how good the taste is, no matter how good the appearance is, it's all about the same when you chew it in your mouth. Look at you, you have money in your pocket, you can buy imported fruits like Xu Gongzi, but you insist on buying domestic products like Chen Xiao Zheng."

  He Lü Yu said with a smile, "Chen Xiao Zheng is not good, I think he's great, it's just that he doesn't quite get along with people. I've heard many girls secretly admire him."

  "You know what, value is relative. Chen Xiao Zheng is good, but for many of us, he's something we can't afford. But with the funds we have at Zheng Wei, we can definitely find someone better, like Xu Gong Zi. Look at Ruan Ruan, she's smart, her Zhao Shi Yong dares to say he's not from a high-ranking official family?" said Li Wei Juan.

  Ruan Ruan said, "You can't say that. I'm looking for Shi Yong because I like the taste of this fruit. I think Chen Xiao Zheng is the same, and apart from his family background, there's nothing he can't compare to Xu Kai Yang. As long as a man has ambition, he's a potential stock. He's so smart and talented, his future prospects are boundless."

  Li Wei Juan shook her head, "Ruan Ruan, don't forget, after all, all girls are lychees, fresh for only a few days. Don't use your limited youth to wait for a man's unpredictable future. If you can't wait, the one who will suffer in the end is yourself."

  She finished speaking, and everyone was silent. After a long time, Ruan Ruan finally said a sentence, "What you said is also right, youth will eventually decay, time is fair to everyone, everyone only has these few years of freshness, no one can afford to lose."

  They were all girls in their twenties, who didn't know that youth was precious. Everyone had their own thoughts on their mind. Zheng Wei naturally thought of Ah Zheng. On the way back, she once vowed not to care about him again, but gradually began to regret it. She shouldn't have walked so fast, what if he turned around and looked for her? He wasn't as good to her as she was to him, maybe that's because he loved her less than she loved him, but love isn't a business, how can you demand absolute fairness? If someone had to love more, then it would be her. If she gave him ten points, and he only returned five points, then she would give him twenty points, wouldn't he be able to return ten points to her?

  He truly loves her, even if he doesn't say it, even if she doesn't know how much love there is, but she believes in her intuition.

  Perhaps she's a bit silly, she can't say big truths like Liew Juan, but she vaguely knows that some things aren't just about calculations. It was her own decision to go and love, no one forced her, so all she needs to do is love sincerely, and isn't she happy when she gives? Youth is limited, that's true, but she can't afford to spend it hesitating and watching, because she doesn't know if she'll still be as young and brave in a few years, or have the same fearless courage, so why not seize the moment, take advantage of what she has now, and love with all her might?

  She doesn't know how others love, but her gentle love is just like this.

  She slammed her beer mug on the table and said, "To hell with it! What's a youth that will eventually fade away? I bet on eternity!"

  A few people reluctantly returned to the dormitory, Zheng Wei was the first to take a bath, she felt a bit tired, her emotions had fluctuated greatly several times throughout the day, now she just wanted to lie quietly in bed, tomorrow, no matter what his attitude was, she would find him and have a clear talk.

  Just after washing up, Ruan Ruan hugged the changed clothes and continued to walk towards the bathroom. She smiled at Zheng Wei and said, "Wei Wei, I drank a bit too much and feel a little thirsty. I don't want to drink plain water, so can you do me a favor and go downstairs to the convenience store to buy a bottle of milk?"

  What's difficult about that? Zheng Wei readily agreed. She casually put on a set of clothes, grabbed some money and ran downstairs. As soon as she reached the bottom, she saw Chen Xiao Zheng standing under the tree.

  She walked towards him as if possessed, stopped in front of him, and even forgot to speak.

  Even after taking a bath, Chen Xiao Zheng still sensitively detected the smell of alcohol on her and said, "You're drinking again, I'm so annoyed that you drink."

  Zheng Wei smiled coyly and said, "Don't say bother me, just say you like me once."

  He lowered his head and remained silent.

  She started shaking his hand and acting spoiled, "Say it, say it, you made me cry today, say something that makes me happy, just one sentence."

  Chen Xiao Zheng's response was to hold her tightly in his arms, he held her so tight that she thought she would suffocate, she foolishly thought that maybe she would be willing to die in his embrace.

  Two people sat in the quiet courtyard of the temple, she leaned her head on Ah Zheng's shoulder, he asked her, "Everyone is an independent individual, how can one person be so dependent on another that they cannot leave or forget?"

  She said, "Put yourself in my shoes, have my thoughts, live my life for just one day, and you might understand."

  After a while, she straightened up and said seriously to him, "Why don't you ask me who the person in the photo is?"

  Chen Xiao Zheng looked elsewhere, "I don't know why, yesterday and this morning I was afraid to know the answer, now I think who he is isn't the key to the problem."

  "He may not want to know, but she wants to say, "The person in the photo is Lin Jing, he was someone I liked since childhood, later... He went to America, Ah Zheng, now I love you, but I couldn't tell you, I will completely forget him, he is a part of my memories, I cherish my memories."

  He bowed his head and kissed her, when she blushed and panted in his arms, he asked in a low voice, "Has he also kissed you? Is he better than me?" Zheng Wei laughed, "You're really silly!"

  After calming down, he hugged her and said, "I haven't told you about my family before, we're a single-parent household, I don't have a dad..."

  Zheng Wei chimed in, "I'm also a child from a single-parent family!"

  Chen Xiao Zheng shook his head, "It's different for you, at least your parents are still alive. My father passed away very early on, and I'm a posthumous child. Both my parents were workers in our city's large machinery factory. My dad was very talented, he was the chief engineer when he was alive, unfortunately he left too soon. My parents had a great relationship, when he passed away, I was only three months old in my mother's womb. I heard that including my grandmother, many people advised her to have an abortion, but she refused, saying that having this child would allow her to survive, and so the world has me."

  You can't understand the heart of a widow towards her only son. For my mom, I am her entire world. She looks good and when she was young, many men were willing to marry her despite having a child from a previous marriage. But she rejected them all, saying that there are too many rumors about widows. I know it's not easy for her to raise me on her own. All these years, she has been suppressing the idea of finding another partner just for my sake. She always says, "You know, Ah Zheng, when I see you, I feel like your dad is still with me, he's right by my side, only I can't see him. How can I find someone else? You're grown up now and successful, I'm satisfied." After my dad passed away, it was really tough for her to raise a child on her own. The factory where she worked had declining profits every year. She pinched pennies to send me to school, trying to give me the best life possible while tightening her belt herself. Really, I am everything to her. There are some things you can't understand until... when I was in elementary school, she would still come to school to pick me up no matter what. After middle school, she stopped coming because of my protests, but she calculated the route from school to home and if I was late by even ten minutes, she would be frantic at home. She said that if anything happened to me, her life would be over.

  She expected me to grow up like that, hoping I would become a person like my father. Children always love to play, when I was around 10 years old, there was once because of playing too much, it was very late before returning home, not even finishing homework, she sat on the sofa waiting for me without turning on the lights, as soon as I came back, she beat me blindly, with her hands, with a whip, at that time my back was all bruised from being whipped, I hated her for the first time, wasn't it just playing once? She actually used such a heavy hand. But later she hugged me and cried, crying more miserably than me by a million times. She repeatedly emphasized, Ah Zheng, you are my everything, you are my hope, you can't do anything wrong, not even one step! Her crying made my clothes all wet, that time I finally understood, if someone hurts another person they love, it's absolutely more painful than the person being hurt.

  She was almost humbly pleasing my teachers, from elementary school to middle school, with a very simple idea, she hoped they would educate me well, so I could make something of myself. So, when it rained, she took time off work to bring me an umbrella and also brought one for the teacher, she even sent some things to the class during lessons, she didn't have much money, just sending some simple things like paper clips or blackboard erasers, the teachers were very embarrassed, my classmates all laughed at her, it was indeed quite laughable, but I couldn't laugh because I understood her heart. Her love was too heavy, it made me feel suffocated, but without her there would be no me, so I couldn't let her down, I had to move forward, do everything to the best of my ability, become someone, make something of myself, I couldn't disappoint her, absolutely not!

  Softly, I say these words, not to gain your sympathy, but only so you know that I am this kind of person, and some things are destined from birth. I know the path I must take, and I also know I will definitely reach that place, but what I never knew was that there would be you.

  Zheng Wei had never heard him say so much, he was describing a world she didn't understand, all she could do was cling to him tightly, "Reaching your goal doesn't contradict me."

  He rubbed her hair with his chin, "So be it, slightly, so be it."

  "It's still your fault today!" she accused.

  He suddenly blushed and muttered, "I didn't think that much at the time, I just felt uncomfortable in my heart, so I'll apologize."

  "Who wouldn't apologize? You hit me with a big stick and then give me a small candy, are you satisfied now?" She was being reasonable but not letting him off the hook.

  "What do you want."

  She said, "A Zheng, give me a future."

  He had no choice but to close his eyes and nod slightly.

  "How long have we been together?"

  "Almost a year."

  "It's been thirteen months, how can it be just thirteen months."

  She let out a deep sigh, feeling as though she had spent half her life with him, when in fact it was only thirteen months. Now she thought to herself, what's the use of youth? She wished that overnight they could both turn white-haired and wrinkled, so that everything would be settled once and for all, and that would truly be eternal. There would no longer be an uncertain future or unexpected events, nor anyone or anything that could separate them.