Mr. Mu, stop bullying Professor Jian.

Jian Zhinian ran down the stairs to the gate of the Civil Affairs Bureau, breathing slightly, and the hot air from his mouth blurred his lenses. He took them off and wiped them.

Then he looked around and found that Mu Qingyuan had not arrived yet.

He looked at the time again. It was nine twenty. Could it be that Mu Qingyuan didn't look for him because he was late?

Jian Zhinian stood there and waited for a while. He couldn't help but go into the Civil Affairs Bureau and look around. He still didn't see Mu Qingyuan, so he had to go back to the agreed gate.

The weather in H City is okay today, it's cloudy and a bit cold in the morning, but now we can see a little sunlight.

Perhaps because it was the first working day after the Chinese New Year, there were quite a few people coming in and out of the Civil Affairs Bureau. Jian Zhinian was standing in a conspicuous place, and it was inevitable that he would hinder others.

He always said "sorry" politely, then stepped back, and finally stood back up.

At half past ten, he couldn't help but send a message to Mu Qingyuan:

——Have you arrived?

Time passed by minute by minute, and Mu Qingyuan did not reply to the message.

Jian Zhinian held the phone and dialed the number, but only a mechanical female voice came from the phone: The number you dialed is powered off, please call again later.

Shut down?

Jian Zhinian was stunned. On the plane? That's right, Mu Qingyuan should live in S City, so he shouldn't be here so soon.

At twelve o'clock, seeing that the staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau had suspended the window service, Jian Zhinian became a little nervous and kept comforting himself that it was still early and there was still afternoon.

He checked the air tickets from City S to City H today. There is a flight landing at 1:23 and he will be here before pm.

Jian Zhinian waited anxiously until three o'clock, but Mu Qingyuan did not show up.

At around three o'clock, the phone that Jian Zhinian dialed was still turned off.

His face was pale, and he no longer had the expectation he had when he woke up in the morning, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Whenever there was a bad thought in his heart, he suppressed it rationally.

Mu Qingyuan will not lie to him.

"Excuse me, are you Jian Zhinian?"

Jian Zhinian's eyes were always on every car and every person at the entrance, but he never paid attention to the woman.

He was slightly surprised when a well-maintained and elegantly dressed lady in her forties or fifties suddenly appeared in front of him.

"I'm."

Jian Zhinian looked at the woman's eyebrows and a trace of panic flashed in his phoenix eyes.

Before Jian Zhinian could think about it, the lady faced the cold wind, her voice a little strangely hoarse, and she introduced herself: "Hello, Mr. Jian, I am Mu Xingchen's mother, Dong Mingyue."

The last bit of color on Jian Zhinian's face faded away. His eyes swept across Dong Mingyue's legs without leaving a trace. He calmly and politely bent over and said, "Aunt Dong, hello."

"Excuse me for interrupting you, can you please chat for a moment?"

"It's convenient, Aunt Dong."

The brief conversation between them was unexpected and unprepared.

The location was not a big deal. In the faint sunshine, in a pavilion on the side of the Civil Affairs Bureau, it was slightly shielded from the cold wind and had stone benches and round tables, so it was quite secluded.

Jian Zhinian suggested going to a nearby cafe, but Dong Mingyue refused, saying that they were in a hurry.

Jian Zhinian only had time to buy two bottles of hot coffee from the vending machine at the door and put them on the stone table. Although Dong Mingyue would not drink this kind of thing...

"Auntie Dong, if you have anything to say, just say it..."

The moment Dong Mingyue introduced herself, Jian Zhinian's heart sank to the bottom.

"Mr. Jian, are you waiting for my son Mu Xingchen? He won't come, you should go back." Dong Mingyue said in a slightly cold tone.

"Okay, I understand." Jian Zhinian forced himself to remain calm and tried his best to keep himself cool.

Dong Mingyue seemed to be trying her best to control her emotions, and her hands on the stone table were shaking slightly.

"Xingchen has his own path to follow. You will meet someone more suitable for you in the future. Don't wait for him."

"He's getting engaged in a few days, and the wedding is also this year. I don't think you'll want to go, but I'll still give you a copy."

As she spoke, Dong Mingyue took out a big red invitation from her bag, placed it on the table, and pressed it on the table with the coffee bottle he bought.

Along with the invitation, there was a transparent ziplock bag, inside which was a cut ring.

"Mr. Jian is a scholar who teaches and educates people. He should understand the truth better than me. There is no need for me to say more. I just hope you will stop bothering him and be well."

"Xingchen is a kind-hearted child who can't refuse you in person. He won't come today. I'm his mother, so I'll be the bad guy this time. I hope you don't blame him."

After saying that, Dong Mingyue stood up.

Jian Zhinian raised his head and asked anxiously, "Auntie's legs, are they okay?"

Dong Mingyue paused and said, "It's all right. Let the past be the past. It's not your fault, so don't take it to heart."

Jian Zhinian tried several times secretly before he reluctantly stood up. He bowed deeply to Dong Mingyue and said, "I'm sorry. I owe you and Xingchen a formal apology for what happened back then. I was late and I haven't made it up to you all this time."

Dong Mingyue turned around. She should have reached out her hand, or said a few more words, but she held back. She was busy taking care of herself and had no energy to pity others.

She left in a hurry, just as she came in exhausted.

The surroundings were silent, with only the sound of the wind whistling. Jian Zhinian stood up.

Obviously Dong Mingyue didn't use any sharp words, but the words 'teach and educate' and 'stop bothering him' were enough to make him unable to straighten his back and breathe. He felt as if he was trapped by a black fog with no way out.

Jian Zhinian watched Dong Mingyue disappear from his sight, then he slowly turned around and looked at the two things on the stone table.

He reached out and picked up the glaring red invitation, holding it tightly in his palm. The edge of the gold foil pierced his cold palm, feeling numb and cruel.

The broken ring on the table hurt his heart more than the invitation.

It turns out that it is so sad when something you give away is returned.

It turns out that waiting for someone for a whole day and not seeing that person show up is so torturous and painful.

Back then, did Mu Xingchen do the same and wait for him for a whole day?

Every moment I was expecting him to come around the corner, and every second the person who came into my sight was not the one I wanted to see...

Every minute and every second drains away all one's energy and hope.

From dawn to noon, and then to sunset.

From Light to Dark

Can't wait, the one who is waiting...

When Mu Xingchen faced his father's harsh and sharp accusations back then, did he feel so guilty that he had no way to refute it?

Compared to his father back then, Mu Xingchen's mother today is kind and gentle enough. She never said bad words to him, nor did she have any resentment. She even comforted him that it was not his fault.

But he felt ashamed.

Mu Xingchen should hate him, right?

Hate him for being late, hate him for not looking for him, hate him for abandoning him...

I hate him so much that I don't want to see him again.

He gave up everything and begged humbly, but it still didn't work...