Chapter 1: A Meeting Beneath the Ginkgo Trees

Late autumn had come to the city of Linjiang.

The ginkgo trees along the streets had turned a pale gold, and their leaves drifted down onto the lake, sending out small rings of ripples. On the campus of Linjiang University, the afternoon bell had just rung when a girl in a cream sweater hurried across the square, clutching a folder.

Her name was Su Wanning.

Twenty-four, freshly graduated with a master’s degree in communications, Wanning had come back to Linjiang after three years in Shanghai.

She had once thought she would never return.

Until she got a call from a manager at the Gusheng Group.

“Ms. Su, we’d like you to lead the brand restoration project for the old Nancheng quarter. If you agree, you can start tomorrow.”

Wanning stared at the contract on the table for a long time.

Nancheng.

Just that one name was enough to bring back memories from years ago.

It was in Nancheng that she had once met a young man named Gu Zeyan.

She had been eighteen.

He had been twenty-two.

She had always thought of that meeting as nothing more than a beautiful chapter of her youth.

She never expected that six years later, his name would appear on the contract in front of her.

On her first day at Gusheng, a secretary led Wanning up to the thirty-second floor.

The door to the president’s office opened.

A man stood by the window with his back to her.

White shirt, black trousers, tall and straight. On the desk sat a neatly arranged stack of documents.

The secretary said,

“Mr. Gu, this is Ms. Su Wanning.”

The man turned around slowly.

Their eyes met.

In that instant, Wanning froze.

Six years.

Gu Zeyan looked just as he did in her memory. The only difference was that his eyes had grown much deeper.

He looked at her for a few seconds, then said,

“It’s been a long time.”

Wanning tightened her grip on the folder.

“You still remember me, Mr. Gu?”

“I do.”

Just that.

No explanation.

No small talk.

But her heart trembled anyway.

Wanning quickly composed herself.

“I’m here to discuss the Nancheng project.”

“Have a seat.”

The meeting began.

Gu Zeyan was entirely professional.

He didn’t bring up the past, and he didn’t say a single unnecessary word. He laid out every issue with perfect clarity.

After nearly an hour, Wanning closed her file.

“Mr. Gu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

“There is.”

He looked up.

“There’s one thing.”

“What is it?”

“This project will run for six months. During that time, you’ll be working directly with me.”

Wanning was silent.

“Can’t it be someone else?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Gu Zeyan looked at her.

“Because I trust your abilities.”

It was a perfectly ordinary answer.

But Wanning still felt something wasn’t quite right.

She stood up.

“Fine.”

As she was about to leave, Gu Zeyan suddenly called out,

“Wanning.”

It was the first time he had said her name.

She turned back.

He was looking out the window.

“Tomorrow is the anniversary of your mother’s passing.”

Wanning was stunned.

She stared at him.

“You still remember that?”

“Yes.”

“You remember a lot.”

With that, she walked out.

The door closed.

Gu Zeyan was still standing by the window.

On his desk sat a small wooden box.

He opened the lid.

Inside was an old, pale blue hair clip.

It was the one Wanning had left behind by the lake six years ago.

He had never thrown it away.

That evening, Wanning went back to her family’s old house.

It wasn’t big, and it sat on a quiet street.

Her father was on the balcony brewing tea.

“You’re back?”

“Yes.”

Her father looked at her.

“How’s the new job?”

“Pretty good.”

“With Gusheng?”

Wanning was a little surprised.

“You know about that?”

He was quiet for a few seconds.

“I know.”

“Have you met Gu Zeyan?”

“More than met.”

His voice grew low.

“His family once helped ours a great deal.”

Wanning sat down.

“Then why did you never tell me?”

Her father didn’t answer right away.

After a while, he said,

“Some things aren’t better for being known sooner.”

Wanning looked at him.

“Is it about Mom?”

His hand stopped.

The question filled the room with silence.

Her mother had left the family when Wanning was little. In her memory, her mother was a gentle woman who loved peach blossoms and often sat reading by the window.

But her father rarely spoke of her.

Wanning had asked many times.

Every time, he only said,

“You’ll understand someday.”

She never imagined that six years later, that story would turn out to be connected to the Gu family.

Late at night.

Wanning lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Her phone lit up.

A message.

Gu Zeyan:

I’ll pick you up tomorrow.

She replied:

No need. I can get there myself.

The next message came quickly.

The roads in Nancheng are under repair.

Wanning looked at the screen.

Then I’ll take the bus.

For a long time, there was no reply.

Then:

Same as before.

She paused.

Same as what?

This time Gu Zeyan didn’t answer.

Wanning set her phone down.

But his words took her back to six years ago.

The first day she met him, she had said the same thing:

“You don’t need to walk me home. I can get there myself.”

He had only smiled.

“All right.”

But in the end, he had walked behind her for a long stretch of the way.

Saying nothing.

Just quietly keeping a respectful distance.

The next morning, the moment Wanning stepped out of the house, she saw a black car parked by the road.

Gu Zeyan was standing beside it.

She was a little surprised.

“You actually came?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t I say…”

“I know.”

He opened the car door.

“But today I want to take you somewhere first.”

“Where?”

“The Gu family’s old house.”

Wanning looked at him.

“Why?”

“Someone wants to see you.”

“Who?”

Gu Zeyan didn’t answer.

He only said,

“You’ll see when we get there.”

The car pulled slowly away from the street.

Wanning watched the trees outside the window.

For some reason, she had a feeling that this trip would change a great deal in her life.

The Gu family’s old house sat on a hillside in the southern part of the city.

It had a large garden.

In the middle of the garden stood a big peach tree.

The moment Wanning stepped out of the car, she stopped.

That peach tree reminded her of an afternoon when she was eighteen.

Back then, she had asked Gu Zeyan,

“What if we never see each other again?”

He had answered,

“Then I’ll wait.”

She had laughed.

“How long?”

“Until you come back.”

Wanning had never imagined those words would become a promise.

Gu Zeyan stood beside her.

“Do you remember this place?”

“I do.”

“Do you remember what I said?”

Wanning looked at him.

“No.”

He smiled faintly.

“That’s all right.”

“As long as I remember.”

His words left her silent.

They walked into the house.

In the living room, an older woman sat waiting.

When she saw Wanning, she stood up.

Her eyes immediately turned red.

“It’s you…”

Wanning was surprised.

“Ma’am, you are…”

The woman took her hand.

“I’m Zeyan’s mother.”

Wanning greeted her politely.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman looked at her for a long time.

Then she took an envelope from a drawer.

“Your mother sent this to me once.”

Wanning froze.

“My mother?”

“Yes.”

She took the envelope.

On the old paper was a single line:

“If Wanning ever comes back to Linjiang, please bring her to see Zeyan.”

Wanning’s heart began to race.

She looked at Gu Zeyan.

He was looking at her too.

“What does this mean?”

His mother sighed softly.

“There’s something the two of you need to know.”

She set a small box on the table.

“It has to do with six years ago.”

Wanning opened the box.

Inside was a photograph.

Her mother was in it.

Beside her stood Gu Zeyan’s father.

And behind them…

was a little girl of about ten.

Wanning stared at the photo.

She didn’t know who the girl was.

But Gu Zeyan recognized her.

His expression changed.

“That’s impossible…”

Wanning turned to him.

“You know this girl?”

He was silent.

After a moment, he said,

“I do.”

“Who is she?”

Gu Zeyan looked at her.

“Someone both our families have been searching for, for years.”

Wanning gripped the photo.

“What does she have to do with me?”

Gu Zeyan didn’t answer.

Outside the window, ginkgo leaves fell into the yard.

A golden leaf brushed against the window frame.

Wanning suddenly realized.

This reunion wasn’t simply a coincidence.

Perhaps, six years ago, her fate and Gu Zeyan’s had already been tied together by a secret neither of them had ever known.

And her mother’s letter…

was only the beginning.