Chapter 5: When the Peach Blossoms Bloom Again

A year later.

Nancheng had become the most famous cultural quarter in Linjiang.

Wanning had opened a studio of her own.

Zeyan continued to run Gusheng.

They were no longer the young people who had once stood beneath the peach tree.

They had grown up.

They had learned to listen.

They had learned to say what they thought.

And most importantly, they had learned to treasure the present.

One morning in early spring, Wanning went back to the Gu family’s old house.

The peach tree in the yard was in bloom.

Zeyan stood beneath it, holding a small box.

“For you.”

Wanning opened it.

Inside was the pale blue hair clip.

She recognized it instantly.

“You kept it?”

“Yes.”

“For six years?”

“Yes.”

She looked at him.

“You really are a fool.”

“Maybe.”

“But…”

She smiled.

“I like it.”

Zeyan took a letter from his pocket.

“And this.”

Wanning opened it.

It was her mother’s handwriting.

“Wanning, love isn’t about finding someone perfect. It’s about finding someone willing to grow with you.”

When she finished reading, her eyes turned red.

Zeyan stood beside her.

“Do you miss her?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s tell her today.”

“Tell her what?”

He looked at her.

“That we found each other.”

Wanning laughed.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

In the yard, the peach blossoms swayed gently in the breeze.

The years that had kept them apart had finally become part of a beautiful memory.

Some meetings seem like coincidences.

Some promises seem to exist only in youth.

But when two people truly cherish each other, time can’t erase what’s worth remembering.

Wanning looked up.

“Zeyan.”

“Hm?”

“If someday I ask you again how long you’ll wait…”

She looked at him.

“What will you say?”

He smiled.

“No more waiting.”

“Why?”

“Because from today on…”

He took her hand.

“We go together.”

The peach blossoms bloomed in the early spring sunshine.

Linjiang was just as it had been on the day they first met.

Only this time, they were no longer standing on opposite sides of the road.

They walked side by side.

And their story, after six years of waiting, was finally just beginning.

— THE END —