At the entrance of the boys' dormitory.
People came and went, though not in large numbers.
Chu Yang walked slowly along the path outside the dormitory, heading to the campus cafeteria for breakfast.
Suddenly, Lin Qingxue's slightly trembling voice reached his ears: "Chu Yang!"
Chu Yang abruptly raised his head.
The tears on Lin Qingxue's face had long since been wiped away, and she stood there, looking calmly at Chu Yang.
Three years had passed.
Chu Yang's appearance hadn't changed much, though he seemed to have grown a good deal taller. The youthful naivety in his gaze had faded, replaced by a measure of maturity and composure.
His temperament, however, remained unchanged.
Back then, she had always thought Chu Yang acted old beyond his years, behaving just like an old pedant.
The serious, solemn way he spoke had always seemed immensely amusing to her.
Now, he still carried that same scholarly air.
Even dressed in the simplest, most plain clothing, he still appeared so gentle and refined.
Although Lin Qingxue had already caught a glimpse of Chu Yang in the video, seeing him in person now was entirely different.
At that exact moment, Lin Qingxue felt as though her heart had stopped beating altogether.
A dead silence fell between the two of them.
Neither of them spoke a word.
Just like back then, when she had angrily said to him, "I never want to see you again for the rest of my life."
Only back then, it was mostly out of spite.
Whereas now, what she felt was mostly curiosity, confusion, and... resentment!
Resenting him for leaving without a word back then!
Even though the two of them had never officially been together.
Still, didn't friends deserve a proper goodbye?
Chu Yang was also frozen in place.
He stared intently at Lin Qingxue for a long time.
She was still the same as she had been three years ago; her features hadn't changed much, and she was just as pretty as before.
Her fair cheeks, free of any makeup, still retained that same pure and radiant beauty.
In fact, when he left the research base, he had already rehearsed all sorts of opening lines for when he finally met Lin Qingxue again.
You've turned eighteen, are you dating anyone yet?
Have you been well these past few years?
Congratulations on finally getting into Beijing University!
Yet now, he truly didn't know how to face Lin Qingxue.
Three years ago.
He had obtained an inheritance from a hyper-advanced civilization: the Eternal Knowledge Treasury.
Though given the level of knowledge he currently possessed, he couldn't yet fully grasp the concept of the Eternal Knowledge Treasury.
Yet it existed deep within his own mind.
And it was precisely by studying the contents within the Eternal Knowledge Treasury that he had ultimately managed to develop the 1nm photolithography machine technology.
Yet this was merely a trivial piece of technology compared to what the Eternal Knowledge Treasury held.
It was precisely because of that 1nm-precision photolithography machine technology that he had taken a chance.
He submitted this technology to the state.
Which led to his unannounced departure three years ago.
The two of them stared at each other for dozens of seconds.
In the span of those dozens of seconds, every little detail of the time they had spent together in high school resurfaced in their minds.
The jeers and catcalls from their classmates when they were both called up to the blackboard by the teacher to solve a math problem.
Cheering each other on as they ran the 1,500-meter race at the school sports meeting.
The spicy gluten strips they used to sneakily eat during class.
And the evening glow that painted the entire sky red beneath the setting sun.
In both of their youths, their names were deeply engraved in each other's stories.
It was only a pity that she had never held his sweaty, dirt-stained hand after a basketball game, and he had never smoothed down the strands of long black hair that the wind had blown across her face.
...
Chu Yang stood in place, hesitating for a long time, before finally looking up and asking, "I heard... I died?"
Lin Qingxue's eyelashes fluttered rapidly, and her eye sockets instantly turned red once more, as if a thousand things were choking in her throat.
Clenching her teeth tightly, she let out a cry that was almost a roar: "That's right, Chu Yang! Didn't you die? Why are you showing up again?"
For three whole years, she had genuinely believed that Chu Yang was dead.
Yet now, he had actually appeared before her eyes once more.
"I..."
Chu Yang's voice faltered.
He desperately wanted to explain everything that had happened to him over the past three years.
Why he had left.
And what he had been doing.
But given his current status, it was simply inconvenient to disclose any of it.
The countless explanations he had prepared in his heart were forcefully swallowed back down.
The specific details of what he had done over the past three years could never be revealed, not even to the people closest to him.
Even the contributions he had made would likely only be made public after his death, allowing him to finally step entirely into the light.
In the end, Chu Yang could only softly say, "No matter what, long time no see."
"I don't want to see you." Lin Qingxue's expression instantly turned icy. "I came over to see you just to confirm whether you were dead or alive. Now that I know you're still alive, I'll be leaving."
With that, Lin Qingxue turned around, ready to walk away.
"Lin Qingxue," Chu Yang called out, stopping her in her tracks.
"Something the matter?" Lin Qingxue snapped her head back up.
Chu Yang said slowly, "I just wanted to tell you—I didn't break the promise we made back then!"
"The promise from back then?" Lin Qingxue let out a cold laugh. Fighting back her anger, she glared at Chu Yang and said, "What kind of relationship do we even have, Chu Yang? Who do you think you are?"
"You leave whenever you want, and show up whenever you feel like it."
"For three years, I sent you so many messages, and you didn't reply to a single one. You just vanished without a reason, completely evaporating into thin air."
"Do you think acting like this makes you look especially dashing and smug?"
"Did you think this would make me remember you for the rest of my life?"
"Didn't you disappear? Since you were already gone, why on earth did you have to show up again?"
With the final sentence, Lin Qingxue practically screamed.
It was as if she needed to vent all the sadness, grievance, and resentment that had built up over the past three years.
In the very beginning, she had genuinely held onto hope, wondering if Chu Yang was just playing a prank on her by suddenly disappearing for a whole summer vacation.
At the time, she had even thought that once she found him, she would give him a thorough tongue-lashing.
Yet later on, she gave up.
For three years, there had been no news of Chu Yang whatsoever.
She had gradually felt as though she were beginning to forget the stories of the time she and Chu Yang had spent together three years ago.
Yet now...
He just had to suddenly appear again!
Chu Yang was left completely speechless.
What could he possibly say?
This body of mine is already devoted to the country; it is hard to offer it to you as well.
In the end, he could only let out a helpless sigh. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have left without saying goodbye back then..."
He had left far too hurriedly back then.
He hadn't known how to face Lin Qingxue or how to tell her that he was leaving.
The research project he was joining was a state secret.
Even his own parents only knew that he had been specially recruited by the state to study in a classified location.
He had no regrets about dedicating himself to his country.
Yet toward Lin Qingxue, his heart was filled with guilt!