Shu Nian quietly spoke up for Xie Ruhe: “Anyway, he wasn’t good.”
Xie Ruhe laughed, then said, “But now, I often think of my mother.”
“Hmm?” Shu Nian blinked, then suddenly said, “Let’s go visit your mother tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“…”
“What about the day after tomorrow?”
“The day after…” Shu Nian said, “Visit my father?”
“Okay.”
Xie Ruhe asked again, “And the day after that?”
Shu Nian asked curiously, “The day after that? Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Yes,” Xie Ruhe said deliberately, “The civil affairs bureau.”
“…”
“…”
They walked under the bright streetlights, their shadows stretching long. At the intersection, the two people—one tall, one shorter—held hands, their distance so close that nothing could shake them apart even a bit.
After a long while, Shu Nian spoke.
“Okay.”
The following spring.
Since that Weibo post last summer, Ah He’s Weibo account, which had turned into a dormant account again, finally posted another message after the release of the new album—
Ah He: Defeated by you. @Shu Nian
This album, released after a three-year hiatus, belonged completely to Ah He, who had been hiding behind the scenes, focusing on creation.
From composition, arrangement, lyrics, and singing, to recording, mixing, and post-production, it was all handled by him alone. It was the album that fans had been eagerly awaiting, an album that truly belonged to Ah He.
His voice hadn’t changed much from a few years ago.
Yet to his fans, it seemed to have become much warmer and brighter.
The album was titled: “Defeated by Love.”
It was an album where every title, every song name, every lyric, every melody expressed love to someone. Telling her all his thoughts.
From the initial liking to eternal love.
Everything, without reservation, was told to her.
In his youth, he had liked a girl.
That girl was straightforward, didn’t understand social niceties, and often offended people with her words. Kind-hearted, she couldn’t bear to see others doing wrong. She was the only person who entered his world during those dark, obscure days.
He liked her so much.
Later, they separated.
Xie Ruhe thought that this kind of liking could only be buried in his heart for a lifetime. He had thought that in the days to come, although he would never like anyone else, perhaps time could dilute these feelings.
But unexpectedly, there came a moment of reunion.
A reunion after so many years.
It was only when he saw her again that Xie Ruhe realized.
After so many years, after meeting so many different kinds of people, he had never met anyone more wonderful than her.
The liking from his youth, passionate and rich, once ignited, could never be extinguished.
He had thought he would spend his life alone, passing the rest of his days in solitude, not entering others’ lives, and not allowing anyone to step into his world.
But in the end.
He was defeated by love.
Defeated by you.
At the end of last year, Shu Nian voiced a character for a popular game and gradually began to gain some fame.
Two days after Xie Ruhe posted that on Weibo, for the game’s promotion, Shu Nian went to a sports arena in a neighboring city to participate in a live show for voice actors.
All the participants were voice actors for that game’s characters.
Xie Ruhe accompanied her, sitting in the front row VIP seats.
Shu Nian had never tried voicing in front of so many people before, and she was so nervous her palms were sweating. Later, as she gradually got into the state, she completed the live show.
After coming off stage, some of her fans ran up to her with paper and pens.
They were two young girls.
One of them, her eyes shining brightly, excitedly said, “Goddess, goddess! Can you sign for me? I’m super into you!”
Shu Nian smiled with pressed lips: “Sure.”
After signing and handing the notebook back to the two of them, just before the other girl said goodbye, she suddenly blurted out: “You’re so amazing. I want to become someone like you in the future.”
Hearing this, Shu Nian’s expression froze.
Some unknown emotions were fermenting in her heart, then rising, almost overflowing.
In the past, she had been so insecure and sensitive to the point of self-loathing, not even having the courage to face others’ gazes when going out, thinking that “death” was liberation, the only choice for a new beginning.
But now, someone was saying.
—I want to become someone like you.
Shu Nian suddenly raised her eyes, looking in Xie Ruhe’s direction.
He was still in the same place, but he had already stood up, his gaze on her, his demeanor gentle and reserved. In her eyes, he was a light that could not be ignored.
The next second.
Shu Nian suddenly ran in his direction, forcefully throwing herself into his arms.
Because of this impact, Xie Ruhe instinctively took two steps back and then embraced her in return.
They were embracing the sun of each other’s lives.
“When you’re at the bottom of the valley, entangled by thorny vines, using all your strength to cry out but with no one to save you. Surrounded by thorns, you can’t break free, can’t escape, spending long years in despair.”
“Occasionally looking up, seeing a world full of darkness, have you ever thought—”
“That one day, you too could see the light again.”