Chapter 161 Graduation
  "One, two, three, eggplant!"

  The July campus was lush and green, and a group of students in their graduation gowns took pictures in various corners of the campus. Last week, they successfully received their diplomas and degrees. The day of separation was approaching, and in this final time together, the girls tried every possible way to create more memories for each other.

  Fang Qing was dragged by Wang Nan and Zhang Jiaqi to take pictures all morning, until the sun rose overhead, and they found a quiet corner to sit down and rest.

  "Qingqing, are you really not going to graduate school?" Zhang Jiaqi handed her an ice cream. The two sat in the shade, watching the figures running on the court in the distance, and enjoying the breeze.

  Fang Qing shook her head. She had found a job and would start next month.

  It wasn't that she didn't want to continue her studies, but everywhere she went on this familiar campus reminded her of the past few years with Wen Ning, and her heart, which had finally calmed down, would ache again. She

  took a bite of the ice cream, and the coolness combined with the milky aroma dispelled the restlessness in her heart.

  If Tang Xiaoyu hadn't let it slip that day, would she still be in the dark? Even now, she couldn't understand why Wen Ning had lied to her, but the truth was staring her in the face, and she couldn't argue.

  When her family learned of this, her kind and honest father, enraged, ran to the Wen family's door and lashed out at them for a long time.

  But what did Aunt Wen say when faced with her family's questioning?

  Oh, yes, she said: "Qingqing, you're a good girl, but you and Wen Ning weren't meant to be together. This is giving you a chance. Since we haven't even gotten married yet, breaking up won't hurt you."

  Fang Qing couldn't remember what Aunt Wen said after that. She only remembered the moment she felt dizzy. When she opened her eyes again, her family huddled around her. She remembered her father's aged face and her mother's cautious expression. She remembered it all to this day.

  At that moment, she suddenly felt unfilial, having once again caused her family so much fear. Upon waking, she suppressed the pain in her heart, feigning nothing, and went about her business.

  During that time, Fang Qing did not cry or make a fuss, and she was very cheerful. Although the whole family felt strange, they were relieved as they thought she had really let it go.

  Until her cousin from her uncle's family was getting married, she went to congratulate her, but her cousin saw through her at a glance.

  "Qingqing, if you want to cry, just cry. Holding it in will only make you sick."

  Fang Qing was helping her cousin make a new quilt at the time, and when she heard that, she suddenly got a needle prick on her finger.

  "Oh, quick, suck out the blood. How can you be so careless? Does it hurt?"

  Looking at her cousin who was running around for her, Fang Qing didn't know why, but she felt as if the needle had pierced her heart. The emotions that she had tried so hard to suppress finally found a breakthrough and burst out all at once.

  Water splashed across the crimson quilt, soaking a large area. My cousin sighed and, like they did when they were little, sat down, hugged Fang Qing's shoulders, patting and rocking her. "Alright, alright, just cry it out. I was worried you wouldn't be able to..."

  Fang Qing sobbed uncontrollably, causing my cousin's eyes to turn red as well. Her beloved sister, what a great injustice she had endured.

  "Cry it out. When you've cried enough, let go of that heartless bastard completely. It's just Wen Ning. At worst, I can find you a Zhang Ning, a Wang Ning, or someone else. There's always someone who will treat you sincerely! You're the first college student in our family. You have a bright future ahead of you. You must fight for yourself and our family. Show those blind people that you'll be better off without them!"

  The sun was already setting, and the morning star in the night sky gradually brightened. A fairy's tears streaked across the sky, drawing a silver arc of light that instantly made the children playing in the yard scream in delight.

  Fang Qing was also drawn to the dazzling light. The two of them leaned against the window, gazing at the sky.

  "Qingqing, look, your cousin just made a wish, and the heavens heard it. They say wishes made to shooting stars come true. I hope you can let him go soon and live the life you want... My Qingqing will definitely find someone who cherishes and loves you."

  Fang Qing continued to gaze at the sky. Though the shooting star had already passed, the silvery streak echoed in her memory.

  That year, after Wen Ning was rescued from the water, they had sat on the mountain, gazing at a starry sky like this, with countless shooting stars streaking across. What had she felt then? She no longer remembered.

  But back then, Wen Ning by her side was warm and real, their faces flushing at each other's faces. But now, besides the photos on her phone and the recordings he'd left behind, all he left her was his still-empty mailbox.

  That night, Fang Qing lay flat on the earthen kang, gazing at the sea of stars outside the window. The vast starry sky, like countless leaping elves, cast a tranquil magic, gradually dissolving her worries.

  "Cousin, don't worry, I know what I have to do. Don't worry, I will live a good life from now on. God has given me such an opportunity, how could I possibly waste it?"

  Fang Qing was a sinner in her previous life, and she came to atone for her sins in this life. But after settling down, she had forgotten her original ambition! No wonder God punished her like this, letting her indulge in love first, and then ruthlessly taking it all away!
  She really didn't deserve love after all. If that was the case, she should let it go.

  ...

  Memories, like the water of a distant lake, surged into her mind.

  Fang Qing's prolonged silence caused the ice cream in his hand to melt all over the floor, prompting Zhang Jiaqi to yell in dissatisfaction, "Oh my god, it fell on my shoe! You damn Fang Qing, what are you daydreaming about? This ice cream is three yuan! Hurry up and eat it!"

  The starlight in Fang Qing's eyes slowly faded, and reality finally brought him back. He looked at the ice cream in his hand, which had melted into a lump, feeling a little embarrassed. He quickly took a big bite and said, "Eat it now. It was too cold just now..."

  Wang Nan, dragging his oversized bachelor's uniform, ran over from a distance. "You two are amazing! We've been looking for you for ages, and you've been running and hiding! Oh, don't eat, the class photo is missing you two. Let's go..."

  The three of them ran furiously, clutching their coats, until they finally found their class in front of the school's iconic building.

  "Snap!"

  In the photo, they smiled so freely and heartily, like the scorching sun of that time.

  In a hospital somewhere far away in a foreign country, a haggard man, fingers trembling like dead branches, tapped the keyboard. When the screen displayed the homepage of a domestic university, he immediately saw the beautiful face in the photo.

  "Qingqing..."

  (End of this chapter)