Later, he "ran into" her two more times in the same park.
Each brief conversation left a deeper mark on his heart.
Until the last time.
He mustered up his courage and was about to ask for her name and contact information.
A well - dressed and anxious man rushed over and whispered something to Meng Ruochao.
"Miss Meng, the young master is back. The car is waiting outside."
The girl who had been chatting with him softly just now instantly lit up like a sky full of stars.
She didn't even have time to say a proper "goodbye" to him.
She just flashed him a hasty smile and then, like a cheerful little bird, dashed towards the park exit, her skirt making a graceful arc in the air.
Yan Qiubai stood there, looking at the direction where she disappeared, feeling a void in his heart.
He heard that address - "the young master".
After that, every time he returned to China during the holidays, he would subconsciously go to that park, but he never saw her again.
That girl who had amazed him became a vague and beautiful phantom in his heart.
It wasn't until later, when he investigated Yan Sisi's communication records because his uncle and aunt suspected her of having a puppy love.
Then he saw those printed text messages.
Among them, there was a photo that Yan Sisi sent to Meng Ruochao, a group photo taken when they went to the library together last time.
In the photo, he saw the face he had been longing for day and night.
From those text messages, he finally learned -
Her name was Meng Ruochao.
The people around her all called her Chaochao.
It turned out that the "best friend" whom she had protected and cared for so much, the one he had been jealous of for so long, was very likely the "young master" who had "returned".
Although Meng Ruochao rarely mentioned other people in their chats.
But once, when Yan Sisi invited her to go shopping the next day, she said yes and that she wanted to buy a birthday gift for her brother.
Yan Sisi asked if it was her biological brother. She wondered why she had never heard her mention him.
Meng Ruochao said with great pride that he wasn't her biological brother but a really, really wonderful brother.
However, this brother's identity seemed to be rather sensitive.
She didn't say anything more about him in the text messages.
Yan Qiubai read all their chat contents.
Finally, he had to admit that the girl who had given him brief warmth on the park bench had completely forgotten about him.
Her whole world was full of friends.
She was like a little sun, spreading her warmth to all the friends around her.
That was why even Yan Sisi, who was not easy to get along with, liked her so much.
She would share all kinds of trivial things with her on WeChat every day.
Even when there was nothing special, she would call her name.
And the little girl on the other side was never impatient.
She always responded to her gently and obediently.
For the first time, Yan Qiubai was jealous of Yan Sisi. He even thought it was ridiculous.
Yan Sisi didn't know about this brief encounter buried deep in Yan Qiubai's heart.
At this moment, seeing that Yan Qiubai just closed his eyes and remained silent with a gloomy face, she thought she had hit the nail on the head and made him speechless. She couldn't help feeling even more smug.
Then she deliberately leaned closer and asked mockingly.
"Since you fell in love with her so early, why did you get together with Shen Xinyin later?"
"Brother, your love doesn't seem to be anything special. That's why you're too proud to ask her to get back together with you, right?"
Yan Qiubai frowned even tighter, like a suppressed volcano, but he still didn't say a word to explain.
How could he explain?
Even he himself thought his feelings were not pure enough. They were even a bit... ridiculous.
After that hasty separation in the park, he really couldn't forget that unknown girl.
Later, he tried to get more information about her from Yan Sisi.
Full of ambition, he thought that he must get to know her formally this time when he returned to China.
So he kept hinting to Yan Sisi all day long, trying to get Meng Ruochao's contact information.
Yan Sisi thought he was trying to interfere with her making friends and naturally refused to tell him.
After they tug - of - warred for quite a while, Yan Sisi finally gave him the phone number after she was sure he had no "bad intentions" and he promised not to bother the other party casually.
But fate seemed to play a joke on him.
Just when he got the contact information and hadn't had time to dial the number.
His parents urgently took him back to the United States to deal with some thorny family affairs and school - related procedures.
During that period, he was so entangled in all kinds of things that he was in a complete mess.
When he finally found time to return to China again and couldn't wait to contact Meng Ruochao, he found that the number had become invalid.
He went to ask Yan Sisi, and Yan Sisi looked just as confused and devastated.
Crying, she said that she couldn't contact Chaochao either. She seemed to have... disappeared suddenly.
At that moment, Yan Qiubai felt empty inside. A great sense of melancholy and loss seized him.
He looked at his sister who was crying uncontrollably.
His own feelings, which had arisen from just a few encounters, seemed out of place and even a bit melodramatic.
He couldn't just fall apart with her, could he?
After all, he and Meng Ruochao were, in the end, just strangers who had met a few times.
He buried this sudden sense of loss and the figure in the sun deep in his heart.
Then, according to the family's expectations, he began to intern in the Yan Group and throw himself into the busy and even cruel business battles.
When he was the most tired and exhausted, feeling on the verge of being crushed by the pressure.
He would always involuntarily think of that afternoon.
Think of the girl's tear - stained but extremely determined eyes.
Think of her saying "It's not your fault".
That became the only illusory consolation in his gloomy life.
He didn't not try to find her.
He used some connections, but all the feedback he got was that there was no news.
Meng Ruochao and her "young master" seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
After being disappointed time and time again, he began to give up on himself and think:
Forget it, Yan Qiubai, what are you doing?
She has someone else in her heart. Maybe she has already forgotten you long ago.
You have the background of the Yan family and good looks. There are countless women around you. Why torture yourself for someone who doesn't remember you?
This thought reached its peak at a friend's gathering.
He was in a bad mood and drank a few more glasses. When he looked up, he accidentally caught sight of Shen Xinyin sitting diagonally across from him.
Under the light, the outline of her side face, especially the curve of her neck when she lowered her head, actually resembled the vague figure in his memory a bit.
He was momentarily in a daze and stared at her for a long time.
The friends around him noticed his gaze and started to make a fuss.
Shen Xinyin had always had a crush on him and had confessed her love to him more than once, but he had always rejected her.
In that atmosphere, blushing, she summoned up her courage and confessed her love to him again.
Under the influence of alcohol, combined with the momentary longing for a "substitute" and a "maybe trying will help me forget" attitude of just giving up, he impulsively nodded.