Fan Jing often felt that this world was illusory. How could communication be so advanced—sending a message, and even if separated by thousands of miles, the other party could receive it within a second?
How could transportation be so fast—crossing more than a thousand miles by plane in just an hour…?
But since he had gradually come into contact with these high-speed developments from infancy until now at the age of twenty, he began to think that this world might not be so unreal after all.
But if this world isn’t fake, then are the memories in his mind just illusions?
If his memories were once vivid and real, then why could he ride a horse? And why was he born able to shoot an arrow dead center with one eye closed…?
But if his memories hadn’t been tampered with, then Kang Yu… his husband, now he should be called… husband? Where had he gone?
This world’s transportation was very convenient, communication very advanced, but the world was vast, and yet finding one person was still so difficult. Or perhaps, that person simply didn’t exist in this world at all.
Bang!
A muffled sound, and three arrows landed steadily in the red center of the target.
“Coach Fan, your skills are just incredible!”
Fan Jing heard the surrounding gasps and praises, slowly lowered the bow in his hands, and gracefully dismounted from his horse.
“Let’s end today’s class here.”
The archery club members still wanted more, pleading with the coach to show off again, but the older members knew Coach Fan’s temper too well. No matter how much they begged, it was useless.
His archery was exceptional—standing shots, moving target shots, rapid fire, horseback shooting, nothing he couldn’t do. Plus, he was handsome with a cool, indifferent personality, which made him all the more compelling.
When his poster was first put up outside the archery club, it immediately attracted many young women interested in archery to sign up. After seeing his demonstrations, quite a few genuinely fell in love with the sport.
Fan Jing smiled faintly at Kang Yu, his mood somewhat lifted. He dismissed the students, tidied up the equipment, and prepared to leave.
One female student who had been learning archery from him for a long time handed him a bottle of water.
“Coach Fan, I always see you come alone. Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Fan Jing thanked her for the water. “No.”
“I’ve seen a lot of girls come here just for you—each one’s a beauty and very proactive. You have good taste, so is there really no one you like?”
The woman speaking to him was in her thirties, named Zheng Xuemei.
Fan Jing slung his large crossbody bag over his shoulder. If anyone else said these things to him, he wouldn’t even respond.
But he only occasionally spoke with Zheng Xuemei, partly because she was an old student, and partly because when she spoke, she reminded him a little of Chen Sanfang.
“Does anyone still have questions about today’s lesson, Sister Zheng? If not, I’m going to head out.”
“Oh, don’t be in such a rush!” Zheng Xuemei begged him. She scolded gently, “No girlfriend and already rushing home?”
“I’m going to the studio to paint.”
“You like painting too?” Zheng Xuemei was surprised. “You really are talented! You’re so good-looking but still single—Sister Zheng really can’t stand it! Tell me what kind of girl you like, I have plenty of good connections.”
She leaned closer to Fan Jing, lowering her voice.
“Mature ones are rare, but I guarantee I can save you at least thirty years of detours.”
Fan Jing was silent for a moment. Matchmakers nowadays weren’t much different from those in the past—it seemed they were everywhere.
He looked at Sister Zheng, bowed slightly, and said, “Too bad I’ve already taken the detours.”
Zheng Xuemei was momentarily stunned. Matchmakers were matchmakers; she quickly caught on.
“You…”
Fan Jing adjusted his bag. “I’m leaving.”
Saying that, he headed outside the venue.
Seeing this, Zheng Xuemei chased after him.
“Don’t rush! Sister Zheng really has resources that you want.”
As she spoke, she rummaged through her bag.
“Not long ago, a handsome guy just signed up as a member. He’s really good-looking, has a great personality, works in new media, and already has quite a few followers.
He asked me to find someone serious for him. I’ve known little Fan here for a long time and know he’s serious about relationships… oh!”
Fan Jing saw that some of these matchmaking sites really had everything. He wanted to politely refuse Zheng Xuemei, telling her not to bother. He already had someone he liked. But just as he said this, he suddenly tripped and fell on the ground. Lipsticks, powder compacts, mirrors, and some photos spilled all over.
He quickly helped her up. “Did you hurt yourself badly?”
Zheng Xuemei hissed. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Fan Jing helped her sit on a nearby bench and bent down to pick up the scattered items.
Among the two or three dozen photos were images of various people. Fan Jing didn’t look closely at all of them, but his peripheral vision caught a face.
In an instant, he hurriedly—
It was a half-body casual photo. The person in it wasn’t styled or made up, just wearing a simple white T-shirt, looking casual.
Fan Jing stared at the high, straight nose, thick eyebrows and eyes, and the familiar smile. His usually steady hands were slightly trembling.
He gently caressed the photo, then hurriedly asked Zheng Xuemei, who was massaging her leg.
“Who is he?!”
Zheng Xuemei looked at the photo. “Ah! That handsome guy is the one I was about to show you. His name is Kang Yu. What do you think? Handsome, right?”
“He looks better in person than in photos—tall, well-built, clearly healthy.”
Fan Jing only caught the two words “Kang Yu.” For a moment, he was at a loss how to react.
Seeing Fan Jing’s strange expression, Zheng Xuemei wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
“Coach Fan… what do you think? If you don’t feel a spark, there are still a few others. Just tell me what you want. If I don’t have someone who fits, I’ll keep looking for you…”
“When can I meet him?” Fan Jing suddenly asked.
Zheng Xuemei was taken aback, then quickly understood. She smiled happily.
“Okay, I’ll contact Xiao Kang and see what he says. I’ll definitely set up a meeting for you two.”
“Can I have that photo?”
Fan Jing held the photo tightly, unwilling to let go. Zheng Xuemei noticed his unusual behavior and seemed somewhat pleased with the person in the photo. However, she hesitated.
“I could give it to you, but without his permission, it might not be appropriate.”
Fan Jing hurriedly took out his phone to snap a picture, but he barely knew how to use it. He usually just stuffed it into his bag and rarely checked it.
Suddenly anxious, he searched through his bag but couldn’t find it.
Seeing Fan Jing panic, Zheng Xuemei also grew anxious.
“Alright, little Fan, although I can’t privately give you the member’s photo, he told me his new media ID. New media is all about followers; I’ll recommend him to you. You can check him out. It’s the same as having the photo.”
Fan Jing felt slightly relieved. He was too afraid that the little information he had would be lost if he wasn’t careful.
He took a long look at the person in the photo and realized that no matter how many years he’d studied painting, he still couldn’t capture the true essence as a photo did.
He reluctantly returned the photo to Zheng Xuemei, watched her pull up Kang Yu’s new media ID, carefully noted it down, and finally felt at ease.
In the afternoon, still worrying about Kang Yu because he couldn’t find his phone, Fan Jing skipped the painting class and took the train straight home.
Once home, he found his phone on the dining table—it had been forgotten that morning.
He took off his bag and picked up the phone. There were two missed calls, both from Sister Zheng, who had just gotten his number.
There were several unread WeChat messages, mostly group chats, no private messages, but two friend requests.
Fan Jing clicked to see.
“AAA Fuyuan Jia’ou. Matchmaker Zheng Xuemei 175 requests to add you as a friend;”
“Chun Yu Jingming requests to add you as a friend.”
Fan Jing’s brow twitched. He immediately accepted Chun Yu Jingming’s friend request, then Zheng Xuemei’s.
“Little Fan, did you find your phone?”
“I called you several times but no answer. I already told him this afternoon he’s willing to get in touch with you.”
“I think you two really hit it off. I gave Kang Yu your number. Has he added you?”
Ding dong, ding dong—a series of messages popped up.
Fan Jing glanced, then exited the chat window, opening Chun Yu Jingming’s chat. He stared at it for a long time.
Seeing no response, he hesitated to say hello, but didn’t know what to say—after all, he was no expert at chatting, and the other side was an invisible machine.
Besides, he wasn’t sure what Kang Yu’s situation was now, although seeing that photo had given him a strong sense of certainty—it was him.
Fan Jing was silent for a long moment. Then he reopened Zheng Xuemei’s chat and simply replied, “Hmm.”
He then logged out of WeChat, downloaded a short video app, and entered the ID he had memorized.
An account with over a million followers appeared instantly.
The avatar was Kang Yu wearing a blue linen cotton shirt.
Fan Jing’s lips twitched slightly. He remembered that when their village’s life had improved, Kang Yu liked buying fabric in that exact color to make new clothes.
He clicked into the profile, seeing dozens of videos, most featuring Kang Yu.
He casually clicked one. The sound of cicadas filled the summer air; gentle music played in the background.
Kang Yu carried a basket on his back, holding a sickle as he went into the fields. The mugwort was lush and green; he cut a lot.
On his way back, he picked up a beehive. The caption read they were making mugwort candles that day.
Fan Jing watched every frame carefully, then moved on to the next video…
In the videos, he saw mugwort candle-making, fern root powder extraction, konjac tofu, fragrant paper production, and so on.
It was like his memories were being painted over again.
A faint smile appeared on Fan Jing’s lips. He exited the short video app and reopened Chun Yu Jingming’s chat, seeing no reply yet.
He hesitated, then sent a message.
Ding dong.
Kang Yu, who was in the countryside editing videos and preparing to livestream that night, heard the notification from his private phone.
He picked up the phone and saw a message from someone named Jing.
“Kang Yu, you got accepted!”
He clicked to open the chat. An emoji of a smiling face popped up immediately.
“…”
Kang Yu exhaled. He remembered that Sister Zheng showed him a photo of a very trendy and cool young handsome guy.
Was this some kind of abstract joke?
Kang Yu thought about it. He thought the person in the photo was quite to his liking, giving him an indescribable feeling of familiarity and closeness. It felt strange.
But he attributed it to something called fate and didn’t want to ruin this blind date.
So Kang Yu replied carefully and sincerely with—
A single rose emoji.