This is my beloved. When we first met, it was under the leafy canopy of the campus alleyway—wind carried broken shadows of plane trees over her shoulders. She held a thick stack of foreign-language books to her chest; bright light filled her eyes. When she spoke of a school across oceans, every word was an uncontainable fervor and longing. The day we both made our feelings clear, she calmly confessed her fixation on pursuing further studies in the United States. I gripped her slightly cool hand without the slightest hesitation: “Don’t worry—go chase your ideal. I’ll stay here and wait for you to come back.”

At the departure airport, the crowd was roaring. Her eyes reddened as she kept asking me whether I would ever regret it. I reached up to tousle her hair and smiled, reassuring her she needn’t worry. In the quiet, silent deep night in China, it was her side’s daylight—sunshine so just-right. I would stay awake, staring at my phone, waiting for the rare few messages after her heavy coursework ended. When I woke at dawn, the screen held those fragments of everyday life she’d written during her early hours abroad. Years passed in a blink. I watched over our little home, taking care of the ordinary details of柴米油盐; our long, tender longing seeped into every meal and every dawn and dusk. Friends nearby often joked about how hard it was to be apart across countries, but I remained firmly convinced that two hearts, committed to reaching for each other, were never worn down by distance.

She devoted herself to rigorous study at Yale, settling her knowledge and enriching herself in a top institution; I lived steadily in my homeland, keeping a small corner of warm, everyday life, quietly waiting for our return date. Through countless days and nights when we could only see each other from afar, we worked hard on our own and supported each other. At last, we received the joyful news that she had finished her studies and returned home.

The moment we reunited—those once-girlish, tender years now carried a touch more poise and clarity. The look she gave me still held the same purity and gentleness as when we first met. Stepping out of the airport, she threw herself into my arms without a second thought. The years of accumulated longing finally found its home right here.

Now we live together day by day. Looking back on that long wait, there is not a trace of regret in my heart—only full gratitude and relief. It turns out waiting was never torment. It was two people who shine in their own way—crossing mountains and seas, refining themselves—who ultimately, in their best form, can stay together for the long term. #predict
$牛来