Summer Wind, Warm Sun Return

It was the holidays, and Mom had set up another blind date for me. The guy was a good catch: worked at a bank, owned a house and a car. Mom glanced at me, lowering her voice.

You're thirty already, stop being so picky. If this one doesn't work out, it'll only get harder later.

I was playing a game, not even looking up, when I replied, "Then I won't look."

Mom's eyes widened. "Bah, bah, bah, don't say such things! You're a perfectly good girl, why aren't you interested in dating at your age?"

What Mom didn't know was this:

I had a boyfriend of three years, five years my junior.

The day I forced him to marry me, threatening to break up.

He just smiled, nonchalantly saying, "Ellie, do you really think you're still young? You're thirty. Who else would marry you besides me?"

Hearing my "Then I won't look," Mom sighed.

Her eyes held both affection and helplessness.

She was just about to start lecturing me when her phone rang.

It was our neighbor, Aunt Sarah, inviting us over for dinner.

Mom hung up and insisted I come along.

At Aunt Sarah's house, the moment we stepped inside, there he was, sitting on the sofa.

Leo Harrison.

My boyfriendoh, no, my ex-boyfriend.

Mom greeted him with a smile, "Oh, Leo, you're here too?"

He stood up, politely addressing her as "Auntie." His gaze swept over me, paused, then moved away.

At the dinner table, he sat across from me.

Aunt Sarah was Leos mother and Mom's good friend. She enthusiastically put food on my plate. "Ellie, eat more, you look so thin."

Leo, beside her, subtly nudged the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs towards me.

My chopsticks bypassed the ribs, picking up a piece of celery, which I hated.

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Beside us, Mom and Aunt Sarah's husband chatted animatedly.

They were talking about Leo's marriage.

"Leo is twenty-five now, it's time he thought about settling down," Mom said.

Aunt Sarah smiled and nodded. "Indeed. I've asked around and found a few girls; they'll come over in a couple of days."

"What are their backgrounds?" Mom asked curiously.

Aunt Sarah counted on her fingers. "One's an elementary school teacher, one's a nurse, and another works for a government agency."

Mom listened intently, then asked, "Do you have photos? Let me see."

Aunt Sarah took out her phone, found the photos, and handed it to Mom.

Mom looked, exclaiming with approval. "This girl is so pretty and looks very kind-hearted."

She turned to Leo. "Leo, what do you think of these girls yourself?"

Leo gave a polite smile. "I think they're fine."

I kept my head down, quietly eating my rice, saying nothing.

"Ellie."

Leo suddenly called my name.

I looked up.

He was looking at me, a half-smile playing on his lips. "What do you think?"

Aunt Sarah heard him and quickly handed me her phone.

"Yes, yes, Ellie, you know Leo best. Help him choose."

My movements were stiff as I took the phone.

In the photos, the girl smiled brightly, looking very gentle.

That sweet, virtuous look was definitely a type that older generations would like.

And probably the type Leo would like too.

Young, pretty, from a good family.

Unlike an old woman like me, who was thirty.

I looked up, meeting his playful gaze.

Three months ago, on the day we broke up at his apartment, I asked him, "When will you marry me?"

He leaned back on the sofa, his voice flat. "Are you that desperate to get married?"

"Fine, I can wait on marriage. Then let's go public!"

"Go public about what? Aren't we perfectly fine as we are?"

My eyes welled up. "Then why did you pursue me in the first place?"

He sighed. "Ellie, don't make a scene."

"I'm not making a scene!"

I stood up. "Three years. I've been with you for three years. When you introduce me to your friends, I'm 'the older sister.' To your family, I'm 'the neighbor's daughter.' Am I so shameful?"

He frowned. "Can't you be reasonable? I never said I wouldn't marry you, it's just not the right time."

"Then when is the right time?"

He said nothing.

I looked at him, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Three years.

Over a thousand days and nights.

He never once acknowledged me in public.

If friends asked, he said I was an acquaintance, an "older sister."

If colleagues asked, he said I was the neighbor's daughter.

The five-year age difference between us was like a thorn, stuck between us.

"Let's break up," I said.

He paused, then scrutinized me from head to toe. "Do you really think you're still young?"

"You're thirty. Who else would marry you besides me?"

At that moment, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on me, chilling me from head to toe.

Tears streaming, I spat out a harsh retort:

"Fine, then I won't trouble you! I'll find someone else!"

He smiled. "Go ahead, find someone."

Back then, swept up in emotion, there were some things I didn't want to face.

Now that I've calmed down, I have to admit.

He wasn't wrong.

He was twenty-five, in the prime of his life, with a bright future ahead. He had a master's degree from a top university.

I was thirty, past my prime for dating and marriage. I had a regular bachelor's degree, worked as an "internet grunt," earning eight thousand a month.

We already had a five-year age gap.

Logically, I didn't even qualify to go on a blind date with him.

Now, looking at him, my heart felt strangely calm.

I even managed a slight smile. "She's good, she'd be a good match for you."

"Auntie's right, you can add her on social media and chat more."

His eyes slowly hardened.

"Alright, I'll add them later and chat more."

After dinner, I headed home early.

As I was leaving, Leo leaned against the elevator wall, waiting for me.

"Want to talk?"

I ignored him, walking straight past him.

He reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the nearby fire escape.

The door shut with a thud, and he pinned me against it.

He leaned down, close to me.

His familiar scent enveloped me.

We had been together for three years; he knew me too well.

He knew how to make my heart race, how to make me surrender.

Just like now, a smile playing on his lips, his voice husky: "Are you really going to let me add them on social media? Can you really stand it?"

I raised my hand to push him away. "Add them or not, what business is it of mine?"

He laughed, catching my hand, and held his phone up to my face.

On the screen were the photos of the blind date candidates.

He squeezed my fingers, scrolling through the screen.

One, two, three.

"So many, how can I chat with all of them? Help me pick one, won't you? Or maybe you and I could chat, Ellie?"

It was his olive branch.

Just like countless times when we'd bickered before.

He'd offer an opening, and I was expected to take it.

If I played coy and didn't, he'd retract it.

In this relationship, he was always so effortlessly in control.

In our dynamic, he always held the upper hand.

I looked at him, my finger resting on the screen.

Without a second thought, I swiped to the photo Mom and the others had praised earlier.

"She's really good," I said. "I wish you both well."

His face instantly darkened.

He let go of my hand, stepped back, his eyes turning cold.

"Do you really mean that?" His voice held a hint of suppressed anger.

I nodded, my tone calm. "Yes."

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

His gaze, like a knife, cut across my face before he turned and left.

The fire escape door was slammed open with a harsh screech.

I stood there, my legs feeling a little weak, but forced myself to stand straight.

Back home, Mom was watching TV in the living room.

She glanced at me and asked, "What took you so long? Didn't you say you were coming straight home?"

"I bought some things," I vaguely replied. "Mom, I'm tired. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

Once I closed the bathroom door and the hot water poured down, I felt the dull ache in my chest slowly dissipate.

I woke up the next day to a lit phone screen. It was a message from Leo.

"Thanks for your recommendation yesterday. I added that girl, and we've been chatting quite well."

I stared at the message for a long time, eventually not replying.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, and the room was eerily quiet.

My relationship with Leo, to be honest, was quite clich.

Three years ago, he interned at our company.

And he just happened to be assigned to our department.

I volunteered to mentor him.

On his first day at the company, he washed my coffee cup.

At the time, I thought Leo was surprisingly polite.

After spending more time together, I realized his gaze towards me was off.

His cubicle was diagonally across from mine, and every time I looked up, I'd meet his eyes.

He would quickly look away, the tips of his ears flushed red.

On Valentine's Day, he invited me to dinner.

After dinner, he walked me home.

Downstairs, he suddenly said, "Ellie, I like you."

I was stunned. "Leo, I'm five years older than you."

"I don't care."

"Leo, I'm nice to you because I see you as a younger brother."

"But I don't see you as an older sister, Ellie, no, Eleanor, I like you. I came to this company because of you."

I looked into his earnest eyes.

My heart fluttered.

Then, I nodded.

After that, we dated for three years.

When we first started dating, Leo only had eyes for me.

Every morning he would drive to pick me up for work, bringing me my favorite coffee.

He would quietly stay with me when I worked overtime, and carefully coax me when I was frustrated.

Sometimes I would wonder if I was being too selfish.

After all, he was still an ungraduated student, and I had been working for several years.

But every time I saw his determined gaze, all those worries would vanish.

Every day we were together was sweet.

He would remember my favorite dessert shop from a casual comment, and deliver cold medicine to my apartment building in the middle of the night when I caught a cold.

I thought our love would blossom and bear fruit, until reality cruelly slapped me in the face.

Three days later, it was a friend's birthday.

Leo was there too.

He sat diagonally across from me.

Dressed in a sharp suit, he looked exceptionally smart.

Girls frequently glanced at him, whispering about something.

"Is that Leo? He's so handsome."

"I heard he's single, I wonder if I have a chance."

I listened to these comments, lowering my head and sipping my water.

Midway through the birthday party, someone suggested playing a game.

The loser had to draw a slip of paper and answer a question.

In the first round, Leo lost.

The slip read: "Is there someone you like in the room?"

The whole crowd started to tease.

He smiled, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on me.

I lowered my head, pretending not to notice.

The game continued.

I chatted idly with friends around me.

A friend sitting next to me, learning I was still single, smiled and offered to set me up: "Ellie, there's a handsome single guy, should I introduce you?"

Before I could reply, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from Leo: [Decline.]

I didn't reply.

He sent another: [Ellie, tell her you have a boyfriend.]

I turned off my phone, stood up. "Sure, I'd love to meet him."

My colleague led me to another table.

"Ethan Scott, let me introduce you to a friend."

The man stood up.

The moment he turned around, we both froze.

It was him.

The man I'd met at the police station two months ago.

That day, I had found a lost child in the park.

The child clung to me, crying for his mom, inconsolable.

Left with no choice, I carried him to report it to the police.

He happened to be passing by, knelt down in front of the child, and magically pulled a piece of candy from his pocket.

The child stopped crying.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Your child?"

"No, no, I just found him on the street. He can't find his parents."

He nodded. "Alright, leave him to me. I'm a police officer; we'll contact his parents."

Unsure, I followed him to the police station.

Later, I learned he was a police officer in that district.

As I left, he stood at the police station entrance in his uniform, sunlight falling on him.

He handed me a business card. "If you ever need anything, you can find me."

The card read: Ethan Scott.

Now, he stood before me, his eyes holding a subtle sparkle.

"What a coincidence, we meet again."

My friend looked at him, then at me. "You two know each other?"

I nodded. "We crossed paths over something minor before."

My colleague smiled and left.

He gestured to the chair beside him. "Want to sit for a bit?"

I sat down.

He poured me a glass of wine.

I asked, "Was the child's mother found eventually?"

"Yes, she was. His mother came to the police station to pick him up."

"That's good."

We chatted for a while.

He didn't say much, but he made me feel very comfortable.

Unlike being with Leo.

With Leo, I always felt on edge.

Afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid he'd think there was a generation gap between us, afraid he'd find me boring.

Even more afraid that one day, he just wouldn't want me anymore.

But chatting with Ethan, I didn't need to overthink.

He asked me about my job; I told him I worked in operations.

He smiled. "Internet industry, huh? My cousin also works in the internet industry; she's at New Horizon Tech."

"What a coincidence, I'm at New Horizon Tech too."

"Then you might be colleagues," he paused. "Her name is Chloe Scott, do you know her?"

I paused, surprised.

Chloe Scott.

She was the HR at New Horizon Tech.

She was Ethan Scott's cousin.

What a small world.

I nodded, unable to help but exclaim, "I know her! We're at the same company. The world really is small."

He smiled. "That's good then. We can all have dinner together sometime."

Mid-conversation, he suddenly said, "Ms. Price, there's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"That day at the police station, after I met you, I went back and looked into your background."

I froze.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Don't misunderstand, I just wanted to see if you were married."

"Later, I found out you worked at the same company as my cousin, so I asked her to subtly inquire about you."

"She asked me why I wanted to know about you, and I told her I wanted to get to know you."

"She said you had a boyfriend."

"So I didn't ask any more questions."

I looked at him, not knowing what to say.

He continued, "When I saw you alone earlier, I thought, maybe I have a chance now."

"Eleanor Price, I like you."

"From the first moment I saw you, I liked you."