My Youth Began With Him - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Huo Mian sighed in relief when she saw who it was .

"Lingling, are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Hey, I thought we agreed that you'd wait for me by the doors first so we can come in together . I can't believe you ran in before me," Lingling said as she pulled up a chair and sat next to Huo Mian .

"I was going to wait for you, but I saw an old classmate by the door . He said that everyone was upstairs, so I came up . " Huo Mian smiled gently .

The one that greeted her was Zhu Lingling, her best friend since high school, who was now a flight attendant for an international airline . She was a pretty girl and was Huo Mian's only close girlfriend . Like Huo Mian, she was amiable and exceptionally kindhearted .

"Lingling, I thought you've been busy recently . "

"How can I not be busy? I'm super busy! We were supposed to fly to Xing City today, but I didn't want to miss our reunion so I asked a colleague to cover my shift . Oh hey, where's your doctor? Why didn't you bring him?"

"He had a surgery scheduled today so he couldn't make it . "

"Not bad, not bad . I see a bright and promising future for him . By the way, how's your house-hunting going?"

"We're getting there . Out of the three apartments that we went to see, there was one that we both liked . We're going to talk to his parents about it before making a final decision . "

"Wow, that's fast . Where is it located? Buying a new place is a big deal, so you'd better think it through first," Zhu Lingling said .

"It's on 3rd Ring Road so it takes a little over 20 minutes to get to work by bus . It's pretty convenient," Huo Mian replied as she smiled faintly .

"Nice, I heard that apartments on 3rd Ring Road are worth an average of 8,000 Yuan per square meter . Your boyfriend must have some savings then!" Zhu Lingling exclaimed in admiration .

"It's not going to be a one-time payment . We're just placing a down payment for now, and the two of us will slowly pay off the rest of the mortgage . We're still young, and have plenty of time . "

"So… after buying the apartment, are you guys going to get married?" Zhu Lingling asked as she reached out to hold Huo Mian's hand .

"Yes, it seems so, if nothing unexpected happens . " Huo Mian nodded .

"Mian . "

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you're willing to … get married, just like this?" Zhu Lingling suddenly asked, with a serious expression on her face .

"Well, at this point, does it matter if I'm willing or not?"

"Mian, you know why I'm asking . Have you really forgotten about him?" Zhu Lingling lowered her voice down to a whisper, but Huo Mian still heard every word clearly . A trace of sadness appeared in her eyes, with a hint of almost undetectable heartache .

"What's the point? So what if I'm not willing? This is how my life is supposed to be, and I've surrendered to it . I surrendered 7 years ago," Huo Mian said as she smiled bitterly .

Just as Zhu Lingling was about to say something else, the doors of the private room opened, prompting everyone to stand up immediately . Huo Mian and Zhu Lingling followed and looked towards the entrance . To her satisfaction, she saw their old homeroom teacher, Ms . Yao, whose hair was now greying…and, standing beside their teacher was…him?

The man who disappeared 7 years ago, the man who used to be the most important person in Huo Mian's life…it was like a dream for him to appear in front of her like this, giving her no time to prepare herself at all .

Huo Mian's entire body went numb, and her brain blanked out…