Every morning at nine o'clock, a string of notifications pops up in unison on Xiang You's phone.
They come from the "Calendar," "Reminders," and "Days Matter" apps.
She couldn't remember when she set them up, but they were all synchronized for nine.
Xiang You was too lazy to change them; she just knew that when her phone started "pitter-pattering" with alerts, it was exactly nine o'clock.
Though she usually knew what the content would be, she still picked up the phone to take a look.
The pop-ups layered over one another until the very last one emerged victorious, long-term occupying the top of her screen—
"Separated from 2 for 1000 days."
One thousand days.
It looked like a rather intimidating number.
Compared to a lifespan of tens of thousands of days, it wasn't actually that long.
But it certainly wasn't short either—at least long enough for her to start forgetting someone.
She had been in three relationships in total.
People say first love is the most unforgettable, but her first one was too short and felt like playing house, so she habitually ignored it.
When she was in her second relationship, she happened to switch to this phone system and took the opportunity to record the dates they got together and broke up.
Since then, every time she changed phones, she did a full data transfer, so those records remained.
In truth, it was just a record; she hadn't expected that at the thousand-day mark, the software would treat it as some momentous occasion and remind her so formally.
Xiang You clicked into the app to check.
Mm, in about six hundred more days, she would receive the reminder: "Separated from 3 for 1000 days."
Come to think of it, she had been single for nearly a year now.
The "Separated from 2" she was reminded of today referred to Meng Ou.
Aside from the record of their breakup, there was also the record of them being together.
It was written clearly: Together with 2 for a total of 1499 days.
Every time she saw this record, she regretted not waiting one more day to bring up the breakup.
Especially at the thousand-day milestone, this number triggered her obsessive-compulsive tendencies once again.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Xiang You returned to the home screen, checked her tasks for the day, and opened her books.
Today was Sunday, a day off from work.
So there were few tasks—just the study plan she had set for herself.
The end of the universe is the civil service exam; for every bit of grief she took at the company, she would go back and memorize ten more questions.
This was her second attempt at the exam.
Being employed while studying meant less financial pressure and the knowledge that an escape route was in her own hands, but it also meant she lacked the "do or die" motivation.
However, she didn't dare to gamble.
When it came to life, she preferred to play it safe.
It was much the same with love.
By the time she finished the last question, it was already two in the afternoon.
Her head was filled with various tricky logic problems. Xiang You shook her head, wanting to clear them out temporarily to restore her good mood.
She opened the curtains; the weather today was nice.
The sunlight was mostly obscured by dark clouds—not too cold, not too hot. It was perfect weather for a stroll.
She decided to go out.
Xiang You didn't wear makeup. She put on a baseball cap and a loose white cotton dress, enjoying the feeling of wandering the streets like a lonely ghost.
She liked to keep a low profile and observe humanity.
It sounded high-end, but it was really just a way to empty her mind.
For instance, looking at people's distinct expressions and guessing their moods.
Or occasionally, when passing by, being forced to overhear two lines of conversation and filling in the backstory herself.
As for the things crowds gathered to watch—like arguments, fights, or car accidents...
Because they were too intense, she actually disliked watching them.
It should have been a bustling Sunday, but everyone’s demeanor seemed very weary.
Perhaps a week’s worth of exhaustion wasn't something one or two days could resolve.
Their expressions looked tired, and looking at them made Xiang You feel tired too.
She withdrew her gaze and stared at the pebble path on the ground, childishly taking large strides according to the colors.
Suddenly, a "Hey!" sounded in her ear, startling her into stepping on the wrong color.
She stood rooted to the spot, suddenly feeling a surge of unprovoked sadness.
She stood there with her head down for half a minute, watching her foot half-stepped on the correct color and half on the wrong one.
Until a pair of hands waved in front of her eyes.
Xiang You looked up to find a young man standing before her.
His bangs covered half of his eyes, and his smile was somewhat restrained. "I've been observing you for a long time... Could we exchange contact information and be friends?"
"Ah," Xiang You replied habitually.
"Is that okay?" the young man asked again, summoning his courage.
"Is what okay?" Xiang You was puzzled.
Her attention had been completely swept away by that first sentence—
"I've been observing you for a long time."
It was a subtle feeling.
While she was observing others, others were silently observing her.
"You stand on the bridge viewing the landscape,
The landscape viewer views you from the balcony.
The bright moon adorns your window,
While you adorn another’s dream."
This poem suddenly popped into her head.
She silently recited it in her heart.
Right then, she saw the young man's mouth moving.
But she didn't pay any attention to what he was saying; her entire mind was focused on the poem she was reciting.
Once she finished the last word, she heard him ask again, "Is that okay?"
Is what okay?
She really wanted to ask, but asking a second time would seem very impolite.
She truly was someone who was easily distracted, anytime and anywhere.
Her high school teachers often said that if she were a bit more focused, getting into a top-two university would have been no problem.
Meanwhile, Meng Ou would hold her face and say, "Give the next minute to me. No thinking about anything else."
Meng Ou?
Xiang You looked at the young man; he certainly wasn't talking about Meng Ou.
So she was distracted again.
The young man looked very dejected. He gave a bitter smile, said "Alright then," and turned to leave.
Xiang You felt sorry for this.
But she figured it wasn't anything vital; a missed connection was just a missed connection.
Her life had already missed too much because of her distractions.
But occasionally, when she did focus, she found that some things were better off missed, saving her the mental capacity of remembering another unpleasant event.
Xiang You continued forward.
She no longer had the heart to step on the colored blocks.
When things went wrong once, she didn't want to fix them; she only wanted to discard them.
This made her very unsuited for gaming; even if she could reload a save, she always felt like there was a patch on it, which made her feel uneasy.
The scent of coffee suddenly wafted into her nose. It seemed many people wanted milk-based coffee; the scent of milk and coffee were equally strong.
Xiang You turned to look; it seemed to be a newly opened coffee shop. She had seen advertisements for it online.
Though she was always a bit repelled by marketing, the rich aroma of coffee led her into the shop involuntarily.
A string of wind chimes hung on the door, "clinking" as she pushed it open.
The barista looked up from behind the counter at the sound and smiled at her. "Welcome to 'baila.' What would you like to drink?"
Xiang You looked up; the menu on the wooden plaque was a dizzying array.
It made her eyes blur and her mind irritable, as if she were looking at a logic reasoning question from a civil service exam.
"A latte, please. Thank you," Xiang You said at random, not remembering a single product name.
"Would you like a Condensed Milk Latte, a Matcha Latte, or perhaps try the new Coconut Crunchy Boba Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Lat—"
"I'm sorry, do you not have a latte here that is just coffee and milk?" Xiang You interrupted him somewhat impolitely, looking up at the menu again.
Though because of her headache, she looked away after barely five seconds.
"We do, just a moment please." The barista’s smile was a bit awkward as he handed her a buzzer.
On her way back to find a seat, she heard the barista whisper helplessly to a colleague, "When is this new product ever going to sell..."
"Pfft."
Xiang You couldn't help but laugh out loud.
It was likely the bitter laugh of a fellow worker.
A customer at a nearby seat looked up at her.
Feeling embarrassed, Xiang You trotted to a seat in the furthest corner.
The latte was served quickly.
It had a beautiful leaf-shaped latte art on top and a rich aroma.
Xiang You lowered her head and took a small sip while it was hot.
She wasn't a sophisticated coffee connoisseur; she mostly drank freeze-dried coffee.
At first, it was to stay awake, then it became a habit.
To her, coffee was only distinguished by being "tasty" or "not tasty."
This cup was tasty.
Just a bit expensive—nearly fifty per cup.
Xiang You put down the cup and looked up, feeling milk foam stuck to her lip.
Just as she was about to lick it clean, she suddenly heard the sound of the wind chimes.
Unfortuately, she got distracted at that moment.
She looked toward the door at the sound. A man walked in.
Using "a man" to refer to him felt too foreign, because she knew this person.
So, to be precise, Meng Ou walked in.
Meng Ou?
Ding.
This morning's phone notification replayed in her mind.
The thousandth day of their breakup.
It was also the first day of their reunion.
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