Duan Qiang was stacking goods in the supermarket warehouse with his coworkers when his phone rang.

Guan Ruo’s voice came through with a nasal tone, and he didn't recognize her at first.

Guan Ruo said, "I have some of Xiao Ge's things here. If it's convenient, I'll bring them to you."

"Convenient, convenient," Duan Qiang quickly replied. "Or maybe I could come by and pick them up after work?"

But Guan Ruo insisted on bringing them over, so Duan Qiang gave her the address of the supermarket where he worked.

After hanging up, he glanced at his sweat-soaked work uniform and panicked a bit. He hurriedly asked his supervisor for leave, rushed to the restroom to quickly wash up, and when he came out, he had changed into a clean T-shirt and pants, even shaving his stubble.

His coworkers teased him, "Hey, Duan Qiang, who are you meeting? Going on a date, huh?"

Duan Qiang touched his face, smiling without answering.

As soon as Guan Ruo stepped out of the taxi, Duan Qiang noticed the finger marks on her face and her swollen eyes. He was stunned for a moment.

When Guan Ruo opened the trunk, he quickly walked over.

"I’ll do it." He took two steps forward, stacking the two cardboard boxes on top of each other and holding them in his strong arms as he carried them toward his van.

"This box contains Xiao Ge's books and college entrance exam review materials." Guan Ruo reached out and touched a workbook. The paper, worn soft from frequent use, now carried the imprints of Xiao Ge.

That familiar softness carried the imprint of Guan Ge, and Guan Ruo could almost see him bent over, working on his studies.

Her nose tingled, and she stood there, lost in thought.

Duan Qiang scratched his head and, after a long silence, mustered the courage to say, "You probably haven't eaten yet, right? How about we grab a bite together?"

Guan Ruo lightly sniffled and nodded slightly.

The back street of the supermarket was a bustling food street. As the night fell, the place became lively and noisy.

Duan Qiang led Guan Ruo to a small eatery he knew well.

The shop was simple and unpretentious, a typical hole-in-the-wall. Most of the diners were drivers and day laborers, sitting shirtless in the summer heat, sweating profusely over large bowls of noodles.

In a place like this, Guan Ruo was an oddity.

Her tall figure, delicate features, intellectual attire, and graceful demeanor caught the eyes of those around her, who couldn’t help but look again and again. But when they saw Duan Qiang beside her, their faces turned puzzled.

Duan Qiang was clearly one of them, and standing next to Guan Ruo, the only comparison that came to mind was that of a toad and a swan.

But Guan Ruo was lost in her own thoughts, completely oblivious. She sipped her beer in small sips, indifferent to the teasing glances from those around her.

It was Duan Qiang who felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Normally, he could slurp down a bowl of noodles in a few gulps, but now he forced himself to eat slowly and neatly, feeling extremely out of place.

He even began to regret inviting Guan Ruo to dinner.

"Brother Qiang, you're here too?" Three girls walked in with their lunch boxes, giggling. The cute, slightly chubby one walked over to Duan Qiang's table.

"Ah, Xiaoli, you're here too," Duan Qiang said.

Guan Ruo looked up and met Xiaoli's inquisitive gaze. During the whole time they waited for their food, she could feel Xiaoli's eyes on her.

After two bottles of beer, Guan Ruo started to feel better. The faint flush on her cheeks slightly concealed the mark of the slap.

When the two of them left the eatery, Duan Qiang instinctively reached for his car keys.

Guan Ruo looked at Duan Qiang and asked, "Can you walk with me for a bit?"

This was the first time she had spoken since they entered the eatery.

Under the influence of alcohol, her eyes were bright, sparkling with a vibrant light. In the night, they seemed particularly lively.

There were still two more deliveries to make that night, but Duan Qiang quietly slipped his car keys back into his pocket.

Guan Ruo seemed to have a kind of magic over him—he couldn't bear to, and didn't want to, refuse her.

The night breeze was gentle, rustling the leaves. The two of them walked silently under the shadows of the plane trees.

Guan Ruo had her hands clasped behind her back, her posture straight as a board. She held her head slightly high, deeply inhaling the faint floral scent carried by the breeze. The wind softly played with her long hair and dress, and the sight of her like that made Duan Qiang's heart warm.

A question floated into Duan Qiang’s mind: How could such a gentle and beautiful girl not have a boyfriend? What were the men who were worthy of her doing?

"Have you always been so quiet?" Guan Ruo turned to face him, walking backward with her hands still behind her back. She squinted her eyes as she scrutinized him, her gaze curling down slightly, revealing a hint of an adorable expression she probably didn't even realize she had.

Duan Qiang touched his chin, thinking about how to respond, but the words had already slipped out.

"Heh, it's a habit," he said, his tone carrying a touch of helplessness.

Guan Ruo continued to study him. "What did you do for work before?"

"I was a long-haul truck driver for several years."

"Oh, I see," Guan Ruo said with a look of realization.

See what? Duan Qiang was a bit puzzled.

Then Guan Ruo explained.

"Being a long-haul truck driver is a very lonely job," she said, turning around and slowly walking ahead, her back to Duan Qiang.

Duan Qiang stopped in his tracks.

The narrow, stuffy truck cab, the glaring sunlight on the highway, the seemingly endless nights... The solitary days and nights he spent in the truck over those years flickered through his mind.

He had always thought that he just happened to have a quiet nature. But now, in the shadow of the plane trees on this summer night, it dawned on him that his silence was born from years of loneliness.

A rustling sound echoed in his mind.

Suddenly, he felt like talking.

Guan Ruo also stopped, turning her head to look at him.

He walked over, reached out, and plucked a gardenia branch that had extended through the iron fence on his right, twirling it between his fingers.

Duan Qiang said, "When Ah Wei was five, my dad ran off with a younger woman and never came back."

Guan Ruo asked softly, "And then?"

"My mom raised the two of us on her own. Life was really hard. I dropped out after middle school and started doing odd jobs. Once I was old enough, I got my driver's license and drove long-haul trucks for several years. That was until a year ago, when my mom was in a car accident and couldn’t move around easily. I switched jobs to take care of the family."

Guan Ruo looked at the gardenia in Duan Qiang's hand. "So, you've been supporting Ah Wei’s education all this time?"

Duan Qiang gave a bitter smile. "But I'm not as good a brother as you are a sister."

"I was on the road all the time, hardly ever home. My mom wasn’t in great health for years, so she didn’t really keep an eye on Ah Wei. As a result, Ah Wei picked up a lot of bad habits. He repeated his senior year twice and still didn't pass."

Guan Ruo took the gardenia from him and inhaled its scent deeply.

"You're a good brother," she said, looking at Duan Qiang, her gaze now warmer than before.

Duan Qiang returned home close to eleven o’clock. Duan Wei was already asleep.

After washing up, he knocked on his mother’s door. The bedroom was dark, and in the shadows, the figure in the wheelchair was hunched into a dark, indistinct shape.

Duan Qiang turned on the light and asked, "Mom, why are you still awake?"

His mother was holding a photo of Guan Ge in her arms, a picture Duan Qiang had specially developed for her some time ago.

She looked up at her son, her gaze blank, her eye sockets sunken and dry, like a drought-stricken desert, unable to shed any more tears.

Duan Qiang was stunned for a moment.

Ever since the day they heard the news of Guan Ge's death, his mother had never shown any sadness in front of him. In fact, to this day, she had stubbornly refused to visit his grave.

It seemed that only complete and utter isolation could prevent her emotional defenses from collapsing.

But she clearly hadn’t succeeded entirely.

She was still in the dark, holding the photo of her son, her biological son whom she had never met.

Duan Qiang squatted beside his mother’s knees, carefully reaching for the photo. "Mom, it’s time to sleep."

His mother snapped out of her daze.

She tapped her son on the head. "Why are you home so late? I'll heat up some food for you."

"Mom, I’ve already eaten."

His mother replied with an "Oh," watching as Duan Qiang took the photo of Guan Ge and placed it on the bedside table.

She studied the child in the photo again, murmuring, "Ah Qiang, do you think your mom is heartless for not visiting Xiao Ge all this time?"

Duan Qiang held his mother’s hand, sincerely comforting her, "Mom, I understand how you feel. There’s no rush; we can take our time."

His mother sighed deeply. "I only have you now."

Duan Qiang squatted in front of her again. "Mom, Ah Wei will still come back to see you, and I’ve met Guan Ruo a few times. She’s a very sensible girl. I believe her parents..."

His mother interrupted, "You’ve met that Guan family girl?"

Duan Qiang felt his mother’s intense gaze and quickly said, "Uh, yes, I’ve met her twice. We... just talked about Ah Wei."

His mother looked at her son’s spirited face.

What she remembered most vividly about this son who started earning money to support the family at 15 was the weariness etched on his face.

But it seemed that at some point, the tiredness on his face had lessened, and his eyes had become much clearer.

When did it start? His mother remembered.

It started from that family reunion when he first saw Guan Ruo.

Duan Qiang felt a bit guilty under his mother’s gaze. He stood up and moved behind her. "Mom, let me give you a massage."

His mother grabbed his hand. "No need, you rest. Mom has something to ask you."

Duan Qiang had no choice but to sit on the edge of the bed next to her wheelchair.

His mother stared at his face. "Son, do you have feelings for that Guan family girl?"

"Mom, what are you saying?" Duan Qiang muttered in mock annoyance.

"Don’t lie to me. You can’t hide your feelings from me; I’ve known for a while. But what about that girl? Does she have feelings for you?"

Duan Qiang smiled self-deprecatingly. "She’s a graduate student and works at a publishing house. She’s educated and cultured. How could she be interested in someone like me?"

After saying this, Duan Qiang froze. He had never considered this before, but in that moment of unintentional realization, he understood that it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it; he just hadn’t dared to.

Now, comparing the two of them, the gap between them felt like a sharp, glaring knife, brutally separating them. This reality deeply shook him.

Duan Qiang's shoulders slumped, and he touched his face, suddenly feeling ridiculous.

His mother pursed her lips. "What’s the big deal about being educated? When it comes to marriage, it’s all about the everyday basics."

"You couldn’t finish your education because that good-for-nothing father of yours ruined our family. If we’d been better off back then, with your abilities, you wouldn’t be any worse than her."

Duan Qiang felt frustrated and didn’t want to continue this conversation. He stood up. "Mom, I’m really tired and need to sleep. If you need anything during the night, just call me."

After saying this, he turned and walked out.

His mother called after him, "Ah Qiang—, when do you have a day off? Come with me to the Guan family."

Duan Qiang turned around, looking wary. "Mom, what are you planning to do?"

His mother smiled bitterly. "Ah Wei has the Guan family name; sooner or later, he’ll be sent back to them. But there are some things that need to be discussed openly."

When his mother said this, no, long before that, on the day of the family reunion, a vague idea had already formed in her mind. But now, that idea had taken root.

After being abandoned by her husband, his mother’s spirit had been broken, and she spent her days soaked in medicine, leaving the responsibility of supporting the family to Duan Qiang.

She had always felt a deep sense of guilt toward her eldest son.

Now, the only way she could think of to make it up to him was to help him fulfill his wish.