He Zhou always kept his things very organized.

Even his drafts were neatly arranged, and he even thoughtfully labeled the time in the lower right corner.

Jiang Ye even saw sheet music from ten years ago-when she hadn't even reunited with He Zhou, the back of his drafts had started to have her name on them.

It wasn't just one or two.

It was a whole string of them.

They were scattered haphazardly among his scribbled lyrics, looking a bit out of place.

Jiang Ye's mind went numb for a moment.

He Zhou's hand, which was about to stop her, hung in the air for a moment, then dropped.

He thought for a moment, and he still wanted to salvage the situation, "I-"

"Don't say anything yet."

Jiang Ye interrupted him, "Let me catch my breath."

Her mind was a bit chaotic, but she wasn't stupid, she should have realized what was going on.

He Zhou was a creator, he would consciously or unconsciously write her name when he was creating and drafting for so many years, what could that mean?

She was his source of inspiration.

Jiang Ye picked them up one by one, and looked at them one by one.

The last one she saw was the song that He Zhou wrote earliest, the one he performed in the first round of the preliminary round of 《Best Composer》, and the one that eventually became the song on her first solo EP.

The one that described unrequited love.

The back of the draft for this song was simple, with only a few words.

--To my girl, Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye stood up.

She looked at He Zhou and asked, "I didn't misunderstand, right?"

Jiang Ye's mind was a mess, countless fragments of her interactions with He Zhou flashed through her mind.

Why hadn't she noticed earlier?

She had even secretly complained about why the person He Zhou liked was so stupid that she couldn't see his feelings.

It turned out that it was her all along?

"..."

He Zhou seemed to have completely surrendered.

He nodded awkwardly and said, "You figured it out."

Jiang Ye's emotions were a jumbled mess.

Finally, she asked softly, "You like me, why didn't you tell me?"

As soon as Jiang Ye said that, she remembered the questions she had asked He Zhou at the amusement park.

Now that she thought about it, every question could be connected to her.

Jiang Ye: "..."

No wonder He Zhou wanted to laugh when he answered her questions.

No, he was really good at hiding it, wasn't he?

For so many years, he hadn't even explained it to her when she thought he liked someone else?

"When I first met you, you were still an idol."

"You said in an interview that you would never date when you were an idol."

He Zhou said, "I didn't want to bother you."

"What about after that?"

"I said."

He Zhou smiled helplessly, "I was afraid that if I told you, we wouldn't be able to be friends anymore."

He was afraid now too, afraid that after Jiang Ye asked him, she would nod and say, "We really can't be friends anymore", and then quickly pack her bags and run away.

Jiang Ye flipped through the drafts in her hand.

He Zhou, who had been her friend for so many years.

He Zhou, who had written so many songs for her.

He Zhou, who had been in love with her for so long and never said a word.

Until now, he was still afraid of burdening her, so he didn't confess.

Jiang Ye: "If I hadn't asked you, would you have never planned to tell me?"

He Zhou didn't say anything.

Jiang Ye was silent for a moment, "Then I'm giving you a chance now."

He Zhou's eyes widened.

Jiang Ye's eyes welled up, but she couldn't help but smile, "Say it once, then I'll think about it."

He Zhou was slightly stunned, he stood there for a few seconds, then walked over.

"... To be honest, I never thought it would be like this."

"I thought that even if I did tell you, I would choose a suitable time, after I was fully prepared, then I would tell you."

Jiang Ye said while trying to hold back her laughter, "Confessions need to get to the point."

"Okay."

"You know, I don't know how to say anything flowery."

"But I've wanted to say this for a long time."

He Zhou looked at her seriously and said, "Jiang Ye, I like you."

"From a very, very long time ago, from when I didn't even realize it was liking, to a very, very long time later, when I didn't even realize what liking was, I've always liked you."

Jiang Ye couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning upwards.

But she also felt like crying.

She hugged the pile of drafts, her eyes red, and she looked up at He Zhou, "... It might be very troublesome to date me."

He Zhou: "Hmm?"

"You're always followed by the paparazzi."

"You might also get scolded by my fans."

"You might even be bothered by my sasaengs."

"You'll also be constantly discussed by netizens, they'll dig up all our past interactions, every frame will be magnified and analyzed, and you'll be linked to my name forever."

Jiang Ye said, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

He Zhou suddenly smiled, then asked her back, "Are you ready?"

Jiang Ye was slightly stunned.

"I've thought about liking you for ten years."

"But what about you?"

"I don't need you to be with me out of pity, or because you don't want to lose me as a friend."

"No matter what decision you make, I can accept it-"

He hadn't finished his sentence when Jiang Ye interrupted him.

"Do I seem like the kind of person who can't tell the difference between pity and love?"

Jiang Ye poked his shoulder, her tone a bit annoyed, "Come on, there are so many people in the world who like me, why wouldn't I date all my fans?"

After she finished speaking, she looked at He Zhou's smirk, and she finally understood what he meant.

"... I like you."

Jiang Ye said with certainty, "I really like you."

"Before I realized you liked me, I had already secretly liked you, so don't worry."

He Zhou had liked her for ten years, it was normal for him to be nervous about her sudden response.

She would give him enough security.

"Maybe now, compared to you, my liking isn't enough."

Jiang Ye looked up and said seriously, "But there are many years to come, I will definitely slowly catch up to you."

It took less than two minutes for them to switch from friends to lovers.

But Jiang Ye started to have a headache about changing their way of interacting.

"Let's get this straight."

Jiang Ye said, "I don't have any dating experience. So, if I do something wrong, you can tell me."

"It's okay."

He Zhou said, "I don't either."

Jiang Ye didn't believe him, "Come on, what kind of life is it without early dating experience?"

He Zhou looked at her, "Do you have any?"

Jiang Ye was instantly speechless.

After a while, she sighed, "I'm different, I went to South Korea to be a trainee when I was sixteen. Even if I wanted to fall in love, I had to have the opportunity, right?"

He Zhou heard this and suddenly laughed.

"So, that means I was separated from you when I was ten. Even if I wanted to fall in love, I had to have someone, right?"

Jiang Ye: "?"

Jiang Ye found that He Zhou was really a bit attractive when he said these things with no expression.

But at the same time as she was moved, she suddenly felt a little sad for him.

If it were her, she definitely wouldn't have persisted in liking someone for so long.

It was too hard.

If He Zhou hadn't taken so many steps towards her, maybe they would have crossed paths in the vast sea of people and passed each other by.

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and reached out to He Zhou.

He Zhou's back instantly stiffened.

Jiang Ye slowly extended her fingers one by one.

He Zhou's fingers were long, and his knuckles were beautiful, but because he played the guitar all the time, his fingertips had a bit of calluses.

She couldn't help but press them, then gently touched them, before finally intertwining her fingers with her boyfriend's.

"Although I don't know how to date."

Jiang Ye said cheerfully, "But I think we can take it slow."

"..."

He Zhou gritted his teeth, and after a while, he said, "Didn't anyone tell you, when you just want to hold hands with someone, don't do it like that?"

Jiang Ye was slightly stunned, as if she realized something.

She held back a laugh, her expression innocent, and she deliberately asked, "Why?"

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou whispered three words in her ear.

Jiang Ye immediately laughed happily, and after she finished laughing, she rubbed her fingertips against his knuckles, her tone playful, "That's the same, we'll take it slow."

•••

Jiang Ye's state was completely different after she started dating, she was radiating pink bubbles.

She quickly shared some of the sweet love songs she had sung in the past in the group chat.

This time, her teammates' responses were more unified.

They all replied with ellipses to express their speechless dismay.

This time, even Shen Zhi Yi started to question life, 【... Is the feng shui in America really not good?】

Jiang Ye: 【What do you mean?】

Shen Zhi Yi said cautiously, 【It makes people switch between two emotional states constantly.】

Jiang Ye: 【...】

Jiang Ye gave up sharing updates in the group chat.

She turned to her Moments instead.

When Liang Yu saw Jiang Ye's location in her Moments, she immediately called her.

"You're going abroad and you didn't even tell me? I'm here too!"

"When are you leaving? I have a charity music festival here tomorrow, do you have time to come?"

Jiang Ye: "Sure!"

She agreed immediately, then she realized that she wasn't alone now, it wasn't good to be so decisive, so she tilted her head and asked her boyfriend's opinion, "Do you want to go?"

He Zhou smiled, "I'll listen to you."

"Send me the address later."

Jiang Ye paused and then said, "By the way, I'm bringing someone, is that okay?"

Liang Yu casually asked, "Who is it?"

Jiang Ye hesitated.

She was not sure if she should tell her, so she held her phone and blinked frantically at He Zhou, listening to his thoughts.

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou thought she was adorable, he couldn't help but look at her for a moment before saying, "A friend."

So, Jiang Ye also said, "Yeah, a friend."

Liang Yu: "Sure, come on over."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ye leaned over and asked him cautiously, "You don't want me to go public?"

"..."

He Zhou pinched her cheek, "I'm afraid that if you say it, it will spread to China immediately. It's not good for your reputation."

Jiang Ye: "..."

He Zhou really cared about her career more than she did herself.

Jiang Ye said, "But I'm not afraid."

He Zhou was stunned.

Jiang Ye looked into his eyes, "Are you afraid?"

He Zhou laughed, "Of course not."

"It's going to happen eventually."

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and said, "But it's not the right time now. I want to find a suitable opportunity to go public myself."

She didn't want to be secretly photographed, revealed by the media, or have someone else tell the secret first, making their relationship seem so unofficial and sneaky.

She wanted to tell the whole world that she was in a relationship, and she wanted to do it openly.

He Zhou nodded, then touched her hair and said, "No rush. Tell me when you're ready."

After all, he had waited so many years.

He could wait a little longer.

•••

It had actually been a while since Jiang Ye had seen Liang Yu.

But when she saw her, she still recognized her immediately.

Liang Yu had a bit of a baby face, and she wasn't very tall, even though she was almost thirty, she hadn't changed much.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but joke, "I can't believe you haven't grown any taller after all these years?"

Liang Yu rolled her eyes, "... Don't force me to curse at you in the happiest place in the world."

"By the way, it's rare for you to come here, should I go tell them to add you to the program?"

Jiang Ye quickly said, "No need."

She thought for a moment and added, "Don't tell anyone else I'm here either."

"Got it."

Liang Yu nodded, "Big star going undercover."

Jiang Ye: "..."

What nonsense.

"Okay then."

Liang Yu said, "Just focus on enjoying my performance."

After she finished speaking, she said goodbye to Jiang Ye and went to prepare for her performance.

And Jiang Ye took a flyer.

The music festival Liang Yu was participating in was a charity event, and the remaining money after covering some basic expenses would be donated to a charity organization.

She seemed to have been running these kinds of events all over China and abroad.

Jiang Ye sensed something.

He Zhou asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Ye folded the flyer, "Nothing."

Liang Yu's performance was the last one of the music festival.

So many years had passed, but she had not changed at all, when she stood on stage, she was exactly the same as the fearless Liang Yu who had come to conquer the world.

She sang an R&B love song.

At the end of the song, Liang Yu said loudly in English, "Now, you can hug the person you love!"

After she finished speaking, pink fireworks bloomed in the sky.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The atmosphere of the music festival reached its climax.

And Jiang Ye looked up and met He Zhou's gaze.

The fireworks and each other were reflected in their eyes.

The surrounding noise seemed to have nothing to do with them.

Their world contained only each other.

Jiang Ye's heart beat like a drum.

At this moment, she felt a heart flutter like never before.

He Zhou looked at her for a moment, pulled his hat down a little, and said, "Come closer."

Jiang Ye consciously leaned in.

Amidst the blooming fireworks and the roar of the music.

He Zhou lowered his head and kissed the girl he had loved for ten years.