"This side time is scheduled for May 8, 2028, which is before the September opening of Volume 7, which belongs to the same timeline, not IF"

Tavistock Square, London, England.

The city ushered in the first rays of sunshine, the atmosphere of Tavistock Square in the early morning was quiet and pleasant, on the fourth floor balcony of a house facing the street, there was a shadow holding a shower, and the slightest drop of water fell on the petals of violets and carnations on the balcony, under the refraction of the sun, the water droplets were shining, and the flowers were delicate and moving.

"Mia, Amanda and the others want to come to the house in the evening and taste your best Chinese food, they have been talking for a long time, if you want, can you make a list of ingredients?" In the afternoon, I will take the ingredients home with them. ”

In the living room, a white girl in pajamas came out of the bathroom, and she asked the back of the balcony watering flowers while tying her hair.

The shadow on the balcony turned around halfway when she heard this, and showed a gentle smile to her roommate, her chin twitched, and she replied:

"Of course, I'd like to send you a message in a moment."

“…… Don't move! ”

"Huh?"

The white girl who got the promise was happy before she came, and suddenly screamed when she saw the scene in front of her, and then swept around, picked up her mobile phone from the sofa, turned on the camera and pointed it at the balcony, only to hear the "click", and freeze the scenery for this second.

In the mobile phone, it is an oriental beauty in a white off-the-shoulder nightdress, she is turning her head, her cheeks are flushed with a touch of elegant redness, the corners of her lips are curved, the sun is just right at the moment, her waterfall hair exudes a golden luster, the sun passes through her light dress, and the crystal skin and seductive curves are faintly visible.

She stood on the balcony, her whole person exuding a bright and soft halo, and her smile was surrounded by flowers, vibrant, vivid.

This one is named Mia......

Or rather, this girl named Cao Aiqing......

It has always been so favored by the sun.

"Wow~"

The white roommate looked at the photo on his phone and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Let's be honest, Mia, you should play more social apps like Instagram or tiktok, you will definitely gain a lot of followers! Do you remember the boy named Hugo who you met at the last exhibition? ”

"The Internet celebrity painter from your college?"

Cao Aiqing put down the shower and walked into the living room from the balcony.

"That's right! After the last time I met you, he searched all the social platforms but didn't find your account, or I told him, you don't play these, he was disappointed, but guess what happened in the end, he drew a sketch for you with his memory and posted it on Instagram, and the following note said that he met his muse, and got more than 300,000 likes, this French boy is really romantic. ”

"Aha, did you tell him that I have someone I like?"

The two girls sat down on the couch, and the white girl, cross-legged, replied:

"Of course, otherwise he wouldn't have given up. But Mia, you've always said you have someone you like, but I've known you for almost two years, so why hasn't your relationship progressed at all? ”

"There's a lot going on in that......"

Cao Aiqing lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Emily, you think that French boy is romantic, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"But sincerity and romance need to be balanced, which is romantic for him, but for me, it may be an offense.

About that, the guy I liked...... He's been doing a great job.

You can understand it as two clouds under the same sky, they appreciate each other's beauty. However, they knew the power of the wind, and if they got too close, they would be swept up in the wind and lose their original shape.

So they prefer to keep a distance, floating gracefully in their respective worlds, silently watching over each other, which is a kind of cherishment and respect, and fortunately, we all have a tacit understanding of this. ”

Emily was very envious of Cao Aiqing for having such a relationship, but after listening to it, she still gave a suggestion:

"But love always needs a little adventurous, a little radical and proactive, Mia you sometimes give people the impression of being too calm and indifferent, which may make you lose some of the ...... you deserve between you and the person you like Fervor? And you are so far apart, you should pay more attention to this. ”

Cao Aiqing paused for a while after listening, then nodded and said sincerely:

"Thank you for the suggestion, Emily."

"By the way, Amanda and the others want to bring their boyfriend over tonight......"

"Ai~Mi~Li~!"

"Hahaha understands, girls gather, men are not allowed to join, I told them. By the way, I just paid the rent to the landlord yesterday......"

Cao Aiqing understood the meaning of her roommate's words and stood up from the sofa.

"Okay, I'll sort out the list of ingredients and send it to you along with the rent, and also, my Tesco supermarket membership points can be exchanged for a lot of things, and I also saved some coupons, when you buy ingredients, you can use my membership to save money to buy some common daily necessities back?" For example, the shampoo in our bathroom is running out......"

"Mia~! I love you so much~! ”

Bartlett College does not provide postgraduate accommodation, and most postgraduate students in London, including Bartlett College students, choose to rent an apartment off-campus or share a house with other students.

The apartment where Cao Aiqing currently lives is in Tavistock Square, close to Bartlett College and other universities, which is a very popular place for students, only a 10-minute walk to the school, but the rent around here is not cheap, the rent for a studio apartment is about 1200-1800 pounds per month, and even if you share a house, the monthly rent will be around 1000 pounds.

But fortunately, Cao Aiqing's family is well-off, her father is a university professor and the leader of the Hong Kong City Museum, and her mother, as a self-media person, does not make her feel any embarrassment in terms of living expenses, and she is also very competitive, she can apply for a scholarship and housing subsidy every year, coupled with her frugal nature, so calculated, her monthly expenses are not much, and even in the past few years, she has saved a lot of money for the remaining living expenses and scholarships.

After breakfast with their roommates, the two tidied up and walked west from the apartment, then turned north onto the familiar Gordon Street, and after a few minutes of walking, Cao Aiqing arrived at Bartlett College.

In the morning, there was a lecture on biological architecture, and then there was a seminar with her group of classmates, and it happened that their current group topic was about biological architecture, and if she could get an A+ grade in the demonstration stage next week, then her preparation materials for applying for scholarships from the second half of last year to the first half of this year would be perfect.

For this reason, she made an early appointment with the professor for an afternoon of tutorials, but the situation changed, and the time was postponed to tomorrow, so that her afternoon time was free.

Ben was ready to pass the time in the library, but today Cao Aiqing was inexplicably a little impetuous, calm as her, usually this situation would not occur, but today ......

It's not the same.

She took out her phone, and on the interface of the open screen, there were also two time ......

It's eight o'clock in the evening, so he shouldn't have slept at this time, right?

The girl thought for a sentence in her heart, clicked on the first person at the top of the chat software, and issued such a sentence.

Orange Sea: "I made an appointment with the professor for a small class today, but I was missed ()......"

After a few minutes, the other party did not respond, and she sent another sentence:

Orange Sea: "What are you doing?" Still working? Or are you playing a game?"

A few more minutes passed, and this time the girl waited for a response.

Lan Tian: "I'm sorry, I was dealing with something. Ai Qing, I'm really embarrassed that I can't say happy birthday to you in person."

Looking at the text sent in the chat box, Cao Aiqing seemed to be able to imagine the scene of the other party hurriedly replying to her message after putting down work, she smiled quietly, and the irritability in her heart quickly disappeared.

From the junior year of high school to the time before they went abroad, on the day of their birthday, they had each other's.

This has almost become a habit, so even a message of online blessing from afar makes Cao Aiqing feel satisfied.

She's not a greedy girl.

Orange Sea: "It's okay, you're happy to remember me."

Lan Tian: "What do you want for your birthday?"

Orange Sea: "Hmm...... If you don't want anything, don't break the bank, even if you give me something, if you don't use it, it will feel like a waste."

Zhan Lantian: "Hehe, although you don't say it, I know what you like~"

Cao Aiqing was stunned for a moment, and then before she could reply, the other party sent a photo, which was the photo on the balcony that her roommate Emily captured in the morning!

Orange Sea: "How did you have this picture?!"

Zhan Lantian: "Hahaha, don't worry about this for now, is your school close to Dickens's museum?"

A premonition welled up in the girl's heart, and she hurriedly replied, "Yes! Are you in England?"

The other party avoided talking about it, but replied in a tricky way:

"Let's play a game first, shall we?"

"What game?"

"Hide and seek, help you pass the boring afternoon after being no-show by the professor, I left you a clue in this place, do you want to look for it?"

Later, the other party sent a photograph of the house where Dickens lived before his death and the iconic red wooden door.

"Are you there?"

"You'll know when you come."

"Wait for me, I'll come right over."

In the library, Cao Aiqing stood up with her mobile phone "poof", the chair rubbed against the floor and made a piercing sound, and someone around looked at her, but the excited girl couldn't care so much, she packed up the courseware on the table, put on her backpack, and ran all the way out of the academy by running.

The Dickens Museum is indeed not far from Terlet College, it only takes fifteen minutes to walk to the location, and she has been here many times in the past few years, so when Cao Aiqing walked to the position of the photo, she looked around, and did not see the expected figure.

Orange Sea: "I'm here, where are you?"

Blue sky: "Under the tree at the door."

Seeing the text sent by the other party to herself, Cao Aiqing looked at the big tree at the door again, there was no one under the tree, she slowly approached, only to see a Polaroid photo pasted on the trunk, she gently took it off, the content on it is St. Martin's Church in Trafalgar Square, this place is also very close to the current museum, two stops by subway.

Flip to the back of the photo, and there is a sentence written on it:

「If you love someone， let it be and set her free， if she comes back to you，it's meant to be.」

Cao Aiqing smiled knowingly, this is a sentence from Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities".

If you love someone, go with the flow, set her free, and if she comes back to you, then it's love.

"It's naïve......"

The girl muttered softly, put away the photo with a smile, she had already guessed what the other party wanted to do, and her heart was no longer as excited as just now, but slowly calmed down.

Reading such a sentence in front of Dickens's house, or that the man had prepared it for himself, did make the girl feel a warm feeling, and she knew that when Emily asked her question in the morning, she should have answered it with this sentence.

Why not have an idle afternoon and a childish hideaway?

Although she wanted to know if the other party really came to London, Cao Aiqing still suppressed her curiosity and began to experience this game carefully prepared for herself.

Orange Sea: "I've found a clue, I'll continue, oh, if the place where you hide things is too difficult to find, I'll just show you!"

Zhan Lantian: "You are so smart, it will definitely not be difficult for you~ Come on, come on, don't worry, listen to a song to soothe your mood~!"

Orange Sea: "Strange ~ Phase~"

said so, but Cao Aiqing still took out the headphones from his bag and clicked on a pure music called "Dehors" sent by the other party, which is a mode of listening to songs together, and you can see each other's avatars at the top of the APP, indicating that the two are now listening to the same song.

With a relaxed and agile rhythm, Cao Aiqing took the subway to Charing Cross Station, officially starting this childish game of hide.

Located in the heart of London, Trafalgar Square is a must-see for anyone visiting the UK, with thousands of Londoners flocking to Trafalgar Square for an all-night party at Christmas or New Year's Day.

Therefore, when Cao Aiqing came to the St. Martin's Church in the northwest corner of the square, she was still a little worried that the clues left by that person would be taken away by other tourists or local residents in advance, but she was obviously too worried.

Just as she was wandering in front of the church, hesitating to hear the phone ask the other party for the location of the specific hidden clues, an old English lady sitting in the square feeding pigeons beckoned to her with a kind face.

"Kid, are you looking for this?"

The old lady handed over a Polaroid photo, Cao Aiqing nodded and said that she took it, and she asked with a little doubt:

"Ma'am, how do you know I'm looking for this?"

The old lady smiled kindly, "Because a boy came to me just now and told me that there will be a young lady from the East who will wander before the gods and needs my help to guide her in the direction." ”

Cao Aiqing couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, this is indeed a difficult request for some old people with faith.

She turned her head to look, there were not many oriental faces in the square, and there were not a few who wandered around the square aimlessly, so she jokingly asked:

"But I am not the only one who lingers before God."

"No~" The old lady shook her index finger and said in an elegant tone: "I was also confused at the time, but the boy used the word 'Serendipity' to describe the Oriental lady, so the moment I saw you, I knew that he must be talking about you." ”

Serendipity, and the beauty of the unexpected.

The young girl's cheeks flushed, and the old lady tapped the seat next to her.

Cao Aiqing sat down next to the old man and looked down at the photo in her hand, which was taken of Buckingham Palace, which was also not far from here, and this should be her next place.

She flipped to the back of the photo again, and there were also a few sentences on it, only this time it was changed to Chinese.

"Remember that architectural sketchbook you showed me in high school? There are buildings such as St. Martin's Church and Buckingham Palace that you have painted on it, you must have visited many times since you came to the UK, right? I guess it's a great feeling that the lines of my dreams that I have been copying since I was a child have become physical buildings, and I don't doubt that I understand it, because I also really took pictures of my own imaginations last year, and I know what kind of excitement it is.

But to be honest, when I saw these buildings, I was far less shocked than you had described to me, so I prefer you to describe your dreams rather than listening to your buildings.

Again: The name St. Martin's Church is so bad, a search for this name is everywhere, there are also in China, and there is a fight with the name "Lanzhou Ramen", is there anything special about this?"

The text behind the photo made Cao Aiqing smile more than once, she put away the photo again, thinking that if the location in each photo is the next location, then the other party is the opposite of herself?

These attractions are all places that I have visited after coming to the UK, and they have all appeared in my high school architectural picture books, of course, the most important point is that they are all near the school, which is very convenient to move.

Being able to plan these routes within a radius of the school is a must have done your homework and stepped on it well in advance for someone who has never lived in London.

That man......

It's true that before the meeting, step on the spot in advance.

Thinking of the other party's contribution, Cao Aiqing was moved and joyed, but at the same time worried about his solitary action in a foreign country, she asked the old man next to her:

"Madame, how long has that man been gone?"

The old man recalled: "Probably ...... Twenty minutes look. ”

Twenty minutes?

So, when I was at Dickens's House, the other party was here in St. Martin's Church?

Cao Aiqing rested for a moment and stood up again.

"Thank you, ma'am."

Before she left, the old man asked, "Son, I'm a little curious, if it were you, how would you describe that boy?" ”

The girl paused for a moment, then cheerfully uttered a word:

“Iridescent~”

The old woman's eyebrows were raised, her blue eyes glowed with clear light, the corners of her mouth rose slightly, she nodded, and sent a blessing:

“Have a nice day.”

As the girl walked, she was startled by the pigeons pecking on the ground, and they flapped their wings and flew past her, and in the exclamation of the visitors, the two fountains in Trafalgar Square suddenly sprayed water jets, and those splashed water droplets formed small colorful rainbows under the refraction of the sunlight.

On this day, the weather in London, which has always been gloomy, was surprisingly sunny.

In addition to some famous scenic spots, the route that the boy designed for Cao Aiqing was also a place that the girl usually visited, as if the other party had deliberately walked through the radius of her daily life area, a place name, a café, a dessert shop, that they had unintentionally mentioned in their chats thousands of miles away......

Following these familiar trajectories, Cao Aiqing felt more and more that that person lived by her side, living in every detail of her walking, not so far away.

The time came to dusk in the middle of these walks......

The clouds in the sky are dyed a golden yellow by the setting sun, and the sun shines obliquely on the Thames, creating ripples and sparkling brilliance.

The busy London Bridge, pedestrians shuttle back and forth, their figures pull out a long shadow under the sunlight, and the bridge body is integrated, the boat under the bridge is leisurely, leaving a beautiful water line, breaking the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben reflected on the water, the scenery at this moment is poetic and romantic.

The shadow of the twilight time circulated around Cao Aiqing, the girl's figure rubbed into the waves of the river, jumping and flickering lightly and softly, the breeze blowing the ends of her hair, no photo, this should be the last stop of her itinerary today.

The girl sitting alone on a bench by the river was quietly thinking about the message from the man at noon.

He said that although he didn't say it, he knew what he liked.

What do you like?

The girl held the photos she had collected today, and she flipped through them one by one, none of them had been to these places together, but this time she walked down, and it seemed that she had been there many times.

That's it......

Cao Aiqing is very fond of this "moment of eternity".

Whether it is architecture, or photographs, these momentary scenes, or permanent things, seem to be a foreshadowing for a trance, a smile, and many years later.

Fortunately, it's not years from now.

She also looks forward to creating more of these "moments of eternity......

It's better to be with that person.

Orange Sea: "I'm here, there's no more photos, I should have reached the end, right?"

Zhan Lantian: "The end is early, where is this, if you don't have a photo, why don't you take a picture yourself?"

Orange Sea: "But you've already photographed the Thames......

Zhan Lantian: "Then you can shoot yourself~"

Looking at the text on the phone, Cao Aiqing's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She thought of something, subconsciously turned on the camera, and raised her hand.

The screen of the mobile phone faithfully showed her expectant face, and of course, not far behind her, there was a man standing......

A man carrying a dessert in one hand and even a flower in the other.

Cao Aiqing in the camera smiled "poof", and then the camera froze this second.

"Ai Qing~! Happy birthday~! ”

"He Tianran, you can come as soon as you come, and you don't notice in advance, and it will take you half a day to go back and forth! I'm exhausted! ”

"Isn't this romantic, how about it, did you compare that French painter?"

"Oops~ Since you learned directing, you really have to pretend to be these weird looks all day long!"

"Next time it's not like this, next time I'll change the trick~"

"You're going to die——!"

On the banks of the beautiful Thames, two figures rippled.

(PS: Thank you for "But Do It Again", "The Boy Who Ran in the Sunset", "Love Cao Aiqing" The three elder brothers on Ai Qing's birthday, thanksgiving, grateful~!) ）

It stands to reason that today is the 9th, and Ai Qing's birthday is yesterday, but the British time is eight hours slower than ours, that is to say, there are still ten minutes to be the 9th, and it is still within the scope of the birthday, not counting the late arrival of this chapter of blessings.

(End of chapter)