Inside the handmade silver jewelry shop, an employee enthusiastically led Jiang He and Shen Yu to an empty workstation and handed them a design book.

"Please take a look. These are the designs for the free experience. Since you two came as a couple, making a pair of matching rings would be perfect."

Shen Yu didn’t object, pretending to study the designs intently.

The free designs were actually quite simple—just basic, smooth bands that could be engraved on the inside.

"Let’s go with this one," Shen Yu said, choosing a design.

"Okay." The employee took out a set of ring sizers. "Which finger do you plan to wear them on? I can help you measure your ring size."

"The middle finger," Jiang He said without hesitation.

The middle finger of the left hand signifies an engagement ring.

The employee gave an understanding smile. "Of course. You’re in the passionate stage of your relationship, so the middle finger is the most suitable."

Jiang He, however, shook his head and explained with a straight face, "No, that’s not it. The main reason is that your promotion waives the material fee. Of a person’s five fingers, the middle finger has the thickest knuckle and the largest circumference, so it requires the most material. Since we’re milking this for all it’s worth, we should definitely pick the option that costs you the most."

The employee: "??"

She’d been working here for a year and had never heard such a unique and unconventional reason.

After a moment of stunned silence, Shen Yu burst out laughing.

She nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes! If we’re going to take advantage of the offer, we have to go all the way! Middle fingers it is!"

Once their ring sizes were determined, the employee began to guide them through the process.

"The first step is annealing. Use the torch to heat the silver strip until it’s red-hot, then quickly quench it in cold water. This will soften the silver, making it easier to hammer and bend."

"Then, following the measurement mark you just made, wrap the silver strip around the ring mandrel and use a wooden mallet to hammer it into a closed circle."

"The final step is sanding and polishing, as well as stamping letters on the inner band. The letter stamps are in the box. You can choose the letters and stamp them yourselves."

Jiang He and Shen Yu nodded and got to work.

A little over an hour later, the two silver rings were successfully completed.

"Wow... you two did an amazing job." The employee couldn’t help but praise them from the side. "I’ve been working here for over a year and have guided hundreds of couples, and yours are the most perfectly finished pair I’ve seen."

It was no surprise they had done a good job.

After all, they had both been extremely focused, so absorbed in their work that they’d barely spoken a few words the entire time.

Shen Yu happily picked up the larger ring from the tray and tilted her chin at Jiang He. "Alright, alright, Dr. Jiang. Hand, please."

Jiang He did as she asked, extending his left hand and letting Shen Yu slowly slide the ring onto his middle finger.

"It’s a perfect fit!" she exclaimed, looking up with her eyes full of pleasant surprise.

Jiang He looked down, his gaze falling on his own left hand.

The silvery-white metal band rested snugly against his skin, its cool touch seeping through.

In truth, during this time since his rebirth, he had often felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Whenever he was lost in thought late at night, his left thumb would subconsciously start rubbing the base of his ring finger, twisting and fiddling, only to find bare skin.

Now, there was finally a weight on his finger again.

Although it was on his middle finger, an inch away from where it should be, the familiar feeling of constraint still made him feel grounded.

Jiang He reined in his thoughts, turned the tables, and gently took Shen Yu’s left hand.

The moment Jiang He held her hand, her fingers trembled instinctively.

Then she quickly turned her head to the side, her chin held slightly high, feigning an air of indifference as if she were just cooperating with the fitting. "Hurry up and put it on me. If the size is wrong, we need to get it fixed soon."

Jiang He’s eyes swept over her profile.

The tips of her ears were already completely red.

He smiled dotingly, not calling her out. He held the slender silver ring steady, aimed it at the tip of Shen Yu’s left middle finger, and pushed it on, bit by bit.

The silver ring slid over the pad of her finger, past the knuckle...

In his past life, he had been poor and couldn’t afford a diamond ring, so he had also gone to a craft shop outside the school and hammered out a ring just like this with his own hands.

That night, in their cramped rental apartment, Jiang He had held up the ring and knelt on one knee. "Teacher Shen, I don’t have enough money right now, so all I can offer is my heart. Will you marry me?"

Shen Yu, who had just gotten back from her evening shift, froze on the spot when she heard him.

Then, she began to cry so hard she could barely breathe, frantically wiping away her tears as she nodded vigorously.

Shen Yu wore that inexpensive ring for many years and never once complained.

This moment was just like that moment.

Jiang He was holding her hand, and Shen Yu happened to turn her head back just then. Their gazes met unexpectedly.

He said, half-joking and half-serious:

"I poured my heart into making this ring, you know. You can’t just take it off whenever you feel like it."

Shen Yu nodded obediently. "Mm, I don’t plan to."

Watching from the side, the employee chuckled teasingly, "You two are such a perfect match."

After thanking the employee, the two of them left the silver jewelry shop.

It was about time to see Jiang He off.

But by tacit agreement, neither of them brought it up.

"Are you hungry?" Jiang He broke the silence.

Shen Yu rubbed her stomach. "A little."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Boss Shen is treating! Let’s get roast duck! Something expensive!"

"Alright then, I’m going to have to take Boss Shen to the cleaners."

During dinner, they still didn’t say a word about his departure.

Even after they had eaten their fill and left the roast duck restaurant, no one brought it up.

They took the bus back to the university, and it wasn’t until they were standing in front of the women’s dormitory that the smile on Shen Yu’s face finally began to fade.

In the darkness of the night, she stopped and said, "Dr. Jiang."

"Hm?"

"Actually... I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"It’s just that... is something weighing on your mind? I often get the feeling that you’re constantly worried about something..."

Jiang He shook his head. "Not really. I’ve probably just been staying up late reading medical literature these past couple of days and haven’t been sleeping well."

"Really?" Shen Yu stared at him doubtfully.

"Of course. Don’t overthink it. I was just thinking about when you’ll be able to come to Southern China as an exchange student."

An idea sparked in Shen Yu’s mind, and she asked deliberately, "Do you really want me to go?"

"I do," Jiang He answered naturally. "I’m mainly worried that with no one here to keep an eye on you, you won’t take good care of yourself."

This was clearly not the answer Shen Yu wanted to hear.

She pouted and mumbled under her breath, "I can take care of myself. I’m an adult, you know."

"Oh, really?" Jiang He smiled gently. "Then remember to eat your meals on time every day and eat less from the street stalls. Juanzi will be reporting back to me at any time, you know."

"I know, I know. You’re such a nag..."

The wind was a bit strong tonight.

They lingered downstairs from the dorm for a while longer, talking about trivial, meaningless things.

After another long silence, Jiang He finally spoke. "You should go in. Get some rest. I should head to the airport."

Shen Yu looked down, her hands behind her back. "Text me when you get there."

"Okay."

"So... I’m going up?"

"Go on."

Shen Yu turned around.

She didn’t take more than a few steps before she stopped.

She stood there for a long time before finally turning back.

Under the streetlight, her eyes were already red.

She walked quickly back to Jiang He and asked pitifully, "When will we see each other again?"

Jiang He was taken aback, then comforted her softly, "Soon. When you come to Southern China for your exchange program..."

"But that’s not until next semester. That’s next year."

"Then I’ll come see you during the next break."

"What breaks are there after National Day?"

"Uh... New Year’s Day?"

"But that’s still months away."

The more his girl calculated, the sadder she became. Her eyes grew redder and redder, and tears began to well up.

Jiang He couldn’t bear to see her cry. His heart softened, and he quickly switched to a teasing tone. "What’s wrong? Can’t bear for me to leave? So Teacher Shen likes me that much, huh?"

"Who likes you! Don’t talk nonsense!" Shen Yu shot him a fierce glare, then blinked hard, forcing her tears back. "In that case, let’s take a picture."

"Sure."

Jiang He took out his phone.

Phones in ’08 didn’t have front-facing cameras, so he had to turn the phone around to face them, relying entirely on instinct to find the right angle.

"Wait, wait!" Shen Yu quickly called out.

She quickly turned around, her back to Jiang He, and vigorously rubbed her reddened eyes. She took two deep breaths to calm herself, then frantically straightened her clothes and fixed the curls she had specially put in her hair today.

After fussing for a good while, she finally turned back around. Although the corners of her eyes were still a little red, her face had returned to its bright, smiling expression.

She moved closer to Jiang He, their shoulders touching.

"Ready?" Jiang He asked, raising his arm high.

"Ready."

Shen Yu made her signature finger-gun gesture and gave her head a playful tilt.

"Look at the lens," Jiang He reminded her.

"One, two, three, cheese!"

The instant the picture was taken, they put their heads together to look at the screen.

In the photo, Jiang He had a calm expression, standing as stiff as a wooden post. Shen Yu, beside him, was smiling brilliantly, and one of the fingers of her finger-gun was nearly poking him in the chin.

They looked at it in silence for two seconds, and then Shen Yu got angry:

"Jiang He, why did you hold the phone so close! It makes my face look so big!"

"Where? It’s very cute."

"No, no, it’s hideous... Delete it right now! Let’s retake it, retake it!"

"Not deleting it." Jiang He shielded his phone and refused with a smile. "I think it looks great."

"Hey! Dr. Jiang!" Shen Yu stomped her foot in frustration. "Look at your own expression! You’re so wooden and uncooperative! Let’s just take another one!"

"Nope."

"Are you going to or not!"

"Not."

Shen Yu glared at him indignantly, hands on her hips, and huffed several times.

But the sorrow and bitterness of their impending separation had largely dissipated amidst this lighthearted squabble.

"Fine, don’t delete it. But remember to send the photo to me," Shen Yu conceded.

Jiang He said, "Okay. Hurry up and go inside. I have to go."

"Mhm, bye!"

Shen Yu took a few steps, then stopped again.

A few seconds later, she didn’t turn back, but simply raised her left hand high and waved, her back still to him.

Under the streetlight, the silver ring glinted faintly.

Jiang He couldn’t tear his eyes away for a long time, not until the girl’s figure had completely vanished from sight.

His surroundings slowly grew quiet.

He slowly raised his left hand, looking at the ring on his middle finger.

There were letters engraved inside the ring—her initials:

[S.Y]

Correspondingly, the initials of Jiang He’s name were engraved on Shen Yu’s ring.

’The meaning of a ring is something people bestow upon it, like a contract. In an increasingly restless world, promises can seem flimsy. But true affection, isn’t it something earned through time and stubbornness, by watching over each other again and again?’

Jiang He took out his phone and set the photo they had just taken as his screen wallpaper.

When the screen lit up, he could see his girl’s smile, the corners of her eyes still red.

In an instant, his heart felt completely full, overflowing with a love that he couldn’t contain.

"Teacher Shen."

Jiang He caressed the screen with his finger, speaking silently in his heart.

’This life.’

’...I only wish for a peaceful and happy life with you, year after year.’

Putting his phone away, Jiang He knew perfectly well that wishes could never save a life.

Since he had promised her all those years, he would have to work even harder...