'Xiao Wei', that was Zhang Zhen's handwriting.
When he wrote her name, he liked to use beautiful artistic fonts. He firmly believed that she was unique in his heart, and even when he wrote her name, he would be very serious and never act carelessly.
It was obvious that the words were newly drawn, with the overlapping traces making them particularly clear compared to the dull-colored ceiling around them.
From where Zhang Zhen was sitting, she could see Zhou Wei's name by looking up.
When she was dissatisfied with the fact that he would rather spend most of his time sitting in the 'study room' creating works, she didn't know that he could see her name when he looked up. This might be the only action he could do besides standing up while sitting in this narrow space.
Zhou Wei's expression began to relax for a moment. She paused for a while, and the cell phone on the desk suddenly rang.
The call was from Zhang Zhen's parents, who were asking her when she would be able to pack up her son's belongings and be ready to pick them up.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Wei began to tidy up the things on the desk. Under the drawing was an unsigned letter with no address or recipient.
She opened the envelope with some curiosity. The letter was written to her by Zhang Zhen.
He was ready to say goodbye to his former self.
In the past, he took illustration jobs, balancing his interests and hobbies, but he had less time to spend with her.
He worked harder than many people, and it could be seen from these thickly stacked drawings that he longed for success and wanted to give Zhou Wei a better life. Whenever he was trapped in this world and felt tired and bored, he would always look up at Zhou Wei's name that he had written with his own hands. That would bring him unlimited motivation, as if she was still by his side, urging him to keep going and not give up.
But dreams are contrary to reality. While he is trying to get closer to his dream, he is getting further and further away from Zhou Wei.
One day, when he found that his girlfriend had nothing to say to him anymore, he did realize the crux of the problem.
She is romantic by nature and likes surprises and being touched, but he is introverted and not good at speaking.
One day, when time had worn away the sweetness and affection that once existed between them, leaving it as calm as a dead pool of water, he suddenly began to feel sorry for her.
In his letter, he mentioned that at the beginning of their love, she smiled gently and sweetly. That smile was like sunshine to him, shining into his heart and was unforgettable.
One day, when that ray of sunshine was covered by the long-standing dark clouds, all that was left between her eyebrows was gloom and fatigue.
So he decided to change himself, just like Zhou Wei had thought at the beginning, find a job, and the two of them would work hard together.
This also explains why he always disappeared mysteriously a few days before the accident.
There are many resumes in his old computer.
He put away his treasured paintbrush and never ordered sketch paper online again. Instead, he made a list of the things she once liked, but he didn't expect that he would die before his wish was fulfilled.
She was eager to find other things he left behind, so she opened his belongings and found a mobile phone in a bag. The police found it at the scene after the accident. The screen was broken, but it was still usable.
The password to his cell phone has remained the same for years: her birthday.
When he turned on his cell phone, Zhou Wei found text messages he had received two days before the accident, which showed that he had withdrawn a large sum of money a few days ago, but he didn't know where he had spent it.
He hadn't made any large purchases recently, and he hadn't even mentioned spending money before the incident, which made her very curious.
She asked Zhang Zhen's parents, but the two sad old people knew nothing about it.
She wondered if something had happened to Zhang Zhen and she was in urgent need of money, or if she had lent the money to a friend.
Zhou Wei thought about it for a long time but still had no clue.
She felt that she couldn't go on like this and she should put the past to rest.
When Zhou Wei came to the West Lake where they often visited at the beginning of their relationship, she recalled that they had an argument here when the lights came on.
That was the only time they had a loud argument, and his personality was so dull that he couldn't even speak, which made her hysteria seem even more obvious.
As she left in a taxi, he stood behind her, looking helpless.
The more she recalled, the clearer Zhang Zhen's originally vague image became in Zhou Wei's memory. She seemed to have regained the sweet feeling of the past. She had forgotten how much she resisted the West Lake, which was their favorite place to visit at the beginning of their love.
She came to West Lake, where he had vowed to exhibit her works in an art gallery.
As she walked along the cobblestone path to the art gallery, she recalled the time when she and Zhang Zhen had come here in their early years.
He was still young then, and his expression was not as tired as it was later. His eyes were full of vigor and longing:
“I hope that one day this place will be filled with my works for everyone to enjoy.”
She couldn't help laughing:
"The works of masters are only given unique value after the masters' death." After she finished speaking, she smiled and coaxed him:
"But don't be discouraged. Even if others don't watch it, I will definitely come with you to watch it that day."
The two of them were laughing happily at the time and were inseparable. Later on, they gradually stopped mentioning their dreams because she resisted it.
Naturally, Zhang Zhen never mentioned again that she wanted to fill the art museum with his works, and the two of them never came to the art museum together again after that, so the oath she made at that time naturally no longer counted.
People coming out of the art gallery looked at her with surprise and astonishment. She was immersed in her own memories and naturally didn't care about other people's looks.
When she stepped into the art gallery, Zhou Weiyi was stunned.
The place is filled with paintings of all sizes, all of which are of her.
There’s her when she’s asleep, there’s her when she’s smiling, there’s her when she’s unhappy and glum, and there’s her when she’s deep in thought.
She seemed to have entered a wonderful world, which was filled with her shadow and there seemed to be mirrors hanging all around, reflecting every different face of her.
These are Zhang Zhen's paintings, but she never knew that he would paint so many of her and put them in this art gallery.
On each painting it is written: My love of my life, please marry me!
She was shaking uncontrollably, she thought that love had been destroyed to death day after day, she thought that he did not understand romance and love, she thought that there was only habit and calmness between them, she thought that love was just like chicken ribs, but she had forgotten the sweetness when she first tasted it.
At the beginning of their relationship, he said that he would propose to her in the most special way, but later in the relationship, he didn't even say any romantic words. She always thought he was a liar. When she had long forgotten his vows, she didn't expect that he had always kept them in his heart.
It turns out that love has not disappeared, it was just locked in a corner of her heart, suppressing it and preventing it from appearing.
The things about his love for her did not ring in her ears every day through his words, but were displayed in her life and trivial matters through his little actions.
When I stopped dwelling on my complaints about him, the little things became very clear.
He got up early to cook for her, he made coffee for her when she worked overtime, he carefully bookmarked the half-read books she had read, and when she came home, her slippers were always placed in the most comfortable position, and there was always a cup of hot water waiting for her at home.
When the director of the art museum arrived, he recognized her and said that Zhang Zhen had given some instructions and mentioned that someone wanted to buy the painting.
Zhou Wei couldn't hear anything. After Zhang Zhen's funeral, she had been suppressing her sorrow and tears. Suddenly, she burst into tears like a heartbroken child. (To be continued)