At this moment,  Gang Chen was busy preparing for the graduation party.

On June 28th, the graduation exams were held as scheduled.

At 5 pm, the students walked out of the exam room one after another, gathered under the old locust tree by the playground, and said their reluctant goodbyes.

Most of them didn’t rush to leave the campus, but silently looked at each other, gazing at the white teaching building, reluctant to leave.

From now on, the classmates who had been together for three years would soon go their separate ways and embark on different life paths.

Liang  Ma climbed up the old locust tree and announced loudly from the branch, “Tonight at 7 o’clock, we will hold the graduation party in Class 3 on the second floor. If you want to leave, don’t stay. If you don’t want to leave, you’re welcome to join!”

Qingchun Huang was absent, and Xu Jia was very sad. Among girlfriends, they always sympathize with each other.

At the graduation party, they couldn’t leave out Qingchun Huang, the music committee member whom everyone loved to listen to her play the violin. Her self-made pieces had no lyrics, but they were beautiful and enjoyable.

Jia  Xu remembered one time when Huang Qingchun played the violin in a forest, and the beautiful sound attracted a group of birds to gather and listen.

Just after preparing the scene for the party,  Jia Xu secretly told  Gang Chen, “You quickly ride your bike and pick up  Qingchun Huang! She has had a crush on you for three years. How could you be so heartless as to let her miss the graduation farewell party?”

A crush? …For three years?

Gang Chen was perplexed when he heard this. No wonder Huang Qingchun had dropped out of school and even especially gave him a globe.

Gang Chen rushed to Huang Qingchun’s village and inquired for a long time, but no one knew where she went.

As the evening approached, candlelights flickered in the Class 3 classroom, and there was a joyful sound of laughter.

The classmates surrounded their desks to form a circle, lit candles and set out peanuts, sunflower seeds, nougats, and candies. Everyone performed an act, some sang, and others performed skits. If someone had no talent, they got up in the middle to speak a few graduation words, which also received applause.

With the permission of  Dazhang Xu, the homeroom teacher, Ma Liang bought three kilograms of sorghum wine from outside. Teachers and students drank together, feeling happy and relaxed.

Halfway through the party, Gang Chen returned to the classroom, with a somewhat downcast expression. He took a glass of wine and drank some, feeling very uneasy. Where had Huang Qingchun gone?

 Gang Chen was worried and guilty. He took out the globe that Huang Qingchun had given him and carefully observed it, feeling full of emotions.

Being classmates with  Qingchun Huang for three years and spending time together every day felt ordinary. But now,  Gang Chen missed Huang Qingchun dearly and felt a sense of loss.
Gang  Chen was usually busy with his studies. If Jia Xu hadn’t reminded him today, he would have hardly noticed Huang Qingchun Huang’s pure crush on him. He had been too cold to her.

Gang Chen didn’t feel like performing anymore and went alone to the corridor to get some fresh air. He carefully observed the globe, looking for any marks or hints that Qingchun  Huang might have left, but he couldn’t find anything.

Looking up at the vast and deep night sky over the old locust tree,  Gang Chen felt self-blame. How could he have been so blind to such a nice girl like  Qingchun Huang?

The physics teacher, Jie Dong, had also consumed a considerable amount of alcohol. He walked up to Chen Gang and tapped his shoulder, repeating three words over and over again –

“Sixty years, sixty years!”

Chen Gang turned around and asked Hone with confusion, “Jie Dong, what sixty years?”

“The time left for humanity is probably only sixty years…”

Jie Dong was speaking candidly when he was drunk, but he didn’t want to reveal too much of the latest observations in astronomy to a seventeen-year-old. So Hone also looked up at the stars, hesitating to continue.

Gang  Chen was puzzled, asking repeatedly.

As the evening breeze blew, Hone gradually sobered up and stopped talking, walking down the stairs drunkenly.

Liang Ma and  Jia  Xu also came out of the classroom, keeping  Gang Chen company in the breeze. They all missedQingchun  Huang  , but no one knew that at this moment, she was no longer on Earth.