There was no special event that day.
No exams.
No celebrations.
No important announcements.
And somehow, it became one of the days they would all remember later.
Because it was ordinary.
And ordinary days were the ones that passed the fastest.
---
Morning Chaos
Zhao Ming burst into the cafeteria dramatically and dropped his bag on the chair.
"I am exhausted," he announced.
"You woke up two hours ago," Lin Yue said without looking up from her notes.
"Waking up is exhausting," he replied.
Su Ran laughed and pushed a tray toward him.
"Eat first, complain later."
Jiang Chen sat down next to Su Ran and placed a bottle of juice in front of her without saying anything.
Zhao Ming immediately pointed.
"See? This is what I mean."
"What?" Su Ran asked.
"He didn't bring juice for me."
"You can walk and buy one," Jiang Chen replied calmly.
"I feel betrayed," Zhao Ming said.
Lin Yue finally looked up.
"I'll buy you one later."
Zhao Ming froze, then sat up straight.
"Thank you," he said very seriously.
Su Ran leaned toward Jiang Chen and whispered,
"He likes her so much."
"I know," Jiang Chen replied quietly.
---
Group Study… Or Not
That afternoon, they tried to study in the library again.
Tried.
It didn't go very well.
Zhao Ming was spinning a pen instead of studying.
Lin Yue was actually studying.
Su Ran was highlighting notes.
Jiang Chen was solving practice questions.
After ten minutes, Zhao Ming sighed loudly.
"I have a question," he said.
"No," Lin Yue replied immediately.
"You didn't even hear the question."
"You're not going to ask about studying," she said.
"That is correct," he admitted.
Su Ran laughed quietly.
"What is it?" she asked.
Zhao Ming leaned forward.
"If we all met in high school again, do you think we would still become friends?"
Su Ran thought about it.
"Yes," she said.
"I think we would."
Lin Yue nodded slowly.
"I think so too."
Zhao Ming looked at Jiang Chen.
"What about you?"
Jiang Chen thought for a moment before answering.
"I think… we would still end up sitting in the last row."
Su Ran smiled immediately.
"Yeah," she said.
"I think so too."
---
Walking Home Again
That evening, the four of them walked out of campus together.
The sky was turning orange, and the air was cooler than usual.
Zhao Ming and Lin Yue walked ahead again, talking about something.
Su Ran and Jiang Chen walked behind them slowly.
"You know what's funny?" Su Ran said.
"What?" he asked.
"In high school, we used to walk home after school like this."
"Yeah," he said.
"And now we walk back from university like this."
"Some things really didn't change," he said.
She looked at him and smiled.
"Some things changed," she said.
He looked at her.
She held his hand.
He smiled slightly.
"Yeah," he said.
"Some things changed."
---
Zhao Ming's Realization
Ahead of them, Zhao Ming suddenly stopped walking.
Lin Yue almost walked into him.
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
Zhao Ming turned around and looked at all of them.
"I just realized something," he said.
"That's rare," Jiang Chen replied.
Zhao Ming ignored him.
"In high school, we thought university would be very different and we would all become busy and serious."
"That's true," Su Ran said.
"But we are still the same," Zhao Ming continued.
"You still laugh at stupid things. Jiang Chen is still quiet but not that quiet anymore. I am still handsome. Lin Yue is still smart."
Lin Yue looked at him.
"You tried to compliment yourself in the middle of that sentence."
"Yes," he said proudly.
Su Ran laughed.
"But he's right," she said.
Jiang Chen nodded slightly.
"He is."
Zhao Ming crossed his arms and smiled.
"So basically," he said,
"We grew up, but we didn't change completely."
Lin Yue nodded.
"I think that's a good thing."
---
The Bench
Before going home, they sat on a bench near campus like they sometimes did.
No one was in a hurry.
Zhao Ming was telling a long story about something that happened in class.
Lin Yue was listening.
Su Ran was laughing.
Jiang Chen was watching all of them quietly.
At some point, Zhao Ming asked suddenly,
"Do you think we will still sit like this in ten years?"
Lin Yue said,
"In ten years we'll probably be working."
Su Ran said,
"We might be in different cities."
Zhao Ming looked at Jiang Chen.
"What do you think?"
Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then said,
"I don't know where we'll be… but I think we'll still meet and talk like this."
Su Ran nodded slowly.
"I think so too."
Zhao Ming stood up suddenly and pointed at all of them.
"Then it's decided," he said.
"No matter what happens in the future, we are not allowed to become strangers."
Lin Yue smiled slightly.
"Okay."
Su Ran nodded.
"Okay."
Jiang Chen said quietly,
"Okay."
---
A Quiet Ending
When they finally stood up to leave, Su Ran walked next to Jiang Chen again.
She looked at the sky and said,
"Today was not a special day."
"No," he said.
"But it was nice," she said.
"Yeah," he replied.
She looked at Zhao Ming and Lin Yue walking ahead of them and smiled.
Then she said quietly,
"I think one day we'll miss days like this the most."
Jiang Chen looked at their friends, then at her, then said softly,
"Then we should remember them properly."
She nodded.
So they walked a little slower that day.
Talked a little more.
Laughed a little longer.
Because without saying it out loud,
all of them were starting to understand something important:
The days that feel normal now
become the memories you miss the most later.