Stars Fall Into The Sea, Love Never Fades Chapter 46

Chapter 44: The agarwood of time and the unswerving original intention (second version)

Ten years later, the wooden signboard of “Xingluo Studio” was rubbed by the sea breeze and faded, but it has become the warmest landmark of this seaside town.

The little girl who once painted a dark night sky with just two stars is now a junior at the Academy of Fine Arts.Every holiday, she would return to the studio with handmade snacks, roll up her sleeves to help organize the painting tools, and tell the new children the story of Zhi and Qi.Some people who were once taciturn patients with depression have opened a small flower shop, and some have become community volunteers. During holidays, the window sill of the studio is always filled with all kinds of gifts, with varying degrees of gratitude.

Zhi and Qi’s temples were covered with silver threads.Zhi’s design drafts have won many industry awards, but he still invested most of the royalties into the “Starfall Project”; Qi’s series of starry sky paintings were favored by many art museums. He only selected a few non-core works for sale, and donated the rest to charity art exhibitions. The money he received turned into brushes and paints in the hands of children.

Today is the tenth anniversary of the founding of the “Starfall Project”. The studio is decorated with lights and the children’s laughter makes the window lattice buzz.An old man with white hair and a cane walked in, supported by his family, holding an exquisitely framed painting in his hand.

“Teacher Zhi, Teacher Qi,” the old man’s voice was trembling, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, “This is a painting by my grandson. He used to lock himself in the room and refused to speak. It was your studio that pulled him out of the dark night.”

Zhi took the painting, his fingertips brushed the frame, and his eyes instantly turned red.On the drawing paper, a bright starry sky covers the sea. Two figures holding hands stand on the reef, followed by a group of children holding paintbrushes.In the corner of the painting, there is a line of words written crookedly: The light of the falling stars is endless.

Qi walked up to Zhi and gently held his hand.Looking at the smiling faces all over the room and the layers of paintings on the wall, he suddenly remembered the words he read in the Xingluo Memorial Hall many years ago.It turns out that love is really contagious, and light can really penetrate the years – the path they are taking is exactly the path Ah Zhi and Qi have walked, the path of spreading warmth into the world one by one.

In the dead of night, after seeing off the last group of guests, Zhi and Qi sat on wicker chairs in the small courtyard.The moonlight flowed through the petals of the white roses and fell on their joined hands.

“Zhi, tell me,” Qi suddenly spoke, his voice softened by the night wind, “Are we like this in our previous life? Guarding a small studio, guarding a group of children, guarding each other, from black hair to white hair.”

Zhi turned his head, looked at the stars in Qi’s eyes, and reached out to take him into his arms.Chest to chest, you can hear each other’s heartbeats, like a resonance that spans countless reincarnations.

“No matter what my previous life was like,” Zhi’s voice was low and firm, “I will be with you in this life, the next life, and the next life. Guarding the studio, guarding the sea, and guarding our starlight.”

Qi closed his eyes, leaned on Zhi’s shoulder, and curled up into a gentle smile.The years are agarwood, and the original intention is unswerving. Their love slowly ferments over time and becomes the most mellow wine, intoxicating the evening breeze and the mountains and seas.