Time definitely doesn't move at a constant speed, at least it doesn't feel that way.

Yue Zhishi, who was doing his winter break physics homework, firmly believed in his opinion. He didn't know how a whole semester had just passed by in a daze. He even attempted to look up if any scientists had done research in this area, but a call from Lin Rong interrupted what could have been the first academic research of Yue Zhishi's life.

"Mhm, mhm," Yue Zhishi said into the phone as he walked downstairs. "Brother Song Yu went to his tutoring class. I'll take him. I know the place."

Hanging up the phone, Yue Zhishi found the leash, put it on Cotton Candy, and took him to the pet clinic for a check-up.

"Let's get you groomed while we're at it, Cotton Candy. Your fur has gotten so long lately." It was very cold outside. Yue Zhishi was bundled up in a thick, white down jacket. From a distance, the boy and the dog looked like two balls of cotton candy.

With the winter break and the weekend, the pet clinic was packed. Yue Zhishi got to see many cats and dogs, and even a chinchilla, all at once. He felt extremely satisfied, having mentally petted every single one of them. The woman in front of him was holding two large dogs, one Alaskan Malamute and one Golden Retriever. When the Golden Retriever was being examined, the Alaskan seemed very uncomfortable with the environment and became agitated. The owner could barely hold on, unable to manage both at once.

"Excuse me, could you help me hold the leash for a second? He might be scared. I want to hug him."

"Oh, okay." Yue Zhishi put down Cotton Candy, who had been quietly watching the show from his arms, and used his other hand to help the lady grab the Alaskan's leash. It was Yue Zhishi's first time holding a large dog, and the novelty was thrilling. Compared to the Pomeranian in his left hand, his right hand had no control whatsoever; he felt like he was being walked by the dog.

The owner squatted down to stroke the Alaskan's head. A few minutes later, it finally calmed down a little and stopped fussing. Yue Zhishi breathed a sigh of relief, marveling at how obedient Cotton Candy was in comparison. He took a dog treat out of his pocket, ready to reward Cotton Candy, but when he turned his head, he found the end of the leash empty. Cotton Candy was gone.

Yue Zhishi panicked. He turned the small pet clinic upside down, calling its name while holding its favorite treat, but to no avail. He ran out onto the street, looking everywhere, but there was still no sign of Cotton Candy.

He paced around the area, and after a fruitless search, his first instinct was to call Lin Rong. But Lin Rong seemed to be busy handling the purchase of imported ingredients and was unreachable. Desperate, he finally dialed Song Yu's number.

The call connected after a single ring. Yue Zhishi felt as if he had found his savior, and his first words were choked with tears, "Brother Song Yu, Cotton Candy is gone."

Song Yu told him to calm down. After listening to Yue Zhishi recount what had happened, he thought for a moment.

"Let's split up and search. I'm coming home now. You're close to Yanghe Qizhe, go try looking there."

Yue Zhishi didn't know why Song Yu would tell him to look for Cotton Candy at the restaurant, but he did as he was told. Before hanging up, he heard Song Yu say.

"Don't worry, we'll find him."

His heart suddenly calmed down a lot. Yue Zhishi put away Cotton Candy's treats and took a taxi to Yanghe Qizhe.

The restaurant was closed today. The courtyard gate was shut, and there was no one outside. Yue Zhishi was very disappointed. He was sweating from all the running and took off the hood of his down jacket. He searched the alleys around the restaurant again, and finally, at the intersection, he ran into Song Yu getting out of a taxi.

Song Yu was wearing a down jacket of the same style as his, both bought by Lin Rong, only one was white and the other dark gray. Seeing that he was also empty-handed, Yue Zhishi couldn't hide the disappointment on his face and lowered his head apologetically.

"He's not at the restaurant... I'm sorry, I didn't watch him properly."

This dog was brought back by Song Yu; strictly speaking, it was Song Yu's dog.

Yue Zhishi was extremely upset. He knew Song Yu must be very worried, which was why he had rushed over directly from his tutoring class.

But Song Yu didn't get angry as he had imagined. He just pulled the hood back up over Yue Zhishi's head. "The last time I walked him, he also broke free. There's a problem with the leash."

The sweat on Yue Zhishi's forehead had already dried in the wind, feeling cool against his skin. They stood at the intersection for a while. Song Yu said he had gone home and had also looked along the road from the car, but he hadn't seen him either.

Hearing this made Yue Zhishi even sadder.

"Let's go look again." Song Yu walked toward the restaurant.

He followed behind Song Yu, his heart already void of hope. He hadn't felt it when he came out, but now he realized how incredibly cold it was. The wind scraped against his face like soft blades and snuck into his collar.

He lowered his head, zipped up his jacket a little higher, and listlessly followed behind Song Yu.

The wind howled through the small alley, and Yue Zhishi's mind was filled with images of Cotton Candy, alone and helpless, wandering the streets. The New Year was approaching, and Cotton Candy was so small. He hadn't even worn his knitted vest when he went out today.

He began to consider the feasibility of asking for help on social media and posting lost pet flyers all over the streets.

Song Yu's steps suddenly halted, causing Yue Zhishi, who couldn't stop in time, to bump into his back. "Ah, what's wrong?" He looked ahead and saw the main gate of Yanghe Qizhe. Standing at the entrance was an old lady, and right beside her was Cotton Candy.

The moment it saw Song Yu and Yue Zhishi, Cotton Candy ran over at full speed. Yue Zhishi immediately squatted down to hug him, his heart, having just experienced loss and recovery, felt like it was on a roller coaster. He buried his face in Cotton Candy's fur. "Where did you run off to? You scared me to death. I was already planning the layout for the flyers."

Song Yu walked over to the old lady. He saw she was about sixty years old, wearing a string of pearls around her neck, and was dressed very properly, even formally. She stood up as well, smoothing the wrinkles on her wine-red thin coat with her leather-gloved hands, and offered a kind smile.

"So this is your little dog." Her hair was graying, and she spoke very slowly. "Are you here to eat too?"

Yue Zhishi, holding the dog, exchanged a look with Song Yu. Song Yu said to the old woman, "You might be mistaken. This place isn't open today."

A look of confusion, not entirely convinced, appeared on the old woman's face. "Is that so? But I can't be wrong. My husband made the reservation for today."

Yue Zhishi was also puzzled. "It's really not open today, and the owner isn't here either. Grandma, are you sure you didn't remember incorrectly?"

"I couldn't have..." The old woman insisted she was there for an appointment. Yue Zhishi saw she was thinly dressed. Standing out in such cold weather was not a solution. He touched Song Yu's arm. "Brother Song Yu, did you bring the key to the restaurant?"

Song Yu nodded, took out his keychain, found the restaurant key, and opened the door.

Yue Zhishi went up to help the old lady. "Please come in first. I'll help you check the reservation list and see what the problem is."

They turned on the heat in the restaurant and had the old lady sit down. Song Yu quickly boiled a pot of water. Yue Zhishi turned on the front desk computer to find the reservation list. They had often come to the restaurant to help before, so they knew some of the procedures.

Boiling water was poured into the transparent teapot, and the aroma of black tea was instantly released by the heat. Song Yu brought the hot tea to the old lady.

"Thank you."

He returned to Yue Zhishi's side. "Did you find it?"

Yue Zhishi looked up, shook his head at him, and said in a low voice, "There really are no reservations for today." He looked at the old lady and saw her gazing expectantly at the main door, as if she were really waiting for someone. Yue Zhishi couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, it's hard to check from here. Could you tell me your husband's name? Or his phone number would work too."

The old lady looked at the two of them, smiled, and opened her mouth, but suddenly, she seemed to freeze. Her smile was gradually replaced by a look of confusion. "My husband's name..." She frowned, lowering her head to think. "His name..."

Song Yu gazed at the old woman, feeling that something was not right.

"What's today's date? Do you remember?"

"I..." The old woman thought for a moment, her brow relaxed, and her smile returned. "November twenty-first. It's my and my husband's silver wedding anniversary. We're here today to celebrate our anniversary."

November... but it was almost the New Year. No wonder she was dressed so thinly, she had gotten the date wrong.

Yue Zhishi looked at Song Yu again and said in a very soft voice, "Brother Song Yu, is she..."

Song Yu nodded. "Yes, Alzheimer's."

This was a problem, Yue Zhishi thought. This old lady didn't remember the date and might have gone to the wrong restaurant. Now she was lost, and her family must be worried sick, but they didn't even have her name or contact information.

"Let's call the police," Song Yu said.

His voice wasn't loud, but the old lady heard him perfectly. Her mood immediately soured, and she seemed very resistant. "Call the police? Why call the police? I just want to have a meal."

Yue Zhishi tried to explain, "Grandma, you..."

"Can I order first?" The old woman looked at them, her eyes full of anticipation. "I think my husband might have been delayed by something, but he'll be back soon."

Yue Zhishi looked at her expression and couldn't bear to tell her the truth. It was almost dinner time anyway. He took a breath. "Then what would you like to eat? It's just the two of us at the restaurant today, so we might not be able to make much."

The old lady smiled kindly. "That's alright, it's very simple. He loves your pearl meatballs the most."

"Anything else?"

"Anything else..."

Seeing the old lady sinking back into a state of confused memory, Yue Zhishi had no choice but to take note of that for now. "Then we'll see what we can do." He ran to check and found that there happened to be glutinous rice and meat. At his request, Song Yu inexplicably became the temporary head chef and was pushed into the kitchen.

Yue Zhishi summoned the energy he'd use to coax a large feline, offering to give him a back massage and shoulder rub, and even proactively putting an apron on him. Although Song Yu looked extremely reluctant, he didn't refuse him in front of the old lady.

He came out of the kitchen and saw the old lady staring out the door with a somewhat disappointed expression.

"He'll definitely come. Please just wait a little longer."

The old lady gazed at the serious expression on Yue Zhishi's face and suddenly broke into a smile. "You're even better-looking than when you were little." As she spoke, she glanced towards the kitchen. "Your brother, too." Then she added, "You used to look like a doll."

Yue Zhishi was suddenly stunned. Her memory was indeed severely flawed. When they met at the door, the old lady clearly didn't recognize them, but now she could recall things from their childhood.

Could it be that she had really been here before?

"Do you remember what year you got married?" Yue Zhishi asked.

The old lady tried very hard to remember but still shook her head.

"I see..." Yue Zhishi didn't give up. He looked up the duration of a silver wedding anniversary online—it was the 25th anniversary. The old lady looked to be around 60. If she had married in her twenties, she would have visited Yanghe Qizhe in her early fifties. About ten years ago...

That timeline roughly matched when the restaurant opened. Back then, the two of them were indeed still very young. But in the first two years after opening, the management here wasn't well-established, there weren't many customers, and reservations were all written by hand in a notebook, with no electronic records.

Yue Zhishi searched everywhere for keys and finally found the key to the cabinet where the old reservation books were stored in a drawer at the front desk. He squatted on the floor and took out the dusty notebooks. One for each year, he flipped through them seriously, getting a face full of dust that made him cough.

Song Yu suddenly walked out and poured himself a glass of water.

"Is it done?" Yue Zhishi looked up, his face red from coughing.

"It's steaming," Song Yu asked. "What are you doing?"

"This grandma celebrated her anniversary at our restaurant back then. I want to look through the reservation records from the first few years it opened, just for November 21st. There weren't many customers each day, so I should be able to find her husband's contact information." At this point, Yue Zhishi suddenly frowned. "Ah, is it possible the number has changed after so many years?"

Song Yu shook his head. "Probably not, since his wife has Alzheimer's."

Reassured, Yue Zhishi was about to continue, but Song Yu sent him away. "You go keep her company."

"You go, I'll look for it," Yue Zhishi said.

"I don't feel like talking."

Hearing this, Yue Zhishi naturally had to shoulder the external relations work and keep the old lady company. She didn't remember anything, but she kept talking about "my husband." Yue Zhishi felt a strange emotion; he was sad, but it wasn't just sadness.

"Yue Zhishi."

Called by Song Yu, Yue Zhishi immediately hurried over.

"Let's call them one by one." Song Yu spread the notebook open and passed it over, pointing to the ones with red circles. Yue Zhishi sat down and, as Song Yu instructed, called the customers who had made reservations one by one.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Wang? I'm sorry to bother you, but do you have a missing family member... I see, my apologies, we must have made a mistake. Sorry to disturb you."

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Li? Hello..."

Call after call was made, and Yue Zhishi began to doubt the feasibility of this method. He put a cross next to each of the phone numbers. He looked up and saw the old lady was still waiting. Even Cotton Candy had been influenced by her and was sitting by the French window, wagging his fluffy little tail, seemingly waiting for someone.

An hour passed. Yue Zhishi counted, "There are only two left."

Song Yu nodded. He knew Yue Zhishi still wanted to try and didn't stop him, just stood by his side.

Yue Zhishi composed himself and dialed again. The line was busy at first. He waited a moment, then finally decided to dial the next one first.

The last call was answered quickly. The person's voice sounded very young, but like the previous customers, they had no missing family members and didn't know anyone with Alzheimer's. A huge wave of disappointment washed over Yue Zhishi. He wanted to slump over the front desk but was afraid of dirtying his white down jacket, so he rested his forehead against Song Yu's arm.