In the summer of 2026,
Nanning was gently branded with “Sweet” marks,
By Jay Chou’s “Carnival II” World Tour,
Through its “One City, One Theme” concept.

This “sweetness” comes from the soft lyrics in “Sweet”,
“I gently take a sip of what you called love”,
From the gentle melodies flowing through shared earphones
During high school breaks.
Back then, we always felt the future was out of reach,
Dreams big enough to hold the entire world,
And what we called worries were just the red marks on test papers,
And the ripples in our hearts when someone from the next class passed by.
Jay Chou’s songs,
Were the most fitting background music for our entire youth,
With his unique mumbled pronunciation and imaginative arrangements,
They neatly caught all the restless thoughts we couldn’t place,
And held the hot aspirations and yearnings of young people.

Over twenty years have passed in a flash,
We stepped from green school campuses into the worldly life,
From confused youths to middle-aged people bearing families and careers.
The flavors of life have long shed the purity of youth,
With more struggles of bitterness, responsibility’s saltiness, and also the sweetness of harvest.

When the concert ended,
Nanning’s night breeze carried the sweet fragrance from the street dessert shops, gently brushing past shoulders.
Only one photo stored in my phone from tonight, stage lights like star waterfalls pouring down,
Blurry just like the memories themselves wrapped gently by time.
The social media never got updated, some “sweetness” doesn’t need to be shared with others.
It’s a privately kept candy in middle-aged life, not showing off, not noisy,
But able to quietly melt away in countless moments when strength is needed,
Using the tenderness from over twenty years ago,
To smooth away all the fatigue and busyness of the present.