Add QQ: 291820018 to read more great stories.
[One]
When the freshmen arrived, Zhou Leyan looked for Lin Yichen with great fanfare, and no one was unaware of it. Many people were shocked. Zhou Leyan was such a beautiful girl. On the day of registration, the student union members responsible for welcoming the new students all said that the girl in the white shirt smiled as if she could melt ice. Checking her file was even more surprising. With her scores, she could have gone to any of several prestigious universities in the north, but no one knew why she chose this ordinary school.
A senior student curiously asked her, but she just smiled, perhaps it was for Lin Yichen.
The senior student didn't understand, "You're so excellent, in the future, there will definitely be many good boys chasing after you. Why do you like a little thug from agriculture?"
Her eyes misted over like the fog on an autumn morning, her face unusually gentle. No matter how good the boy, none could compare to him; he was the best.
The senior student could only sigh and shake her head. Love was truly an unreasonable thing.
Even more unimaginable was that Lin Yichen actually rejected her. Everyone watched as Leyan chased after him from the cafeteria all the way to the entrance of the boys' dormitory. The security guard stopped her, and Lin Yichen shrugged off her hand and told the guard, "I don't know her," then walked away without looking back.
Leyan froze for a moment. Tears streamed down her face in waves. Many people around her stopped to look. She just bit her lip tightly and said nothing. A moment later, she ran like a madwoman, leaving the momentarily stunned security guard behind as she rushed into the boys' dormitory.
Standing downstairs at the boys' dormitory, she screamed out her heartbreak, "Lin Yichen, why? Lin Yichen, I love you!"
As soon as she shouted, countless heads appeared at the windows. Whistles and cheers filled the air, and she kept shouting while those around her laughed endlessly.
No one knows how long it went on. The commotion around her finally ceased, and the boys began to look at her with sympathy and pity. Her throat was hoarse, tears streamed down her face, she was utterly exhausted, yet she kept repeating those two sentences.
"Lin Yichen, I love you."
He never showed up, even the onlookers were angry. Leyan wiped her tears with her hands and shouted towards the silent window with all her might, "I won't give up!"
Suddenly, a bucket of water poured down on her, soaking her completely. Even the security guard who had rushed over was drenched. She froze, then crouched down covering her mouth and cried bitterly.
A pair of Adidas sneakers stopped in front of her. Surprisingly lifting her head, she saw a stranger whose face was bright like the sun in September. He helped her up, handing her throat lozenges and tissues, saying, "Zhou Leyan, my name is Gu Zhiqi. I'm Lin Yichen's friend. He has a bad temper, let me apologize for him. You should go back."
She stared at him, then smiled gently, shaking her head. "You don't need to apologize for him. I don't blame him. Please tell him that no matter what he does, I won't give up on him."
Gu Zhiqi looked at the strong girl in front of him, who seemed to sprout wings under the golden sunlight, and felt a pang of sympathy in his heart. Shaking his head, he said, "Alright, I'll tell him."
...
[Two]
After the incident of shouting in the dormitory building, Leyan's popularity among the boys increased even more. People often smiled at her kindly on the road, and she would smile back.
A beautiful girl, brave, and with a touch of naive innocence and stubbornness, was hard not to love.
Leyan paid no attention to various rumors. In the whole world, she only cared about one person. Every day, she busied herself following Lin Yichen—his classes, his trips to buy cigarettes, his meals, his return to the dormitory. She was the most loyal recorder, using her Sony digital camera, bought with the money she earned from working hard during the summer holidays, to record every aspect of his life. At night, she would sit alone in front of the screen, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing.
Her roommates shook their heads and sighed. Such a smart girl, yet she insisted on getting stuck in a dead-end situation.
Finally, Lin Yichen discovered her. Under a bus stop sign where he often waited, he snatched her camera and yelled angrily, "What are you doing following me?"
For a moment, Leyan was flustered, but then quickly composed herself and smiled at him. "Lin Yichen, you've finally agreed to talk to me."
He paused, unconsciously softening his tone. "What exactly do you want? I don't even know you. Why are you following me every day and declaring your feelings in front of everyone? Do you know how many people are talking about me behind my back?"
She still smiled. "Lin Yichen, no matter what others say, I want to love you. I want to be with you."
His eyebrows furrowed again. "Are you crazy?"
He shoved the camera back at her. "I warn you, stop acting crazy and following me."
The cigarette smoke in his hand made her eyes water. She grabbed his hand and asked, "What must I do for you to like me?"
A smirk of disdain crept onto his lips. "Like you? That's impossible. But if you help me pursue An Jinfan from the French department, I'll stop being mean to you."
Fire lit up in her pupils. "Do you promise?"
He was taken aback by her seriousness and nodded absentmindedly as he climbed onto the arriving bus, leaving her standing alone at the stop staring blankly at the signpost.
Gu Zhiqi was walking toward the apartment entrance when a sweet voice suddenly called out to him. Leyan hesitated slightly before smiling. "Can you do me a favor?"
He took her to eat at a small shop beside the school gate. As she picked up the steaming hot soup, large tears fell. "Gu Zhiqi, tell me, why doesn't he love me?"
He shook his head. "How can these things be explained clearly?"
She clenched her teeth. "Then, tell me about him and An Jinfan."
...
[Three]
At the door of the dance studio, Leyan gazed inside blankly. In the next second, she saw An Jinfan.
She was so proud, with clear eyes and thin lips, her gaze sweeping through the room with grace. Following the music, she stretched her supple body, captivating even the women present.
Leyan's heart felt like a flower being torn petal by petal, emitting a faint yet distinct sound. Yet she still mustered the courage to call out, "An Senior."
Jinfan looked at her quietly for a long time before breaking into a smile. "You're Zhou Leyan, I've heard many people talk about you."
Leyan felt her face heat up and immediately said, "I came today to ask Senior to reconsider accepting Lin Yichen. He really loves you."
Jinfan chuckled instead of getting angry. "Little sister, you must really love him, right?"
Leyan stood up straight. "Yes, I love him, so I hope he's happy."
Jinfan's expression faltered for a moment before she smiled again. "Go home, I can't forgive him. All I know is, if he misses you, it would be too much of a waste."
Leyan looked at this beautiful girl in front of her, mist clouding her eyes. "Thank you, An Senior. Everyone has a string in their heart, pulling it causes pain. My string is in his hands, but his string is in yours."
Jinfan was speechless for a long time, brushing away the bangs from Leyan's forehead. "Sigh, Zhou Leyan, why are you so stupid like I used to be?"
Tears flowed gently down Leyan's cheeks. "There are so many boys in this world, and so many who are good to me, and he hasn't even spoken a proper sentence to me. But I, I can't help it. An Senior, I love him, there's no other way."
Jinfan felt a sudden dull ache in her heart, blood rushing back rapidly. It was as if she was seeing her past self standing before her now, crying and saying the same words.
"I love him, there's no other way."
She closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "Zhou Leyan, for your love, I'll see him."
...
[Four]
Walking alone on the road, Leyan remembered the story Gu Zhiqi had told her about An Jinfan and Lin Yichen.
Two years ago, when Jinfan first entered school, she was stunning, lighting up the eyes of many. Boys tried every trick to approach her, flattering her, but unexpectedly, she pursued Lin Yichen herself.
The reason was simple. On the first day in the cafeteria, someone accidentally bumped into her, spilling a full basin of hot soup on her. After freezing for two seconds, she let out a scream. Just then, Lin Yichen, who happened to be standing next to her, picked her up and ran to the faucet to rinse her with cold water. Then he turned around and bought her burn ointment, scolding her sharply, "Don't cry, you won't die."
Later, Jinfan would recall it with sweetness in her heart. That was the kind of boy every girl would like—his smile carried a hint of mischief, his features unrestrained, yet they left a deep impression on her heart, unforgettable. In that instant, she knew, it was him.
Later, when she found him, he had already forgotten her, but he accepted her because of her beauty.
That proud princess in the prime of her youth fell in love with her first person, but did not receive equal care. Besides her, he had countless ambiguous relationships. Time and again, she wept and told herself, "I love him, there's no other way."
With love as a condition, everything could be forgiven.
Until that Christmas, she brought a carefully selected gift to the bar where he often went, only to see him hugging a flashy girl and kissing her. The girl laughed and said while dodging, "Your girlfriend is a famous beauty, and she loves you so much, yet you're still so fickle."
Before she could call out his name, she heard him say disdainfully, "What love? I don't believe in that stuff. No matter how pretty, it's just something that comes to you."
Those words hit her like thunder. Instantly, her heart sank, blood surged, and all she could manage was a hoarse cry. Slowly, she walked over, as if stepping over her past and present, and splashed the drink in her cup onto his face. Tears uncontrollably streamed down her face, yet she still held her head high and said, "Lin Yichen, from this moment on, as long as I, An Jinfan, am alive, I will live better than you."
Leaving the bar, she ran back to her dormitory and cried into her blanket. From that point on, they parted ways.
She indeed kept her word, progressing positively and becoming a girl admired for her beauty and intelligence. She packed up all the humiliation and hurt he had given her, stored them deep in her heart, and never touched them again.
At first, he didn't care. Gradually, in some suddenly awakened nights, he would blurt out her name. In the blazing sunlight of the afternoon, he would suddenly remember the faint fragrance on her body. He couldn't deny that she had already deeply rooted in his heart, impossible to remove.
Why did it take so long, until after losing her, until thinking about the past made breathing difficult, did he realize that he loved her so much?
Facing his regret, she firmly shook her head. "I cannot forgive you, never."
He looked at her. "Jinfan, without you, my life will forever be deprived of happiness."
Thinking about this, Leyan looked up at the blue sky, a voice in her heart saying, "Lin Yichen, I must make you happy."
...
[Five]
Jinfan didn't break her promise to Leyan. Facing Lin Yichen, who remained dejected, she smiled calmly. "I once loved you without caring about the outcome. You were like a wound on my heart, healed by time, and both love and hatred disappeared."
Lin Yichen silently looked at her, the girl he had once hurt so badly, who could now easily say the two words, "I don't love you anymore."
Time was like a knife, cutting away the thorns of youth and the regrets of love. Nothing was truly forever unchanged. He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Jinfan, as long as you're happy, that's fine."
She nodded and turned around. Before leaving, she turned back and said, "Don't you think missing out on Zhou Leyan would be a pity? When she looked at me with those pure eyes, I saw myself back then."
But he still smiled and said, "She's not you."
He and Jinfan were destined to stand on opposite shores, letting the coastline stretch infinitely. Between them lay a sea called time.
Leyan went to see Lin Yichen, unable to speak before bursting into tears, repeatedly saying sorry, making the listener feel sorrowful.
Instead, he consoled her. "It's not your fault, don't cry, you look ugly when you cry."
She continued to cry. "I'm sorry, I said I would definitely make you happy, but I couldn't move Senior An... "
He sighed lightly and reached out to wipe her tears. She grasped his large hand tightly, her eyes fierce and determined. "She doesn't love you anymore, but I do. I'm here, always loving you. I will love you forever, and I will never leave you."
He withdrew his hand, lowering his head in silence. Time passed second by second, and all that remained in her eyes was ashes. Unable to suppress her sobs, she whispered, "Lin Yichen, I understand."
Turning around, it was a farewell.
Gu Zhiqi received a call late at night. She softly asked, "Can you come drink with me?"
Without a word, he got up from bed, jumped down from the second-floor washroom to avoid the security guard, and ran in her direction.
She had drunk a lot, her face like a rose blooming in the dark night, intoxicatingly beautiful. He drank even more, and the two sat by the roadside. Suddenly, she laughed, "I asked you to come drink with me, but why are you drinking my alcohol?"
He stared at her intently. "Because, if I could, I'd rather be sad for you."
She froze, tears streaming down like heavy rain for a long time. Burying her head in his chest, she sobbed uncontrollably.
He reached out to embrace her. "Leyan, the first time I saw you calling Yichen's name from downstairs, I was moved. To love someone so much takes immense courage. When