Zhou Niannian liked Chen Mo, the kind of love she dared admit only in her diary, the kind she dared think about only in her heart. At first, Zhou Niannian only thought Chen Mo was like a little sun and didn’t pay her much mind. But somewhere along the way, she fell for her. Zhou Niannian had thought she was simply born emotionally detached and had never imagined she could like anyone.
Ever since she was little, Zhou Niannian had known she wasn’t the favored one. No matter what it was, her younger brother always got it first, and she was expected to give way to him. Whenever her mother was unhappy, she took it out on Zhou Niannian. When her brother was very young and saw their mother hitting her, he would grab their mother and cry, “You can’t hit my sister.” Later, when he started school, he stopped standing up for her.
School was supposed to be a place where people knew right from wrong, but it wasn’t that way for Zhou Sui. He was always getting into fights at school and making them call his parents. Every time, their mother would bring things to the other family’s home to apologize. Later, Zhou Niannian started middle school and consistently ranked near the top. Since Zhou Sui kept causing trouble for the family, their mother finally shifted her attention to Zhou Niannian. That was when Zhou Niannian learned that no one is kind for no reason. She stopped hoping for anything from anyone, or from any relationship. In Zhou Niannian’s eyes, every unprompted act of kindness came with something to gain.
That was until she met Chen Mo. Chen Mo came from a good family, got good grades, and was popular. Zhou Niannian couldn’t understand why Chen Mo would get close to her. She didn’t know when she had started liking Chen Mo. Maybe it was when Chen Mo took her hand, maybe when Chen Mo first gave her a snack, or maybe it was in one of the countless moments they spent together.
