Unrequited Love Is Like a Clammy Rain

[A bittersweet school romance] School beauty and first love Wen Mian vs. the school’s golden boy and unattainable crush Song Zihuai

In ninth grade, Wen Mian met a boy.

He was as radiant as the sun, a beam of light that brightened her dark world. From then on, his name became a secret in her heart.

When she transferred schools in her first year of high school, she secretly vowed not to become insecure and sensitive, not to turn into the “weird girl” her classmates talked about. She would stand before that boy with confidence and poise.

“My name is Wen Mian. Wen as in ‘gentle,’ Mian as in ‘sleep.’”

“I’m guessing you’re Wen, the girl who keeps turning down my invitations to relax.”

Wen Mian thought their ambiguous act under the guise of friendship would go on forever, until an accident meant she had to transfer schools again.

As they parted, she met his evasive gaze, and her heart turned bitter.

All her regrets and affection ended with the words, “I don’t like younger boys at all. I hate them.”

Yet those words trapped Xie Tingnian, who had loved her as a friend, in that rainy day for many years.

That rain of youth trapped her alone for many years: the sweltering summer heat, the sticky sweat, and the boy smiling after the rain.

What does it feel like to have a secret crush?

Perhaps it’s like a sticky summer rain, and you’re the only one who knows what it feels like.

(The story is told from Wen Mian’s perspective.)