A cold brass key locks Lin Wan, a sensitive top student, inside the gilded cage of her blended family, while her stepsister Su Qing's scrutinizing gaze feels like needles in her back. The appearance of Xu Yan, a senior in his final year of high school, is the only light in her stifled youth. His gentle, considerate care draws her into a secret crush.
But the unspoken "past" between Su Qing and Xu Yan hangs over her like a shadow. When Lin Wan hears with her own ears the words that shatter everything, "I bet you I can get her to fall for me," Xu Yan's vague response grinds her humble affection to dust. Perhaps all his advances were nothing more than a despicable bet.
The rain pours down, and her love collapses. Overwhelmed by humiliation, Lin Wan rushes out into the storm, her heart shattered. But amid the ruins, she chooses to be reborn. Tearing up her application to transfer schools and give up, she turns her pain into a sharpened pencil, fighting for herself on the battlefield of the mathematics competition. Buried truths, belated remorse, and unresolved struggles come one after another, but none can erase the scars.
When Lin Wan stands alone on the national finals podium, she shines brilliantly. She declares, "Thank you for hurting me. You taught me to run for myself alone." When Xu Yan reaches out his hand and promises to "follow the light," she smiles and turns away.
Another rainy season may come, but she has learned to hold her own umbrella and walk toward the clear skies that belong to her. Will that light chasing her ever reach her? The answer lies in the wind as she walks forward on her own.
It's so beautiful, thank you so much to the author.
Looks good! Like, like, like!