Lin Wan first met Shen Zhiyao beneath the sunshine on Jiang University’s sports field. He bent down to help her up after she fell and handed her a bottle of lemon tea. He was like a ray of light shining into her ordinary summer.
Back then, she was just a younger sister accompanying her brother to register, while he was a senior in the physics department: gentle, outstanding, and as distant as a star in the sky.
But from that moment on, a seed called “getting closer” quietly took root in Lin Wan’s heart.
She began studying hard so she could get into Jiang University, so she could sit beside him and listen as he explained one problem after another, problems she had once thought impossible to solve.
Shen Zhiyao became the notes in her mistake journal, the window seat in the library, and the figure munching on bread in the KTV hallway. He gave her more than knowledge: he gave her the courage to keep moving forward.
And she became the only “Happy New Year” he received on a cold New Year’s Eve, and the sweet hint of lemon that brought a smile to his face whenever he thought of her in his exhaustion.
But youth is always a tumultuous time. A misunderstanding made her think he already had someone he loved; an unsent love letter led him to hide all his tenderness in silent devotion.
They drew close, then missed each other, each striving and growing stronger amid the tide of growing up.
Until one day, Lin Wan finally stood before the gates of Jiang University and said softly, “Senior, I’m here.”
And Shen Zhiyao, standing in the wind, finally dared to take her hand. “This time, let me be the one to chase you.”
