Stars Hidden on Campus

Everyone says that chance encounters at college are written in the stars. But to Lin Xi, a freshman in the math department, every “accidental” meeting with Jiang Chen, the computer science department’s heartthrob, feels like the sweetest gift fate could give her: at the opening ceremony, in a lecture hall, or over a seat in the library. She carefully hides her secret crush, thinking she must be incredibly lucky to have drawn closer to that cold, distant star, one step at a time.

What she doesn’t know is that every “coincidence” is a program Jiang Chen carefully wrote. Cool and aloof on the surface, this startup CEO has kept her in the deepest place in his heart since high school. Under the guise of a “romance simulation,” he keeps her close, rationally collecting data he calls “emotion.” In truth, he is laying his plans step by step, weaving a heartfelt scheme meant for her alone.

When Lin Xi’s hidden identity as a popular online artist is exposed and turmoil follows, a “perfect professional partner” appears at Jiang Chen’s side. Their failure to communicate sends their seemingly unshakable relationship crumbling in an instant. One misunderstanding sends the paths of two stars that once drew so close veering apart, leaving them worlds away from each other.

Three years later, they meet again at work. She has shed her youthful awkwardness and become a confident, radiant art consultant. He is still at the top of his industry, but his eyes are full of regret and longing. When the truth comes to light, it turns out that this youthful secret crush had always been a grand, mutual journey toward each other. He asks her, “Can we renew our agreement for the rest of our lives?” From school uniforms to wedding gowns, he is the brightest star I kept hidden in my youth, and the only answer as we journey through the rest of our lives beneath an everlasting river of stars.