When he was ten, the dazzling new transfer student Zhang Desen, bright as the blazing sun, barged into the quiet world of "bookworm" Mo Yuan.
The sunlight burned hot, illuminating the metal braces on Mo Yuan's teeth. Zhang Desen leaned close, asking with a teasing grin and a seriousness no one else noticed, "When are you getting those 'steel coral reefs' taken off? Otherwise, how will you kiss your future partner?" He paused, his eyes shining. "Someone like me, for example."
Mo Yuan was stunned. His mind crashed, unable to process a question so far beyond the curriculum. All he saw was Zhang Desen's radiant smile. He didn't know that those words were the bravest, loneliest confession a boy his age could make.
Years passed. They ended up in the same class again in middle school, bound together once more by fate. Zhang Desen's devotion and protection became a secret everyone at school knew, except Mo Yuan, whose deep sea of emotions remained silent, untouched by light. Arguments, misunderstandings, estrangement... They struggled and drifted apart in the whirlpool of youth.
It wasn't until years later that they met again amid the crowds on a university campus.
By then, Mo Yuan had finally shed all his awkwardness. He walked up to Zhang Desen and spoke softly, yet with immense weight:
"Zhang Desen, I had my 'steel coral reefs' taken off ages ago."
"Now, do you still need me to answer your question about how to kiss?"
That year, the unfathomably deep sea finally welcomed its long-overdue light.
