My Childhood Friend Turns on the Charm, and I Fall for Him

From the days when they wore split-crotch pants to their awkward teenage years, Su Xing and Shi Yanheng were the perfect childhood sweethearts in everyone’s eyes. Su Xing was a carefree little ray of sunshine who loved getting into trouble. Shi Yanheng would clean up her messes and comfort her whenever she was upset, and she had always taken his companionship for granted. Shi Yanheng, meanwhile, was the cool, handsome top student everyone at school admired. He received enough love letters to pile up into a mountain, but always turned them down. Su Xing had watched this happen for more than a decade without giving it a second thought. She even teased him about being too popular with girls. But when they started college, wherever Shi Yanheng went, girls blushed as they handed him love letters and confessed their feelings. The sight suddenly grated on Su Xing. Her chest tightened, and a sour ache welled up, as if something were stuck inside her. All at once, she saw the little things that “habit” had hidden from her: he always picked the cilantro out of her bowl, and whenever she stayed up studying, there was always warm milk waiting for her. On rainy days, his umbrella was always held firmly over her head. When he carried her across the sports field, his steps were steady… It wasn’t that his companionship had been ordinary. She had simply realized too late that she had already fallen for him. Su Xing clutched the hem of her shirt, flustered. “Shi Yanheng, what if they all like you?” Shi Yanheng looked up, an unmistakable smile hidden in his cool eyes. His voice was low and gentle. “So what? You’re the only one I see.” A first love shared by both, a childhood-sweetheart romance where they choose each other. So sweet it should be against the rules!