[Complete]
"People always cling to what they decide they love at first sight."
At one, An Youyi grabbed the hand of the four-year-old boy next door at her first-birthday celebration.
At twelve, An Youyi carefully hid her secret affection.
At fifteen, An Youyi gathered all her courage and confessed her feelings to the boy who was about to leave home for school.
But a crush is a one-person pantomime. Speak it aloud, and it becomes a tragedy. For the first time, An Youyi understood all too clearly that no matter how long you hold on, your feelings may never be returned. After that, except during holidays, she avoided every occasion where he might be present and locked that fluttering feeling away in her heart.
At four, Qi Si Jun was still too young to understand much when a cute little girl grabbed his finger. From then on, he had a tiny shadow following him everywhere.
At eighteen, Qi Si Jun heard the little girl he'd doted on since childhood confess her feelings. His mind went blank, but his first reaction was to turn her down without thinking. Dating a minor? That could land him in serious legal trouble.
But he never expected that, from the day he rejected her on, aside from a few passing mentions from his mother, all he got was growing distance from the girl. And so he regretted it.
The little rose he'd painstakingly raised with his own hands: how could he let someone else pluck her?
[Signed 2025.08.31]
[Completed 2026.05.31]
