Where the Whale Falls, the Wilderness Burns

"Sheng Chi, I like you."

Her confession was gently brushed aside with a "Focus on your studies."

As she turned and walked away... she didn't see the light in the boy's eyes suddenly dim.

Later, her mother tricked her into the Chen family. They locked her up, slapped her, framed her, and hunted her down. She escaped to the countryside, where she spent five years teaching children, before finally leaping from a fourth-floor window. For those five years, her spirit drifted nearby as she watched him live alone. He spent five years tearing the entire Chen family out by the roots, throwing her enemies into the sea to feed the sharks, then climbed into the coffin beside hers and whispered, "Chi Chi, I'm here to be with you."

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in that same storage room, facing that same confession.

"Tsk, you can reject me if you want... but you don't have to, "

Before she could finish, he remembered too.

In their previous life, one missed glance meant they were separated by life and death, five years of loneliness, and a shared suicide. In this life, one moment of reunion meant they could turn back time together, walk hand in hand, and defy fate.

"Fu Jingye, I want to talk about the winter break."

"...Where are you going during the holidays?"

"I'm going back to my hometown to stay with Grandma."

"I... want to visit your home."

"How long do you want to stay?"

The answer he'd held in his heart for a lifetime turned once on his tongue before he swallowed it back. "Half a month."

"All right. Wait for me at the school gate tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

When he held her, his heartbeat thudded through their clothes, making her ears tingle. She nestled against his chest, breathing in the cool scent of cedar, her palm against the uninjured skin of his lower back.

"Chi Chi, you smell so good."

"You... stop teasing me."

"From now on, let's be happy every single day, okay?"

"...Okay."