Signed for publication, with 6,000+ words of happy-ending bonus content added
Print edition updates: Weibo, Xiaoxiao Erduo Cheng
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Ruan Tinglan attends a family dinner with her "fiance."
She never expected to see the person buried in her memories for twelve years.
This time, the man across from her smiles calmly and says:
"Congratulations to Uncle Zhu and... Auntie. Wishing you a happy wedding and a lifetime together."
Zhuang Zhi'er disappearing without a word all those years ago, the scars on his body, the severed finger on his right hand,
and all the years of unresolved questions weighing on Ruan Tinglan finally have clear answers.
In 2012, Ruan Tinglan, the "academic genius" who had taken a leave of absence due to heart disease,
met the person she'd had a crush on for three years at her family's bakery.
His name was Zhuang Zhi'er, a kind-hearted boy who looked like a "bad student."
For years, she'd been unable to run into him, even when she deliberately tried to arrange chance encounters.
Then, after they started high school, things unexpectedly took a turn.
Ruan Tinglan's unrequited love gradually began to be returned.
She thought it was a bitter one-sided love, but it turned out Zhuang Zhi'er had fallen for Ruan Tinglan even before she fell for him.
On New Year's Eve, fireworks filled the sky.
He confessed to her: "Actually, to be precise, I'm the one who had a secret crush on you."
Ruan Tinglan smiled softly. "What a coincidence. So did I."
But an accidental explosion shattered their love, family bonds, and friendship.
Zhuang Zhi'er, who had said he would be wherever Ruan Tinglan was, quietly went south to recuperate.
She traveled a thousand miles to see him, but Zhuang Zhi'er shut her out.
All he left her was one sentence: "Ruan Tinglan, stop liking me."
Then he deleted his account and vanished from the world.
In 2025, they reunited, and everything had long since changed.
She sat across from him, speaking about their painful past as if it were nothing.
But the man sitting opposite her began to cry.
Ruan Tinglan said, "The Zhuang Zhi'er I knew wouldn't cry, no matter how terrible things got."
Zhuang Zhi'er sobbed. "But you're not doing well."
When the truth finally came out, the weight on Ruan Tinglan's heart at last disappeared.
The heart the doctors said wouldn't last much longer had somehow endured for twelve years, riddled with wounds.
At last, it received its pardon.
None of the characters are perfect. They're simple and complicated. If you don't like it, please don't attack the story.
Weibo: Xiaoxiao Erduo Cheng
Theme: A coward's love is a jewel covered in dust
Next Stop: Jiahe Wanggang
Autumn Rain in the Cold Season
Since the Green Mountains Can't Keep You
Rising Tide
Will It Snow This Christmas?
Fireworks and Winter
The Origami Fish
To the Pacific Saury
The Blizzard Is Hibernating
My Little Nemesis, Don't Cry (Also Known as One Hundred Springs of the Butterfly)
Why is everything just a little off! After watching it in the early morning, I felt like I was filled with waves of sadness. It was really uncomfortable, and everything ended like this 😭
I really didn't expect it. I thought it was just Lanlan and Xiao'er who separated. It's just that he was disabled. Lanlan still married and lived well. I didn't expect that one died and the other was disabled. How could they be so miserable? Maybe this is also a relief for Lanlan. Zhuang Zhi'er, don't be timid in the next life.
This ending is so painful. They are obviously very good people. Why do they keep missing out?
People who have a crush are cowards. Youth is the age when you have to rush forward even though you know you will get hurt. Secret love is a game for cowards. I like someone, but I don't even dare to look at him, and I have to rehearse a hundred times in my mind to even say "hello". It's not that I don't want to get close, it's that I'm too afraid of losing that "possibility". Once you say it, you will either be rejected or not even be friends. So I would rather hide in the dark and watch from a distance, at least I can deceive myself "what if". But to be honest, I think this is not called timidity, but cherishment. Because I care too much, I am cautious.
After reading the spoiler-filled essay, the one who looks at desserts now is still the knife, how valuable everyone is!!! 🤔 "Everyone BEed, it's not the ending, it's that we all live in the past that each other can't go back to." I think of "Egret is Not Born", your writing is very good, I like it very much.
If a person is good to you because of another person, then this kindness is borrowed. It's a bit like getting a ticket yourself, but finding out that someone else bought it for you. Ruan Tingnan, you are not bad, you are a good baby. I feel empathy again. It hurts my heart 🥺
Red beans, also known as "Acacia seeds", can symbolize unforgettable love as well as sincere and deep friendship. "Exquisite Dice An Hongdou, do you know that I miss you deeply?" The name of the puppy already hints at the unforgettable relationship between Ruan Tingnan and Zhuang Zhi'er 😣
"She was worried and excited..." This is a big bug for the author~
Everything is because he likes you too 🥺
The ending shouldn't be like this, they could all have a good future 😭