Fog and Lanterns

She saw Zhou Xingyan again for the first time in seven years, after graduating from high school.

He had no impression of her at all. He didn't remember ever speaking to her, or buying her yogurt.

They had crossed paths countless times, but to him, she had always been just another insignificant passerby.

Watching the man walk away, she thought of her younger self, who had always watched him leave just like this.

Zhou Xingyan was an outstanding student, both academically and morally, and plenty of people liked him.

She had never told anyone the secret of her unrequited love for Zhou Xingyan.

Except once, when she was burning with a fever and delirious, she murmured his name.

*

After they met again, she cautiously kept her distance, never daring to hope for anything.

But the line between them grew blurrier all the same.

Under the gentle night sky, Zhou Xingyan carried her home as she cried and sadly called him "senior."

"I can barely remember your voice anymore."

So many years had passed, and she thought everything about him had faded from memory.

But when the man appeared again, a tide seemed to surge through her heart, bringing back those bleak, gray days of her youth.

Through countless difficult times, he had been like a lamp in the mist, lighting her way and keeping her company.

She couldn't forget him, and she couldn't help loving him.

/

2026.7.4 (revised 2026.10.18)

/

Next book: A Grain of Snow

Zhuang Li and Ling Song's names were often mentioned together by their teachers.

Both were top students with excellent grades, and they made a striking pair.

But the two of them couldn't stand each other.

Zhuang Li thought Ling Song was a pretentious snob.

Ling Song, meanwhile, was so arrogant he didn't even consider her worth noticing.

Their deskmates were even afraid they'd come to blows. Who could have guessed that one day they'd see the sworn enemies heading home together?

Zhuang Li helplessly explained that she and Ling Song were neighbors across the hall.

*

At some point, Zhuang Li started going to Ling Song's bedroom every Saturday to do homework together.

She wrote down an answer absentmindedly. "Aren't you afraid your parents will find out I'm here?"

Ling Song's parents disliked her family, and they made no effort to hide it.

The boy merely flipped through his test paper and coolly reminded her, "You're about to lose to me."

Zhuang Li rolled her eyes. "Pretentious snob."

In the end, their relationship came to a very ugly end.

Ling Song couldn't stop wondering whether Zhuang Li had kissed him back then because she liked him, or because she wanted to beat him.

-

*Second chance romance / 2026/11/3

Theme: You are the guiding light in the fog of your own life.