The little fish she drew swam right into my heart.
I transferred to Xingcheng No. 1 High School, and in my first monthly exam, I lost to Zhang Rongyu.
Nine points behind, I came in second in the grade.
She looked pale and quiet, her uniform washed until it had faded, her wrists so thin they seemed like they would snap in two.
But she left notes beside the questions I got wrong, with a clumsy little fish drawn in three strokes in the bottom-right corner.
She said, "This is my mark."
I started watching her:
watching how often she swung her legs, the bite marks on her pen cap, the shadows her eyelashes cast when she lowered her head.
Until one rainy day, she tilted her umbrella toward me and soaked her own left shoulder.
Until she fainted on the sports field and I carried her to the infirmary, my heart pounding deafeningly.
Until she wrote in the corner of my textbook, "For the person who sees me."
The rivalry between two top students slowly became a quiet companionship.
She brought me breakfast, with a little fish carved from a carrot on the rice ball.
I explained physics problems to her, and we filled our scratch paper with conversations between two fish.
We agreed to apply to the same university, but neither of us dared to say the word "love."
"Gu, why are you always looking at me?"
"...I'm analyzing you."
"And what have you figured out?"
"I've figured out... I might have fallen for you."
Reader's guide:
Two top students, a mutual secret crush, moving from competition to standing side by side.
The "three-stroke little fish" runs through the whole story, a code and a promise.
A first-person narrative with delicate inner thoughts, a treat for readers who love details.
Mostly sweet romance, with realistic family themes, and a happy ending.
Theme: As two people grow together and move toward each other, true love means seeing all of the other person and moving forward together with respect and companionship.
Love begins with careful observation and genuine understanding.
Love means standing side by side, not saving the other person.
Love is the courage to face the future together.
Love is always hidden in the everyday moments we leave unspoken.
