Thoughts of You Linger

Yu Nian got into the university of her dreams by the skin of her teeth, only to run into the person she least wanted to see on registration day: Zhong Yu, the top liberal arts student in high school, who had refused to be her pen pal and burned her letters right in front of her.

Afraid things would get awkward if they recognized each other, Yu Nian silently reassured herself: "It's fine. He must have forgotten by now..."

"I've lost weight, and the acne on my face is long gone. Even if I stand right in front of him, how could he tell how much I look like my old self?"

After that, Yu Nian began deliberately avoiding Zhong Yu.

But when her new pen pal showed up in front of her, she gasped and turned to run, only to hear him say quietly, "Could you give me a chance?"

-

Born into a family of scholars, Zhong Yu made a name for himself in high school when his essays repeatedly went viral. Soon, his desk was overflowing with love letters from students at universities all over the country.

Unable to stand the attention, he decided to put an end to it once and for all by publicly burning two full bags of beautifully packaged letters.

His best friend randomly pulled one out and began reading it aloud, but before he reached the important part, Zhong Yu snatched it away and tossed it into the brazier.

After that, the letters did become less frequent, and he could once again quietly enjoy reading the literary journals he liked.

But lately, the author he had always followed had suddenly stopped updating...

After starting university, he saw the work begin serialization again in a campus publication. The author's pen name belonged to the very same long-missing writer who had stopped updating.

So he made inquiries and went to great lengths until he finally became pen pals with a "classmate he'd never met."

Before long, through their letters, they became each other's soulmates.

Later, when Zhong Yu saw Yu Nian, the girl his best friend was about to confess to, he inadvertently realized that she was his soulmate, and that he himself had once burned the letters she had written to him...

-

Bonus scene:

Fang Yueyang arranged to confess his feelings at the basketball arena and messaged Yu Nian well in advance...

"Fang Yueyang's basketball game is about to start. I'll head over first."

Yu Nian hurriedly gathered the books on her desk, completely unaware of how grim Zhong Yu looked.

Just as she turned around, Zhong Yu grabbed her. Before she could even wonder what was going on, he had pulled her into the stairwell by the library's fire exit.

His grip hurt her wrist, and she was about to lose her temper when she saw Zhong Yu's handsome face right in front of her. His eyes were already red-rimmed. "Don't go, okay? I'm begging you..."

Inspiration source archived on 2026.09.13

Lighthearted, stealing someone else's love interest, ugly duckling turns into a swan

#Burning letters feels great, but chasing love comes with a fiery reckoning

Theme: Like peach and plum trees, one need not speak; people will naturally gather beneath them.