In the Tenth Year, I Decided to Stop Missing You

In Pei Qing's dictionary, the name “Zhou Xubai” was the quietest echo of her youth.

At seventeen, he was the top student in the class next door, aloof and proud.

She timed her trips past his classroom every day just to catch a glimpse of his profile as he bent over his work. The carton of milk she kept warm, only to let it go cold again, ended up in her own stomach.

After the college entrance exams, their names appeared close together on the results board, yet it felt as if an entire galaxy lay between them.

At twenty, they were on the same floor of the university library.

She was at one end; he was at the other.

Their eyes met briefly across the room. She panicked and knocked over her water. He rose as if to approach, but his companions called him back before he could move.

That step he never took became her greatest regret of her entire university life.

Later, they drifted apart in the vast sea of people, each going their own way.

She buried that unrequited love in her heart and learned to become mature and capable, fighting her way through the workplace. She thought she could finally forget that name.

Until one day, Pei Qing, a rising project manager, pushed open the heavy conference-room door to secure a crucial technology partnership.

At the far end of the oval table, the man surrounded by his colleagues looked up at the sound.

Time abruptly turned back, then thundered forward again.

His face was still as handsome and refined as ever, but the boyishness had faded, replaced by the composure and sharpness of a man in power.

His gaze behind gold-rimmed glasses was as cool and distant as she remembered, perhaps even colder and more businesslike.

“Manager Pei.” His voice suddenly rang out, clear and steady, striking her utterly unprepared heart. “I'm Zhou Xubai, the client representative in charge of this project.”

*

In Zhou Xubai's life plan, the name “Pei Qing” was his one uncontrollable variable.

At eighteen, she was the girl in the class next door who always passed by in the afternoon, her ponytail swaying gently with every step.

He knew she would appear at that time every day, so he always adjusted his posture in advance, then lowered his head just as her gaze passed over him.

He had imagined countless times that the milk carton she sometimes carried was meant for him.

When the exam results came out, the first name he looked for was not his own. He immediately found hers, not far away.

To him, that distance was a gap he would have to strive to close over the next few years.

At twenty-one, he spotted her from across the library, and it felt as if someone had suddenly clenched his heart.

He had planned to walk over “casually” and rehearsed his opening line dozens of times. The moment she knocked over her water in a panic, he almost immediately stood up.

But his companion called to him at that exact moment, and he faltered. When he turned back, she had already gathered her things and hurried away.

Later, he quietly followed her progress through the sparse updates on her social media accounts.

He worked furiously and started a business with his classmates, making a name for himself in the technology industry. He thought that if he turned himself into a prominent enough landmark, perhaps she would see him again someday.

Until the day the conference-room door opened and he saw her again. His breathing control system still briefly malfunctioned.

She walked in, clearer than in his memories, and somehow farther away.

Her business suit and composed gaze were exactly as he had imagined countless times, yet she made his heart race more than any of those imaginings ever had.

He had to use every ounce of self-control to keep his voice calm. “Manager Pei, I'm Zhou Xubai, the client representative in charge of this project.”

Theme: Be brave and sincere