Lin Jingchun x Zhou Tingshu
Also known as: Spring Startles at the Sound of Trees
When she was sixteen, Lin Jingchun returned to her hometown to recuperate.
Her memories of summer in Yunli were of blue skies and white clouds, wind sweeping through wheat fields, ceaseless cicadas, and flickering fireflies.
And Zhou Tingshu.
He was the gentlest boy Lin Jingchun had ever met. He spoke softly, avoided her whenever he saw her, and blushed if she teased him a little.
Innocent to a fault.
One day, Lin Jingchun tricked him into going to a grove.
"Zhou Tingshu, your face is so red. Do you have a crush on me?"
"L-Lin Jingchun... boys and girls shouldn't be so familiar... You're standing too close..."
"Am I?"
Lin Jingchun took a step forward, and he took one back, until his back met a tree trunk and he had nowhere left to retreat.
The boy clenched his sweaty hands, his ears red enough to drip blood. He turned away, afraid to look at the person before him, yet he could clearly smell the fragrance of the girl.
"Little Tingshu..."
She rose onto her toes and leaned in, smiling as she teased him. "May I ask why you've closed your eyes? Did you think I was going to kiss you?"
Zhou Tingshu opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking.
The evening breeze swept through the trees, and their hearts lost their rhythm.
When the wind rises, spring startles at the sound of trees.
Later, Zhou Tingshu waited for spring to arrive, but Lin Jingchun never came back.
[Synopsis written on June 6, 2026]
Theme: Live to the fullest, and shine as brightly as you can
