Half a Step Behind Him

In his senior year of high school, Gu Huai was the quietest person in Class Seven. His reputation as the school bully was imposed by others, and he didn't bother to deny it or explain it. After school, he always takes the left road alone. As soon as he puts on his headphones, the world has nothing to do with him. Cheng Yan is a physical education student in Class 8 next door. His name can be found on banners at basketball, sprint, and sports meets. He took the road on the right and greeted his friends, patting everyone on the back of the head before saying hello. The two roads are separated by the playground and the two teaching buildings, and they would not have met in the first place. Until one evening when it rained heavily after class, Gu Huai didn't bring an umbrella and waited in the carport for twenty minutes. Cheng Yan rushed in from the rain, soaked to the skin, and smiled when he saw him, his tiger teeth shining like a handful of light in the rain. "You don't have an umbrella?" He split the umbrella in his hand into two, "Let's see you off." Gu Huai wanted to say no, but the rain was too heavy and he swallowed his words. The two people huddled under an umbrella and took the left path. Cheng Yan put his arm on his shoulder, and the heat spread through the thin fabric of the school uniform. Cheng Yan did not go to the right the next day. I didn't leave on the third day. On the fourth day, he put breakfast on Gu Huai's table, then went back and shouted through the window, "Hey, I'll wait for you to finish school." The whole school heard it. --The story of a sullen school bully who was struck by lightning without warning. There was no airborne landing, no transfer of schools, just two parallel lines that took a bend in the rain and never went back straight. I never take any detours when it comes to getting close to you. Intention: Real closeness does not require a reason or an opportunity. A rain, an umbrella, and an excuse to drop by are enough. Both of them thought they were walking alone, but they didn't know that someone on the other track had been deflecting towards him. Gu Huai's dullness is the shell, and Cheng Yan's brightness is the fire. The fire does not rush to burn through the shell, but only roasts it day after day until one day the shell cracks on its own. About "being seen". Cheng Yan saw that Gu Huai didn't drink water, didn't eat breakfast, and was soaked in the rain. He saw that he used to lean to the left when walking, put his right ear first when plugging in headphones, and focused on his opponent's knees when fighting. He saw all the details that others didn't bother to see, and then embedded himself in them as a matter of course. About choice. Cheng Yan chose not to take the road on the right, and Gu Huai chose to arrive at the carport five minutes early the next day. Love is never the thunder and fire of falling in love at first sight, it is someone who makes you willingly, quietly, and change the path you are used to.