After a long while, he lowered his voice. It was soft, with a faint rasp that was hard to notice, and drifted to her on the breeze:
"Let's celebrate our birthdays together and go to school together next year."
Her body stiffened. Her chaotic heartbeat instantly overwhelmed every other sensation.
Together?
Could we really be together?
Chi Xinglin's eyes brimmed with sudden delight and disbelief. Tentatively, with a bewildered yet hopeful look, she asked softly, "Huh? What did you just say? Could you say it again?"
She couldn't help wondering if the midday sunlight had thrown off her hearing, if her own greed had made her imagine this tender promise out of nowhere.
Wen Xuyan's fingers abruptly stopped moving, then continued as if nothing had happened.
He shook his head quickly, banished the fleeting tenderness in his eyes, and hid away the feelings that had just slipped out. In a flat voice, he brushed it off:
"Nothing. Nothing."
Theme: I once fled from you in panic, overwhelmed by my insecurity and possessiveness.
Back then, I thought staying away was a way to protect you. It took me many years to understand that true courage isn't avoidance. It's accepting every part of yourself and facing your feelings honestly.
