Beyond the Echo

The year they were sorted into new classes in their second year of high school, Jiang Lin got a new deskmate: Shen Qingyan.

Shen Qingyan had good grades, a cold temper, and barely said a word. Naturally, Jiang Lin loved teasing people like him.

One day, someone egged him on and asked if he liked Shen Qingyan.

Leaning against Shen Qingyan's desk, Jiang Lin smiled nonchalantly. “Yeah, I like him.”

The whole class knew he was joking.

Shen Qingyan knew it, too.

He said it so casually that no one knew exactly when those words became true.

Not even Shen Qingyan.

At seventeen, Jiang Lin thought liking someone meant wanting to sit beside them for a long time, wanting to walk home with them, wanting their name to always be part of his future.

But he only understood later that when you say some things too lightly, by the time you truly mean them, no one is willing to believe you anymore.

Theme: Be honest with your true feelings as you grow up