A long, secret campus crush that no one knew about. From her window-side seat in her sophomore year, Lin Wan stole countless glances at Jiang Yu, sitting diagonally ahead of her, hiding her fluttering heart in drafts, bookmarks made from camphor leaf veins, and the last rays of countless dusks.
She edged closer, carefully, time and again, only for one misunderstanding after another to keep them apart. Separated by two cities, one in the north and one in the south, they grew through their own lives as misunderstandings piled up. Years later, when they met again after a long separation, an orange candy, sealed away for over a decade beneath a camphor tree, revealed a connection that had endured across time.
It turned out the evening breeze by their desks, never put into words, wasn't the end of their youth, but the beginning of a love they would pursue together.
Theme: A youthful secret crush is a long journey of self-cultivation. Through the leads' years of missed chances and eventual reunion, the story explores the meaning of growth: there's no need to rush toward an answer. Let a flutter of the heart help you slowly become a better version of yourself.
