Orange Soda

As children, a can of orange soda made Xia Sangzi the only person who could get more than a few words out of Meng Xingzhou.

The year they took the college entrance exam, Meng Xingzhou gave up his guaranteed place at a prestigious university and entered a military academy as the province's top scorer.

The neighbors gossiped, but Xia Sangzi said nothing. She switched from humanities to science, then went on to study medicine.

When Meng Xingzhou was injured during field training, Xia Sangzi bandaged him without saying a word.

For once, Meng Xingzhou had plenty to say. “All that medical skill of yours, and you’ve been saving it for me.”

Xia Sangzi let go, leaned down, and pressed her forehead to his. Her voice landed right on his heart, every word crystal clear.

“If I weren’t going to use it on you, why would I study medicine?”

For the next week, the whole unit passed around the story:

Their icy-faced Captain Meng had been teased by his childhood sweetheart, and spent half the day in the infirmary with his hand to his forehead, savoring the moment.

- A bicycle, a white dress, a camouflage medical uniform, and flying fish against a blue sky: that’s us.

* This story is set in an imaginary world and is entirely fictional. Its people, places, and events are not based on real life. Some details were invented to serve the plot and are simply the author's fantasies. Please don't read too much into them or take them too seriously.

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