My Heart Belongs to Xi Ran

Lazy sunlight spilled across the windowsill. Four-year-old Nan Weiwei tipped up her little face, her big, sparkling eyes brimming with curiosity as she stared without blinking at the elegant Nan Xiran. Her childish voice was full of undisguised wonder. "Big Sister, are you a fairy? How can you be so pretty?"

Nan Xiran's lips curved into a gentle smile. She softly brushed her fingertips over the little girl's hair. "I'm not a fairy, Weiwei. My name is Nan Xiran."

"Nan Xiran?" Nan Weiwei's eyes instantly lit up as if stars had fallen into them. Her little face broke into a delighted smile. "What a coincidence! My surname is Nan too. I'm Nan Weiwei!"

Nan Xiran's heart was touched by her unbridled joy. She couldn't help ruffling the little girl's hair again, her voice as soft as the breeze. "Yes, what a coincidence. Then from now on, I'll be your auntie."

Time flowed like a murmuring stream, and the hibiscus bloomed and withered. Nine-year-old Nan Weiwei stood before Nan Xiran, her little face serious beyond her years. She spoke each word with unshakable resolve. "Auntie, when I grow up, can I take care of you? I'll protect you." The innocent promise warmed Nan Xiran's heart, and she smiled and nodded solemnly.

Another nine years passed in the blink of an eye. Eighteen-year-old Nan Weiwei was bright and vibrant, like a gardenia blooming at the start of summer. The feelings she had kept bottled up for so long, unable to put them into words, finally became a lingering poem, "Longing for You," which she sent with a racing heart to the person who meant the most to her:

> "Longing for you, longing for you. Tell me, how many branches of longing can bloom in a day and a night?

> Longing for you, longing for you. A lifetime of longing, a lifetime of devotion, with no end in this life."

The glow of the phone screen reflected in Nan Xiran's eyes. The words were like a stone cast into a still lake, sending out ripples that were hard to calm. She fell silent for a long while, her fingertip hovering over the screen, before finally tapping out a reply: "Weiwei, do you know what 'Longing for You'... means?"

Those words were like a cold needle, instantly piercing Nan Weiwei's swelling hopes. Her eyes abruptly reddened and her vision blurred. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably as she sent a voice message, her voice almost immediately breaking into tears. "Auntie... do you hate me now? You said you wouldn't leave me..." Cold tears slid silently down her cheeks.

Seeing the tearful reply, Nan Xiran felt a pang of sympathy. A sigh escaped her lips. "I don't hate you, Weiwei. It's just... perhaps we should keep some distance between us. It would be better for both of us."

"Distance?" Nan Weiwei's emotions flared, her voice full of confusion and resistance. "Why do we have to keep our distance? Auntie, I don't want to!" One message after another came through, each an urgent plea.

On the other end of the screen, Nan Xiran pressed her lips together. The frustration she had kept suppressed for so long finally burst its banks. Her fingertip paused over the screen for a moment before she sent: "Because... I'm a lesbian. Is that enough? We shouldn't..."

That answer did not make Nan Weiwei retreat. Instead, it was like a spark falling into boiling oil, igniting her courage to stake everything. She replied almost at once, every word a vow forged in fire:

> "So what if we're lesbians? Auntie, I am too! I love you. I've loved you for a very, very long time!"

> "'I pass through spring's breeze as a stranger, while you embrace autumn waters and gather the stars'... Auntie, you are the only galaxy in my eyes."

> "'May there be years to look back on, and may we share our deepest love until our hair turns white'... That's my wish."

> "'How fortunate to have met you, even if it brings sorrow, it is still love'... My feelings for you have never changed, and they never will!"

After the messages were sent, the world seemed to fall silent. Nan Weiwei clutched her hot phone tightly, her knuckles turning white, her chest rising and falling sharply. The eyes that had once brimmed with innocent curiosity now held only an overwhelming mix of hope and anxiety. She stared fixedly at the screen, waiting for the reply that would decide her fate...

Theme: A scheming little girl falls for her beautiful, kind aunt