He Summered Through the Summer

Looking for readers of my other unrequited-love story of the same kind, Secretly Looking at Him!

Chen Nian had a secret no one knew: she had a crush on Chen Yanbai, the science whiz at her school.

When the students were divided into arts and sciences, Chen Nian showed up in the science class.

Everyone was surprised, even Chen Yanbai.

One sweltering summer afternoon, he sat beside her as the ceiling fan spun overhead. The room was stifling, but the boy's clear, bright voice was carried by the breeze into her ears, tinged with a hint of teasing.

"Why leave the arts behind and come to the science class?"

Chen Nian's pen paused. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and sweat dampened her exam paper, blurring the writing. She turned to him and smiled as calmly as she could, answering in the same teasing tone, "Maybe I wanted to see what a science whiz looks like."

Her double-edged reply left Chen Nian feeling like a mast caught in a raging storm. Even the slightest change in Chen Yanbai's expression could be enough to make her fall apart.

But it was also that very sentence that made Chen Yanbai start noticing the girl beside him, who had always seemed as insignificant as dust. His clear gaze lingered on her face. A smile tugged at his lips as he invited her, his meaning unclear: "The science whiz is right beside you. How would you like to look?"

Chen Nian's ears secretly turned red.

In high school, Chen Yanbai was exceptionally gifted and had an enviable array of talents. Girls his age couldn't help falling for him.

His friends teased him as a walking heartbreaker, saying there wasn't a girl who didn't like him.

Chen Yanbai didn't think much of it. Leaning lazily against the desk behind him, fingers interlaced behind his head, he gazed at the slender figure in the distance and smiled. "That's not true. There's one right there who doesn't like me."

Chen Nian had hidden her feelings for Chen Yanbai very well.

She poured every bit of sweetness and heartache into her diary, never daring to let anyone know.

On an autumn evening, sunset colors spread across the sky as white doves beat their wings. She took her diary to meet Chen Yanbai. The evening breeze turned the pages, revealing a line of English at the end, written in a familiar hand:

"I love you thousands of times."

She looked up instinctively. The sunset blazed, and amid the crowd, she spotted that familiar figure at a glance.

Just like back then.

* My burning, overflowing love is all the devotion I have for you.

* Stubborn and composed x carefree and unrestrained.

* Unrequited love / sweet romance / both virgins / happy ending.

* No romance or intimate scenes during the characters' minor years.

* Blurb written on June 11, 2022, and saved as an image.

* [I love you thousands of times.] translated as: I love you thousands upon thousands of times. Quoted from the internet. Please contact me for removal if necessary.

* Note: The heroine excels in both arts and sciences. Choosing science instead of arts isn't foolish, so don't misunderstand.

Blurb for Secretly Looking at Him:

Liking Cheng Yuci was probably the sweetest secret of Xu Jinxia's life.

The boy was full of youthful confidence, shining brightly all summer long.

He was the good student who gave teachers headaches, and the person his classmates admired most. Many girls at school had a crush on him.

He had beautiful eyes, deep and bright, with stars seeming to fill them whenever he smiled. Xu Jinxia never dared to meet his gaze openly. Whenever she looked at him, she was always careful and timid.

Secretly watching him had become a habit, but one day he caught her. Outside the window, cicadas chirped through the summer heat. He turned slightly, resting one hand against his temple, his expression relaxed. He looked at her with those deep, bright eyes, the corners lifting as his lips curved into a faint smile. Amused, he teased her openly: "Deskmate, why do you always sneak glances at me? Tell me, what are you up to?"

His smile was always so radiant, so dazzling. It fell into her eyes and spread through her heart, letting her glimpse a ray of light for the first time.

Her heartbeat grew louder in her ears, and for a moment, she forgot how to answer.

Years later, at a class reunion, a group of classmates sat together reminiscing about high school. Cheng Yuci lounged on the sofa without joining the conversation, but his gaze kept drifting to the side.

When a friend caught him and figured out who he was sneaking glances at, they started teasing him curiously. "Why are you secretly looking at Xu Jinxia?"

Cheng Yuci drew his gaze back from Xu Jinxia. A faint smile curved his lips as he explained unhurriedly, "Because my wife told me to keep a low profile."

Xu Jinxia and Cheng Yuci got together during her junior year of college.

It was midsummer after a rain, the air heavy with warmth and humidity. The girl's cheeks were red as she hid half her face behind a book and pleaded softly with Cheng Yuci, who sat across from her. "Could you please stop looking at me?"

A line the boy had said one summer long ago suddenly came to mind. She returned his words to him: "Are you up to something?"

"I am." He smiled lazily and leaned closer. His beautiful eyes, still lovely when he smiled, fixed on her as he lowered his voice to a near whisper by her ear. "I want to kiss you."

"That's what I'm up to."

Rebellious and unconventional vs gentle and well-behaved.

Theme: A crush helps you grow.