[Little angels, come pet me, come pet me~ (trying hard to hypnotize myself.jpg)]
Yin Chuwei had only ever dated for three days, and it was with his childhood friend, Shen Churan.
On the day he broke up with him, Shen Churan's voice was hoarse, but he forced a carefree, brazen smile. "What a coincidence. I also think young love is pointless."
For years afterward, even though their homes were less than a hundred meters apart in a straight line, they never ran into each other again.
Then, on the day Yin Chuwei won the gold prize in a robotics design competition and fulfilled his dream, he learned that Shen Churan had died while trying to save someone.
At the funeral, someone mentioned that Shen Churan had always been single, yet there was a ring on his ring finger when he died.
Yin Chuwei recognized it. It was the one Shen Churan had bought from a roadside stall on the first day they started dating.
Back then, Shen Churan had acted nonchalant, but the tips of his ears had turned red:
"It's such a cheap little thing. I'll probably lose it in a few days."
*
After being reborn, Yin Chuwei turned down the principal's impassioned pleas to stay and transferred to the school that competed with First High for the top student every year: Eleventh High, where Shen Churan studied.
Shen Churan was sulking and trying his hardest to rebel among a crowd of model students, acting as a rather unconventional school bully.
He assumed Yin Chuwei had come to win him back and beg for forgiveness, so he kept him at arm's length and acted indifferent.
But Yin Chuwei smiled and said to Shen Churan's best friend, "Hi, I'd like to share a dorm room with you. Would that be okay?"
Shen Churan shot his friend a warning look: Just try saying yes.
When Yin Chuwei took the seat behind him, just as he used to, Shen Churan thought he had finally given in and come to make up with him.
But Yin Chuwei merely nudged Shen Churan's chair and said coolly, "Hey, even if you aren't actually six feet tall, that's fine. But next time, could you not style your hair so high? It's blocking my view of the blackboard."
Shen Churan: ? After the breakup, I got the coolest buzz cut. And I'm already six foot two!
*
When Shen Churan saw Yin Chuwei take out that cheap ring, he thought Yin Chuwei was returning it.
Embarrassed by the thought, he snatched the ring and turned to leave.
But Yin Chuwei caught his hand and asked softly, sounding both obedient and aggrieved, "Do you take back things you've given to someone?"
"If you don't want to help me put it on, that's fine. But you have to give it back to me."
The boy's lingering words curled around him like little hooks, catching at Shen Churan's heart and leaving it tight, aching, and tender.
Reader's Guide:
#Written by Sweet Melon Fruit Salad, happy ending
Theme: Let's not pick one just yet