Midsummer Syndrome

· Complete / third-person narration / Weibo: Xiaoyu Juan Yijuan

The year Weiyou held his tenth-anniversary concert, I had just gotten married.

My husband and I strolled through the supermarket. When we passed the snack aisle, he took the bag of chips I'd put in the cart and returned it to the shelf, saying they had no nutritional value.

I softly agreed. My husband praised me for being sensible.

I looked up at the supermarket's digital screen, avoiding my husband's gaze.

Just then, it showed a scrolling announcement:

Weiyou's Tenth-Anniversary Farewell Concert.

Nearby, girls in school uniforms gasped excitedly and chatted in hushed voices.

Amid the crowd's noise, I suddenly thought of a summer in Nanling twelve years ago.

Back then, he wasn't the shining superstar he was now. He'd been close enough to touch, leaning on one hand as he asked what class I had next.

The last time we spoke, I wished him a bright future.

And indeed, he went on to have a flourishing career. Those who liked him were like schools of fish constantly swimming with the tide.

I was pushed to the edges. I refused to give up even an inch, but still, inevitably, I became one among millions of his fans.

The screen showed an interview with him. With a smile, he joked that he was retiring because he wasn't young anymore, and it wasn't right to keep getting in everyone's way.

He said that if he had the chance, he'd like to see the sea in other places.

But Nanling had no sea.

He was still almost exactly as I remembered him. But now I was wearing loose house clothes, standing beside the husband I'd met through a matchmaking arrangement, a man who was both familiar and a stranger.

I told my husband that Weiyou had been my favorite star when I was a girl.

My husband glanced at the screen dismissively. "You women all like this type."

His brow furrowed, and he seemed about to say something else.

I cut him off. "I don't like him anymore."

As I said those words, I suddenly heard my heart pounding wildly, just as it had whenever I saw Weiyou back then.

In all the years since, I had never felt the same way again.

Now I could say I liked him openly, but no one would care--

Because it was just a hopeless fantasy, one among millions.

Lost in the dust.

"I thought it was Nanling, twelve years ago, that I couldn't move on from. Only later did I realize that I had never recovered from this midsummer illness."

· Happy ending. No real-life inspirations. Third-person narration.

· The female lead is the only protagonist in this story. She will build a new life and find her own purpose. She isn't perfect and will make mistakes and have doubts. Please don't judge the story's values based on the blurb (bows down).

Theme: Learn to cherish what you have.