Like the Wind

Ruan Li has an ex-boyfriend.

They say the two of them were high school classmates and each other’s first love.

In an old photo of them together, you can see a man with striking features and a lazy air about him.

Even the blurry pixels can’t hide how handsome he is.

He just seems like a flippant good-for-nothing, the kind of jerk who plays with people’s feelings.

Her friends all think Ruan Li is looking at the photo and longing for the past, unable to let go of that relationship.

Ruan Li just smiles and argues, “I never retrace my steps.”

That is, until after she graduates from grad school.

Unable to take her family’s constant pressure to get married, Ruan Li packs a simple bag, travels halfway across the country, and arrives in the far northwest.

After reaching the westernmost frontier city, an uprising comes to an end.

Among the Armed Police forces, Ruan Li catches sight of a familiar figure. The broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted man is dressed in camouflage. His skin has grown much darker, but he is still as handsome as ever.

Their eyes meet briefly. Ruan Li sees Chen Qizhou walking toward her.

His gaze is calm. He notices the wound on her fair arm, then finally holds out a hand.

“The ground’s dirty. Get up, and I’ll take you to the hospital.”

The emotions in Ruan Li’s heart suddenly break loose.

She may never retrace her steps, but she never left this path.

*

The year they broke up, Chen Qizhou drafted a message wishing her well, but never managed to send it.

It stayed in that old flip phone for eight years

“May you be like the wind, free and unrestrained.”

Armed Police officer x doctor

Mostly set in the city, with a nonlinear narrative. Happy ending.

---A related story from the author’s column: Cicadas Cry in the Long Night---

In her fourth year in the entertainment industry,

Meng Fu travels to the northwest to study at her agent’s suggestion, hoping to land a role in a new film by a renowned director.

Who knew she’d run into her ex of seven years as soon as she arrived?

Perhaps he had long since forgotten her, because Zhou Xu doesn’t recognize her at first.

They pretend they don’t know each other, fooling even the assistant who came with them.

To outsiders, Zhou Xu is exceptionally handsome and the youngest chief forensic physician at the municipal public security bureau.

He is also an untouchable beauty on a high peak.

He is aloof and distant, hard to approach, while Meng Fu comes from a prominent family and is practically regarded as a society princess in their circle.

The assistant is convinced that two people so different could never be right for each other.

Then, just before leaving the northwest, Meng Fu treats everyone to dinner to thank them.

Afterward,

her assistant buys some hangover medicine and takes it over. The moment she walks in, she stumbles upon an unusual scene: in the dimly lit presidential suite, Zhou Xu, who usually wears a cold expression, is kneeling on one knee in front of Meng Fu.

He patiently takes off her high heels.

But drunk Meng Fu won’t sit still, and her fingertips accidentally slap Zhou Xu across the face.

The assistant doesn’t dare breathe.

Just as she thinks Zhou Xu will turn and leave, the man’s low voice rings through the room. “Next time someone touches you, remember to slap them harder.”

“...”

*

Zhou Xu and Meng Fu first met in their second year of high school.

That summer, Meng Fu was sent to Linyi No. 1 High School after embellishing and spreading photos of her parents cheating.

Even after transferring, she continued to defy convention.

She didn’t care about the rumors at school. One day, she simply sought him out. “You’re Zhou Xu, the one who always places first in the provincial exams?”

When he ignored her, Meng Fu didn’t get angry.

Instead, she patiently crouched down in front of him, then leaned closer with a bright smile. “Do you want to date me?”

Back then, the trees overhead were thick with leaves.

Scorching sunlight filtered through the branches, dappling Meng Fu’s radiant smile.

Zhou Xu turned his head. Amid the continuous chirping of cicadas, he heard his own heartbeat clearly.

Free-spirited heiress x aloof beauty who’s wild on the inside

Message: Life is hard, so learn to cherish what you have.