Lucid Dream

[Print edition now available. Weibo: Xiao Sui Yi]

1.

Someone once asked Zhuang Yanqing if she had joined the crowd at the school anniversary gala, shouting, "Xiao Beihuai, I like you!"

Zhuang Yanqing pretended not to hear and played dumb. "What?"

The truth was, she had shouted it.

That day, Zhuang Yanqing's eyes shone as brightly as the stars above the campus.

But no one told her that a useless crush was still a crush, and it was completely useless.

2.

The wind hidden around campus had witnessed Zhuang Yanqing's heart skip a beat for Xiao Beihuai ten thousand times.

For years, she tried to get closer to him, witnessing his explosive growth into a top-tier star, and her own unrequited love being pushed toward its end.

When the media asked Xiao Beihuai for keywords associated with campus and first love, Zhuang Yanqing listened to his answer on screen with red-rimmed eyes. Those words had nothing to do with her.

He became the romantic ideal in the hearts of countless people, while she could only glimpse traces of the woman he cherished in interview after interview.

After breaking into the entertainment industry, Zhuang Yanqing acted polite and distant when they met again. "Hello, Mr. Xiao."

The man glanced at her. "Don't you call me Brother Huai anymore?"

3.

"Passionate yet insecure, in love yet cautious. Is that right?"

Zhuang Yanqing could faintly sense the fluctuations in Xiao Beihuai's voice as he asked the question, as if he were restraining something. She couldn't be sure.

"What kind of answer do you want to hear from me?"

she asked, the corner of her lips curling into an ambiguous smile.

Xiao Beihuai pressed his lips together. "The standard answer."

Zhuang Yanqing shifted her posture, raised her arms, and clasped her hands behind Xiao Beihuai's shoulders. She rose lightly onto her toes and leaned closer. All it would take was a slight turn to the side for her to kiss his jawline with ease.

"Yes, I was once secretly in love with someone, too."

Xiao Beihuai's Adam's apple visibly bobbed.

Everyone thought she was chasing after him. No, he had always been the one looking up to her.

Though fierce winds may rise, I will still run toward you, through dust and stars, to find you.

A wild rose of the world x a sincere young man

- Mutual pining - Showbiz (Synopsis provisionally dated 2021.11.12) -

Both are each other's first and only. The first half takes place on campus, followed by the entertainment industry.

Theme: Love can always be returned in kind. A secret crush isn't always painful.