Projecting Sunlight

Sensitive, sweet girl x golden boy

-

During an activity period in their second year of high school, everyone in class was writing farewell messages and well-wishes.

Wen Cheng was writing with her head down when her deskmate unexpectedly turned to her and asked, "Why did you wish the rest of us a bright future, but write 'I hope we'll see each other again' to Duan Cong?"

Her deskmate was loud and made no effort to lower her voice, drawing every gaze in the classroom.

Wen Cheng's ears burned. Mortified, her heart racing, she happened to see Duan Cong enter the classroom with a ball. His vibrant, unrestrained youthful energy was dazzling. What no one expected was that he would speak the very next second: "What's wrong with seeing me again? I'm not that annoying, am I?"

The classroom fell silent at once.

Wen Cheng's heart pounded. That moment when Duan Cong casually came to her rescue was probably the closest she had ever gotten to him during all those years of secretly loving him.

-

One evening at a university reunion, Duan Cong was there too. Wen Cheng's heart still raced, but she knew how far apart they were.

Duan Cong unexpectedly lost a game and was asked which girl at the reunion he liked most.

He said her name.

After the reunion, Wen Cheng and Duan Cong ran into each other in the hallway.

Their eyes met.

Duan Cong: "Just now..."

Wen Cheng parted her lips, considerate as ever. "I understand. We're classmates, so it's fine to mention me. It would be a bit rude to name some other girl you don't know."

But Duan Cong said,

"What do you understand?"

"You're the one I like most. Can't you tell?"

-

The orange soda I quietly gave you that year carried the longing of a seventeen-year-old girl.

Three years later, the icy lemon cola he gave back to me finally brought back that late-arriving plum-rain season.

Fortunately, my secret crush came true.

* Wen Cheng x Duan Cong

* The story begins in high school, where Wen Cheng has a one-sided crush. In college and the city, their feelings become mutual, and they fall in love.

[Next story: "When the Summer Branches Flourish"]

Cen Zhili x Chi Yuyi: gentle, sweet girl x dazzling, carefree boy; mutual pining / temporary stay / pure sweetness ^^

*

In her second year of high school, Cen Zhili went to stay at the Chi family's home.

That night, she met Chi Yuyi, renowned throughout the school. He was polite and distant, and didn't even know her name. "Classmate, do you live on the first floor?"

A secret crush was a girl's rainy-day secret. Cen Zhili managed a small, hesitant smile, but pinched her palm until it turned white.

So later, she never imagined that on the day they graduated, beneath the warm, ambiguous moonlight, Chi Yuyi would gently take her hand and ask in a low voice, "I want to kiss you. May I?"

Cen Zhili didn't dare look up. She quietly closed her eyes, and then felt a warm touch on her forehead.

She raised her head and saw a blush creeping onto his pale ears.

That first kiss, restrained yet full of love, heralded an endless summer at eighteen.

*

One is a gentle, resilient, sweet genius; the other is a carefree, dazzling golden boy. When news of their relationship got out, everyone envied them.

Still, many people didn't believe it. After all, both of them had been admired since childhood, and neither seemed like the type to fall in love.

Until the day Chi Yuyi won an international competition. During a livestream, a reporter asked about the gardenia hair clip attached to the hood of the talented young star's black hoodie: "Which girl's is this?"

Chi Yuyi curled his lips lazily, his smile dazzling. "It's from a little girl who's really good at acting cute."

The reporter perked up, eager for gossip. "Who? Is she your girlfriend?"

"I don't know. I made her angry last night, and now she's threatening to break up with me." Chi Yuyi looked into the camera and chuckled. "Cen Zhili, you can have my competition medal to play with. Don't be mad at me, okay?"

Cen Zhili, watching the livestream: "..."

How could she stay angry when she met those bright, charming eyes of his?

*

The luckiest thing that ever happened to Cen Zhili was probably taking Chi Yuyi's hand on that night in 2012 when the Mayans predicted the end of the world.

From then on, she was no longer afraid of anything.

Even if that night really had been the end of the world, with him beside her, even death would have been as beautiful as spring.

But it was a long time before she learned that she hadn't been the only one with a secret crush that summer.

Cen Zhili was skeptical. "The first time we spoke was at the sports meet in our first year of high school. I accidentally bumped into you, and you were so cold to me. I thought you hated me."

"..." Chi Yuyi vigorously ruffled the girl's hair and chuckled. "I was so nervous I couldn't speak." After a pause, he added casually, "And I let you bump into me on purpose. I just wanted an excuse to talk to you."

Cen Zhili: "..." What's it like to be secretly loved by the golden boy everyone at school adores? Turns out, the two of them had been in love with each other all along!

Written 2024.8.21

Revised 2026.1.4

Theme: Study hard and make progress every day