You’re So Cute

Coming next: "Stealing the Little Bear" 1. Qu Zhen liked someone. At a class gathering, her classmates laughed at her for being a little stutterer. She lowered her head and picked at her fingers, her ears bright red, unable to get a word out. Amid the laughter, a low, cool male voice cut in: "Got nothing better to do?" The people bullying her scattered at once. She looked up and saw only a tall, slender figure from behind. He wore a black hoodie with the hood up, revealing a glimpse of his pale, sharply defined jaw. A few days later, Qu Zhen saw the same hoodie at school. A classmate told her it belonged to the heartthrob of the math department. But she didn't know the heartthrob had lent it to someone that night. 2. At a club event, Qu Zhen lost a game and had to take a forfeit. Blindfolded, she made her way across the grass in the pitch dark, stopping where the heartthrob had stood before she put on the blindfold. She took a large hand in hers. She held the boy's lean, dry hand, tracing the lines on his palm with her fingertips. In the darkness, as if feverish, she wrote one stroke at a time: I like you. The next second, the blindfold came off. She stared in shock at a cold, striking face. The boy's black hair was neatly styled, his features bold and confident, and he watched her with an almost-smile. She'd got the wrong person. This was the heartthrob's notorious brother. 3. Zhou Su was a racing driver in the mechanical engineering department, king of the track, and winner of countless trophies. But he had even more rumored girlfriends than trophies, each one beautiful and captivating. At the New Year's gala, everyone was guessing who he'd invite to dance. With all eyes on her, Qu Zhen walked toward Zhou Su, her face and ears flushed red. Zhou Su had his hands in his pockets, the smile still lingering in his eyes. Then he watched her stop in front of his brother and stammer, "I-I l-like..." Before she could finish, the dance hall lights suddenly went out. The whole room plunged into darkness. In an empty corner, someone gripped Qu Zhen by the wrist, and her lips tasted the icy, invasive flavor of mint. The boy's voice was hoarse. He gave a humorless laugh. "Sure, you like him, but you can't even recognize him?" ↓ Coming soon ↓ ○ "Stealing the Little Bear" On the day she graduated from university, Jiang Li heard that Song Danxi had broken up with his girlfriend. Her roommate sighed that even a perfect couple couldn't withstand a long-distance relationship, but someone as gifted as Song Danxi would be wasting his talent if he didn't go abroad for further study. She asked, "Li, are you close with Senior Song?" Jiang Li calmly replied, "We only worked together on a project." The conversation at the gathering had already moved on several times. Jiang Li spent the whole evening drinking in a corner. Fueled by alcohol, she finally worked up the courage to call Song Danxi. After a few rings, he answered. "...Do you remember that little bear?" She held her breath. A few seconds later, a gentle female voice said, "He can't come to the phone right now." It was the most humiliating moment of Jiang Li's life. - Three years later, Song Danxi returned to the country. During a talk at his alma mater, someone asked why he had come back. He smiled faintly and said it was to find someone. In his sophomore year, Song Danxi went through the most desolate three months of his life. He met a person dressed as a teddy bear. It appeared every day and never spoke to him, simply keeping him quiet company. He'd thought he'd found her, but he hadn't. Later, he gripped Jiang Li by the wrist and asked, "Have you seen my little bear?" Jiang Li smiled and shook her head. "You've got the wrong person." His little bear had long ago been lost in a garbage dump. Just as she had heard her heart pounding faster that summer when she was eighteen, only to lose that feeling again. ○ "Weather Rain" Recently, a short video went viral in Yeling City. In the misty rain, a woman in a blue-green qipao held an oil-paper umbrella. Her hair was glossy black, her figure shapely, and an expensive jade bangle circled her slender, pale wrist. Her profile in the drizzle was breathtakingly beautiful. The camera followed her all the way to a bookstore. A commenter said she was the owner. And just like that, the bookstore suddenly became famous. People flocked there to catch a glimpse of her, and quite a few set their sights on winning the owner's heart. Whenever that happened, the beautiful owner would smile gently and say, "I'm already married." Another month went by, and the husband the owner kept mentioning never appeared. Someone couldn't help asking an employee, "Is your boss really married?" The employee looked at a black Bentley that had been parked outside the alley for who knew how long. She advised them, "Leave while you still can." The owner wasn't just married. Her husband was the jealous type. - Yu Tangyin's married life was both quiet and full. Her husband was busy with work and rarely came home, but every week, money appeared right on schedule on the card for household expenses. Though she had a face that attracted admirers, there had never been a rumor that might threaten domestic harmony. Her only problem was dealing with her husband's excessive demands. Every weekend, her body clock was completely thrown off. Her plans for the day fell apart before they even began, leaving her sprawled in bed, questioning her life. Her husband pressed up against her from behind, his voice low. "Work is so exhausting. I need my wife's hugs." Poor thing. She softened. Much later, one day, Yu Tangyin lay on her husband's back and drowsily asked, "What are you looking at? You've been staring at it for ages." He flipped through his middle school yearbook, his voice lazy. "Looking at myself back then. I want to tell him something." "What?" "Your dream came true." Theme: Dreams are the sun of life.