Dense Fog

On the day Xu Mian and Lin Yuze took their graduation photos, he asked her if there were any flowers suitable for a confession. Xu Mian froze.

She sincerely hoped the person he liked was her. But things didn't go as she wished.

That night, she cried until she could barely breathe.

She really envied fish. They had no body heat or heartbeat, only seven seconds of memory, and no feelings to worry about. Even the sea hid their tears.

Only when Lin Yuze left did Xu Mian learn that the person he had confessed to was going to the same university as him.

I hope we meet again at the right time.

I hope I can be the one you fall for at first sight.

"I have left your world. I won't stop you from finding someone better, but you'll never know how I cried for you until I lost control. Even I envy that version of myself.

In the end, I'm just a supporting character. I can't leave much of a mark on your heart.

After Lin Yuze left, Xu Mian threw away everything that reminded her of him. She even cruelly tossed out their graduation photo.

The wind was strong that day. Scraps of paper of all sizes flew out of her diary. They read: 'His zodiac sign is Capricorn.' 'His favorite food is braised pork and seaweed-coated pork rib powder.' 'He often plays video games with his buddies.' 'Every time I talk to him, he annoys me, but somehow I can't bring myself to hate him.' 'Sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.'

Actually, I saved your photos and looked up your zodiac sign. I even wrote down the things you liked. I loved you far more than you could have imagined, but I never told you.

In September 2020, at age 24, Xu Mian was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer.

In the few months she had left, she painted the thing she regretted most and submitted it to an art exhibition.

The exhibition opened on December 21. That day, crowds poured into the gallery. Everyone was astonished by and praised Xu Mian's masterpiece, not only because it was beautiful and enormous, but also because she was the famous artist known as Da Wu.

The masterpiece showed Lin Yuze, just as he had looked on the day he came to ask Xu Mian about flowers.

He held a bouquet of hydrangeas, with the setting sun and dusk behind him.

Amid the crowd, a young man who knew his flowers spoke up. "Hydrangeas... Don't hydrangeas symbolize first love?"

At those words,

Everyone thought Xu Mian had been happy, but the truth was just the opposite. She had been unfortunate.

Just days before the exhibition opened, on the 17th, she had left this world forever.

That day, the song Da Wu became a huge hit. One of its lyrics was especially popular:

'Fog rises everywhere, and I hide away in secret, loving you where no one can see. When the fog lifts, everyone knows I love you.'

Thirteen-year-old Xu Mian met fifteen-year-old Lin Yuze.

At fourteen, she fell in love, and she loved him all the way to the present.

She couldn't let go of her feelings, so at the moment of her death, she chose to find peace.

Through her painting, she told everyone: she loved Lin Yuze.

People only looked at the painting. They may not even have noticed the label hanging beneath the masterpiece.

You made me feel like there could be more between us, even though this was all it could ever be.

So in the end, I chose to find peace and set myself free.

The world is wonderful... Next time... I won't come back.

Theme: I wrote this on a sudden whim. It doesn't have any particularly important meaning.