If It Were You

["Have you ever killed someone out of jealousy?"]

On a chilly night with rain falling from the eaves like strings, a man walked up beside Gu Yin under a black umbrella and asked her that question.

He was handsome as a painting, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes darker than the sky screen that night.

He didn't know that Gu Yin had hidden countless times behind a school pillar, watching him disappear into the boundless night as she softly hummed a melody of high mountains and flowing water.

Later, Gu Huai heard the words seventeen-year-old Gu Yin had sung to him on her voice recorder:

"If I had to compare you to a song, it would be high mountains and flowing water."

"High mountains and flowing water?" He chuckled. His long, pale fingers slowly unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time. "Yinyin, count how many bite marks you left on your high mountain and flowing water's shoulder last night. Is that how you treat your high mountain and flowing water?"

-

I once thought that was a mountain and river beyond my reach.

Until one day,

that mountain and river built a city for me

and told me:

You are the only king of this city.

[Mystery. Secret Crush]

Blurb archived: 4/7/2023

The title and lyrics quoted in the blurb come from the song "If I Were to Compare You" by Liu Jinrui.

Theme: Think about it some more