A Stop Along the Way

One day, the company Wen Lü worked for was suddenly acquired.

They said the new owner was Zhou Chai, the rising star of the industry who never smiled.

Wen Lü's heart trembled. The man in the rumors was very different from the boy she'd known in high school.

At eighteen, Zhou Chai was arrogant and carefree, the object of everyone's adoration and someone people also went out of their way to avoid.

At eighteen, Wen Lü was gentle, confident, and an excellent student, the kind teachers liked best.

That year, he pursued her with such fanfare that everyone in Yunyi knew she belonged to him.

Then, without a word, they went their separate ways and never crossed paths again.

Oh, he never won her over.

People thought to themselves, Well, that makes sense. Someone like Zhou Chai, who treated life like a game, couldn't truly love anyone.

No one knew that the two of them had once been together.

They'd held each other in a hospital room on a winter night and kissed in a summer alley. He'd brought her flowers at dawn just to see her smile, and raced around in the dead of night trying to find her.

He'd told her he loved her countless times, his eyes and heart full of affection.

The day they parted, the air was damp. His defiant spirit had been shattered and pieced back together, leaving him humble. He clutched her wrist and begged, almost desperately, "You love me."

Wen Lü had never changed. She was still gentle. "I changed my application. My school is in Ningcheng. Goodbye."

After that day, they truly never saw each other again.

Until, after the heaviest snowfall Ningcheng had ever seen, they unexpectedly met again, just as she'd said.

By then, he was a rising star in the industry, and she was one of the standout employees at his company. An old high school friend teased him, "So, President Zhou, who'd you come all the way from Pingcheng to Ningcheng for?"

"I'm a fool. I went out of my way to find her." He held a glass of wine, his expression bland, as if he didn't care.

Wen Lü was right behind him. After hearing that, she simply drank her wine in silence.

Wen Lü knew she was in the wrong and avoided him at every turn, but things never went as planned.

After eating food a friend had brought her, she was poisoned and hospitalized. Dazed and barely conscious, she seemed to kiss someone and say, "A-Yu, I miss you."

The Yu she'd kissed instantly changed expression. He held her chin, his face dark. "Who are you calling?"

Wen Lü couldn't make out what he was saying. She could only shed silent tears, which fell onto his hand, warm and searing.

His hand came to rest on her neck. His eyes held boundless fury, yet he leaned in and kissed her lips.

When she came to, the first thing she saw was her immediate superior, the man she'd been avoiding.

Leaning back in his chair, he looked relaxed and spoke casually. "Wen Lü, you just kissed me."

*

Each other's first love, reunited after a breakup.

No intimate contact before adulthood.

Coming soon: Butterflies Beg for the Summer Solstice

Weizhou, a coastal city where even a bus ride can turn romantic.

And on that bus, Wen Yucai not only stumbled into a romance, but also made a fool of herself.

Qi Xia was her university classmate and high school classmate. Back then, their only interaction was when he collected her homework once as the class representative.

It was the beginning of summer. She sent him a message out of the blue, asking if he wanted to date her.

The sun blazed, and the green glass bottle of soda in his hand seemed to shimmer.

Qi Xia looked up. Their gazes met for two seconds, then he lazily pulled down his cap and said, irreverently, "You missed your stop."

Wen Yucai: (°A°`)

The second time Wen Yucai saw Qi Xia was at a bar.

The lights were dim. She made a beeline for a figure from behind, grabbed his clothes, and angrily yelled with a swagger, "Are you being a guy's mistress?"

Qi Xia turned around, a smile tugging at his thin lips. He said casually, "That's a pretty nasty thing to say, classmate."

Wen Yucai: o.O

The third time Wen Yucai saw Qi Xia was at the library.

A stack of exam papers lay on the desk. She secretly passed him a note.

[What are you writing?]

Qi Xia glanced at her, lowered his eyes, and gripped his pen. His handwriting was bold and powerful.

[What does it have to do with you?]

Wen Yucai: "..."

*

Later, when summer was in full swing, even the evening breeze carried the scent of the sea.

On the beach, the boy kissed her carefully and asked softly, "What are we?"

Wen Yucai thought about it.

Emm... maybe we're about to break up?

Theme: Be free and brave, and find your way to each other.