No Falling in Love

When Yun Yan first meets Xin Yu, she can only think that this girl is impossibly beautiful.

Her straight black hair falls to her shoulders, smooth and glossy. Airy bangs frame her delicate brows, and her round, bright eyes are like stars in the sky.

Yun Yan sits beside her. The girl turns and says shyly, “Hi, I’m Xin Yu. We’re deskmates starting today.”

Seeing her whole face, Yun Yan becomes even more certain: she really is beautiful.

The kind of beautiful that makes it impossible to look away.

Yun Yan’s expression remains unchanged as she says coolly, “I’m Yun Yan.”

Xin Yu smiles and tilts her head slightly. “Then can I call you Yanyan?”

The autumn sunlight streams through the window, bathing the girl in a warm glow. Yun Yan hears her own heartbeat clearly: thump, thump, thump, each beat deafening.

“Yanyan, the teacher said...”

“Yanyan...”

Yun Yan doesn’t like her own name. Only when Xin Yu says it does it seem bearable.

They read the same novels and follow the same anime, help each other deal with their admirers, and even have birthdays just one day apart. They get along so well.

Yun Yan thinks they’ll be together forever.

When Xin Yu does poorly on the college entrance exams, she clings to Yun Yan and cries. Yun Yan feels even worse than she does about her own poor results.

“What do we do, Yanyan? We’re going to be apart.”

Yun Yan pats her back and comforts her. “It’s okay. I’ll wait for you at Normal University.”

After repeating the year, Xin Yu doesn’t go to Yun Yan’s university as promised. Instead, she applies to Hainan University, thousands of miles away.

When Yun Yan finds out, she asks if Xin Yu doesn’t want her anymore. Xin Yu hurriedly hugs her, her voice earnest.

“No! Absolutely not! I like you so much. How could I not want you?”

Yun Yan hugs her back, but her expression doesn’t brighten at all.

She knows better than anyone that the way Xin Yu likes her is just the way a friend likes another friend.

They spend the next four years apart, and Yun Yan often goes to Hainan to see her. The two of them lie together, talking about everything under the sun, without the slightest barrier between them. But that’s all it ever is.

After graduation, Yun Yan changes jobs several times and eventually becomes a novelist. Xin Yu becomes a middle school teacher.

They still see each other often and lie together chatting about all kinds of interesting things. The only thing Yun Yan can’t stand is how Xin Yu keeps going on blind dates, meeting one oddball after another.

One day, Xin Yu suddenly says, “I met someone the other day who seemed pretty good. I might get married.”

Yun Yan is silent for a long time. Her expression shifts again and again. She finally manages to hold herself back, only for Xin Yu to shatter her resolve with a single question.

“Will you give me your blessing?”

Yun Yan gives a cold laugh and pulls her close, a chill glint in her eyes.

“How do you want me to bless you? Like this?”

Yun Yan leans in and kisses her hard on the lips.

Xin Yu is like a startled rabbit, her wide eyes full of panic.

“Yanyan, you can’t do this. We’re friends!”

Yun Yan’s voice catches in her throat. “Who wants to be your friend?!”

Theme: Have the courage to pursue what you want