Qingshan Xunzi

"If the green hills won't come to me, I'll go to them."

Xia Xun's secret crush begins in the darkness, then inches closer, one careful step at a time, until they both know how the other feels.

The people beside him were gossiping curiously about the girl they'd just run into.

"I don't like her." Xu Qingshan cut off the source of the gossip. Without looking at the person beside him, he raised his eyes slightly, tugged at the corner of his lips, and spoke. He leaned against the hallway railing. The person beside him turned to look, raised an eyebrow, and was about to speak again. Xu Qingshan didn't notice the figure at the stairwell around the corner. He lazily toyed with the phone in his hand. The girl leaned against the wall, her long lashes trembling faintly, her eyes clouded with tears. Hearing that familiar voice, her heart slowly turned cold. The ticket in her hand crumpled in her grip, but she didn't notice. She couldn't bear to listen any longer, and ran back the way she had come.

At last, Xia Xun never mentioned those words in front of anyone again. When someone asked her later, she only smiled and stayed silent for a long while before finally replying in an oddly formal tone, "Crossing mountains and rivers is exhausting. In the end, the green hills are gone, too."

The book says that all good things must come to an end. From then on, their high school class went their separate ways.

But their reunion after a long separation seemed to prove the second half of the saying: The world is small, and people meet again.

Perhaps if you can't forget someone, your feelings really will find an answer.

A little extra:

"Xu Qingshan, I feel so lucky. So many people have unrequited crushes that never come to anything, feelings that never get closure. But I didn't just glimpse the light, I got what I wished for." Xia Xun lay on the bed, idly reading a post about unrequited love, and couldn't help sighing as she watched the man by the bed getting ready to go out.

The man didn't reply. His eyes were deep and unreadable.

Late that night, he watched the lovely woman sleeping with her head on his arm. He brushed the loose hair off her cheek, then kissed her between the brows and whispered, "No. I'm the one who should feel lucky, not you. Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life."

Blurb: A secret crush is beautiful, but painful, too. It's a grand gamble with no clear end in sight. Luckily, her green hills had long been covered in blooming cotoneaster.

And the thing Xu Qingshan is most grateful for in this life is that his beloved was brave enough to cross mountains and rivers to reach him.

That high school class from that autumn will keep making noise and walking forward together.

A secret crush means hesitation and caution, wanting to reach out, then holding your hand back.

Author's note: Don't wait on this story. I only write when I feel inspired, so updates will be sporadic. Hope you enjoy it.

Theme: Unrequited love fulfilled, and friendship