Radiant good girl vs. handsome, roguish troublemaker
[Mutual pining, second chance romance, groveling]
[Synopsis]
1/
During the summer break of her junior year, Xu Zhiyan moved out of her dorm for an internship. While looking for an apartment, she happened to run into Lu Sheng, the boy she'd secretly loved in high school.
Back then, he had the looks and the family background. He was the top student in the science track, and could always be found on the basketball court or performing at school celebrations.
She, meanwhile, hid behind thick, black-rimmed glasses, buried in her books, and had no place in his dazzling circle of friends.
She still remembers the faintly cool evening breeze stirred up as he laughed and joked with his friends while passing by her, and the way her heart skipped a beat.
She also remembers waiting for him after evening study sessions on summer nights, timing it just right so she could follow his shadow out of the school building, her heart full of both happiness and ache.
Now they live under the same roof. She can admire his handsome face up close, and has even heard the murmurs he whispered in her ear while drunk.
One day, she bought herself a birthday cake and was celebrating in the living room when he unexpectedly came back from an out-of-town competition.
"What did you wish for?" he asked.
She looked away. "It won't come true if I tell you."
But when he glanced at her with that smile that made her heart stop, the love she'd hidden all those years burst out again, wild and unstoppable.
2/
At a friend's birthday party, Xu Zhiyan saw the woman accompanying him and finally gave up on him. With alcohol emboldening her, she poured out everything she'd kept inside about her crush on him.
"Lu Sheng, I've liked you for seven years." Her tears spilled over as she smiled. "But I don't want to like you anymore."
In the dim light, she didn't see that his eyes were just as red.
The next morning, sober and remembering what she'd done, Xu Zhiyan blushed with embarrassment. She packed her things and prepared to move out at once.
But as she carried her luggage through the door, Lu Sheng blocked her way.
"Xu Zhiyan, have you forgotten what you said last night?"
3/
Years later, they meet again beneath an eave as the first snow falls in the northern country.
Lu Sheng speaks first, his tone barbed. "Wasn't life abroad great? And yet here you are, back again."
Rid of her old insecurities, Xu Zhiyan is like a rose blooming in the snow, bold and carefree. "In the end, you still have to come home."
Later, unable to bear her indifference, he takes the initiative and pleads, "Xu Zhiyan, let's start over."
But she shakes her head. "No."
During her years traveling far from home, she saw a wider world. Love doesn't seem quite so important to her anymore.
--First draft written on 2024.2.21. It may change, but the story won't.
"Reader's guide"
1. Happy ending
Theme: Love and growth
