Crossing the Line

[Blurb to be completed]

Back in college, Fu Xiao and Zong Qingchuan had a romance that everyone knew about.

One was a poor girl from a small town, the other the heir to a powerful, wealthy family. Like so many campus romances, theirs ended in failure.

Some said Fu Xiao's dreams of marrying into a wealthy family had been shattered: a Cinderella would always be a Cinderella. Others said Zong Qingchuan had long since tired of her and was about to marry a real princess.

But few knew that Fu Xiao had been the one to ask him out, and Fu Xiao had also been the one to break up with him.

What's more, four years later, Fu Xiao had become a sought-after young artist. When they met again at a banquet, around a corridor's corner, Zong Qingchuan heard her assessment of their relationship. It was just eight words:

"No hidden reasons."

"No regrets."

*

Afterward, Zong Qingchuan leaned against the headboard, feeling like a wronged little wife. As Fu Xiao got up without a trace of reluctance, he raised an eyebrow. "You pull up your skirt and pretend you don't know me? Fu Xiao, you're something else."

He fell silent for a moment, then said out of nowhere, "But I regret it."

"Regret what? Letting me go back then?" Fu Xiao smiled, unconcerned.

"I regret not going with you."

It was only tens of thousands of kilometers and a dozen or so hours in the air. He could have endured that. What was the big deal?

*

Fu Xiao won a prestigious award in one fell swoop and stole the spotlight.

A friend teased him, "Guess your parents won't stand in the way of your relationship anymore."

Zong Qingchuan glanced at him. "If you can't say anything sensible, keep quiet."

His voice was wistful yet relieved. "She didn't get to where she is today for anyone else, let alone to marry someone."

"She did it for herself, and nothing more."

Theme: To be added