[Jiang He]
I made three rules for myself:
I must not sneak a glance at Ning Yanshu.
I must not feel sorry for Ning Yanshu.
I must not let him find out that I've been in love with him for two years.
After his family went bankrupt and he moved in next door, after he transferred from an international school and became the deskmate of an ordinary high school student like me, and after one of his ears could no longer hear the world clearly,
my first two rules were completely broken.
I thought this was the end of my unrequited love.
But I never expected him to tear away my last disguise himself.
On that rainy night, he let go of all his pride and pressed his right ear, the one with what little hearing he had left, against my lips. His burning breath nearly scorched me.
"Jiang He," he demanded hoarsely, "is there a rule saying you mustn't... fall in love with me?"
[Ning Yanshu]
Half my world had collapsed.
First my family, then my hearing.
An endless ringing filled my left ear, like a nightmare I could never wake from.
Until the girl who always smelled of spicy hot pot stumbled clumsily into my life.
She always stood on my left, shielding me from the noisy crowds.
When I couldn't hear the teacher's explanation, she would silently pass me her neat, carefully copied notes.
I was a prisoner trapped in a silent cage, and she was the only one trying to open it for me.
Only later did I learn that she loved me,
earlier than I knew, and more deeply than I could hear.
[In my broken world, you are the only echo loud enough to shake me to my core.]
Ning Yanshu's Diary
※Reading notes:
1. Third-person narration, from school life to city life
2. Deaf, aloof top student x sunny, resilient girl
3. Unrequited love comes true and mutual healing
4. The boy next door, food as comfort, and the warmth of everyday life
Theme: Study hard, keep improving, and live life with warmth and joy
