The Young Lady

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Proud, straightforward heiress vs. awkward, stubborn, broke bad boy

Zhou Yijing had always known how important money was. Give people a little money, and they'd circle her like pugs. Her father had given her more money than she could count, so wherever she went, there was never a shortage of people orbiting her. Then one day, she met a dirt-poor guy who had little going for him besides his good looks. She asked him for directions to the arcade, and he pointed her toward the psychiatric hospital instead. Whenever he saw her, he tried to avoid her.

She was furious.

She hated that broke guy!

As luck would have it, that guy kept turning up, like he was haunting her, and always when she was at her most miserable.

After she'd argued with her father on the phone, he leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, watching her.

"Come on, Miss. Let's go get ice cream."

After she did something wrong and hurt someone, he sent her a message as if he could read her mind.

"Miss, want to make a call?"

On New Year's Eve, she sat before a table of instant noodles. The phone rang. It wasn't her father calling to apologize, but that guy's stubborn, pleasant voice.

"Miss, get outside."

Every time, Zhou Yijing wanted to give him money. She'd heard how miserable his life was. His father had gambled himself into debt and been hacked to death. His mother had run off with someone after taking all their money. All he had left was his sick grandfather, and the two of them depended on each other. He'd dropped out of school to work, pay off the debt, and support his grandfather. Surely life would be much easier for him if he had money.

But the guy was stubborn. He always refused, and even found ways to pay her back. Honestly, what a stubborn idiot!

But then, on an ordinary weekend, Zhou Yijing went to see him again and found only a locked wooden door.

Zhou Yijing hated being left without a word.

Like pearls from a broken string, they rolled off in different directions and never crossed paths again.

They met again six years later, when Zhou Yijing returned from studying abroad and saw Lin Yiyang at the airport. He was no longer the down-and-out poor boy from a small town. Now he was a celebrated painter, highly sought-after and surrounded by acclaim.

Ignoring the crowd pressing around him, he clutched the toy pendant she'd given him back then and walked over. There was no hostility, no awkward small talk, only a restrained, humble invitation: "Miss, would you give me a chance to make it up to you?"

Later, Zhou Yijing learned that during all those times she thought she was alone, Lin Yiyang had been behind her, quietly showing up and witnessing it all.

This is a short practice piece. Both leads have flaws. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a happy, peaceful life and get everything you wish for!

Created 2024/05/13. Blurb written 2024/07/14 and screenshotted. Revised 2024/09/08.

Theme: Love makes us better and better