That day, Qu Jingzhi was in a bad mood. He retreated to a corner with a cigarette between his lips, and no one was foolish enough to approach him.
It was the dead of winter, and the icy wind howled. Even his lighter seemed to be against him, refusing to spark no matter what he did.
He tried again and again without tiring, until at last he saw the faintest spark in front of him.
But before he could light his cigarette, someone snatched it from his mouth.
Rather than getting angry, Qu Jingzhi smiled. He wanted to see who was so clueless.
His eyes met Lin Qingjia's, calm and clear.
"Qingjia," he called to her in a low voice, his tone unlike before.
Before Lin Qingjia could respond, he asked, "Do you want to be with me?"
After nine years of secretly loving him, her dream came true.
Qu Jingzhi fulfilled almost all her fantasies. So even someone who seemed so carefree and dissolute could be thoughtful and considerate.
Later, Lin Qingjia accidentally witnessed his true colors.
Under the dim yellow lights, a friend teased Qu Jingzhi about going from a playboy to a lovesick man, then asked whether he'd chosen to be with her because he liked her.
Lin Qingjia stopped in her tracks and heard him answer carelessly with two words.
"I didn't."
Qu Jingzhi had meant to put on an act. He played his part so diligently that even he believed it. But Lin Qingjia simply said, "Let's end it here."
Only then did he suddenly realize that he was the only one who had truly fallen into character all along.
Qu Jingzhi also had no idea that someone as invincible as him could have a rival he would never measure up to.
"Who?"
"The seventeen-year-old Qu Jingzhi, who stood beneath a tree that spring and told me not to be afraid."
Theme: Love life
