Two short stories.
EP1 / Drowning in Azure Rain
A drawn-out battle between pride and a racing heart.
Quirky, warm on the outside and cool within x two-faced, foxlike neighbor and senior
From neighbors, to classmates, to strangers. After meeting again two years later, it's hard to say which of them has changed more.
Chang Peize even imagined Fu Feng walking over to straighten his collar teasingly, winking mischievously as he murmured in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Chang Peize, you seem even better at fooling people than before."
And he would pretend to laugh dismissively. "What about you?"
Carefully testing the waters, he would whisper to himself:
What about you? Could I fool you too?
EP2 / Burgundy Withdrawal
This moment is real.
Radiant yet aloof acclaimed author x clean-cut, deerlike younger art student
Eleven-year age gap / lovers become partners / rekindled romance / a touch of melodrama
Xie Chichun still remembered how timid and uneasy he had felt four years ago when he first stepped into this little garden.
At eighteen, he held Su Yu's hand and spun around with her on a glass floor reflecting the night sky, as snowflakes drifted gently down.
Naively certain he had found the most beautiful love in the world, he made a fervent wish: that they would spend every year to come together.
The next story in the series is on my profile: EP3 / Blaze, Extinguish, and Cold Tide
Surrounded by infinite possibilities, never slowing down, never touching the ground.
Resilient female university student in journalism x senior who serves as her "guiding light"
Online identity exposed / secret crush / pursuit and waiting / reality and ideals
As Qiu Yang bandaged Xue Chaoyun's wound, he remembered a rumor he'd heard long ago and joked playfully, "I heard you don't really like physical contact. So, does that include cotton balls and bandages?"
Xue Chaoyun smiled. "Do you think it does?"
Qiu Yang shook his head.
"Right. Then it doesn't."
Later, Qiu Yang asked with a serious expression, "Senior, I want to ask you something. Does kissing count as physical contact?"
Xue Chaoyun was rarely at a loss for words. A lot of terms circled through his mind, but in the end he chose an English word. Since it wasn't his native language, maybe it would feel less embarrassing to say.
It took him a moment to answer. "That counts as... intimacy."
Only after saying it did Xue Chaoyun notice that Qiu Yang was smiling, his ears red. He sighed, but indulged him all the same. "So you're a little sly too."
Theme: Love yourself before loving someone else.
