Blurb:
[Short stories are about 10,000 words or more]
Back then, he was the tallest boy in our class, and he had a good temper, too.
I used to think that a person as wonderful as him made every beautiful thing in the world seem like nothing more than an embellishment.
We spoke to each other for the first time. I asked, "Could I borrow your essay notebook?" He said yes.
On the first page, he had written just two words: "Keep it up." I knew he was encouraging himself,
but I couldn't help letting my imagination run wild.
A girl's feelings are always hard to hide. For example? Sneaking glances at his back during class, deliberately finding things to talk about, pretending not to care about him.
After the midterms, he picked up his basketball to go play and casually patted my head on the way out.
Later, we started spending more and more time together.
What left the deepest impression on me was this:
Everyone was campaigning for the school speech contest.
The teacher used the most ordinary way to choose the winner: a vote.
A few people who weren't on good terms with me started asking others not to vote for me, but he never wavered in choosing me.
I looked at him, and he looked back at me. I thought, maybe he likes me, too.
I decided that the next time I saw him, I would confess my feelings.
My friends were helping me find a chance.
I planned to tell him the day after our final exams.
For some reason, during the second semester of his sophomore year, Dai Yao began to resist studying intensely.
A few of his buddies tried to talk him out of it and spent time talking with him.
It was after evening study that day. At my friend's urging, I went to comfort him.
We talked during our ten-minute break. It was the first time I felt that ten minutes could be so short. I wanted so badly to hug and comfort him then, as his girlfriend.
But in the end, all I could say as a friend was, "I'll always be here for you."
Around the time of the midterms in the second semester of our sophomore year, we were incredibly close.
So close that for a while, I thought we were a couple.
Just before the midterms, he said he was transferring schools.
He asked my friend not to tell me.
I couldn't understand why he didn't want me to know.
Oh, right. That night, while we were talking, he had also said he would always be there for me.
On the day of the midterms, a few of my closest friends told me. I just laughed it off, as if I didn't care.
That night, the wind was strong and the air was stifling. I curled up on a bed with a few friends and cried silently without saying a word.
One of my friends comforted me, saying, "Maybe you'll see each other again someday."
I stopped crying, but my chest still felt heavy, as if I'd lost something very important.
While I was washing dishes, he was beside me, waiting around as if on purpose.
I felt so hurt.
I walked past him and went back to our classroom.
A week went by, and his seat was empty.
The teacher said he had transferred.
After the exams, I called him.
Crying, I asked him why he had broken his promise.
Why he had kept it from me.
He kept trying to comfort me.
I wanted to confess my feelings, but I didn't know how to say it.
We talked on the phone for a very, very long time that day.
In the end, I started yelling at him, asking why he had broken his promise.
He just listened in silence.
I kept thinking, why wasn't he trying to soothe me?
I got so angry that I deleted him.
In our senior year, my friend told me that Dai Yao had actually liked me, too.
But he hadn't known how to tell me. He was afraid I'd reject him.
My friend asked him if he regretted it.
Dai Yao said, "Of course I regret it. But once you've missed your chance, it's gone."
Actually, in our senior year, I was sulking and deliberately told our mutual friends that I'd moved on long ago.
I heard from other people that Dai Yao had actually been asking around about me all along.
At one point, Dai Yao even asked me through tears if I liked him.
My pride got in the way. Why should I give in just because he was showing his vulnerable side?
I said I didn't like him.
Every day, he'd ask me if I wanted to fall for him again.
On [□□], he cautiously asked if we could be friends.
I said yes, and he was happy for the whole day.
Even his social media posts said, "I like you so much, xq."
Dai Yao actually pursued me for a whole year.
That year sounds brief,
but our chat history was full of messages from him to me.
Later, he had his phone confiscated because of his studies.
I had no idea. I was chatting with my friends,
and whenever he had a free moment, he'd use my friend's phone to call me.
He hated checking the weather forecast because he didn't think it was very accurate.
But for my sake, he checked it every day and reminded me, "Wear more clothes. Don't get cold. I'm far away, but I'm thinking of you and missing you, so please take good care of yourself."
Almost every time we talked on the phone, he'd say, "I miss you so much."
The moment I remember best was when I asked him, "What if I'm not as wonderful as you imagine?" He replied, "I love every side of you."
The last thing he said to me was, "Take good care of yourself, my love."
"So he'd loved me so steadfastly all along."
"I was the one who didn't cherish him."
Theme: To be added
