On the eve of the college entrance exams, in a corner of the classroom.
Xu Jinsui secretly looked toward a certain seat.
The boy had handsome features and a clean, sharp profile. He smiled lazily, lips curling.
There wasn't anyone at school who didn't know him.
Sheng Yu was carefree, spirited, and a prominent figure at Yuchuan No. 1 High School.
She had once pretended to be calm as she handed him a classmate autograph book. He had simply set it aside and gone back to listening to his deskmate, eyes lowered and expression nonchalant.
Xu Jinsui's throat tightened, and she hurriedly looked away.
He would never know that he was the secret, bittersweet, unrequited love of her youth.
*
Years later, the two met again. Xu Jinsui was on a blind date.
She tried to fend off her date's advances. "I like men taller than me."
Her date said, "You're five foot six or seven, and I'm five foot seven. Doesn't that make me taller than you?"
"..."
Just as she was at a loss for words, a lazy chuckle sounded nearby. Xu Jinsui looked toward it.
At the table behind her, a man lounged in his seat. His face was familiar.
He gave her a knowing smile, his tone calm and certain. "She's exactly 167.6 centimeters tall. Are you sure you're taller than her after taking out your height-increasing insoles?"
*
Sheng Yu, deputy captain of the Yuchuan City Criminal Investigation Brigade, was not only highly capable, but handsome enough to have no shortage of admirers. He always looked relaxed.
But when it came to investigations, he was famous for being decisive and efficient.
Once, after questioning an arrogant criminal, he looked grim. His junior officers assumed the criminal had angered him and didn't dare approach.
Sheng Yu frowned at his phone. As one junior officer passed him, he glanced over curiously and immediately made a complicated face.
Captain Sheng, who was merciless toward criminals and cold as ice toward women, had a woman's photo as his chat background.
He was messaging her:
[You haven't replied to me in five hours and twenty minutes.]
*
Later, one day, Xu Jinsui found a classmate autograph book in Sheng Yu's high school textbook. It was the one she had once given him and never gotten back.
The message in it was written in wild, sweeping strokes.
- Xu, why were you sneaking looks at me?
That night, the lights were dim and the air was thick with desire.
Sheng Yu held Xu Jinsui tightly in his arms, his scorching breath brushing her neck.
He kissed the corners of her reddened eyes again and again, drawing out his words. "Why are you crying, Doctor Xu?"
"Did you like me back then, when you were sneaking looks at me?"
"How much did you like me? Enough to keep loving me for the rest of your life?"
Theme: A bittersweet secret crush, finally seeing the light
