Rolling In

*

Someone was longing for the past, and so they met again.

Shi Yao used to think that Ying Zhen was the type to act tough but be softhearted, that no matter how cold he seemed on the surface, he was warm inside.

But then he left without a word for ten years.

His presence had filled nearly two-thirds of her life, and his brief, weightless departure came to occupy a third of it.

So when they met again, Shi Yao coldly thought she wanted that third to stretch on, preferably far longer than the rest.

Ying Zhen spoke to her as if nothing had happened. She couldn't bear to listen, thinking, I can't pretend nothing happened.

Ying Zhen sincerely apologized. She didn't want to hear that either. An apology wasn't what she wanted.

Later, Ying Zhen explained what had happened back then. She finally gave it some thought and decided she could just about forgive him, but things could never go back to how they were.

As it happened, Ying Zhen didn't want to go back to how things were, either.

One day after they had made up, Shi Yao hit a wall at work and called Ying Zhen. The first thing she asked was, "Do you get stressed out?"

"Yeah."

"What do you usually do when you're stressed?"

"Talk to you." Ying Zhen paused for two seconds. "Like I am now."

Shi Yao froze for two seconds, too. Before she could react, he added, "How about you make yourself into a lucky charm and stand here by my side?"

"..."

*

Slow-witted and overly imaginative Shi Yao x Ying Zhen, whose tough talk means his journey is still a long one

Theme: Life is short, so it's important to find ways to relieve your emotions