Cherished Yu

Lin Xihe once thought about sinking into the darkness like this, no longer chasing after the light. But then, one day, he met the star that belonged to him...

A news report stirred up a huge public outcry in Shangzhao City. Its subject was Mr. Lin Chenglin, an entrepreneur who had once achieved great success. The largest publicly listed company under his control, Zhaohai Group, had been hit by serious financial irregularities. The whereabouts of more than a hundred million yuan in transactions were unknown, and there were suspicions that its annual tax report contained false information. Its legal representative, Mr. Lin Chenglin, was now under investigation by the relevant authorities.

A month after the report was released, Zhaohai Group underwent major changes to its senior management. News about the Lin family also disappeared without a trace. Insiders revealed that the group's financial problems had been confirmed and that Lin Chenglin was about to face an enormous fine. Zhaohai Group had long been in decline, and all the gains it had enjoyed in the past had been exhausted. A new star was about to rise.

A year after the report was released, someone saw Lin Xihe, once the heir to the mighty Zhaohai Group, crouched on the floor in the kitchen of a roadside restaurant, scrubbing dishes. He was dressed entirely in cheap, rumpled clothes. The sight was enough to make anyone sigh.

As Zhaohai Group fell into decline, Xingxing Group, once the perennial runner-up close on its heels, steadily rose and developed at a rapid pace. Within a year of the turmoil caused by the loss of the industry's leading company, it quickly established itself and gradually replaced Zhaohai Group as the new industry leader.

In the year before he was due to take the gaokao, Lin Xihe went through upheaval in his family, a fight over the family fortune, and his father's disappearance. These disasters made him even more withdrawn and cold than before. Having grown up without a mother, he found it difficult to share his thoughts with anyone. His father's assets had already been confiscated, leaving behind nothing but a mountain of debt.

With no other choice, Lin Xihe took jobs wherever he could, rushing from place to place to earn enough to pay his tuition. He thought he could just keep drifting from one place to another, no longer hoping for anything good. Perhaps that was simply the path meant for him. But even so, his father's former creditors still refused to leave him alone. They searched everywhere for him, demanding an explanation and insisting that he repay the debts. With no choice, after the gaokao ended, Lin Xihe went into hiding, moving from one place to another in Shangzhao City to scrape together a living.

One day, trapped in a narrow alley with nowhere left to run, he lay sprawled on the ground, covered in injuries. The air reeked of decay. After beating Lin Xihe, those men gave him one last deadline to repay the money, forcing him to sign one contract after another. Then they left him leaning against a corner, head bowed, utterly unresponsive.

Just then, Shen Xingyu, who had been born with a terrible sense of direction and was hopeless at finding her way around, happened to wander into the alley by mistake. She saw what looked like a human figure huddled in the corner. Ever kindhearted, she hesitated before edging closer. She softly asked Lin Xihe how he was while carefully feeling her way along the wall. Lin Xihe did not move at all. He remained with his head bowed, looking lifeless.

Afraid something might really happen to him, Shen Xingyu had no choice but to summon her courage, crouch down, and tap Lin Xihe on the shoulder. Only then did he react. He turned his head slightly and glanced at her, then lowered it again. His brief glance frightened Shen Xingyu, but he looked so thin and frail that she decided he probably would not pose any danger to her.

So she lightly tapped Lin Xihe on the shoulder again and said, "Hey, why are you sitting on the ground like this? What's wrong? Why don't you go home?" He remained as motionless as a statue after her first two questions. But perhaps one of the words in her third question struck a nerve. He slowly raised his head and looked at her without saying a word.

Shen Xingyu had always been popular, and her friends had always doted on her. No one had ever left her words hanging without a response. But this boy in front of her was completely ignoring her, and she started to get annoyed. She went on, "Why aren't you saying anything? I've asked you so many questions, and you..."

At last, amid her nonstop chatter, Lin Xihe replied, "Home? I haven't had a home in a long time. You don't need to concern yourself with me. Go away." Shen Xingyu heard the disappointment and pain in the boy's voice and was moved. Her irritation vanished, leaving only silence.

Although the boy had made himself perfectly clear, Shen Xingyu was not so easily deterred. The girl with the high ponytail slowly stood up and looked down at him. Then, all of a sudden, she bent over and reached out to grab Lin Xihe. The boy, who had been sitting silently with his eyes closed, was caught off guard as she hauled him to his feet.

Confusion filled the boy's eyes, but Shen Xingyu did not care. Grabbing Lin Xihe, she ran toward the entrance of the alley. The boy stumbled along behind her, while the girl's determined figure led them out of the dim alley and into the warm, bright glow of the streetlights.

Theme: May we all find the happiness that belongs to us