Lace's Last Words

Gentle and reserved × irreverent and carefree

Campus to city | Childhood friend gets the girl | A patient, devoted man with a secret crush | Slow burn

Love is a touch and yet not a touch.

"Love is a hand that reaches out to touch, then draws back."

-

After three years with her boyfriend, no matter how much everyone around her felt she deserved better, Tong Zhifu stubbornly and cautiously protected his fragile pride and dignity.

But the two unexpectedly ran into each other at an adult expo in Shanghai. Her boyfriend ignored his own past mistakes and, in front of everyone, calmly questioned Tong Zhifu, who was doing perfectly legitimate freelance work with a brand. He blamed her for making him lose face and called her a hypocrite who only pretended to be above such things.

On the night they parted on bad terms, after breaking up, Jing Yi appeared lazily at her side and casually took the heavy bag that had left her palm red. He scoffed, "Your ex is no good."

-

Not long after, when Tong Zhifu lied to her family and claimed she was married, Jing Yi stepped in to help and got her out of a tight spot.

After they hastily got their marriage certificate, they lived together day and night. Jing Yi took good care of her, just as he had back then.

She avoided physical contact, and he never brought it up.

During the filming of an ad for two, Tong Zhifu overcame her physical aversion and nestled intimately into Jing Yi's arms. In that moment, the pounding heartbeat was too fierce to tell whose it was.

That was when Tong Zhifu learned that physical aversion and love could coexist within her. The only difference was the person they were directed toward.

But in the end, Jing Yi had only helped her out of kindness.

-

The morning after a wild night, Tong Zhifu, blushing after losing her memory of what happened, tried to shift the blame. "I remember you made the first move."

Before he could deny it, she doubled down as if she'd been right all along, determined not to lose the argument. "So you like me, right?"

The flush still lingered at the corners of her eyes, while her hopeful gaze shone like a river of stars. Her vivid expression, challenging him with a clear "Just admit it," was utterly adorable.

Jing Yi's voice was half-amused and half-resigned, a little hoarse:

"I'm madly in love with you, okay?"

The man was never serious, so everything he said sounded like a joke. Tong Zhifu didn't take it to heart, of course.

It wasn't until later that she slowly pieced together the weight of his sincere love, one fragment at a time, from what others told her.

"What the multiple perspectives mean is that the roots of her slow growth were always planted in a field nurtured by love."

[Bonus Scene]

Long after they were married, traces of an ex occasionally surfaced.

When she cautiously asked Jing Yi if he was angry, he gave an answer that was obviously the opposite of what he felt: "How could I be?"

Tong Zhifu explained to him a claim she'd seen online that seemed to have been proven: when looking for a relationship, find someone with experience. Two beginners will have trouble adjusting to each other.

She defended herself in a small voice. "The people who came before us planted the trees, and those who came after get to enjoy the shade. You're at the perfect stage to enjoy the shade."

Jing Yi laughed in exasperation at her way of placating him. "You're pretty pleased with yourself."

-

The consequences of making Jing Yi mad were...

On the day the gifts from the brand arrived, Tong Zhifu stared at the small mountain piled up in the living room. "Three boxes?!" she exclaimed.

She murmured, "This is way too much... It'll take forever to use it all."

"A little too few, actually," Jing Yi said, agreeing wholeheartedly. Then he shamelessly added, "So I asked them to send three more boxes."

"..."

*The opening quote is from A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

*2025.07.28

Theme: Keep moving forward with courage and conviction.