(I'll finish the historical romance before continuing this one)
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Jiang Xuye x Zhou Wan
The unruly, sly old fox x the cool-faced, warm-hearted ice queen
Youth and school life
That year, Jiang Xuye's life was a complete mess.
Who could have imagined that two people so utterly different would end up together one day?
Years later, when Jiang Xuye saw Zhou Wan again, his heart still raced uncontrollably.
He recognized her at a glance.
The girl had barely changed, except that she had grown even more beautiful.
But Zhou Wan seemed not to remember him at all.
Back in middle school, Zhou Wan saw a boy crouched behind the school toilets and reached out to help him, rescuing an ordinary, insecure kid. She said only two things, words that didn't sound like they belonged to someone her age.
"Your looks aren't the standard by which you're judged. You are. If you love yourself, then you are the standard."
"Remember this: they bully you for your looks today, so one day you have to crush them with your confidence and make them feel inferior."
Those few words became the only light in a difficult time.
Jiang Xuye once tentatively asked Zhou Wan if she remembered what she had said to him back then.
Zhou Wan looked completely bewildered, her expression unmistakably confused.
The girl calmly replied, "I don't remember."
At that moment, Jiang Xuye suddenly felt like a joke. Eyes red, he laughed at himself in self-mockery. After that, he couldn't accept that he had imagined her feelings, yet he kept treating Zhou Wan well despite himself.
It turned out she didn't remember a single word she'd said behind the toilets years ago. She had only offered them to him as a passing act of kindness. He was the only one who had read so much into them, remembering them year after year.
*
Later, when Zhou Wan couldn't sleep, she remembered what had happened. She recalled how the boy's eyes had reddened back then. At the time, she hadn't understood why he reacted that way, but now, she suddenly realized.
She understood. She understood everything.
**
Later, Zhou Wan remembered him and called his name in a hoarse voice: "Jiang Xuye."
Eyes red, she told him through her tears, "I like you. I'm not lying to you. This time, I mean it."
She had once tried her hardest to love two men, but both of them left her without any warning.
"Zhou Wan, I've spent enough of this life chasing after you."
Breathing hard, he grinned carelessly. "I'm so tired. Next life, it's your turn to chase me, okay?"
"Okay." Tears and snot smeared the girl's face. "I promise."
"On this rainy day, the girl's warm heart beat one hundred and one times."
Theme: Someone will be there for you, even in that lonely winter.
