Redeeming Summer

[Cool, aloof academic ace x favored child of heaven | Rekindled love | The chase is on | Happy ending]

The summer of their second year of high school was loud with cicadas.

Jiang Xianyu had eyes only for the name on the year-ranking board right beside hers: He Qingci.

He was her only rival, a brilliant, uncompromising force in competitions.

But he was also the one who offered her an approach to a problem whenever she frowned, “happened” to pass her an ice-cold drink after basketball games, and stood up for her in front of everyone.

The boy's bold, unmistakable favoritism was like the blazing summer sun, so scorching it made her heart flutter.

At last, just before summer vacation, she worked up all the courage she had and asked him to meet her.

She wanted to say: He Qingci, should we... give us a try?

But he stood her up. He disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only the words “going abroad.”

Six years later, Jiang Xianyu had become a formidable, renowned lawyer, cool-headed, self-possessed, and seemingly untouchable.

A class reunion, planned long in advance, forced her to face the past.

Beneath the shifting lights, He Qingci's gaze fixed on her like a branding iron, deep and unreadable.

When an old classmate asked how she was doing, she tilted the sparkling diamond ring on her ring finger and smiled. “I'm engaged, thanks for asking.”

It was the reward she'd bought herself for winning her first case.

Beneath the crystal chandelier, she clearly saw He Qingci's eyes turn instantly bloodshot, then freeze over and shatter.

Later, everyone in Jing City's legal circles knew:

The proud, aloof heir to the He family had completely lost his composure in front of Attorney Jiang.

When she worked overtime, he brought her a late-night meal and waited all night.

When she ran into trouble, he used every resource he had to clear the way.

When she furrowed her brow, he acted as if disaster had struck, wishing he could take her place.

Everyone said He Qingci was burning himself to ashes in his desperate pursuit of his lost love.

Only Jiang Xianyu knew that every time he stubbornly offered her his heart, he was trying to explain the terrible storm that had made him leave without a word.

“Xianxian, I owe you for that summer,” he said, his eyes filled with pain and regret that would not fade. “I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

He would atone for abandoning her back then; she would atone for shutting her heart away. Together, they would reclaim the time they'd lost.

Theme: They met in summer, parted in summer, and reunited in summer. In the flood of time, love and redemption both take courage. True growth means learning to forgive and embrace once more.