After Being Hounded by the Ice-Cold Beauty

This year, Chuancheng No. 1 High School admitted an extraordinary new student: Zhu Yuchen, a ballet prodigy and rising star in the youth division.

But she is aloof and doesn't like to talk. After six months, she's ascended to the throne of No. 1 High School's unattainable beauty, surrounded by all kinds of mysterious rumors.

Song Xi, a slacker from the bottom-ranked class, once stood outside a dance studio and studied a poster of that very unattainable beauty.

In the giant black-and-white poster, Zhu Yuchen looked like a swan about to take flight, distant and proud.

Song Xi had also heard her friends talk about Zhu Yuchen's achievements and grades, and how far ahead of everyone else she was.

But that was all in the past. Now, whenever Song Xi heard about it, she could only scoff. Rumors were just rumors. You couldn't believe them blindly.

Because the most exaggerated unattainable beauty of them all, Zhu Yuchen, had latched onto her.

Song Xi could go downstairs to eat and find Zhu Yuchen waiting obediently in the stairwell with a book in her arms.

On her way home after school, she would get a message from Zhu Yuchen, right on time: I'm waiting over there.

She couldn't get rid of her even after going home. Zhu Yuchen would greet Song Xi's mother with a sweet smile, then naturally walk into Song Xi's room with her books, supposedly to tutor her.

Somewhere along the way, Zhu Yuchen started kissing Song Xi. She kissed her again and again, until Song Xi was numb, silent, and enjoying it.

Later, Zhu Yuchen went abroad, traveling between countries to compete in different events, while Song Xi stayed local and became a diligent programmer. She went to work, came home to sleep, and occasionally got stuck on a very, very, very, very long WeChat call with someone.

The next time Song Xi heard her friends mention Zhu Yuchen was the day news of her award reached China.

Her friend said admiringly, "Have you heard? Zhu Yuchen won the gold medal at the Varna International Competition recently. With that award, she might really become a company principal dancer one day."

"It's a shame she's so cold and ignores everyone. Otherwise, I'd try to get an autograph."

Song Xi, who had been coaxed into Zhu Yuchen's room just yesterday, forced to wear her high school clothes and concentrate on writing out her exam answers one stroke at a time, rolled her eyes inwardly. Zhu Yuchen being cold was a complete fabrication, nothing but a rumor!

Yesterday, Song Xi had been so flustered she could barely hold her pen!

And on top of that, she'd still been punished for getting questions wrong! Where was the justice in that?!

Before eighth grade, Zhu Yuchen's life goals were simple: study and dance ballet.

After eighth grade, she added one more: study, dance ballet, and chase after Song Xi.

But life always has its little surprises. When it came to chasing after Song Xi, Zhu Yuchen accidentally turned that goal into pursuing Song Xi.

She went to great lengths to get close, schemed to narrow the distance between them, until Song Xi's gaze was no longer innocent.

Zhu Yuchen calmly straightened her slightly rumpled collar, her lips still curved in her signature gentle smile.

But she knew her little fish had finally taken the bait...

A little scene:

Their seventh year together.

Working overtime and going on business trips nonstop made Song Xi forget their anniversary. By the time she finally remembered, more than half a month had passed since the date recorded on her phone.

Realizing what she'd done, Song Xi felt guilty and didn't dare go into the house.

But she also thought she was already exhausted from work. If Zhu Yuchen still cared about things like this, that would be going too far.

Now that she thought about it, Zhu Yuchen hadn't been checking up on her as much lately. Every day, she just asked the same things like clockwork: Have you eaten? When are you going to bed? Are you coming home soon?

The more Song Xi thought about it, the more she felt that she'd missed their anniversary and Zhu Yuchen hadn't reminded her or made a fuss. It sounded just like what her coworker had said about couples growing distant before a breakup.

The more she thought about it, the colder Song Xi's back felt. She stood at the door, holding back tears, at a loss for what to do.

Zhu Yuchen really was such a pain, always caring about these meaningless holidays and insisting they mattered.

On the way home, Song Xi had bought a little something to make it up to her. But she felt that the last-minute trinket wasn't good enough for the pampered young lady waiting inside...

Twenty minutes later, Zhu Yuchen came home from work and scooped up her girlfriend, who had curled up in the stairwell and was crying miserably.

"Song Xi..."

Zhu Yuchen had just started to ask what was wrong when Song Xi, hiccupping through her tears, said fiercely, "Zhu Yuchen, I really hate you. It's my fault I forgot our anniversary, but please don't break up with me, okay? Please don't break up with me."

Hearing that, Zhu Yuchen understood. This queen of wild imagination had already simulated a breakup hundreds of times in her head.

What could she do?

Naturally, she had to explain properly why she hadn't reminded Song Xi about their anniversary this time.

After all, if she didn't clear things up, her wife might run away!

Theme: Growing up takes one step at a time, and every step brings a reward.