(Older man and younger woman, both each other's first and only; the untouchable flower descends from her pedestal.)
In the summer of 2021, Jiang Tan first met Zhou Yinghuai.
The man gripped her wrist and pulled her into a shady corner. "Jiang Tan, the shortcut is right here. Are you taking it?"
At his words, Jiang Tan looked up at him.
Jiang Tan loved Zhou Yinghuai. She loved his reserved, indifferent expression and faint smile. She loved how he was always composed and never let his heart be moved. But this was no heartfelt, anguished romance between innocent lovers. It was an unspoken exchange.
And yet it was Jiang Tan who broke the rules and chose to fall for him. Snow piled on her shoulders, her voice desolate as she said, "Zhou Yinghuai, don't just like me. Love me."
His expression was as impassive as ever, but for once he was serious. "Tantan, I don't have that in me."
She left on a snowy night. Zhou Yinghuai said not a word to stop her, though the lights stayed on all night.
In the summer of 2023, Jiang Tan's business was beginning to take shape. The man who had once kept a low profile was now attending all kinds of meetings, making headlines, with a dazzling fortune and devastating good looks.
Jiang Tan looked at the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, tapped the screen with her fingertip, and felt her heart seize.
They met again at the conference table and acted like strangers. Jiang Tan crossed swords with his subordinates and lost ground at every turn. The man sat at the head of the table, watching coldly.
After the meeting, Jiang Tan clenched her jaw as she packed up. Zhou Yinghuai lifted his eyes slightly, his tone flat. "Jiang Tan, long time no see."
Jiang Tan walked away without looking back.
At last, beneath the night lights and clinking glasses at Yangshan Port, Jiang Tan sat in a corner, drunk. Zhou Yinghuai approached casually with a cigarette between his lips, a high heel in his hand.
In full view of everyone, the most indifferent man bent down to put her shoe on for her.
Her voice choked with tears. "Zhou Yinghuai, you don't love me. Why are you showing up in my dreams?"
His eyes darkened. After a long pause, he said softly, "Tantan, then how about I set off some fireworks in your dream to make it up to you?"
Everything you said the world had to offer, I've tried. I still only like you.
I will beg her to come back. I will ask her to love me.
Utterly composed, hopelessly infatuated
