“2018.09.16 Sunny”
Day 1 of dating notes: Happiness is looking forward to tomorrow.
—Excerpt from Tao Shuran’s Diary
Tao Shuran jolted all over.
The slightly receding warmth crawled back down her slender white neck. Beside Liang Yuanjing, she suspected she was about to melt.
Her incessantly fluttering eyelashes looked, in Liang Yuanjing’s eyes, just like the wings of a butterfly constantly flapping—utterly adorable.
He chuckled lowly twice by her ear, completely unaware of how alluring he appeared.
Liang Yuanjing asked curiously, “Tao Shuran, why is your face so red?”
What answered him was Tao Shuran’s back as she fled in panic.
Liang Yuanjing held his arms crossed and watched her leave. The smile on his face did not fade; he found her reactions at certain moments simply cute beyond measure.
He asked casually, “Those photos—are they of you?”
Tao Shuran’s whole body stiffened. She felt a chill as blood surged upward. She clenched her teeth tightly and, after a long moment, managed a single “Mm.”
The joy and delight from moments ago had vanished completely.
“High school, on the sports field—those photos too?”
Tao Shuran nodded with difficulty.
“I don’t think there’s anything to it.” His drawn-out tone carried Liang Yuanjing’s usual lazy, carefree vibe. He raised his hand and patted her shoulder lightly, his voice relaxed.
“Lift your head and look. Every cloud in the sky has a thousand different shapes. You’re still you—what you look like doesn’t matter.”
“Every time during flight simulations, as I gaze at the scenery outside the glass, I think: life is but a fleeting thing, existing only in this very moment.”
Tao Shuran looked up at him. His brows and eyes, outlined against the backlighting, were exceptionally refined. In others’ eyes, he was distant and aloof, even cold and arrogant.
But the him she gazed upon was so very gentle.
People truly lived in the present, and in this very moment, Tao Shuran listened to the resounding echo deep in her chest—she liked him very much.
Liang Yuanjing had a sudden idea. “In a couple days, want me to take you for a flight simulation?”
“Sure.” Tao Shuran said softly, “I think becoming a cloud sounds pretty nice too.”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled lowly.
Tao Shuran reached out and touched the vast blue sky. Before her eyes appeared a vision of him piloting a plane through the clouds.
If she could, she was willing to become a cloud, accompanying the fleeting light, unchanging from dawn till dusk.
Tao Shuran suddenly felt a pang of melancholy—
Who would he fall in love with?
Who would have such happiness?
The incident where Liang Yuanjing punched Xu Yanyang on the spot spread like wildfire through the school. Though the conflict hadn’t happened on campus, the Flight Class was notoriously managed with military-level strictness.
By regulation, Liang Yuanjing was confined for three days.
When he emerged from the punishment, word was he hadn’t argued and had simply shed his training uniform and gone in alone.
Tao Shuran heard all this later from Zhao Zhengnian.
On the way after class, she looked at him a bit embarrassed. “If you have something to do, go ahead and handle it. You don’t need to wait for me here.”
“I’ve got nothing going on. It’s just that A Jing was worried about you—afraid that with him locked up, those restless types would start talking nonsense again.”
Zhao Zhengnian looked around. “I’ve got to keep an eye on whether that kid Xu Yanyang comes looking for trouble. Oh, right—has Fang Qingyi come to find you?”
“She’s waiting for me at the school gate. We’re going to grab dinner in a bit.”
Tao Shuran paused, hesitating as she glanced at him, but Zhao Zhengnian slapped his thigh without a second thought.
“Alright, take me along too then. I’m starving.”
In the restaurant, Fang Qingyi bit her chopsticks. The three of them sat facing each other awkwardly.
She asked, “What are you doing here? Don’t you know Ranran and I have a bunch of girl talk secrets to share?”
Zhao Zhengnian snorted. “What secrets are you keeping from me? Fang Qingyi, I even know how old you were when you got out of diapers.”
Fang Qingyi rolled her eyes dramatically.
Fine, this was the downside of living together—her mom really had no filter and spilled everything.
“Ranran, try this ice cream French toast. It’s super tasty.”
Tao Shuran forked a piece, but she ate absentmindedly.
Zhao Zhengnian caught it out of the corner of his eye and said offhandedly, “You’re still worried about A Jing? Let me tell you, confinement like this is an everyday occurrence for him, you know?”
Seeing both girls turn their gazes on him in unison, Zhao Zhengnian paused mid-bite, set down his utensils, and couldn’t help adding more.
“You know Liang Yuanjing’s mom? She’s raised him super strictly since he was little. Madam Li never hits or yells—just brings out that executive vibe she uses on subordinates at the company. If he messes up or disobeys, she grabs him by the collar, locks him in a room to reflect, and he doesn’t come out until he admits his mistake.”
“That’s terrifying.” Fang Qingyi clicked her tongue. “Looking at it this way, Liang Yuanjing’s life is actually pretty tough.”
“There was this saying…”
“Everyone thinks he’s happy—that’s the greatest unhappiness.”
Tao Shuran listened quietly with her head down for a while, then suddenly asked, “Do you know how Liang Yuanjing’s dream came about?”
“Oh, that. It’s because of his grandpa, a great air force warrior. After retiring from the force, he raised A Jing. Probably where the interest started.”
“The old man’s health hasn’t been great these past couple years.” Zhao Zhengnian tapped his head and said quietly, “Alzheimer’s. He can’t remember things.”
Tao Shuran suddenly understood.
That was why, among his peers, he always seemed overly urgent, his obsession with soaring into the skies reaching a breaking point.
Everything made sense now.
Tao Shuran realized she wanted to understand Liang Yuanjing even more.
To grasp his vulnerabilities, his obsessions—the other side hidden beneath his spirited confidence.
And these facets together formed the unique, genuine allure that made her like him.
A faint smile curved Tao Shuran’s lips, her girlish affections stirred like spring colors passing by.
The so-called confinement room was an abandoned storage shed next to the training field.
The door was locked, with meals delivered on schedule three times a day.
Tao Shuran lingered there for a long time—so long that the guard at the door had long noticed her. Finally, on her twenty-third feigned casual pass-by, the guy on duty couldn’t hold back and called out to her.
“Hey, that girl—yeah, you.”
“Are you lost? You’ve been circling around here forever.”
The guy was pretty considerate, giving her an out.
Tao Shuran clutched her hem, pursed her lips, then slowly raised her head. “No, I’m here to see my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend? The one inside?”
The guy immediately got it. “You mean Liang Yuanjing.”
Tao Shuran nodded slightly, still not quite used to the label.
She shoved the thermos box into his hands and pleaded in a begging tone, “If you can, could you please bring this to him for me?”
“That doesn’t follow regs.” The guy tsked, then joked,
“But I’ll play guardian of love this once.”
“Two dishes, one soup, and shrimp—your favorite. And they’re even peeled.”
Inside the confinement room, the guy sat cross-legged facing Liang Yuanjing and marveled, “That’s some attention to detail. You trying to make me jealous to death?”
Liang Yuanjing glanced at him. “What, want to switch places with me for a few days?”
“I couldn’t take that punishment. You went flying into a rage for a beauty, huh.” The guy glanced around casually. “Does our school cafeteria auntie have skills like this?”
Liang Yuanjing’s chopsticks paused.
A hunch struck him, and he glanced out the window. The high walls were oppressively white, with only a small skylight near the ceiling.
Looking up, he saw clouds drifting in all directions.
Liang Yuanjing set down his chopsticks and called out, “Tao Shuran.”
Rustling sounds immediately came from behind the wall. After a moment, a muffled voice transmitted through: Tao Shuran said, “I’m here.”
Liang Yuanjing sighed lightly and smiled helplessly.
The guy couldn’t take it, waved him off to reject the PDA, and left.
With the person gone, the room fell quiet again. Liang Yuanjing sat against the wall, one leg propped up, and asked her softly:
“Have you been crying these past couple days?”
Tao Shuran’s eyelashes trembled sharply. In that instant, all her timid grievances seemed pulled out by his single sentence.
She held back the sourness in her nose. “Not anymore.”
Liang Yuanjing hummed. “It’s normal to feel down after a breakup.”
Tao Shuran asked him curiously, “Have you ever dated?”
“Nope.” He admitted frankly.
“Then what kind of girl will you like in the future?”
“No idea.”
Tao Shuran let out a low “Oh,” her tone sinking a bit. The topic dropped, and quiet settled in amid the cicadas’ undulating calls from the branches.
After a while, Liang Yuanjing comforted her.
“Tao Shuran, there will definitely be someone who treasures you.”
After the mosquito enjoyed its eighteenth meal of the day, Tao Shuran slapped it dead with a smack, sending it to heaven.
As dusk fell, Liang Yuanjing said softly, “You should head back.”
Tao Shuran agreed obediently and slowly stood from the bushes.
After hesitating, she said quietly, “Liang Yuanjing, I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Separated by the wall, Tao Shuran thought he hadn’t heard.
But unexpectedly, low laughter came from the other side. Liang Yuanjing raised his brows, a hint of indulgence in his tone.
“Then I’m a bit looking forward to tomorrow.”
The three days felt longer than Tao Shuran had imagined.
On the day Liang Yuanjing officially returned, her dorm mates egged her on to go pick him up.
Luo Qiuya declared, “Best to bring a huge bouquet so the whole school knows how lovey-dovey you two are.”
“That’d be way too flashy.”
Tao Shuran shook her head and passed on the idea for being too attention-grabbing.
Luo Qiuya said, “Your relationship is so stiff compared to others. Totally different.”
Tao Shuran smiled and explained, “Everyone dates in their own way.”
Luo Qiuya reluctantly accepted that. She always lost interest after three minutes anyway, and her attention soon shifted elsewhere.
Seeing this, Tao Shuran breathed a sigh of relief.
But she bit her lip in distress. She had to play the loving couple on one hand while pretending not to like him on the other.
Secretly loving Liang Yuanjing was proving incredibly difficult.
That evening, Fang Qingyi called, saying they’d organized a gathering to wash away Liang Yuanjing’s bad luck and welcome Fu Changpei back too.
She chattered excitedly, turning on video for Tao Shuran to help pick an outfit.
Caught up in the vibe, Tao Shuran opened her closet too. “Which one do you think looks good on me?”
“That high-slit spaghetti strap dress.” Fang Qingyi said without hesitation. “Your skin’s so fair—it’ll look amazing.”
Tao Shuran hesitated. “Isn’t it too revealing? I’ve never worn this style.”
Fang Qingyi guaranteed, “It’ll look great.”
The dress was one she’d bought on a whim with Fang Qingyi while shopping on high school graduation day. She’d been bored waiting, tried it on casually, and impulse-bought it. It had sat in her closet unworn ever since.
On the way there, Fang Qingyi sat in the taxi applying foundation for her with a small mirror.
The little brush swept over her eyelids. Tao Shuran blinked unaccustomedly, feeling her cheeks itch a bit.
But thinking of seeing him soon, her heart fluttered with anticipation.
Right before entering, Tao Shuran suddenly got nervous and stood awkwardly at the door.
Fang Qingyi glanced at her. “Shy now?”
“Weren’t you bold when you agreed to date?”
“It’s a fake relationship.” Tao Shuran continued, “If the guy you like steps in to help you out and says let’s pretend to date, what would you do?”
“I’d kiss him right then, wipe my mouth, and say, ‘Oh, fake dating? Felt pretty real.’”
“That’s kinda rogue.”
Liang Yuanjing pushed through the door just in time to hear, snorting lowly. He reached out naturally and pulled her close.
He turned to Fang Qingyi. “Don’t corrupt the kid.”
Fang Qingyi teased, “Already protecting her?”
Liang Yuanjing didn’t deny it. “Sorry, I’m the type who looks after my own.”
Fang Qingyi rolled her eyes hugely and tactfully withdrew from their bubble.
Was this really a fake relationship?
Playing her for a fool?
When the world narrowed to just the two of them, Tao Shuran still felt at a loss, unsure how to act around Liang Yuanjing.
Liang Yuanjing took the initiative to ask her, “Newly bought clothes?”
As soon as he asked about the clothes, Tao Shuran grew even more uneasy. Her fair shoulders shrank slightly, and her lips moved.
“Not new ones. Bought them before but never worn. Today happened to be seeing you…”
At that point, Tao Shuran faltered. She bit her lower lip in shy annoyance and secretly thought, ‘I misspoke. It sounds like I dressed up carefully for him today.’
Although that was indeed the case.
Liang Yuanjing lowered his head. Their height difference allowed him to take in all her expressions—conflicted, awkward. He had never known that the usually serene her possessed such a rich inner world.
He couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Very pretty.”
It eased the awkwardness somewhat.
Tao Shuran lifted her head in disbelief, stared blankly, and asked him, “Really?”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow, placed both hands behind his head, stretched his neck, and drawled his words in a coaxing tone.
“Tao classmate, does my first compliment to a girl really lack all credibility?”
Tao Shuran’s heart felt as sweet as if it had been soaked in a whole jar of honey.
“There are a few of my friends inside. Do you mind?”
Tao Shuran shook her head. Her damp eyes looked toward him, harmless as a little deer’s.
Liang Yuanjing was struck dead center and couldn’t help but laugh.
He sighed once more, “Tao Shuran, how are you so well-behaved.”
Everything she did was good, as if she had no temper at all.
And because she was too good, it always stirred up the desire to protect her.
“Liang Yuanjing’s been out so long. Why hasn’t he come back?”
“Yeah, didn’t this guy say he went to pick up his girlfriend? He wouldn’t ditch us to go on a solo date, right?”
“That see-beauty-forget-friends bastard.”
Voices drifted out from the private room. Tao Shuran felt a bit embarrassed, and a thin layer of heat rose on her face.
She pushed Liang Yuanjing lightly and urged him in a small voice, “Let’s go in.”
Before entering, Liang Yuanjing gave her a heads-up.
“The dating news can’t be hidden. My friends might be pretty enthusiastic.”
Tao Shuran let out an “oh” and thought as she pushed open the door, no matter how enthusiastic could they really be.
She never expected that the moment they went in, thunderous applause erupted, nearly flipping the roof off.
Everyone in the room shouted in unison—“Congratulations to the savior’s descent, for subduing the little demon Liang Yuanjing!”
Tao Shuran opened her mouth, puzzled, and asked, “What does that mean?”
Victim 1 answered, “Back in junior high year three, I had a crush on a girl. When I finally confessed, she said she loved my bro.”
Victim 2 answered, “During training, there was a girl who brought me water on the field every day. I figured she had a crush on me. Waited from junior high all the way to high school graduation, but nothing. Just found out these past couple days—that water was what Liang Yuanjing didn’t want. She bought it, didn’t want to waste it, so she passed it to me.”
…
Liang Yuanjing rapped on the table. “Give me some face.”
He coughed lightly and hinted, “The person’s right here.”
The loudmouths immediately shut up and chorused like straight men, “But our Liang Yuanjing rejects all comers! Remains chaste as jade!”
Tao Shuran laughed.
She felt even more that he was like the sun, surrounded by a group of really great friends.
The dinner party passed very pleasantly. It was rare for Tao Shuran to feel so relaxed.
Because of the change in their relationship, she was pushed to sit in the seat closest to Liang Yuanjing. He took off his jacket and hung it on the back of her chair, stretched out one arm lazily to rest it, and occasionally turned his head to ask what she liked to eat.
Tao Shuran was dizzy with happiness.
But the last shred of reason told her that at this moment, the happier she was, the sadder she would soon be.
When it was time to wrap up, everyone had drunk a bit too much. Several were so tipsy they could barely stand.
Tao Shuran asked for their addresses, called cars for them, and instructed them to message once they arrived.
“Sis-in-law, I don’t think I have your WeChat yet. Come on, let’s add each other.”
There didn’t seem to be any reason to refuse.
Tao Shuran pulled up her QR code and handed it over. Just as the guy across from her took out his phone, Liang Yuanjing lazily reached out and blocked it.
He lifted his chin slightly, his tone indifferent.
“They can just tell me later.”
His friend couldn’t help but gripe, “No way, bro. Possessiveness that strong?”
Liang Yuanjing snorted lowly, shoved the guy into the car, and shut the door smartly.
Through the lowering car window, his clear, handsome brows and eyes appeared. He laughed and cursed, “You guys don’t have girlfriends. You wouldn’t get it.”