“2019.05.14 Cloudy turning partly cloudy”
And my best everything was you.
—Excerpted from 《Tao Shuran’s Diary》
“Wow, wow.”
Exclamations rose one after another around them. As the center of attention, Liang Yuanjing had been the focus of all gazes since he stepped into the campus.
No one had expected the first person he came back to see would be Tao Shuran.
Nor had anyone imagined that someone as proud and unruly as Liang Yuanjing would adopt such a humble stance to make amends.
Even Tao Shuran herself stood frozen in place.
She could not understand what kind of scene this was.
Clearly, she was the one who had made a mistake and angered him, so why was he the one lowering his head to apologize in the end?
In her bewilderment, Luo Qiuya spoke first to ease the awkwardness.
“Wow, so we all misunderstood. Ranran, why didn’t you tell us you and Liang Yuanjing were a little couple having a lovers’ quarrel?”
One book, two books, three… Liang Yuanjing’s pitch-black eyes fixed tightly on Tao Shuran’s face as he drew away most of the books right in front of her.
Then he held them in his arms and asked quite matter-of-factly, “Are you going to return the books?”
“I’ll go with you.”
Tao Shuran let out a soft “Mm.”
Her perceptive dorm mates had long since slipped away like smoke, leaving only her and Liang Yuanjing walking slowly along the path under the dusk sky.
“Why did you ask that?”
“I heard some rumors on the way here.”
Liang Yuanjing had one hand in his pocket while the other easily held up the tall stack of books.
Tao Shuran felt glum.
She said in a low voice, “It’s not a rumor.”
Liang Yuanjing stopped in his tracks at once. She kept her head down as she walked and did not notice him turn around, so she bumped solidly into his chest.
Tao Shuran clutched her forehead in pain but still did not dare to look up at him.
She feared seeing emotions in his gaze that would make her sad again. Perhaps after these three months, he had realized she was not a very good girl, nor was she calm or strong enough to be his nominal girlfriend.
Liang Yuanjing started walking forward again, tossing out his words in a casual, offhand tone.
He asked her, “So, have you made your choice?”
She could not speak for a moment, her heart a tangled mess.
At the library entrance, Liang Yuanjing looked at her earnestly and said, “Don’t have any psychological burden.”
“After you make your decision, the one who gets dumped or pushed away will definitely be me.”
“Why?”
“Whether it’s real or fake, there’s no reason for a girl to be wronged in a relationship.”
Tao Shuran realized, “So you said we should end our relationship because I cried sadly that day.”
“Yeah.”
Liang Yuanjing shrugged. “What else did you think it was?”
“I thought you were angry.” Tao Shuran muttered softly.
“Not worth it.” Her voice was too quiet, so Liang Yuanjing bent down halfway to listen, his tongue pressing against his cheek as he chuckled carelessly, his tone laced with nonchalance.
He repeated, “It’s not worth getting angry at a heartbroken little kid like you.”
Tao Shuran puffed out her cheeks and stressed, “I’m not a little kid.”
Liang Yuanjing gave a perfunctory “Mm-hmm” twice, clearly not agreeing with her at all.
He looked up and examined her face, then suddenly smiled with a sigh.
“Tao Shuran, your tears are too devastating to me.”
In the first few days back at base for training, he had always been restless, thinking of her teary eyes and feeling regretful, regretting that his words had been a bit harsh.
But he could not touch his phone and had no way to communicate with her.
So he could only wait until they met.
These words struck Tao Shuran with great force too.
She fell silent for a moment, returned the books to the librarian, and when they walked out of the library, she turned around and softly asked him, “Liang Yuanjing, do you know what it feels like to like someone?”
Liang Yuanjing took out two mint candies from his pocket. He unwrapped the paper, popped one under his tongue, and casually unwrapped another to stuff into her mouth.
He asked offhandedly, “What does it feel like?”
A cool, refreshing breath filled her entire mouth, like his scent, summoning back all calm emotions yet irresistibly indulging in the candy’s own sweetness.
Tao Shuran took a deep breath, her voice so soft it was like talking to herself.
“Knowing full well it’s meaningless, yet unable to stop obsessing.”
Liking Liang Yuanjing was just like a mint candy laced with sweetness.
After she said this, Liang Yuanjing fell silent too.
In his mind, he did not understand this moth-to-the-flame kind of love, but shifting perspectives, if he likened the person she liked to flying, this intense emotion suddenly became comprehensible.
So he spoke thoughtfully, “Tao Shuran, there’s nothing wrong with liking someone, and nothing wrong with not letting go.”
“These past few months, I’ve thought about it. I have no right to demand from the perspective of you not getting hurt that you stop liking someone, because the emotion of liking itself is beautiful.”
Tao Shuran stared at him in a daze, never expecting him to say such things.
She felt moved again, that urge to cry bubbling up.
Liang Yuanjing seemed to guess her reaction. “But I hope you shed as few tears as possible.”
Tao Shuran smiled and said, “I won’t cry anymore.”
Because my feelings for you are happier than anyone else’s.
These past few months, as Liang Yuanjing began withdrawing from her life, Tao Shuran came to understand that if she chose to let go now, there would no longer be any trace of her in his life.
Be brave one more time for this crush, Tao Shuran.
She mustered her courage, looked at him, and said, “Can we not break up?”
“Just keep our cooperative relationship like before.”
“Why?”
Liang Yuanjing looked at her puzzled. “If we date too long, others will think it’s real. That won’t be good for your reputation.”
“After you left, Xu Yanyang kept harassing me several times. He clearly has a girlfriend
but still came to bother me. If you’re around, he wouldn’t dare be so brazen.”
Tao Shuran lowered her lashes. “I don’t care what others say. Besides, didn’t you say you’d leave the choice to me?”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled from his chest. “Alright, Tao Shuran, you’ve gotten clever.”
Starting to use his own words against him.
He thought for a moment and said, “Then until the end of junior year. In the final year, the entire flight major will go to Aviation University for closed training. By then, you won’t see Xu Yanyang anymore.”
Tao Shuran obediently agreed with a “Okay” and quietly counted down their days together in her heart.
“Oh, right, the person I like isn’t Xu Yanyang.”
As they neared the dorm, Tao Shuran finally remembered this.
The person she liked was so wonderful; he could not be overshadowed by someone of poor character like Xu Yanyang.
Liang Yuanjing stopped under her dorm building, a hint of surprise on his face.
He naturally asked, “Then who is it?”
Tao Shuran tilted her head up, gazing at the faint new moon slowly rising above the horizon. A bitter, helpless smile appeared on her face.
She did not look at him, but her sorrow still drifted toward him.
“The moon itself doesn’t know it’s the moon.”
Back in the dorm, a deathly quiet atmosphere enveloped Tao Shuran completely.
Lin Shuang sprawled on the desk catching up on sleep, Tan Yueyi read a book, and Luo Qiuya, true to her writer persona, hammered the keyboard so hard it seemed sparks would fly.
Tao Shuran hunched over, trying to minimize her presence as she darted through the aisle.
Just as she passed behind Luo Qiuya, she was grabbed in a hug.
“Aaaah, I’m passed out from shipping you two! Ranran, quick, tell me the details of your romance with Captain Liang.”
Tao Shuran pulled her hand in a shushing gesture. “Shh, Shuang’er is sleeping.”
“She’s not asleep.”
Luo Qiuya said knowingly, “She’s just fainted from the sweetness of you and Liang Yuanjing’s love.”
No sooner had she spoken than Lin Shuang stood up and shouted, “Heavens above, when will love destined for me descend upon me?”
“Why can’t I find a single guy to my liking in all of Qing University?”
Lin Shuang, nearly five foot nine tall, had a piercing voice when she stood up. Tao Shuran exaggeratedly felt the entire dorm building could hear her echo.
She felt embarrassed and quickly said, “What are you all talking about? What do you mean shipping-fainted?”
Luo Qiuya pushed the computer toward her.
“Ranran, see for yourself.”
The screen prominently displayed the post speculating about her breakup with Liang Yuanjing.
Tao Shuran had browsed it before; many comments were quite harsh, leaving her in a bad mood for a whole day afterward, so she stopped looking.
Luo Qiuya’s fingers flew, scrolling all the way to the bottom.
It was a reply from an ID named “0713.”
“Take down the post. My girlfriend will be unhappy if she sees it.”
Simple and straightforward, the phrasing very much in Liang Yuanjing’s style.
Luo Qiuya teased with a smile, “Let’s guess who this enthusiastic netizen 0713 is. Oh, too hard to guess.”
It was Liang Yuanjing.
“What does 0713 mean?”
Tao Shuran smiled lightly, a bit shyly saying, “It’s the name we gave a cat we fed together.”
“Too sweet! I declare Liang Yuanjing the most protective boyfriend I’ve ever seen.” Luo Qiuya shrieked and ran off, muttering to herself.
“Don’t mind me, I’m going to write you two a hundred fanfics.”
Tao Shuran had not expected Liang Yuanjing to use that as his ID.
He did not know the true meaning of that date, yet it unexpectedly touched the deepest part of her heart.
Tao Shuran’s life fell back into a long-absent calm.
Every day, she got up as usual, attended classes. The difference was that she occasionally ran into Liang Yuanjing on the path after class.
These serendipitous encounters became the source of happiness in her life.
Finally, she met him again in Lin Tingzhou’s office.
Tao Shuran had come to Lin Tingzhou’s office to pick up competition materials. There was a National Cultural Relics Restoration Competition in May, and Lin Tingzhou planned to have her participate to gain experience.
When she heard the news, Tao Shuran was surprised herself.
She asked incredulously, “You mean me?”
A student who had only been in contact with cultural relics restoration for less than a year.
“The competitors are university students from all over the country; they haven’t been in the field much longer than you.”
Lin Tingzhou smiled and said, “First enter the Provincial Selection Competition to get a feel for it. Aren’t you very interested in hands-on restoration? Teacher Gao from junior year said you’ve attended a lot of his classes.”
Hearing this, Tao Shuran bashfully lowered her head.
She still lacked confidence; after all, she had not actually practiced restoring a relic many times.
Lin Tingzhou patted her shoulder. “I’ll give you special training in May.”
“A Jing vouched for you, saying you’d definitely do well.”
Tao Shuran looked up in surprise again. “Liang Yuanjing recommended me to you?”
“Not entirely because of him.”
Lin Tingzhou said, “Among your cohort, you have the best professional knowledge and are willing to put in the effort. I chose you because of your own hard work.”
These words motivated Tao Shuran.
She nodded vigorously. “Teacher Lin, I’ll work hard.”
“No need to be too anxious. In sophomore year, you’ll gradually get more hands-on classes. The new campus is about to be built, right? It’ll have a whole floor dedicated as your practice room.”
Tao Shuran paused. “You mean we’re moving to the new campus?”
Lin Tingzhou nodded. “The exact time isn’t set yet, but the new campus has a better environment. What, you don’t want to go?”
Tao Shuran’s heart skipped a beat.
She shook her head quickly.
“I’ll head back now, Teacher.”
She walked back to the dorm absentmindedly and stood downstairs in a daze for a while.
If Luo Qiuya and the others heard about moving to the new campus, they would probably spin in circles with joy on the spot.
But Tao Shuran felt no delight at all. The new campus was in Linchuan, which meant taking Line 2 subway for half an hour to get back here.
But what reason did she have to come back here?
Even the chance encounters would be gone.
Tao Shuran squatted down dejectedly and rummaged through the grass, starting to look for 0713.
She first called its name, then started meowing “Mimi,” but 0713 still did not come out.
Tao Shuran sighed and began “Meow meow meow” searching everywhere.
Finally, in the grass around the corner behind the dorm, she found the orange cat.
And saw an unexpected person.
Liang Yuanjing wore a gray hoodie with a checkered flight jacket over it, one hand carrying a big bag of cat food as he half-squatted feeding the cat.
Perhaps because of his generous feeding, quite a few stray cats gathered at his feet, all breeds and colors.
Liang Yuanjing clearly didn’t quite understand the kittens frantically rubbing their heads against his shoes. He clicked his tongue while desperately retreating backward.
Seeing this, Tao Shuran couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She took out the packaged cat food she had brought from her pocket and squatted down, first feeding the one she was most familiar with.
Liang Yuanjing stared intently for a few seconds.
He asked her, “Tch, who’s this big fat cat?”
Tao Shuran: ……
“0713.”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow.
Was it necessary? He’d only been gone a few months, and that little Garfield had turned into a heavy truck?
He nodded, drawing out his tone.
“Oh, our 0713, huh.”
Tao Shuran’s feeding motion paused for a moment. Then she gently stroked 0713’s head.
‘Our.’
She liked hearing that word from Liang Yuanjing’s mouth.