“Little Yi, if you received a long-overdue reply letter, would you still choose to accept it?”
After finishing a morning’s work, Tao Shuran still hadn’t figured out how to reply to this email.
She sighed, closed her laptop, rubbed her eyes, and looked out the window.
She hadn’t gotten a reply to the message she sent to Fang Qingyi yet, but based on Tao Shuran’s many years of understanding her, the answer was probably a definite yes.
Fang Qingyi’s perseverance in liking someone was even stronger than her own.
Even with no word all these years, she was still hung up on Fu Changpei.
Seeing that it was nearly mealtime, Tao Shuran looked around the room but couldn’t find an umbrella.
Just as she was wondering what to do, her peripheral vision caught a black long umbrella standing by the door.
It still had undried raindrops on it, as if it had been hastily delivered.
Had Liang Yuanjing come back too?
Couldn’t her leaving without a word make him back off?
With that thought, Tao Shuran slowly sighed.
She propped open the umbrella and headed to the cafeteria.
Right at that table by the cafeteria entrance, she ran into Liang Yuanjing again.
He sat in the center of a crowd, his pilot uniform from training not yet changed, propping his chin as he tilted his head.
The moment she stepped in, he spotted her immediately.
Tao Shuran braced herself and walked past him, only for Liang Yuanjing to call out her name.
“Tao Shuran, a former classmate of mine.”
“Isn’t she the first place winner from last year’s Cultural Relics Restoration Competition? Oh my god, I saw you on TV.”
Catching the eye signal, Kang Bai immediately chimed in. “Yeah, yeah, we all really admire you.”
“Why not add us on WeChat? It’ll be easier to get in touch if anything comes up.”
His teammates all chimed in agreement, pulling out their phone QR codes one after another.
Tao Shuran tugged at her lips; there wasn’t even room to refuse.
She hurriedly pulled out her phone from her bag, greeting them as she scanned the codes.
At the same time, Liang Yuanjing lazily extended his hand too.
When it was his turn, Tao Shuran quickly withdrew her phone, her gaze shifting away guiltily, her voice even pitching up.
“Um, I’ll go eat first. If anyone has questions about cultural relics restoration, feel free to come ask me.”
Liang Yuanjing tsked, his gaze following her retreating back. He lifted his leg and gave Kang Bai a not-too-light kick under the table.
Kang Bai got the signal right away and yelled out across the whole cafeteria. “Hey, why not add our Liang Bro?”
“Our Liang Bro’s Moments are really interesting.”
“Is that so? I didn’t see it just now.”
She had thought she could muddle through, but everyone had noticed her distance from Liang Yuanjing.
Tao Shuran gave an awkward smile. No matter how mad she was, she couldn’t embarrass him in public.
She slowly extended her hand. “Can I scan yours?”
Liang Yuanjing raised a brow and leisurely handed over his phone. As he leaned close, he teased—
“Classmate Tao Shuran, getting your contact info is really a trial by fire.”
In a distance only they two could hear, he lowered his voice. “You’re really hard to chase.”
Tao Shuran froze completely.
Was he pursuing her now?
Her incredulous gaze turned to him, only to see Liang Yuanjing shrug candidly, his eyes clear and pure.
“Pineapple beef, white-blanched shrimp, and the sweet-and-sour ribs you like most.”
Liang Yuanjing pushed the ordered dishes toward her. “But I think they don’t taste as good as Uncle Tao’s.”
Tao Shuran lowered her gaze. “Sweet-and-sour ribs aren’t my favorite dish.”
Liang Yuanjing blanked for a moment.
In that gap of daze, some answer bubbled to the surface.
The next second, Tao Shuran’s words confirmed his guess.
Her voice was very soft as she said, “Because that’s your favorite dish.”
So every time it was her turn to order, she chose this dish.
In that moment, Liang Yuanjing truly felt the turbulent emotions hidden beneath the words “secret love.”
He deeply felt he hadn’t done enough.
Meanwhile, Tao Shuran smiled and sat down, smoothly changing the subject.
“But I do like it quite a bit. I saw a lot of the other dishes were gone just now. Thanks.”
“I’ll transfer you the money later.”
Kang Bai quickly smoothed things over too. “Let me tell you, you gotta grab food fast here. After noon, there’s basically nothing left.”
“Heard the site didn’t prep boxed lunches in time today. Liang Bro’s thoughtful; he came over specially to save you a seat and order ahead.”
Tao Shuran took a bite of pineapple.
The sweet-and-sour taste—he had guessed right; pineapple was her favorite fruit.
After the meal, Tao Shuran let out a deep breath.
She could now sit at the same table with him and eat without fleeing.
Everything was heading in a good direction.
The rain poured all night. Colleagues who went to check the site reported back that the passageway had quite a few puddles, and the nearby river could flood in at any time.
At noon, with the rain lightening a bit, several key leaders decided on the spot to head back to the site for a second rescue effort.
Before leaving, Tao Shuran got a call from home.
It was Zhao Yanyun. She had probably seen the news about the heavy rain in North City on TV and was a bit worried.
The moment the call connected, Zhao Yanyun unleashed a machine-gun barrage of scolding.
“You went to North City?”
“If I hadn’t gone to your school to find you, would I still not know about this?”
“You’re just a girl heading to such a remote place—do you know how dangerous that is? Does your school have no one else? They send a girl?”
Amid her rapid-fire output, Tao Shuran squeezed in, “Mom, I applied for this myself.”
“Then you’re even more brainless. I can’t understand it—staying in the office doing research, becoming a university teacher after graduation, what’s so bad about that?”
Zhao Yanyun’s chest heaved with anger. “I’ve already lined up an internship for you in Fuqing City. Why are you so rebellious? Why not discuss anything with the family?”
“That wasn’t discussing; that was notifying.”
Tao Shuran lowered her lashes and said softly, “Just like that year after graduation when you pried open my cabinet lock and went through my diary.”
“If I didn’t go through it, how would I know what you were up to in college?”
Zhao Yanyun sneered repeatedly. “If I didn’t look, how would I know you were so bold, dating early since high school? No wonder your grades were so bad before senior year.”
“I’m not arguing about the past. Come back soon, find a job, and when you’re at that age, start a family and career.”
Hearing that, Tao Shuran let out a mocking laugh.
She thought back to the day Zhao Yanyun found her diary, hysterically cursing her for being rebellious, even running off to Jingbei for a boy.
By then they had already broken up, and her secret crush became known to all.
The pain from that time seemed to resurface.
“I won’t come back.”
Her tone sank, carrying a faint mockery.
“And I won’t like anyone else again.”
That was the price of liking Liang Yuanjing.
In heaven and earth, she could find no boy more purely radiant than him.
A passionate first love— even after the breakup, he had preserved her dignity as much as possible.
With a love like that before, who could she fall for now?
Her phone alarm rang again, and Tao Shuran chose to end the unpleasant call.
Over the years, her calls with Zhao Yanyun were few and far between, and they were always like this. After so many, she had grown numb to the emotions.
When they arrived at the site, Tao Shuran found the situation worse than she had imagined.
The test trench was completely flooded, the tarps long torn off by the wind. What broke her most was that all the baulk walls she had just finished were collapsed.
She took a deep breath and resignedly picked up a shovel and water pump.
“No. 2 collapsed. I checked around—no adjacent squares. Senior Brother, do you think I can expand it again?”
Jin Boyu hurried over from afar, slogging through the deep mud pits one step shallow, one deep. He tried digging and nodded.
“I think it’s doable.”
With Jin Boyu’s backing, Tao Shuran felt much steadier. She turned her head to check the other colleagues’ squares; the damage varied.
The worst was a pooled area. Due to the low terrain, the only path to the burial area had been washed into a river, with both embankments at risk of collapse anytime.
Lin Tingzhou thought for a moment and decided to wade across manually, bringing drainage equipment to pump the water.
Rain boots were limited in number, so only a few could go.
Jin Boyu stepped up decisively. “Teacher, you’re older—stay back and direct. I’ll go.”
Tao Shuran quickly raised her hand too. “I’ll go too.”
Jin Boyu turned and gave her a helpless look. “Junior Sister, stay and look after the teachers. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
The wind was so strong voices couldn’t carry. In the howling gale, Tao Shuran had to raise her volume to speak.
She was forced to lean closer to Jin Boyu’s side and shouted at him, “Senior Brother, didn’t we say once you’re on site, everyone’s beasts of burden? I’ll go with you—more hands, more strength.”
“You can’t always want to protect me just because I’m younger.”
Jin Boyu sighed helplessly.
In that instant, he saw the stubbornness and resilience in her eyes. Amid the desert storm whipping mud around, she had a willow-like toughness that fit right in.
He gave in, grabbing thick waterproof gloves and putting them on her himself.
The river water was more bone-chillingly cold than she imagined. It was still summer, yet the air around made one shiver.
Tao Shuran trembled from the cold, her fingers clumsy. She tried several times to untangle the coiled hose but failed.
Liang Yuanjing walked over, deftly untangled it for her, positioned the machine, and connected all the equipment properly.
Tao Shuran asked in slight surprise, “Why are you here?”
He pointed to the badge on his chest. “I’m with the Rescue Team. They called me to help you guys.”
Tao Shuran said “oh” and glanced back at the other colleagues.
She said warmly, “I can handle it myself. See if anyone else needs help.”
He’d just shown up and she was already shooing him away?
Liang Yuanjing didn’t budge. His tall figure loomed over her, slowing even the surging water flow with the extra barrier.
Tao Shuran’s heart beat a bit faster. Her rapid breaths and chilled hands gradually warmed.
She looked up at Liang Yuanjing, expecting a standoff.
But he just sighed faintly, his clingy gaze never leaving her.
As if constantly watching her safety.
“You may not need me.”
Liang Yuanjing assured her. “But I’ll always be by your side.”
The word “always” tempted her too much.
For a moment, she heard a voice in her heart clamoring.
“To feel this again, it’s worth risking eternal downfall.”
She asked softly, “Liang Yuanjing, what do you think of me now?”
Liang Yuanjing lowered his head to look her over.
Tao Shuran smiled wryly, glancing down at herself covered in mud, rain boots sunk deep in filth, face smeared indistinguishable sweat or rain.
She knew she looked utterly disheveled right now, yet inexplicably asked him this.
Liang Yuanjing looked at her seriously.
He suddenly removed his glove, his slightly cool fingertips brushing her cheek, wiping away the splattered mud.
Then he said gently, “Bright, shining, sparkling in the crowd.”
“Really? Actually, most people in my major switch to academic research.”
“Even my family doesn’t understand my choice.”
“Because you like it,” Liang Yuanjing said knowingly. “Brave, persistent—that’s who you are.”
Tao Shuran smiled faintly.
She knew she and Liang Yuanjing were the same kind of people—those who would give everything for their dreams.
The water gradually drained, and the incessant rain finally stopped.
The nearly four-hour effort came to an end.
Tao Shuran packed up the tools and let out a long breath.
A wave of fatigue washed over her from head to toe. Ignoring her image, she slumped straight to the ground, feeling stars burst in her vision.
“So tiring,” she sighed.
Not just physical exhaustion, but the kind of weariness from not being understood, fumbling alone in the dark.
“Liang Yuanjing.”
Tao Shuran called his name softly. “Can I lean on your shoulder?”
Liang Yuanjing was defenseless against her.
He immediately half-squatted down, adjusting his shoulder to be level with hers, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly.
With a teasing tone, he said, “Tao Shuran, are you so good at playing hard to get with me?”
Tao Shuran didn’t speak.
She quietly leaned on his shoulder, having closed her eyes due to fatigue and fallen into sleep.
Liang Yuanjing was stunned for a moment, lowering his gaze to look at her tenderly.
He couldn’t help but reach out, his fingertips stroking every inch of the creases at her brow, feeling the slight tremor of her eyelashes against his palm.
Over these years apart, her gentle and serene face often appeared in his dreams.
And this time, the dream had become reality, yet it still seemed like a dream.
Liang Yuanjing’s Adam’s apple bobbed, desire sprouting up like new seedlings after long-awaited rain.
He finally couldn’t hold back.
He lowered his head and kissed her brow solemnly and devoutly.
It was also in that second as he leaned closer.
Tao Shuran suddenly opened her eyes—