“I’m not leaving.”
“What I mean is, I’m preparing for graduate school graduation next, so I probably won’t go anywhere else. I should stay in Fuqing City and focus on my thesis.”
After she finished speaking, Tao Shuran bit her lower lip in secret annoyance.
What on earth was she babbling about?
Liang Yuanjing chuckled lowly. He raised his eyebrows and deliberately repeated, “You’re staying in Fuqing City.”
“Does that mean I have a chance to pursue you?”
Tao Shuran turned her face away. She tiptoed and reached out to check the temperature on his forehead.
Liang Yuanjing cooperated by bending down. The smile at the corner of his lips was indulgently boundless.
“The fever should be mostly gone. Remember to take the medicine on time for another two days.”
Tao Shuran grabbed her bag. Her gaze dodged, and her words came out in a rush.
“There are still classes at school. I’m heading back first.”
At this close distance, Liang Yuanjing seized the opportunity this time.
He lowered his head, pinched the back of her neck with his fingers, and kissed her just like that.
The phone tossed in the corner rang.
Liang Yuanjing picked it up casually, glanced at the caller ID, and answered carelessly.
“How’d it go? Got back together yet?”
Zhao Zhengnian’s loud voice was even more excited than the person involved. “I’m telling you, the moment you got sick, I immediately thought of this move. For her to come see you means she definitely still has feelings for you.”
Liang Yuanjing coughed lightly and said flatly, “No.”
“Old Liang, you’re hopeless.”
Zhao Zhengnian tsked. “Your skills on the plane have gotten better over these years, but how come your game with girls is still so bad?”
“If you’d confessed to Tao Meimei back when we were talking about going to university, would we have this situation today?”
Mentioning this made Liang Yuanjing annoyed.
He sneered, “If you’re so good, you do it. You’ve been chasing that girl for eight hundred years and gotten nowhere.”
Zhao Zhengnian yelled loudly, “No point digging up old dirt.”
In no mood to watch him hop around mad, Liang Yuanjing lazily lay back on the bed. The neatly folded blanket came undone, as if it still held her warmth.
Everything seemed just like before.
Sometimes Liang Yuanjing wondered, if he had realized his feelings and confessed to her back in their sophomore year.
Would they not have missed five whole years?
After a brief autumn transition, as soon as October arrived, Fuqing City switched straight to deep freeze mode.
The wind made the camphor trees outside the window rustle. The greenery under the clear sky had been replaced by deep hues.
When Tao Shuran walked out of the classroom, she felt a chill carried on the wind. She wrapped her scarf tighter and fastened the belt of her trench coat more securely.
Just as she was about to head out, Jin Boyu and Gu Songnian’s group came bustling out the door.
“You’re really not coming to dinner tonight? Someone can actually turn down beef hotpot.”
Gu Songnian wore a yellow hoodie that stood out sharply in the biting deep autumn chill. The smile on his face was equally bright as he joked with her without malice.
“Junior Sister, why do I feel like something’s up with you lately?”
In terms of age, Tao Shuran was only four months older than Gu Songnian.
Combined with his unserious personality, she rarely truly saw him as a senior brother.
“I really have something tonight,” she said helplessly. “A class reunion. My friend is dragging me to it.”
As per tradition, Qing Middle School held its annual class reunion.
Tao Shuran had never attended before, afraid of running into Liang Yuanjing, afraid of hearing any topics related to him.
Afraid of hearing he was still thriving, and afraid of hearing even a hint that he wasn’t doing well.
But this time, no matter what, Fang Qingyi insisted on dragging her along. She said they’d already met and even kissed, so there was no reason to refuse anymore.
Over the phone, Tao Shuran had blushed and retorted, “We didn’t kiss.”
Fang Qingyi spread her hands. “If you say no, then no. Tao Shuran, I’ve realized you’re the best at saying one thing but meaning another.”
……
Gu Songnian said, “Alright then, no treat for your taste buds today.”
The sky gradually darkened. Jin Boyu wore a black overcoat and held car keys in his hand. Just as the group was about to set off, he suddenly turned his head toward her.
“Want me to give you a ride?”
Tao Shuran hated troubling others, so she immediately said, “No need, I can just take a cab.”
Jin Boyu glanced at her but didn’t insist.
The car was full of people. He stood under the streetlamp, the dim yellow light casting a soft halo. Every expression on his face was gentle.
“So, will you see him at this reunion?”
Tao Shuran froze for a moment and blurted out, “Who?”
“That……” Jin Boyu shrugged and said warmly, “Captain Liang.”
“You’ve never really introduced your relationship to me.”
Because for Tao Shuran, those three words—Liang Yuanjing—were forever a name buried in her heart.
She smiled faintly and slowly lifted her head. “Ex-boyfriend.”
“We dated for a while.”
The moment she said it, she felt a weight lift.
Jin Boyu didn’t seem surprised by the answer. He raised his eyebrows, crossed his hands in front of him in an “I see” gesture.
His attitude toward her didn’t change. He told her to “wait a sec,” then turned to open the car door and grabbed an umbrella.
“The forecast says rain tonight. Better safe than sorry.”
Only Jin Boyu had the habit of checking the weather forecast daily.
Tao Shuran said, “Thanks.”
The cab she called arrived at the entrance right then. The urgent honk left no gap for time.
Tao Shuran hurriedly said goodbye and was about to leave. As she stuffed the umbrella into her bag with her head down, she heard Jin Boyu ask softly—
“Are you two considering getting back together?”
Her steps paused. Confusion showed in her eyes, and even her voice hesitated.
“I’m not sure.”
Three years after graduation, everyone seemed to have changed quite a bit.
After failing the Gaokao, Wen Fangfang chose to repeat the year. Now she worked as a white-collar at a media company. When she arrived, she wore a doll-collar long dress and black round-frame glasses. She’d lost a bit of baby fat from her doll-like face, and her temperament seemed more capable.
In their junior year of university, Fang Shiyue officially debuted as an eighteenth-tier little celebrity. She was pretty and had an advantage in the entertainment industry.
Lately, Tao Shuran often saw her at the top of entertainment hot searches, apparently because she was dating a model.
“They say that model looks a bit like Liang Yuanjing.”
At the hair salon, Fang Qingyi pulled up photos of the two for her to see.
“I’d say there’s no substitute for Liang Yuanjing’s type.”
She boldly declared, “Handsome in a sharp, roguish way—cold and abstinent with a hint of bad boy. Kissing in uniform would make your legs go weak.”
Tao Shuran covered her ears. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense; it’s the truth.”
First impressions of Liang Yuanjing made him seem cold and aloof. His thin eyelids lifted lazily, sometimes without even sparing a glance.
His sharp jawline lifted slightly. Even when smiling, it felt casual and indifferent.
Tao Shuran originally thought he was unapproachable too. But after spending time together, she gradually discovered the wicked streak deep in his bones.
Once he found out eye contact made her shy, every time they talked, he’d deliberately stare into her eyes. His teasing smiles that she couldn’t resist would brush her ears, like unintentional flirtation each time.
He was a bad guy.
After finishing their styling at the salon, there wasn’t much time left before dinner. Fang Qingyi dragged Tao Shuran hurriedly to the place. By the time they entered, most of the private room was filled.
“You two are getting prettier and prettier.”
The class president stood up first and smiled at Tao Shuran. “Do you remember me?”
“We haven’t heard any news about you these years. I thought you’d gone off to develop somewhere else. Didn’t expect you’d been in Fuqing City the whole time.”
Tao Shuran smiled lightly. “I’ve always been in Fuqing City.”
The simple pleasantries ended there. She found a seat in the corner and sat down.
During this, Fang Qingyi kept checking her phone, occasionally glancing toward the door, as if expecting someone.
Tao Shuran raised an eyebrow. “Waiting for someone?”
“I asked the class president to send an invite to Fu Changpei too.”
Fang Qingyi puffed her cheeks, troubled. “Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what excuse to use to see him.”
Liking someone was probably that urge to get close by any means.
Tao Shuran bit her straw and glanced toward the door too. Suddenly, she saw a hurried, blurry figure pass by outside the window.
She tugged Fang Qingyi’s sleeve and reminded her, “Fu Changpei’s here.”
Fang Qingyi cleared her throat lightly, smoothed her hair, and pulled a small mirror from her pocket to check her face.
However, Fu Changpei hurried past her without stopping.
“Long time no see…”
Fang Qingyi’s greeting stuck in her throat and cut off. She stared at his back, feeling his deliberate avoidance. For the first time, frustration hit her hard.
After that, she was like a wilted eggplant—no interest in any games, no matter what.
Tao Shuran reached over and took her wine glass, looking at her with concern.
“Little Yi, you okay?”
“What could be wrong with me? I’m used to it.” Fang Qingyi let out a wine burp, her eyes red. She laughed bitterly.
“I’ve always known all these years—he doesn’t like me.”
No helping it, Tao Shuran let go and allowed her to drink.
She understood that bitterness of unrequited love from the heart. If getting blackout drunk could bring clarity, then so be it.
While Tao Shuran propped her chin and spaced out to kill time, Wen Fangfang came over to chat with her.
“After all these years, how come you and Liang Yuanjing still haven’t made it official?”
Wen Fangfang said in a disdainful tone, “Tao Shuran, are you up to it or not?”
At the same time, Tao Shuran’s phone on the table kept vibrating nonstop.
She said “Sorry” and turned slightly to look at the messages flashing on the screen.
It was the star of this dinner—the one and only Liang Yuanjing.
“What’re you doing?”
“Ignoring me?”
“Won’t kiss you next time, okay?”
“You kissed me last time too—tit for tat.”
“……There’s an artifact exhibit on Saturday. Wanna go?”
Too many messages—Tao Shuran skimmed them quickly and replied to the key one.
“No”
After sending those two words, the phone finally quieted.
Just when Tao Shuran thought it was over, ding—another message from Liang Yuanjing arrived.
“I was wrong.”
She could already picture him with a cold face, admitting fault through those three words.
Tao Shuran couldn’t help but chuckle “pfft,” which drew a puzzled look from Wen Fangfang beside her.
“You two secretly dating again?”
She shook her head quickly, denying it firmly.
Half-drunk Fang Qingyi suddenly slumped onto her shoulder. The incessantly ringing phone gave her a headache.
She squinted at the sender, sneered, and said to Tao Shuran in an experienced tone:
“Hey, don’t reply to him. You gotta play it cool with men—too eager and they ignore you, like Fu Changpei does to me.”
Fang Qingyi deflated. “What do I do, Ranran? I feel kinda tired.”
“If liking him has become painful, then don’t like him anymore. Just sleep it off.”
Tao Shuran lowered her lashes, put her phone in her bag, and stopped checking his messages.
She thought about it—she did need some quiet time to figure out her relationship with Liang Yuanjing.
What attitude should she take toward him? What feelings should guide the road ahead with him?
She had no answers in her heart yet. Because of the uncertainty, Tao Shuran treated him with extra caution.
“Don’t drink anymore. It’s almost over soon.”
Tao Shuran took the wine bottle from Fang Qingyi’s arms again. Just then, the class president came in from the door and said mysteriously, “Gonna introduce a heavyweight guest to everyone in a bit.”
Murmurs rose below. At the repeatedly mentioned name, Tao Shuran first thought of Liang Yuanjing.
Her lashes drooped. She turned to Wen Fangfang and said, “Mind watching her for me? I’m going to the bathroom.”
She couldn’t say why, but right now, she just wanted to avoid seeing him.
The restaurant had a garden terrace on the second floor. Tao Shuran had heard before coming that the owner kept lots of flowers up there.
She took a deep breath and slowly climbed to the second floor to clear her head.
But she didn’t expect to see an unexpected person here.
Liang Yuanjing wore a black jacket and leaned against the railing with supreme arrogance as he smoked. Wisps of bluish-gray smoke rose, caressing his sharp and distinct side profile.
Her gaze drifted past him, where she saw the vast expanse of the night sky behind him, a bright moon hanging high above his head.
Everything seemed so unbelievable. The person she had been avoiding appeared before her just as if fate itself had descended.
Like in every moment of youth, Tao Shuran lowered her sense of presence and stood silently behind him, watching him.
Unexpectedly, Liang Yuanjing suddenly turned around. Even more unexpectedly, he walked straight toward her.
“You don’t pick up the phone or reply to texts.”
“Tao Shuran.”
Liang Yuanjing enunciated her name clearly, his voice carrying a faint hint of amusement.
“You Don’t See Me—are you still mad at me?”