Tao Shuran and Liang Yuanjing exchanged a silent glance and knew that matters of the heart were all about fate.
Liking someone was like a script written by heaven—predestined, not to be forced.
In the now awkward atmosphere, Fang Qingyi proactively raised her glass. For the first time in her life, she said something nice to Zhao Zhengnian.
She said, “Come on, big star, don’t be mad. I’ll toast you.”
Zhao Zhengnian said nothing and downed it in one go.
He smiled and said, “Wish you happiness.”
Fang Qingyi hummed in acknowledgment. “We’ll all be friends forever.”
“Definitely.”
Zhao Zhengnian lifted his chin. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you a front-row seat at every one of my matches.”
Mentioning the Ferris Wheel reminded Tao Shuran of the birthday gift she had prepared for Liang Yuanjing tonight.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him and asked, “Do you want to ride the Ferris Wheel tonight?”
Liang Yuanjing let out an “Ah.” “I heard that when the midnight bells ring, loving couples who kiss at the Ferris Wheel’s highest point can be together forever.”
“What, you want to kiss me up there?”
“Liang Yuanjing!” Tao Shuran punched his chest lightly.
Liang Yuanjing’s laughter fell, utterly unreserved.
Zhao Zhengnian leaned over sourly. “You two are dating now?”
Only then did Liang Yuanjing remember that he and Tao Shuran’s relationship hadn’t been announced publicly yet; they had skipped the “official reveal” step.
He pulled her waist closer, the implication obvious.
“I’m a taken man now.”
Halfway through, Liang Yuanjing turned back to her in mock surprise. “Ah—Tao Shuran, tell everyone, what am I to you now?”
…
Those three words “boyfriend” kept Liang Yuanjing in high spirits the whole way.
After seeing off the wildly singing Zhao Zhengnian who belted “Happy Breakup,” and with Fang Qingyi a bit tipsy from drinking, Tao Shuran lent a hand and got her into the car.
Fu Changpei got in last and greeted them.
Liang Yuanjing smiled and said, “You’re just handing your friend over to Old Fu like that?”
“What else?” Tao Shuran walked ahead leisurely with hands in pockets, turned her head to look at him, and said, “Have her ride the Ferris Wheel with us?”
“With three people, your wish might fall through. I probably won’t be able to kiss you at the highest point.”
The teasing in her words was crystal clear. Liang Yuanjing raised a brow. “Getting cheeky, huh, Tao Shuran.”
In the wind, Tao Shuran couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
Her laugh was so radiant, her eyes curving like a crescent moon. Liang Yuanjing couldn’t help staring.
He stood there in a daze for a moment, then came back to himself and said to her, “Tao Shuran, just be yourself from now on.”
“When you want to laugh, laugh freely. When you want to cry, lean on my shoulder. As long as you want, I’ll always be here.”
Tao Shuran was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “Good.”
She pulled two tickets out of her pocket like magic and took Liang Yuanjing’s hand as they slowly walked into the park.
There was almost no one at the ticket gate. The Halloween festivities had just ended not long ago, and the amusement park still retained some holiday decorations.
At the entrance stood a pumpkin half as tall as a person, topped with a little rabbit figurine. Tao Shuran trotted over to it, but as she passed, Liang Yuanjing suddenly tugged her back.
He lifted his chin slightly. “Stand there. I’ll take a photo of you.”
“No, we’ll miss the last ride on the Ferris Wheel.”
Seeing her so insistent, Liang Yuanjing chuckled mockingly. He stepped forward to follow behind her, his tone drawling lazily.
“What, you really planning to kiss me up there?”
Tao Shuran said softly, “No, I have something for you.”
Even though closing time was approaching and they walked through the entire amusement park with almost no lines at any rides, when they reached the bottom of the Ferris Wheel, it was as if all the loving couples had suddenly poured out.
Liang Yuanjing was mildly surprised and marveled at the sacred and mighty power of love.
And now, he had become a devout believer himself.
They boarded the Ferris Wheel, and the view downward gradually widened. He rested his hand on the railing, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and leaned in.
“Come on.”
Tao Shuran glanced at him helplessly. She unzipped her backpack and slowly pulled out an item, extending it toward Liang Yuanjing.
The touch against his lips was slightly hard, not what he had imagined. Liang Yuanjing opened his eyes without surprise and looked down at the thing in his hand. He smiled with interest.
He asked casually, “What’s this?”
“An album.” Tao Shuran held his hand. “Open it and take a look.”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow and slowly flipped through from the first page. But as he turned toward the later pages, his expression grew darker. Eventually, he let out a light chuckle.
He asked, “From my mom?”
Tao Shuran hummed in affirmation. “She said it’s your birthday gift this year.”
He scoffed. “Every year it’s either a car or a direct transfer of a million. What’s this, changing up the style?”
Tao Shuran sat beside him. She glanced at his slightly subdued expression, which had returned to that familiar cold detachment and aloofness.
She leaned closer to him and coaxed him in the tone of soothing a child.
“Yeah, Aunt Li said herself that this year she’s skipping the economic approach for the warm and fuzzy route.”
“She said that in the year she just fought for divorce with Uncle and things got really tense with the whole family, with no job as an income source, you couldn’t even buy the toy cars you wanted while staying by her side. So after you grew up, she gave you lots and lots of money every year, so you could have everything you wanted.”
It was an album recording moments from Liang Yuanjing’s birth onward. The further back it went, the more photos there were; by the time it reached after he became an adult, there were hardly any.
The only two photos were one clipped from a newspaper interview where Liang Yuanjing appeared as an outstanding pilot, and another from his graduation photo that Li Wan had obtained from the school that year.
Tao Shuran said softly, “Your mom has flaws in handling many things, but I think we can’t deny that she loves you.”
“She said she supports you becoming a pilot.”
“From then on, every honor you earned could be shared happily with the family, and you no longer had to dread going home for the New Year because of the arguments you hated.”
Tao Shuran cupped his face and looked at him with a beaming smile. “Liang Yuanjing, happy birthday. From today on, you belong to the completely free skies.”
It wasn’t forgiveness or tolerance—it was letting him be even more at ease and true to himself.
Liang Yuanjing’s brows and eyes froze for a moment, his whole body relaxing. He looked at her helplessly and sighed from the bottom of his heart.
“Tao Shuran, how are you so good?”
Love was like spring rain, silent and gentle. Her clear eyes could easily see through all disguised emotions.
But Tao Shuran just felt like she had done something utterly ordinary.
She smiled indifferently, her voice sweet as she said, “Because you’re good to me too.”
Liang Yuanjing reached out and pinched her cheek. “But you got it wrong.”
“I belong to you now.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked at her with utmost seriousness and said—
“Liang Yuanjing now belongs to Tao Shuran.”
Hearing those words, Tao Shuran smiled contentedly. In this moment, she finally heard the echo from that year at seventeen.
From the day she stepped into Fuqing City and met him, Tao Shuran had prepared herself for an endingless story.
But fortunately, fate favored her.
Fortunately, he had turned back and walked toward her.
The Ferris Wheel rose slowly at a gentle pace close to happiness. Tao Shuran turned to gaze at the sky—an endless night sky where once a youth had stood by her side.
In an affirmative tone, he had told her, “Try a little harder, and you can touch the moon too.”
Back then, Liang Yuanjing had been looking at the moon.
Tao Shuran had been looking at him.
She took a deep breath and thought, then she would try a little harder to touch that moon.
She never expected that the moon hanging high and unmoving would one day truly come rushing toward her.
Tao Shuran stood on tiptoe. Just as the Ferris Wheel was about to reach the highest point, she incredulously lifted her fingertip to touch the distance so close at hand.
But she never expected that in the instant the Ferris Wheel paused at the highest point, Liang Yuanjing directly pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.
At the same time, the evening self-study dismissal bell rang from a nearby middle school, pulling Tao Shuran’s memories back to that endless cicada-filled summer.
It was an ordinary evening, with fiery sunset clouds spreading across the entire sky, dyeing the world in brilliant colors.
Class had just ended, and Tao Shuran stopped in her tracks, tilting her head up to the sky.
“A Jing, hurry up, we’ll be late for basketball!”
The familiar name drew back all her attention. Tao Shuran turned her head, her ponytail whipping an arc in the air, and just like that, she brushed past Liang Yuanjing.
He wore a loose short-sleeved shirt, his school jacket taken off and carried in his hand. He sauntered along hugging the ball behind the boys, exuding a lazy vibe.
Just like every time before, Tao Shuran lowered her gaze and silently watched his departing back, looking forward to their next encounter.
For Tao Shuran, that senior year summer was an incomparable season.
She had come to the side of the person she liked and begun intersecting with him in paths nearly parallel, even if they always brushed past each other.
Even if his gaze had never lingered on her.
Tao Shuran calmly gathered her emotions as usual, but in the instant she turned, she heard someone call her.
“Tao Shuran.”
She looked up and saw Liang Yuanjing’s carefree face reflected in the Ferris Wheel’s glass window.
He raised his eyebrows, his low and gentle voice pulling her back to that incomparable summer.
“Listen.”
Liang Yuanjing leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Liang Yuanjing from Flight Class 1 says he likes you.”