“2018.09.24 Cloudy”
Ambiguity, a word that was both sweet and painful.
—Excerpt from Tao Shuran’s Diary
One car after another drove out onto the asphalt road, but Tao Shuran still stood dazed in place.
Liang Yuanjing bent down, his smiling eyes met hers, and he waved his hand.
“Tired?”
Tao Shuran blinked, startled by the sudden face and stepped back, accidentally bumping into his broad chest. Her whole body trembled as if electrified.
She pretended to casually pull away from his embrace, merely smiled, and softly said, “I almost got immersed in the role.”
“By the way, what are your friends’ names?”
“Oh—that guy who failed at secretly loving someone is Zhai Kang, and the one who misunderstood that others liked him is Liao Siyun.”
With a “beep,” Liang Yuanjing reached for her phone, unlocked it facing her face, and tapped to approve the latest friend request.
The whole process flowed smoothly, leaving Tao Shuran dumbfounded.
Liang Yuanjing said helplessly, “The act has to be complete, Tao. You don’t even have your boyfriend’s WeChat, yet you dared to add others?”
He casually asked, “Do you have the others’?”
Tao Shuran said nothing.
Liang Yuanjing glanced over, narrowed his eyes, flipped to the friends list, and reviewed it while asking her.
“You definitely have Fang Qingyi’s, right?”
“Do you have Fu Changpei’s?”
“You have Zhao Zhengnian’s too?”
“Fine, just not mine.” Liang Yuanjing’s smile turned dangerous as his warm breath sprayed on her neck. He pinched her most sensitive nape with two fingers, like grabbing a kitten by the scruff.
“Tao Shuran, are you particularly afraid of me?”
Tao Shuran shook her head vigorously.
She wanted to tell him that she liked him very much, very much.
But she could not say that.
One could never be too careful with a secret crush, lest any slip revealed it to Liang Yuanjing. Then, they could not even be friends.
She softly defended herself, “No, I just heard you never give out your contact info to girls.”
Liang Yuanjing slipped one hand into his pocket and calmly said, “You’re different from the others.”
Tao Shuran’s lips curved up uncontrollably, and she softly hummed in acknowledgment.
…
Fu Changpei stood in place and watched for a long time.
The neatly trimmed sycamore trees along both sides of the road were one of Fuqing City’s most distinctive urban features.
Fu Changpei had once been moved by a girl’s serene brows under the lush sycamore trees and recalled that scene countless times in his youthful dreams.
Today, under another lush sycamore tree, he watched her chat and laugh, her full attention on someone else.
He walked over quietly, his face showing no expression whatsoever.
The liquor he had just swallowed turned bitter, surging up his throat all at once.
Tao Shuran and Liang Yuanjing’s laughter abruptly stopped.
Liang Yuanjing keenly sensed the shift in atmosphere and turned his head slightly, giving them space.
“You two chat. I’ll call a car.”
Tao Shuran thought Fu Changpei had already left with Fang Qingyi and Zhao Zhengnian’s car.
She looked at him. “What’s up? Are you coming back with us later?”
Fu Changpei asked, “Are you dating him?”
Tao Shuran froze for a moment but could not dodge the question. She sighed helplessly and pondered whether to tell him the truth or just go along with it.
While she hesitated, Fu Changpei said a second sentence.
“You… have always liked him, haven’t you.”
All thoughts in Tao Shuran’s mind halted. She looked up at Fu Changpei. He had eyes as clear and bright as moonlight, more sensitive than most boys, leaving no room for her to hide her emotions.
She gladly admitted it.
“You’re the second person in the world to know this secret.”
Fu Changpei swayed slightly. At that moment, all emotions turned silent. He looked up at the sky, his reddened eyes well-hidden by the night.
His voice trembled slightly. “Is that so? Looks like I’m late again.”
“What?”
Tao Shuran leaned closer to hear and pleaded, “Please keep this secret for me.”
“I can’t let Liang Yuanjing know I like him just yet.”
Fu Changpei asked puzzled, “Why?”
Tao Shuran said bitterly, “Because he chose to be with me only because I don’t like him.”
“Then when do you plan to tell him?”
Tao Shuran took a deep breath. “When he starts liking me a little.”
She forced a smile and comforted herself, “Liking someone isn’t just about waiting forever?”
Fu Changpei listened intently to every word. Before he liked her, he would have thought this a hopeless endeavor.
But he gradually understood that liking someone could just be a joyless end to empty delight.
A shallow smile welled in Fu Changpei’s eyes as he looked at her and warmly said—
“Yes, liking someone is the process of waiting.”
The car arrived, its horn blaring abruptly in the quiet. Liang Yuanjing stood by the roadside smoking and glanced over upon hearing it.
Across the hazy night, Tao Shuran met his gaze.
She quickly said, “By the way, we’ll take a cab back to school later. Come with us.”
“No, I have something later.”
Fu Changpei smiled and waved at her. On the empty street, even the streetlights were dim, making his solitary figure seem especially lonely.
Tao Shuran watched for a moment before boarding the car with her worries.
The driver drove steadily. Liang Yuanjing did not initiate conversation along the way. He propped his head against the side, seeming a bit fatigued.
Tao Shuran looked at him in the passenger seat, reached out to the empty spot beside her, and lowered her lashes to hide the disappointment in her eyes.
A real couple’s guy probably would not choose the passenger seat.
If only they were real.
Before getting out, Liang Yuanjing opened the door for her. He braced one hand on the door frame, spotted the jacket scattered on the seat with his peripheral vision, picked it up casually, and draped it over her at the windy spot as she exited.
In every way, he took impeccable care of girls.
Tao Shuran felt both sour and sweet inside, clutched his jacket, and said, “Thanks.”
She looked up. “When I wash it, when should I return it?”
Liang Yuanjing asked, “Where’s your phone?”
Tao Shuran let out an “ah” and instinctively patted her pocket. She pulled it out, stared at him blankly, and said, “Right here.”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled lowly. “Then why don’t you ask?”
“Can I?” Tao Shuran said softly. “I’m afraid of bothering you.”
Liang Yuanjing countered, “Isn’t one of a girlfriend’s rights to check up anytime?”
He teased her, “What’s wrong, Tao? Not immersed enough in the role?”
Tao Shuran puffed her cheeks, embarrassed by his teasing, and sighed inwardly.
She was afraid of getting too immersed, leaving her alone unable to extricate herself, heartbroken in the end.
She said, “Because it’s my first time being someone’s girlfriend.”
Liang Yuanjing thought for a moment and said, “It’s my first time being someone’s boyfriend too.”
He leaned in to look at her, bathed in moonlight, exceptionally gentle.
“Please bear with me where I fall short.”
“I’ll try to give you a good first experience.”
Liang Yuanjing thought simply.
The girl deserved a proper first romance experience, even if fake. The basics had to be here.
When she dated someone else later, he would be the benchmark.
It could not be too bad.
With that in mind, Liang Yuanjing grew even more considerate.
The night air was chilly, so he pulled up the jacket on her shoulders and casually asked, “Still cold?”
Tao Shuran shook her head.
Because of his nearness, every inch of blood in her body seemed to flow faster, her whole being enveloped in a strange warmth.
If Liang Yuanjing held her hand even slightly improperly, he would feel the boiling heat in her palm.
Tao Shuran sincerely hoped the walk from the school gate to the dorm would stretch longer.
But parting always came. Just as she was about to say goodbye, Tao Shuran blinked, her gaze landing on the person approaching slowly from behind.
Liang Yuanjing followed her gaze and scoffed.
Xu Yanyang had just finished checking the boys’ dorms, point roster in hand. Seeing his enemy soured his mood.
Yet he saw the guy ahead slip a hand into his pocket, naturally draping an arm over the girl’s shoulder upon his approach, protective posture strong.
He had to admit, the two matched perfectly.
Xu Yanyang pressed his tongue against his palate, feeling sour, his words thorny.
“What, Liang Yuanjing? Haven’t been dating long and already out all night, taking her out to play?”
The other student council members chuckled lowly. Liang Yuanjing “tsked” impatiently, quite detesting their knowing vulgar jokes.
In front of everyone, he gave Xu Yanyang no face, not even a glance.
“Ranran.”
Liang Yuanjing called her lowly, his lazy fingers on her shoulder moved, fingertip brushing her cheek inadvertently.
Tao Shuran trembled all over as if electrified, her lashes fluttering in shock at the sudden intimate address.
“See that scar on his face?”
Liang Yuanjing took her hand, his smile twisted. “Next time you meet someone rude like this, just slap like this.”
As he spoke, he guided her hand in a demonstration, really like teaching a child.
Tao Shuran’s heart rippled with the motion.
Xu Yanyang shouted, “Liang Yuanjing, what do you mean?”
Liang Yuanjing glanced indifferently, chin slightly raised, arrogant and aloof.
The protectiveness was obvious.
“What, me teaching my girlfriend a lesson—any of your business?”
Summer had passed. Tao Shuran lowered her head to stare at the hand interlocked with Liang Yuanjing’s.
Liang Yuanjing continued, “Stay away from Xu Yanyang. He’s not as good as you think.”
“Dirty tricks, plays around a lot.”
Tao Shuran nodded and said, “Okay.”
Liang Yuanjing added, “It’s cool at night. Message me when you get to the dorm.”
“Now that we’re friends, learn to use it, got it?”
Tao Shuran’s lashes trembled. She bowed her head, exposing her fluffy hair top, the round pearl clip gleaming.
She softly said, “Got it.”
Liang Yuanjing could not help it and pinched her puffed cheek.
His voice husky, “Only like this with me.”
Tao Shuran looked at him dazedly. “Oh, why?”
Her agreeing yet puzzled look was adorably dumb. Liang Yuanjing felt his heart melt, lips curving as he seriously made excuses.
“There are lots of bad guys out there. Afraid you’ll get fooled.”
Tao Shuran “oh”ed again, no retort, as if depending on and trusting him unconditionally.
“Oh god.” Liang Yuanjing clutched his heart and stepped back. “Tao Shuran, you’re too obedient. I can’t take it.”
Was that so? Did he not like overly obedient girls?
Tao Shuran’s eyes dimmed as she lowered them, then heard him say, “You really resemble Novia.”
“Who’s Novia?”
Liang Yuanjing thought and drawled, “A cat I keep.”
“You keep a cat? At home?”
Tao Shuran recalled no cat at the mansion. Moments later, she realized and glared at him annoyed.
“I’m not a kitten!”
Liang Yuanjing grinned and leaned close to tease, “Tao Shuran, meow meow meow.”
Tao Shuran bristled, deliberately menacing, “Liang Yuanjing, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled lowly. His distinct knuckles stroked her nape, soothing her idly.
His low voice fell by her ear, boyish mischief in his tone, teasing deliberately.
“Oh, no talking? We can still meow meow meow.”