The airport was spacious and brightly lit.
The bustling crowd and various sounds drowned out Sang Zhi's sobs. She felt utterly humiliated, wishing she could find a hole to hide in or at least stop her tears and pretend nothing had happened. Anything would be better than this—this overwhelming sense of shame.
The woman was beautiful and spoke gently, clearly an accomplished person. She could likely offer him support in both life and emotions, unlike Sang Zhi, who was seen by everyone as willful and rebellious—a burden who only ever brought him trouble. From the very beginning, she had been an unnecessary presence. Utterly useless. And she still required him to expend extra energy taking care of her even when he was busy.
Seeing Sang Zhi struggling to hold back her tears, Duan Jiaxu suddenly recalled their first meeting. Back then, she would cry freely and without restraint, her biggest worry being the teacher’s threat to “call her parents.” Had she really grown up? Or had his tone just now been too harsh?
Duan Jiaxu pressed his lips together. He didn’t have any tissues, so he used the sleeve of the jacket draped over her to wipe her tears. “Don’t cry. I don’t think you’re a bother.”
“...”
“It’s cold here. Put the jacket on properly.”
Sang Zhi sniffled and obediently did as she was told.
“It’s good that you’ve realized your mistake on your own,” Duan Jiaxu said slowly. “No one is trying to be angry with you. They’re just worried something might happen to you. They acted out of concern, understand?”
She lowered her eyes and choked out, “I know.”
“Get up and go wash your face.” Duan Jiaxu glanced at his phone. He seemed uncomfortable, turning his head aside to cough twice before continuing, “I’ll take you to lunch first.”
Sang Zhi shook her head slightly. “I’m not hungry.”
“What do you mean, not hungry?” Duan Jiaxu stood up and said flatly, “Are you planning to go on a hunger strike over some guy?”
“...”
“Kid.” Duan Jiaxu scanned the area and pointed not far away. “The restroom is over there. Can you see it?”
Sang Zhi paused for a few seconds before nodding.
“Go wash your face by yourself.” Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment and added, “Give me your ID. I’ll go check about your flight ticket and come find you later. Don’t wander off.”
Seeing this, the woman nearby spoke up, “I’ll take her there.”
Sang Zhi handed her ID over from her bag and stood up silently, instinctively glancing in the woman’s direction.
The next moment, Duan Jiaxu said, “No need.”
Hearing those two words, Sang Zhi walked toward the restroom without a word. After a short distance, she suddenly stopped and looked back in the direction she had come from.
Sang Zhi could see the two of them still standing in the same spot. The woman wore a fitted black dress that accentuated her graceful figure, with a retro pattern embroidered on the skirt that ended mid-calf. Tall, around 170 cm, she stood only half a head shorter than Duan Jiaxu in her high heels. A smile graced her face as she spoke, then she reached out and patted his arm.
Then, Sang Zhi saw Duan Jiaxu smile in return.
She pressed her lips tightly together and averted her gaze.
Sang Zhi entered the restroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and red, her nose was red, and tear stains marked her face. She lowered her head and washed her face over and over again with water.The cold water stung her skin and reawakened her tear ducts.
No matter how she washed her face, the tears kept falling.
An elderly woman nearby noticed her state and instinctively asked, "Are you alright, young lady?"
Sang Zhi grabbed a tissue, keeping her eyes downcast as she said, "The water's too cold."
She seemed to have found an excuse to unleash her emotions, tears streaming uncontrollably: "Why is the water so cold..."
"Then stop washing," the old woman didn't find the reason strange and sighed, taking a heating pad from her bag and handing it to Sang Zhi. "It has been quite cold these past couple days, remember to dress warmer."
Sang Zhi didn't accept it, sobbing as she said, "No need, thank you, grandma."
The old woman didn't press further, offering a few more comforting words before leaving.
After a while, Sang Zhi managed to compose herself. Noticing the suit jacket she was wearing, she took it off, held it in her arms, and walked out.
Duan Jiaxu was already waiting for her outside.
This time, he was alone—the woman from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Sang Zhi walked over to him.
Seeing the jacket in her hands, Duan Jiaxu frowned. "Why did you take it off?"
"I was afraid of getting it wet when I washed my face," Sang Zhi lied casually, her voice heavy with nasal congestion. "Besides, I'm not cold."
She glanced at Duan Jiaxu. "You wear it."
Duan Jiaxu didn't move, simply staring at her intently. After a long moment, he let out an almost imperceptible sigh, his eyes lowering. "Was I too harsh with you earlier?"
Sang Zhi shook her head. "No."
"Then do all kids have such short memories?" Duan Jiaxu draped the jacket over her shoulders again. "It's only been a year, and you're treating me like a stranger."
"..."
He spoke slowly, deliberately. "You've really broken my heart."
Sang Zhi didn't know how to respond, so she changed the subject. "Are there still flight tickets available?"
"Yeah, I got you one for two this afternoon." Duan Jiaxu handed her the boarding pass and ID. "I already picked up your boarding pass. Let's grab something to eat first, then I'll take you through security."
"Okay." After a few seconds of silence, Sang Zhi added, "How much was it?"
"Not much." Duan Jiaxu loosened his tie, seeming unconcerned. "What do you feel like eating?"
Sang Zhi replied, "Anything is fine."
So Duan Jiaxu took her to a McDonald's inside the airport.
They ordered a few things casually, but neither seemed to have much appetite. He didn't mention the woman from earlier or where she had gone. Sang Zhi didn't have the courage to ask.
Afraid she might hear the word "girlfriend" from his lips and lose her composure.
Perhaps noticing her low spirits, Duan Jiaxu occasionally said a few things to cheer her up. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he would occasionally turn his head to cough.
Sang Zhi couldn't help asking, "Are you sick?"
"Yeah," Duan Jiaxu said offhandedly. "Just a bit of a cold."
Sang Zhi stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Remember to take your medicine."
Duan Jiaxu smiled. "Thank you for your concern, little Sang Zhi."
He toyed with the box Sang Zhi had given him, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "Can I open it and take a look?"
Sang Zhi nibbled on a french fry and nodded silently.
Inside was a necktie.
Dark red as the base, adorned with black and white stripes.Duan Jiaxu didn't touch it with his hands. After glancing at it a few times, he closed the box, the corners of his eyes crinkling as if he were in an exceptionally good mood. "Thank you, little Sang Zhi. Receiving this gift makes getting a year older worth it."
Sang Zhi hummed in acknowledgment. Soon after, she wiped her hands with a tissue, pulled out all the cash she had brought from her backpack, and stuffed it into the pocket of his suit jacket.
The two sat together for a while longer.
Seeing that it was about time, Duan Jiaxu stood up and escorted Sang Zhi to the security checkpoint. He offered a few words of advice: "After you go back, listen to your uncle and aunt, study hard, and don't let this matter upset you anymore."
Sang Zhi took off the jacket and handed it back to him. "I understand."
After a brief pause, she suddenly added, "Brother Jiaxu, you don't have to tell me."
—If you start dating someone, you don't have to tell me.
Duan Jiaxu didn't quite understand, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. "Hmm?"
Sang Zhi didn't explain. She forced a faint smile and began walking backward toward the security checkpoint. Then, she waved at him. "Also, I hope you're happy every day."
Perhaps all the window seats were already taken, as Sang Zhi's seat was by the aisle. Surprisingly, she didn't cry again. After boarding the plane, she asked a flight attendant for a blanket, covered her head, and fell asleep.
She had a dream.
In the dream, she met Duan Jiaxu not at thirteen, but at eighteen.
She dreamed that there was still a seven-year age gap between them, but it was no longer an insurmountable chasm.
She dreamed that her wish had come true.
She dreamed that a secret crush didn't have to be just one person's burden.
After getting off the plane, Sang Zhi turned on her phone and called Sang Yan. A few hours had passed, and his anger had subsided considerably. His voice was unusually calm. "Come to Exit T2. I'm waiting for you here."
She obediently acknowledged and followed the crowd outward.
Once outside, she spotted Sang Yan and only then hung up the phone.
Sang Yan walked over, glanced at her face as if he wanted to say something, but quickly swallowed his words. He grabbed her wrist and said flatly, "Forget it, I won'tt scold you. Let's go home."
"..."
"Mom asked for leave from your teacher for you," Sang Yan said, his tone still harsh. "Once we're home, if Mom and Dad want to scold you, I can't help. Because I want to scold you too."
"..."
"You really are—"
Before he could finish, he heard Sang Zhi sniffle.
Sang Yan stopped speaking, turned to look at her bowed head, unable to see her expression clearly. He halted and suddenly sighed, opening his arms to her. "Hey, little brat."
"..."
"Don't cry. What's so bad about a broken heart?" Sang Yan said. "Come here, let your brother give you a hug."
When they returned home, Sang Rong and Li Ping hadn't arrived yet.
Her runaway trip seemed as if it had never happened—just like a regular morning going to school, an afternoon returning from classes, and coming back home. Everything was exactly the same as usual.
Sang Zhi walked into her room and silently gathered the stuffed toys on her bed, the gifts Duan Jiaxu had given her over the years, and the milk bottle on the windowsill, placing them all together. Staring at the empty spot on her bedside table, she remembered the piggy bank she had smashed to pieces.
She stood up and tore down the photo of Yihe University taped to her wall.
She stared at it for a long time.
Suddenly, tears began to fall again, drop by drop, landing on the photo.The image of Duan Jiaxu smiling at that woman kept resurfacing in her mind.
Sang Zhi wiped it away with her palm. Her whole body trembled from suppressing her sobs. She lifted her head and slowly, carefully reattached the photograph. Then, she took out the note tucked inside her sketchbook—the one bearing her two dreams.
Picking up a pen, Sang Zhi swiftly crossed out the second one.
Dreams that cannot be realized
should be discarded.
The man she had liked since she was thirteen.
The secret crush that began when she was thirteen.
From that time, she had clung to the hope of growing up quickly and being with him.
Now, Sang Zhi realized,
even if she truly grew up, he might already be with someone else.
Or perhaps, even if she truly grew up, in his eyes, she would always remain that little girl who cried over unfinished homework—the one who never really grew up.
Sang Zhi began to reduce her contact with Duan Jiaxu.
He still bought her gifts during holidays and asked about her grades after every major or minor exam. Sang Zhi would reply but stopped answering his calls.
When he inquired, she would brush it off with the excuse of being "too busy with studies."
Only during holidays and on his birthday would Sang Zhi take the initiative to send greeting messages. After all, this person genuinely cared for her like a little sister and had always been kind to her.
She couldn’t bring herself to treat him as if he had never existed.
Nor could she simply cut off all ties with him.
Sang Zhi stopped asking about Duan Jiaxu’s life and blocked his Moments. She poured all her energy into her studies and chose the science stream when her class was divided in the second year of high school. She even applied to live on campus, and as time passed, she stopped carrying her phone altogether.
Her grades improved from above average to top-tier in her year.
The girl’s features gradually matured—her chin tapered, making her eyes appear large and bright. Her skin was naturally fair, her lips rosy. When she smiled, two small dimples appeared beside her lips, making her look both adorable and beautiful.
Her figure shot up, reaching 165 centimeters.
Sang Zhi gradually gained fame within her grade.
Because of her looks, some even unofficially regarded her as the "grade flower." Moreover, the physics teacher from the advanced class often praised her during lessons in other classes, brimming with pride.
As a result, many knew that there was a top female student in the science advanced class with an exceptionally pretty, soft-looking face. Most importantly, her grades never fell below the top five in her year.
Her physics scores were almost always perfect.
Brilliant and beautiful.
Combined, these two traits made her the "goddess" in the eyes of her peers during their school days.
Sang Zhi often found milk and snacks on her desk from unknown admirers. While rummaging through her drawer, she would occasionally stumble upon a love letter. Sometimes, on her way back to the dormitory after evening self-study, she would be cornered in the stairwell for a confession.
She rejected them all and returned the gifts. Gradually, such incidents decreased.
During the first semester of her final year, a sports student from the neighboring class began pursuing her. After his daily training, he would bring Sang Zhi an assortment of snacks and would always come to pick her up after evening self-study.
She didn’t pay him much attention at first, but at one point, she noticed that his voice and manner of speaking somewhat resembled Duan Jiaxu’s. After that, she refrained from saying anything too decisive.
Two weeks later,
the sports student confessed to her.
His voice still bore a resemblance to Duan Jiaxu’s, but his tone was nervous and stumbling.Sang Zhi had never heard Duan Jiaxu speak in such a tone before.
It also snapped her back to reality instantly, and she seriously rejected his confession according to the words Duan Jiaxu had once taught her.
She felt she was quite stubborn when it came to matters of the heart.
Once she fell for someone, it became difficult to like another person.
But no matter what, she couldn't trample on her own feelings or anyone else's.
She couldn't choose someone slightly similar to a person she temporarily couldn't forget and use them as a replacement just for that reason.
It was just because of this matter that Sang Zhi occasionally felt...
When she thought of Duan Jiaxu again, it didn't seem to hurt as much anymore. Because among her memories with him, only their last meeting was gloomy.
The rest of their time together was filled with mottled colors.
Vivid and beautiful—
By the end of June the following year, Sang Zhi's college entrance exam results came out. She had performed steadily, scoring over a hundred points above the first-tier cutoff line. With these scores, she could get into both universities she was considering.
Her family hoped she would apply to Nanwu University and didn't want her to go too far away.
Sang Zhi thought about it for a long time but ultimately filled out her application for Yihe University.
Different from her previous thoughts, it was simply because the Digital Media Arts program she wanted to apply to was comparatively better at Yihe University.
On the day she reported to school, Sang Zhi didn't bring much luggage—just a backpack and a suitcase.
Originally, Sang Rong had asked Sang Yan to accompany her, but Sang Zhi felt there was no need for company. After much persuasion, they finally relented and agreed to let her go alone.
When Sang Yan suggested having Duan Jiaxu pick her up, Sang Zhi refused that too.
She said, "It's been too long since we've seen each other. It wouldn't be right to trouble him."
Sang Zhi got off the plane, exited the airport, and boarded the Yihe University shuttle bus waiting at the airport. Led by senior students, she completed her registration, received her dorm room number, and bought her own daily necessities.
She greeted her roommates and gradually grew familiar with them.
She participated in military training, began classes after it ended, and joined club activities. She was doing all the things she had once imagined doing in the future—except for one thing.
Sang Zhi's main purpose for coming to Yihe...
Seemed to have gradually become an insignificant matter during this process—
In mid-October, one of Sang Zhi's roommates had a birthday. A group of them took the subway two stops to eat at a seafood restaurant. After finishing, since it was still early, they decided to go to a nearby KTV to sing.
Coincidentally, the next day was Saturday, and there was no curfew at school.
They spent more time drinking than singing.
Sang Zhi wanted to stay out of it but still got pressured into drinking several glasses.
The small private room was crowded with over a dozen people. Sang Zhi's face flushed easily when she drank, and she quickly felt hot and stifled. Finding it noisy and annoying, she used going to the bathroom as an excuse to slip out for some fresh air.
Besides the main entrance, this KTV had a small side door that led to a corridor connecting to a nearby supermarket and KFC.
The temperature outside was slightly cool and exceptionally comfortable.
The corridor lights seemed broken, flickering on and off.
The visibility was excessively dim.
Sang Zhi leaned against the railing, wanting to pull out her phone from her pocket to play with. For some reason, she discovered there was a square object in her pocket that hadn't been there before.
She didn't hold it steady, and it rolled away, falling to the ground not far off.
Looking down, she saw it was a pack of women's cigarettes.Sang Zhi was about to walk over to pick it up when she suddenly noticed a man standing near where the cigarette had fallen. He was tall and slender, dressed in a simple white shirt.
From this angle, she could only see the vague outline of his profile, obscured and indistinct. The man leaned against the wall, a cigarette held between his fingers, glowing with a crimson light.
He felt somewhat familiar.
But she didn’t dare entertain her own thoughts.
Sang Zhi assumed the pack of cigarettes must have been carelessly stuffed into her pocket by her roommate. She pursed her lips, lowered her head slightly, and took two steps forward, intending to pick it up.
At that moment, the man moved.
His eyelids flickered, and he leisurely bent down, picking up the pack of cigarettes for her.
As if on cue, the overhead light stopped flickering dramatically.
Sang Zhi saw his face clearly.
Peach blossom eyes, a face like a seductive demon. And that ever-present, frivolous and rakish smile.
She watched as he stared at the pack of cigarettes, then quickly lifted his gaze, like a slow-motion scene from an old film, meeting her eyes. Then, with a raised brow, he drawled, "Little Sang Zhi?"
Just like every time before.
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