The moon leaned against the sky as Pei Chuan held her for a while. Bei Yao’s voice still carried a nasal tone as she said, "Then let’s go watch the Olympics together tomorrow."
The Olympics lasted sixteen days in total, but Bei Yao’s vacation time was insufficient. With the high cost of living in the capital and the family’s limited budget, Zhao Zhilan had only planned to stay in the capital for three days. Tomorrow would be their last day.
She wanted to stand on the competition grounds with Pei Chuan.
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze, resting it on her slightly reddened eyes, and said softly, "Alright."
She smiled, her tears turning to laughter.
Bei Yao’s almond-shaped eyes were glistening with moisture. He reached out to brush away the strands of hair by her cheek, not telling her how difficult her request was.
This silly girl probably still had no idea how much her family disliked him.
She was unwilling to accept his conditions, but in his heart, he saw things clearly. If Aunt Zhao found out, she would surely blame Bei Yao. He wasn’t afraid of others’ anger, but they were her parents.
One day, if he could no longer be with her, her parents would be the ones to care for her for a long time.
Pei Chuan couldn’t let them grow distant.
So he wouldn’t tell Bei Yao about her parents’ dislike for him.
He said, "Don’t wander around at night. I’ll walk you back."
Having gotten everything she wanted, she was now extremely agreeable. Bei Yao, recalling that she had just cried, felt rather embarrassed. She stole a glance at him, yet Pei Chuan had agreed to everything.
Pei Chuan led her back. The moonlight was not as bright as the streetlights, and under the lamplight, his shadow stretched long.
She lagged two steps behind, stepping on the hand of his shadow.
"Pei Chuan." The girl’s voice was crisp, like wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. Was he trying to deceive her again? Her family had been fooled by him several times already. Was he really this easygoing?
Surely, other people’s relationships weren’t like this. Pei Chuan walked on his own, as if he didn’t want even a strand of her hair to touch him.
Pei Chuan turned around. "What is it?"
She stood under the streetlamp, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "Hold my hand."
Though her cheeks slowly reddened, she stood there stubbornly, refusing to move.
Pei Chuan’s gaze rested on her. The girl was both delicate and charming. He silently walked back, steeled himself, and took her small hand.
A girl’s hand was soft, tender, her fingertips cool from the summer night.
Her cheeks flushed, and she turned her head to secretly smile.
Pei Chuan rotated his wrist, changing the way he held her hand. The next moment, her fingers were forced apart, interlacing with his in a tight clasp.
His palm was scorching, as if burning with fever.
She stared blankly down at their joined hands and began to feel shy. Ah… he hadn’t deceived her.
Pei Chuan led her back to the hotel. He glanced up at the building—the lights were off. Zhao Zhilan and Bei Licai were already asleep.
It was just as well they were asleep, or they would have wanted to beat him to death.
Pei Chuan sighed softly and looked down at her.
Now she felt shy and didn’t speak the entire way.
Pei Chuan said, "Alright, go back now. I won’t forget what I promised you. We’ll watch the Olympics together tomorrow."
She nodded and went to take the elevator.
Pei Chuan watched her go upstairs before leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.
The coldness slowly cooled the fervor in his heart.
She was naive, but he couldn’t just ignore everything. Bei Yao needed a future, and the one thing he couldn’t give her was a future.
~
The next morning, when Zhao Zhilan saw her daughter constantly looking back, she asked, "Yao Yao, what are you looking at?"Only now did Bei Yao realize this problem—no matter how open-minded Zhao Zhilan was, she would never approve of her child dating too young. She had no choice but to say, "I wasn't looking at anything."
Zhao Zhilan held Bei Jun's hand and said, "We're going back tomorrow. Let's buy some local specialties tonight before catching the train. At least we can't have come all this way for nothing."
Men were naturally more interested in the Olympics. Bei Licai had been very happy these past few days, and even little Bei Jun was excited.
By the time they reached the venue, the competition had already started, but Bei Yao still couldn't spot Pei Chuan in the crowd.
Pei Chuan, you big liar! Did he abandon her and disappear again?
The "liar" she was cursing was still outside the venue.
Pei Chuan only had four tickets, and he had given them all to Bei Yao. He hadn't come to the capital to watch the games in the first place—he was just worried about her, so he hadn't bought a fifth ticket when purchasing them in advance.
He was afraid she would be captivated by the glamour of the outside world, yet also terrified she would stubbornly cling to someone as flawed as him.
But last night's embrace shattered all his plans—he would give her anything she wanted.
Now Pei Chuan was troubled.
This year, he didn't have the means to enter the Olympic venue without a ticket.
He glanced down at his watch—it was already 9:00 in the morning.
Zhao Zhilan should have taken Bei Yao and the others into the venue by now.
Pei Chuan looked up and stopped a middle-aged woman: "Excuse me, could I buy your ticket? I'll pay 100,000 yuan."
The woman rolled her eyes: "Psycho."
Who would come to the Olympics without a ticket? Definitely a scammer. Who would pay 100,000 yuan for a ticket! Even the opening ceremony tickets only peaked at 5,000 yuan on the resale market.
Pei Chuan knew it was difficult—just like when Zhao Zhilan had struggled to sell tickets before. If the offer was too high, people thought it was a scam; if it was too low, everyone attending the Olympics was there for their passion—who would sell something they cherished?
The full package tickets were hard to obtain—the kind he had given Zhao Zhilan—while the single-day tickets were easier to get but had long been sold out due to their affordable price.
Pei Chuan remained calm and approached the next person.
After enduring countless rejections and insults, finally an elderly woman took pity on him: "Young man, do you really want to get in that badly?"
"Yes."
"Tell me why."
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze: "I promised... her that I would watch this match with her."
The woman beamed: "Your girlfriend?"
A softness flickered in Pei Chuan's eyes: "N-No. I just like her."
Understanding dawned on the woman's face, and she felt sorry for the young man. With eyes like that, he couldn't possibly be a scammer: "Well, I only have single-day tickets for today and tomorrow. Forget about your 100,000 yuan—don't scare an old lady like me. How about 800 yuan? That's reasonable, right?"
Pei Chuan nodded: "Thank you."
"You're welcome. We've all been young. Go on, be brave. I hope you two end up together."
Pei Chuan lowered his eyes, fingers brushing over the ticket. He didn't respond to her last words and fell silent.
At 10:10 Beijing time, Bei Yao received a text message.
"Yaoyao, six o'clock direction."
She looked across the venue—the sun had risen.
Pei Chuan stood opposite her. Despite the massive venue and bustling crowd, where even the sharpest eyes couldn't distinguish individuals from a distance...
Miraculously, just as he seemed to know exactly where she was, Bei Yao instantly recognized his direction.
Her phone chimed again. Bei Yao looked down.
He had written—
"Yaoyao, happy birthday."
She couldn't help but smile, standing up to wave energetically.
Zhao Zhilan said, "Silly child, what are you so happy about?"She bit her lip, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling brightly. Bei Yao had no choice but to say, "Mom, the national team will win."
Zhao Zhilan craned her neck to watch the match: "Yes, yes, they'll definitely win."
~
The 2008 Olympic Games were a global spectacle, and even after school started, classmates were still eagerly discussing it.
Everyone would talk together about how many gold, silver, and bronze medals the country had won, and which athletes had had a particularly tough year that year.
Before this excitement had faded, autumn arrived.
Bei Yao's class officially entered their senior year of high school.
Seeing how restless the students were because of the Olympics, Li Fangqun specially held a "focus and settle down" meeting.
Teacher Li said, "When I was your age, the world wasn't this good. Back then, it wasn't easy for us to keep studying. If you got into university—wow! That was incredible. University graduates were assigned jobs—it was a golden rice bowl, you could see your future for life. But classmates, even though you live in a better era, you mustn't lose the spirit of hard work and striving. In less than a year, you'll take the college entrance exam. Next June, when you're sitting in the exam hall, palms sweating from nerves, you'll understand how important my words today are."
"In university, you can see a broader world, go to the cities you want to go to, and of course," Teacher Li smiled, "you can also date freely. By then, neither teachers nor parents will interfere."
The class erupted in commotion. Teacher Li slapped the desk: "What's all the excitement? What's all the excitement! It doesn't mean you can do it now. Anyone who dares to have an early romance will stand on that platform on Monday. In short, work hard this year, good days are ahead."
The class let out a chorus of disappointed boos.
With the new semester, the seating arrangement in the class changed. Bei Yao's deskmate became Yang Jia, who was also her roommate. However, Yang Jia was straightforward and outspoken, prone to conflicts, and not very popular in the class.
But Bei Yao quite liked her personality. Yang Jia wasn't scheming; if she liked something, she liked it, and if she didn't, she didn't.
When they heard the ban on early romance, both Bei Yao and Yang Jia were stunned.
Yang Jia whispered, "Bei Yao, that rumor this year about you and Han Zhen—it's not true, is it?"
Bei Yao said, "It's not true."
Yang Jia breathed a sigh of relief.
Bei Yao thought to herself, but with another person, it was as true as it could get.
Even with the threat of "standing on the platform on Monday," the sweetness and joy in her heart feared no terror. Bei Yao lowered her head and studied.
Since the start of senior year, Bei Yao had been working even harder.
She would come to the classroom right after breakfast and often stay until the lights were turned off at night.
Yang Jia said, "You working so hard makes me nervous too."
After all, it's terrifying when someone better than you is also working harder. Yang Jia also settled down and started studying seriously.
Bei Yao and Pei Chuan weren't in the same school, and the senior year review was particularly heavy. She thought she wouldn't see him for a long time.
But during the monthly break in September, Bei Yao saw Pei Chuan and Chen Yingqi at the entrance of her residential complex.
After a month apart, Chen Yingqi hadn't changed much, but Pei Chuan looked somewhat haggard. The tall teenager had his hands in his pockets; he said something to Chen Yingqi, who nodded with a grave expression.
When he saw Bei Yao, Pei Chuan patted Chen Yingqi's shoulder. Chen Yingqi glanced at Bei Yao too, then left."Pei Chuan." She ran over and asked curiously, "What did you say to Chen Yingqi?"
His dark eyes softened when they fell upon her: "Just chatted with him, asked about how life's been these years."
"Oh." Bei Yao was delighted—he was finally trying to get along with others properly.
She studied him carefully: "Why have you lost weight?"
Pei Chuan said: "It's senior year of high school. I've been studying hard."
Bei Yao finally understood how Yang Jia must feel when looking at her. She said: "I'm so nervous. You're already so capable and still working extra hard. What if I can't get into the same university as you?"
She was genuinely pondering this question seriously, the late September breeze brushing through her stray hairs.
Silly girl. Her future including him was probably the most beautiful love confession he'd ever heard in his life.
He smiled: "No. You won't fail to get in. Which university do you want to go to?"
Bei Yao said: "If it were me, I'd like to go to a university in City B. I heard it snows there in winter, just like in City C, but not as cold."
The Olympics had ultimately left a special impression in her heart, making her develop fondness for that city.
Pei Chuan said: "Then let's go to B University."
He paused for a moment: "This winter break, shall I take you to B University to see the snow?"
Bei Yao nodded, her eyes sparkling. She said: "I'll definitely work hard and not fall too far behind you."
He also smiled: "Mm, I believe in Yao Yao."
Accompanying her to university was his best vision and plan for the future.
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