Everything came too suddenly.
So sudden that her newly sprouted emotions, her cherished solitude, her fleeting courage, and what she thought was well-hidden—all faded into paleness in an instant.
From shyness, shock, helplessness, embarrassment, sorrow, to unwillingness—Yun Li realized that so many emotions could surge through a person in just one minute.
The gaze that usually made her heart race now felt like the deep-sea tides crashing against hidden reefs—intense and icy.
With reddened eyes, Yun Li took a step back. "I'll think about it... before deciding whether to give up."
She feigned composure, but every movement betrayed her distress.
She didn’t need him to say it—she already knew he had noticed long ago.
He had noticed. He didn’t want to continue. Not even the slightest intention to explore further.
He had simply waited for a moment alone to tell her.
Only after packing up her camera did she notice the towel roll. The rippled bag was covered in droplets, refracting a silent mockery.
Pressing her lips together, she lowered her head and placed the towel roll on the table, forcing her voice steady. "This is for you. I’ll go first."
At this moment, she didn’t even have the courage to meet his eyes.
Perhaps she should have been bolder—chosen to fight instead of retreat, to be brave instead of timid.
Forgive her. Today’s courage had already been exhausted the moment she confessed.
Fu Shize remained silent the entire time, standing in place, staring down at the VR glasses in his hand—until the slam of the door echoed through the damp, secretive night.
......
A sleepless night. The rustling rain offered no lullaby. Fu Shize threw off the covers, got up, and took a sip of water from his cup.
Drip. Drip.
He looked down. Dark red blood trickled from his palm.
The glass he had used for over a decade had a chipped edge, but he had never thrown it away. For more than a year now, unless drunk, he had always been careful to avoid the broken part. Just now, lost in thought for some reason, he had forgotten.
Since childhood, Fu Shize’s dictionary had never included the word "discard" when something broke—only "repair."
To others, it was an almost obsessive sentimentality.
Wrapping his hand haphazardly with tissue, Fu Shize dragged a chair to the balcony. As usual, he gazed out at the crisscrossing structures—a sight he had grown accustomed to over the past year and a half.
He lit a cigarette. The faint orange glow flickered in the darkness, wisps of gray smoke curling around him in the breeze.
As if locking him within a circle of safety.
Fu Shize smoked absentmindedly, only noticing the chill when he realized the cigarette box in his hand was empty.
He tilted his head slightly, recalling the events of the evening.
Opening his phone, he downloaded the E-Station app and searched for "Xianyun Didajiang." Two recent trending posts popped up immediately. The first was a nine-grid photo set that had topped the trending list some time ago. Fu Shize swiped through them one by one—each one capturing Yun Li stealing glances at him.
His finger paused on the comments.
The top-liked comment was Yun Li’s reply from the night she posted:
Xianyun Didajiang: ["Wives, stop spreading rumors!! Don’t tarnish her innocence!!"]
The second top-liked comment was also hers:
Xianyun Didajiang: ["Typo—it’s his innocence!!!"]
Anyone who saw it would think she was an adorable girl.
The other post was a video she had labeled as a "handmade tech project"—a robot restoration. Fu Shize opened it and watched carefully from start to finish.The girl earnestly explained the process of repairing the robot to the camera, her serious demeanor clashing starkly with the silly, jerky movements of the little robot and the barrage of "HAHAHAHA" comments flooding the screen.
He curled his lips, finding it somewhat amusing yet inexplicably bitter.
When he rewound the video to the 37-second mark, a blue envelope with gold foil lettering appeared in the corner of the frame.
That had been left by Jiang Yuan.
Looking back, it was around the time Yun Li had just finished her college entrance exams. For over half a month, he and Jiang Yuan would see her every day, riding a small bicycle to West Science and Technology University and parking it at Nanxi Square on campus.
Twice, she even had a little boy riding with her.
Recognizing Yun Li wasn’t hard—her appearance hadn’t changed much in a year or two, just like the girl they’d seen on the red running track.
She probably had no idea that on the day of the robot soccer competition, the two of them had secretly gone to watch her match.
Back then, the young girl had been hunched over the small soccer field, completely focused on operating the controller, completely unaware that they were standing right behind her.
When she won, Jiang Yuan had credited it to the little practice soccer ball he’d made him bring along.
Nanxi Square was right next to their college.
For that half-month in June, perhaps out of curiosity, he and Jiang Yuan would go take a peek every day, wondering why this high school graduate kept coming to West Science and Technology University.
Surely she wasn’t just there to sit under a tree.
The two of them had even made a few bets about it.
Back then, Yun Li would sit under an evergreen tree at the square, her hair tied in a ponytail, clutching two books as she obediently spent the whole day there. It reminded them of the girl who had spent entire days training robots on the track field.
Then, one day, Unique held a drone exhibition at Nanxi Square.
He and Jiang Yuan had been leaning against the railing of the second-floor open-air balcony, operating the drones from above, when they suddenly saw Yun Li jump up and rush to the Unique tent to queue for souvenirs, her eyes darting around as if searching for someone.
When it was her turn, the student at the tent asked for her campus ID.
She wasn’t a student at West Science and Technology University, so by the rules, she couldn’t receive a souvenir. She might have tried to argue for a bit, but the student handing them out refused. Then she turned away, took a few steps, and started wiping her tears before returning to her spot under the tree.
Jiang Yuan nudged him. "Seems like she’s a little fan of ours. Should we give her one?"
He pushed Jiang Yuan back. "You go."
"You go."
"You go."
"You go."
……
In the end, Jiang Yuan lost at rock-paper-scissors and waved him off, sneaking a Unique souvenir into her bike basket while she wasn’t looking.
That evening, when they went out for dinner, they noticed she still hadn’t left. Her slender figure stood guard by her bicycle, clutching the souvenir in her hands.
Jiang Yuan laughed. "She probably thinks it’s someone else’s and doesn’t dare take it."
That was a real possibility.
At the time, both of them thought the girl seemed sweet and innocent, her youthful face full of unease as she held the souvenir.
Jiang Yuan nudged him again. "A-Ze, I left the souvenir. Now it’s your turn to go."
"Fine." He grinned and shoved Jiang Yuan back, about to head downstairs to talk to her, when he saw her treat the souvenir like a priceless treasure—wrapping it carefully in a tissue before tucking it into a hidden pocket in her bag.
After that, neither of them saw her again.It was easy to deduce that for over half a month, she had been waiting for 'Unique' to appear. Yet, she never saw the person she wanted to see.
Fu Shize naturally assumed she was looking for Jiang Yuan. After all, during the sports meet, he had been sitting in the stands the whole time and hadn’t crossed paths with Yun Li.
He teased Jiang Yuan, “Saw the team jersey on the field. She must’ve been looking for you.”
Jiang Yuan replied, “Cut it out. You’re the one who told me to go.”
Neither of them took the matter seriously.
A sharp pain in his abdomen reminded Fu Shize that he hadn’t eaten in a long time—he couldn’t even recall how long. Back in his room, he remembered the matcha towel roll in the fridge. Taking it out, he noticed the moisture hadn’t fully dried yet.
The care of the maker was evident. The packaging box had been tightly wrapped in several layers of cling film, as if fearing any leakage. The creased ribbon showed she had tied and retied that blue bow multiple times.
He took a spoonful.
Sweet and bitter on the tongue.
He recalled her reddened eyes from earlier that night.
Eating didn’t ease the abdominal pain. Fu Shize casually swallowed a couple of pills.
He pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes from the drawer, flicked the lighter a couple of times, but didn’t light up.
Gazing at the balcony littered with cigarette butts and liquor bottles—utter chaos—he looked down at his own emaciated wrist, the bloodstains on his palm already dried.
Forget it.
...
In her apartment, Yun Li tore open a pack of frozen dumplings and tossed a few into boiling water. The honeycomb-like white foam bubbled up, and she stared blankly for a while.
Slowly, she reached for her phone and opened the chat history with Fu Shize. The nickname was still the one she had changed in a moment of affection.
From that night until now, they hadn’t spoken a word.
She wanted to ask him when he had found out.
She wanted to ask him why he had questioned her only to reject her—was it because he didn’t want any further contact?
Fu Zhengchu, unaware that the two had already pierced through that thin veil, created a small group chat, asking both her and Fu Shize if they wanted to play badminton.
She had planned to wait for Fu Shize to reply first.
But it seemed he had the same idea.
By afternoon, the group remained silent. Yun Li sighed at Fu Zhengchu’s two lonely messages: [Been really busy lately. No time to go.]
Within fifteen minutes, Fu Shize also replied: [Caught a cold. Not going.]
Seeing this, Yun Li wanted to ask if he was really sick and if she should bring him medicine.
Her nose stung again.
He would definitely refuse. He was such a well-mannered person—from the moment he realized, he must have wanted to nip her feelings in the bud.
She had mustered her courage, trembling yet moving forward.
She didn’t want to give up.
Didn’t want to.
She couldn’t maintain a friendship with Fu Shize while harboring feelings for him.
Yun Li opened her WeChat contacts and counted.
This relationship was okay.
This one was fine too.
This person could probably be considered a friend.
It seemed she wasn’t that desperate for friends.
She knew that whenever Fu Shize appeared again, no matter when or where, she would fall for him all over again.
She couldn’t imagine any relationship with him other than being lovers.
...
Feeling stifled, Yun Li opened E-Station and skimmed through fan comments.
Maybe chatting with fans would help.
Without any warning, she started a livestream.
Perhaps because it was close to 11 p.m., the viewer count skyrocketed, quickly surpassing ten thousand.Yun Li adjusted the camera and greeted the lens without glancing at the live chat. "Long time no see," she said casually.
"Good evening, everyone. Let's start by reading a few fan letters today."
"Nope, not doing Mandarin practice today."
"First, let's read some letters praising me." Yun Li skimmed the chat. "Huh? Why so picky?—I'm not being selective; nine out of ten letters are compliments anyway."
"Alright, time for the streamer to bask in some flattery."
After reading two, she felt slightly embarrassed and closed the mailbox. "Done. What do you all think?"
The chat erupted in playful disappointment.
"Why no updates for so long?—The streamer's still in school, busy with exams."
The chat scrolled rapidly, with many asking about the candid photo from last time. Yun Li intended to ignore it, but the questions multiplied, even accusing her of deliberately avoiding them.
"Who's the guy at the café?—Not very familiar. Ask him yourself."
"Why keep sneaking glances at him?—Who said it was sneaking..." She paused. "I was—looking openly."
"Is wifey becoming someone else's wifey?—Others can only aspire to be the streamer's wifey. Remember that."
"Salty Fish's eyes look red today—feeling down?—Not red. Mood's great."
Suddenly, the chat shifted direction.
[They do look kinda red though.]
[Did you fight with café guy?]
"..."
"When will little brother and café guy appear?—By 'guy,' you mean the café one?" Yun Li brushed past awkwardly. "Probably won't see him again."
"But as for little brother—" She pulled out her phone and dialed Yun Ye directly.
Meanwhile, Yun Ye, who'd just gotten home, noticed Yun Li's livestream notification and opened the page just in time to see this.
"..."
Yun Ye's voice came through the phone, feigning ignorance. "What?" His tone carried the clear brightness unique to youth.
"The livestream family wants to hear you."
"..."
The chat exploded with enthusiasm, suddenly unified in declarations of love for Yun Ye.
[I LOVE LITTLE BRO!!!!!!]
[You can have the streamer—give me brother!!!]
[Let us see brother's face, pleaseeee!]
Yun Li was momentarily speechless. "So... do I have more fans, or does he?"
"No wonder my account has more female followers?"
The chat updated in waves. Yun Li read aloud:
"Don't limit genders so strictly."
"I'm a guy, but I like brother too."
"..."
"Tell him to start his own stream. I'm logging off."
Without hesitation, she turned off the camera.
The call with Yun Ye continued.
Seeing the stream end, Yun Ye left the webpage open, kicking off the ground to spin his chair lazily. One leg crossed over the other as he leaned back. "Jie."
Yun Li: "What?"
"When are you coming home?"
"..."
Remembering home was an option, she fell silent for a long moment. "Thursday."With the thought of going home and coinciding with the adjusted exam week and winter internship schedule, Yun Li simply swapped shifts with Fang Yuning for the following week, managing to piece together a week-long break. After informing He Jiameng, she booked a flight back to West Fuling for Thursday.
Still reeling from her recent heartbreak, Yun Li desperately wanted to return to a place that felt safe and secure.
Her undergraduate university wasn’t far from home, and this was the first time she had been away for so long.
Homesickness suddenly overwhelmed her.
Yun Li stared blankly at her suitcase for a while, sniffling slightly.
The next day, she was jolted awake by a call from Yun Ye. Groggily answering, she heard his loud voice blaring through the phone: "Sis! If you don’t get up now, you’ll be late!"
The shock sent a jolt through her entire body.
She scrambled out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom. Within five minutes, she frantically completed the entire routine from brushing her teeth to getting dressed.
Grabbing her phone and charger, Yun Li dragged her suitcase out the door.
Once outside the elevator, she looked up at the deep blue sky and belatedly checked the time.
6:16 AM.
Great.
Standing frozen in place, she dialed Yun Ye’s number again. After two rings, he picked up.
"Are you out of your mind, Yun Ye?"
"You woke me up at this ungodly hour saying I’d be late."
There was a long pause on the other end before Yun Ye replied, confused, "Huh?" Then he continued, "Sis, hurry up and pack your things."
"Pack my—" Yun Li felt like she’d punched cotton. She sighed. "Forget it."
"I’ll deal with you when I get back."
Yun Li turned right back around and returned to her apartment.
She opened her chat with Fu Shize and stared blankly at the word "Wife."
After agonizing over her words, typing and deleting sentences repeatedly, she hesitated.
[I’m going back to West Fuling. Should I bring you some local specialties?]
He’d definitely refuse.
[I’m going back to West Fuling. I’ll be back next week.]
He probably wouldn’t care to know.
[I won’t give up.]
Nightmare.
After much deliberation, she decided against it—having just been rejected, pestering him might lead to the same fate as Lin Wanyin. She closed her phone. Better to find a chance to send something he might actually reply to.
When Yun Li landed, Yun Yongchang was already waiting outside the airport.
Father and daughter tacitly avoided mentioning their previous conflict. Yun Yongchang stiffly took her luggage, his tone gruff: "Always dressing for looks, wearing so little. Freeze your knees now, and you’ll end up with rheumatism like your old man."
Normally, Yun Li would have bickered back, but this time, she found herself oddly nostalgic for his nagging.
Only when she was in the family car did she truly feel like she’d come home.
Leaning against the window, Yun Li watched the buildings pass by.
West Fuling had fewer crowds than Nanwu, lacking the bustling atmosphere, but its newer buildings stood in neat rows, and the roads were smooth and wide.
The outline of West Science and Technology University’s main building gradually came into view.
"Hey, Dad," Yun Li sat up abruptly. "I remember the way home doesn’t pass by West Sci-Tech?"
"They started road construction during the summer," Yun Yongchang replied, steering with one hand and glancing to the right. "It was finished last month."
"About time," he grumbled. "Always had to take a huge detour before. Now it’s fixed."
"Perfect for your brother when he starts university—easier to come home."
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