After taking their seats, Yun Li turned to look at Xu Qingsong. He seemed largely unchanged, wearing a well-fitted sea-blue printed shirt, casually watching the performance on stage.
Her gaze shifted to Fu Shize.
They had met again.
She sat up straight, waiting for the show to begin.
Noticing Xu Qingsong leaving his seat from the corner of her eye, Yun Li initiated a conversation with Fu Shize: “Will you go back to EAW?”
“I haven’t been back,” Fu Shize rested his hands on his knees and turned his head. “Why do you ask?”
“Seeing Mr. Xu reminded me that it’s been a long time since I played VR games.”
As she said this, Yun Li realized that Fu Shize had been by her side for all the VR games she had ever played.
Her heart skipped a beat. Fu Shize was silent for a moment, then looked up at her: “Do you want to go?”
Yun Li seemed to hear an invitation in his words. She clasped her hands and gave a long, soft “Mm.”
After speaking, she stared ahead. As the musicians took their positions and the music began to fill the hall, she heard him respond.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Yun Li’s lips curved into a smile, but feeling it was too obvious, she quickly suppressed it. Inwardly, she thought that rewarding herself after getting her interview results was indeed the right choice.
Although she wasn’t particularly musical and couldn’t fully appreciate the beautiful or grand melodies, even feeling drowsy at times, being here was different. Fu Shize would occasionally lean close to her, telling her about the composers and stories behind each piece.
For her, what should have been a regular performance seemed to become Fu Shize’s show.
His voice was relaxed yet distinct against the background music, though occasionally a few syllables were lost in the sound.
Yun Li unconsciously drew closer to him, wanting to hear more clearly.
She hadn’t noticed how close they had become until she felt a warm sensation in her ear.
“…”
What had she touched?
As if electrified, Yun Li covered her right ear, jerking back and turning her head awkwardly.
Fu Shize also seemed momentarily confused.
“Did I bump into something?” Yun Li wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination; they still seemed quite far apart. Maybe she was overreacting.
“…”
Feeling as if she had taken advantage of him, Yun Li urgently wanted to explain. She swallowed and said, “I couldn’t hear clearly what you were saying earlier.”
Given their current relationship, Yun Li felt she should address this somehow, lest it seem like she was harassing him. After pondering for a moment, she turned back and said, “So I leaned in a bit.”
“It’s fine, I think I accidentally kissed you,” Fu Shize said matter-of-factly.
“…”
Yun Li didn’t know how he could say such things so seriously. After saying this, Fu Shize added politely, “I’m sorry.”
“…”
After this interlude, Yun Li consciously maintained her distance from Fu Shize. However, he seemed to have forgotten what had just happened and leaned close to her right ear again: “It’s alright.”
Given what had just occurred, this action now felt much more intimate.
Fu Shize showed no intention of moving back, only saying, “I just want you to hear clearly.”
In the dim light, Yun Li’s right ear had turned completely red. Fu Shize chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my distance.”
These words were meant to reassure Yun Li that the earlier accident wouldn’t happen again.
It was her ear that had touched his lips; she should have been the one maintaining distance.
Yun Li recalled the sensation, stealing a glance at Fu Shize. He was looking at the stage; his lips were thin and soft, slightly pale in color, but incredibly alluring when the light changed.
Her face grew even redder, feeling as if her entire face was burning.
Finding it increasingly difficult to control her heart’s flutter, Yun Li excused herself to go to the restroom.
In the restroom, Yun Li stared at herself in the mirror, noticing her lipstick had faded a bit.
Yun Li lowered her gaze, washed her hands, and took out her lipstick from her bag.
She paused.
She had a feeling this was like a date.
Regardless of her previous thoughts, upon meeting again, she found it impossible to avoid being attracted to Fu Shize.
After her wildly beating heart calmed down, Yun Li left the restroom.
Unable to find her way back, she walked along the corridor. The corridor had a distinctly different style from the interior of the hall, simple and elegant. It was empty, with the outer wall made of transparent glass.
Yun Li looked at the dark sky and took out her phone.
Yun Li: [Qiqi, I ran into Fu Shize at a performance.]
Deng Chuqi: [You ‘ran into’ him?]
Yun Li: [Really, I just ran into him. Xu Qingsong is here too. It feels just like what you said.]
Yun Li: [It seems quite fated.]
Just as she was about to turn back, Xu Qingsong appeared around the corner.
He seemed lost in thought, strolling near Yun Li before noticing her presence.
Earlier, Xu Qingsong had said he was going to the restroom when he left his seat, but he was coming from the opposite direction of the restrooms.
It looked more like he was aimlessly wandering around the gymnasium.
Yun Li had been wondering why he hadn’t returned and suddenly realized he was creating opportunities for her and Fu Shize.
Upon seeing Yun Li, Xu Qingsong didn’t seem embarrassed at all, casually saying, “Out for some air?”
“Mm.”
Even when she was with Fu Shize, Yun Li and Xu Qingsong were never particularly close.
Yun Li stood like a wooden doll for a moment, then thought about returning to Fu Shize’s side.
“I heard you just returned from abroad?” Xu Qingsong asked, “Are you job hunting?”
Yun Li: “Yes, it’s mostly settled.”
“How long has it been since you broke up?” Xu Qingsong’s topic suddenly changed, but he asked without any pressuring tone.
Yun Li was momentarily caught off guard, slowly responding, “A year and a half.”
Xu Qingsong should have known when they broke up.
Xu Qingsong wasn’t the type to gossip, and there were some things Fu Shize hadn’t told Yun Li that he didn’t presume to mention.
He said casually, “We’ve been here since around 4 PM, waiting for someone.”
Yun Li was stunned for a moment: “Did that person come?”
Apart from the three of them, there was no one else they knew in the venue.
Xu Qingsong looked at her.
She seemed to suddenly understand his hint.
She recalled the last time she saw Xu Qingsong when she was returning to Nanwu from Xifu. She had already resigned and was at EAW to collect her personal belongings.
At that time, she ran into Xu Qingsong in EAW’s break room, and he asked her, “Have you thought it through?”
Yun Li thought he was asking about her resignation and gave an appropriate reason: “Yes. I need to go back to school for experiments.”
Xu Qingsong took a sip of coffee and added, “About breaking up with Ah Ze.”
His deep eyes seemed to contain other meanings.
At that time, she was still unable to shake off the negative emotions from the breakup, and Fu Shize hadn’t contacted her either.
She just gave a soft “Mm.”
Xu Qingsong looked at her thoughtfully, without asking further.
For a moment, she felt as if the whole world knew about their breakup. She didn’t want to be reminded of this issue anymore and just wanted to leave quickly.
As she opened the door, Xu Qingsong said one last thing – “Ah Ze is a sentimental person.”
After returning to Fu Shize’s side, Yun Li didn’t mention running into Xu Qingsong. Looking at Fu Shize’s profile, she recalled her life over the past year and more.
The day she arrived in England, it was drizzling. The damp air enveloped her, and the architectural style along the way was vastly different from Xifu and Nanwu.
Arriving in this unfamiliar city, Yun Li moved into the single room she had booked in advance.
Someone added her to the local Nanwu alumni group. The group leader had helped her a lot when she first moved and later invited her to gatherings. Yun Li felt too embarrassed to refuse.
There were about a dozen people at the time. Not good at socializing, she sat quietly in the corner. The group leader tried to help her integrate, and later repeatedly invited her to gatherings.
Yun Li found it difficult to quickly form friendships and was reluctant to go.
Less than a month after moving in, there was a problem with her rented room. The landlord insisted that Yun Li had damaged the bathroom and demanded 2000 pounds in compensation. Yun Li was at her wits’ end trying to deal with this. When it came to money, the previously friendly landlord seemed to become a different person, forceful and cold.
Reality had given Yun Li a harsh wake-up call.
She didn’t tell her family about this incident. Later, she reported it to the police, and the landlord relented, only asking her to compensate a small portion.
Alone in a city where she struggled with the language, having faced this injustice, she didn’t want to be mocked by Yuan Yongchang. Deng Chuqi was too busy with her new lab to talk much, leaving Yun Li with almost no one to confide in.
Occasionally, she would chat with her fans, who would try to cheer her up, but in truth, she didn’t tell them most of what was happening.
One day, while packing her things, she came across a photo of her and Fu Shize. It had been tucked into a notebook and accidentally brought along.
In a daze, she was cutting fruit when she carelessly made a large cut on her hand.
Hurriedly finding the first aid kit, seeing the amount of blood, Yun Li lowered her gaze as she disinfected, applied medicine, and bandaged the wound herself.
For the next few days, cooking, washing up, and bathing were all very inconvenient.
As she washed fruit with her right hand, Yun Li stared at the water in the sink.
After a long time, she remembered when she had fallen before and scraped her hand. Fu Shize, who had never done housework, had followed recipes step by step to cook for her.
At that time, she had only felt happy, never delving deeper into what Fu Shize’s actions might have meant.
Here, there was no one to always speak into her right ear as he did, no one to pay attention to and take care of her daily life, no one to accompany her when something went wrong.
All the little details of their time together surfaced in her mind.
Yun Li realized that Fu Shize might have liked her.
She couldn’t deny the loneliness in her heart, especially whenever she thought of Fu Shize.
Perhaps to alleviate this loneliness, she began attending gatherings, though not frequently. Gradually, she became friends with several other international students.
During one casual conversation, someone asked her, “Yun Li, have you ever been in a relationship?”
Yun Li answered honestly, “Once.”
The others found this extremely interesting and pestered Yun Li to tell them about her entire relationship.
At that time, Yun Li had not yet moved on from this relationship and was reluctant to say much. However the others were insistent, so Yun Li had no choice but to give a general overview of her relationship.
In truth, she didn’t want to talk about it, as it felt like repeatedly tearing open a wound in her heart.
As she recalled her attempts to inquire about Fu Shize’s past, Yun Li realized she had often asked vague questions. When he didn’t respond as she had hoped, she viewed it as a barrier between them.
Now, faced with a similar situation, she was reluctant to bring up painful topics. Belatedly, she understood that even between lovers, some things remain difficult to express.
If only she had been more patient back then.
Her friends eagerly discussed her breakup, each rushing to share their views on relationships. Most of them took her side.
Finally, a recently dumped young man, his speech slurred from alcohol, spoke up: “I think your ex-boyfriend got a raw deal. He didn’t suggest breaking up, and he wasn’t cheating. The Cold War was just in your imagination…”
“Girls are so hard to understand,” he continued, tears starting to flow. “You break up, your ex asks why, and you blame him for accepting it too easily. Then you give up completely because of that. I don’t get it. I gave so much, so why does she insist I didn’t love her enough? How can she just end things so abruptly? Was our relationship that easy to throw away?”
The others restrained him, explaining to Yun Li that he was drunk and freshly heartbroken, urging her not to take his words to heart. Yun Li remained silent, pressing her lips together.
The next day, sobered up, the young man sent a flurry of apologetic messages to Yun Li: [I’m so, so sorry about last night. I was drunk and talking nonsense. Please don’t take it seriously. I’m truly sorry.]
[It’s okay,] Yun Li replied.
At that moment, Yun Li saw the thoughts she had long been avoiding.
[You told the truth,] she added.
She realized she had been part of the problem in their relationship.
When they broke up, overwhelmed by pent-up emotions, Yun Li felt hopeless and suggested they separate.
She had acted on impulse, never expecting him to agree.
Like a detective, she constantly sought evidence that Fu Shize didn’t love her, interpreting his agreement to break up as proof of his lack of feelings.
Then, she gave up on their relationship.
Her sensitive nature led her to over-analyze Fu Shize’s actions.
For a long time afterward, Yun Li forced herself to change the most negative aspects of her personality. She focused more on her actions rather than others’ opinions and evaluations. She actively communicated with those around her instead of overthinking their words and actions.
She believed that if she made these changes, should she ever have the chance to see Fu Shize again, she wouldn’t hurt him with her sensitivity.
At another gathering, the young man who had cried about his ex-girlfriend announced they had reconciled. She had initiated it, reflecting on her issues.
“Yun Li, have you considered talking to your ex?” he asked her privately after the party.
Yun Li just smiled. “If we ever meet again, we’ll see.”
She had thought about it before—finding him, having an open and honest conversation. If he still liked her, they could be together again.
But the reality was that they had dated once and broken up.
She recognized that her overly sensitive nature and feelings of inferiority made it difficult to maintain a stable relationship. Fu Shize’s reserved personality couldn’t break this deadlock.
She didn’t want to break up again for the same reasons, hurting them both once more.
Besides, after so much time, Fu Shize probably didn’t like her anymore. She didn’t believe she could make him love her forever.
They hadn’t contacted each other at all, as if they were strangers.
Reconciliation could happen in just two sentences.
Just like how their relationship had started.
Maintaining a relationship, however, was much more challenging.
Seeing Fu Shize again, Yun Li felt he was doing well and hoped he would continue to do so.
They were both just grains of sand in this vast world, briefly touching amidst millions. Then, returning to the dust—a common occurrence.
However, Xu Qingsong made it clear that Fu Shize was a sentimental person.
So for a year and a half, he had never forgotten her.
If that was the case, Yun Li didn’t want to deny her feelings anymore.
She had never gotten over him either—
As the performance ended, the audience began to file out. Yun Li and Fu Shize reached the exit, where Xu Qingsong excused himself for another engagement.
Outside the stadium, cars were backed up in long lines, horns blaring constantly.
Yun Li opened her ride-hailing app.
Fu Shize glanced at it and asked, “Want me to take you out? You won’t be able to get a car here.”
Yun Li looked outside, seeing the cars barely moving. She nodded.
“Wait here for a moment,” Fu Shize said, preparing to fetch his scooter.
For some reason, Yun Li followed him. “I’ll come with you.”
The small scooter was parked at the back of the stadium. Riding with him seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do now.
Fu Shize unlocked the scooter and picked up the helmet, toying with it for a moment before looking up at her. “It’s still early. Want to take a ride around?”
Yun Li agreed without her usual hesitation, her voice soft. “Okay.”
Fu Shize drove her to the newly expanded part of West Science University, where most of the buildings had been renovated.
The entire expansion area was deserted.
Trusting Fu Shize, Yun Li wasn’t afraid. Instead, it felt like entering a secret realm he often visited.
The scooter sped along, wind rushing through her clothes, making it hard for her to keep her eyes open. After a few minutes, they stopped in front of an orange building.
“I want to show you something,” Fu Shize said, heading inside. The building was nearly complete but not yet in use.
They took the elevator to the fourteenth floor, where darkness enveloped them. Yun Li followed close behind.
They entered an empty classroom that still smelled of fresh paint. It was connected to a spacious rooftop, its door locked.
Fu Shize opened a window and placed a chair for Yun Li. “I’ll go first. Then you can climb onto the chair and cross over. I’ll catch you on the other side.”
He swiftly climbed through, landing steadily on the other side.
Yun Li met his gaze, hesitating for a moment before stepping onto the chair and slowly standing on the windowsill.
The windowsill was over a meter high, and she hesitated again.
Sensing her concern, Fu Shize reached out his hand.
Yun Li grasped it, and as she jumped down, he supported her arm with his other hand.
She landed safely.
His chest was right in front of her, and Yun Li almost leaned into it. She took a small step back, slowly withdrawing her hand.
The rooftop was brighter than the hallway inside.
They leaned against the railing, feeling the breeze. In the distance, the sky was vast, the city bustling below.
The evening wind gently ruffled his bangs as he rested his face on his hand. “I like coming here when I’m alone.”
His eyes were clear, looking even softer in the night.
“Now there are two of us,” Yun Li replied, gazing at the distant scenery.
He didn’t respond immediately.
Yun Li turned her head to find Fu Shize looking at her. When their eyes met, she shyly looked away.
Yes, now there were two of them.
Fu Shize watched as Yun Li buried her small face in her arms, her eyes reflecting the distant lights.
They stayed quietly on the rooftop until the bustling city in the distance grew silent.
Yun Li didn’t know why, but she could always spend so much time with Fu Shize doing nothing, like two stones side by side.
Back downstairs, Yun Li took out her phone.
“I’ll just call a car and head home,” she said. “You should get back to your dorm and rest too.”
It was nearly ten o’clock now, and she didn’t want to take up too much of Fu Shize’s time.
Fu Shize took out his phone as well and asked, “Still living in the same place?”
Yun Li nodded. Before she could place an order, Fu Shize had already called for a car. Within minutes, a driver accepted and arrived.
Yun Li didn’t refuse or ask why.
After becoming less resistant to her true feelings, Yun Li found everything seemed a bit easier.
Fu Shize opened the car door. Yun Li got in and turned to say goodbye.
As she settled in, she realized Fu Shize had also gotten into the car.
“?”
“I’ll see you home,” he said, glancing at her.
They rode in silence.
This was a route Yun Li knew very well. As familiar landmarks, shops, and lights passed by, she could even recall when she had driven Fu Shize from the airport to West Science University two years ago. Everything was the same as it had been then.
Many times, she had driven this route to see Fu Shize.
Observing the road now, Yun Li realized she liked this stretch very much.
Because every time she drove along it, she knew she would see Fu Shize at the end.
She stole glances at the person beside her. He sat quietly, just as he always had when they were together, silently accompanying her.
The car soon arrived at the entrance of her apartment complex. Fu Shize got out with her, and they walked quietly to the building.
Xi Fu had planted mostly evergreen trees, their branches lush with leaves. Even in autumn, faint cicada calls could be heard at night, heralding the change of seasons.
The incessant cicada song in Yun Li’s ears stirred her emotions. She looked up at Fu Shize, who was also looking at her.
“I’m going up now,” she said softly.
Fu Shize nodded.
As Yun Li reached the entrance, she heard his voice behind her. “Li Li.”
She paused and turned back. He was in the shadows, and she couldn’t see his features clearly, but his voice was distinct.
“Sweet dreams, Li Li.”
After arriving home, Yun Li found Yang Fang and Yun Yongchang watching TV. It was an urban romance drama that Yang Fang had mentioned before—about a couple who missed their chance when they were young and, after different life experiences, became the type of people they once despised.
Yun Li couldn’t help but draw parallels to her situation.
But in the time since parting with Fu Shize, Yun Li knew she had never hated him.
If anything, she might have come to dislike herself a bit.
She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk, pouring it into a cup. As she thought about Fu Shize, the exaggerated dialogue from the TV seemed distant.
Taking the milk back to her room, Yun Li turned off the lights and switched on the paper lantern. As the star-shaped light patterns danced, she recalled Fu Shize’s words from earlier.
“Sweet dreams, Li Li.”
She remembered her doubts and worries.
Worrying whether his actions meant he didn’t like her enough, worrying why he didn’t come looking for her after the breakup, worrying if they would repeat the same mistakes due to her personality.
But now, or perhaps even earlier—when they were walking through the campus together when the sweet osmanthus fragrance reminded her of their first meeting in Nanwu—she had a strong desire to forget all their past conflicts and troubles.
To be with him again.
This desire, despite the shock of their breakup, and despite how much she tried to deceive herself, had never disappeared from her heart.
Moreover, she now knew that he still had feelings for her.
The changes she had worked so hard to make over the past year, teaching herself to be brave, confident, and strong, weren’t meant for her to shrink back and avoid love.
Yun Li dug out a notebook buried at the bottom of her drawer. Inside was a photo of the two of them. She caressed it, remembering how long ago, Fu Shize had sat to her right on the basketball court.
Just like tonight’s companionship.
Yun Li suddenly sat up and opened her chat window with Fu Shize. She bit her lip as she typed.
But he sent a message first.
F: [I want to see you.]