After the spring semester at MIT concluded, Xie Yichen officially began his entrepreneurial journey.

Based on existing projects and past research from the laboratory, his primary focus remained on artificial intelligence-generated content. The plan was to conduct broader training across text, image, and audio domains, though for the time being, his main energy was concentrated on natural language models that simulated conversation.

Du Junnian had originally offered to give him a direct sum of money, but Xie Yichen declined.

Xie Yichen had helped the family enormously with the Tengyun matter, and after the two companies merged, he had poured in both heart and effort. This debt of gratitude had always weighed heavily on him.

Therefore, even if Du Junnian hadn’t offered the money, he would have gone beyond the promised five percent and given him a larger share of equity.

When it came to starting a business, Xie Yichen had gone in with realistic expectations. Senior classmates he had met at school had all shared similar experiences and encountered all manner of difficulties, so he had made clear and thorough plans regarding which areas required careful attention.

The reason he hadn’t launched a startup the moment he enrolled was precisely because he had wanted to spend more time observing and give himself a stronger foundation.

Now, he felt he had prepared himself comprehensively.

His co-founder was a classmate he had met during the undergraduate spring research term — someone he had felt an immediate kinship with. That person later went to CMU, but the two kept in touch, and they found themselves in complete agreement about the future prospects of AI-generated content. They assembled a small founding team of five initial members.

Because he had relevant academic experience at both MIT and Carnegie Mellon, along with a solid network of connections, Xie Yichen managed, relatively smoothly in the early days of the venture, to secure the first round of investment from the university’s startup fund and to rent a long-term studio space on campus.

Every beginning is hard, especially on the technical side, which demanded enormous energy and extended time. Xie Yichen often stayed at the studio, and Ning Sui would frequently drop by to check on him.

If it was just the two of them, they would linger together for a while before settling into quiet, companionable study. If others were around, she wouldn’t disturb him — she would simply slip in some drinks and snacks on the way out.

Time passed quickly. It seemed as though everyone was becoming a better version of themselves.

Lin Shuyu had spent a grueling year grinding away as an employee at a buy-side fund and had finally begun to find her footing — she could now speak about industry research with eloquence and genuine insight. Zhang Yuge’s doctoral journey was still ongoing, though she had found the specific branch of research she loved. Cui Xian and Yu Qin were both in stable, flourishing relationships with their respective boyfriends, and thoughts of taking things further had begun to stir.

Yet the most dramatic development of all belonged to Paopao Ke. After a drought of nearly four years, she suddenly and without any warning announced that she was off the market — and with someone none of them had ever remotely considered.

It was as if she had single-handedly, quietly fulfilled the promise of her own social media nickname — nothing short of legendary. For a while, the group chat was flooded with reaction memes tagging Hu Ke’er alongside a single thumbs-up: “Respect.”

Ning Sui, having been deeply involved behind the scenes all along, let the glory remain unspoken and quickly recovered her composure.

The star of the story herself, however, seemed to take half a day before she could come back to earth. When she called, she was still stuttering and too flustered to say anything, and only under Ning Sui’s relentless interrogation did she squeeze out, bit by bit, a vague account of what had happened on New Year’s Eve.

Ning Sui listened with rapt delight: “…So, after you got on the Ferris wheel, what happened next?”

Hu Ke’er covered her face, mortified: “I told you everything there is to tell!”

The Coconut Princess wasn’t buying it, and pressed on with gleeful enthusiasm: “Come on — I happen to have a very juicy melon in hand right now.”

Every time she replayed the events of that evening, Hu Ke’er felt her scalp prickle. It was as if the moment she closed her eyes, all she could see was a certain person’s heavy, downcast gaze.

One ride on the Ferris wheel takes thirty minutes. Du Junnian had slipped the staff a word and pulled her into two consecutive rounds. Throughout the entire time, Hu Ke’er sat on his lap — how beautiful the Beijing night skyline was, she had absolutely no idea. All she remembered was that when they finally stepped off, her legs had gone completely weak. She could barely stand, and a curious three-year-old behind them had stared at her for a good while before Du Junnian finally scooped her up horizontally and carried her back to the car.

In short — “It’s really impossible to put into words!”

Ning Sui mused serenely: “You had the spicy hot pot again, didn’t you?”

Hu Ke’er’s mind went blank: “NING SUI!!!”

The other end of the call, sensing a good moment to stop, slowly changed the subject: “So, are you going back to work at Shanying this summer?”

“Probably not,” Hu Ke’er said, her voice still slightly unsteady, swallowing once. “I’ll see how he arranges things. It’s not like I need to go to the office to see him anymore…”

Ning Sui cut straight to the point: “Oh, so you signed that contract mainly as an excuse to see Du Ge?”

Hu Ke’er: “Say that one more time and I’ll actually stop talking to you!”

Well. Being in love really did change a person.

Before, Hu Ke’er had been aimless and restless on her own. Even knowing there was a time difference between them, she couldn’t help sending a message every couple of days just to make her presence known.

Now that school had started up again, the whole person simply vanished. The occasional video call came through, and Ning Sui could clearly see that her complexion was worlds apart from how she’d looked in her senior year — her cheeks carried a natural flush, her eyes were bright and sparkling. It was obvious she was in fine form, in every sense.

They said love nourished a person. It turned out that wasn’t without basis.

Du Junnian rarely shared anything personal on his social media — it was mostly current affairs and news — but on Valentine’s Day the following year, he broke from habit and posted a set of nine photos from a holiday in Sanya.

He hadn’t photographed himself, though. Only Hu Ke’er, placed right in the center of the grid.

She was barefoot, running lightly along the shore, laughing as she lifted her skirt to splash in the water. It was only a view of her back, but anyone who knew her would have recognized her in an instant.

The surrounding photos were of various dishes and foods.

Caption: 【Pig-rearing Diary 😄】

Below it, Hu Ke’er’s indignant, sputtering protest: 【That’s complete nonsense!】

Du Junnian replied to Paopao Ke: 【I’ll take you for little cakes later】

Paopao Ke: 【…】

Paopao Ke: 【Yay!】

Then, a few minutes later, the friends who had been silently following along watched the post disappear, replaced by a new one.

Same photos. Only the caption had changed: 【Diary of Raising an Adorable Little Pig 😄】

Across the ocean, Ning Sui quietly gave it a like.

Lately, Xie Yichen had grown increasingly busy, running to the studio every other day, sometimes staying for an entire day at a stretch. The project had entered its most critical phase of intense, focused effort — the foundational natural language model had taken preliminary shape and was being packaged and integrated with a UI interface. A related consumer-facing application was being tested for launch. They were just one crucial step away from the finish line.

At the same time, negotiations were underway with Silicon Valley investors for an early-stage venture capital injection. Once the beta testing was complete, the funds would arrive immediately.

So for those several months, Xie Yichen was relentlessly pulled in two directions, night and day — conducting research in the laboratory alongside his supervisor while simultaneously managing everything related to the startup.

He was constantly in meetings, and sometimes had no time to eat. Ning Sui would make her way to the studio to bring him food.

In the evenings, even when he did come home, he would often sit alone by lamplight, deep in concentrated research. Sometimes Ning Sui woke in the middle of the night to find Xie Yichen still at the desk with his laptop, typing as quietly as he could, and she would feel a sharp pang in her chest.

But he loved every moment of it.

Earnest, absorbed, filled with passion for the work he was doing. Ning Sui was often buoyed by his energy. She felt her own days carried a sense of momentum — even when life was hectic, she was happy.

Sometimes she’d glance over at his screen and see dense, extraordinarily complex code and notes. They had held in-depth conversations with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest technology venture capital firms, and the industry at large found it nothing short of astonishing that someone barely past twenty could push the technology to this level.

“Marvelous” — that was the word the investors used to describe these brilliant young men and women from China.

Ning Sui felt that her boyfriend was someone with an exceptionally strong inner core. No matter the circumstances, his foundation was always energized and steady. Being with him, there was never any need to worry about emotional exhaustion.

“To forge new frontiers for our homeland — to press forward step by step, to row with both hands on the oars, to strive toward the highest excellence.” These words from his acceptance speech at the top scholarship ceremony were not just words. He was living them — grounded, forward-moving, without hesitation.

Xie Yichen gave her more strength and courage. He made Ning Sui believe, more firmly than ever, that at their age, the possibilities were boundless — that whatever they set out to do, they could make it happen.

There was no need to chase after the light, because the young themselves were the dazzling light.

Only — their relationship was hopelessly clingy. A moment apart felt like a year. For almost the entire previous weekend, Ning Sui hadn’t seen Xie Yichen at all, and had spent the time at home pining terribly for him. So when things finally wrapped up, the two of them practically melted into each other the moment they were reunited.

Xie Yichen lifted her up onto the edge of the fireplace surround and tilted his head back to kiss her with a smile. The kiss blazed and spread like wildfire, almost impossible to withstand. He nuzzled his face against her ear and jaw, and Ning Sui felt his short, slightly rough hair prick her palms — her heart was warm and fluttery. Between kisses, she murmured vaguely: “Have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

She couldn’t help saying: “Didn’t you say it would only be two days?”

He planted both hands on either side of her legs and pressed his lips earnestly against her temple, before curling the corners of his mouth: “I left the day before yesterday in the morning, and now I’m back. How is that not two days?”

Ning Sui wrapped her arms around his neck, very precise: “You left the day before yesterday morning and came back tonight. Count it yourself.”

Xie Yichen paused for a moment, then his brow lifted and his eyes took on a burning gleam: “Did you miss me?”

“Yes.”

He leaned in again with a smile and kissed her. Outside the window, snow was falling. Ning Sui loved watching snow, so Xie Yichen scooped her up and carried her over to the sofa by the window. When he settled her in his arms, he bounced her lightly once and paused: “How are you lighter again?”

He lifted his chin: “Ning Coconut.”

Ning Sui said “hm?” and looked down at him.

“How long was I gone?” Xie Yichen pinched her cheek, lowering his brow slightly. “You just let yourself go the moment I’m not here watching over you and cooking for you.”

Ning Sui was still a little dazed, and glanced guiltily to the side: “…That’s not true.”

“You had instant noodles for dinner?” He went straight to the point.

The remains of the instant noodles were still sitting by the kitchen cabinet, undisposed of. Ning Sui swallowed: “…Possibly, maybe, yes.”

Xie Yichen looked at her with an expression that was difficult to read.

Seeing this, Ning Sui immediately leaned in and gave him a kiss, coaxing him earnestly: “I just didn’t have an appetite without you here.”

Their eyes met with warmth and warmth in the space between them. She knew he had a weakness for this. Xie Yichen gave a low tsk, pulled her onto his lap, made sure she was properly settled, then took her hand and fixed his gaze on her: “I brought something back for you.”

“What?”

He was deliberately mysterious: “It’s in my bag. Go look for yourself.”

Xie Yichen’s bag was resting against the arm of the sofa, visibly bulging with something. Ning Sui reached over curiously, pulled open the zipper, and found something soft inside. She tugged it out — and out came an enormous pillow.

It was a coconut she recognized immediately.

“CocoChat.”

That was the name of their artificial intelligence chatbot application.

Named after a coconut, with a coconut for a logo, and now even the mascot plush pillow was a round, adorable coconut — identical to the logo.

Ning Sui: “How do you have this?”

Seeing her eyes light up, Xie Yichen said: “You liked the design, didn’t you? So I had a plushie made for you to play with.”

Ning Sui thought it was delightful. She turned it over and back, charmed and unable to put it down. Xie Yichen watched her for a moment, then laughed softly: “Get up.”

“Why?”

“I’ll make you a bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee.”

“…Okay.”

She had been reading all day and was spread across the sofa without a single intention of moving, so she simply watched his retreating figure the whole time. Xie Yichen rinsed the rice, lit the stove, and leaned lazily to the side watching the congee cook for a while. Then he put the lid on the pot and came back to the sofa.

Ning Sui instinctively nestled into his arms and called his name: “Xie Yichen.”

“Mm?”

“You’ve been busy all day. Are you tired?”

He answered honestly: “A little.”

“Then let me massage you.”

She called it a massage, though in practice she was kneading and squeezing him at random. Whether it actually eased any fatigue was unclear, but the process was what it was.

She looked up to find Xie Yichen watching her with an expression somewhere between a smile and a smirk.

The young man’s eyes were keen and clear, his features sharply handsome, the corners of his mouth curved in a faint arc. His dark hair against the snowy scene beyond the window was a perfect picture. Ning Sui rubbed her face lightly against the side of his neck, her eyes catching a little of the glow from the street lamp outside, and couldn’t help sighing quietly: “I love snowy days so much.”

A long, broad palm reached over and ruffled her hair with familiar affection.

Outside the window, the snow drifted without pause. Ning Sui cradled her face in her hands and watched for a while, then murmured: “I’m thinking a little of second year of high school.”

“Mm?”

“It snowed for several days in a row, I think.”

It had been winter when she went, just like now. The small path from the teaching building back to the guesthouse in Nanjing had also been blanketed in snow, and she’d walked back with uncertain footing. The dim, warm orange street lamps lit the quiet world around her, and she had been a girl with a schoolbag on her back, her vision blurred by wind and snow, only able to make out the figure of a certain person not far ahead.

She turned her head now — and found the person before her watching her with quiet, attentive eyes.

After a moment, she heard his low, unhurried voice: “Would you like to go back and see that place?”

Ning Sui stilled.

So many years had passed since second year of high school, yet every time she thought of it, it felt close — stored in a very soft, tender corner of her heart.

Her heartbeat suddenly quickened with a skip. She blinked: “Yes.”

Returning to the teaching building where the high school mathematics competition training camp had been held, years after the fact, was something Ning Sui had never expected.

With Xie Yichen, whatever she wanted to do was possible. She could be as spontaneous as a child. She’d said it almost in passing and half forgotten it herself — yet he had held it quietly in his heart all along. When they went back home for the New Year holiday, he took her on a detour to Nanjing.

The two of them set off without further deliberation, like treasure hunters, navigating by memory to find the guesthouse first.

To their surprise, it was still there after all these years — only with a newer, larger signboard. Standing before the familiar yet changed streetscape, memories came rushing in from all directions. Ning Sui couldn’t help feeling a stinging warmth rise in her eyes.

The two of them walked hand in hand, fingers interlaced. She pointed ahead: “Here — turn the corner and there’s that street lamp.”

Xie Yichen glanced at her from the side. Ning Sui pressed her lips together, a mix of anticipation and slight nervousness in her expression as she looked up at him: “Do you remember?”

“I remember.” He smiled, his grip tightening, his voice low and quiet. “This is where I turned back. And saw you.”

“…Yes.”

The streetscape had changed greatly from those days. The road they used to walk along had grown wider and more open. The outdoor food stalls along the side were gone, replaced by fashionable clothing boutiques — dense with shops, bustling with business. People came and went along the sidewalks. Further ahead was a long stretch of railing with a civic slogan printed on it: “Be a civilized citizen, starting with me.”

Those words were still there. Ning Sui looked at them and felt a peculiar sensation wash over her — as though the years had passed and yet everything best about this place had remained, still holding on to the warmth of that time.

Following the map of their memories, they walked along the lively street for three intersections and found the high school where the training camp had taken place.

All these years, and the buildings hadn’t changed at all.

Night had settled over the city. The two of them ate dinner at a small restaurant near the school gates, then slipped quietly inside. On weekends, the school was nearly empty, and the layout of the teaching buildings felt increasingly familiar as they moved through it. Ning Sui spotted the high platform with its many steps — the one she had come running out of the teaching building toward that night, and seen him immediately.

The young man’s silhouette had been tall and straight, dressed in a dark-colored outdoor jacket, hands in his pockets, unhurried and at ease, descending the steps one by one.

She had chased after him then and couldn’t catch up, her eyes blurred by wind and snow.

Now it was the opposite.

— He was the one holding her hand, leading her upward, step by step.

The two of them climbed the final step. Ning Sui turned, tucking her nose briefly into her scarf, and went quiet.

Xie Yichen stopped immediately.

Her lashes were damp with a faint mist. He lowered his gaze and reached up to gently brush the corner of her eye, letting out a slightly husky sigh: “Why are you crying?”

“I’m crying from…happiness.”

“Mm?”

“I just feel — meeting you, I was so lucky.”

Xie Yichen’s gaze was very dark and still. He looked at her without a word.

Ning Sui’s fingertips trembled slightly: “If I hadn’t stayed at school until late that night — if I’d gone back earlier — maybe… I might never have met you.”

The thought wound through her mind and left her with a sudden, quiet dread. But before she could blink, Xie Yichen had already pulled her directly into his arms.

He bent low, holding her tight, his jaw resting against her soft hair: “You silly thing. There are no ‘ifs’ in the world.”

“Meeting was meeting.” Xie Yichen’s voice was low and certain. “It was fate. And it was always meant to be.”

Yes.

Meeting was meeting.

Ning Sui pressed her cheek against his firm, warm chest. His low, lovely voice fell close to her ear, making her heart beat hotter and faster: “And besides — I’m the one who’s luckier.”

They stood holding each other for a long while. Their eyes were dark and bright, and they kissed each other with warmth and tenderness. Ning Sui rose on her tiptoes, and he lifted her in a small spin. She broke into a smile and declared in a clear, light voice: “All right. I hereby announce that you are officially the luckiest person in the world.”

“Fair enough.” He laughed — open, unrestrained, eyes bright.

The two of them climbed up the teaching building, wandering from the classrooms to the small pantry lounge, and then to the corridor they remembered, walking slowly. Every corner carried the imprint of the years, yet every corner felt as though time had been kind to it — still as lovely as it lived in memory.

Coming down from the staircase on the other side, they arrived at the open-air atrium between the two teaching buildings. In the center stood an upright grand piano. Ning Sui blinked — she could clearly remember there having been nothing there at all back then.

Xie Yichen squeezed her fingertips and asked, affectionately: “Would you like to play something?”

Ning Sui blinked: “I haven’t been memorizing much sheet music lately.”

Xie Yichen said in a low, quick murmur: “Then I’ll play something.”

Ning Sui: “Mm?”

Reading her expression, Xie Yichen found it amusing and raised an eyebrow: “What? You don’t believe I can play?”

To be honest, Ning Sui genuinely wasn’t sure.

She knew he had played bass guitar before, and had been curious enough that when he was in America she’d found an opportunity to hear him play — but the piano was something else entirely. She really had no memory of ever seeing him near one, and he’d certainly never mentioned it when she was the one playing.

The person in question resumed his air of studied mystery: “Then just listen.”

Xie Yichen sat down on the bench, lifted the lid of the piano, and with admirable composure, tested a few notes first. Crisp resonances rang out through the empty atrium. Ning Sui’s back went rigid: “We won’t get hauled off by a security guard, will we?”

After all these years, she still worried about the same thing.

Xie Yichen couldn’t hold back a laugh. He looked at her, his expression all but spelling out the words “you’re impossibly endearing”: “I believe we signed in at the entrance.”

Ning Sui closed her mouth and gave him a quiet look.

There was another stool nearby, which she pulled close to the piano and sat on, hands folded neatly in her lap, gazing up at him with full anticipation: “Play, then.”

Xie Yichen curved the corner of his mouth, then turned his full attention to the black and white keys before him.

Ning Sui was still wondering what piece he was going to choose — and then the chord sounded, and he opened his mouth and sang, softly, the first line of the song: “It’s not because the weather is bright that I love you…”

Ning Sui’s fingertips gave a fierce tremble.

“It’s not because the weather is bright that I love you, it’s not because I see the stars that I think of you, it’s not because there happens to be nothing else to do that I keep, keep, keep rehearsing in my mind what angle feels just right to hold you…”

She had never once heard Xie Yichen sing.

His voice was low and magnetic, unhurried and warm — carrying within it an ineffable tenderness that made Ning Sui’s heart flutter without her willing it, her breath catching without her noticing.

He kept his eyes down, his fingering clearly untrained, but each note landed with conviction. She could tell — he truly didn’t know how to play the piano, but he had gone and practiced specifically for this one song.

Outside, snow had begun to fall again at some point without anyone noticing.

The ground was quickly covered in a layer of pure, luminous white. Inside, beneath a warm roof, the two of them let the music flow slowly around them.

The warmth between them surged and rose. Ning Sui felt something inside her go completely, irreparably soft. She looked at him without blinking.

In truth, I often imagine what we’ll look like when we’re old Holding hands on the left / pulling a small dog on the right Maybe with a whole crowd of little children, too

In truth, it’s not because the weather is nice that I’m saying this Walking with you through The intersection where the heavy rain makes the water bloom That dream is one I love just the same

It was a very gentle song — a young man’s soliloquy, a quiet unburdening of the heart.

The person at the piano seemed to have set aside every sharp edge he carried, wrapping her in his voice instead.

Ning Sui sat in a kind of reverie, not even noticing the ache in the bridge of her nose — she simply kept watching him, unable to shift her gaze even a fraction.

She didn’t know how much time passed. The light snow came to a stop.

The song drifted toward its close, his hum gradually fading in her ears. When the last note fell, Ning Sui came back to herself with a start, realizing her vision had gone blurry.

But in that blurred vision, the young man before her — indistinguishable from the boy in her oldest memories — rose from the bench and walked toward her, step by step, and took her hand with easy certainty.

He was smiling. He led her toward the other side, down the staircase, toward the wide-open terrace with its open view.

Ning Sui’s mind had ceased to function in any ordinary way. She followed him forward, unthinking. The steps were dusted with layer upon layer of fine snow. She raised her head — and saw what lay before her, arranged with quiet, deliberate care.

On either side of the path: flowers in bloom, and candles lit and burning, their flames swaying gently.

Her heartbeat missed a full beat, then erupted into a wild, rapid pounding.

Ning Sui tried to speak and found no voice, because he was already holding something out — and in the light reflecting off the fine snowflakes, it glittered.

Xie Yichen lowered his eyes and looked at her, unblinking: “Ning Sui.”

She answered very softly, her voice trembling slightly beyond her control: “…Mm.”

The breath between them wove together, hot and close. Ning Sui looked into his eyes and wondered whether he was as nervous as she was.

She thought he must be. Otherwise his voice wouldn’t be so taut.

“I’ve been practicing this piece in spare moments for several months,” Xie Yichen said. “The reason I kept coming home a little late each evening was because I wanted this surprise to be as thorough as I could make it.”

Ning Sui’s heart gave a heavy lurch. Her gaze rested on him, absolutely still.

“I thought about this for a long time — what place, what moment, would be right for me to say these things to you. In the end, I couldn’t think of anywhere more meaningful than returning to where we first began.”

“I had intended to wait until the startup had achieved something more certain — until I could give you more and better — before I said anything. But the days seemed so long, and even just these past two years have felt like such a wait. I truly cannot wait any longer.”

Xie Yichen smiled a little. “But I think — you won’t mind, will you?”

Ning Sui’s eyes shimmered with rising warmth. She shook her head without a sound.

“Ning Sui.”

He said her name again with full seriousness. Ning Sui answered: “Mm.”

“You once asked me what the ‘x’ engraved on the umbrella from the training camp team meant.”

Xie Yichen smiled slightly and answered the question himself: “It seems like, before you, no one ever guessed correctly. It was meant to express the idea that the world is full of unsolved things — full of unknowns.”

“But do you know what?”

“Later, its meaning changed for me.”

Ning Sui’s eyes were glistening. In her blurred field of vision, he stood before her as though he had come specifically for her — his gaze dark and brilliant, like obsidian set with points of light.

Xie Yichen said: “Originally, that x was me. Later, it became you.”

From somewhere in the distance, a sudden boom split the sky, and fireworks burst open. Ning Sui tilted her head back.

Like a final annotation placed beneath everything that had come before, she heard his voice, impossibly tender.

“You are the only answer of my life.”

Xie Yichen said it word by word, with great solemnity: “I want to be with you. I am eager — impatiently eager — to step into the next chapter of life alongside you.”

Light was everywhere — the dazzling light of fireworks, the warm amber glow of street lamps, the glint reflected from the ring — yet none of it was more breathtaking than the young man’s eyes in this moment, full of the same unrestrained, brilliant aliveness that had always defined him.

He curved the corner of his mouth and asked softly: “Will you come explore the mysteries of the universe with me?”

In that instant, Ning Sui suddenly thought of the exchange between Nash and his wife in A Beautiful Mind.

— So how big do you think the universe is? — Infinite. — How do you know? — All the data points to that conclusion. — But it hasn’t been proven. And you haven’t seen it. Right? — That’s correct. — So how can you be sure? — I can’t be sure. I simply believe. — Mm. I suppose that’s what love is like, too. Right now, the part you don’t know is whether I’ll say yes.

Beneath a sky blazing with fireworks, Ning Sui’s eyes were full of tears. She nodded — and without a moment’s hesitation, she took his hand: “Yes.”

It’s not because the weather is bright that I love you.

It’s because you are you.

You are the entire reason the weather feels bright to me.

And everything else — all of it — the universe, the stars, the sunlight, the flowers and the candlelight, coconut soda, the palm trees swayed by the wind, the gentle morning kiss at six o’clock, every beautiful thing in this world — all of it is witness to my love for you.

Ning Sui thought: where to go, and what kind of person to become — those are indeed very long questions.

But right now, in this moment, holding tightly to the hand of the young man she loves most in the world, fingers woven with his.

— She is afraid of nothing.

(End of Full Text)

“It’s Not Because the Weather is Bright That I Love You” — Ideal Bastard (理想混蛋)

The full text of this novel is now complete! I’m so grateful to all of you darlings for your support every step of the way!

It took over a year to finally finish writing this, and there is so much I want to say — and yet now, in this moment, I feel like you’ve all read the story, so you must already know what I mean.

One day I came across a passage that said that people like me — broken in pieces — are a burden to those who love us, because they have to gather us up fragment by fragment.

But someone in the comments replied: someone who loves you will only pick up each piece while thinking happily to themselves, “this piece is mine, and that piece is mine too — how wonderful.”

To become that one beam of light for each other, exactly when you both need it most — how could that not be what it means to be kindred souls?

I’m so glad to have created this unique story — about making peace with your past self, about the universe, about life.

I hope this book gives you strength, no matter when you come to read it.

As for the next book, I’m not sure yet which one to open: “Cang Ni,” “Wild and Romantic,” “Picking Stars for You,” or “Ordinary World Romance.” I’ll decide based on how many saves each gets — you can check them in my column and save the ones you like! Also please save the author account too!

Additionally, I have some news to share: due to various reasons, this book may or may not be published in print — the more well-known it becomes, the higher the chance. I’ll set a goal: I hope the fan community can grow beyond 1,000 members, so more people can find their way to our summer nights. I’ve also set up giveaways on the character fan pages — darlings can check the pinned post at @浮瑾-Anemone for details, and a single daily check-in will subscribe you to the fan page. Let’s work together — I hope we can all bring Yichen and our little Coconut home with you.

Finally, please, please leave a five-star review to mark the completion! For those who can only give four stars due to account restrictions, please wait until you have the permissions to rate — a four-star review will bring the overall score down, so please hold off. Thank you so much, darlings, for every step of this journey. See you in the next book!

Wishing everyone all the best!!