Ruan Yu didn’t know if Teng Yi had prepared a surprise for her, but she had prepared a Valentine’s Day gift for him.
After receiving her scholarship, she custom-ordered a pair of street dance shoes specifically for him from Brand X’s official website.
The shoes were sneaker-style, high-top with round toes, black with white soles, adorned with letter buckles on the high-top inscribed with “TY”—the initials of Teng Yi’s name in pinyin.
This was Ruan Yu’s first time preparing a gift for Teng Yi, and the most challenging part of the process was figuring out his shoe size. She racked her brains over this.
Asking directly wouldn’t work, and secretly measuring would be difficult to pull off.
Finally, with no other options, she took advantage of her tutoring sessions with Teng Hao to secretly check Teng Yi’s shoe cabinet. As luck would have it, Teng Hao caught her in the act.
Teng Hao looked at her with disgust: “Top Scholar, you don’t have some unspeakable fetish, do you?”
Ruan Yu tried to brush it off, but Teng Hao didn’t believe her at all. Left with no choice, she had to reveal everything about the gift and asked him to keep it secret.
Teng Hao was quite cooperative—not only did he agree immediately, but he also volunteered that Teng Yi wore size 43 shoes.
With the biggest hurdle overcome, Ruan Yu thought she could successfully surprise Teng Yi on Valentine’s Day. However, the day before Valentine’s Day, Teng Yi discovered the shoes.
On the 13th, when Ruan Yu received the delivery, she quietly went upstairs to unbox it in the office. But just as she took out the shoes, before she could even get a good look at them herself, Teng Yi pushed open the door.
Ruan Yu rushed to block his view, but this action only made things more suspicious.
“What’s that?” Teng Yi pointed at the shoe box. “Men’s shoes?”
“Ah, these aren’t for you.” Her denial was as good as an admission.
“Not for me?” Teng Yi crouched down and playfully pinched her chin. “Little Fish, are you telling me you have another fish on the line?”
“…”
Speechless, Ruan Yu could only obediently take out the custom shoes and present them to Teng Yi.
“For you.”
“If they’re for me, why hide them?” he asked, knowing full well.
“Because I wanted to surprise you on Valentine’s Day,” she answered dejectedly.
Ruan Yu hadn’t realized that preparing a surprise gift would be so difficult. The slightest oversight could ruin everything—this was much harder than solving advanced math problems.
Teng Yi felt both touched and amused.
“I am surprised,” he said calmly.
Ruan Yu glanced at him: “I don’t believe you, you’re so calm.”
“Little Fish, you don’t understand boys.” Teng Yi stroked her temple hair. “The more excited we are inside, the calmer we often appear.”
“Why?”
“Because showing emotions too openly is childish—being steady is more attractive.” He kissed her forehead. “Don’t you like my steadiness?”
Ruan Yu smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
“Try them on quickly, see if they fit and if you like them.”
“I like them.”
“You haven’t even tried them yet.”
“I like everything you give me.”
“Hmph.”
Teng Yi tried them on; the shoes were comfortable with no new shoe friction.
He took a few steps, then turned to ask Ruan Yu: “How do they look?”
“Good-looking.”
The shoes had a hip-hop style mixed with casual elements, perfectly matching Teng Yi’s presence. Black suited everyone, and besides, Teng Yi could pull off any color, even challenging ones.
“I like them, thank you, Little Fish.”
–_–
That evening, Teng Yi wore the shoes Ruan Yu gave him while wandering through various practice rooms, making sure to show everyone his new shoes, proudly announcing: “These are my girlfriend’s Valentine’s Day gifts.”
This made all the male students in the practice room envious.
But that wasn’t all—he didn’t spare even the Xiyou students from his showing off. Until a female student reminded him that couples shouldn’t give each other shoes.
“Why not give shoes?”
“When lovers exchange shoes, it means they’ll grow apart and eventually break up.”
Nonsense.
What a superstitious notion—Teng Yi didn’t believe in such things.
At that time, he was certain he would never leave Ruan Yu, nor let her leave him, for his entire life.
He gestured to the female student not to mention this topic at the base, knowing that girls tend to believe in such supernatural things. If Ruan Yu heard about it, it might make her uncomfortable.
The female student immediately nodded in agreement, promising not to spread such superstitions.
The next day was Valentine’s Day.
From midnight, the entire school was filled with a restless romantic atmosphere. Below the girls’ dormitory, occasional ghost-like confession calls could be heard.
Since Teng Yi had brought the Xiyou team members to dance below the girls’ dormitory, there hadn’t been many confession events here.
Those boys weren’t foolish—they knew that with Teng Yi setting such a high standard, ordinary approaches would be hard to surpass. If they couldn’t surpass it, they’d rather avoid comparison altogether.
But Valentine’s Day was different—there were always people who wanted to express their feelings and break some rules on this special day, borrowing its mysterious power.
Ruan Yu hadn’t slept well all night due to the noise, and neither had Chen Manbai and Xia Qiaofeng.
Jian Xiangxiang was the most dramatic, practically clutching her phone all night without sleeping. At dawn, she started muttering mysteriously, seemingly wanting to curse Zhou Xihe, who was sound asleep in the boys’ dormitory, awake with her thoughts.
“Zhou Xihe, you jerk, bastard! Just go die already!”
“What’s wrong, Xiangxiang?” Xia Qiaofeng asked.
“He didn’t reply to my messages all night again. Looks like we won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day—I’ll make him celebrate Singles’ Day instead!”
Nobody took it seriously. Jian Xiangxiang and Zhou Xihe had minor fights every three days and major ones every five days; their mutual antagonism was normal. Those who knew they were a couple knew they were dating; those who didn’t would think they were enemies. If they acted lovey-dovey like other couples, that would be strange.
As soon as Ruan Yu got up, the dormitory supervisor called her down to collect flowers.
Teng Yi had ordered her 99 roses, and tucked among them were two tickets to Hou Ming’s concert.
Hou Ming was a currently trending popular singer who not only had idol-level looks but also possessed real singing ability and songwriting talent. His self-written and composed songs like “Sometimes Cloudy,” “Black Hair,” “Timid,” “Youth Goes Far,” and others had become instant hits everywhere once released.
Media praised him as the most promising young singer in Chinese music, while fans boldly predicted he would be the next king of pop. With Hou Ming’s good reputation and high popularity, his concert tickets were extremely hard to get.
Ruan Yu quite liked Hou Ming too. His songs weren’t ordinary pop songs—the lyrics were sometimes simple, sometimes ornate, containing life philosophy while maintaining a grand perspective that could withstand the test of time.
When the other three roommates learned that Teng Yi was taking Ruan Yu to Hou Ming’s concert, they were all incredibly envious.
“Hou Ming, oh my god, Hou Ming of ‘Youth Goes Far’! Heavens, attending his concert is one of my bucket list items. Ruan’er, you’re so blessed,” Xia Qiaofeng held the concert tickets with sparkling eyes.
“Compared to Teng Yi, that jerk Zhou Xihe is even more infuriating!” Jian Xiangxiang stamped her feet in anger. “Making him celebrate Singles’ Day isn’t enough to satisfy my anger anymore—I think I’ll make him celebrate Tomb Sweeping Day early!”
Everyone: “…”
–_–
Hou Ming’s concert was held at the Blue Sky Stadium in neighboring J City.
In the afternoon, Teng Yi drove Ruan Yu to J City.
Outside Blue Sky Stadium, Hou Ming’s fans were already waiting early. Many of them had come in groups, wearing matching hoodies printed with cartoon monkey designs, holding support signs, and excitedly taking photos with Hou Ming’s standee at the entrance as if it were Hou Ming himself.
Teng Yi’s appearance distracted some individual fans, almost making them forget their purpose for being there.
“So handsome.”
“Yeah, yeah, who knew Hou Ming had such handsome fans, truly handsome guys attract each other.”
“Could he be gay? Forgive my shipping mind.”
“How could he be? Look, he came with his girlfriend.”
“Ah, all handsome guys are taken, either with beautiful girlfriends or beautiful boyfriends, giving us ordinary people no chance at all.”
Ruan Yu heard these whispered comments and turned to look at Teng Yi, who seemed not to have heard, seriously observing the stadium’s outer structure.
Noticing Ruan Yu’s gaze, he looked down at her.
“What is it?” His tone is completely oblivious to the situation.
“Nothing.”
“Want some water?” He pointed to his backpack. “There’s water and snacks in the bag, just tell me if you want anything.”
Ruan Yu nodded.
It was time to enter.
The tickets Teng Yi bought were VIP, with seats very close to the front.
After Ruan Yu sat down and looked back, she was immediately stunned by the vast sea of orange lights in the stadium—orange being Hou Ming’s support color.
The surrounding couples were all taking selfies. Ruan Yu also took out her phone and leaned against Teng Yi, who had been looking down at his phone but raised his head and smiled gently at the camera when he sensed her intention.
“Which Hou Ming song do you like best?” Ruan Yu asked.
“Which one do you like?”
“Let’s answer together, see if we’re in sync.”
“Okay.”
“One, two, three, go—’ Light Beyond Light.'”
“…’ Light Beyond Light.'”
They answered in unison, then both burst out laughing.
“Light Beyond Light” was one of Hou Ming’s more controversial songs, with audiences split into two camps—those who loved it really loved it, and those who disliked it really disliked it.
What a coincidence that they were both in the camp that loved it and even considered it their favorite. This once again proved that they were fundamentally similar people.
The concert host soon appeared, and Ruan Yu was completely stunned when she saw them.
She hadn’t expected today’s host to be her idol, Lin Hong.
“It’s Lin Hong…” Ruan Yu covered her mouth, never having dreamed she could see Lin Hong this close.
She wasn’t just a photo tucked in a book anymore—she was the real, breathing Lin Hong greeting everyone.
“A reward,” Teng Yi reached up to pat Ruan Yu’s head. “The concert is your Valentine’s Day gift, seeing Lin Hong is an extra reward.”
He had always remembered his promise to reward her for helping him strategize during the New Year’s Arts Performance. He should have fulfilled it earlier but never found the right opportunity.
Teng Yi knew Ruan Yu liked Lin Hong and wanted to help her realize her wish to meet her idol. But Lin Hong usually worked at the TV station and rarely did outside performances. This time, she was only here because the original host couldn’t make it, and Lin Hong, Hou Ming’s senior from the same company, came to help out as a friend.
“You knew Lin Hong was hosting today?” Ruan Yu asked.
Teng Yi nodded.
Of course—otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought her to Hou Ming’s concert. After all, he got jealous even when Ruan Yu glanced at other men, let alone watching such a handsome man for two whole hours.
“You’re the best!” Ruan Yu leaned over to kiss Teng Yi’s cheek.
Indeed, when it came to creating surprises, Teng Yi was a master. She felt like they were universes apart—compared to him, she was so amateur.
“Listen to the concert first. When it’s over, I’ll take you to get an autograph.”
“Mm.”
Ruan Yu watched Lin Hong on stage, dressed in a black suit today, looking characteristically elegant and intellectual. Although this elegance and intellectuality seemed somewhat mismatched with the passionate atmosphere of the concert, she commanded the stage as soon as she spoke. Different from her usual steady hosting style, today she was humorous on stage, effortlessly using popular internet phrases that sparked waves of laughter throughout the stadium.
This must be what makes a great host—being able to handle any occasion and any age group of the audience with ease and confidence.
After Lin Hong finished the opening introduction, the concert officially began.
“Youth Goes Far,” “Sometimes Cloudy,” “Timid”… familiar songs echoed in their ears. Hou Ming sang quietly, rarely interacting with fans, but despite this, every chorus still turned into a magnificent scene of thousands singing together.
Infected by the atmosphere, Ruan Yu sang along with each song.
“Light Beyond Light” was the finale.
Before singing, Hou Ming said this was his favorite song, and he wanted to dedicate it to someone most important to him in the audience.
This statement caused an uproar among fans.
Everyone speculated about who could be Hou Ming’s most important person—was this leading up to a Valentine’s Day relationship announcement? But Hou Ming didn’t elaborate further.
“I stumble through the sea of people, adding wounds to wounds. The path is confusing, not as meaningful as when you told me there is light beyond light…”
Hou Ming sat on a high stool with his guitar, singing word by word, his deep emotion tinged with a hint of melancholy.
Ruan Yu thought, that if this was a confession, the outcome must be painful.
Besides Hou Ming, no one knew who this song was for. Oh no, perhaps that person knew too—the one he wanted to confess to.
As the concert ended, Hou Ming bowed on stage while fans called his name, reluctant to leave, creating a deeply moving scene.
Teng Yi held Ruan Yu’s hand as they left first. Rising with them was a woman sitting in the front row.
The woman wore a white down coat, her long hair elegantly pinned up, like a graceful white swan.
The three reached the exit together.
The woman recognized Teng Yi and came over to greet them.
“Hi! Teng Yi!”
Looking at her smiling face, Ruan Yu recognized her too.
It was Wang Yuling.