Do you have someone you can’t forget no matter what?
Would you be willing to overcome any obstacles just to reach them?
...
Mid-June, nearing the end of the semester.
Zhou Huaiyi, a third-year student in the Recording Arts program at Yanchuan Film Academy, and the other members of dormitory 412 were fully engrossed in the intense production of their final assignments.
In the twenty-square-meter dormitory, apart from the humming of the air conditioner, there was only the continuous clicking of the mouse and the crisp sound of the space bar.
After maintaining the same posture in front of the computer for three hours, Zhou Huaiyi couldn’t stand the sore eyes and back anymore. She yanked off the monitoring headphones from her ears and yelled desperately, "Old Ying Yue! I can’t do it anymore, I can’t hear the pitch accurately at all. Come over and help me listen."
Ying Yue crunched a piece of potato chip into her mouth before taking off her headphones and walking over with long strides to put on Zhou Huaiyi’s headphones. "Play it."
Zhou Huaiyi hit the space bar with a bang, and the software interface on the screen started running.
After two and a half minutes, Ying Yue stared at her blankly for a few seconds: "Even this fairy can’t help it."
"...What use are you to me!" Zhou Huaiyi grabbed her headphones from her hand, tossed them onto the table, got up to put on her jacket, and shouted back at the few still hard at work, "Anyone want to eat?"
Yang Qi sat motionless in his chair, clicking the mouse without turning around: "Small serving of tomato and beef, please."
Shiliu pulled down her headphones to her neck and stood up: "Huaiyi, I’ll go with you."
Mido still replied with her perennial phrase: "I’m not eating, on a diet!"
Ying Yue returned to her seat and stuffed another piece of potato chip into her mouth: "Braised chicken rice with seaweed, potato, and cabbage, small portion, not spicy, please."
Zhou Huaiyi scoffed: "Old Ying Yue, see for yourself, aren’t you the one eating the most?"
Ying Yue: "..."
...
Returning to the dorm with the food, Kang Xuan happened to make a video call on WeChat. Zhou Huaiyi hurriedly put down the takeaway box, plugged in the headphones, and answered—
"Old Kang!"
Kang Xuan was an old classmate of Zhou Huaiyi from high school, studying in the Piano Department at a music academy in R City. They had become friends due to their shared interests and similar personalities and later forged a solid friendship because of their common admiration for Xiang Qichen.
"Old Zhou!"
The screen switched, and the first thing that came into view was Kang Xuan’s squinty-eyed smiling face.
Zhou Huaiyi set up the phone, opened the takeaway box: "Old Kang, how come you have time to find me now? Aren’t you practicing today?"
Kang Xuan lamented: "Final exams are approaching, I’ve been practicing until my hands are cramping."
Zhou Huaiyi shoveled a spoonful of rice into his mouth, mumbling: "My ears have almost got calluses from those materials!"
Kang Xuan laughed: "No choice, since you’re aiming to join Xiang Qichen’s crew. By the way, how’s the internship at Xiang Qichen’s new drama group you mentioned going for the summer vacation?"
Zhou Huaiyi said: "I’ve already submitted my internship resume, and also asked my dad’s friends to contact various acquaintances, going through numerous channels hoping to secure a miscellaneous spot in the recording team."
Kang Xuan incredulously clicked her tongue: "Impressive, Old Zhou, you’re really planning to head towards Xiang Qichen?"
Zhou Huaiyi rolled her eyes at her while munching on a piece of chicken: "Do you even need to ask?"
Kang Xuan sighed deeply: "I truly admire you... I’ve liked him for a few years longer than you, but if I had to do like you do, even tattoo his name on my body, I really couldn’t."
The hand using chopsticks paused as Zhou Huaiyi subconsciously glanced at the tattoo on her left arm level with her heart and smiled gently, then took another bite of plain rice.
It was Xiang Qichen’s name in flowery Pinyin script she had tattooed after returning from his birthday party three years ago—Xiangqichen.
Kang Xuan asked again: "I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a long time, why did you tattoo his name on your body?"
Zhou Huaiyi’s chewing gradually slowed down, and after a moment of silence, she swallowed her food and said: "As a reminder, to remind myself."
It was Xiang Qichen who made her understand—
To strive for the people and things you desire.
Whatever happens, don’t settle.
Hearing this, Kang Xuan suddenly restrained her smile, pondering for a while: "Old Zhou, he’s standing so high now, unreachable among the masses, is it really worth it for you to do this?"
Zhou Huaiyi didn’t answer immediately, glanced back at her roommates eating while watching TV, then put down her chopsticks and typed a sentence on the phone screen to send over—
［You don’t understand, my liking for him isn’t as simple as you think, and it’s not something that can be explained in a few words.］
In the video call, Kang Xuan silently read the sentence, then after a long while asked again: "So? Are you planning to embark on a fruitless one-sided love?"
Zhou Huaiyi answered without hesitation: "I want nothing more than to be able to stand in front of him once, let him really see me, and let me really see him."