Time flies, never to return, leaving only memories of the past to savor. Recalling childhood days with a childhood sweetheart, innocent and inseparable, following each other day and night.
…
For Xu Yu and Su Anxi, the idea of being childhood sweethearts, innocent and inseparable—well, that simply didn’t exist.
Ever since Su Anxi could remember, she had been bullied by the little tyrant of the Xu family. Strangely enough, she wasn’t the only little girl in the Compound, but Xu Yu seemed to take particular pleasure in picking on her.
Su Anxi wasn’t exactly the Barbie princess type either. Though in the eyes of her parents, elders, classmates, and teachers, she was always the well-behaved girl who loved studying and never caused trouble, only Xu Yu knew that this little troublemaker had a sneaky, mischievous side.
Xu Yu always found new ways to tease Su Anxi, and Su Anxi always managed to find a way to get Xu Uncle to give him a beating.
So, the two of them were never just a case of the strong preying on the weak; rather, they were secretly well-matched opponents.
It wasn’t until the summer before Su Anxi started junior high that her parents had a fight no one could mediate.
Aunt Lin took Su Anxi and moved out of the Compound, returning to her family home up north. That departure lasted three years.
Back then, Su Anxi was still young when it came to her parents’ affairs. To put it bluntly, it was the adults’ business, and she had no right to interfere. When her mother took her away, she only remembered her father saying one thing: "I won’t get a divorce."
Having never been away from the Compound for long since birth, and with her parents arguing fiercely, she naturally felt terrible inside.
Leaving behind the friends she had grown up with made her even sadder.
The only thing that brought her a little joy was finally being able to escape that troublemaker, Xu Yu.
But once she really left and found herself in an unfamiliar environment, an inexplicable longing filled her entire junior high years.
Of course, for Xu Yu, who knew nothing about it, he was angry—very angry.
He still remembered coming back from summer camp to find the target of his teasing gone, and suddenly feeling an emptiness in his heart.
In truth, at that time, neither of them understood that their mutual teasing wasn’t born of dislike, but of affection.
Xu Yu held onto that anger for three years.
The name Su Anxi became an absolute taboo for him. Not only could the three characters not be spoken together, but even mentioning them separately was forbidden.
Words like "quiet," "hope," or "Suzhou" would make his face darken.
Whenever Huo Yanzong and the others accidentally brought up Su Anxi’s name, Xu Yu, who had been all smiles just moments before, would immediately change his expression and walk away.
They all knew that Xu Yu had feelings for Su Anxi that went beyond childhood friendship, but back then, they were all just kids—who would take it seriously?
…
They met again three years later. Su Anxi stepped out of the car and, passing by the basketball court, her view was blocked by rows of plane trees.
Even so, she spotted at a glance the young man sweating profusely on the court.
The yellow basketball jersey draped over his lean but not frail frame seemed to be coated in a layer of golden light, shining brilliantly.
Under the sunlight, glistening beads of sweat slid from his temples, hanging precariously from his chin. He reached up to brush aside his sweat-dampened bangs, shaking his head slightly, and the droplets reluctantly fell to the ground.
In just three years, he had grown into a dashing, spirited young man.
That day, Xu Yu had no idea that the Su Anxi he had been angry with for three years had returned…
They truly saw each other the next day, which was also the first day of school.
Among the new high school freshmen, word spread about the girl named Su Anxi, whose name was prominently displayed at the top of the notice board.
Why did it spread? There were three reasons.
First, she didn't participate in the freshman military training—she just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Second, her middle school entrance exam score was the highest in her grade, even surpassing the second-place student by over thirty points. In this talent-packed No. 1 High School, her lead was impressively dominant.
As for the third point—curiosity. Teenagers aged fifteen or sixteen, whether toward new things or new people, possess a level of curiosity far beyond imagination, driven by both physiological and psychological makeup.
So, when rumors spread that the top student in the grade, Su Anxi, was a plain-looking, four-eyed bookworm nerd…
When that graceful girl walked into Class 1-1, stood on the podium wearing her school uniform, carrying her backpack, with her hair neatly tied in a ponytail, and confidently introduced herself—she delivered a resounding slap to all the classmates who had believed and spread those rumors.
This was no plain-looking, four-eyed bookworm nerd—this was clearly a radiant heroine straight out of a martial arts novel!
Xu Yu, the idle type who paid no attention to anything outside his own world, didn’t care about school happenings at all. Despite being labeled as the school heartthrob, he was actually an academic slacker.
So much so that during the afternoon opening ceremony, when Xu Yu—who hadn’t been paying attention—suddenly heard the girls surrounding him say with a dismissive tone, "Freshman student representative Su Anxi," he abruptly lifted his head.
Across half the playground and the track, the girl on the podium walked to the center, stood behind the microphone stand, and gave a slight bow toward the bright-eyed audience below, wearing a proper smile. Her clear voice carried through the school’s speakers to everyone’s ears.
Xu Yu stared blankly at Su Anxi. The usually unruly and aloof him rarely showed a faint smile in such a public setting, but it quickly faded.
Hah! You little brat, you’re back?
After finishing her speech, Su Anxi stood at the elevated spot and, through the dense crowd, met those dark, bright eyes. She subtly curled her lips in a challenging smile, as if answering him.
Hey! Little tyrant, I’m back.
At that moment, no one knew they were actually gazing at each other.
At that moment, no one knew—not even they themselves realized—that under the scorching sun and in the humid breeze, everyone became supporting characters in their lives for the first time.
…
After school that day, as soon as Su Anxi parked her bike in the shed, she was cornered.
“Well, well, Su Anxi, you came back without even reporting it.” Qin Rui deliberately put on an accusatory expression, pointing at Su Anxi and refusing to let her pass.
“Exactly, you left without a word and came back sneaking around too.” Han Fang crossed her arms, as if ready to administer punishment. “Su Anxi, who am I? If you can’t say it, you’re dead.”
Qin Rui and Han Fang were the same age as Su Anxi and had been in the same class since elementary school.
Now, Qin Rui was still at No. 1 High School, though in a different class than Su Anxi in the same grade. She only recognized Su Anxi during the opening ceremony.
As for Han Fang, she attended Yujiang University Affiliated Middle School. After school, she heard Qin Rui—the big mouth—talking about it, so the two of them immediately went to find Xu Yu.
But he acted like it had nothing to do with him, even though back when Su Anxi left, he was the one who moped around all day.
Su Anxi smiled, recognizing them one by one: “Qin Rui, Han Fang, right?”
The two named beamed with satisfaction. “At least you still have a conscience.”
“The friendship we’ve had since childhood—I wouldn’t dare forget.”
Su Anxi was worried these two might cause trouble for her. Back in the day when Xu Yu used to pick on her, these two were never short of enthusiastic spectators. Now that they had both grown tall and strong, she calculated that she couldn’t afford to offend them.
"What about me?"
As soon as the words were spoken, Su Anxi looked up and saw a handsome young man walking over from behind Qin Rui and Han Fang, hands in his pockets, sauntering slowly toward her.
"Xu Yu." Su Anxi looked at this young man who used to be about her height but now towered a head above her. She grinned, revealing a row of sparkling white teeth, her tone teasing: "Little tyrant, it’s been three years. How did you grow so tall?"
Xu Yu lazily lowered his gaze to scrutinize Su Anxi. After a long pause, he let out a "hmph" from his nose, his tone not as friendly as Su Anxi’s. "So you know it’s been three years."
Su Anxi’s smile froze on her face for a moment. Well, that attempt at flattery had backfired.
But the stiffness lasted only an instant, vanishing as quickly as it came. Su Anxi glanced over and spotted a boy and girl not far away. Happily waving at them, she asked the person in front of her:
"Is that Huo Yanzong and Lai Lai?"
With that, Su Anxi brushed off her earlier displeasure, pushed past the two "guardian deities," and ran toward the pair. "Huo Yanzong, Xu Lai."
The two who were called stopped in their tracks, carefully examining the newcomer before breaking into smiles and exclaiming in unison: "Su Anxi?"
Qin Rui and Han Fang each patted Xu Yu on the shoulder, shaking their heads inwardly and giving him sympathetic looks.
The childhood friend he had waited three years for was ignoring him, and even his own younger sister seemed closer to someone else.
Life! So full of drama.
…
Sometimes the tracks of time are surprisingly similar. If in elementary school Xu Yu and Su Anxi didn’t get along simply because they disliked each other, by high school it could no longer be explained away with just the word "dislike."
When did they start ignoring each other? Probably not long after, during the inter-school basketball tournament.
That day, the captain of the Yujiang University Affiliated High School basketball team was chatting and laughing with Su Anxi.
That day, the school belle offered water to Xu Yu, and Xu Yu—who usually ignored all the girls in school—accepted it.
That night, on the Compound basketball court, the two who still enjoyed bickering with each other ended up genuinely upset after their usual banter.
From that day on, they ignored each other and went their separate ways.
Even their friends in the Compound were left confused and baffled.
From then on, rumors spread in No. 1 High School that Su, the academic genius, and Xu, the school heartthrob, were at odds.
If asked about the reason, the likely guess might be: Su the academic genius looked down on Xu the school heartthrob for being an academic slacker, and Xu the school heartthrob looked down on Su the academic genius for always acting aloof and superior.
But everyone knew that while the heartthrob being an academic slacker was true, the academic genius acting aloof was false.
At least the entire freshman year knew that Su Anxi was beautiful, kind-hearted, excelled in her studies, and was always ready to help others—simply the best.
…
Young love is fragile and sensitive. Those times of mutual secret crushes, those secrets hidden in boxes and written in notebooks, accompany everyone through their blossoming youth and rainy seasons.
For most people, youth is a time of being at odds with oneself.
It is a youth as vast as the ocean, destined to converge.
It is also a youth filled with jealousy and stubborn infatuation.