After that argument, 35-year-old Chen Nian and Li Yixun began a cold war that lasted for over a month.
Both young and hot-blooded, they were locked in a fierce competition, neither willing to concede or back down.
Li Yixun found it ironic; they had both tried to salvage the relationship that day, but the argument had brought their relationship to a freezing point. Fortunately, she was busy and didn’t have time for sentimentality. To avoid remembering Chen Nian, she deliberately kept herself busy, even volunteering for a new project. She was so numbed by work that she wished she could die in her dreams every night before bed, avoiding the new day and new work.
Li Yixun repeatedly convinced herself that love was an illusory bubble; only work and money would never betray her.
Her relationship with Chen Nian began ambiguously, and it could end just as ambiguously. But just when she had resigned herself to the fact that things would simply fizzle out, she unexpectedly saw Chen Nian at school.
That day, as she left her advisor’s office, heading back to her dorm to continue revising her thesis according to his feedback, she saw Chen Nian standing in the shade below the office building, holding a bouquet of flowers.
It was a rare sunny day during the rainy season, and naturally, the weather was hot. Chen Nian, wearing a gray T-shirt, held a bunch of sunflowers in one hand and casually put the other in his sweatpants pocket, looking around aimlessly as if searching for someone.
Li Yixun, of course, wouldn’t presume to think he was waiting for her.
If he was waiting for her, he could have easily sent her any message in the past month, and she would have used this opportunity to gracefully accept it.
Li Yixun initially intended to pretend she hadn’t seen him and walk away from where he was. But the glaring sunlight brought tears to her eyes.
The weather was so beautiful today, so beautiful that Li Yixun changed her mind.
Even without a good start, at least there should be a proper farewell, a way to give her first love some closure.
Li Yixun, carrying her laptop bag, changed her route and slowly walked up to Chen Nian.
“Long time no see.”
“Have you forgotten me?”
Li Yixun deliberately repeated Chen Nian’s opening line to her during their reunion at the bar.
Chen Nian pursed his lips, showing no surprise, and calmly looked at her. “Long time no see.”
Li Yixun was satisfied that Chen Nian answered her according to her pre-arranged script. She slightly curled the corners of her lips, chatting casually with him in the shadows as if meeting an old friend. “Coming to see a friend?”
Or has he already gotten a new girlfriend so quickly?
“A friend I know, graduation art exhibition, it’s over there.” Chen Nian gestured with his lips, indicating the nearby teaching building.
After Chen Nian’s reminder, Li Yixun suddenly remembered that she had indeed seen an event being held at the art department’s teaching building earlier that day, with exhibition advertisements outside the building.
“Oh, oh.” Li Yixun looked down at the sunflower in his hand, speaking casually, “About that day, we had a little disagreement… I think…”
Chen Nian interrupted her abruptly, “Oh, oh, that was nothing serious.”
“I almost forgot about it if you hadn’t mentioned it.”
Li Yixun looked up at him suspiciously, not understanding what he was doing.
A trivial matter? He could be so sharp about a trivial matter that it felt like he wanted to tear her apart, slamming the door shut with a deafening roar.
Li Yixun hadn’t forgotten that she was there to say a formal goodbye, and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
Chen Nian, however, reached out his hand from his pocket and took the laptop bag from her. “It’s quite heavy, let me help you carry it.”
Li Yixun didn’t let go, remaining in a stalemate with Chen Nian, clutching a laptop bag that clearly didn’t require two people to carry. She didn’t understand what Chen Nian was doing. Was he finally remembering to offer her a way out after more than a month?
She wasn’t going to let Chen Nian brush her off and asked him bluntly, “Are you trying to give me a way out?”
“Let go, this tug-of-war looks ugly.” Chen Nian pulled her laptop bag towards him with a disdainful force. Li Yixun didn’t want to struggle with him in public, so she had no choice but to let go.
Chen Nian looked at her and spoke confidently.
“First, after calmly considering it, I believe that neither of our viewpoints is wrong; we just have different perspectives.”
“Second, I also tried to consider things from your perspective. Perhaps due to your family background, you might be more sensitive and cautious about money than I am… Finally, because neither of our viewpoints is wrong, we don’t need to apologize to each other.”
“…”
Li Yixun had reason to suspect that Chen Nian was the kind of person who was extremely arrogant, the kind of person who would remain stubborn even after being dead for three days.
“So? What exactly are you trying to say?”
Chen Nian, carrying flowers in one hand and his laptop bag in the other, awkwardly hugged Li Yixun. Li Yixun genuinely hadn’t expected him to pull this tactic. Just as she was about to push him away, she heard a soft voice above her head, even tinged with a hint of grievance, “Last time I told you I felt sorry for you, but you weren’t moved at all, nor did you feel sorry for me, and you even argued with me… I won’t say it again.”
Li Yixun’s heart instantly felt as if it had been gently brushed by a feather, both itchy and tingling.
She stopped struggling, pressed her head against his chest, gently rubbing it, and inhaled his pleasant scent.
Of course, she knew Chen Nian had made that suggestion out of concern for her, but his concern for her wasn’t what she needed, which was why they had such a big disagreement.
Li Yixun repeatedly asked herself, does feeling sorry for someone mean liking them? Is it love? She felt sorry for stray cats and dogs, too, but that didn’t mean she liked them.
Human emotions are always complex and fickle. Just like how one second she was determined to say goodbye to him, and the next she was trapped in this familiar and warm embrace.
Li Yixun felt like a stray puppy, easily lured back to Chen Nian by a bone called “gentleness.”
How pathetic!
Thinking this, she pushed him away, forcing a cold expression on her face. “Tell me if you want, or don’t.”
Chen Nian blinked, bewildered by Li Yixun’s sudden change in attitude. She was just rubbing against him a moment ago. How could she be angry now? Women’s hearts are more unpredictable than the local downpour.
But Chen Nian’s eyes darted around a few times before he decided to change his tune. “Oh, then I won’t say anything.”
“I’m going to deliver flowers to my friend first, bye-bye.”
“…”
Li Yixun was utterly confused. Why wasn’t this guy following the script? Shouldn’t he be chasing after her, trying to coax her? What kind of boyfriend did she choose?
“Hey! Computer, give me back my computer!”
“No way, go get it yourself if you dare!” Chen Nian, taking advantage of his height and long legs, ran off quickly, carrying the flowers and the computer.
“…”
When Li Yixun found Chen Nian, he was at the art department’s art exhibition, chatting and laughing with a tall, slender, and elegant woman holding sunflowers.
Chen Nian exuded strict manners; even in a relaxed standing position, he maintained excellent posture. His left hand still steadily held her laptop bag, while his free right hand was casually tucked into his pocket.
But good-looking people are pleasing to the eye no matter what they do, and Li Yixun still found him incredibly dashing. She was speechless at her own infatuation and stood a short distance away, observing the couple’s conversation with disdain.
Although the two maintained a certain social distance, their joyful and genuine smiles easily revealed them to be well-acquainted friends.
Li Yixun didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. Fighting over a broken computer at an exhibition was rude. She still had the time and patience to wait for a conversation to end, but she still felt a subtle and uncomfortable unease within her.
Chen Nian had never given her flowers.
Although she was a very practical person and didn’t care much for such formalities, seeing him give flowers to someone else still stung.
She didn’t want to dwell on this pointless feeling, so she shifted her attention to the graduate students’ artwork exhibition.
It must be said, she really lacked artistic talent. Her appreciation of this type of art was limited to recognizing “not bad,” failing to grasp the shifting emotions between the artwork and the words. Fortunately, her company wasn’t involved in art; otherwise, she simply wouldn’t have been able to write any art-related brand promotional material.
Chen Nian quickly finished his conversation and then searched through the crowd, soon finding Li Yixun.
Chen Nian easily saw through Li Yixun’s deliberate attempt to decipher the artwork. Because her eyes were vacant, staring blankly at a single point, Chen Nian guessed she’d been daydreaming for who knows how long.
He couldn’t help but chuckle, a mischievous urge to scare her, but then he thought that if she actually screamed in this situation, it would be a loud noise, which wouldn’t be very appropriate.
Suppressing his laughter, Chen Nian finally composed himself and solemnly handed her the single sunflower he was holding.
“Here, my friend asked me to give this to you.”
Li Yixun was jolted back to reality by the sudden appearance of the sunflower and took it with some surprise. “Oh, thank you.”
She looked down at the sunflower, which seemed to be grinning from ear to ear. “You told her I was here? Sharing is nice, your friend is pretty good.”
“…” Chen Nian couldn’t help but think, what kind of gullible fool was Li Yixun?
He touched his nose, avoiding Li Yixun’s bright smile. “Yes, of course, my friend is nice.”
He didn’t dare say that he’d shamelessly asked his friend for the sunflower. His friend mocked him mercilessly, saying it was the first time he’d ever seen someone so rich give flowers yet be so stingy, insisting on picking out the biggest and prettiest bloom for his girlfriend.
Li Yixun, holding the flowers, didn’t forget to reach for Chen Nian’s computer, “Give me back my computer!”
“Also, your friends always give me flowers, but you’ve never given me any,” she casually remarked.
Chen Nian reached out her free hand, pulled down Li Yixun’s outstretched hand, and they intertwined their fingers. “It’s heavy, let me carry it for you.”
“As for flowers, aren’t you taking graduation photos soon? I’ll give you some.”
“But it’s only fair, you have to give me flowers for my graduation photos too.”
Chen Nian leaned closer, happily bargaining.
“…”
Li Yixun unintentionally found herself in sync with Chen Nian’s friend, genuinely believing Chen Nian to be a despicable and hateful miser.