Faced with Chen Nian’s sudden seriousness, 21-year-old Li Yixun was like a runaway dolphin, her only word to curse being, “Crazy.”
She fled in panic.
It wasn’t that Li Yixun didn’t believe Chen Nian was serious.
But what Chen Nian offered wasn’t what she wanted. She needed to be liked; she needed a formal confession. Not a relationship that started inexplicably after a long separation, and without even mutual affection.
Clearly, Chen Nian didn’t like her. She just didn’t know what his considerations were, but he had suggested they be together twice within a year. Once was a joke, mistakenly believing she had a boyfriend; the other wasn’t a formal hint.
Sadly, both times Li Yixun’s heart pounded.
She still really liked him.
Knowing it was impossible, she still couldn’t help but be moved by him.
Chen Nian didn’t appear in her life after that day.
He seemed genuinely busy, only occasionally sending her pictures on WeChat, without a single word. Sometimes it was the stars in the night sky, sometimes the streetlights at dawn, sometimes the leftovers from a dinner party… seemingly just casual sharing.
Every time Li Yixun received a message from him, it would disturb her peace of mind. She even suspected that Chen Nian was deliberately testing her patience, just to see when she would finally give in and reply.
Fortunately, Li Yixun herself was also working part-time on several projects and didn’t have much time to think about romance.
What truly broke Li Yixun’s defenses was that about half a year later, a customer service representative from Yuanhua Driving School added her on WeChat, asking when she would come to complete her personal information so they could submit her documents for her driving test registration.
Just as she was feeling completely bewildered, Chen Nian sent her a location—Yuanhua Driving School near her school.
This time, he finally texted her, “Sorry, I really didn’t have time to teach you to drive, so I enrolled you in driving school instead.”
Suddenly, he remembered something and added, “The agreement is already signed; there’s no refund.”
“Also, don’t send me any money, I won’t accept it. I was the one who suggested teaching you. I’m a man of my word, now I’m paying someone else’s time to do my work.”
Li Yixun finally couldn’t hold back and quickly replied, “Are you! Crazy?!”
He was obviously online and replied with a voice message instantly.
Clicking on it, she heard his clear, cheerful voice, “Didn’t you already know I was crazy? Girlfriend!”
Li Yixun suddenly felt an itch in her ears.
After arguing with the driving school for a long time and realizing she couldn’t get a refund, Li Yixun could only resign herself to writing down the amount in her notes. From then on, besides her part-time job, she had another task to complete: driving lessons.
It wasn’t until she started driving lessons that Li Yixun realized that, besides having a poor sense of direction when walking and frequently getting lost, she also had a poor sense of direction when driving. Her instructor looked like he wanted to yell at her, but had to hold back because she was a VIP, which was both pitiful and funny.
Learning to drive is truly torture for someone with a poor sense of direction. She couldn’t reverse into a parking space smoothly, no matter what she tried. Li Yixun was constantly correcting the steering, to the point of despair, and even dreaming about straightening the car at night.
Fortunately, after two months of stumbling and struggling, Li Yixun finally got her driver’s license before the winter break of her junior year.
Li Yixun received Chen Nian’s call while finishing work as a hostess at an event.
“Hello?”
Chen Nian clearly heard the noisy background on Li Yixun’s end. “Why is it so noisy over there? Where are you?”
“…Just got off work. Is something wrong?”
“Are you still in Guangzhou? Haven’t you gone back to Shenhai?”
“Yeah, I’m interning during winter break, and I took on another part-time job tonight.”
“I’m in Guanghai too.” Chen Nian glanced at his watch; it was almost ten o’clock. “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up. It’s not safe to walk alone at night.”
Li Yixun had been wearing eight-centimeter heels all night and was already feeling uncomfortable and unable to stand. Besides, she wanted to talk to Chen Nian, so she gave him her address, changed her clothes, and sat down by the roadside to wait for him.
“You looked like a stray dog sitting by the roadside just now,” Chen Nian said after picking Li Yixun up.
“…Try standing in heels all night?”
“Sure, if you can find size 44 heels.” Chen Nian smiled slightly, not mentioning that he had also just finished work and was coming to pick her up. Li Yixun opened the car window a crack to let in some fresh air; the howling wind stung her face. The fleeting lights outside were like elusive rainbows.
“Chen Nian, I’ll pay you back the driving school money, but not now. It might take a while.”
Chen Nian clearly didn’t want to discuss this. “I thought I made myself clear.”
Li Yixun obviously had her own plans and didn’t intend to argue. She was just informing him, and when he contradicted her, she fell silent.
Chen Nian, however, was uncomfortable with the sudden silence and changed the subject. “Are you hungry?”
“No.”
Li Yixun was worried he’d drag her out for a late-night snack. Even though it was winter break, the dorm supervisor would close the doors around midnight, and she had to be back in her dorm before then.
Chen Nian said to himself, “But I’m hungry. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Can’t I just find a convenience store and buy something to eat?”
“…”
You’ve already said everything. How can I say no? Li Yixun thought to herself.
Unbeknownst to her, her eye-rolling was so obvious that Chen Nian, who was secretly observing, couldn’t help but chuckle.
Chen Nian pulled over to the side of the road, and Li Yixun immediately spotted the huge 501 sign outside the window.
“Really not going to eat?” Chen Nian asked her deliberately before getting out of the car.
Cart noodles, sandwiches, oden… ever since she saw the 501 sign, all sorts of food had been uncontrollably flashing through Li Yixun’s mind.
Li Yixun couldn’t resist the temptation and got out of the car to order a bowl of cart noodles from 501.
“Ten minutes. I have a curfew. I’ll go back after I finish this bowl of noodles!” Li Yixun didn’t forget his curfew, emphasizing it to Chen Nian while enjoying his late-night snack.
“Really? That’s quite troublesome. You can’t even go out if you’re hungry in the middle of the night.”
“Doesn’t your school have that?”
Chen Nian gave him a smug smile. “Sorry, I have a pampered lifestyle; I don’t live in the dorm.”
“…”
Almost forgot, this guy is incredibly precious.
“Besides, I’m starting a business with a friend right now. My work hours are irregular, sometimes even all night, so I definitely can’t live on campus.” Chen Nian added, his eyes revealing undisguised fatigue.
Li Yixun knew he was starting a business, but he hadn’t realized how tough it was.
“Hmm… things will get better. You were admitted to Z University through a special program. Even if your business fails, tons of companies will want you.” Li Yixun didn’t understand what he was doing and could only offer a weak pat on the shoulder to comfort him.
“Give me a little credit , and I’ll take it all,” Chen Nian smiled broadly, giving a salute. “Yes, Madam.”
“Once our company is big and successful, we’ll invite you to join us.”
“Tch, when will that be?” Li Yixun feigned disdain, but a hint of envy flickered in her eyes.
It’s so good to have goals.
Unlike her, who’ll be a senior in six months and still hasn’t figured out what she wants to do. Her major is the jack-of-all-trades management field, and she hasn’t decided whether to return to it after graduation.
Currently interning at a securities firm, Li Yixun spends her days doing industry research, collecting and organizing data and information. Looking back, she feels like she’s only learned how to create PowerPoint presentations.
Besides, the internship salary is practically equivalent to her losing money. Weekends and evenings are spent tutoring or looking for other work, leaving her no time to seriously consider career planning.
Taking it one step at a time, but with her feet firmly on the ground.
For Li Yixun, the most important thing right now is to earn enough for living expenses, maintain her academic performance, and graduate smoothly.
Before leaving Room 501, Chen Nian bought Li Yixun a bottle of Bright Dairy pure milk.
“You seem to like drinking pure milk. Even though you’re already tall enough, consider it a calcium supplement.”
On the way back, Li Yixun slowly drank the warm milk, recalling Chen Nian’s casual yet heartwarming words.
He remembered.
Children who haven’t been favored are always particularly sensitive, cherishing even the smallest acts of kindness.
When she was seven, she got lost and fell into an alley near her grandmother’s house. He was passing by and picked her up, finding someone to treat her wounds.
When she was eight, she went back to her grandmother’s house for summer vacation. He didn’t mind her crying and played with her.
When she was ten, she was reciting English nursery rhymes in front of her grandmother’s house when her grandmother heard her and corrected her pronunciation again and again.
At 14, she went to him with a math test she couldn’t solve. He looked at her with disdain but still helped her finish it.
…
They knew each other for many, many years.
He was her introduction to the opposite sex. She realized boys could be so handsome, smart, mischievous, outstanding… It seemed like all the beautiful adjectives in the world could be used to describe him. Even his flaws seemed endearing because Li Yixun liked him so much.
He always unintentionally offered small acts of kindness, enough to be etched in her heart, enough for her to secretly cherish for a long time.
At 18, he formally rejected her confession. Aside from his fatal flaw of not liking her, Li Yixun had never met a boy more charming, more suited to her heart.
“We’re here.” Chen Nian parked the car in a spot near the G gate.
“Let’s go. We can’t drive in without registration. I’ll go with you…”
Li Yixun unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned close to him, and pressed her lips to his beautiful lips.
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Nian’s eyes, but he quickly recovered. Not content with Li Yixun’s superficial intimacy, he gently kneaded the back of her neck, then forcefully bit her soft lips.
The sounds of wetness and intimacy filled the car for a long time. Chen Nian, like a clingy puppy, loved to bite and leave marks everywhere. By the time he finally released her, Li Yixun’s lips were barely a presentable sight.
Chen Nian held Li Yixun’s chin, observing her for a while, then revealed a sly smile like a cunning fox.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you home.” Chen Nian was in a good mood, and he took her hand as they got out of the car.
The two walked slowly under the dappled shadows of the trees, their fingers intertwined.
In the flickering light, Chen Nian’s face was only vaguely outlined, but Li Yixun felt as if the moonlight was biased, shining all its light on his face.
She thought, if she was destined to fall, then let her finish this dream.
It’s best if you never wake up.