Xia Yinuo’s eyes burned with a bright intensity. In the contest of their gazes, even the brilliant lights of the stadium seemed to lose their luster.
Liang Jueyun gave a radiant smile. "Me too."
"What a... coincidence! Hahaha!" Xia Yinuo laughed, her eyes bright and her teeth white.
Liang Jueyun smiled tenderly. "Do you want to keep playing? Or shall we head back?"
"Back!" Xia Yinuo replied decisively.
The two of them quietly packed their things and walked out of the stadium. Xia Yinuo couldn't stop smiling, the flush on her face not yet faded—though it was hard to tell if it was from the exercise or the excitement. Liang Jueyun walked into the cool night breeze, maintaining her usual gentle and composed demeanor.
They didn't speak for the rest of the way. When they reached the fork in the path leading to the two units of the faculty housing area, Liang Jueyun didn't say a word and simply headed toward her own building. Xia Yinuo stole a smile and silently followed her.
Inside the elevator, Xia Yinuo pressed the button for Liang Jueyun’s floor and asked with a grin, "I wonder if 'Cheng Yaojin' will suddenly appear again this time."
"Cheng Yaojin?"
"May, your neighbor. Every time we’re alone together, she charges out of nowhere. Isn't she just like Cheng Yaojin?"
Liang Jueyun shook her head, her smile widening.
The door opened and then locked behind them. Xia Yinuo habitually changed her shoes and sat down on the living room sofa.
Liang Jueyun poured two glasses of water and sat down beside her. "Whatever you want to say or ask, you can start now."
"Alright, I’m starting," Xia Yinuo said, clasping her hands together. "I’m someone who takes relationships very seriously and cautiously—I even get a bit anxious about gains and losses. In all my years, this is the first time I’ve liked someone. I like you, and since you said you feel the same... then, let’s be together."
Her gaze was fervent and sincere, a perfect reflection of Xia Yinuo herself.
Liang Jueyun didn't speak. A shy blush crept onto Xia Yinuo’s fair face. "I’m a little nervous. If I say something wrong, I hope you won't mind. Maybe I can't give you any grand promises right now, and I wasn't even sure how you felt about me. I was worried you’d look down on me for being younger, or think I’m immature and not someone you could rely on. But I can't imagine anyone else standing by your side, now or in the future, other than me."
Liang Jueyun let out a soft sigh. "Alright, then please listen carefully to what I have to say.
"You like wearing bright-colored sportswear. You only ever wear one stud earring. You always use the second knuckle of your right index finger to press elevator buttons. When you’re nervous, you clasp your hands together. You love dairy products, but you always eat so little for breakfast that you can't finish it—that’s not a good habit. You like staying indoors; when you have nothing to do, you just read, space out, or talk to LoVo. When you’re being mature, you’re like a philosopher, but when you’re being childish, you’re worse than Xiao Yan. You love your family and friends and treat everyone around you with sincerity, which is why everyone likes you. You value longevity and devotion; you fear loss and separation, which is why even the pet you chose is a turtle that can stay with you for a long time. For some reason, you’re prone to getting hurt and you don't like exercising, which is always worrying. Most people see you as a model student who never gives her parents or elders cause for concern, but deep down, you’re someone who lacks a sense of security.
"I want to tell you that I like you exactly as you are—all of you. I like your intelligence and your filial piety. I like your earnest focus. I like the dimple on your right cheek when you smile. I like the way you occasionally act like a rascal. I like the way you play the guitar. I like your persistence—the way you clearly care so much but pretend you don't. I even like your unconventional way of confessing. You don't need to worry or doubt anymore, because now and in the future, I will be standing by your side."
After hearing Liang Jueyun’s heartfelt confession, Xia Yinuo covered her face with her hands, too embarrassed to look Liang Jueyun in the eye. After a long moment, she managed to say, "Um, that was... really direct."
Liang Jueyun laughed helplessly. "Someone told me that for a 'closet-sentimental' and slow-moving person like you, I had to be simple and blunt."
Xia Yinuo lowered her hands. "Maimai? What did she say to you?"
Recalling her few encounters with Mai Shining, Liang Jueyun smiled. "Aside from beating around the bush to figure out my sexual orientation and analyzing all your virtues, not much. You should be glad you have a best friend who worries about your happiness."
Xia Yinuo didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but her heart felt soft and warm because of Liang Jueyun’s words.
Liang Jueyun’s expression turned serious. "Actually, I guessed what you were going to say a long time ago. It’s just that you’re still young, and many things haven't settled yet. I didn't know how you were prepared to handle the pressure and criticism you might face in the future. I couldn't rashly drag you into this."
Xia Yinuo hurried to explain, "How can you call it dragging me into this? I’m not afraid of the pressure, or even the strange looks we might get. I can anticipate them and I can accept them. Also... how long ago is 'a long time ago'?"
Liang Jueyun smiled. "Since you dared to say it today, didn't you also guess what my reaction would be?"
Xia Yinuo squinted and nodded. The look in someone's eyes when they like someone is impossible to hide. But until that affection is affirmed, released, and accepted, how one hides the deep tenderness in their gaze was something both of them had understood perfectly in their own hearts all along.
Liang Jueyun paused before continuing, "There’s one more thing you should know. I liked someone before, for many years. She was my neighbor and took care of me when I was little. But she didn't like women, so... you don't mind, do you?"
Xia Yinuo was surprised. "Oh? So you liked women from the very beginning?"
Liang Jueyun shrugged. "You could say that. You haven't answered my question yet."
Xia Yinuo stated her position: "I don't mind! As long as we’re clear about it."
Liang Jueyun gave a slightly mischievous, "black-bellied" smile. "Yes, some things really should be made clear."
Xia Yinuo was startled. "Huh?"
Liang Jueyun leaned closer to her. "For example, when did you start liking me?"
Xia Yinuo leaned back, embarrassed. "Some things... don't need to be said so clearly..."
Liang Jueyun kept leaning in. "Don't be shy."
Xia Yinuo suddenly stood up and paced a step. "Ah... so, what do we do now?"
Liang Jueyun laughed heartily. "What do you think?"
Xia Yinuo spoke with righteous self-importance. "It’s like this: when it comes to dating, I have no experience."
Liang Jueyun spread her hands. "Neither do I. Are you in a hurry?"
Xia Yinuo shook her head. "Not in a hurry."
Liang Jueyun stood up from the sofa and stretched her limbs. "Well, if you’re not in a hurry, we can take it slow."
Xia Yinuo: "Oh."
Liang Jueyun: "You did a lot of exercise tonight. Go home early, take a shower, and get some sleep. Don't catch another cold."
Xia Yinuo muttered, "The amount of information was also quite a lot."
Liang Jueyun smiled. "True, it needs to be digested properly."
Xia Yinuo acted a bit coy. "What I wanted to say is, well, I’m not very good with words. Maybe what I said today didn't quite capture it, hahaha. Anyway, remember that book I gave you? There’s a letter inside. You can take it out and read it after I leave."
Liang Jueyun: "A letter?"
Xia Yinuo gave a mysterious smile. "Yes, a letter. I originally thought you’d see it sooner. Everything I was too embarrassed to say to your face is written in there. Don't read it until I’m gone! Cough, well, I’m leaving now! Bye-bye!"
Xia Yinuo ran to the entryway to change her shoes, grabbed her sports bag, waved goodbye, and fled the Liang residence.
Liang Jueyun went to the study and found that random book that had been given to her along with the potted plants: *Indoor Potted Plant Cultivation*. Opening it, she found a yellow pocket on the back of the front cover—it was likely meant for a library card, but inside was a sheet of stationery. She pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a handwritten letter in elegant, refined script:
*I suddenly felt like writing you a letter, though I wasn't sure when I would give it to you.*
*I used to doubt whether I had the courage or the capacity to love. It seems everyone is searching for their own true love, yet I never strove for it, nor did I ever encounter it. I once thought that with a lonely yet full heart, a person could live quite well on their own. But because of you, this loneliness and fullness began to overflow, to surge outward, longing for someone to echo it, to take it in, and to understand it. Love is uncontrollable; it cannot be controlled when it arrives, nor when one is alone. Only when I saw the response in your eyes did I realize how much I longed to be settled properly and preserved with care.*
*I met you in the cicada-filled summer of C City. You extinguished my confusion and my pride, and the world suddenly became clear and bright. In your eyes, I saw the stars and the sea. Meeting you, I realized that so many turns and every moment of chaos held a hidden direction. I waited to become the person who thinks the same thoughts and shares the same frequency as you, so that at the exit of some station, I could take your hand. Meeting you, I began to look forward with trepidation and leap with joy toward the future. I began to believe what the poem says: "You look at me with a smile, without saying a word, and I know that for this, I have waited a long time."*
*You said you don't believe we'll see the end of the world in our lifetime, and I don't either. Phrases like "to the ends of the earth" or "until the seas run dry" were always meant for others to hear; in the end, the years will make us old, and time will eventually pull us apart. Even so, before that moment arrives, the gaze I turn toward you has chosen love and strength. Before that moment arrives, shall we stay together and walk into the fifth season?*
There was no salutation. The signature was a single character: *Nuo*. The date was December 21, 2012.
***
