At first, Ruan Xi didn’t think it was about her.
The waiter brought over their breakfast, and the perfectly made Benedict eggs— rich in color, aroma, and taste— were set before her.
How could she possibly pay attention to what Cheng Daichuan was saying?
She cut off a piece of the Benedict egg and popped it into her mouth. Before she could savor the flavor properly, alarm bells suddenly rang in her mind.
Could the “someone” Cheng Daichuan mentioned actually be her?
The rich hollandaise sauce and the ripe avocado melted in her mouth, but to Ruan Xi, it tasted bland and tasteless.
She chewed, swallowed, then cautiously asked Cheng Daichuan who was sharing secrets with him.
Cheng Daichuan was cutting into the pan-fried fish steak with his knife and fork. Hearing her, he chuckled lightly. “A drunkard.”
So it was indeed her!
Ruan Xi grew anxious. After quickly saying “thank you” to the waiter who had just brought new dishes, she immediately turned to Cheng Daichuan. “What did I say?”
He placed two golden pan-fried fish steaks onto her plate and spoke slowly, not too tight-lipped: “You didn’t say anything.”
She wasn’t reassured. “I really didn’t say anything?”
“If there really was a secret, why don’t you try telling me?”
Ruan Xi felt flustered, her thoughts tangled, and she couldn’t focus on the dining etiquette Shang Auntie had once taught her.
She directly stabbed a piece of fish steak with her knife and put it in her mouth, trying to seem less panicked.
She forced out a faint smile and said she had no secrets, only some embarrassing mishaps.
Cheng Daichuan neither agreed nor denied.
She wasn’t sure whether he believed her or not.
Actually, Ruan Xi had many secrets— so many she had lost count.
Those secrets were all densely filled with Cheng Daichuan’s name, secrets she couldn’t bring herself to tell either Cheng Daichuan or Shi Chao.
She had told Zhang Xu some of them.
Zhang Xu was even more ridiculous. After hearing everything, his advice to Ruan Xi was this—
Liking a good friend is really troublesome. If you confess and it doesn’t work out, you might even lose the friendship.
Right now, we’re still just ordinary friends. Losing it wouldn’t be that tragic.
Then again, why not try dating me?
So far, Ruan Xi and Zhang Xu got along well enough. Their circles didn’t overlap much, so they could occasionally chat about Cheng Daichuan.
From her perspective, they had a good chance of becoming close friends. Who would’ve thought it would end up like this…
Ruan Xi sighed.
“Is the fish steak good?”
“Huh? It’s…”
Ruan Xi blurted out a careless lie. “I don’t even remember what secret I wanted to tell you last night.”
After saying this, she regretted it instantly. They had just started talking about the fish steak, and she had forcibly dragged the topic back to nonsense.
If someone dissected her, they might see her intestines turn as green as the bracelet on the wrist of the diner at the next table.
Cheng Daichuan looked exactly like when he was lazily doing practice problems, one hand supporting his head. “About the love letter.”
Ruan Xi’s eyes widened.
Could it be the love letter she was thinking of? How had she… even let that matter slip out?
She glanced nervously at Cheng Daichuan, still clinging to a bit of luck. “What love letter…”
“The one you lost.”
Ruan Xi’s back stiffened even more. She gripped her knife tightly, then after a long pause found her usual voice. “Are you saying I never said anything?”
“I already knew about it. It’s practically the same as not saying anything.”
“Shi Chao told you?”
Cheng Daichuan chuckled lightly. “No, it was written all over your face.”
So Cheng Daichuan had figured it out long ago.
Ruan Xi lowered her head. “Sorry, Cheng Daichuan, I really didn’t do it on purpose.”
Seeing Ruan Xi’s pitiful expression, Cheng Daichuan teased her using her favorite phrase about identity. “Even a tiny little thing like that needs an apology to a good friend?”
“Well, it was a gesture of my feelings.”
“I’ve already seen it.”
Cheng Daichuan meant he had read the love letter; the feelings had been received.
Losing it didn’t matter.
Actually, Shi Chao and Ruan Xi had also seen it.
It was during their trip after the College Entrance Exam, when Shi Chao found a love letter slipped inside a book Cheng Daichuan had brought along.
They were staying in the little courtyard inn in the ancient town.
After lunch, the sun was at its peak, the summer heat was most intense, and a level-three northwest wind blew, scattering the heat.
The elders had gone back to their rooms for naps. Cheng Daichuan said he was going to shower.
Ruan Xi and Shi Chao sat on small stools under the shade of a tree, dividing up souvenirs like fridge magnets, keychains, and postcards from the trip.
When they turned, they noticed Cheng Daichuan’s book placed on the nearby lounge chair, pages fluttering in the wind and revealing a corner of a pale purple envelope.
Ruan Xi’s curiosity grew, and Shi Chao rubbed his hands together with a gleam in his eyes. The two mischievous friends were instantly in agreement…
They took Cheng Daichuan’s book, afraid of being caught, and only opened it by the riverbank outside the courtyard.
The Literature Committee Member’s handwriting was neat and delicate:
Hi, Cheng Daichuan.
I don’t know when you’ll see this letter, so first, congratulations on your success in the College Entrance Exam before I say anything else…
The sunlight flickered through the dappled tree shadows.
Apparently, at the sports meet during sophomore year, the Literature Committee Member was from Class One, and Cheng Daichuan had happened to pass by and escorted her to the infirmary.
The wind was strong. Shi Chao held the thin sheet of paper down. “This is amazing— like a scene straight out of a drama!”
Ruan Xi’s heart ached silently. She didn’t say a word but couldn’t suppress a devious thought:
With such a strong wind, how did the letter not blow away…
After Shi Chao’s rant, he suddenly shoved the book and love letter back to Ruan Xi, looking serious. “Okay, Xi Zi, maybe I ate too much at lunch!”
Shi Chao hurried off to the restroom, dashing away like a flash, leaving Ruan Xi alone by the river to carefully read the pale purple letter once more.
At the end of the love letter was the Literature Committee Member’s phone number and a subtle hint about wanting to go to the movie theater with Cheng Daichuan…
Ruan Xi thought: Cheng Daichuan doesn’t like going to the movies; he prefers watching at home with his projection machine!
She smoothed out the letter along the crease, returned it to the envelope, slipped it back into the book, grabbed the book, and quietly headed back to the little courtyard.
She had planned to take a nap, but Shi Chao found her in a panic. “Xi Zi, where’s the stuff from the book?”
Ruan Xi was completely confused and had no idea.
Shi Chao slapped his forehead. “It’s over, it’s over. I lost Cheng Daichuan’s romance.”
Ruan Xi searched for it for a long time.
The ancient town in Jiangnan was bustling, with simple stone bridges, endless lotus leaves, and koi fish swimming in the pond, but not a trace of the pale purple envelope could be found…
Even thinking about losing another person’s heartfelt confession made Ruan Xi feel deeply sorry.
They woke up late today, and the Cruise Restaurant had fewer diners than usual.
Ruan Xi twirled her golden little fork through the Benedict eggs. “Did you ever contact her afterward?”
Cheng Daichuan asked, “Who?”
“The Literature Committee Member from Class One.”
“No.”
She sighed. “I see.”
Cheng Daichuan’s smile faded a little. “Ruan Xi, what are you regretting?”
“…Nothing.”
Ruan Xi accepted the small chocolate cake the waiter brought and thanked him.
Then she continued to Cheng Daichuan, “Shi Chao once said that girl isn’t bad looking, and if I really lost her love letter…”
Ruan Xi ate Cheng Daichuan’s pan-fried fish steak and planned to share her chocolate cake with him.
Before she could finish cutting the cake, she heard Cheng Daichuan’s dry, somewhat sharp retort, “So what?”
It sounded like he was holding back some frustration.
Ruan Xi’s knife paused for a moment. “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Daichuan furrowed his brows and reined in his emotions.
He softened his tone and said that since he and that girl went to the same school, the people they knew would inevitably cross paths here or there.
“If I really wanted to contact her, with or without that love letter, I could’ve done it. Got it?”
Got it. Don’t meddle in others’ relationships.
Ruan Xi made a “tsk” sound in her heart, not very pleased, but still put the cut piece of cake on Cheng Daichuan’s plate.
She said, “Why did you say ‘so what’ just now?”
Cheng Daichuan suddenly smiled. “She’s not bad looking at all, but that has nothing to do with me.”
“Then what does have to do with you?”
This was a trick Ruan Xi and Shi Chao had discovered during their banter:
If the other person can’t argue back, just throw a question at them. Most of the time, it silences them.
Cheng Daichuan actually had an answer: “You.”
Ruan Xi’s breath hitched.
He continued, “You didn’t sleep, right?”
“I did sleep. You’re just saying I kicked off the blanket…”
“Not talking about last night.”
Ruan Xi suddenly understood. Cheng Daichuan was talking about the day last summer when she lost the love letter.
She hadn’t slept that afternoon, searching outside everywhere.
Later, she got heatstroke and felt dizzy walking through the ancient town with the elders. Before dinner, she even vomited once.
Cheng Daichuan said, “Don’t be so foolish next time.”
“You’re the foolish one.”
“Ah, probably caught it from you.”
“…Cheng Daichuan, give me back my cake!”
Cheng Daichuan scooped up a spoonful of cream and put it in his mouth. “Not bad.”
Ruan Xi and Cheng Daichuan bantered all the way down the Cruise Ship.
Maybe they were in such good spirits today?
The more they bickered, the more Ruan Xi felt relaxed and happy enough to share the reasons behind her feelings.
The shore excursion was arranged to a small island with a fishing village. As soon as they disembarked, they saw fishermen spreading starfish out to dry on the ground.
Ruan Xi had never seen so many starfish and excitedly ran over to take photos and videos.
The beach sand wasn’t very fine, so it wasn’t ideal for barefoot walking, but she found some shells and pieces of colored glass smoothed by the tides and sand.
Cheng Daichuan asked, “Want me to take a photo for you?”
Ruan Xi propped her phone stand on a nearby reef rock. “Let’s take a photo together! I’ll send it to Shi Chao!”
She pulled out her phone and searched for poses for two people.
At first, all the suggestions were for best friends— two girls making heart signs, peace signs, or pretending each other’s long hair was a mustache.
Surely with Cheng Daichuan, she could find something else?
She turned her back to the sun and searched again, adding “male” to “two-person photo” as a keyword.
The results indeed changed, and Ruan Xi’s heart skipped a beat—
The first picture showed a girl in a skirt not much shorter than Ruan Xi’s denim dress, sitting astride a boy’s lap…
That was doable!
The second showed a girl in a backless long dress lying on a bed, with the boy tenderly kissing her bare back…
That was doable too!
The third was quite artistic, as if two people stood back to the camera by a floor-to-ceiling window?
The distance wasn’t too close, and their gestures weren’t intimate—definitely something to consider.
Under the sunlight, it was hard to see clearly. Ruan Xi brightened her phone screen and gasped: the two were wrapped only in towels, without any clothes!
Ruan Xi felt a wave of heat rising again. She fanned the side of her face with her hand.
Suddenly, Cheng Daichuan’s voice sounded beside her. “What are you looking at?”
Startled, Ruan Xi’s hand slipped, and the photos switched to the next one without her knowing:
The boy lifted the girl up, holding her calf as she sat on his single shoulder.
Cheng Daichuan looked at Ruan Xi’s phone screen and asked, “Want to take something like this?”
Ruan Xi stammered, “I… yeah…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Daichuan lifted her up, imitating the exact same pose, sitting her on his left shoulder.
The sea breeze brushed their faces, and the waves lapped the sand.
The hem of Ruan Xi’s denim skirt rested on Cheng Daichuan’s shoulder, her calf’s skin lightly touching his arm.
Cheng Daichuan stood steady. “Take the photo.”
Ruan Xi cried out, “Cheng Daichuan, I haven’t even put the phone on the stand yet!”
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