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Chapter 1: He Doesn’t Remember Her
In mid-September, the temperature in the capital remained relentlessly high. The scorching sun beat down, and even after a few bouts of rain, the heat only became more stifling.
The whole city felt like it was trapped under a suffocating dome.
In the afternoon, the dorm room’s air conditioner hummed softly, keeping the space at a comfortable temperature and completely shutting out the almost steamy air outside.
Xia Zhicha opened her eyes in a daze, lifted her blanket, and sat up, a confused look on her face.
She had that dream again.
It was set on the high school basketball court. Cheers surged like tidal waves. Under the bright sunlight, a tall, lean boy leapt into the air, his movement bold and unrestrained as he made a perfect three-point shot. Then, he raised his hand in a victorious gesture.
The crowd erupted even louder, rushing toward him. Meanwhile, Xia Zhicha stood far off, outside the throng, clutching a bottle of water as she watched him with difficulty.
The sun was too blinding. She could only see his sharp outline. Everything else was blurred, like a faded memory.
Then suddenly, the noisy crowd dispersed.
He stepped out from the group, walked up to her, took the bottle of water from her hand, smiled, and called out to her—
“Baby.”
That scene from the dream kept flashing through her mind. Xia Zhicha shook her head and tugged the corners of her mouth into a self-deprecating smile.
It had already been three years. What was she still holding onto?
Just then, the balcony door clicked open from the outside, and a wave of hot air rushed in. Her roommate Jiang Lili’s voice followed:
“Zhizhi, you’re up from your nap?”
Their dorm housed four people with bunk beds and desks underneath. Hearing her voice, Xia Zhicha looked down to see Jiang Lili, who was carrying in dried laundry and closing the balcony door behind her.
She responded with a soft, “Mm.”
“The freshman military training finally ended,” Jiang Lili chatted as she folded her clothes. “I don’t know why this summer’s so ridiculously hot. I heard a bunch of them got heatstroke. And the school still wouldn’t postpone it… thank God we’re in sophomore year now.”
Their year hadn’t suffered nearly as much.
Xia Zhicha glanced out at the sun, which had been relentless for who knew how many days straight, and nodded in agreement.
Last year’s military training had been met with several days of rain—way easier than this year’s ordeal.
“Oh, right,” Jiang Lili seemed to remember something and looked up from her clothes. “Gao Yuyang told me he’s bringing his roommate tonight. Zhizhi, are you okay with that?”
Gao Yuyang was a finance major Jiang Lili had met through the school’s forum. They had been chatting online all summer and finally decided to meet up in person. Jiang Lili, feeling a bit nervous, had asked Xia Zhicha to come along.
Xia Zhicha didn’t mind and nodded, then slowly climbed out of bed.
She was always a bit groggy after her afternoon naps and needed time to fully wake up.
Sitting at her desk, she randomly picked up a book and opened it.
A crumpled piece of paper slipped from between the pages and fluttered to the ground.
Xia Zhicha bent down instinctively to pick it up, but when her eyes landed on the paper, she froze.
The paper was already creased and worn, slightly yellowed from having been pressed inside the book for so long—it felt like it had weathered the passage of time.
[Fu Chiyu. Don’t write it as Fu Ciyu again next time.]
It was a note Fu Chiyu had given her a long time ago.
Back when he had just transferred to her high school, she had learned his name from his self-introduction: “Fu Chiyu.” But since she’d never seen him write it, when collecting homework, she’d jotted it down as “Fu Ciyu” in her notebook.
During the next class, she’d been hit by a balled-up piece of paper from him—this very note.
As a model student back then, Xia Zhicha had panicked, afraid the teacher would notice, so she’d hastily tucked the note into a random book. Who would’ve thought it would accidentally follow her all the way to college?
Now, looking at it again, it felt like a long-buried secret crush had been uncovered.
She pinched the little piece of paper, a faint ache rising in her chest.
In the end, she slid it back into the book.
—She didn’t want to hold on to a one-sided love anymore.
But even thinking that—even though her feelings had long withered in the dark, and she and Fu Chiyu would likely never cross paths again—she still couldn’t bear to throw away even the smallest trace of him.
At 6 p.m., Jiang Lili and Xia Zhicha arrived at a popular BBQ spot in the college town right on time.
The place was well-known for being affordable and tasty. Without a reservation, there’d already be a long line outside at this hour.
Jiang Lili, phone in hand, confirmed the table with Gao Yuyang while pulling Xia Zhicha into the restaurant.
A guy by the window waved at them.
Jiang Lili spotted him and smiled, waving back.
There were still several tightly packed tables between them, and squeezing through wasn’t easy.
By the time they made it over, she couldn’t help complaining, “Why’d the owner seat us so deep inside?”
“At least it’s by the window—better airflow,” Gao Yuyang replied cheerfully. He was tall, fair-skinned, and clean-cut, with a gentle temperament. He didn’t seem easily rattled and smiled even as she grumbled.
Jiang Lili just shrugged it off and pulled Xia Zhicha into the seat beside her. “Let me introduce you—this is my roommate, Xia Zhicha.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gao Yuyang greeted politely.
Then he turned to the guy beside him, who hadn’t looked up from his phone the entire time, and nudged him with his elbow. “Hey, stop playing.”
The moment they got close, Xia Zhicha had already noticed the guy next to Gao Yuyang.
He was dressed simply in a black T-shirt, highlighting his broad shoulders. He was looking down at his phone, his bangs casting shadows that obscured his features. Yet even so, his entire aura was cold and disinterested.
Among the noisy crowd, he stood out starkly.
For some reason—
Xia Zhicha had a strange sense of familiarity, like she had seen him somewhere before.
After being nudged twice, the guy lazily put his phone away and finally looked up.
Peach blossom eyes. Pale skin. Thin lips. Sharp bone structure. His gaze was dark and languid, exuding a cool indifference to the world, but his naturally arched brows gave him a bit of rebellious charm.
The moment Xia Zhicha saw his face, she froze.
It felt like her body turned to stone, her heart pounding wildly.
All the surrounding noise faded into nothing. In her world, only this one person remained—like a storm had been stirred within her dream.
Their eyes met.
He narrowed his gaze slightly, lips curling into a faint smile as he extended his hand.
His fingers were long and slender, wrist bones prominent beneath pale skin and visible veins—
“Nice to meet you. Fu Chiyu, from the Finance Department.”
In that instant—
The heart Xia Zhicha had dared to lift slightly… came crashing back down.
…He didn’t recognize her.
—Content Warnings (Before Reading):—
You’re warmly invited to witness: Zhizhi’s unrequited love—finally returned.
@ apricity[Translator]
Immerse yourself in a captivating tale brought to life through my natural and fluid translation—where every emotion, twist, and character shines as vividly as in the original work! ^_^