Chapter 34

Outside the café, Yun Li easily recognized Yin Yun sitting at an outdoor table. She was dressed in a light green floral dress, with almond-shaped eyes, red lips, and long hair that reached her waist, writing something in a notebook.

Standing next to her was a tall man with more Westernized features, light hair, and eye color, wearing a black casual jacket. He had just pulled out a chair to sit down, shared a laugh with Yin Yun, and then suddenly looked up, noticing Yun Li’s gaze.

The man stood up again and approached Yun Li.

Yin Yun noticed his movement and got up to follow him.

The man smiled, “Are you Yun Ye’s sister?”

Yun Li nodded.

“Hello, I’m Yin Yun’s brother, Yin Yucheng.” He pulled out a chair for Yun Li, with Yin Yun shyly greeting, “Hello, sister.”

It had been a while since Yun Li had met someone new. She offered a shy smile, introduced herself briefly, and then placed Yun Ye’s gift on the table.

“This is from Yun Ye,” Yun Li said.

“It was kind of you to make the trip,” Yin Yucheng said.

“It’s no trouble, it’s near my office.”

Yin Yun stared at the box for a while, her smile genuine, “Yun Ye said his classmates spent a long time making this gift. He was worried it might get damaged, so he asked you to bring it over. Thank you.”

Yun Li doubted her ears, “Oh… made by his classmates?”

Yin Yun nodded without much thought.

“Is something wrong?” Yin Yucheng asked perceptively.

Yun Li hid her embarrassment and shook her head.

She had overestimated Yun Ye; he didn’t even dare admit the gift was his own doing.

Yin Yucheng didn’t insist Yun Li stay for dinner but insisted on driving her back.

It was just a short walk.

Not good at refusing, Yun Li nodded.

“Brother will take it to the car?” Yin Yucheng picked up the gift box, and patted Yin Yun on the head, “Wait here with sister for a bit.”

With that, he gave Yun Li a gentle smile.

The car was parked in the mall’s parking lot. Yin Yucheng drove up to their spot, and within minutes after Yun Li got in, they arrived at her building.

Before getting out, Yin Yucheng asked, “Yun Ye mentioned you’re from Nanwu Institute of Technology University?”

Yun Li nodded.

“I’m also from Nanwu Institute of Technology University, graduated the year before last.”

Yun Ye had mentioned this before, so Yun Li wasn’t too surprised.

Yin Yucheng got out of the car and opened the passenger door for Yun Li.

“Thank you for bringing the gift. Get some rest,” he said softly.

Standing still, Yun Li watched as the passenger window slowly rolled down, and Yin Yucheng nodded at her, his gaze lingering for several seconds before driving away from the neighborhood.

Finally, that was taken care of.

A weight lifted from her heart; since yesterday, Yun Li had been anxious this meeting might ruin Yun Ye’s first crush. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

The evening air carried a hint of tobacco. Yun Li turned around, alert. Sparse tree shadows partially hid a faint glow of light, a tall figure leaning there.

The figure moved, and Yun Li heard the sound of shoes on branches, the streetlight illuminating his features.

Yun Li couldn’t believe her eyes, “What are you doing down here?”

Fu Shizhe didn’t directly answer, calmly stating, “I called you.”

Yun Li checked her phone; indeed, Fu Shizhe had called her twice more than half an hour ago, but she hadn’t noticed.

The unfamiliar number on her screen was his outgoing call, which Yun Li found surprising.

With a slight smile, she said, “I was busy just now and missed it. Have you been waiting here the whole time?”

Fu Shizhe didn’t respond. Below, Yun Li noticed the cashmere scarf around his neck, partially covering his chin, and he was holding a bag with a hollow pattern, filled with several small, delicate cakes.

Yun Li felt a stir in her heart, looking up at Fu Shizhe, “That scarf…”

“Returning it.”

Unexpectedly, Fu Shizhe pulled the scarf from his neck and tossed it to Yun Li. She barely caught it, the smell of tobacco hitting her.

Yun Li sensed his displeasure.

She had thought he might have started to have feelings, that those small cakes were for her. Seeing his indifferent face, Yun Li’s fleeting fantasy shattered.

He was eager to return it.

It seemed he didn’t want any ties.

Feeling a bit nervous, she said, “You can keep wearing it…”

“No need,” Fu Shizhe replied, “Thanks for the scarf.”

After saying that, he walked away.

Yun Li stood rooted to the spot, feeling heavy-hearted. When she opened the door, there was a loud bang, as if something had been thrown into a metal trash can.

Back at the apartment, it took Yun Li a while to calm herself down.

With unease spreading in her heart, Yun Li tried to distract herself. She washed a sweet potato and put it in the oven. As the orange light came on, she found herself staring at the purple bruises on its surface, lost in thought.

He had sought her out, but not because he liked her.

He gave her a scarf, and she couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but his movements seemed tinged with impatience.

Considering his cold demeanor just before, Yun Li’s spirits plummeted.

She couldn’t help but think that he might have always seen her as a nuisance.

Perhaps his visit was to reject her once again.

The oven wasn’t closed properly, and the beeping alarm brought Yun Li back to reality.

Desperate to escape her negative thoughts, she turned on her computer and continued editing the promotional video. She hadn’t noticed before, but the footage from EAW recorded the whole process of Fu Shizhe rejecting her, which she watched over and over.

The room was silent to the extreme.

Yun Li turned off the video, the depression in her heart convincing her not to use any of the material.

She worked until 3 AM to finish the promotional clip for EAW. In the next few days, she just needed to tweak minor details before finalizing it with He Jiameng.

Past bedtime and without any desire to sleep, Yun Li looked out the window. A thin layer of frost covered the tree trunks due to the cold spell. She sat back down and pulled out some old crafting materials.

Following an online tutorial, she spent the night assembling a cardboard drone, painting it simply, and cutting the video casually, only adding captions at the beginning and end.

“…This handmade drone, I plan to give it to someone very important.”

She uploaded the craft video to the E-site.

Her last meeting with Fu Shizhe could almost be counted as the most unsuccessful one in recent times. In the following days, Yun Li consciously avoided contacting him.

The drone-making video had been out for a few days with a lukewarm response, but Chen Lirong forwarded it to her. Yun Li wasn’t surprised; she was now a somewhat famous uploader on the E-site, and most people she knew were aware of it.

Since they became friends, Chen Lirong had been silent, not speaking to Yun Li or posting Moments.

Yun Li: “?”

Chen Lirong: “Are you planning to give this to Fu Shizhe? [smirk][smirk]”

Yun Li found his way of speaking creepy and decided not to reply. An hour or two later, Chen Lirong sent another message: “You can’t give him this. Fu Shizhe took a leave of absence because of this.”

Yun Li: “What do you mean?”

Chen Lirong: “I’ll tell you in person [smirk][smirk].”

Chen Lirong also sent her many photos of Fu Shizhe, all sneak shots of his back, invariably featuring another guy.

Chen Lirong: “He’s really gay, little sister, don’t be fooled [smirk][smirk]. I can tell you in person what happened.”

Yun Li: “Please don’t spread rumors.”

Yun Li: “No need.”

Yun Li felt goosebumps from Chen Lirong’s words. After her rebuttal, he didn’t reply anymore.

Not seeing Fu Shizhe for several days, their interactions naturally dwindled to zero after Yun Li stopped initiating contact.

Yun Li felt a bit disheartened.

Fu Zhengchu sent another invitation to play ball in the group he had created earlier. This time, without waiting for Yun Li’s response, Fu Shizhe replied directly: “Not going.”

He didn’t even give a reason.

Fu Zhengchu: “???”

Fu Zhengchu: “Uncle, if you’re going to be this antisocial, I’ll just kick you out.”

An hour later, when Yun Li checked again, only she and Fu Zhengchu remained in the group.

Yun Li hadn’t expected Fu Zhengchu to be so decisive.

At the company, Yun Li repeatedly went to the break room for water but never saw the long-awaited figure. After hesitating at her desk, she still made a cup of coffee in the break room.

Fu Shizhe had said she didn’t need to knock.

Yun Li didn’t have the courage and knocked anyway. No one answered. She pushed the door open to find the room unlit, the air musty, probably unoccupied for days.

Taking the coffee back to the break room, Yun Li took a sip. The bitterness hit her, and she added several sugar packets.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that he might be avoiding her.

He Jiameng messaged her on WeChat to review the finished promotional clip. Yun Li copied the video to a portable drive and played it once at He Jiameng’s desk.

The minute-long clip consisted of seven scenes, each using VR equipment for different activities. Yun Li had assigned meanings to each scene, forming the theme of the entire segment.

He Jiameng praised it continuously, but Yun Li was somewhat distracted.

“This theme is just too good. I’m going to try making a move on the boss. Nothing is impossible in this world!” He Jiameng made a victory sign, “Especially since even Fu Shizhe has blossomed.”

Yun Li’s hand on the play button froze, and she looked up at He Jiameng, “Blossomed?”

“Yesterday the boss showed me several places, asking what girls generally like. I thought he was interested in someone, and my heart was broken.” He Jiameng laughed, “Later, after I asked the boss for a long time, he said it was Fu Shizhe asking for dating spots. Before that, I always thought he was asexual. But now that he’s come around, why can’t the boss…”

Yun Li didn’t catch the rest of He Jiameng’s words. She rubbed her thumb over her index finger, struggling to contain her shaking, and cautiously asked, “He’s so cold, what kind of girl would he like?”

“Eh, I don’t know. The boss just said it’s a girl he’s known for many years.”

He Jiameng said a lot more, but Yun Li felt like she suddenly went deaf, unable to hear even with her right ear.

She stood there, stunned.

No… it can’t be, right?

“Miss Lazy Cloud, Miss Lazy Cloud?”

He Jiameng’s features came back into focus, her voice sounding like it was coming from another dimension: “Let’s go with this version of the video.”

“Oh, okay.” Yun Li returned to her seat like a zombie, feeling completely drained, with only He Jiameng’s words echoing in her ears.

Her nose tingled, and her vision started to blur.

Rationality told her she needed to verify this; she couldn’t just sink into despair without knowing the truth.

Yun Li opened their chat window. The last few messages she saw were still his “No.” She scrolled up, and it was almost all her one-sided invitations, with his responses so cold they seemed to chill the screen.

Clinging to a last shred of hope, she typed out, “I heard you asked a girl out?” But her finger froze over the send button.

What answer was she expecting?

If confirmed, then what?

Could she at least keep some dignity?

Yes, it turned out that all her efforts over such a long time had already exhausted her courage.

Before today, she could still fantasize that one day Fu Shizhe would be moved. Even until just now, she held onto hope, thinking she saw a glimmer of light.

But the moment her fantasy was shattered, facing reality, she realized—

From start to finish, it was all one-sided on her part.

“You are a good person. Thank you for always taking care of me.”

“Maybe I have no right to say this, but I hope you can treat yourself better. You are the best person I’ve ever met and deserve the best.”

“I heard you found someone you like.”

“Thank you for being in my life.”

“I won’t bother you anymore.”

Yun Li typed these sentences with red eyes and then deleted them one by one.

What was the point of saying these things in the end?

Everything had become absurd and laughable.

He probably didn’t even want to see them.

He didn’t want her to intrude on his life.

Yun Li lay her head on the table, tears falling onto her phone screen, making it impossible to see his profile picture or the name she had saved him under. Stifling her sobs, she clicked the three dots in the top right corner.

Then, she clicked delete.

This was the bravest thing she had ever done.

She was someone who couldn’t even talk smoothly with strangers, who feared making phone calls, who wouldn’t converse with friends in the car just because the driver was there. Yet, for him, she had done so many impossible things.

But no matter what she did, she was just a passerby.

She couldn’t continue being friends with him.

And she certainly didn’t want to shamelessly interfere in his relationship now that she knew he had someone in his heart.

So, goodbye then.

To the person I like the most.

After a long while, Yun Li lifted her head.

While editing the caption for the video she recorded with Fu Shizhe, Yun Li realized—

This video, themed around “trying,” carried all her struggles and unrealistic fantasies from this period. When it was published, her bravest attempt would also come to an end.