The next time Qianye saw Han Chao was at a dinner organized by the flute club. Qianye often found such gatherings tiresome, with their forced camaraderie and noisy festivities. After entering college, when all the classmates were no longer just people you saw every day in the same classrooms, she felt freer—yet that freedom often led to loneliness. But just the thought of seeing Han Chao again was enough to make her participate seriously.

Qianye arrived right on time, and she searched the crowd diligently for a glimpse of Han Chao. Eventually, she found him in the chaos of people. But she didn’t walk over to sit at his table. A sad thought flashed through her mind: “The more lively the world around you, the more I want to distance myself from it.”

No college dinner was ever complete without playing games, and one game that always seemed to be played was the well-worn Truth or Dare. Han Chao’s table was the first to get into it, and soon, every table followed suit. The surrounding noise became nothing more than fleeting distractions as Qianye’s attention fixated solely on his world.

There was a burst of exaggerated laughter from his side—Han Chao had lost the game. No matter where he was or what he did, his appearance and charisma always made him the center of attention. He was like a shining star.

His punishment was to say, “I like you” to the first girl who walked in through the door.

In that moment, Qianye’s heart felt like it was being wrapped in countless vines—no pain, but a suffocating heaviness that made it hard to breathe. No one could understand—how could he throw away those words, words that had consumed her entire youth, so casually, as if they meant nothing?

Qianye followed everyone’s gaze, openly looking at Han Chao. His tall figure, his firm features, and the slight furrow in his brow—he seemed troubled. In that instant, as he started to walk forward, he turned around and looked at Qianye. Once again, she felt fate strike her, and from that moment on, she would never be the same.

To her surprise, the person who walked into the restaurant at that moment was Zhou Yuqin. Han Chao softly said, “I like you,” and everyone around them heard it. The crowd erupted with excitement. Zhou Yuqin, who probably understood everything, bit her lower lip and quietly sat in a corner.

Amid the revelry of everyone around her, Qianye suddenly felt like she might cry. She understood Yuqin. The exaggerated reactions of the crowd were nothing but mockery for her. To the onlookers, it seemed like “How could a guy like Han Chao ever like such an ordinary girl as you? Dream on.” As Qianye looked at her, it was as though she had found her own lonely self from her younger years—sensitive, stubborn, in pain.

The group continued playing until 9 p.m., and the dinner finally ended. Qianye walked back, looking up at the night sky. A sudden wave of fatigue and sorrow washed over her.

She walked slowly, trying to distance herself from the crowd. After passing the streetlights in front of the library, she realized that Han Chao’s shadow had been following her not far behind, but always keeping a distance. He never came up to speak to her, just silently walked along with her until they reached the dorm.

Back in her room, Qianye saw that Yuqin had already gone to bed early. Usually, she would stay in the library until the last moment. Qianye gently called her name, and Yuqin turned over, understanding what she wanted. She climbed down from her bunk and followed Qianye out into the hallway.

There seemed to be so much that was choking in her heart. “The guy today… he’s my high school classmate,” Qianye said softly to the moonlight, as if sighing.

“I admit that I’m not happy about it, but even if someone else had lost the game and said that to me, the result would have been the same. I don’t blame him. I guess… he’s the one who holds a place in your heart, right?”

Qianye didn’t deny it.

Yuqin said, “If it had been a very beautiful girl who walked in during the game, what would the onlookers have thought? Sometimes, I wonder, life really isn’t fair. I work so hard, facing so many challenges, yet I keep going. But to outsiders, does that matter more than just having a naturally beautiful appearance?”

Qianye took her hand, “No matter how others see you, to me, you’re the best girl in the world. I wish you could have the best of everything.”

The cruelty of thoughtlessness is one of the harshest things—being indifferent to the feelings of others. The carefree laughter of youth, when directed at others, can feel like the deepest humiliation and the darkest shadow to the one at the center of it all.