This was the first time Liu Shuyao saw panic on Xiang Ran's face. She kept staring as he hurriedly got into the car, watching until it disappeared around the corner.
After a while, she snapped back to reality and quickly turned to run back to the dorm.
The noisy sounds in the dorm pulled her thoughts back a little.
Liu Shuyao took off Xiang Ran's shirt and planned to hang it neatly in the wardrobe. Then she saw the gift box wrapped in a protective bag at the bottom.
The intimate memories from their recent birthdays surged back, intertwined with countless scenes from high school where she could only watch him from afar.
Liu Shuyao felt a throbbing headache, crumpling the neatly folded shirt into her arms.
It seemed that only by inhaling this familiar scent could she feel a bit better.
A massive fog of confusion engulfed her.
“Hey, Shuyao, why are you back from your date so early today?” Zhao Ying, who was texting Qi Dong about the debate topics, glanced at the school beauty standing by the bed and teased her.
Seeing Zhao Ying talking to her, Liu Shuyao quickly pulled her to the balcony.
With a face full of questions, Zhao Ying looked at Liu Shuyao’s serious expression and asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I think I suddenly remembered some memories that are different from reality,” Liu Shuyao murmured.
“You remembered?”
“What’s going on? Am I experiencing memory loss?”
Compared to Liu Shuyao’s messy thoughts, Zhao Ying didn’t have many concerns. She was genuinely happy for her friend regaining her memory.
“Kind of. Do you feel unwell? Should we go to the hospital and get checked for any aftereffects?”
“I’m fine, my brain is working just fine!”
“What happened after my car accident? Did I really date him?”
Liu Shuyao seemed to muster immense courage to ask this question.
Zhao Ying finally understood what was troubling the school beauty.
Looking at the shirt in Liu Shuyao's hands, she asked with confusion, “You didn’t forget everything about your time with Xiang Ran after regaining your memory, did you?”
If that were the case, it would be too cliché.
Fortunately, Liu Shuyao shook her head. “I remember everything!”
“All the moments—I remember the first time he held my hand, the first time he taught me to play basketball, the first time he bought me dinner, the first time...”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Zhao Ying gestured for her to halt, interrupting her.
She could never stand Liu Shuyao and Xiang Ran flaunting their affection; they were just too clingy.
“Then why do you look so pale?” Zhao Ying asked, puzzled.
“I... I don’t know. I feel a bit incredulous.”
“What exactly is going on?”
Liu Shuyao looked completely confused.
“It’s because after your car accident, when you woke up, you mistook the comic you drew for reality. You thought you and Xiang Ran were in a romantic relationship, and you went after him.”
“Then the doctor said your symptoms indicated memory distortion, mistaking scenarios you desperately wanted to happen as real.”
After hearing this explanation, Liu Shuyao took some time to process it.
“Then why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”
“Because the doctor said such situations can’t be stimulated; it might affect your brain. It’s best to follow your memories and let them come back naturally,” Zhao Ying repeated what the doctor had told her.
Hearing this, Liu Shuyao felt a chill in her heart. “So... he was with me because of this?”
When Liu Shuyao said this, her voice was choked, and the uncertainty in her tone made her look quite pitiful.
“Huh?”
“Um…”
Zhao Ying suddenly remembered what she had said back in the hospital. Pretending to be a boyfriend? That she’d vouch for him? Was it all not real?
Now it was Zhao Ying who felt flustered. Looking at Liu Shuyao, she tentatively asked, “Did you ask him?”
“No, I just remembered it today. He noticed something was off with me and asked, but I didn’t tell him the truth.”
Zhao Ying sighed in relief. “I really think Xiang Ran genuinely likes you! Just look at how he cares for you—he treats you like you’re precious.”
“And you can feel that, right?”
“I do feel that, which is why I’m a bit... scared?”
Liu Shuyao’s fingers were entwined, her lips pressed together as she struggled to find the right words.
“Scared?”
That word confused Zhao Ying.
“Aren’t you in love with him? He’s with you now!”
“Isn’t that a happy ending?”
“What are you afraid of?”
“It feels like I had a bizarre dream, where my days of secretly liking Xiang Ran and the days we spent together have blurred together. I’m so afraid that everything now is fake, and he’s still someone I can’t reach…”
Liu Shuyao spoke softly.
Everything was too sudden—so sudden that she didn’t know how to handle it. She was used to secretly loving someone, but suddenly that person was within reach.
Yet it was in this way!
On the way back, she felt tangled and confused, unsure how to face Xiang Ran. She wanted to tell those around her that she had regained her memory, but she feared that if she did, he would disappear.
“So I want to figure this out, but I’m a bit scared!”
“Why don’t we just stay like this? I... I won’t tell him. I want to be with him without any unexpected surprises.”
Liu Shuyao spoke to herself, seemingly trying to convince herself.
“That’s not good. I really think you should ask him!”
Zhao Ying noticed Liu Shuyao’s inner conflict.
“I truly believe he likes you for real, not just pretending! He initially refused me and didn’t want to pretend to be your boyfriend.”
“So when you said you two made up, I was surprised!”
“Really?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyao’s eyes lit up. She knew Xiang Ran cared for her, which made her hesitate.
“Really!”
“Trust me!”
Zhao Ying squeezed Liu Shuyao’s hand, nodding decisively.
“Alright…”
Though Zhao Ying said this, Liu Shuyao still felt uncertain. She knew Xiang Ran would be going home tonight, so she thought she’d ask him tomorrow—in person!
Estimating that Xiang Ran was probably still driving, Liu Shuyao went to wash up and then lay down on her bed before messaging him.
In the past, they had exchanged lots of affectionate messages, but now she felt a bit shy. So she kept it simple.
“Have you returned?”
At that moment, Xiang Ran, lying in his dorm bed, heard his phone buzz twice. He quickly checked.
Seeing it was a message from Liu Shuyao, he noticed it was much later than usual, and the content was extremely curt, lacking any affectionate emojis or messages.
Thinking about this made Xiang Ran feel a bit down.
He had completely forgotten that he had told Liu Shuyao he would be going home tonight.
Comments
Post a Comment
We’d Love to Hear from You!
Share your thoughts, feedback, or questions about this posts. Your comments are important to us.