Time passed in silence, as if the days were pages hastily folded.Su Yue grew up between sleepless nights and mornings of watery coffee. Her notebooks piled up like secret trophies, while her mother sewed until her hands ached. At every mocking laugh, she answered with flawless grades. And when the entrance exam finally came, her effort shone: second place in the entire city.
On the other side, Zhou Yichen lived in wide corridors, with his father's stern voice reminding him that excellence was not a choice, but an obligation. The piano remained his refuge, his only true voice. In the exam, as expected, he placed first.
The departure from home
On the morning of their departure, the contrast was like two paintings made by the same brush, but in opposite colors.
Su Yue closed the wooden door of her small house with teary eyes. She carried only a worn suitcase, a few clothes, and the notebooks that seemed heavier than her own body. Her mother, holding back her sobs, placed a cloth bundle with homemade bread into her hands:
— For when you feel hungry on the way.
At the same time, Zhou Yichen descended the marble stairs of his spacious house. Three suitcases were already lined up in the car, carried by servants. His father, in an impeccable suit, simply said:
— Don't disappoint me.
Two worlds drifting apart and drawing close at the same time. The invisible thread vibrated, pulling them in opposite directions, yet toward the same destination.
The beginning of new bonds
At the dormitory, Su Yue was met with sideways glances. Her small suitcase and plain bedsheet gave her away. Some roommates laughed softly, whispering:— She must have come only by quota.
She pretended not to hear, carefully arranging her bed. Then, a girl with a spontaneous smile, her hair tied in a braid, sat beside her:— Hi! I'm Lin Meixiu. Want some help organizing?
Su Yue smiled, surprised by the kindness.— Yes, thank you.
In that room filled with judgment, a friendship was quietly born.
The first encounter on campus
The university campus buzzed with life: freshmen laughed in noisy groups, seniors handed out colorful flyers, and the autumn breeze carried the scent of coffee from makeshift stalls. It was the beginning of a new chapter, and every face seemed lit by the promise of the future.
Among them, Su Yue walked slowly, holding her enrollment papers for Medicine against her chest. Her heart, already used to sacrifices and struggles, raced not only with the challenge ahead, but with the weight of finally being there. Her worn jeans and simple blouse did not hide the determination in her gaze.
Before the bulletin board, she bent down to decipher her schedule when a gust of wind scattered her papers across the ground. She hurried to pick them up, her fingers trembling.
Another hand appeared at the same instant.Their fingers touched.She looked up.So did he.
Zhou Yichen, standing tall with his Engineering documents still in his hands, looked at her closely. The sunlight reflected off his glasses, making his eyes gleam behind the lenses.
The silence between them was brief, yet filled with memory. Yichen recognized her immediately — the girl who, at the science fair, with a firm whisper, had saved his experiment in front of everyone. The scene returned whole, as if it had happened yesterday.
— You… dropped this, he said softly, handing her the paper, his voice low, almost hesitant.— Thank you… she murmured, not realizing how her heart quickened with that simple exchange.
For a moment, Yichen held her gaze. And, as if the words slipped out on their own, he said in a quiet yet certain tone:
— Finally… I found you.
The invisible thread vibrated with force. It was not mere chance. It was reunion.