Chapter 16 — Schemes, Secrets, and Sincere Pursuit
Sang Zhi just brushed her hair into place when a small camera-shaped gift arrived. Her heart fluttered—another surprise from Jiaxu? Inside the quirky wrapper, she found a slightly blurry photo of his collarbone.
"Thick-skinned," she texted him, half amused and half flustered. Jiaxu replied with a casual dare: he'd send a high-definition version if she agreed to let him pursue her. She teased back silently, calling him a "scheming old man" in her mind—even as a blush bloomed across her cheeks.
That night, she changed his name in her contacts from "Brother No. 2" to Suitor, a subtle yet thrilling shift in the boundary between them.
She updated her brother Sang Yan, joking that she might be entering a relationship—but added he was "quite old." Sang Yan immediately warned her to watch out and—on hearing the age difference—even demanded she refuse anyone older than himself. Sang Zhi laughed, half exasperated, half touched by his protective instinct.
Meanwhile, her roommates nudged her to test Jiaxu's sincerity. With playful malice, they typed: "I'm not free tomorrow." The tension crackled—Jiaxu persisted. After a brief hesitation, she conceded: "Maybe not free the day after either." That made him pause... and prompt again. Wednesday? Thursday? Finally, she agreed—his persistence was passing grade in Romance 101.
But then—disappointment. Jiaxu canceled. A system bug. Then another cancellation—due to a colleague's issue. Her heart tightened; confusion flared.
Back in the dorm, her friends bristled on her behalf, demanding explanations. She defended him: he was overworked, possibly even sleep-deprived. She didn't know the truth—yet.
Because behind the screen, Jiaxu wasn't avoiding her for trivial reasons. His father—bedridden in a coma for years—had slipped into critical condition. Pulmonary edema. Surgery was the only hope. In a surge of silent grief, Jiaxu arranged his transfer to the hospital, weighed down by memory and guilt.
That same night, after nights of absence, Jiaxu arrived at Sang Zhi's door—the sincerity in his eyes dispelled weeks of doubt. They spoke in hushed tones: Sang Zhi admitted she'd been hurt—not by anger, but by unmet expectations. He explained the chaos, wrapped in his exhaustion. She, wide-eyed, pressed a flower-colored bag in his hands—a homemade cotton candy. My comfort for you, she said.
He recognized her gesture—and her bracelet—then smiled softly and said, "Then you're already my girlfriend, right?" Embarrassed, she corrected him: "No—this is your chance. Learn how to pursue me properly."
He bowed his head, earnest and fragile in the low light: "I'm sorry—for every slip. Starting now, I'll pursue you properly."
Her heart fluttered—and she nodded, playing along with a promise: "I'll be watching."
Epilogue Moment
A few days later, she attended a campus alumnus event, expecting to process exams... but instead, Jiaxu slipped into the back row, calm and present. Her classmates whispered—they assumed he was her boyfriend. Sang Zhi sighed and pretended to nap, comforted.
Meanwhile, Sang Yan texted Jiaxu—unknowingly still calling him "her crush." He asked to look out for Sang Zhi—a callback to so many moments when Jiaxu had done just that.
End of Chapter 16