(Setting: 1 Year after Graduation. The "Slow-Burn" Tension Peaks.)
The "Group of Seven" was having a virtual reunion. We were all on a video call—except for one.
"Li Yan is doing an internship at a Tech Giant in the North," Zhang Wei told us, looking exhausted from his sports training. "He's already being scouted by international firms. He's a machine."
"He's a jerk," Su Lan muttered, looking at me through the screen. "He hasn't even messaged the group for the holidays."
After the call ended, I sat in the dark. I opened a private message to Li Yan.
I saw your latest research paper on AI. Congratulations, Mr. President.
I stared at the text. My finger hovered over 'Send.' Then, I remembered his cold gaze under the banyan tree. I have no interest in you that way.
I deleted the draft.
Suddenly, my laptop pinged. A new comment on my GitHub project from L_Y_ChessMaster:
Line 42 is inefficient. You're letting your emotions dictate your variable names again. Fix it.
I slammed my laptop shut. He was still watching. He was still correcting me. He was still the most annoying, brilliant, heart-breaking person in my life, and he wasn't even in the same time zone.
"Xiao Xing?" A knock at my dorm door. It was Hao Ran, holding two cups of coffee. "I got the extra-strong blend you like. Ready for our late-night study session?"
I looked at the door, then at my closed laptop. The "Seven Stars" felt like a dream from a past life.