Chapter 115 I Love You [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Main text complete [Part 2]

The driver slowly stopped in front of Beichuan No. 1 Middle School.

Fu Xianyin gave herself a final check on her appearance in the car window, then took a deep breath and followed Gu Linzhao.

Gu Linzhao couldn't help but find her appearance amusing.

He said, "Why are you so nervous? You're giving a speech at your alma mater as an outstanding senior. People who don't know better would think you're about to take the college entrance exam."

Fu Xianyin said, "You are an outstanding senior who came back to give a speech, and I am just someone who came along by chance."

Gu Linzhao glanced at her helplessly and sighed, "Why take it so seriously?"

“Just say it,” Fu Xianyin muttered softly.

She was originally planning to go straight back to Boston.

However, it just so happened that it was time for Beichuan No.1 Middle School to hold its 100-day countdown rally. Gao Ying contacted Gu Linzhao and asked if he had time to return to Beichuan to give a speech to the students as a representative of outstanding graduates.

It's unclear whether Gu Linzhao just happened to have some free time during this period or squeezed out some time for himself.

In short, I actually managed to find the time to come back.

They also brought Fu Xianyin along.

Of course, the word "by the way" is Fu Xianyin's way of saying it.

Gao Ying didn't think Fu Xianyin was just an afterthought at all; in fact, she was overjoyed when she learned that Fu Xianyin could also come back.

The two arrived very early, at least in Fu Xianyin's perception.

Before the 100-day countdown rally even began, the two went to Gao Ying's office first.

Gao Ying's office is still in the same location, and even the sign that reads "[Grade Head's Office]" hasn't been changed.

Gu Linzhao raised his hand to knock on the door, but Fu Xianyin intercepted his wrist.

“Wait a moment,” Fu Xianyin said. She took two deep breaths, as if she had mentally prepared herself, before saying, “Go ahead and knock.”

Two knocks sounded, and a familiar voice came from inside the door.

"Enter."

Gu Linzhao pressed the doorknob and stepped inside.

Fu Xianyin followed behind, and the moment she saw Gao Ying, she reflexively said, "Hello, teacher."

She was stunned after she finished speaking.

Gao Ying smiled too.

She said, "Come quickly, come quickly, it's been so long!"

Time has left its mark on Gao Ying's face.

Fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes, and a few strands of her hair turned white.

She looked at Fu Xianyin with gentle and loving eyes and asked, "How have you been these years? When did you return from America?"

Fu Xianyin said, "It was at the beginning of the year, I just got back."

Gao Ying asked, "Are you leaving again this time?"

Fu Xianyin said, "I'm going back again. I was originally going to go back on the 25th, but after hearing about the 100-day countdown rally, I postponed my flight a few days until it's over."

She smiled, stuck out her tongue, and said, "Teacher, I haven't graduated yet."

Gao Ying asked, "Are you back home for the Chinese New Year this year?"

Fu Xianyin said, "Not really. I came back on a business trip. The company here and a project I'm working on need me to come and be a technical consultant, so I came back to work for two months."

Gao Ying asked, "So, how's your experience in the workplace?"

Fu Xianyin pursed her lips and smiled, "Not bad."

The flag-raising ceremony was about to begin, and Gao Ying needed to go back to her class first. She told Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao to go directly to the playground to wait for the ceremony, and she would go find them later.

A red banner was strung across the playground as Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao strolled leisurely toward it.

That's why the mindset is different when you're a student and when you've graduated.

Fu Xianyin felt that she had never walked this road so easily before.

No need to stay up all night doing practice problems, no need to worry about grades, all those other miscellaneous things are gone.

Looking at the high school students playing around on the playground, she sighed, "Weren't we like that back then?"

Gu Linzhao glanced at her and laughed, "They are much more well-behaved than you."

Fu Xianyin rolled her eyes at him: "I've hardly ever broken any school rules or regulations, okay? If you're talking about dating, it takes two to tango, doesn't it? You're not exactly a model student either."

At this point, she suddenly laughed: "So, in our year, the two students with the best grades were the two most unruly students. If this gets out, it will really tarnish the reputation of Beichuan No. 1 Middle School."

The two stood by the podium for a while before Gao Ying arrived.

Fu Xianyin followed Gao Ying and her class to raise the flag, and then was led to the podium to wait for her to speak.

After several school leaders, it was Gu Linzhao's turn.

The host introduced Gu Linzhao as a top scorer in the college entrance examination who started his own business during college and now owns a technology company.

Each time a title was added, a gasp of surprise would be heard from below.

When Gu Linzhao took the stage and a close-up of him was shown on the big screen, the students' roar nearly shook the playground:

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, the senior is so handsome!!!"

"And his face is actually his least noteworthy advantage."

"A top scorer in the college entrance exam who's also the CEO of a tech company—I'm hopeless with that."

"I take back what I said about the 100-day countdown rally being boring. I could listen to my senior talk for a whole day and night!"

Fu Xianyin looked at the restless crowd, a smile unconsciously curving her lips.

Sure enough, no matter when or where, a person like Gu Linzhao, whenever he appears, always elicits such cheers and admiration.

Fu Xianyin looked at the people on the stage.

He was impeccably dressed in a suit, tall and slender, and even the most tedious and boring motivational speeches seemed to resonate more deeply with people when he spoke them.

Gao Ying looked at Gu Linzhao and sighed, "I knew it. Bringing him back would be more useful than having ten principals combined."

Fu Xianyin couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

Gao Ying said, "You two have had a tough time all these years."

Fu Xianyin said, "Yes, but thankfully, it's all in the past."

“Yes,” Gao Ying sighed, “It’s not easy to run into each other again after all this time.”

Fu Xianyin said, "Maybe God has finally taken a stand on my side this time. He saw that I've had a tough time all these years and is giving me a little reward."

Gao Ying said, "He came to ask me many times before, whether he knew where I went and whether I took the college entrance examination."

Gao Ying's gaze became distant: "He even said that you have sacrificed so much for the college entrance examination, and you must want to know your final score."

Fu Xianyin smiled: "He really understands me quite well."

After settling down in the United States, Fu Xianyin went online to find the college entrance examination papers from that year.

She printed out the exam paper, reviewed it for a day, and then locked herself in her room, strictly following the exam schedule, timing herself for four consecutive days.

After the exam, she sent a scanned copy of the test paper to Gao Ying and asked if she could help her estimate her score.

Gao Ying contacted the teachers of each subject to help her grade the papers.

What she didn't tell Fu Xianyin was that she even found the teachers who graded the college entrance examination papers, and each of them graded only one paper.

This is to be as close as possible to the way college entrance examination paper grading is done.

On the day the college entrance examination results were released, Fu Xianyin learned about Gu Linzhao's score.

721 points, the top scorer in the province.

Two days later, Fu Xianyin learned her results.

723.

It means she is capable of attending any university she wants and studying any major she desires.

That's two points higher than Gu Linzhao's score.

It's at the level where they could become the new provincial champion.

Looking at the score, Fu Xianyin smiled.

This was the first smile she had shown since leaving Gu Linzhao and arriving in the United States.

Thunderous applause erupted.

Amidst the noise, Fu Xianyin heard the host say:

"Next, please welcome Fu Xianyin, a representative of outstanding graduates, to the stage to deliver a speech."

Fu Xianyin paused for a second.

Some panicked eyes looked at Gu Linzhao.

She suddenly remembered a few days ago, when she learned that Gao Ying wanted Gu Linzhao to give a speech, Gu Linzhao's first reaction was...

“Then you should go even more,” he said. “After all, your grades were better than mine in high school.”

Fu Xianyin said at the time: "This is a 100-day countdown rally for the college entrance examination. I haven't taken the college entrance examination yet, so why should I go?"

Gu Linzhao asked, "Don't you want to go?"

Fu Xianyin said, "You can go."

Fu Xianyin thought the topic would end there, and didn't think much of it at the time.

Later, Gu Linzhao seemed to ask her, intentionally or unintentionally, what she would do if she had to speak in public.

She seemed to say this at the time:

"I was stressed in junior and senior high school, but at this age, I can talk for at least twenty minutes without a script."

Gu Linzhao still didn't believe it, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Really?"

Fu Xianyin said, "Of course it's true. As long as it's not a report on an experiment or a group meeting, or a speech, it's no problem at all."

The applause gradually subsided, only to surge again like waves.

Fu Xianyin felt as if her heart was being entangled, but not in a desperate attempt to kill her; rather, it was as if she were being tightly enveloped, with all the reactions her heart was making being detected.

He understood her evasive answer, and was even so thoughtful as to have considered all her concerns.

After going through all this trouble, there's really only one purpose.

He felt she should be above him.

So even if it means carrying it on, he will do it.

Gu Linzhao stepped down from the podium.

His eyes were gentle, and his voice carried a hint of amusement as he said, "Go ahead, at least twenty minutes. I've timed you."

The microphone height had been carefully adjusted, and Fu Xianyin couldn't help but smile as she listened to the arrogant shouts below, such as "Senior is so beautiful!" and "Senior, I love you!"

She said, "Actually, what Senior Gu just said was very good and comprehensive. This is a stage that everyone must go through in life, but it is not a stage that determines whether you live or die."

She smiled, shrugged, and said frankly, "When I was your age, I felt that the college entrance exam was the most important thing in the world. If I didn't do well on the exam, or if something unexpected happened, I couldn't even imagine what I would do."

"That's exactly what I thought back then. I felt like I was born for those four days in June."

"If anything goes wrong in these four days, it will be no different from my life ending here."

She said, "But even after I missed those four days, I still survived, and I'm still alive and well now."

"The college entrance examination is an extremely important event in everyone's life, without a doubt. But there are many other important things too."

She paused for a moment, then said, "For example, whether you are able to live happily, or whether you want to live happily."

There was a moment of silence in the audience.

These two examples might not seem different to others, but when applied to this group of students preparing for the college entrance examination, everyone's thoughts couldn't help but follow Fu Xianyin forward.

They heard Fu Xianyin say, "Perhaps you don't know what you want, perhaps you are also confused about the road after the college entrance examination. Behind the difficulties is an endless future, but an endless future does not mean that every road is clearly visible."

“At that time, I told myself, Fu Xianyin, take a little more forward, just a little more. Taking one more step than you are now is a victory, and being able to see one more meter ahead is a success.”

"Now, I also want to say this to everyone."

"Go forward, just a little further forward."

Let's go a little further.

Walk a little further.

Perhaps then we will be able to see a clear picture of life, or perhaps the thick fog that shrouds life will gradually dissipate.

All that is empty, oppressive, sorrowful, and painful will be left behind you.

Just keep moving forward.

This is actually not a very typical speech for a 100-day countdown rally.

But when Gao Ying saw Fu Xianyin's face reflected on the big screen, she felt a slight sense of relief for some reason.

During her high school years, Fu Xianyin was a child struggling in a quagmire.

It is quite obvious that Fu Xianyin has now emerged from that quagmire.

She has stepped into her promising future, into a ray of light.

Or perhaps, she herself slowly transformed into a ball of light.

I want to pierce through the thick fog, to light the way forward, and to light a lantern for everyone struggling in the mire.

Gao Ying suddenly felt that everything was fine.

Fu Xianyin's life was not forever confined to that quagmire; she struggled to get out.

Perhaps it was a stumbling, unsteady journey.

But she still came out.

Thinking of this, Gao Ying even felt her eyes well up with tears.

She clapped enthusiastically along with the students below the stage, her eyes brimming with tears, and gave Fu Xianyin a smile.

The process continues.

As she stepped down from the podium, Fu Xianyin gave Gu Linzhao a furtive glare.

She said, "Why didn't you even tell me before letting me go up and speak? Were you just trying to make a fool of me?"

Gu Linzhao said, "You have to use awkward methods to deal with stubborn kids. I've been doing this for many years and I have experience."

Fu Xianyin retorted weakly, "I'm not a stubborn child."

This statement is really not convincing.

After the speech, Gao Ying didn't insist that they listen to the entire 100-day countdown rally. Since the two had nothing else to do, they decided to stroll around the places where they used to live.

The changes at Beichuan No.1 Middle School in recent years have not been too significant. Apart from some facilities that have been visibly renovated, the overall layout remains unchanged.

Fu Xianyin wandered aimlessly forward and unknowingly strolled into the small garden.

Fu Xianyin said, "I think I sat on this bench and cried when I missed that midterm exam."

That time, Chen Huimei came to the school and caused a scene, which led to Chen Huimei's complete mental breakdown.

That was also the first time she exposed her chaotic family situation to Gu Linzhao.

Fu Xianyin sat on the bench and said softly, "At that time, I didn't know that Aunt Yu Jing was your aunt."

Six years later, she sat on the same bench and confessed the same thing to Gu Linzhao.

Those words she once guarded so fiercely, those words she once thought would cause the world to collapse, those words she once wanted to keep silent about for the rest of her life until she took them to her grave, were now spoken in such an ordinary tone.

She said, "When I went to see Aunt Yujing, I told her that I felt there were good people everywhere in Beichuan, and every Beichuan person I met was extremely kind."

"Aunt Yu Jing is kind, as are you, including Zhao Zhao Nian Ke, Lin An Xu, and Teacher Gao, they are all very kind."

“I have never met so many kind people. I told Aunt Yu Jing that I really like Beichuan and I really like this place.”

"So when Fu Dongyuan told me everything, I felt like my whole world had ended."

"At that time, I wondered if I was too despicable, so that any kindness that could fall into my hands would eventually be taken away from me without leaving a trace."

Gu Linzhao said, "It's not your fault, it's the world that's been unfair to you."

"You've never made a mistake."

Fu Xianyin looked up at him with a smile: "So, if I left without a word, causing us to not see each other for six years, it wouldn't be my fault?"

They truly missed six years, missing each other's college years.

This is something she can never make up for, no matter how hard she tries.

She could go to Huaqing University, even ten thousand times, but she couldn't see how Gu Linzhao lived at Huaqing, couldn't see him playing ball on the Huaqing court, or could she see him studying in the Huaqing library.

"No."

Gu Linzhao said softly, "It's the world's fault."

“Besides,” he added, “we haven’t actually been apart for six years.”

Fu Xianyin's heartbeat stopped for a moment.

Fu Yeyang's words suddenly came to mind.

“When you left back then, Gu Linzhao came to see me.”

She suddenly raised her head.

Gu Linzhao said, "I have looked for you."

"Many times."

“I’ve been to your school. I’ve seen you go to school very early for class, and I’ve seen you study in the library until late at night, and then go back to your apartment alone.”

“I was worried about your safety walking alone at night, so I followed you until I made sure you went into the apartment before I left.”

He smiled gently: "I know you probably don't want to see me, so I didn't appear in front of you."

He only glanced at it from afar.

One glance is enough.

Over the past six years, he has made countless trips.

I would buy a plane ticket to see her whenever I had time.

A one-way trip from Beijing to the United States, including layovers, takes nearly twenty hours.

Gu Linzhao would often sit for more than ten hours to see her from afar, and then sit for more than ten hours to come back.

He lived like this for six years.

Her eyes were red-rimmed.

Fu Xianyin couldn't help but want to shed tears.

Gu Linzhao reached out and wiped her eyes, laughing as he did so: "How come you were crying here six years ago, and you're still shedding tears here six years later?"

"You're so unreasonable," Fu Xianyin said, her voice still trembling with tears. "You're telling me all this, and you won't even let me cry."

She didn't know why she was crying.

Is it sadness, grief, or happiness and relief?

Or perhaps it's a sigh, that after six years of ups and downs, they finally ended up together.

The tears were wiped away.

Gu Linzhao shielded her from the cold wind, cupped her face in his hands, and said, "I'm not saying this to make you sad. I just want you to know, Fu Xianyin, that I love you very much."

"When I was young, I was shallow and always felt that I couldn't bear the weight of such a profound word as love. So after going around in circles, all I could say was 'I like you'."

"Now that I'm older, I can't say I've seen it all, but I've certainly experienced quite a bit. Only now do I feel I'm finally worthy of such weighty words."

He said, "Fu Xianyin, I love you."

"I will always love you, from the past to the present."

End of text

[Author's Note]

The main story is finished! I'm giving myself a big pat on the back!

To be honest, I didn't expect this story to be so long. I originally thought it would be a sweet romance story, and I was even worried about whether I could reach 200,000 words when I first started writing. But when I reached 200,000 words and only got to the sports meet, I knew that this story would definitely be much longer than I imagined.

But I didn't expect it to be this long.

The initial idea for this story actually came about in 2022—yes, very early. Back then, I was still serializing that mecha novel next door, and hadn't even signed a contract yet. The initial idea for this story was simply because I'd read many stories about happy, angelic heroines who redeemed their male protagonists, and I wanted to write one that was the opposite. After a chaotic brainstorming session with my best friend, the story was born. Then I started writing, completing seven chapters in 2022. When I reread the seventh chapter this year, I discovered significant problems, so I deleted and rewrote it. In other words, the current chapters 1 to 6 were all written in 2022.

Back in 2022, I wasn't under contract. I wrote this story purely out of passion, it was purely out of love. I didn't even have a detailed outline; the whole plot could be summarized in under 50 words. Because I wanted to write about the male protagonist redeeming the female protagonist, I created a character with an extremely happy family life for Gu Linzhao.

When I was writing it in 2022, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But when I decided to publish it on Jinjiang this year, I found that the character of Gu Linzhao is easy to seem a bit thin, especially when my writing skills are not good enough. If I made his family not so happy either, and the two of them took a route of mutual redemption, it might have a better chemical reaction.

To be honest, I hesitated for a long time before I started writing this story, wondering whether I should change the original character setting.

But in the end, it wasn't changed.

Because I want Fu Xianyin to be completely redeemed, and this relationship of redemption and being redeemed must be pure and absolute. I want Fu Xianyin to feel love as much as possible, completely.

So even if the chemistry between these characters isn't quite there, and even if it might be a bit dull to read, I still wrote it this way.

This article mostly recounts the process of redemption, including Gu Linzhao's redemption of Fu Xianyin and Fu Xianyin's self-redemption. The former is explained quite clearly in the article, while the latter is not discussed in much detail, mainly existing in the six years that I only briefly mentioned.

However, neither of these two can be dispensed with.

If Gu Linzhao had only offered unilateral redemption, without Yinyin struggling in the mire herself, she would never have been able to completely move on from the past.

Without Gu Linzhao's rescue, Yinyin might not even have had the chance to struggle in the mire.

Fortunately, both are available.

In this article, I tried to create many well-rounded characters, but I cannot say whether it was successful or not; I can only say that I tried.

Characters like Song Yaoge, Ji Zhumiao, and even the younger brother, though they don't have many scenes, I've tried my best to make them as well-developed as possible.

Writing a romance novel that's almost 500,000 words? Six months ago, I would have thought that was a pipe dream. I can't even write a plot-driven novel of 500,000 words, how could a romance novel be possible?

Surprisingly, it actually reached 500,000 words.

Perhaps it's because my outline was too vague, or perhaps it's because I really had a lot of things I wanted to write, and I didn't really choose what to include, so I just wrote them all in.

I've been writing for almost half a year now, from the time I officially started saving the manuscript at the end of March until now.

It was initially planned to finish in early August, but then we found that early August wouldn't work, so we changed it to mid-to-late August. But mid-to-late August also didn't work, so we changed it to early September. Who would have thought that the main story would only finish in mid-to-late September?

After finishing the main story, I'll take a day or two off, and then start writing the side stories. The side stories I plan to write currently include a secondary couple, marriage, slice-of-life scenes, and I also want to write a chapter from the male protagonist's perspective.

After I finish writing the extra chapters, I'll probably revise the text again, fix some bugs, etc. (I'm really sorry there are too many typos 555).

Thank you so much to every one of you who reads my posts. Every click and every comment makes me happy for a long time.

Thank you everyone!