Li Mo
The Mingde Building appears more spacious in the evening than at midday, with the afterglow of the setting sun filtering through the tall windows, dividing the corridor into a grid of interwoven light and shadow.
Li Mo and Liang Xinchong stood outside their usual studio, the air thick with the smell of chalk dust and old canvases, yet it did nothing to ease the tense atmosphere.
Li Mo took a deep breath and broke the silence first, her voice particularly clear in the quiet corridor: "Liang Xinchong, let's keep some distance from each other at school from now on."
Liang Xinchong retorted almost immediately, his brows furrowing: "But I don't want to."
Li Mo raised her head, stared at him, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.
Liang Xinchong's momentum weakened slightly after being glared at by her, but his tone remained stubborn, tinged with grievance: "You know I like you, and you still want me to keep my distance from you? I can't do it."
“But you’re affecting me.” Li Mo looked away, her voice lower but still clear enough for him to hear, “Do you think our classmates can’t tell we’re getting too close now? Liang Xinchong, we’re in our final year of high school.”
"I didn't mean to bother you, but I just want to talk to you when I see you."
Li Mo: "You really are..."
"You hate me like this?"
“It’s not exactly annoying, it’s just…” Li Mo tried to find a suitable word to describe it: “It’s just strange, at least it’s not appropriate for her to appear at this time of day.”
Liang Xinchong took a step forward, his gaze fixed on her, and with a do-or-die courage, asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for so long, "Do you like me? Even just a little bit?"
This question is too direct.
Does Liang Xinchong always play straight through the game, without any detours?
This completely baffled Li Mo.
Li Mo was silent for a few seconds, her long eyelashes drooping. When she looked up again, her eyes held a complex clarity: "I do have feelings for you."
She saw Liang Xinchong's eyes light up instantly, but she had to continue to pour cold water on his enthusiasm, "But that doesn't necessarily mean you like someone. Maybe it's just a crush at best. Besides, I never considered dating before I graduated from high school."
Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Liang Xinchong's heart soared like it was on a roller coaster, but upon hearing the second half, it slowly sank back down.
But he grasped the key point—she had feelings for him.
Is having feelings for someone not enough?
Liking someone starts with a feeling of goodwill.
“I didn’t mean to force you to like me so quickly,” he hurriedly explained, his tone serious. “I also didn’t mean to expect you to date me before you even graduated high school. I can wait.”
His honesty and concession made Li Mo's heart tremble slightly.
She looked at him and asked another question that had been lingering in her mind: "It's so strange, Liang Xinchong, why... did you fall in love with me so quickly?" They had only known each other for a semester.
Liang Xinchong was stumped by the question. He scratched his head, a hint of confusion on his face, before becoming unusually honest: "I don't know either."
He paused, his gaze falling on her profile bathed in the soft light of the setting sun. His voice softened, yet remained crystal clear, "Isn't liking someone just a irrational thing? By the time I realized it, I already liked you."
"Then what exactly do you like about me?" Li Mo pressed. She had considered countless possibilities: was it my looks? My cuteness? My good grades? She needed a reason, a reason that would help her understand, and perhaps also make her more determined to push him away.
She always felt that Liang Xinchong's affection for her was superficial.
She's pretty, she gets good grades, and many boys like her—they're all superficial.
She doesn't really need this kind of superficial affection.
Liking something can change in an instant.
Li Mo felt that Liang Xinchong was very likely confusing "good feelings" with "like".
Upon hearing Li Mo's question, Liang Xinchong fell silent, and this time the silence lasted even longer.
He seemed to be struggling to find the most accurate expression from his meager vocabulary, his face flushed red, his eyes darting around, unable to look her in the eye.
Just when Li Mo thought he wouldn't be able to answer, he finally raised his head, looked directly at her, and uttered two words:
"vivid."
After he finished speaking, he explained, "Because you are so vivid, I just like you..."
Li Mo was stunned; her heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something.
vivid?
She had considered countless adjectives, but never this one.
Was she pretty? Perhaps pretty. Was she cute? Not really. Was she kind? In this matter, she was even somewhat cruel to him. Good grades? That shouldn't be the main reason either.
But he described it as "vivid".
Was he seeing her, the one frowning amidst a sea of homework? The one focused intently drawing on the bulletin board? The one who laughed when he made her laugh but held it back? The one who persevered through adversity? The one who secretly blushed at his meme? The one with an unknown past, a scarred soul yet still striving to grow?
This word is both too precise and too gentle.
Li Mo blinked rapidly, unable to hear what he said next. In that moment of blankness, her heart started racing.
The calm, rehearsed refusal lines I had prepared countless times in my mind, such as—
"You should focus your energy on your studies."
"Don't like me anymore, we're not right for each other."
Everything was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Of all the words in the world, he chose to use "vivid".
Looking at his flushed cheeks as he struggled to come up with an answer, and his eyes filled with tension and anticipation, the dam she had built in her heart quietly crumbled.
She took a deep breath, as if making a major decision, her tone carrying a feigned ease and compromise: "...Okay. Liang Xinchong, I'm going to study hard now, and you have to study hard too. If you can improve your ranking by one hundred places someday, I'll agree to your request."
Liang Xinchong's eyes lit up instantly, as if they were filled with stars: "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Li Mo's cheeks suddenly flushed, and she scolded playfully, "What are you thinking! I mean... I agree to let you continue to like me!"
The light that had just appeared in his eyes dimmed instantly.
"Oh." Liang Xinchong lowered his head, like a large dog that had been soaked by the rain and had completely lost its soul. Even the strands of his hair exuded a strong sense of loss and grievance, and the little bit of spirit he had just had vanished without a trace.
Seeing him like this, Li Mo felt a sudden pang of tenderness in her heart, but she still hardened her heart and said, "That's it, I'm going home."
After she finished speaking, she turned around, walked to the bicycle shed, pushed her bike, and left in one smooth motion.
However, after riding for only a few dozen meters, her speed slowed down.
His pitiful appearance from just now was all I could think about, like a curse that wouldn't go away.
Frustrated, she gripped the brakes tightly, paused for a few seconds, and finally couldn't resist turning the bike around and riding back.
Liang Xinchong remained standing there, head bowed, his figure appearing particularly forlorn in the increasingly dim light.
"Liang Xinchong," Li Mo called out to him.
He suddenly raised his head, his beautiful eyes still holding the disappointment he couldn't hide, and he still looked extremely aggrieved.
Seeing him like this, Li Mo's last bit of stubbornness crumbled.
She pursed her lips, her voice as soft as a whisper, yet clearly reaching his ears: "...I can consider it too."
Liang Xinchong paused for a moment, as if he hadn't quite grasped the situation: "What are you considering?"
Li Mo's face turned even redder, and she glared at him in embarrassment and annoyance: "You understood everything and you're still pretending to be stupid? Then just pretend I didn't say anything!" She made a move to leave again.
"No!" Liang Xinchong reacted quickly this time, stepping forward to block her car. His face instantly brightened, his smile almost dazzling, and his tone was filled with uncontrollable elation. "I'll study hard, I'll definitely improve by a hundred places, Li Mo, you promised, you can't go back on your word!"
"I won't go back on my word." Looking at his instantly revived state, Li Mo's initial annoyance was replaced by a strange sweetness. She muttered softly, "It's not even certain whether you'll pass the exam..."
Liang Xinchong ignored her and just looked at her with a smile. His smile was a mix of cunning from a successful scheme and the preciousness of something lost and found. This made Li Mo wonder how much of his pitiful, downtrodden look was genuine and how much was an act.
"Hurry home, it's getting dark." Li Mo avoided his overly intense gaze, said softly, and rode away again.
This time, Liang Xinchong did not call out to her again.
He simply stood there, watching her receding figure, his smile growing wider and wider until it finally blossomed into a silent, radiant smile.
The sun finally sank completely below the horizon, and twilight descended, but the boy's heart shone as brightly as day.
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