Extra: Lin Xue's perspective
My name is Lin Xue. I used to be the top student in Shenghua College, and now I’m the second after Chu Yan transferred here.
I seem to remember the first time I saw Chu Yan. He was a slender young man, dressed in a meticulously ironed uniform, with straight shoulders. The sunlight shone through his hair, making it look fluffy and exceptionally soft.
Like a jade or a jade tablet. This was the first thought that came into my mind at that time.
He stood at the podium, his voice gentle and clear: "My name is Chu Yan. Yan, as in inkstone." His posture was calm, his smile just right. Back then, I could never have imagined that over the next two years, I would devote so much attention to this person.
Chu Yan and Gu Ye seemed to be at odds. More accurately, it was Gu Ye who was unilaterally confronting him. Meanwhile, Chu Yan remained calm and gentle, as if nothing could truly move him.
I was on the sidelines during their basketball bet. Many might dismiss it as a youthful impulsiveness, but I had a vague feeling that Chu Yan was using his own way to hold onto Gu Ye, who was falling. I didn't understand why he did it, but this almost forceful intervention, to me, was a silent act of salvation.
My feelings towards Chu Yan are very complicated. He has superior looks, so it seems natural to like him. At that time, most of the girls in the grade probably had a crush on him, but no one dared to really confess their feelings. He was always gentle and polite in his dealings with others, but there was also an invisible sense of alienation, as if there was an invisible glass wall between them. It seemed that only Gu Ye was allowed to get close to him. During breaks, I could always hear him explaining the questions to Gu Ye in a low voice. It was a tone of subtle patience that I had never heard before. But he stole the first place in my grade, and I was really unhappy about it. Unfortunately, I tried many times, but I just couldn't beat him in the exam. After trying again and again, I gave up. Forget it, second place is also good, this is the only way I can comfort myself.
Until Gu Ye was suspected of cheating. I'd never seen Chu Yan defend someone so openly. His gaze toward the questioning girl was calm, yet strangely laden with a heavy pressure that made the air around them stagnate. It was at that moment that I realized he wasn't always gentle; perhaps his gentleness was simply a choice.
On the day of the 100-day oath-taking ceremony, I met Chu Yan's cousin. He was equally remarkable, with a powerful aura. Seeing such an outstanding family, it suddenly seemed clear that Chu Yan's exceptionality was traceable. When a friend pulled me aside and whispered, "Is their family's genes blessed?" I nodded in agreement.
Ah, I confessed my feelings to him at the graduation dinner. I didn't have high hopes, but I felt that youth should always be brave enough to leave no regrets. Being rejected was to be expected. He said I would definitely be even better in the future. Thanks to his words, I'm doing quite well now. But when I heard him say, "I already have a partner," I was still heartbroken for a long time. My girlish dreams ended in vain, and I couldn't help but wonder what the person who could stand by his side would be like. Even if I lost, I still wanted to know what the right answer looked like.
Afterward, news about Chu Yan gradually faded. I only heard sporadically that he'd chosen the unpopular field of paleontology, and I admired his courage in following his passion. I heard that he'd already made a name for himself and achieved success before even graduating. I heard that he'd completed all his courses in his junior year and graduated early. I also heard that he...had been missing for five years.
I hadn't just heard about his disappearance. I had received a call from Gu Ye. His voice was raspy, suppressed with an almost desperate anxiety. He had asked almost everyone who might know Chu Yan, searched every possible place he might have been, and finally, with a faint hope, came to me, asking if I had seen him.
After hanging up the phone, I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in my office, gazing at the dazzling lights of the city below. Suddenly, I felt a surge of emotion. Chu Yan was truly stunning, easily leaving an indelible mark on someone's youth, a figure who remains unforgettable to this day.
But it doesn’t matter, I took a sip of the red wine in the glass, and I was already very good.
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