Chapter 37 Gentleness reveals a person's shining qualities, which is itself...
Zhou Luoyin initially enjoyed reading her own diary, but by the end, her brows were furrowed.
The first part was indeed written by Zhou Luoyin; she could recall that past as soon as she saw the words. But she had no recollection of the rest, especially since it wasn't New Year's Day yet.
Although Zhou Luoyin had no memory of what was written in the diary later, the handwriting and style of the writing were quite different. Even Zhou Luoyi could not possibly have completely and perfectly "deciphered" all the meanings of her self-created text and then rewritten it.
Therefore, there is only one most unlikely possibility: this was written by "Zhou Luoyin" who experienced these events in the normal chronological order. Then, for some reason, the "Zhou Luoyin" of the past, which is now her, accidentally traveled to the body of Zhou Luoyin several years in the future, thus causing the current situation.
The next day, Zhou Luoyin met Ning Yanzhao on her way to find Zhou Luoyi. However, before they could finish talking, she was transported back to where she should really be at the bus stop.
At that time, Zhou Luoyin realized that the specific course of these major events was exactly the same as written in the diary. Then she thought about it and realized that she should ask Zhou Luoyi about what happened back then.
Zhou Luoyin first removed Zhou Luoyi from her phone's blacklist, then called her. Naturally, she didn't directly ask about An Nianyu, but instead asked about He Shenmo's past.
Zhou Luoyi was clearly pleased that Zhou Luoyin had taken the initiative to contact him, but he did not accept her suggestion to explain the matter over the phone. Zhou Luoyin had no choice but to suggest that the two of them meet in person to talk, and they finally reached an agreement.
And so, Zhou Luoyin, on her way to the meeting place she had arranged with Zhou Luoyi, unintentionally ended up at the bus stop where she had once been illuminated by the bus lights.
When Zhou Luoyin arrived, the bus hadn't come yet, but as she had predicted from the weather forecast, it was raining.
The area at the bus stop that could shield her from the rain was already occupied by others. Zhou Luoyin was once again glad that she had brought an umbrella. However, when she opened the umbrella, she heard a ringing in her ears, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in the past few years.
Zhou Luoyin returned to her high school days and sat in the same seat by the window. Perhaps because An Nianyu's unexpected death in her dream had shocked her too much, the first thought that came to her mind after she realized she was back was to find out where An Nianyu was. Fortunately, he was still sitting in the same spot in the classroom and was alive and well.
As Zhou Luoyin watched An Nianyu casually writing what he was doing, it was as if the scenes she had dreamt about beforehand, and the replays of those scenes, were just fleeting moments.
Ning Yanzhao, whom I had just met a few years later, was standing outside the classroom for no apparent reason, and her expression and actions were rather strange. To do such a thing during class time would be, in the internet slang of the next few years, "socially awkward."
Zhou Luoyin didn't know why she had suddenly arrived in the so-called future of the dream, nor did she know why she had suddenly returned.
Looking back now, that was the first real, memorable encounter between Zhou Luoyin and Ning Yanzhao.
As for why Zhou Luoyin made a decision during the New Year's Eve party that she would never have made before, the introverted girl chose to volunteer to dance during the chorus performance, which was also to extend her dance practice time in the school dance studio, so that she could go home later.
Because Zhou Luoyin knew that Zhou Luoyi had important experiments to do and papers to write in her university courses recently.
The university Zhou Luoyi attends requires room checks to be conducted before 11 PM every weekday. If Zhou Luoyin has a reasonable excuse to linger at school a little longer after evening self-study, then Zhou Luoyi won't have time to come pick her up because she has to rush back to school.
With several factors at play, Zhou Luoyin hoped that Zhou Luoyi could spend less time on her recently, so that she could sort out what she had recently learned and think about how she should deal with unexpected situations.
What Zhou Luoyin didn't expect was that Zhou Luoyi seemed completely unaffected by her "strategy." As usual, no matter how late she stayed, Zhou Luoyi would wait for her at the school gate and then interrogate her on the way home about what had happened at school that day, who she had talked to, and what she had said.
Even on the day of the New Year's Eve party, Zhou Luoyi arrived earlier than usual, even though he knew the party would last until at least 11 p.m. In the end, the two of them had an argument in the car, and in an attempt to escape, Zhou Luoyi accidentally slammed the steering wheel into the roadside railing.
Fortunately, there were no pedestrians on the road at the time. As for Zhou Luoyi's current condition in the car, Zhou Luoyin was not sure, but with such a commotion, the police should have arrived by now.
If Zhou Luoyi gets injured, Zhou Luoyin will take responsibility for what she should before leaving...
Now, let's rewind to the night of the 2017 New Year's Eve party. Ning Yanzhao unexpectedly encounters Zhou Luoyin, who is being chased by Zhou Luoyi.
Then, Zhou Luoyin simply told Ning Yanzhao what she knew in just a few minutes.
As for why Zhou Luoyin knew that Ning Yanzhao had also traveled from that "future in a dream"?
It happened backstage at the New Year's Eve party. Zhou Luoyin overheard Ning Yanzhao humming a song in the dressing room. She had heard the song before, but that wasn't the key point. The point was that the song was clearly not from this period, but rather released at some point in the future.
Since such a miraculous thing could happen to Zhou Luoyin, then in this magical world, such a thing could also happen to others. She had a slight guess that this was the case, and now that she tried it, it was indeed true. Ning Yanzhao's reaction showed that she knew something.
"So you really did travel from the future. When did you start?"
Now that Zhou Luoyin had already been completely honest with her about everything she knew, Ning Yanzhao had no need to hide anything anymore. "Yes, I have actually traveled through time several times. This is the third time. So, when and how did you discover my existence?"
"Actually, I only had some doubts a few days ago because you would occasionally use neologisms that would only appear a few years later, but I only confirmed today that you came from the future."
"So that's how it is?" Ning Yanzhao had no idea that she was full of "loopholes".
"I've just been too busy today, and you've always had people around you, so I haven't been able to find a suitable opportunity to talk to you about this. What happened between Zhou Luoyi and me today was somewhat unexpected. After all, in my diary, the conflict between the two of us didn't erupt today. Of course, things can't always go exactly as they originally planned, and occasional deviations are understandable. So, what else do you want to know? As long as I know it, I'll tell you everything."
Zhou Luoyin's acquaintance with Ning Yanzhao during her high school years was an unexpected turn of events, but her words have now connected the whole story.
Ning Yanzhao never expected such a thing to happen. What Zhou Luoyin said was exactly the same as what she knew about what would happen in the future of this world. So, the real culprit behind this series of events was Zhou Luoyi.
He Shenmo's incident has already happened, but thankfully she is ultimately safe.
The matter concerning He Shenmo is now settled, and there is no room for change unless one travels back to an earlier time.
So, the only thing that can be done now is to suppress Zhou Luoyi's thoughts in advance, and An Nianyu will still be saved.
"Was it related to your brother why An Nianyu went abroad to study back then?"
"I don't know the details of this matter very clearly, but roughly it should be because his mother suddenly fell ill, so he had to take her to see a doctor. The illness probably started in the last few days, because I wrote about it in my diary around these same time. Actually, his going abroad to study was probably ahead of schedule, since he would have to go abroad sooner or later anyway. I remember that my aunt eventually recovered."
"I understand." Ning Yanzhao was not surprised that people from well-off families would go abroad to study and see a wider world. If everyone had the choice, she believed that most people would go out to see the world, even if they didn't study abroad.
There are posts on online platforms such as "It took Xiaoming ten minutes to walk to the Children's Palace, but it took me XX years".
For many people in small towns, going abroad is like a "plus, pro, or pro max" version of the "children's palace."
It has nothing to do with worshipping foreign things or being blindly pro-foreign. The love for natural and cultural landscapes shown in history and geography books can only be truly felt by experiencing them firsthand.
"Come to think of it, it seems like it's all because of me that my brother Zhou Luoyi is like this..."
Zhou Luoyin couldn't really say she liked An Nianyu. She just thought he had good grades and a good face, and she regarded him as a goal to motivate herself to move forward. It was more like being a casual fan of an idol. However, she didn't expect that Zhou Luoyi would misunderstand her.
Of course, during adolescence, a time of emotional confusion and uncertainty, it's not uncommon for Zhou Luoyin, as a girl of that age, to experience occasional emotional fluctuations over trivial matters.
In her second year of high school, shortly after Zhou Luoyin transferred to the same academic class as An Nianyu, the seating arrangement in the class was changed.
An Nianyu and Zhou Luoyin happened to be seated at tables one in front of the other, and both were by the window.
During a break between classes one day, Zhou Luoyin was resting on her desk, but she wasn't actually asleep. She just didn't want to study and simply closed her eyes slightly, but you could see that she was facing the wall, thinking about her own things.
That day, when An Nianyu, who was sitting in the front seat, drew back the curtains, from Zhou Luoyin's perspective, the originally dim classroom suddenly became bright. To use a romantic phrase that everyone has heard many times, it was "his face and the light rushed into my world together."
Perhaps it was because Zhou Luoyin had read too many novels and watched too many TV dramas, and was influenced by the various plots she had seen before, that in that instant, she also slightly understood what it meant to be "moved," and had a feeling of "so that's how it is" and "suddenly realized."
But it was only a fleeting moment of attraction, because unbeknownst to An Nianyu, Zhou Luoyin saw Ning Yanzhao chatting and laughing with her friends as she passed by a window through the window.
An Nianyu also smiled faintly and secretly watched her. Zhou Luoyin's mind was not filled with jealousy or dislike for Ning Yanzhao, but rather with another wave of "So that's how it is" and "Suddenly realized" feeling. So he had a crush on her.
Small details that Zhou Luoyin had seen before but had never paid attention to flashed into her mind in this instant.
During her first year of high school, on a Friday afternoon, after finishing her dance practice class, Zhou Luoyin walked out of the classroom and could see Ning Yanzhao and An Nianyu gesturing at each other in front of the school gate.
Also during her first year of high school, during a PE class when Class 1 and Class 2 were having the same class, An Nianyu insisted on going around in circles, going to great lengths, and finally brought her a drink bottle with Ning Yanzhao's name on it. She seemed to be in high spirits when she got back.
During the rehearsal for the New Year's Eve gala chorus, An Nianyu's gaze often fell upon Ning Yanzhao.
...
This silent observation had probably happened many times before Zhou Luoyin noticed it.
Although Zhou Luoyin seemed unaware of anything before, yet also seemed to have witnessed many things, when she found out, all that came to her mind was a feeling similar to "watching the drama unfold and shipping couples," which proved that she didn't actually have romantic feelings for An Nianyu, otherwise she would definitely feel hurt.
As expected, Zhou Luoyin became even clearer about her own position: a casual fan of her idol. If her idol didn't deceive his fans and eventually got married at the age when he should, she would be the kind of person who would just silently like and send her blessings.
"Although Zhou Luoyi did everything herself, after I found out that I was involved in all of this, I kept wanting to apologize to the people involved. I'm sorry to He Shenmo and An Nianyu."
"It's okay, how can these things be your fault? I think you've done very well. It's all because your stepbrother is too abnormal and extreme. And don't lose confidence too much. I think your dancing is beautiful. Xu Yongqing must have been very happy to have you as a friend when he was studying abroad."
"Thank you."
"Alright, now that we've explained everything, let's go together." Ning Yanzhao took Zhou Luoyin's hands, which were already a little cold from the weather, and led her through the maze of alleys towards the light outside.
The city was already quite well-developed during this period, and the main streets were brightly lit even in the early hours of the morning.
Just like in many action-packed anime, when the protagonist wants to find the key to defeating the villainous boss, he is usually led by a "beacon of hope". Now, Ning Yanzhao's unexpected arrival and her words have brought Zhou Luoyin the same feeling.
Ning Yanzhao led Zhou Luoyin from the darkness filled with fear into the light and told her that she no longer needed to worry or be afraid, that she had done nothing wrong, that she had done well, and that she no longer needed to blame herself.
"Thank you, you are so kind."
"What did you say?" Ning Yanzhao was completely "infested with insects". No matter where she was, what time it was, or how many people were present, insects would always be her first target. She was startled by the small flying insects that "rushed towards her" at that moment, so she did not hear what Zhou Luoyin said.
"It's nothing. Oh, right, there's one more thing I haven't finished saying. I'm also sorry to you who loved him." Zhou Luoyin thought, seeing the person she loved die so unexpectedly must have been very painful. Fortunately, she had transmigrated again and still had a chance to change things.
“I like… An Nianyu… You’ve found out about that.” Now that things have come to this, it’s pointless for Ning Yanzhao to argue that she doesn’t like An Nianyu, so she might as well just admit it.
“Of course, actually… it’s quite obvious,” Zhou Luoyin said with a sly smile.
For Zhou Luoyin, being able to see someone's shining qualities is itself a source of gentleness.
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