The Seventh Mint Candy

When Su An opened the dark blue tin box and reached the seventh mint candy, he discovered a small, hand-drawn star hidden beneath its wrapper.

It was just like the sticker pattern on the tiger's mouth of his cold deskmate, Jiang Qi.

Su An had always assumed Jiang Qi's approach stemmed from repeated "chance" encounters—borrowing books, notebooks filled with detailed explanations, and mint candies to alleviate his hypoglycemia. He grew accustomed to this silent companionship until their class merged, making them deskmates. He felt that grip under the desk during rumors, and he heard the interrupted, unfinished confession at the peak of the Ferris wheel on Christmas Eve.

It was then that he realized all the "coincidences" were a meticulously planned, grand, silent confession.

And that unique seventh mint candy was the key Jiang Qi had mustered the courage to hand him, the sole route to each other's hearts.

This is a story of hidden love and discovery. It is hidden in the coolness of mint candies, in unsaid words, and even more so in that one-of-a-kind, seventh candy prepared just for one person.