Rumored name
The first snow of December fell quietly, and the campus was filled with the joyful atmosphere of the approaching festival. Lin Weixi walked towards the teacher's office with the homework books she had just collected, but she accidentally overheard a conversation between two girls at the corner of the corridor.
"Is this true? Xu Ying from Class 3 confessed her love to Chen Wang?"
"It's absolutely true! It happened yesterday after basketball practice, in front of a lot of people."
Lin Weixi's steps suddenly stopped, and the homework book in her arms almost slipped out. Xu Ying - the girl who always wore a high ponytail and had crescent-shaped eyes when she smiled, the captain of the cheerleading team.
"And then? How did Chen Wang react?"
"I heard he declined, saying he wants to focus on studies and basketball now."
Snowflakes drifted in from the window and landed on Lin Weixi's eyelashes. The cold touch made her shiver. She walked quickly around the corner, pretending not to hear anything.
Yet, all day long, that name lingered in her mind. Xu Ying, such a dazzling presence. Excellent academics, a talented singer and dancer, and the sprint champion of the school sports meet. Only a girl like her would have the courage and the qualifications to stand before Chen Wang and express her feelings.
In math class, Lin Weixi was distracted for the first time. While the teacher was explaining trigonometric functions, her pen tip unconsciously wrote the words "Xu Ying" on the draft paper. When she realized it, she hurriedly crossed it out with her pen, the ink almost seeping through the back of the paper.
"Lin Weixi, you answer this question." The math teacher suddenly called on her.
She stood up in a panic, her mind blank.
"Choose C." Chen Wang's low voice came from the side.
"Choose C..." she repeated, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.
When the bell rang, she was about to say thank you when she saw Xu Ying standing at the classroom door, waving at Chen Wang: "The coach wants to have a meeting with us!"
Chen Wang nodded to her, picked up his schoolbag and walked out. Lin Weixi looked at their backs as they left side by side, Xu Ying's ponytail bouncing lively behind her head.
After school, snow began to fall again. Lin Weixi walked alone on the playground, the snow crunching under her feet. She remembered that last week in the library, she had accidentally seen Chen Wang and Xu Ying discussing a project together. At the time, she thought it was just an ordinary study group, but now she thought there might be a deeper meaning.
"Wei Xi!" Chen Siyu caught up from behind, "Why are you just sitting here in a daze? It's so cold in the snow."
She forced a smile and said, "I want to take some pictures of the snow scene."
“Come on,” Shen Siyu took her arm, “Is it because of Xu Ying?”
Lin Weixi lowered her eyes and agreed.
"Don't worry," Shen Siyu patted her shoulder, "Didn't Chen Wang refuse? That means he doesn't have that intention towards Xu Ying."
"But they look good together," she said softly.
Snowflakes fell silently, landing on their hair and shoulders. In the distance, the basketball team was training in the gymnasium, and the sound of whistles and dribbling could be heard faintly.
"Wei Xi," Chen Siyu suddenly said seriously, "Liking someone isn't about comparing who's more worthy of whom. What's important is your feelings."
That night, Lin Weixi opened her diary, but couldn't put pen to paper for a long time. The light of snow outside the window shone in, casting a cold halo on the paper. She thought of Xu Ying's confident smile, so graceful, as if she was born to stand in the spotlight.
As for herself, she hesitated for a long time even to give Chen Wang a bottle of water, and the only thing she dared to do was to pour out her heart in her diary. Is she really qualified to like Chen Wang?
Late at night, she finally picked up her pen:
"Today I heard that Xu Ying confessed her love to him. Although she was rejected, I was actually even sadder. Because even someone as outstanding as her could fail, someone like me probably doesn't even have the qualifications to fail."
As she wrote this, a tear fell onto the paper, blurring the ink. She suddenly remembered Chen Wang saying that he loved snowflakes the most because each one was unique.
But no matter how beautiful the snowflakes are, they will eventually melt. Just like this unrequited love that ended without any result, perhaps it should not have started in the first place.
The next morning, the snow stopped. Lin Weixi came to school early, and a thick layer of snow piled up on the playground. She saw a familiar figure beside the basketball court - Chen Wang was practicing shooting alone.
He turned around and saw her, a little surprised: "So early?"
“Let’s take pictures of the snow.” She waved the camera.
Chen Wang dribbled the ball over and said, "Would you like me to take some pictures? Xiaoxing said he wanted to see pictures of me playing basketball."
Lin Weixi was stunned, then nodded vigorously.
Through the viewfinder, she saw him leaping in the snow, the basketball drawing a perfect arc and falling into the basket. Snowflakes shook off the branches and drifted around him like a carefully choreographed stage effect.
"Is the shooting done?" He ran over with beads of sweat on his forehead.
She showed him the preview, and he showed a surprised expression: "It's a great shot, thank you."
At that moment, Lin Weixi suddenly understood: Even if she couldn't be a dazzling sun like Xu Ying, being a snowflake that recorded beauty might be a good choice.
At least at this moment, through the lens, she could look at him openly, and he was also looking at her in the lens.
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